SM City’s newest premier mall in the Davao City, which is set to open on September 28 this year, takes malling to a new level with the adoption of green architecture components in the construction of the SM City Lanang Premier.
“We have installed a rain-catchment system capable of handling 550 cubic meters of water in accordance with the new city ordinance requiring a rainwater catchment system for all new constructions,” SM City Lanang Premier mall manager Clarice Lapeňa said during a press conference held at SM City Ecoland Monday, in preparation for the September 28 opening of the new mall.
Ordinance No. 0298-09, series of 2009, which mandates the proper harvest, storage and use of the city’s rainwater, was authored by former councilor Leonardo Avila. Establishments that will construct rainwater catchments in their projects are set to receive tax rebates from the government while violators will be penalized.
Avila earlier said that the rainwater catchment system will help mitigate flooding and canal erosion in the urban areas. Lapeňa said the RCS will prevent the overloading of the creek near the area.
The mall has also adopted other green architecture components such as the use of glass pavers in the open parking area. Glass pavers are considered an environment-friendly option as they are recycled from glass bottles. With proper sandblasting, the glass pavers become slip-resistant and provide maximum water absorption characteristics. The use of glass pavers in the mall’s open parking space results to minimum water run-off, Lapeňa said.
LED lights, which are more efficient and cost-effective since they last longer than the ordinary light bulbs, are used throughout the mall. Louvers were also used to deflect and block daylight, making the indoor cooling system more efficient.
And to minimize the carbon monoxide emission, SM City has installed park finders in the parking lot. The gadget will help drivers maximize their fuel use as they will easily determine the availability of a parking space when there is a green light, or the red light if it is occupied.
Davao City is one of the most livable cities in Asia. This is the city of durian, the King of Fruits. This is where the Philippine Eagle soars. Get your daily dose of news, features, and issues that matter straight from Davao City.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
JCI Senate Phils throws in support for responsible mining
Davao City-The JCI Senate Philippines yesterday came out in the open
and declared its support for responsible mining in the Philippines even as the
Chamber of Mines disputed adverse claims that the country’s mining industry
caused the degradation of some areas in Palawan.
“JCI is coming out in the open on its advocacy on responsible mining,”
Zamboanga del Sur Governor and JCI Senate Philippines National President said
during the JCI-sponsored Forum on Responsible Mining held at the Grand Menseng
Hotel in Davao City.
The Forum attracted more than a thousand participants coming from
various sectors of society including the pro-mining, anti-mining, government,
media, the academe and advocacy groups.
“The falling of the trees in Palawan is not due to mining but the
continuing harvest of timber for domestic consumption and the conversion of
forest land for agriculture development,” was the declaration made by Chamber
of Mines of the Philippines Chairman Art Disini when he gave an overview of
Philippine Mining.
Disini also blamed the continuous establishment of human settlements to
accommodate the increasing population of the province (which has an annual growth
rate of 3.5%) for the degradation of Palawan’s forests.
He also debunked claims made by non government agencies that mining
will compete with Palawan’s agriculture saying that “rice and corn farming in
Southern Palawan is not commercially feasible due to the lateritic soil” in the
area. The high iron and nickel content of laterites, he added, made soil
nutrient poor.
Disini said claims that the mining industry will have a great impact on
Palawan’s tourism is not true since “the existing large scale mines in Palawan
are too far away from the ecotourism sites to have any impact on tourism.” He
said there are no large scale mining companies operating inside the key
protected areas of Palawan.
Father Joel Tabora, President of the Ateneo de Davao University,
however said that when one speaks of responsible mining, it should be discussed
in relation to agriculture and this was not taken up during the Forum. Tabora, who said thousands of hectares of
rice farms will be affected by mining because mining activities will affect the
hydrology of the area. He also said that any mining forum should tackle its
effects on the environment and on the indigenous people.
Chamber of Mines of the Philippines VP for Communications Rocky
Dimaculangan said they believe that a mining company is deemed to have
subscribed to environment protection once it has complied with the government
requirements on Environmental Impact Assessment, Environmental Compliance
Certificate, conducts reforestation project, conducts water quality monitoring
and similar activities.
It can be recalled that the Ateneo also previously sponsored a mining
summit which became controversial because it invited only pro-mining groups. Tabora however said that the Ateneo
will continue to hold forums on mining in the future but will surely invite the
Chamber of Mines.
DOE conducts public consultation in Davao for safe renewable energy dev't.
The Department of Energy (DOE) conducted Thusday last week a public
consultation in Davao City for the proposed new department circular
appropriately titled “Renewable Energy Safety, Health and Environment Rules and
Regulations (RESHERR)” which will hopefully be approved before the end of the
year.
“The new circular, which is yet to be approved by the DOE Secretary, is
part of DOE’s proactive stance in ensuring the safety of the operations of
renewable energy sources,” Renewable Energy Management Bureau (REMB) Director
Mario C. Marasigan said. There is an existing rules and regulation, he added,
but it only covers geothermal energy so the proposed circular will expand on
the sale law and will cover all renewable energy sources including hydro,
geothermal, biomass, wind, solar and soon ocean energy.
Marasigan said this is a reminder to all those involved in the renewable energy industry to be ready for any eventuality or emergency that may challenge their operations in the long term. He said it is practical to update the old rules and regulations since geothermal used to be under a different bureau before, but is now placed under the jurisdiction of the REMB.
The proposed rules and regulations comes as a result of the enactment into law of Republic Act 9513 or the Renewable Energy Act in 2008. The new circular aims to “ensure the adequate safety and protection against hazards to health, life and property as well as pollution of air, land and water from Renewable Energy operations,” he added.
The final consultation is scheduled in Manila next week, after which a consolidation of all the concerns and consultation results will be made by the Bureau. After which, it will be submitted to the DOE secretary for approval. Once published, the new circular will have the force of law.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Davao cooking lessons at TRUST Depot
photo courtesy of Ken |
The series of cooking lessons started last Monday, June 25 and will run for several more week until the middle of July this year. Booboo is an authority in Davao City when it comes to fondant cakes but more than her expertise in that area, she has proven to be a witty lecturer of sorts. I wouldn't even use lecturer because she delivers her cooking lessons in a funny informative way, giving you bits and pieces of her domestic life in the process.
The 3,000-square meter TRUST Depot is not only a hardware that comes complete with all the construction materials you need but it has also become a multipurpose store that sells school supplies and yes, baking equipment!
If you want to try your hands in baking or cooking, then catch Booboo in one of her lessons. But if you just want to get some goodies for the kids and the whole family without a sweat then contact Mommy's Kitchen at 09223168118 (SUN) or 092139036778 (SMART) for your orders. Choose from the following yummy cupcakes that melt in your mouth---chocolate cupcake, chocolate chip cupcake, banana cupcake, banana oatmeal cupcake, red velvet cupcake, carrot cupcake.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Air Asia now flies Davao-Clark Daily
Davao City is looking forward to a more robust tourism industry with the start of Air Asia’s daily Davao-Clark flights. Beginning March 28, Air Asia will from Davao to Clark and vice versa, two times a day.
As a fitting launch for its Davao-Clark and Kalibo-Clark flights, Air Asia has allotted up to 20,000 for its promotional fare, good for travel from March 28, 2012 to January 31, 2013.
“This is very good for Davao’s tourism,” Department of Tourism XI Art Boncato said. Boncato earlier hinted about the plans of Air Asia to open up its Davao-Clark flight after it got its airline carrier operating certificate.
Air Asia CEO Marian Hontiveros said she is confident about the potential of Davao City as a tourism destination.
The opening up of direct flights between Davao and Clark is expected to speed up sisterhood talks between the two cities, and in effect increase passenger traffic between them.
With the entry of Air Asia, there are now three airlines offering Davao-Clark flights. Air Philippines have recently started its Davao-Clark route while Cebu Pacific also has a Davao-Clark route albeit on a limited basis.
In the meantime, Davao City is preparing for three international air summits later this year including the Asia Air Access Forum, will be participated in by regulatory bodies and airline officials who will present their plans for the region, the Airline CEO Summit where the Chief Executive Officers of the various airlines will discuss plans to connect the BIMP-EAGA (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines-East Asean Growth Area), and the Air Network Forum which is a venue for business to business interaction among the industry players.
“We are expecting around 200 participants mostly tourism players and the civil aviation authorities,” Boncato said. Other countries involved in the BIMP-EAGA will also be invited including China, Japan and Australia.
Expected to participate in the Airline Summit are Garuda Airlines of Indonesia, Malaysia Airline, MAS Wings, Royal Brunei Airline and the airlines operating in the Philippines including PAL, Cebu Pacific, Zest Airline, Air Philippines and Sea Air.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Ms. Universe runner-up Shamcey Supsup at PAL Interclub launch
Ms. Universe runner-up Shamcey Supsup just made the Philippine Airlines' (PAL) announcement of the start of the PAL Interclub at Marco Polo Hotel, more interesting. PAL Interclub, which is the longest and the oldest running team golf tournament in the country, expects 1,500 participants in
the two divisions, the Senior Division which will start on February 16, and the Regular Men's Division which will start on February 22.
PAL vice president for marketing support Felix Cruz said the golf tournament is expected to pour in up to P60 million to the city's coffers in terms of the plane fare, accommodation, meals, souvenirs, caddy, shopping and other related expenses of the golfers and their supporters.
"This is a big boost to Davao City's economy, aside from the fact that it will promote the city as an ideal place for sports tourism," he said.
Supsup admitted she was never the sporty type as she only played piko, taguan, tumbang preso and other games popular in the rural areas while she was growing up in General Santos City. However, she said, it was the same discipline practiced by the athletes which helped her surmount life's challenges, including the Ms. Universe search.
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