Four very talented finalists from "The Voice of the Philippines" namely Thor, Eva, Radha and Kim rocked the SM City Annex during the first day of the Mall's 3-day sale scheduled from October 18 to 20, 2013.
Both Kim Mainit and Eva are from Bohol and they expressed their interest in performing for the benefit of the earthquake victims in Bohol and Cebu. Eva may be one of the oldest in the group but she is definitely one of the most charming and talented as shown by the reaction of the crowd when she started belting out her Whitney Houston songs.
"It feels so cool being with the team and then watching talents as young as Kim (who is 17 years old) and established ones like Radha and Thor and I am there just looking on," says Eva who admitted that her family comes first but since the demand for her talent is hot thanks to The Voice of the Philippines, then wants to strike while the iron is hot. She said it was her husband who convinced her to join the Blind Auditions.
Kim showed members of the media and the bloggers group during the press conference why she was chosen by Coach Leah. She admitted that as Radha has advised her, she is now going deeper into her music, knowing the origins of the songs that influenced her idols.
The audience went wild when Thor, who hails from Panabo City, wowed the crowd with "Bukas Na Lang Kita Mamahalin" and Stevie Wonder's "Lately". A former student of the Ateneo de Davao University, Thor said he has been staying in Manila for years and it is good to be back home.
Thor and Eva may not have made it to the Top 4 but with their obvious talent and charisma, they will definitely be on stage, television and the radios for a long time.
Dabawenyos who want to do their early Christmas shopping can still catch SM City Davao's 3-Day Sale today and tomorrow. If you stay a little longer, then you also get the chance to see Eric Santos at 6:30 PM tonight during his mini concert at the Annex.
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.
Saturday, October 19, 2013
RXI’s short docu wins 2nd prize in BFAR Nat’l competition
Lakbay
Dagat, a short documentary created by Jay-Ar M. Aringo and his team from the
University of Mindanao, got the second place in the Bureau of Fisheries and
Natural Resources (BFAR)XI MuSEA, SEAnema, Likhang Kabataan Para sa
Yamang-Pangisdaan MTV and Short Documentary Contest.
Two
entries from the region made it to the national finals including Agos by Lanika
Frances B. Villamor of the Holy Cross of Davao College. The top spot went to
Region 6 for its entry “Lapus-Lapus” while third place went to Region 4-A for
its entry “Tikin: Sa Akong Paglingap”.
“This
only shows that the region’s youth sector is very talented; they are a very
strong force when it comes to informing the people about our fish conservation
efforts,’ BFAR XI Regional Director Fatma Idris said yesterday immediately
after being informed of the result.
Three
winners were chosen from the region, two of which made it to the national
finals. The entries of the ten national finalists were uploaded to BFAR’s
Facebook page(www.facebook.com/BFARFishCon)
for Online Voting. The Facebook Likes constituted 20% of the total score while
80% came from the scores given by the panel of judges.
Friday, October 18, 2013
Davao joins World Vasectomy Day
At
this time when almost everything looks at age decisively, it is only in
Vasectomy when age actually does not matter. But unfortunately, only less than
one percent of Dabawenyos who use a contraceptive method prefer Non Scalpel
Vasectomy (NSV).
“We
are pushing for NSV because it is one of the most cost effective Reproductive
Health Program available to the local government,” Assistant City Health Officer
Dr. Samuel Cruz said Thursday during the iSpeak media forum.
He
said age does not matter on vasectomy because what matters is the couple’s
decision to plan their family. Thus, even and 18-year old guy can already get
NSV if he and his wife thinks they have enough children already.
Cruz
said NSV is one of the cheapest contraceptive available and yet only 15 local
government units all over the country offer this to their constituents, with
only two LGUs here accredited by a world vasectomy organization.
Only
Davao and Cebu cities have been accredited by the worldvasectory.org to
participate in the World Vasectomy Day on October 18 which targets at least
1000 vasectomies across 25 countries in 25 hours.
“Less
than 15 LGUs have a vasectomy program for their constituents,” Cruz said. Among
the accredited doctors in Davao are Doctors Samuel Cruz, Miguel Ababon, Titus
Antonio, Laredo Rabang and Ashley Lopez.
Cruz said it is definitely not the cost that has kept the country’s various
LGUs to implement a vasectomy program since it is very cheap at a cost of less
than P100 per vasectomy. The only things needed, aside from a well-trained
doctor, are bandaid, one amp anaesthesia and betadine.
Perception
is an important part of a family planning program and most LGUs may not
consider Vasectomy a priority compared to other methods like pills and
Bilateral Tubal Ligation (BTL).
This
is ironic, he said, considering that up to 60% of men in the United States who
are at least 35 years old are vasectomized and they pay between P20,000 to
P100,000 for the procedure. This is so cheap in the Philippines and yet not all
LGUs are taking advantage of the program, he added.
Davao
City has implemented the No Scalpel Vasectomy (NSV) Program since 2008. A total
of 300 Dabawenyos have availed of the NSV since then but more are expected this
year. But even before its formal
implementation, a group of doctors who went to Caraga in Davao Region to train
on NSV had a hard time getting volunteers for the program.
“This
needs behavioral change and acceptance; family planning is not solely for women
but men should also participate and the best way is through NSV,” he said.
The
city shoulders the P2,500 payment per person for the whole procedure and
another P2,500 is provided to the volunteer to compensate for the loss of
income during the vasectomy day. “But this is not the main selling point of our
Program,” Mr. Cruz said.
Moises
F. Villacorta, Information Officer of the Commission on Population (PopCom) XI
said Dava0 had a 50% rating in the latest 2008 National Demographic Health
Survey and the highest method used at 60% contraceptive prevalence rate was
oral contraceptives. He said NSV got a prevalence rate of less than 10%.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Bosch opens Davao hub
Bosch officially marked its foray in Mindanao as it opened the Bosch regional business hub along Roxas Avenue in Davao City Monday. This is the first hub for Bosch in Mindanao. It opened its Cebu business hub last May to serve the Visayas market.
"Davao has strengthened its position as the financial and services hub of Southern Philippines and this presents new market opportunities for Bosch's diverse portfolio of solutions," Bosch Philippines Managing Director Joseph Hong said.
A local presence in Davao, he said, will enable us to effectively serve our customers across the Mindanao region including the provinces of Cagayan de Oro, Surigao and Butuan.
Hong said the new business hub will serve as a showroom for various Bosch products including their power tools, security and safety systems. It will also serve as a technical training facility for their distributors and other stakeholders.
Bosch is also set to open today its second Bosch Diesel Service in Bajada. Bosch has two Bosch Car Service workshops and two Bosch Diesel Service centers in Davao City and Davao del Norte.
Coffee for peace, and business too
What
started out as an effort to promote peace in Mindanao eventually turned into a
lucrative business both for the peace builders but also for the thousands of
indigenous people in the island as they strive to meet the increasing demand
for Arabica coffee in the world market.
“We
went to the insurgency areas with the intention of teaching them about peace
but we found it difficult to teach them about peace without first addressing
the basic needs of the people,” Coffee for Peace, Inc. Marketing Manager Dawn
Albert Pates told BusinessWorld.
Since
2008, Coffee for Peace has been providing training to the tribal communities at
Mt. Matutum in Polomolok, South Cotabato, Mt. Apo in Kidapawanm North Cotabato
and Mt. Kitanglad in Bukidnon.
Almost
all of the coffee trees in the said areas have been wiped out by the Coffee
Leaf Rust in the 1800s but to their surprise, the peacebuilders saw coffee
trees still growing in the mountains of Mt. Matutum in 2008. They got some
samples and sent it for cupping to one of Canada’s biggest coffee companies.
“They
were not even aware we had Arabica Coffee in the Philippines but they liked the
sample so much as it was of high quality,” Ms. Pates said. She added there is
actually no coffee variety native to the Philippines although “we can create
our own flavor depending on the soil where it is grown.’
There
are four major varieties of coffee including Arabica, Robusta, Liberica and
Excelsa. The Kapeng Barako from Batangas falls under Liberica variety.
Mindanaoans however refer to any coffee produced in the mountains as “native”
regardless of the variety.
Majority
or 80% of the coffee being produced in Davao and in the country is Robusta
since this is the variety being bought by companies like Robina and Nestle for
their 3in1 coffee products. While Robusta is good for blending, she said, we
are encouraging farmers to plant more Arabica since it is premium quality
coffee that has less caffeine, less acidic and has a high 70% demand in the
global market.
“We
have an estimated 1,300 hectares of Arabica coffee from our trained farmers,”
she said. Coffee for Peace now has trained a total of 27 tribal communities
mostly from the B’laan tribe and 972 farmers.
“But
we do not buy coffee from the farmers unless they have undergone peacebuilding
training because we do not want development to cause disintegration.” The
training includes coffee plantation management, peace and reconciliation and
financial management. The trainees are not allowed to graduate unless they can
produce quality coffee, preferably following the wet process as it is cleaner
and more flavorful.
She
said the country has not been exporting Arabica Coffee for the past 27 years
but they had a breakthrough last 2011 when they exported Arabica from Mt.
Matutum to Canada. “But Level Ground (importer) from Canada wanted 50 tons a
month and we could only deliver 600 kilos,” she said.
Ms.
Pates admitted that they could not even supply the local demand, much more the
huge demand from the international market. They also have inquiries from Japan
and Europe but they could not commit as of now until they see the first
harvests beginning this year.
Coffee
for Peace started training the communities in 2008 and they started planting only
in 2009. With a gestation period of three years, she added, we hope to see
their harvest by 2013 and 2014. She said there are existing coffee areas
already so what they do is just rejuvenate the areas so that they produce
better quality and yield. Following the correct process, each tree can produce
3 to 5 kilos; otherwise, it would only produce less than a kilo of coffee.
“The
good thing about Arabica is that it can be intercropped with strawberry and
carrots so the farmers have other sources of income while waiting for the
coffee trees to bear fruit,” she said. And since the Arabica variety requires
only 25% of sunlight, they also encourage the farmers to plant more trees and
contribute to reforestation.
She
said the crops planted alongside the coffee trees will influence the taste of
coffee. They have buyers who ask them if their coffee was planted next to
strawberries since they had a fruity taste, she added.
Ms.
Pates said research and development is very crucial for the development of the
coffee industry. As of now, the government has no model farm for coffee
intercropped with other fruit trees. However, Dr. Rafael T. Mercado of the
Department of Agriculture said coffee now has the government’s full attention
due to recent developments. It is now considered one of the sunrise industries
because of the emergence of coffee shops and the increasing demand in the local
and world market.
She
said since most of our coffee farms are in the mountainous areas we can easily
match Ethiopia which is the top producer of coffee and the top producer of
coffee for Starbucks. However, she said, we have to start right and teach our
farmers to plant coffee the right way.
What
makes Coffee for Peace unique is that it uses the business of coffee to promote
peace in the communities. More importantly, it buys coffee at fair trade prices
which means the farmers are actually paid the price of coffee that is
prevailing in the market.
“As
of 2012 the market price of Arabica was only P80-P90 per kilo but we were
already buying from our farmers at P150 per kilo which is the fair trade
price,” she said. We also train them how to sort their produce since it gets a
higher market price. If they know how to price their products “hindi sila
maloloko nga mga traders and middlemen.”
Coffee
for Peace teach the coffee farmers to become businessmen and they do not give
dole outs. Instead, they help tap government and other support when it comes to
the provision of seedlings for the farmers.
She
said that since the trainings, the communities are more motivated but they do
not impose on them. Their houses have improved a lot, from light to heavy
materials and they now have more initiative in seeking ways to develop the
community, she said.
“Through
our trainings the coffee farmers learn how to negotiate, mediate and solve
problems,” Ms. Pates said. Our peace is profound—we do not seek to convert them
but we do not hide the fact we carry the cross, she added.
The
company’s aim is to make coffee an iconic product of peace so that when people
drink coffee they are conscious where it came from and how the coffee was
grown. Coffee for Peace has been operating a showroom for five years now and
aside from its popularity as a source of organic coffee, the shop has also
become a gathering place for missionaries and development workers. After all,
Coffee for Peace is a product of the peacebuilding efforts of two Filipino
missionaries from Canada who has since relocated to the Philippines.
Monday, October 7, 2013
SM to bring Science Discovery Center to Jinjiang, China by 2014
SM
Prime Holdings, Inc. is set to bring the Science Discovery Center to Jinjiang,
China by 2014. This will be the third SM Science Discovery Center in the
country and the first outside the Philippines.
Science
Discovery Center head Arturo C. Carballo said this is part of SM Prime’s plans
to have 10 malls in China by 2014. There are six SM Malls occupying a total
space of 797,545 square meters in China with specific locations in Xiamen City
in Fujian, Jinjiang City in Fujian, Chengdu City in Sichuan, Jiahe Road in
Xiamen City, Suzhou City in Jiangsu and the latest in Chongqing City which
opened in December 2012.
The
first SM Science Discovery Center opened at the SM Mall of Asia in Manila in
2007 while the second Center opened in Davao City’s SM Premier this month.
“This
is one of the most modern science centers with a Planetarium powered by the
Digistar 5 projector system; the full-dome Planetarium alone costs P700,000,”
Mr. Carballo said. This is even more modern than most Science Centers in the
United States which only uses the Digistar 3 system, he added.
The
Davao Science Discovery Center occupies a 2,000-square meter space but compared
to the 158 seating capacity for MOA’s Planetarium, Davao’s Planetarium can only
seat up to 80 people. But while the Center in Manila has only 9 galleries,
Davao has up to 10 interactive galleries on geology, Biology, the Body,
Climate, Energy, Transportation, Technology, Engineering and The Future.
“The
Science Discovery Center in Davao is expected to cater not only to Dabawenyos
but also to the whole of Mindanao,” he said.
Based on their studies on the Mindanao market, they have decided to
lower down the entrance fees from P330 for walk-ins in Manila to only P250 for
walk-ins in Davao City.
Mr.
Carballo said they have met with officials of the Department of Education as
well as Vice Mayor Paolo Z. Duterte and they agreed to provide a special rate
for public schools. He said Pasay City exempted the Discovery Center in MOA
from the amusement tax so they were able to provide public school students
there with a low rate of P180. We are
trying to get a much lower rate for Davao public school students, he added.
Department
of Tourism XI Regional Director and Assistant Secretary Arturo P. Boncato, Jr.
said the Discovery Center brings with it more opportunities for the city as it
will provide educators with a unique, tech-based platform when teaching the youth
about concepts in science, technology and other related topics.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Amreco-supplied areas in Mindanao assured of 300MW supply by 2017
The
different provinces in Mindanao relying on the different electric cooperatives
for their power supply are assured of a 300-MegaWatt supply by 2017 but are at
a quandary as to where to source power from now up to 2015.
“We
have already contracted with GN Power and the Amreco-PSAG (Association of
Mindanao Rural Electric Cooperative- Power Supply Aggregation Group) for our
projected 300-MW demand for 2017,” Amreco President Sergio C. Dagooc told
BusinessWorld Tuesday.
Amreco
is composed of 33 electric cooperatives, six of which are considered SPUG or
Small Power Utilities Group located in different Mindanao islands such as Jolo,
Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Dinagat and Basilan. The six cooperatives have their own
generators while the 27 others rely on the National Grid Corporation of the
Philippines (NGCP).
All
the six electric cooperatives are under the National Power Corporation (NPC) as
per Republic Act 9136 which mandates the NPC to operate power plants in
isolated islands in the country.
He
said Amreco accounts for 60% market share or an estimated 1,941,554 residential
consumers in Mindanao. The rest of the market is accounted for by private
electric companies like the Davao Light and Power Company (DLPC) and the Cagayan
Electric Power and Light Company, Inc.(CEPALCO).
Mr.
Dagooc said 80% of their member cooperatives are Triple A cooperatives which
means these are “financially, technically and institutionally stable.” However,
he added, 20% of its members are hard-up electric cooperatives located in the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Among
the top cooperatives are servicing the Davao Region namely Davao del Sur
Electric Cooperative (Dasureco), Davao Oriental Electric Cooperative (Doreco)
and the Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative (Daneco) which used to be a
top-performing cooperative before it got embroiled in its present controversy.
Twenty-seven
of the member coops are hooked up with the island’s transmission grid while
another six operate in the off-grid islands surrounding the main island of
Mindanao.
“While
most of our member cooperatives are doing good we have to unify our resources
to help ailing members such as those in the ARMM,” he said.
Amreco-PSAG
Executive Director Clint Django Pacana said these cooperatives are non-stock,
non-profit organizations that rely on the P6,000 monthly dues of its members
for its continued operation. This is mainly the reason why PSAG was formed and
do business in the power industry, he added.
Amreco
recently conveyed to Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla its opposition to
the Price Determination Methodology (PDM) of the Philippine Electricity Market
Cooperation (PEMC) which will be used by the Interim Mindanao Electricity Market
(Imem).
Mr.
Dagooc said while they are not against Imem’s implementation, they are
protesting some of its provisions. The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC)
approved last September PEMC's Pricing and Cost Recovery Methodology (PCRM) which
allows the use of the PDM in the establishment of power rates. He said they are
protesting the rule which states that “the Imem Day-Ahead Price (Idap) shall
correspond to the highest offer price fully or partially scheduled for the
particular Imem trading interval."
Mr.
Dagooc said this will leave the power distributors with no choice but to pay
for the highest power rates no matter their choice of power generator and its
previously offered rate.
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