City Approves P25T Financial Assistance For today’s Mindanao Investment Conference

Davao City Investment Promotion Center chief Bobby Teo (left photo) welcomes participants to the MinICon.

The City government of Davao has approved a P25 thousand financial assistance for the two-day Mindanao Investment Conference which will open at the Marco Polo Hotel today.

“We are expecting up to 300 participants to join the conference,” Mindanao Business Council (MinBC) executive director Ednar Carlos Dayanghirang said. The organizers of the event said the Conference is doubly significant because it is not only the business sector that have signified their intention to join the MinICon but even peoples organization and non government organizations from various parts of Mindanao have confirmed their participation.

Dayanghirang said they are thankful for Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s support for the Conference both in terms of promotion and financial assistance. He also confirmed the P25 thousand financial support from the city government.

The Conference will focus on seven agricultural products including seaweeds, banana, coffee, rubber production, honeybee, Pangasius and moringa or malunggay.

MinBC chairperson Vicente Lao, who presented the agribusiness opportunities (that will be tackled during the Conference) to the members of the City Council last Tuesday, said they are very excited about the prospects of the propagation of Cream Dory or Pangasius since this will clearly augment the region’s aquaculture production.

Pangasius, Lao said, is like a cousin to the catfish. However, Pangasius fish can weigh as much as 40 kilograms and can grow as long as four feet.

Lao said Pangasius growing is fairly new to the Philippine but it is a growing industry in Vietnam and neighboring Asian countries. Pangasius fillet is presently being exported by Thailand and Vietnam for around $3 per kilo.

This was confirmed by Vitarich marketing associate in Mindanao Elvin T. Millan who said there is a big demand for the Pangasius fish in the world market.

Vitarich is one of the companies that is already into the Pangasius business and they are exploring several business options including contract to buy, contract growing, contract processing, commercial growing and trading partner. Vitarich has prospective growers not only in Davao but also in General Santos City and the Cotabato Province. The company, he added, is now ready to disperse the Pangasius fingerlings to these growers.

Gamay'ng Belen Competition

Museo Dabawenyo is sponsoring a miniature Belen competition to symbolize the simplicity and humility of celebrating Christmas.

If you are a Dabawenyo then you are qualified to join the contest. Use your creative juices to come up with a three-dimensional belen depicting the nativity scene.

Participants can use any material but the use of recycled materials is encouraged. The entry should measure 2’ X 2’ X 2’ and any entry that does not conform to this will be automatically disqualified.

You may have several belen ideas but you can only submit one entry.

Get your entry forms from the Museo Dabawenyo and submit the form with your entry at the Museo Dabawenyo, corner CM Recto and Pichon Streets before December 1, 2008.

All entries will be exhibited at the Museo Dabawenyo from December 4 until January 10, 2009.

Interested? Call or visit Museo Dabawenyos and look for Orly Escarilla or Richard Dian Vilar.

The first prize winner will get P10,000 while the four runners up will get P5,000 each. There will also be five consolation prize winners who will receive P1,000 each.

Will SP Issue PALC For Shrine Hills Developer?

Members of the city council are set to decide today on the issuance of a Preliminary Application and Location Clearance or PALC for Crown Developers and DM Consunji. The PALC will give the developers a go signal to continue with their development works for their proposed housing in Shrine Hills.

The decision whether to approve or disapprove the PALC for the Shrine developers has been put on hold for several weeks already because of strong opposition from the Maa Homeowners who claim that allowing such development would not only pose drainage and flooding problems in Maa but will also endanger their lives.

Fearful that another Cherry Hills tragedy might be in the offing if the Shrine Hills developers are allowed to continue with their project sans an independent slope stability study as well as the determination of an alternative drainage outlet instead of the congested Datu Loho creek.

Councilor Danny Dayanghirang said that technically the approval of the PALC is possible because the area has been classified under the Zoning Ordinance as a residential area.

Auto LPG Industy Summit In Davao City

Is liquefied petroleum gas for automobiles safe?

This and other questions regarding the use of LPG for automobiles will be tackled during the Philippine Auto-LPG Summit which will be held at Davao City's Waterfront Insular Hotel on November 27.

The Summit aims to inform investors, importers, manufacturers, suppliers, converters, distributors, motorists, service providers, consumer groups, local government units and other interested groups and individuals about the existing regulation laws on auto-LPG use.

This is already the second leg of the summit , the first one was held in Metro Manila for the Luzon stakeholders.

This is an ideal venue to disseminate information about the mandatory standards on automobile cylinders, the guidelines on registering vehicles using LPG and the requirements and procedures for the dispensing stations, Department of Trade and Industry senior trade and industry development specialist Engr. Alvin Aranas said.

Aranas said retailers and users of auto-LPG should be aware of the safety measures and regulations for the use and sale of auto LPG before selling their products.

Rainy Week For Davao City

As of today, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration has declared that there is as yet no tropical cyclone within the Philippine area of responsibility. However, Dabawenyos can expect rainy days for the rest of the week.

According to Pagasa, there will be cloudy skies, scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms for Mindanao and Palawan. The same thing goes for Northern and Central Luzon but with possible landslides and flashfloods over the eastern sections.

So get your colorful umbrellas, raincoats and jackets and have fun despite the rain.

Kidapawan City Beats Davao As Mindanao’s Richest City

Kidapawan City in North Cotabato is the richest among the cities and municipalities in Mindanao based on the 2003 poverty incidence data, besting General Santos City, Davao City and even Cagayan de Oro City.

“We were also surprised with the result of the survey but this can be blamed on the inflation rate in Davao and in the other cities and municipalities which were rated behind Kidapawan City,” National Statistical Coordination Board XI head Estrella R. Turingan said during a press conference held at the Philippine Information Agency yesterday.

NSCB defines poverty incidence refers to the proportion of population or number of families with per capita income below the poverty threshold. Turingan said this is the first time that they were able to get statistics up to the municipality level due to budget constraints. NSCB generates statistics on the provincial level every three years and the 2003 data is their newest available data.

“We were only able to afford conducting the survey up to the municipality level because the project was financed by the World Bank,” she said.

Kidapawan City is a first class city and is the capital of North Cotabato. It is known primarily as a tourist destination for those who want to climb Mt. Apo, the country’s highest peak.

With a poverty incidence of only 12.46%, Kidapawan City bested General Santos City (13.98%), Polomolok (14.29%), Davao City (14.94), Tagum City (15.42%), Cagayan de Oro City (15.50%), Koronadal City (16.18%), Digos City (18.22%), Padada (21.99%) and Hagonoy (22.60%).

Kidapawan City is the only area in North Cotabato that has made it to the top 10 richest cities and municipalities based on poverty incidence. The provinces of South Cotabato and Davao del Sur each had three areas in the Top 10 list.

“Poverty threshold is driven by the price of the basic necessities for the current year; it appears that the average income of Davao City’s residents are not enough to catch up with the price increases in the city,” Turingan said.

City Council Approves Tax Exemption For Jose Mari Chan Concert

The Davao City Council has approved the tax exemption of the Jose Mari Chan concert.

The concert is scheduled at the CAP Auditorium on November 29, 2008, 7:30 PM.

Tickets for the Jose Mari Chan concert are worth P1,500, P1,000 and P500.

Chan has become popular for his mellow crooning style. Among the songs he popularized are "Christmas In Our Hearts", "Constant Change", "Deep In My Heart", "Sing Me A Song Again Daddy" and "Please Be Careful With My Heart" among others.