BusinessWeek M I N DA N A O CREDIBLE
Volume XIV, No. 100 AS OF 6:00 PM JAN 31, 2023 (TUE)
X
US$1 = P54.54
0.07
cents
RELIABLE
PHISIX
X
6,970.97
81.19
points
Briefly ‘Happy home’ DAVAO City – The South Cotabato provincial government has expressed interest in how the Davao Oriental province runs its Happy Home, a halfway house for former communist rebels. In a statement Monday, Karen Lou Deloso, Davao Oriental’s provincial information officer, said delegates from South Cotabato visited the province's Happy Home last week to learn about management strategies in order to improve its own program for rebel returnees. “The delegates from South Cotabato expressed their gratitude to the provincial government for giving them an idea about operating this kind of facility. South Cotabato began its facility’s operation only a year ago,” Deloso said.
Vital for tourism DAVAO City – Tourism Secretary Christina GarciaFrasco on Friday underscored the importance of Mindanao to the country's tourism development, describing the island as a “hidden gem” that has yet to be fully developed. Gracing the opening of the Jan. 27–29 firstever Mindanao Tourism Expo (MTE) here, Frasco said they are currently collaborating with local and provincial officials to further showcase the beauty of the island region. "We want to ensure that we allow our tourists both international and local peek into the soul of Mindanao and the soul of the Filipino people," she said in an interview.
Smuggled onions THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) - Port of Zamboanga (POZ) has seized P18.6 million worth of smuggled onions in a vessel in Zamboanga City last week. In a statement Tuesday, the port said it has intercepted 5,611 mesh bags of imported red onions with an estimated market value of P8.5 million and 2,249 mesh bags of imported white onions valued at P10.1 million during a maritime patrol operation in Barangay Ayala, Zamboanga City on Jan. 25. The onions are loaded in a vessel marked "MV Princess Nurdisza," which allegedly came from Taganak, TawiTawi province are bound for Barangay Baliwasan.
IN-DEPTH
Electricity spot market now in full operation www.businessweekmindanao.com
Market Indicators FOREX
YOUR MINDANAO-WIDE BUSINESS PAPER
Wed-Thu | February 1-2, 2023
P15.00
By MYRNA M. VELASCO Contributor
A
FTER roughly eight years of delay and three government a d m i n i s t r at i o n s , t h e Wholesale E le ctricity Spot Market (WESM) in Mindanao finally gained traction on its commercial o p e r at i on s p h a s e on January 26 this year. In an advisory to the trading participants, the market operator indicated that the spot market in the southernmost power grid got on commercial stream at 05:00am dispatch interval on Thursday, Jan. 26, and has moved on to its live trading since then. According to the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP), it will “oversee the market operations of WESM-Mindanao,” and it will be employing its two main systems for this ELECTRICITY/PAGE 7
LPG BEFORE PRICE HIKE. Workers unload liquified petroleum gas cylinders at a retail store along R. Castillo Street, Davao City on Tuesday (31 January 2023). Prices of cooking gas are set to increase by at least P8 per kilogram Wednesday. MindaNews Photo
Government seeking China grants for Vis-Min bridges
COMPENSATION BOARD CHAIR. Maisara C. Dandamun-Latiph takes her oath as chairperson of the Marawi Compensation Board before Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin. Photo courtesy of the Presidential Communications Office
JICA not funding Davao’s waste-to-energy project DAVAO City — Former Sarangani Governor Miguel By ANTONIO L. COLINA IV Rene Alcantara Dominguez MindaNews has joined the 60-year-old DAVAO Development City — The Japan Alsons and International Cooperation Investment Corporation Agency (JICA) is “neither (Alsons Dev) as its new funding nor implementing” director who will oversee the business proposedstrategy waste-tothe and energy (WTE) facility of operations of the premier the local government of property developer and real Davaopioneer City, Ide Soichiro, estate in Davao City. senior representative of estate JICA Alsons Dev is the real Philippines, said.
This after environmental groups claimed that the agency is supporting the construction of this facility in the city. “We would like to clarify that JICA is neither funding nor implementing the wasteto-energy facility project in Davao City,” he said. He said JICA has always anchored its development
c o o p e r at i on w it h t h e Philippines through consultations with local stakeholders to promote sustainable, inclusive, and resilient growth. He said the agency’s c o o p e r at i on w it h t h e Philippines has always centered on “integrated society efforts” in addressing JICA/PAGE 7
THE Department of Public Wo r k s a n d H i g h w a y s (DPWH) is hoping to obtain “grant assistance” from the Chinese government for bridges in the Visayas and Mindanao. “I have had active discussions with them,” DPWH Secretary Manuel M. Bonoan said during the ceremonial opening of the Binondo-Intramuros Bridge linear park and pedestrian stairs project. He said that the grants being proposed will be for bridges outside the capital
region. The Chinese government has provided various grants for projects in the capital, including $75 million for the Binondo-Intramuros Bridge and the Estrella-Pantaleon Bridge during the previous administration. “We are trying to get some more grant assistance for other bridges like in Bohol and Mindanao,” Mr. Bonoan said. He added that one of the bridges being proposed for a Chinese grant is the one CHINA/PAGE 7
Davao City targets 1.8M tourists in 2023 By ANTONIO L. COLINA IV MindaNews
DAVAO City – The Davao City Tourism Office targets to attract around 1.8 million visitors for this year. Jennifer Romero, head of the local tourism office, said during Kapehan sa Dabaw on Monday that a number of big conventions and other events have been lined up this year, in which the tourism stakeholders hope would gradually bring the number of
arrivals to the pre-pandemic level. She said the local government recorded 897,406 arrivals for the entire 2022, significantly lower compared with the 2.5 million reported in 2019, the banner year for the city’s tourism industry. She said the city targets to receive 2.5 million visitors in 2024 and 2.7 million in 2025. But Romeo added that it DAVAO/PAGE 7
Editorial and advertising email : businessweekmindanao@gmail.com • Cell Number : 0917-7121424 • 0947-8935776