BusinessWeek M I N DA N A O CREDIBLE
Volume XIV, No. 107 AS OF 6:00 PM FEB 16, 2023 (THU)
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Briefly Market access for agri products THE Philippines will focus on market access for agricultural products once the Japanese agrees to a definite schedule for a general review of their bilateral free trade agreement – Philippines Japan Economic Partnership (PJEPA), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said. DTI’s Special Trade Representative to Japan Dita Angara-Mathay told reporters for the debriefing of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. visit in Japan that the Philippines is trying to schedule the next general review of the bilateral free trade agreement. “We’re really pushing hard to really pin them down on honest general review. We have a lot of offensive interest in agriculture,” said Mathay as he noted of local banana and pineapple growers for greater market access of their produce.
Wage hike law review SENATOR Raffy Tulfo on Wednesday filed a measure seeking to improve the working conditions of workers and at the same time review existing policies on the minimum wage increase to determine if they fit today's standard of living. In his Senate Resolution 476, which seeks a review of the existing policies on minimum wage increases, Tulfo said this is to determine if last year’s wage increase could still sustain the living conditions of workers, considering that many of them are facing financial difficulties brought about by rising inflation. The increase in minimum wage outside Metro Manila, meanwhile, took effect between June 6 and June 30 last year, with the rates ranging from P306 to P470.
IN-DEPTH
MinDA, UN ink deal for Mindanao dev't www.businessweekmindanao.com
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YOUR MINDANAO-WIDE BUSINESS PAPER
Fri-Sat | February 17-18, 2023
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AVA O C i t y – The Mindanao Development Authority and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) signed a partnership Wednesday to provide various developments in the island region.
MinDA Secretary Maria B elen Acosta and Oscar Marenco, the UNOPS countr y manager, agreed to cooperate on technical assistance in infrastructure master planning and project priority identification, as well as consideration of possible mechanisms for the development of infrastructure projects. Likewise, both parties also
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MOU FOR MINDANAO DEV’T. MinDA Secretary Maria Belen Acosta and and UNOPS Country Manager Oscar Marenco during the signing of MOU Wednesday (15 February 2023) in Davao City. MindaNews photo by ANTONIO L. COLINA IV
P3M worth of hot cigars Agusan Sur sports complex seized along Davao border DAVAO City – Authorities seized more than P2.9 million worth of smuggled cigarettes at the Sirawan border control checkpoint here, an official reported Wednesday. Col. Darren Comia, the Army-led Task Force Davao (TFD) commander, s aid Tuesday's apprehension, in coordination with the Davao
City Police Office (DCPO) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC)-Davao, was the biggest so far this year. “We will be vigilant to filter smuggled and illegal contraband considered very dangerous and harmful to the Dabawenyos and the city's economy,” he said.
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Tourism revival THE government’s big ticket infrastructure projects will not just benefit local commuters but will also boost tourism in far-flung areas, Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Jaime Bautista told the Philippine IATA Agents Travel Association (PIATA) on Wednesday, February 15. In fact, these projects will establish the Philippines as a prime tourism destination. “Modernizing the country’s transportation system is crucial to ensure tourists enjoy their travel and vacation experience,” Secretary Bautista pointed out.
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DAVAO City — Former Sarangani Governor Miguel Rene Alcantara Dominguez has joined the 60-year-old Alsons Development and Investment Corporation (Alsons Dev) as its new director who will oversee the business strategy and flock to the Rizal Park OLD, NEW PARK. Dozens operations of the premier in Malaybalay City on Wednesday night (15 Feb property and reopened real 2023), developer when it was more than a year estate pioneer in Davao City. after it was closed for renovation. MindaNews Alsonsby DevH. is the real estate C. MORDENO photo MARCOS
rehab almost complete: guv By CHRIS V. PANGANIBAN MindaNews
PROSPERIDAD, Agusan del Sur — The D.O. Plaza Memorial Sp o r t s C o mp l e x at t h e provincial government center here, which is undergoing rehabilitation, will feature state-of-the-art facilities that can host sporting events on a global scale, according to Gov. Santiago Cane Jr.
The sports complex, set to be completed this month, boasts of an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a 24-room hotel housed in the main g randst and, a f u l ly airconditioned covered court for basketball, volleyball, a tennis court, and a rubberized track and field oval and artificial grass football field. Linda Buquir, the provincial
engineer, said the total project cost of the “world-class” sports complex is about P713 million for Phase 1 and Phase 2. The three private c ont r a c tors w h i ch h ave implemented the project since June 2018 reported that it is at least 97 percent complete. The renovated facility will be inaugurated next month.
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ERC, DSWD urged to accelerate clean-up of power subsidy list By MYRNA M. VELASCO Contributor
THE Energ y Regulator y C ommission (ERC) and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) are being urged to accelerate the clean-up of the list of electric consumers entitled to the government’s “lifeline subsidy rate” to help tame the
country’s rising inflation rate. Senate Committee on Energy Vice Chairman Sherwin T. Gatchalian raised this matter with the two key agencies “because this is one way to help cushion the inflationary impact triggered by rising electricity rates.” The lawmaker specified that in the current list of lifeliners
or those who are entitled to cost subsidy on consumption below 100-kilowatt hours (kWhs), “there are still a lot of condominium residents, so the list has to be cleaned up.” Based on the report of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), electricity was among t he c om mo d it i e s w h i ch
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