AS the global financial meltdown gradually making a turn-around, local industries are confident the dawn for recovery is in the offing.
Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Industries (COCI) President Jerome Soldevilla said that while doing business will continue to remain tough, the prospects would be much better as the global economy is expected to improve a bit from the serious crunch experienced last year...Read More
By RUEL V. PELONE, Online Editor
NORTHERN Mindanao is now pulling away as the island’s most dominant regional economy following the reintegration of Iligan City and Lanao del Norte as part of Region 10.
A quick look at the economic accounts of the island’s Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) shows that before the realignment of regions in 2002, Region 10 trailed the Davao Region (Region 11) in GRDP. However, since Iligan and Lanao del Norte rejoined Region 10 in 2002 and some parts of the Davao region were re-aligned to the SOCCSKARGEN region, Davao has trailed Region 10 in current and adjusted GRDP.
The gap between the two region’s GRDPs in current prices wavered from P9.8 billion in 2003, dropping to P7.8 billion in 2005 before accelerating to P25.1 billion by 2008. However, when the differences are adjusted for 1985 constant prices (to negate the effects of inflation on prices), the figures graphically illustrate that the gap between Regions 10 and 11 has been exponentially increasing from P2.3 billion in 2003 to P4.9 billion in 2006 and further to P7.2 billion in 2008.
An analysis of the economic accounts of both regions reveal similarities as well as contrasts.
Although the regional capitals of both regions account for the bulk of the region’s GRDP, there are significant differences in the way the two economies are structured. The bulk of Davao Region’s GRDP comes from the Service Sector based in Davao City and agriculture based both in the city and its surrounding provinces.
Champions of Region 10 in the private and public sectors have often cited the resiliency of the regional economy made possible by this sectoral profile. Because of the even distribution of its GRDP among three sectors, the regional economy has managed to maintain a steady growth rate despite fluctuations in the national and global economy.
This distribution and diversity carries over to the geographical spread of the various sectors. Region 10’s agriculture is concentrated in Bukidnon (pineapple, sugar cane, banana, corn) and Lanao del Norte (rice, coconut) while its industries are mainly found in Misamis Oriental (Phividec Industrial Estate) and Iligan City.
Services which consist mainly of trade (shopping malls), finance (banks), dwellings and real estate (subdivision and commercial business centers), private (BPOs, hotels, schools) and government services (regional government offices) are found mostly in Cagayan de Oro which remains the region’s administrative and trading capital and center of learning and Camiguin, the region’s top tourism destination.
“This well-defined positioning of the provinces also contributes to the complementation of the economic contribution of the various sectors,” noted Eliza Pabillore, Misamis Oriental provincial director of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
However, the geographical distribution of Region 10’s industrial sectors does not necessarily guarantee its immunity from the effects of external influences which may affect one or more of its industrial sectors. That’s because of the way with which these sectors have become vertically and horizontally integrated over the years, leading to varying degrees of interdependence and autonomy.
For instance, when the National Steel Corporation in Iligan City shut down in November 1999, the service sector in Cagayan de Oro also suffered a downturn as machine shops, transport firms, banks, and other downstream industries serving the giant steel firm were forced to cut down or close shop.
Besides retaining its status as the biggest regional economy in Mindanao, Region 10 attained another milestone when it became the fastest growing economy in the country in 2008, outperforming even the National Capital Region and the Philippine economy as a whole, official estimates released by the NSCB show.
Northern Mindanao also sustained its status as Mindanao’s biggest regional economy, increasing its share of the island’s economy from 27.9 percent in 2007 to 28.3 percent in 2008. It also accounted for the biggest share of the sectoral pies with 30.6 percent of service, 30.3 percent for industry and 24.5 percent for AFF.
BY Bong D. Fabe
ALCANTARA and Sons Consolidated Resources, Inc.’s (Alsons) bioethanol plant project in the hinterland barangays here is a big threat to this city’s food security program.
This as the city land use plan (CLUP) for Year 2000 of Cagayan de Oro states that land devoted to crop
cultivation is only 22 percent or 4,529 hectares of the city’s total land area.
Cagayan de Oro only has 20,646 hectares of agricultural land left, the CLUP 2000 said.
Carl Cesar Rebuta, team leader of the Cagayan de Oro City office of the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center-Kasama sa Kalikasan/Friends of the Earth (LRC-KsK/FoE), said that biofuel production is a competitor to any country’s food security.
“As experienced by biofuel-producing countries, biofuel production is not only detrimental to the environment but more importantly also threaten food security and rural livelihood,” he said.
Rebuta underscores the statement of an Alsons official that their bioethanol plant proposed for construction in barangays Bayanga and Mambuaya will need at least 10,000 hectares of cassava plantation to support its daily requirement.
Tirso Santillan, Alsons executive vice president, said this large tract of cassava land is needed to produce 100,000 liters of 99.5 percent pure ethanol every day, the daily rated output of the proposed plant.
But Rebuta said the raw materials requirement of Alsons’ proposed bioethanol plant will directly undermine this city’s food security.
“Converting 10,000 hectares of rich productive land into cassava plantations will mean competition to the food security, not only of the city, but of the region,” Rebuta said.
“Later on, previous locally available farm produce will become expensive,” he added as he explained that because of cassava will have a ready market in Alsons, farmers will be forced to abandon cultivating for food and concentrate on planting cassava.
The city land use plan (CLUP) for Year 2000 of Cagayan de Oro states that land devoted for crop cultivation is very small.
According to the CLUP 2000, only 22 percent or 4,529 hectares of the city’s total land area are planted with crops.
The proposed bioethanol plant will be constructed on a 20-hectare land specifically converted by the City Council without due process into agri-industrial land from agricultural to accommodate Alsons. (Bong D. Fabe)
Privatization of Mindanao’s hydro-power plants gets a snag
THE Northern Mindanao Electric Cooperatives Association will ask the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation to stop its ongoing privatization of Mindanao’s hydro-electric power plants which would inevitably lead to higher prices of power in the island.
“Contrary to what other parties who have vested interests on the privatization claim, this would read to the escalation, rather than rationalization of power rates in Mindanao, thereby erasing what little competitive advantage we have in attracting investors to our island already beset by so many other distractions,” said Engr. David A. Tauli, Sr. Vice President for Engineering of the Cagayan Electric Power & Light Co. (Cepalco).
Tauli will present a NORMECA petition asking the PSALM to stop the planned privatization of Mindanao’s hydro-electric power plants to the House Committee on Energy on Tuesday, 26 January 2010.
The Energy Committee will initially deliberate on House Joint Resolution No. 51, re: “A Joint Resolution Expressing the Determination and Sense of the Congress of the Philippines to Exempt Agus and Pulangui Hydro Complexes from Privatization as Mandated by R.A. 9136, also known as the Electric Industry Reform Act (EPIRA)”, authored by House Speaker Prospero C. Nograles; and H.R. No. 1553, re: “Resolution Expressing the Strong Opposition of the House of Representatives to the Sale and Privatization of the Agus and the Pulangui Hydroelectric Plant Complexes in Mindanao”, authored by Rep. Vicente F. Belmonte, Jr.” (1st District, Lanao del Norte & Iligan City).]
Addressed to Energy Sec. Angelo Reyes (who also heads PSALM), the petition is signed by Adrian A. Ebcas, NORMECA President; Tauli, and Bernard R. Benavidez, president of the Misamis Oriental Rural Electric Service Cooperative I (MORESCO I). Tauli said NORMECA has also furnished copies of the petition to the Energy Regulatory Commission, the Joint Congressional Power Commission, the Regional Development Councils of Mindanao, the Office of the President of the Philippines, the National Electrification Administration, to other government agencies, and to various government officials, National Power Corporation (NPC) and the PSALM.
The petition alleges that the NPC and PSALM have been rejecting applications of customers in Mindanao to increase the contract energy specification in their Contract for the Supply of Electric Energy (CSEE). Reasons reportedly given for the rejections include the ongoing privatization of NPC, the lack of power capacity in Mindanao, or the transfer of CSEE’s to PSALM.
“As a result, distribution utilities have been unable to secure power for additional loads and new customers,” Tauli said. “This, despite the large amount of base-load power capacity (estimated to be in excess of 300 MW as of December 2009) still available from power plants controlled by NPC Mindanao that could be used to provide the increases in energy requirements applied for by some customers.”
In addition, Tauli said NPC-Mindanao has been imposing penalties on some customers for consumption in excess of their contracted electric energy, as well as those who do not consume their contracted energy allocations.
“NPC-Mindanao has been charging a single monthly rate, disregarding the fact that its generation comes from two types of plants with significant differences in generation costs : low-cost hydroelectric plants and high-cost non-hydro generators owned by Independent Power Producers and contracted by NPC,” the petition reads. “As a result, the monthly rates charged to customers are not commensurate to the large variations in monthly costs of operations of NPC due to changes in the mix of generation from the two types of power plants.”
Not the least, the petition cites how PSALM has been carrying out since March 2009 a highly publicized program to privatize the hydroelectric plants on the Agus and Pulangi rivers in Mindanao, in blatant violation of Republic Act No. 9136 ( the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001) which excludes the Agus and Pulangi complexes from initial privatization, and setting June 2011 as the earliest date when the Agus and Pulangi hydro plants may be privatized.
The petition urged Reyes to direct the NPC and PSALM to approve the applications for increase in contract energy specifications in the CSEE by existing customers who are applying for changes in their contract energy specifications, until all the available capacity controlled by NPC Mindanao is contracted through the CSEE’s; and grant the reduction in the contract energy specifications of customers who apply for reduction, and make this released capacity available for contracting by other customers.
The petition further demanded the immediate and periodic publication of the existing available power capacity in Mindanao from NPC-owned generators and NPC-IPP generators that can be supplied to customers, as well as the available capacity contracted by existing customers through CSEE’s, for the purpose of making transparent to their customers and to the general public in Mindanao the power capacity still available from NPC for sale to customers.
The petition also asks NPC –Mindanao to stop charging penalties to customers who exceed their contracted energy in the meantime that there still is available power capacity not contracted by customers; and, in the event that all available capacity or energy is contracted by customers, not to charge penalties to customers who exceed their contracted capacities in the months when the coincident peak demand of all customers of NPC in Mindanao does not exceed the power capacity available in that month.
The petition also asks the DOE to unbundle the NPC-Mindanao rates into two components: for generation from the existing hydroelectric plants on the Agus and Pulangi rivers (estimated to be 1.80 pesos per kWh at present, using the Return-on-Rate-Base method of rate determination) and the other for generation from all other NPC-owned or contracted power plants, such as the Mindanao coal plant, the Mt. Apo geothermal power plants, and the oil-fueled power plants of the Western Mindanao Power Corp and the Southern Philippines Power Corp (estimated to be an average of 4.07 pesos per kWh), and apply the unbundled rates to the monthly consumption of customers for each category of electric energy supplied in the billing month, based on actual generation mix in the month for which the energy consumption is being billed.
Not the least, the petition asks the DOE to stop all activities for the privatization of the hydroelectric plants on the Agus and Pulangi rivers until the PSALM Corporation, in consultation with Congress, decides to proceed with the privatization of the hydroelectric plants in 2011 as mandated by R.A. 9136.
“We will try to have the petition signed by all customers of NPC in Mindanao and as many organizations of NPC customers as we can reach during the month of January before we submit it formally to the DOE secretary and provide copies to government officials and agencies,” Tauli said. “The NORMECA will be the main sponsor in submitting the petition to the DOE, but others among us will use the petition to lobby various government officials and government agencies to pressure PSALM and NPC into doing what we are petitioning them to do.”
MORE than 50 farmers from Barangays Serran and Katutungan in Wao, Lanao del Sur graduated the Farmers Field School (FFS) on corn production conducted by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries-ARMM in coordination with DAF-Lanao del Sur, local government of Wao and private seed companies last January 14, 2010 at Wao Gymnasium.
Wao Municipal Agricultural Officer (MAO) Toribio Pinggol said the participants undergone season long four months training on new corn technologies that are suitable for the environment and advocates organic farming and was focused on the theme, “ Organic Farming: Key to Sustainable Development.
The activity highlighted with the Presentation of folk media which illustrated the importance of useful insects in the field and the proper use of organic fertilizer and farmers participation in the ground.
It also featured farmers’ testimonies on the effects of the training in their production and income.
Municipal mayor Elvino B. Balicao Jr. expressed his sincere gratitude to DA in providing support services (projects & trainings) in enriching the lives and knowledge of Wao farmers on new farming techniques.
In his message in behalf of DAF-ARMM Secretary Atty. Lomala Balindong, Field Operations Director Salik B. Panalunsong, Al Haj enumerated the DA interventions such as the renovation of DAF Building, Bio-N production , distribution of shredder machine in support to Agri-Kalikasan Program, the on going construction of flatbed dryer and Barangay Bagsakan Center (BBC) and to conduct additional four FFS on corn and rice production.
Municipal and Committee on Agriculture Chairman Al Belotendos said that theLGU of Wao is assured full support to all the projects of DA.
He said for 2010 they allocated funds for two livestock technicians, one computer units to the MAO Office and allocation of counterpart funds for trainings.
Other officials who graced the important event were vice mayor Mary Ruth C. Catalan, R&D Director Hadja Jalika D. Mangacop, Regional Agriculture & Fisheries Information Division (RAFID) Chief Hadja Kadiguia R. Abdullah, Planning Chief Mariam Abutazil, Rice Report Officer Edna Bajao, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Coordinator Taunting Abutazil, former DTI-ARMM Assistant Secretary Iskak L. Paguital, Lanao del Sur Operations Chief Baguan Tagoranao and other local officials. rafid-armm
THE Mindanao Business Council (MinBC) recently met with the Federation of Cattle Raisers Association of the Philippines (FCRAP), headed by the association president Mr. Benjamin C. Albarece, to explore opportunities in miniature cattle-growing.
The meeting particularly discussed how the two organizations––in partnership with other groups such as the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the UP Mindanao––can jointly promote the said innovative livestock model in Mindanao.
During the meeting, MinBC chairperson Vicente T. Lao expressed optimism that Miniature Cattle-Growing would be another promising industry that could generate new investments and contribute to the expansion of Mindanao’s Agri-business.
Dr. Cecilio Felix, a cattle farmer from Rancho Murieta in California, on one hand, presented basic facts on how to go about miniature cattle-growing.
“While size alone is no distinct virtue it does bring some advantages. Smaller cattle require less space and even a small acreage can support a herd,” said Dr. Felix.
He added that miniature cattle’s ribeye is significantly bigger than its normal counterpart and the short cell structure of miniature cattle makes for tender beef that can be as highly competitive in the market as the most in-demand Angus beef.
The MinBC is the lead organizer of the annual Mindanao Investment Conference (MinICon) which, so far, has highlighted new and promising investment opportunities such as Pangasius (Cream Dory) farming, seaweeds propagation, coffee, Cardava, honeybee and rubber production.
BY JOE PALABAO
COOP Life Insurance and Mutual Benefit Services (CLIMBS), a cooperative insurance in the country duly licensed to operate Life Insurance Business by the Insurance Commission, has its humble beginnings 36 years ago in Cagayan de Oro City.
CLIMBS was founded by coop pioneers in the country, Atty. Mordina R. Cua and the late Aquilino Pimentel, Sr., the father of Sen. Nene Pimentel, and managed by Canadian cooperative insurance-trained by Fermin L. Gonzales, president and CEO, and Judge Esperanza Garcia as BOD-Chairperson of CFI Cooperative, the biggest in the Visayas with over a Billion Asset based in Cebu City.
Gonzales hails from a multi-million coop, Nabunturan Integrated Cooperative (NICO) of Compostela Valley Province.
CLIMS was organized in 1971 by the Misamis Oriental-Bukidnon-Camiguin Federation of Cooperatives (MBC) and the Southern Philippines Educational Cooperative Center (SPECC). An organization owned and operated by cooperatives, its affiliates, self-help groups and NGOs nationwide and was organized to provide mutual protection and insurance services to its members. It started only as one of the servicing window of SPECC (MASS-SPECC) today, until it has spinned-off and became independent in 1975.
It is guided with a corporate vision for a strong and effective mutual protection system based on cooperative and humane values committed to service excellence thereby enhancing the dignity and equality of life; COOP LIFE Insurance Mutual Benefit Services tagged as the “The Grassroots Insurance” offers a complete line of Insurance Services from Group Term Life Insurance, Individual Life Insurance, and Non-Life Insurance to coop members. It has area offices in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao with its head office at CLIMBS Bldg., Upper Zone 5, National Highway, Bulua, Cagayan de Oro City.
CLIMBS is in partnership with Philippine Prudential Life Insurance as their re-insurer and investor and the CCC Insurance Corporation as non-life insurance provider and has linkages with the Philippine Life Insurance Association, Inc. (PLIA), the International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF) and Asia Oceania Association of ICMIF (AOA).
To date, CLIMBS has a total asset of P307,958.093, with an all- time high net surplus ofP20.6 million. This is an indication that CLIMBS is already in the mainstream of the insurance industry in the country with the confidence of its growing members and investors. Membership of CLIMBS is now in the vicinity of 2,000 or 10 percent of the 20,000 primary operating cooperatives throughout the country registered with the Cooperative Development Authority or CDA.
“EQUIP the city police.”
Thus said 2009 Oro Chamber President Rudy Meñes when asked about crimes prevention in the city.
The 370-members strong Chamber recently donated two motorcycles to the City Police Office.
Purchased from the proceeds of the 2nd Mayor Tinnex Jaraula Open Golf Tournament held last October 2009 and some augmentation from the Oro Chamber funds, these motorcycles will help increase the mobility of the city police in combating crime in the area, Meñes said.
“Peace-keeping support remains to be one of the top priorities of our Chamber,” said Mr. Meñes.
He said that even under the leadership of 2010 Chamber President Ralph Paguio of CEPALCO, Oro Chamber will still be implementing several fora on securing the business against threats and lawless elements.
“One of the major activities of our Chamber in the first quarter is a forum on “Peace and Order Situation in Region X” considering that it will already be elections time in May,” confirmed Mr. Paguio. “This is our city and who else will protect and promote our place but us,” he further said.
The OroChamber expects in return that the City Police Department will use the motorcycles effectively in serving the public.
These are located in Pasay City, Malolos, Bulacan; Santiago City, Isabela; Olongapo; Lipa, Batangas; San Pablo, Laguna; Kalibo, Aklan; Tagbilaran, Bohol; Pagadian, Zamboanga de Sur; and Koronadal.
Late last 2009, the Bank opened 5 new branches in Luzon as part of its branch expansion and rationalization plan.
“As a bank, increasing our branch network is the only way to grow the business and meet the growing needs of our customers & shareholders.
Most of the locations are in key cities outside Metro Manila where we prioritize to establish our presence.” said PVB President & CEO Ricardo A. Balbido Jr.
Veterans Bank ended 2009 with close to P52 billion in assets from P45 billion in 2008; and P5 billion in capitalization. Majority of the asset growth were funded by the increase in deposits. For 2010, the Bank hopes to achieve a growth target of 15% or close to P60 billion in total assets by yearend.”
As of the 3rd quarter of 2009, PVB was ranked 18th among the commercial banks in the country.
PVB is also boosting its ATM network by 25 new machines in the first quarter of this year, for a total of 106 ATMs nationwide. Last year, the Bank doubled its cardholder base to over184,000; mostly payroll accounts and the number is expected to further rise this year.
PVB will also launch in early 2010 new long-term deposit products aimed at private depositors who wish to get premium rates for their savings.
“The banking public is more and more getting rate-conscious and sophisticated with their investment & savings options nowadays. These new products, which are coming out very soon, were designed to meet their needs.” said PVB Branch Banking Group Head & EVP Jesus Vicente O. Garcia.
On the corporate side, PVB has begun focusing on providing cash-management solutions and financing for LGUs for its priority development projects.
PVB has likewise invested heavily into developing and improving its IT systems, to ensure its service capability, given the increase of corporate clients availing of the Bank’s corporate ATM payroll service.
“We will continue to push our 5-in-1 ATM payroll product this 2010, which has been received well.” said Garcia. This ATM product provides not only for the payroll services, but the ATM card itself also functions as a company ID, timekeeping card, debit card & discount card as well, providing a complete HR solution package for PVB corporate clients.
“On the lending side, we also hope we can provide financing solutions to deserving LGUs for their development projects especially after the coming elections. This has been a core thrust of the Bank, to help spur countryside development.” said Balbido.
Philippine Veterans Bank is a private commercial bank owned by some 300,000 World War II veterans, widows & their heirs. The Bank is also committed to providing 20% of its annual net income to the Board of Trustees for the Veterans of World War II (BTVWWII) which manages programs for the benefit of the WWII veterans & their surviving families.
NOW that the holiday season is over, life returns to normal. We go back to school, or to work, or to all our other usual activities. And in the course of our busy days, we need the strength and stamina to accomplish everything we need to do.
For all these, we need to maintain strong and healthy bodies. One of the best ways to keep healthy is to take our daily dose of Vitamin C.
Vitamin C is known to strengthen our immune system and fight upper respiratory infections before they can bring us down with the dreaded cold or flu.
The downside of Vitamin C, however, is its acidity. Too much Vitamin C intake increases the acid levels in the stomach and this could be uncomfortably painful.
But now, with Bewell-C, we can say goodbye to the problem of acidity.
Bewell-C is sodium ascorbate and is the non-acidic Vitamin C.
Because it is an alkaline-based form of Vitamin C that is 100% pure and natural, it does away with the problem of acidity. Bewell-C can be safely taken in large doses, even on an empty stomach.
It also dissolves five times faster than other vitamin C forms, with 95% being absorbed by the body.
Aside from improving over-all health, Bewell-C is also a powerful anti-oxidant which aids in the detoxification of heavy metals and other toxins.It boosts the immune system and helps protect against viruses and bacteria. Bewell-C also eases constipation, promotes cell repair mechanisms in wounds, helps reduce allergic reations and asthma attacks, and is part of cancer treatment.
With Bewell-C, you can face a whole day’s (and night’s) worth of work without worrying about your health. Rain or shine, in hot or cold weather, it shields you from the threat of cough and colds.
You can have the energy to live a productive life and be well, not only in 2010, but all the years to come.
Enjoy good health with Bewell-C! You can find Bewell-C at Watsons, Mercury, Southstar and leading drugstores nationwide.
IN my line of work, I always encounter people who still confuse publicity with advertising. It is this confusion that usually creates misunderstandings and it would take some time to educate them on the differences between the two. I have summarized a few general yet crucial differences.
Advertising is pictures. Publicity is words.
“A picture is worth a thousand words.” Such mantra moves the world of advertising. Advertisements are mostly visual and words are there simply to reinforce it. In publicity, it’s the opposite. Publicity is achieved through verbalization, in news articles, features, essays.
Advertising goes full blast. Publicity builds up slowly.
Most advertising experts prefer a barrage of advertisements over a short period of time to achieve name recall. In print advertisements, the least frequency would probably be three times a week. In radio, at least eight spots per day daily.
This is done somewhere within a week to a month up to three months before a launching of a product or service. In publicity, build-up is slow. New brands are introduced piece-meal with some success in public acceptance gained in at least three years of consistent, well-planned publicity.
Advertising is massive. Publicity is personal.
Advertisements hit the public in general with the focus centered on reaching as many people as often as you can.
Publicity has the more personal approach, searching to hit a more direct target––a niche market, a specific audience. Publicity relies hardly on the classic word-of-mouth. After successfully reaching one viable person, this person relates the message to his family and friends.
Advertising is paid. Publicity is free.
Placing an advertisement in print or broadcast or even the internet is paid. Newspapers base ad rates per column inch or centimeter; broadcast per second or per spot; internet dependent on the site carrying the ad.
Advertisements are the life-blood of the media industry with most media outfits solely relying on ad sales for its existence. Publicity on the other hand is free. You rely on the editors’ and news managers’ discretion on whether your articles or media releases do come out, when they come out and how they come out.
Publicists are there mainly to supply a news reporter’s need for finding news, or to serve as a source good for interesting features and human interest stories. The advantage of publicity is its credibility with people preferring to believe news stories more than paid ads.
Publicity and advertising can work together. In fact they should. Advertisements gain more meaning with words and ideas previously established in the mind through publicity. That’s why it’s important for companies to let their advertisements correlate with their publicity efforts.
THINK a minute.
There’s a story about a man and woman who had been married for over 60 years. They had shared and talked about almost everything. But the wife had kept a special box in her closet. She had asked her husband never to open it or even ask her about it.
Then one day, the old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would never recover.http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif Her husband began to sort through all of his wife’s belongings. When he found the box, he brought it to his wife’s bedside.
She agreed that it was finally time he knew what was in the box. Her husband opened it and found two little handkerchiefs and a stack of money totaling $25,000!
His wife explained: “When we were married, my grandmother told me that the secret of a happy marriage was to never disagree or argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you I should just keep quiet and sew a handkerchief.”
The old man was so touched and moved he had to hold back the tears. Only two handkerchiefs were in the box. He almost burst with joy and pride that in over 60 years she had only been angry with him two times! “Dear,” he said, “that explains the handkerchiefs, but what about all of this money? Where did it come from?” She answered: “Oh, that’s the money I made from selling all the other handkerchiefs.”
Well, that’s definitely an interesting way to keep peace in your marriage, and make $25,000 at the same time! But that husband probably wondered what he had done to make his wife angry so many times!
He’d always thought they had a close marriage. But it wasn’t based on the truth. Obviously, they had not been completely honest with each other. Instead of sharing their real feelings, they had built a wall between them––a wall of handkerchiefs.
Think a Minute.
NOW that this matter of a proposed temporary marriage contract has somehow subsided in excited contemplation and spirited discussion, it might be but proper and just to look into the matter with more calm and prudence––in the light of on the ground concrete and practical realities.
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Truth to say, such a demeaning look at marriage and consequent frivolous proposition on its temporary time frame, ultimately have one and the same victims, viz., the men and women who go for such a temporary conjugal union, specially so the children therefrom.
This is not to mention their negative impact on society as a whole when the adult and youth concerned respectively disseminate their unsound personal value systems and propagate empirical grave misfortunes in their respective communities––as Countries with Divorce Law amply prove.
Men and women who enter temporary marriages basically say that they are not serious about one another, that they take the human family lightly, and that consider marriage but some kind of for-the-moment diversion or a by-the-way option.
On the other hand, the children born of their exploratory union are not certain what future holds for them, which of their parents would get and have them, whom between their father and mother would they come to love or to hate.
A temporary marriage contract for ten––more or less––years, implies the following composite nauseating if not traumatic experience when the husband and wife decide to call it quits upon expiration of the spousal contract: One, division of the domestic abode––which is disturbing. Two, division of conjugal properties––which is troublesome. Three, division of the children––which is traumatic. At the same time, all these dividing ventures strongly implies division of affection and mental posture, division of affiliation and loyalty among the family members concerned.
It is both right and practical to forward the following concrete and rational principles: First of all, those who do not believe and/ or who cannot accept a lifetime conjugal partnership, should not get married at all. Second, those who subscribe to a more or less ten-year marriage contract, should be prepared to say how many temporal marriages are they prepared to contract, how many homes are they ready to break. Third, most important of all, those who accept marriage with a given time frame, should be prepared to say and decide how many children are they willing to divide.
By the way, to say that marriage is but a “contract”, is in fact, neither true nor right. Reason: As such, marriage would be no more, no better than a business contract, a lease contract, a car contract, and million and one other contracts. The truth is that marriage is a covenant, a compact, a vow––all of which immediately imply constancy, permanence, stability. This is why as a rule, men, women and children with a broken marriage behind them, usually do not become better persons for it. This is sad but true.
To say it lightly, marriage is not like a taxi that a man and a woman flag down, ride in, and thereafter leave it as a matter of course, when they no longer need it.
EARLY December 2009, we were already exposed to some political ads in the form of advocacy ads. First on the list is Sen. Manny Villar, who is running for the highest seat of office in the country.
My students back in my Advertising class posed a very tricky question, “sir, isn’t that a political ad?”. My answer was a straight NO. Surely, you would not agree with me. So here’s the explanation: there are several types of ads, I’ll give you 3 examples for now since there are so many – Political, Government, and Advocacy.
The Political ads show you the platforms of each of the persons running for a seat in government office, who they are and what they do.
The Government ads, on the other hand talks about the accomplishments and updates of the government or administration.
Advocacy is the trickiest of the three. It tells us of a vision, a way of looking at things in a new light. We see advocacy ads everywhere, on TV, when you go to the Discovery Channel or Animal Planet – we see advocacy ads about the environment, this is the most common example.
Here, the issue is whether the 2009 ads by the politicians, Manny Villar’s in particular, are indeed Political or Advocacy. In the case of Senator Villar, that was still an advocacy ad – if it were not, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) would have banned those ads in violation of the election code.
The ad merely introduced who Villar is, where he came from, his vision and his success story. The funny thing is we all knew Villar is running for the presidency, so automatically we assume that his 2009 ads were political.
I even heard one of my friends say – “mudagan gyud ni sya ug presidente”. Therefore, we prejudged his ads back in 2009 as already political, no matter how you look at his 2009 ads – it was advocacy.
Villar’s 2010 ads however are, or has now become Political since there is now a clear sense of purpose of the ads, with people endorsing him too, like comedy king Dolphy and “Bitoy” a.k.a. Michael V., and of course the Villar jingle. Then, the battles begin.
Politicians started putting on Christmas Ads, to the point that Sen. Mar Roxas married long-time, on-and-off fiancé Korina Sanchez. Funny, isn’t it? My only question with that is – “why just marry now?”, you had several years before, so why only marry now?”.
The excuse is always “we’re busy with our careers.” Oh, come on! “Mr. Palengke”, Sen. Mar Roxas’ moniker, is true to his political statements back when he started his senatorial bid. He’s still using the market place as a backdrop, so that’s kind of good for his consistency. Giving up his presidential bid to Sen. Noy-noy Aquino, on the other hand, is neither valiant nor intellectually stimulating in my books.
Then, Noy-noy’s camp launch that “sulu” ad, the one that they had
a star-studded TV ad carrying torches and singing a song made by Ogie and Regine, but I’m sure nobody has memorized the lyrics to that song – especially with Regine singing it with high notes.
Now we see Noy-noy saying “Hindi ako magnanakaw”, uhm, senator, nobody is saying that you are and every politician won’t admit being a “magnanakaw” so try to get a new pick up line, it’s annoying to see that “good vs. evil” ads.
In contradiction to the high notes, here comes a jingle where the lyrics are clear, sang by kids off the street – my comment on this is simply… amazing. Our hats off to the brains behind the jingle, great lyrics – nice catchy tune, easy to recall, this reminded me of the time I composed the Liceo U Jingle – “take a step closer…” We’re expecting the ads to get crazy in the next few months.
So, let’s try to keep our sanity intact as we watch these political ads on TV competing with each other and competing along side the shampoo, soap, vitamins, and herbal capsule ads. Good luck watching those ads, and please don’t forget to VOTE WISELY, LIVE LIFE, ROCK ON!
*****
For comments, email me at: shaun_alejandrae_uy@yahoo.com
TECHNOLOGY is a double-edged sword. While offering the utmost convenience to users, misuse or abuse can easily put users in difficult situations.
One such example is the credit card. As the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ Financial Consumer Affairs Group (FCAG) always reminds credit card owners, “It is easy to swipe it, but how do you wipe it?”
Credit card users should be aware that there is no BSP existing regulation which puts a ceiling on fees, charges and interest rates.
The then Central Bank of the Philippines, through Circular No. 905, had removed the ceiling on interest rates on loans or forbearance of money, goods or credit, for both secured and unsecured loans and regardless of maturity.
While the Monetary Board is not precluded from issuing subsequent circulars reimposing a maximum interest rate on a loan or forbearance of any money, goods or credits, whenever warranted by prevailing economic and social conditions, the Monetary Board is not inclined at present to lift Circular No. 905.
The Monetary Board currently thinks it is enough that banks and their subsidiary credit card companies properly disclose finance charges and interest rates to cardholders and thus help cardholders make informed choices and decisions.
While in a recent decision the SC reduced the interest rate and penalty fee imposed for unpaid credit charges for being “iniquitous and unconscionable”, this ruling can not be invoked universally. (See Macalinao v. BPI, G.R. No. 175490).
In other words, an aggrieved credit card holder still has to go to court. And courts still have to consider the circumstances of each case since what may be inquitious and unconscionable in one may be totally just and equitable in another.
By way of background, the Supreme Court partially granted the petition of a credit card user, who had faced a lawsuit from a credit card company for failing to settle unpaid charges.
The high tribunal ruled that the credit card company’s interest rate and penalty fee of 3 percent per month or 36 percent per annum, which were charged to the user, should be reduced to two percent per month or 24 percent per annum.
The Supreme Court decided that although the credit card’s terms and conditions stipulated the three percent interest rate, the courts may reduce the interest rate and penalty charge as reason and equity demand.
The Supreme Court also considered the user’s partial payments and decided that the interest rates stipulated by the credit card company in its terms and conditions are iniquitous and unconscionable.
In the United States, credit card users are protected from sudden hikes in interest rates by new rules issued by the Federal Reserve.
The new Fed rules, which take effect next month, generally prevent rate increases during the first year after an account is opened. After the first year, companies must provide customers with a 45-day notice before increasing interest rates.
The BSP’s FCAG, headed by acting deputy director Ma. Belinda Caraan, has repeatedly stressed that the key for card users to avoid excessive finance charges, fees and penalties is to be responsible by paying their bills on time to avoid late payment fees and penalties, and as much as possible, try to pay off all outstanding dues every billing cycle.
Spending within your means, according to FCAG, is the surest way to avoid finance charges and continue to enjoy using your credit card.
For comments and suggestions, email totingbunye2000@gmail.com.
THE best way to harass or silence a journalist is to file imaginary cases of libel. By this a working newsman think twice before proceeding to his regular schedule of work.
He thinks of the ridicule, the anguish and disturbance caused to him by a libel case and the money he would spend to defend himself.
A lot of anxieties develop in his mind that would even result to loss of sleep.
He feels alone and worries so much about the prospect of losing his case and the future of his family.
Yes, that was long time ago when many men and women engaged in the practice of journalism do not know so much about libel cases.
As the years go by, however, people in the media, by University study, self education and research, understand better their position and know so much the rudiments of the profession.
A libel case is like an old favorite song that finds its way in the hearts of people because of its nice rhythm and poetic words.
It is the favorite song of government workers, politicians and executives to stop criticism leveled against them.
In short, it is a tactic designed to frighten the people who are just exercising press freedom.
What these government servants do not know is that the matter is sugar to the profession and therefore, makes it sweater and better as time goes on.
Another thing is they do not know that as government employees, they are public property and, therefore, subject to criticism at all times.
People who are onion-skinned have no place in the public service.
A journalist is a very careful person because his works are reflected in prints.
Before writing a news story, he thinks so much about how it would be accepted by the public. He studies his position and make sure he does not step on the toes of some people.
By the time the story hits the streets, everything had been ironed out and safe. This is so because journalists have no intention whatsoever to hurt anyone.
AS a media practitioner myself, I find libel cases much better and friendlier than being fired at, by an assassin.
I embrace the objective of the plaintiff in resorting to a more humane and civilized way to air a grievance.
In this manner, we know our enemies in the open court and things are discussed intelligently.
Justice, therefore, is accorded to a beleaguered newsman and no matter what, one sighs with relief to know he was given a chance.
I had more than four dozens of libel cases during my time and surely they made me a celebrity of sort.
Of course, we do not enjoy fighting in court with some people but the cases, whether we like it or not, would force us standing straight in fighting position.
We cannot run away and of all things that we despise so much is to apologize. That is the poorest decision a newsman could think to end all fears.
Some newsmen sometimes may have used libelous materials especially when very necessary to describe a situation.
One thing, however, is there is no malice attached. Stories are straight news and information as it happened.
To the words of a good friend, the famous international trial lawyer then Gov. Bono Adaza, malice is the most difficult thing to prove in any libel case.
Right because in the first place, there is no malice whatsoever. It exists only in the minds of people who want media to dance with their music. Being devoid of malice as an element, a libel case cannot prosper.
Notwithstanding the better advantage of media people in libel cases, I noticed more and more cases are being filed by a lot of people.
From Manila and elsewhere in the Visayas and Mindanao, more newsmen are summoned by the courts to answer complaints. I hope these will end all assassinations in the process.
To my colleagues, therefore, I urge you to be strong and determined to fight the enemies of press freedom.
Let us prove to them we are not statues much less men who follow their wishes.
Our theories, convictions and principles must prevail.
Let press freedom ring!
BY NELSON V CONSTANTINO, Editor
and BONG FABE, Contributor
As the global financial meltdown gradually making a turnaround, local industries are confident the dawn for recovery is in the offing.
Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Industries (COCI) President Jerome Soldevilla said that while doing business will continue to remain tough, the prospects would be much better as the global economy is expected to improve a bit from the serious crunch experienced last year.--Read More
Truth, justice, peace
THUS stands the tripod whereupon development depends from on and stands on. In the same way, deceit, iniquity and dissension guarantee and promote socio-economic retrogression.
The triumph of truth brings about justice. The reign of justice ushers in peace. These observations are not simply academically understandable but also empirically true.
When there is prevalent falsity, then there is a regime of injustice and thus come to fore all kinds of unending resentment and discontentment in different places, in different degrees and different manifestations as well.
Thus it is that even the Philippine Constitution provides: “The State shall promote social justice in all phases of national development.” (State Policies, Sec. 10 ). This signal and candid constitutional provision equivalently says: One, with social justice goes development. Two, deterioration goes with social injustice. Three, take a good look around and know how this Country fares in conjunction with the above cited not simply logical but also realistic State Policy.
To put it more bluntly, injustice is a social curse. When the powerful and the wealthy are above the law, when the poor and miserable are crowding local jails and prisons, when the law is used to oppress and not to liberate, then something is not merely wrong but also appalling and revolting. Injustice is the supreme guarantee of individual disgust and/or social discontent. Justice is such an elementary mandate that there is nothing like injustice to foment not merely division, not simply revolution but war even.
Take away but a candy from but a little child, and this will most probably cry as a matter of course. The child feels that the candy is his or hers. Thus when taken away, the child is offended by the injustice of losing it. If this is true with but children, it is not hard to imagine what injustice does to an adult, how does this feel, what the same will do. If one is poor because this is aware or knows that he or she is indolent and/or vicious, if somebody is prosecuted for a wrong doing, and if someone is jailed because of his or her proven wrongdoing, then the subject party knows in conscience that justice is simply served – even though the same may register strong protests every now and then.
The cardinal question that now comes to mind is precisely the following – a query that is admittedly shameful to think about, as well as embarrassing to ask: Is a dysfunctional justice system the main legacy of this no less than some nine year old reigning administration to the Country? A negative answer thereto would require much explaining to do, and would demand much more to make it convincing.
The PR support
By : APRIL MAY TUDTUD-RAMOS
A LOT of companies these days are losing thousands of pesos worth of publicity opportunities each month. How? By placing ads without the support of publicity. To remind you the difference between the two, advertisements are paid and done in graphic-centered lay-outs while publicity is free and generated through stories.
Companies here in Cebu rely on the placement of ads to generate marketing exposure for their products or services. And that’s it. What they don’t know is; they could have supported such ads with news stories either through company created press releases or coverage done by members of the media.
When I handled a certain client, I encouraged them to maximize publicity in conjunction with the ads they intended to place. Their concentration was one newspaper loaded with oversized ads that failed to make the most of its space. I advised them to cut the size but to increase the frequency spread out in more suitable days of the week then spread out to more than one paper.
I introduced them to publicity management focused on press releases tailor-fit for individual sections in each paper – articles with business angles on the business pages; features of human interest for the lifestyle pages; and more generic informative press releases for the community pages.
Actually the dilemma of untapped publicity is multi faceted. First, you have to reassess your ad layouts and copies. One observation I have with print ads here in Cebu is that ninety percent of them are mere announcements, not true advertisements. What I mean is; there is clearly no graphic planning to speak of – the ads are mere text announcing an event or sale or sales and marketing promotion.
Maybe, from the looks of those ads, they are home-made. I would still advice the expertise of a good advertising agency in planning a company’s advertisement program. For companies who can’t afford them, find a good graphic artist and guide him towards the slant that you need.
Then plan your publicity in relation to your ad campaign. Remember not to fall again for Myth number 3 - PR is Advertisement & Promotions. Public Relations and its sub-specialty publicity are not advertising and vice versa. Neither is publicity inferior to advertising. In fact, it could be the opposite in this over-communicated era.
Honestly, do you believe the ads you hear or see these days? If you do maybe not hook, line and sinker. More often than not, you don’t even bother to read the copy. You just skim through it and look for more interesting stories.
I read an article entitled “The Power of Publicity” in the Toastmaster magazine dated September 2008 and in the sub-heading Publicity vs. Advertising it said: “…traditional advertising is becoming less and less effective, we are now hit with up to 5, 000 advertisements every day. Radios come with scan and seek buttons and TiVo allows consumers to fast forward through annoying chatter and ads… Most people focus on the stories…good stories… that’s why an article – a story – and its life-changing benefits is more effective than an advertisement.”
Hey, I’m not downplaying the role of advertising. That is the lifeblood of every media outfit. All I’m saying is don’t downplay the role of publicity. Le the two work together – and believe me the returns are endless.
* * *
April May Tudtud-Ramos is an out-source corporate publicist since 1999. She is also an Advanced Communicator of Toastmasters International affiliated with the Queen City Toastmasters Club. For comments send e-messages to apriltudtudramos@yahoo.com.
The wealth of one
village one product
By: PED T. QUIAMJOT
ONE has to admire the entrepreneurship of the men and women of Manticao in Misamis Oriental. Along the national hi-way, women wear the warm smile that can flag down every passing motor vehicle to pull-over.
Out of curiosity or hunger seldom can one refuse the relish of aroma from the freshly baked Bibingka displayed in street side Carenderias. Glutonous rice cakes topped with margarine and grated young coconut meat are part of the Filipino fare for merienda or pasalubong.
In Southern Luzon, people from Manila travel to Nasugbo for Batangas Beef and gastronomic cravings for Bulalo or Tapa served in many roadside restaurants.
There are other sights and places all over the Philippines that create values for Filipino food and skills that are down loaded to the underground economy. Call it one village one product where one competitive as a staple is made into business to create sales and revenue.
Up North in Luzon along Calasiao in Pangasinan every public bus stations are hawkers paradise for Balot or Pinoy.
Down to Dagupan you can find the best Bangus Sardines and Salted Padas Fish in bottles sold as delicacies among local and foreign land based travelers.
One village one product has long been in trade and business since the Japanese occupied the Philippines during the Second World War.
The Filipino entrepreneurship that rise from the hardship of war made the Bicolanos in Iriga sell bottled raw water from the spring and rivers of Camarines Sur to the Japanese Kempetais boarding the train for Manila. While passing Lucena in Quezon Province, the Soldiers were treated to Southern Tagalog’s Pancit Hab-hab. Noodles made from Cassava flour eaten bare in banana leaves.
Today in Salay town, the handmade paper product is a success story of the Rafisura family. From Cogon grass, abaca fiber and pineapple leaves, quality paper goes to the international world market as materials for bags, cards and other paper novelties. The finished merchandise end up in many Marks & Spencer counter.
In a micro economic scale one village one product help the underground economy stay vibrant.
The absence or lack of value added taxation in this sector keep prices of certain product low.
The use of indigenous raw materials, local skills and talents is a way out from rural poverty.
Job are generated where even the school drop-outs or undergraduates can earn a living.
Bread and butter
By: JHAN TIAFAU HUR
THINK a minute.
There was a baker who bought his butter from a local farmer. One day the baker decided to weigh the butter. He was surprised that the farmer had been giving him less butter but still charging him the same price. The baker got very angry! He told the farmer he was a dishonest crook and took him to court.
In court the judge asked the farmer: “Do you have measuring weights and scales? The farmer answered no. So the judge asked: “Then how do you weigh the pound of butter you sell to the baker?” The farmer said: “When the baker started buying butter from me I wanted to help him too, so I started buying his bread for my family. Since then I’ve been using the baker’s 1-pound loaf of bread as the weight to measure my butter. So if the weight of the butter is wrong, that means the baker has been dishonest and selling less than a full pound loaf of bread to me!”
Many of us are quick to see the faults and wrongs of others, but we’re slow to see and admit our own. In fact, many times we draw attention to other people’s problems and faults precisely because we don’t want to face our own. We think we’re wise experts at knowing what’s wrong with everyone else, yet we’re completely blind to our own weaknesses and character flaws.
But even if that other person does have something wrong with them, our own wrong of judging them can be even worse than what we’re judging them for! This is why Jesus Christ warned us that we will end up being judged by the same judgment we made on someone else! But if we will honestly admit to Jesus what’s wrong with our own character and way of living, Jesus will forgive us and give us His inner power. He can start fixing and changing our heart, so we’ll be free to genuinely love others instead of looking for their faults.
Just Think a Minute!
SCIENTISTS have discovered that beer belly is not solely caused by beer but by the overall lifestyle of a person.
According to one study published in European Journal on Clinical Nutrition this year, moderate beer consumption does not cause beer belly. The study was conducted on 20,000 people who were under observation for six years.
The research, done by experts from German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrucke, Fulda University of Applied Sciences at University of Gothenburg in Sweden, further added that right nutrition and regular exercise also play an important part.
Before the conduct of the study, which was sponsored by German Cancer Aid, German Federal Ministry of Education, and European Union, beer belly was attributed to beer. Beer belly is one of the causes of cardiovascular or heart disease.
In that study, each person’s beer consumption was gauged and determined if it directly affects one’s waistline. It was found out that a man or a woman gets beer belly out of too much beer consumption.
Another scientific paper released by Brewer’s Europe entitled “Effects of Moderate Beer Consumption,” in 2008 stated that highly caloric content and fatty foods often cause beer belly.
This was confirmed by “Alcohol and diet in France” published in European Heart Journal in 2004 and the 2002 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition study entitled “ Alcoholic preference, diet and health habits in the UNC Alumni Study” and other published researches.
ENGINEER Lenard Castillo of LC Castillo & Company Inc. (LCCCI) has been appointed by Free Flow Power Corporation as their exclusive representative in the Philippines last January 11, 2010.
Under this agreement LCCCI has been authorized as an exclusive representative of FFPC in the Philippines for the purpose of developing hydropower sites. Specifically, the purpose shall mean working in cooperation with FFPC to target conventional hydropower or hydrokinetic sites.
Free Flow Power Corporation, a Delaware Corporation, with a place of business at Gloucester, Massachusetts, is a hydropower developer and technology company focused on using the force of rivers, streams, ocean currents, and tides to generate electricity without building new dams or diversions.
FFPC is developing hydrokinetic facilities in the United States beginning with river sites.
This includes the following conditions such as:
• The sites are closed to on-shore electricity consumers which reduces transmission costs.
• The water flows consistently in a single direction (as compared to tides) allowing for a simple turbine design and more consistent generation.
• Studies of aquatic species undertaken for conventional hydropower licensing have resulted in significant environmental knowledge base.
• Greater use of rivers for industry reduces the amount of conflicting recreational uses near the project site.
FFPC has developed a turbine generator system designed to produce affordable electricity from moving water without dams or diversions.
Free Flow Power CEO Dan Irvin stated, “We are excited about the opportunity to work with LC Castillo & Company on potential free flow sites in the Philippines.” To learn more about LCCCI and FFPC, visit their website at www.LCCastillo.vpweb.com and www.freeflowpower.com.
UNLIKE OTHER COFFEE FARMERS Jolan Lamoste painstakingly sorts sacks of first pick green coffee beans (GCB) for defects before selling them to Nestlé, the makers of NESCAFÉ. Lamoste has a good reputation to protect––his father was a longtime supplier of Nestlé.
He not only inherited his parents’ livelihood but also their sense of pride in delivering the best produce their lands can yield.
Lamoste, who hails from Laac, Compostela Valley, inherited the coffee growing business from his parents, Maximo and Gina.
His parents, in fact, were given the honor of becoming ceremonial coffee farmer ambassadors in 2006, when the Nestlé Satellite Buying Station in Davao City celebrated its 20th anniversary.
After 20 years of coffee farming and trading, Lamoste knows there is no shortcut to good, quality coffee. He always resists the temptation to quickly sell his dried and dehulled first harvest coffee to Nestlé Satellite Buying Station in San Francisco, Agusan del Sur.
Lamoste makes sure that any GCBs that are below quality standards are sorted out first. He’s even willing to sacrifice immediate financial gain for the long-term benefit of preserving his family’s reputation for selling only the best harvest.
Even though it has been seven months since Lamoste’s last paycheck, and his family needs the money, he is willing to wait until the damaged, immature and other substandard beans are all removed.
This morning, Jolan is helped no less than by his mother, Gina. Through a homemade plastic screen and wood frame contraption, they filter out the small broken and immature beans out of the good ones. Their experienced hands also pick out the rest of the debris – pebbles, corns, rice, etc.
These morning sorting activities not only ensure that the Lamoste family only offers the highest quality beans to Nestlé—they are also moments that never fail to nurture and strengthen the bond between mother and son, as well as the bond between the Lamoste family and the land that sustains their coffee farm.
With another sorter to help him, Lamoste can go through one to two sacks of GCBs a day.
For his first pick delivery, he and three other sorters spent two weeks cleaning up his harvest of coffee beans and that of neighboring farmers. It’s back-breaking hard work and at the same time, truly a labor of love – all for the sake of selling the best quality coffee beans.
A few days before Lamoste was interviewed for this story, he received news about a fellow coffee farmer from the town of Loreto, Agusan del Sur: many of that farmer’s sacks of coffee were rejected. The reason? They contained a lot of defective beans.
“Nestlé Buying Station officers are very stringent,” Lamoste says in Cebuano. “I never dared to pass on bad coffee beans to them.”
Lamoste explained that the Nestlé Buying Station strictly maintains its standards. “Those who bring their harvests of GCBs that include damaged beans or have a lot of debris like dirt or small stones, will have a hard time passing the quality check,” says Lamoste.
Lamoste wholeheartedly agrees that quality standards have to be applied not only in the coffee-making process but right from the beginning: first in the quality of the seedlings planted, and, later, in the quality of the harvest that is used in making coffee.
“There are truly things in life that are more important than a quick paycheck. These include first, the pride and personal satisfaction that you met the highest standards in your harvest; second, the credibility you establish with your buyers; and third, the knowledge that you have kept a family legacy and tradition.
“Credibilty is something you cannot exchange for quick money. It will sustain you through all your future harvests and future transactions with your buyer. It’s a long-term guarantee of trust and quality—the buyer knows he gets his money’s worth and the farmer can count on a lasting partnership with the buyer,” Lamoste explains.
Lamoste adds that the strict attention to quality that his family and Nestlé puts in during these stages in the coffee making process directly impacts each cup of coffee that consumers drink: a delicious cup that’s 100% pure coffee flavor and aroma can only come from the best main ingredient.
First Pick Excitement
Amid all the excitement felt in his household come June (the start of harvest season in the Caraga Region) Jolan is always cool-headed and quickly reminds his harvesters to pick only the red and yellow cherries.
“Coffee cherries are much better during first pick because there are not many insect borers around,” reveals Gina. She has always been happy to lend her son an extra hand during harvest or sorting though she lives in another barangay. “It’s an old family habit that’s hard to break,” she says.
“There is nothing in the world that a coffee farmer awaits with excitement than his first harvest of the season. It’s a sign of hope and for the coming months. More importantly, coffee has kept our family closer together through the years,” beams Lamoste, while holding the transaction slip from his first delivery. It bears Grade 1 for quality, the highest mark Nestlé can give.
Jolan Lamoste is just one of the farmers who harvests your beautiful mornings with the 2010 Special Limited Edition NESCAFÉ Classic First Pick. Help our coffee farmers plant more firsts today. Starting January 2010, bring home a NESCAFÉ Classic First Pick and look for the jar’s unique code.
Log on to www.nescafe.com.ph/firstpick and key in the code to learn more about the journey of your coffee and to adopt a coffee seedling that will benefit a local coffee farming community. Your contribution will only be accepted until March 31, 2010 only. To know more about NESCAFÉ Classic First Pick, call the Nestlé Care Hotline 898-0061.
ASSISTANT secretary Emeterio Genaro Jose S. Moreno of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Thursday lauded the provincial government of Misamis Oriental for crafting its Citizen’s Charter, in pursuance to Republic Act no. 9485, better known as the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007.
“Not all agencies of government and local government units have formulated their Citizen’s Charter. Misamis Oriental provincial government is among the few that have launched their Citizen’s Charter,” said Moreno during the simple rites to launch the Citizen’s Charter at the Capitol Kiosk in Cagayan de Oro.
The crafting of the Citizen’s Charter came after governor Oscar S. Moreno, older brother of the DILG assistant secretary, issued an executive order in November last year, creating a Citizen’s Charter Task Force that was headed by provincial administrator Patrick U. Gabutina.
For several days, members of the Citizen’s Charter Task Force examined the functions and focused on the basic services that every office in the provincial government is mandated to perform and deliver.
These were then compiled in one book that shall be known as the Citizen’s Charter of Misamis Oriental.
In his message, which form part of the book,
governor Oscar S. Moreno said: “Any effort, deliberately or unintentionally and for whatever reason, which results to one’s failure to efficiently and effectively deliver what is expected of him could affect the entire performance of the provincial government bureaucracy.”
Also, the regional director of the Civil Service Commission, Atty. Lourdes Clavite-Vidal, stated in her message that “the crafting of the Citizen’s Charter is only the beginning of the attainment of our vision” and that “the bigger challenge is in the adhering to the service standards contained in the said charter.”
In fact, DILG-10 regional director Loreto T. Bhagwani was even more specific when he succinctly wrote in his message that “with the Citizen’s Charter, the public is guided very clearly where to go, what to do and what to bring, to facilitate his request or transaction.”
Incidentally, the launch of the Citizen’s Charter was held when Misamis Oriental marked its 80th foundation anniversary as a province. URIEL C. QUILINGUING
MISOR TODAY:
THE Tripartite Industrial Peace Council (TIPC), Misamis Oriental-Cagayan de Oro Chapter, in an effort to further develop strong interpersonal relationships among its members, is bringing its member-organizations and companies to a one-day team-building session in Obrero Resort, Kawayanon, Camp Philips, Bukidnon, on January 30 this year.
Rowena I. Acharon, TIPC vice chair for management sector, said the activity is likewise aimed at fostering awareness of the TIPC spirit and reinforce commitment to the council’s shared goals and objectives.
Functioning under the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), TIPC is composed of government and non-government offices and business entities that are committed to sustain industrial peace, through dynamic tripartism in attaining harmonious relationship between labor and management towards socio-economic development.
In Northern Mindanao, it is chaired by DOLE 10 Regional Director Allan Macaraya of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), with members like Del Monte Philippines, Concentrix Corporation, Liceo de Cagayan University, Ororama Chain of Superstores, Madonna and Child Hospital, AWATU, Aboitiz, Holcim Phils, De Oro Bayanihan, Serge Construction, Pryce Plaza Hotel, Gaisano, and BusinessWeek Mindanao, as well as the different government agencies.
BusinessWeek Mindanao envisions to become a catalyst for development in the region, bringing about developmental news and other business-related activities that augur well for positive change rather than clinging to sensational journalism that would only result to polarization of views and disintegration of our people.
BusinessWeek Mindanao, hopes to establish its niche as the first weekly business newspaper in Mindanao, thus developmental journalism is its major thrust.
CONTACT US:
Business Week Mindanao Advertising and Promotions
FICCO Bldg., Lapasan, Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines
Telefax #: 856-7703, 855-1475, 72-02-33, 09-1805
TIN No. 946-396-807 – Non VAT
THE BICAMERAL conference committee last week approved a measure that seeks to form the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), with lawmakers eyeing its final ratification.
Lawmakers from the Senate and the House of Representatives have consolidated Senate Bill 3496 and House Bill 6958 which seek to accelerate growth and development in Mindanao by institutionalizing a central planning agency for the entire island.
The bill seeks to strengthen and rename the existing Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCo), which was formed on March 1992 through Executive Order 512 issued by the late former President Corazon C. Aquino.
Undersecretary Virgilio L. Leyretana, Sr., MEDCo chairman, described the current body as a mere “ad hoc...coordinating” agency.
He said in a phone interview that with the passage of the measure, the envisioned new agency will not only closely coordinate with national agencies, but will implement policies and programs for the socioeconomic development of the entire island.
He said, however, that MinDA will still have to submit recommendations to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
Mr. Leyretana noted there are about 18 ad hoc bodies that have been overseeing various aspects of Mindanao development through the years, meaning they were replaced, subsumed to other agencies, or abolished altogether with a change in national leadership.
Hence, he said, the need for a more permanent structure if Mindanao’s promise as a resource-rich island is to be realized.
Camarines Sur Rep. Felix R. Alfelor, Jr. (4th district), chairman of the House panel to the bicameral committee, said the body will also act as the Philippine coordinating office for the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-the Philippines East-Association of Southeast Asian Nations Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), especially for projects of the sub-regional grouping that will be implemented in the country.
Senator Edgardo J. Angara, Senate panel chairman, agreed to a proposal by the House panel to rename the agency as MinDA, from the originally proposed name, Mindanao Economic Development Authority (MEDA), saying development on the island should not be understood as being confined to the economic sphere but should also embrace the social and political realms.
MinDA will also be directly under the Office of the President and its chairman will have Cabinet rank, compared to MEDCo’s current status as being under NEDA supervision.
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel F. Zubiri and Mr. Alfelor said the measure will be scheduled for ratification by both chambers today.
Mr. Leyretana noted that it took 19 years to get the measure to where it is now. “This is not only a landmark bill because it took us 19 years to get through the legislative mill; this will have a high impact [sic] on Mindanao.”
The 8th Congress ratified the MEDA bill in 1991, but this was vetoed by the late former Pres. Aquino, who then instead issued EO 512 forming MEDCo.
By RUTCHIE AGUHOB
CAGAYAN de Oro City––Press Secretary Cerge M. Remonde’s demise is certainly a loss to the media community who has looked up to this “struggling probinsiyano” broadcast journalist, as a role model.
From his humble beginnings in Cebu, he was able to rise up and conquer the walls of Malacañang, a feat that no other mediaman, in the past, has done.
This was how Ditas Gualberto, Station Manager of DXIM-Radyo ng Bayan and Vincent Jaudian, President of the Cagayan de Oro Press Club (COPC), together with the rest of the media in the city, described their grief over the death of a “friend and leader.”
He was guest speaker of the club’s 58th induction ceremonies during the celebration of the Media Week in May, last year, almost four (4) months after he was appointed Press Secretary by Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Feb. 1.
Addressing the COPC members in English interspersed with “Cebuano,” he expounded on the power of the media and the role mediamen play in today’s Philippine setting, and we quote:
“Let us be cautious of the power of media even as we congratulate the mediamen for their dedication and dynamism in doing their job as messengers of truth.
“Power for its own sake is dirty and only becomes meaningful if used for the common good. With power comes great responsibility. We all know how important is the role that we play, because we define the issues of the day.
“We have the power to create and the power to build but we also have the power to destroy. This power can make you ‘intoxicated’ as some of our colleagues have been intoxicated wrongly.
‘Kon ang usa ka mediaman, usa ka brodkaster o usa ka magsusulat masayop, ang kasaypanan nga iyang mahimo mopatay sa kamatuoran ug kung mamatay ang kamatuoran, kita magapos sa kangitngit sa ka-ignorante.’ (A wrong-doing of a mediaman, he be in broadcast or print, can kill the truth and once the truth is dead, it makes people live in the confines of darkness and ignorance).
“Only the truth can set us free and once it is dead because of our wrong-doing, then we have been irresponsible in our practice.
“We know that politics in this country has been made into a commercial proposition instead of a noble public service.
“So that the challenge for us is to improve the quality of politics by improving the quality and level of public and political conditions, which we can do, since we are the ones that dictate the political, civic and public discourse.
“So now we wonder, ‘Ngano nakabaton kita ug katilingban nga nagkagubot ug nagkaguliyang? Di ba kaha nga kita nakatampo niining maong kagubot ug kaguliyang.’ (Why do we have a society that is in disarray and chaos? Have we not contributed to this situation?).
“Are we promoting understanding which is the purpose of communication? Is the kind of dialogue we are pushing, one that generates heat? Remember that when we generate heat, we kindle fire and when we start that fire, we will end up in social conflagration.
“Yet, when we generate light, we create illumination and understanding and in understanding we can arrive at a better social comfort.”
Obviously referring to his being a ‘Cebuano,’ the dialect of most people in the city, he said:
“If Latin is the language to communicate with God, German with that of the horse and French with that of love, then “ang atong kaugalingong pinulongan mao ang lingguwahe sa atong kasing-kasing (Our own dialect is the language of our hearts).” (PIA-10)
DANTE M. SUDARIA
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BY NELSON V CONSTANTINO, Editor
and BONG FABE, Contributor
AS the global financial meltdown gradually making a turn-around, local industries are confident the dawn for recovery is in the offing.
Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Industries (COCI) President Jerome Soldevilla said that while doing business will continue to remain tough, the prospects would be much better as the global economy is expected to improve a bit from the serious crunch experienced last year.
“[The current year will be] far better than 2009,” Soldevilla said.
Soldevilla, who is also communications officer of the STEAG State Power, Inc. which operates the coal-fired power plant in Villanueva town, said that results of a survey conducted among COCI members showed that the industries are giving a positive outlook for this year.
Established in 1980, the group serves as a mechanism to collectively address major concerns faced by the manufacturing sector.
Its members include Asia Brewery, CATIMCO, Coca-Cola, Del Monte Phils., LKKS Manufacturing, Nestle Phils., Phil Agro, PICMW, Pilipinas Kao, RI Chemicals, Mindanao Silicon, STEAG State Power Inc, and Elegant Chemical Alloy.
Major export processing plants such as the Philippine Sinter Corporation (PSC) and Mindanao Silicon Metals Inc. project at least a 10% increase in their outputs.
PSC’s Roger Lim said the sintering plant is also hopeful following reports of better global forecasts for the steel industry.
Moreover, RI Chemicals also reported that the company remains bullish as it sees a 10% hike in sales volume owing to a consistently strong domestic market.
Beverage giant Asia Brewery is also looking at a decent growth in production volume of its plant in Mindanao this year as it moves towards expanding its local market shares. It is confident to sustain the positive performance or even surpass production targets to a leap of 5 to 10% for this year.
In the wood processing industry, CATIMCO group indicates a major shift towards production of finished and semi-finished wood products as global competition worldwide gets stiffer.
CATIMCO group representative Prudencio Plaza said that the wood industry needs to innovate more as raw materials become scarce and the market expands to include the use of alternative construction materials.
Although sales volume for some companies paint a promising forecast, the manufacturing sector as a whole is faced with a serious concern of increased production cost.
Apollo Alavanza of Del Monte Philippines acknowledged that while there is a robust global market for its products, the company has to pursue more innovative measures to sustain its market leadership amidst rising cost of inputs. Cagayan de Oro based Coca-Cola bottlers Philippines also share the same view adding that it will continue to be more responsive to the growing market trends particularly in the beverage industry.
Limketkai Manufacturing executive Leoncio Ang of Limketkai said domestic supply of raw material for its Marca Leon oil products is a concern that needs to be addressed as the local coconut industry continues to be saddled with issues of low productivity.
COCI also voiced concerns on the rising cost of fuel and electricity. It has earlier approved a proposed resolution calling for a review of the planned privatization of the hydro electric power plants in Mindanao as the same is expected to increase further cost of electricity and hamper the manufacturing industries competitiveness. COCI is also asking local government units to suspend any planned increase in local taxations especially at this time when cost of doing business is continually on the rise.
BY NELSON V. CONSTANTINO
Executive Editor
SOFT drink maker Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines, Inc. is set to start the construction of its new production line in Cagayan de Oro next month as part of the company’s P350 million expansion program aimed at doubling its manufacturing capacity and increase its nationwide presence
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Pepsi Philippines said its board has approved the establishment of additional production lines that are capable of doubling its current output in Cagayan de Oro.
Corporate communication manager Bobby Franco, in a statement, said the new bottling line would produce seven million cases of carbonated soft drinks and noncarbonated soft drinks annually.
This, he said, was equivalent to an additional P1 billion in annual revenues. Construction, Mr. Franco said, would start in the first quarter of this year.
“The additional volume will double the current capacity of our Cagayan de Oro plant. The new line will bring to 27 Pepsi-Cola’s bottling lines,” he said.
The new production line is expected to be completed by November, this year.
This is in line with the company’s plans to expand its manufacturing capacity in Mindanao given that it was nearing 100-percent capacity utilization rate. In Luzon alone, the utilization rate was at about 70 percent of existing capacity.
This spending is part of a $43.3 billion investment plan for the expansion and launching of new products to keep up with increasing consumer preference for beverages associated with health and wellness.
The expansion would provide an additional six million cases of non-carbonated and carbonated drinks to Pepsi’s existing 170 million cases at its 11 bottling plants a year. This is expected to ensure sufficient growth for the company over the next five years.
Pepsi also plans to further grow its non-carbonated beverage (NCB) line through acquisitions.
Pepsi Philippines, which has a market capitalization of about P8.6 billion, has produced about 170 million raw cases of beverage this year. About 80 percent of the company’s business still come from the sale of carbonated drinks like Pepsi, 7-Up, Mountain Dew, Mirinda and Mug but the non-carbonated business has been growing at 30 percent annually over the last three years or over three times the trend growth of the carbonated drink business.
Among its non-carbonated products are Lipton Red tea, Tropicana, Gatorade, Sting energy drink and Propel Vitamin water.
Company president Micky Yong said non-carbonated beverages like Gatorade and Tropicana already had a strong following in Metro Manila and that the company would like to make them available across the Philippines.
Yong said Pepsi Cola Products Philippines would allot P1.5 billion for its yearly capital spending and another P500 million to expand the capacities in Mindanao and to launch new non-carbonated beverages in the market.
He said the company was expected to continue to perform well this fiscal year, as sales would likely be boosted by election-related spending.
Pepsi also plans to introduce to the market new products such as coconut juice drinks.
The company last year expanded the capacities of its plants in Iloilo and Central Luzon.
Pepsi-Cola also said it was on the lookout for the acquisition of new noncarbonated drink brands, saying the firm’s noncarbonated segment was growing at a faster rate than the carbonated drink segment.
For the past three years, carbonated drinks have been growing only by 9%, lower than the 30% growth recorded by the noncarbonated drink segment, Pepsi-Cola said.
For its fiscal year ending in June last year, Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines’ net profits went up by 5% to P800 million, while revenues recorded double-digit growth at P14.2 billion.
The fund for the expansion was partly raised from the initial public offering (IPO) of its shares which started two years ago. The company, which holds the Pepsi Bottling Group licence for the Philippines, said that it was able to raise around P7.9 billion from the offer of up to 1.31 billion shares, at an indicative price of P6.04 per share.
PCPP said the shares were sold by Guoco Assets Philippines and The Nassim Fund. The shares sold represented around 36% of the company’s capital.
PCPP is 32.9%-owned by PepsiCo, whereas its major competitor Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines Inc. is now 100%-owned by Coca-Cola.
Pepsi Philippines has also committed itself to replacing the use of fossil fuels with renewable sources. Within five years, it seeks to have independent power-generating facilities running on renewable energy like biomass, solar, wind and biogas in each of its 11 manufacturing plants across the country.
The facilities will be put up through the build-operating-transfer scheme with a partner with expertise in power generation. These facilities will produce electricity steam for bottle-washing operations, carbon dioxide for production and chilled water for refrigeration and cold storage.
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