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Volume XIII, No. 40 AS OF 6:00 PM SEP 5, 2022 (MON)
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IN-DEPTH
Fri-Sat | September 9-10, 2022
By MYRNA S. VELASCO Contributor
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ZAMBOANGA City – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has repositioned some of its forces to strengthen border control and external defense operations in different parts of the country. This, as after more than six years of deployment and service to combat terrorism in Sulu, the 4th Marine Brigade (4MBde) and the Mar ine Battalion Landing Team-8 (MBLT-8) were pulled out from the Western Mindanao Command's (Westmincom) joint area of operations. They were deployed to address the security concerns and strengthen border control and external defense operations in the northern part of the country under the jurisdiction of the North Luzon Command (NolCom).
Complain ‘hotline’ MISAMIS Oriental's "Paglaum" Hotline that will cater to public complaints and emergency response is now operational, according to the provincial government o n M o n d a y. P r o v i n c i a l Administrator John Venice Ladaga said the hotline is in line with Governor Peter Unabia's par ticipator y gover nance, which is also anchored on the 1987 Constitution and Republic Act 9485 or the AntiRed Tape Act. "This is also in line with Administrative Order 241, series of 2008, or the Institutionalization of Citizens Complaint Hotline," Ladaga said during the launching Monday.
NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY. Xavier Ateneo Pres. Fr. Mars Tan SJ lowers the time capsule for the Fr William Masterson SJ Manresa Campus on September 8, 2020 along with other dignitaries in commemoration of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. (RMB)
Chinese firm issued notice to proceed with Samal bridge project By ANTONIO L. COLINA IV MindaNews
Shelter for minor offenders TO help children in conflict with the law (CICL) become p r o d u c t i ve c i t i z e n s , t h e Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) is putting up a P16.7-million temporar y shelter for children while u n d e r g o i n g r e fo r m a t i o n activities. BARMM’s Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD) Minister Raissa Jajurie said Monday the two-story halfway house for children is located in a 2,000 square meter land donated by Mohammad Abujihad Sema in Barangay Magsaysay in Parang town, Maguindanao province. “It will serve as a temporary place where children may stay,” Jajurie said in a statement.
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ERC to be blamed for provincial brownouts www.businessweekmindanao.com
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DAVAO City — The Chinese contractor of the Samal-Davao bridge has secured a notice to proceed, more than two months after the Philippines
HE ver y slow pace of evaluation and approval by the Energy Regulatory C om m i s si on ( E RC ) on t h e application for capital expenditures (capex) of electric cooperatives (ECs) and other distribution utilities (DUs) has been blamed for the recurring brownouts or power interruptions tormenting consumers in the provincial areas. During a S enate hearing, Committee on Energy Chairman Raffy Tulfo interrogated the ERC why it has been taking them too long to act on the capex applications of power utilities – with some even complaining up to nine years of waiting time before their petition gets ruled upon. The lawmaker primarily cited the grumblings of many ECs that their delayed capex approval incapacitates them from implementing immediate upgrades or expansion of their facilities, hence, their facilities could turn decrepit in time and these trigger the recurring power service outages. Tulfo recommended that the ERC should better have a system and must enforce expeditious way of evaluating and approving regulatory filings – primarily those on capex and power supply agreements (PSAs) being lodged by the distribution utilities.
“If the application is not qualified, you can just deny it promptly. Don’t make it too difficult for the applicant anymore – if it’s not allowable, then you can disapprove it. Or if they lack documents, then require them to submit these, just don’t let them wait for nine years,” he stressed. ERC Commissioner Catherine P. Maceda acknowledged that “in the past four years, the Commission has been reviewing a number of backlogs borne out of years of applications with the Commission.” She qualified “we admit that there are backlogs and we are under strict guidance from our new Chairperson right now to make sure that all these applications be made current – it’s a tall order but we’re trying our best to achieve that objective.” ERC Chairperson Monalisa C. Dimalanta similarly admitted that the regulatory body is currently swamped with more than 600 pending applications that are needing prompt action within the timeframe of 270 days set forth under the Energy Virtual One-Stop Shop (EVOSS) platform of Republic Act 11234. “The pending cases that we would need to catch up on and we will really work hard to resolve them – that’s the bulk of the applications that preceded the EVOSS Law, and so far based on our data, we currently BLAMED/PAGE 11
secured a loan from China for the construction of the long-awaited bridge, an official of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said. BRIDGE/PAGE 11
SAMAL-DAVAO BRIDGE. Workers from the People’s Republic of China drill for soil samples for the Samal Island-Davao City Connector (SIDC) Project along Lanang in Davao City on September 6, 2022. The proposed bridge will be funded by a $350-million loan from Chinese government. MINDANEWS PHOTO
DOT certifies Davao Oro as 'important' tourism spot D AVA O C i t y – T h e Department of Tourism in the Davao Region (DOT-11) has certified Davao de Oro province as an important tourism destination area (TDA) in the area, the prov i nc i a l gove r n me nt
said Tuesday. The DOT-11 recognition dated August 31 said the province will now be included in the Nat iona l and R eg iona l To u r i s m D e v e l o p m e nt Plan, the "The Colors of Mindanao" campaign, and
the Tourism Promotion Board in its promotional activities. The provincial government said Davao de Oro is also recognized for its contribution to the regional tourists' receipts, stay, and
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