Caracoles Samal Fest another election casualty?

The May 2010 election has resulted to various controversies from the lost friendships to the termination of the 86 City Hall-hired Commission on Election employees. The latest casualty of the election heat is a major tourism event which is expected to bring in revenues for some areas in the Davao Region including the Island Garden City of Samal and Davao City.
The yearly Caracoles Samal Festival, which is regularly held during the last Saturday of April every year, has been postponed from the original April 24 schedule to the May 21 to 23 this year.

“We are postponing the Caracoles Festival not because we were refused a permit but because we do not want politics to mar the celebration this year,” Caracoles Samal 2010 Marketing Director Jonallier M. Perez said. He added they do not want the Caracoles Festival to be muddled by the various election issues so the Davao del Norte Provincial Tourism Council and the Caracoles Samal 2010 Executive Committee are moving the Festival after the May 10 election.
IGaCoS Mayor Aniano Antalan called a press conference two weeks ago and said he did not give a permit to the holding of the Caracoles Festival this April “kasi baka magamit lang sa eleksyon.” Antalan was referring to Regional Tourism Council secretary Araceli Ayuste, one of the convenors of the Caracoles Festival. Antalan belongs to the Lakas-CMD while Ayuste, who is running for a seat in Davao del Norte, belongs to the Liberal Party.

In a letter dated February 20, IGACOS City Administrator Cleto Gales, Jr. turned down the application of Perez for a permit to conduct the Caracoles Festival in barangay Penaplata on April 23 to 25 since the city “has not included the Caracoles as one of its 2010 Festival Celebrations, as they expected it to be held in Davao City” where it was held last year.

Antalan said proper coordination was made with the local government of IGaCoS when Caracoles was started six years ago. The local government even contributed a counterpart amount as well as logistical support when it was first staged in Babak District, he added.

The original plan was to hold the Festival alternately in Babak, Samal and Kaputian, but the Department of Tourism staged it at the Waterfront Insular Hotel on the second year, and at the Sta. Ana Wharf last year.

“Substantial coordination from you with the city government, more than just a matter of protocol, should have been properly observed,” Gales said. Further in his letter, he said that the city government should have been involved during the planning, arrangement and preparation for the festival celebration.

The IGaCoS City Council said the Caracoles Festival is a private sector initiative that showcases the island’s creative culture through street dancing, beach sports competition, concerts and fashion showcases.

Perez said the local government of Davao del Norte has allocated P500 thousand for the Caracoles Festival. The private sector has however raised more money for the event, he added.

The money allocated for the Caracoles is however cost effective, the City Council admitted, since it is one way of promoting the island city as a tourism destination and attracting more investments in order to uplift the local government’s stability.
But even if the Caracoles Festival has been postponed after the elections, the city is already set to lose several opportunities that would have made the island more attractive to expatriates and foreigners.

This month’s celebration of the Caracoles Festival would have coincided with the Silver Anniversary celebration of the Philippine Retirement Authority. PRA planned to bring in a hundred or so expatriates to the island during the Festival, to promote Samal as a destination for foreign retirees.

“Yes the celebration is affected by the postponement so we decided to shelve the celebration and instead invite people to the head office for the anniversary celebration on June 23,” PRA regional chief Jaime Llames said.

Ayuste earlier said the Caracoles Festival mean more income for the various resorts in Samal since all their food and drinks went out of stock as early as 8 in the evening during the previous year when the Festival was held in Samal.

Mt. Apo trail map now available for free

Climbers and tourists should not be disappointed with the temporary closure of Mt. Apo to tourists during the Holy Week because there are other things to see and do as shown by the new Mt. Apo Trail Map.

“The closure of Mt. Apo need not mean you can’t enjoy its other attractions,” Department of Tourism XI director Sonia Garcia said. The DOT, which is in the forefront of the Mt. Apo clean-up, discovered that Lake Venado was in dire need of a major clean-up, thus the decision to close the mountain to climbers temporarily.

Garcia said Mt. Apo is not only the highest peak in the Philippines at 9,692 feet but it is also a destination that is truly Holy. She said visitors can get more information about the mountain and its attractions by getting the free Mt. Apo Trail map from their office.

You can reach Davao City, where Mt. Apo is located, by land through the Philtranco Bus from Pasay City in Manila, by sea through SuperFerry or by air through any of the airlines which can charge from P2,000 to P7,000 for a one way ticket. Proceed to Kapatagan in Davao del Sure by bus or private car, and register at the site for P500 per climber.

Those who simply want to spend some quiet time during the Holy Week can visit Forest Springs, a mountain resort located in Kapatagan, Davao del Sur which is one of the jump-off point when climbing Mt. Apo. The resort offers mountain cabins good for up to five persons, with bathing facilities and kitchen. The resort has a campsite and picnic area.

Kapatagan is also the location of Bahay ni Kublai which overlooks the mountain. This is another masterpiece from Kublai, a Davao-based sculptor and artists who designed the very notable giant sculptures at the Davao International Airport and the Davao City People’s Park.

And while you’re in Kapatagan, you can also visit Camp Sabros which does not only provide a breath-taking view of the mountain, but also offers one of the longest zip lines in the country at 400 meters.

Garcia said those who are interested to know more about culture can visit the Kalimudan Bagobo Cultural Village in barangay Tibolo, Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur, just at the foot of Mt. Apo. The Cultural Village provides a majestic view with an elevation of 2,000 meters above sea level.

“We are also proud of the Boulders of Mt. Apo which is another exhilarating feature of the mountain,” she said.

Samal Caracoles Festival Launched

Caracoles Festival

Samal Island is cashing in on the summer heat made more unbearable by the El Nino phenomenon by offering more than their cool, white sand beaches. This time, tourists are expected to get enamored to Samal Island from sundown to sunrise through the Caracoles Festival which is usually being held during the last Saturday of April.

The Davao Region Tourism Council supported by the Department of Trade and Industry officially opened the Summer Fun in the Sun program at the Gaisano Mall of Davao yesterday and presented the 2010 Caracoles Festival to the public with a sampling of the creative marine-life inspired dances by the Mugnapak Dancers.

“This is already the 3rd Fun in the Sun for the region and this should send a positive signal to the public that all tourism destinations here are ready to provide them with all the fun they can get under the sun,” Regional Tourism Council secretary Araceli Ayuste said.

The highlight of the “Fun in the Sun” program is the Caracoles Festival which will be back to Samal Island after being held at the Sta. Ana Wharf in 2009. The Festival will be held specifically at the Penaplata Elementary School in Samal Island and the fun begins at 6 o’clock in the evening.

“We expect the Caracoles Festival as well as the overall Fun in the Sun program to bring in lots of income for establishments in Samal Island,” Ayuste said. She encouraged everyone who wanted a taste of island living to join them for the Caracole Festival as it is guaranteed to be a non-stop party for the guests.

She said the program is a continuation of the five-day Gulf Dive so it is expected to be a pretty long summer holiday for those visiting Samal Island. But even those who just want to stay overnight without checking in on one of the resorts can still enjoy the Caracoles as they don’t need to sleep all night.

The Caracoles Festival is one of the four Davao Region festivals included in DOT’s extensive promotion including Kadayawan Festival in Davao City, the Musikahan Festival in Tagum, Davao del Norte and the Bulawanon Festival in Compostela Valley.

Davao business sector confident to benefit from foreign trade agreements

Davao business sector is confident to benefit from the full implementation of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) which effected January 1st of 2010.

Former Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII) president Simeon Marfori said Dabawenyos, and even the whole country, can expect to feel birth pains from the agreement in the long term.

Marfori said it took the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) almost a decade to implement the world’s third largest regional agreement that is expected to cover almost two billion people from the areas covered by member countries of the ACFTA including China and the six founding ASEAN members--Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

The two other agreements being that of the European Union (EU) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

“Free trade will always be initially painful since it will make things a bit different from what we have become accustomed to economy-wise, as we will be competing with products from the other areas in terms of production, quality and price,” he said.

Marfori, who has officially turned over the Chamber presidency to Engr. Robert Quinto last December, said this would mean equal footing for all competitors not only in the local market but especially in the ASEAN market.

After the adjustment period, he said, Davao can expect an overall positive effect from the agreement.

“The best that we can expect from the ACFTA is low prices of consumer goods,” he said.

Davao City, he added, has a competitive advantage over the other countries when it comes to agriculture, mining, services and manpower.

Dabawenyos should however realize that the key to being competitive is to produce products which we can produce at the least possible cost so we can sell it at a cheaper rate compared to our competitors, he said.

“It means we should not insist on producing onion as an agricultural product if we incur a higher cost than say China, or some other countries that can produce the commodity at a lower cost,” he said.

Marfori said Davao already has a winner in its banana products for import, both the upland and the lowland. There are other fruits and crops we have not really fully explored in the export market including pineapples and pomelos, he added.

As a result of the ACFTA, the founding countries of ASEAN are required to eliminate tariffs and other investment barriers on up to 90 percent of products from textiles, to vegetable oils and steel, effective January 1 this year.

Exempted from this are later ASEAN members including Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar, which will only cut the tariffs gradually until they totally eliminate tariff by 2015.

But while the agreement is a shout-out to the whole world that ASEAN is open for business, not all countries are ready for freer trade. Even the agreement itself has been criticized for lack of a rigorous mechanism when it comes to settling disputes, he said.

Some ASEAN countries are also fearful of China’s effects on their economies, considering the low price of products from the said area even before the agreement took effect.

On the other hand, Quinto said when it comes to competition under the ACFTA, “we are at an advantage because we are an exporting country and our agribusiness products do not really compete against China.”

However, Quinto admitted that "we will be the loser when it comes to the manufacturing sector because no one can beat China when it comes to price." He admitted that we do not face any chance of winning against China when it comes to the production of microchips.

“But with or without the removal of tariff or the implementation of the Free Trade, we will always be a winner when the Philippine Peso has a cheaper conversion rate as against the US dollar as it would make our products cheaper in the world market,” he said.

Fears about the effects of the ACFTA implementation are valid but the agreement will have different impacts on the ASEAN members. Grassroots level farmers in South East Asia are expected to benefit from the opportunity to export agricultural products to China under very competitive terms, thanks to the ACFTA Early Harvest Programme.

However, these very same farmers will now have to compete with imported products from China that are more competitive. Indonesia has indicated this nervousness earlier when several associations asked for the temporary exemption of eleven additional industries from the agreement to include tools, transportation, steel and iron, plastic, electronics, footwear, food and beverages, forestry and plantations, machinery, creative industries and downstream chemical industry.

Marfori said while the full implementation has started early this month, he doubts they will be able to fully implement the new tariff rates since he believes there is as yet no Implementing Rules and Regulations and even the Bureau of Customs has not yet released the list of new tariff rates.

“This means there is still time to prepare and to do that, both the government and the private sector should work together to make sure that the agriculture sector is given the right training and technology,” he said.

While there has been little preparation time for the private sector, he said, we have been more or less prepared by the World Trade Organization which is a grander agreement. The private sector has a lot of things to do like getting more investments. The government too, he said, should now work closely with the private sector so they can get their acts together.

The ACFTA is seen as the largest agreement yet in terms of population. It is expected to create total trade of about 1.23 trillion dollars and regional Gross Domestic Product of about two trillion dollars. But more than the figures, the agreement is expected to bolster trade between ASEAN and China at a dramatic pace, considering that this is already happening even before the ACFTA, with China’s share in the total trade of ASEAN increasing from 2.1 percent in 1994 to seven percent in 2003.

The ASEAN’s largest trading partner at present is the United States with 14 percent total trade, followed by Japan with 13.7 percent, European Union with 11.5 percent and now China with seven percent. This is expected to grow further with the implementation of the ACFTA.

Davao City is expected to take part in this growth, with the help of its export products, with agriculture on top of the list. The city also has an existing sisterhood agreement with Nanning, and it considers this already a step towards the right direction, hopefully leading to some benefits when ACFTA is finally fully implemented in the real world

LTO XI vows to implement Citizen’s Charter Program

Land Transportation Office XI officer-in-charge Assistant Regional Director Atty. Jesus Joseph Zozobrado III yesterday vowed to implement the Citizen’s Charter and Road Safety Advocacy Program in all offices of the LTO in Region XI.

The Citizen’s Charter and Road Safety Program was formally launched in Region XI yesterday, December 15, at the Grand Menseng Hotel, with LTO Assistant Secretary Arturo Lomibao in attendance.

“The Citizen’s Charter may as well be the center piece of LTO’s operations as it is based on our vision of establishing a well-developed transportation system that will play a vital role in improving the lives of the Filipino people,” Zozobrado said.

And since travel is an unavoidable part of daily life, it is LTO’s goal to provide the people with a more viable, efficient and secured travel, he said. But that is only part of LTO’s mandate, which requires us to be in close contact with the very people that aim to serve, he added.

To make the public benefit from government service particularly LTO’s services, he said, the agency is bent on making sure that the public is able to accomplish their tasks in a fast and efficient manner and the Citizen’s Charter plays a big role in accomplishing this.

The Citizen’s Charter is being implemented in support of the Anti-Red Tape Law otherwise known as Republic Act 9485. This requires the government agencies, to make known to the public the necessary steps, documents and payment needed to accomplish certain transaction involving their offices.

Zozobrado said the global efforts being exerted for Road Safety Advocacy is overwhelming but LTO XI can do its part by making sure that all transactions involving their office is properly managed and implemented without unnecessary delays.

Street dance to stop juvenile delinquency in Davao

Davao City’s local hip hop dance community Groove Unlimited Dance Community will pitch in to keep street children away from becoming juvenile delinquents by teaching them how to dance starting January next year.

Groove Unlimited, an umbrella organization of hip hop dancers who share their passion for dancing, as founded by Bryan Grandeza and Cristopher Nellas in 2005.

“We were tapped by the local government to teach street dancing to children from the different barangays of Davao City,” Grandeza said. Aside from being a hip hop dancer and choreographer, Grandeza is also a Muay Thai black belter and represented the country (along with his brother Steve Grandez) to the World Kickboxing Championship in Dublin, Ireland last month.

The “PLDT-Smart Smartkids ---Samahang Ayaw sa Riot 1st Street Dance Competition in Davao City” project, which was launched at Taboan, MTS in Matina Monday, will run from January next year and will culminate in a street dance competition during the Araw ng Dabaw celebration on March 16, 2010.

“This is a community response to the country’s problem on juvenile delinquency and is actually a preventive program,” PLDT-Smart Foundation Executive Director for Juvenile Rehabilitation Anthony Pangilinan said during the project launch Monday, December 14. Pangilinan said street dancing is one way to keep children on the street for a good reason.

He said the community should present an alternative to these children instead of just blaming them for becoming juveniles. It all started when PLDT Chairperson Manny Pangilinan realized the increasing number of young children on the streets.

This led to the establishment of Bahay Pag-Asa, a P40 million facility for children in conflict with the law located in Dasmarinas, Cavite. Pangilinan said this is a true picture of what the community can do if it works together, since PLDT Smart Foundation allotted only about P15 million for the project while P25 million was contributed by the local community.

Grandeza said they have committed to train children from seven barangays. Among the hip hop groups that will help train these children include Bandila Fusion, JAZ Up Danz Crew, 411, infinity, FACES, Alternative Groove, Faces of Groove and Groove Unlimited.

City Social Services Development Office head Maria Luisa Bermudo said the city is very grateful to the support being given by PLDT-Smart Foundation to provide a solution to juvenile delinquency in the city, considering the existence of Republic Act 9344 or An Act Establishing A Comprehensive Juvenile Justice and Welfare System which prohibits the imprisonment of children 15 years old and below.

Mindanao Heart Fund needs more funds to help heart patients

Over 200 pediatric and adult heart patients from all over Mindanao are waiting for simple heart treatments, from simple 2-D echocardiograms to open heart operations, to be conducted by the Mindanao Heart Center. However, these patients may have to wait longer than necessary until enough funds are sourced for their treatments.

For one, the one year old Dr. Gerry Cunanan Mindanao Heart Fund is not even a full-pledged foundation yet so it could not yet avail of financial and other support from local and foreign donors. The Fund only has P200,000 in its coffers, and still lacks P800,000 to meet the Securities and Exchange requirement for those wanting to establish a foundation.

“The most we can do right now given our resources is to help two children and 2 adult heart patients undergo a 2-D Echo examination every month,” Fund Board of Trustee Dr. Mark Maruya said. A 2-D echo examination costs P1,100 so for that and other related services alone, the Fund needs at least P10,000 a month to sustain the simple services it is providing the people.

Maruya, who appeared frustrated about not being able to help as many heart patients as possible due to funding constraints, said they are having a hard time raising the remaining money needed to become a foundation which would open doors of opportunity for the Fund abroad when it comes to financial and other donations.

“It is useless to establish a Fund or a Foundation such as this if we could not help these people by operating on them,” he said. Maruya said they have already written different government agencies and most of these offices have contributed P10,000 each.

However, he said, the donation only sums up to a small amount not even enough to comply with SEC requirements for a foundation. First we need help so we can be declared a foundation already and ask for donations abroad, he said. However, he added, we also need more so we can provide 2-D echo, surgery and other treatments for indigent patients.

While the Mindanao Heart Center of the Davao Medical Center pays for the personnel expenses, he said, the supplies being used are on consignment basis which should be paid after being consumed.

“We are pleading to all those who have the heart and the means to help finance our organization so we can help more people suffering from heart problems,” Maruya said.