BSP advises public to transact with authorized
individuals, entities only
By Nora L. Molde
BUTUAN CITY, April 27 (PIA) – The Bangko Sentral
ng Pilipinas (BSP) warns the public against transacting with unscrupulous
individuals or entities who engage in unauthorized deposit-taking activities.
BSP in its advisory advised and reminded the
public that only banks are allowed to accept deposits from the public.
Bank deposits are insured by the Philippine
Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) up to P500,000 per depositor per bank.
Non-stock savings and loan associations (NSSLAs)
are also allowed to accept deposits but only from their eligible members and
they are not authorized to accept deposits from non-members.
But, the deposits from the NSSLAs are not insured
by the PDIC.
Also, an NSSLA’s membership is confined to a
“well-defined group” of persons as defined in its by-laws. An individual may
not transact with NSSLA if he/she is not a member.
To confirm if the bank is authorized by the BSP to
accept deposits, directories of authorized banks can be viewed at
http://www.bsp.gov.ph/banking/directories/asp.
For further information, the public may contact
the Financial Consumer Protection Department, Supervision and Examination
Sector of the BSP through email address consumeraffairs@bsp.gov.ph or telephone
number (02) 708-7087 (direct line), 708-7701 local 2584 (trunkline) or through
the Economic and Financial Learning Center Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas - Butuan
Branch (085) 815-1502 local 230. (NCLM/PIA-Caraga)
DTI AgSur convenes Caraga cacao stakeholders to
get updates on cacao industry
By David M. Suyao
PROSPERIDAD, Agusan del Sur, Apr. 27 (PIA) - The
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Agusan del Sur provincial office
convened on Monday the Caraga cacao stakeholders in order to get updates on
cacao industry and at the same time discuss issues and concerns that affect the
industry and possible solutions that would address the problems.
According to DTI Cacao National Industry Cluster
Coordinator Edwin Banquerigo from DTI Davao City Office, they have been pushing
and encouraging cacao farming because cacao industry is a commodity itself that
carries many things that could make changes in the lives of farmers who will
engage in cacao farming.
“Why cacao? I want you to know that cacao industry
triggers inclusive growth. It is believed to alleviate poverty and a good
rehabilitation program. Cacao today has a stable market so fear of losing from
cacao business is not seen. Instead, cacao has high export demand and has
strong domestic market support. Unlike other crops, cacao production is year
round and the industry enjoys the presence of support from the government,”
Banquerigo said.
Banquerigo said although Philippines is along the
equator line and cacao grows best in this part of the earth, the country has
very low record of production. Countries like Ivory Coast, Ghana, Liberia and
other countries also located along the equator line have been recorded as big
cacao production countries.
“But we are targeting to hit 100,000 metric tons
by 2020, and Caraga Region’s share will be 2,000 metric tons,” Bangueros said.
In his message, Gov. Adolph Edward Plaza said he
is very glad that the meeting of the cacao stakeholders in Caraga was held in
Agusan del Sur because of the potentials present in the province. Gov. Plaza
only hopes that the program will not be like other national programs that are
already “in the box” and almost no room for adjustment if needed.
“I said this because every place has its own
suitability and kind of people and climate. But what attract my attention most
is the mentality of the people who only rely and look upon the government for
their living and not examining themselves what they can do for the government
that could and would benefit their fellow Filipinos. But I believe the interest
and attitude of these people will change if we exercise timing in everything we
do with every program, if we could make them realize the importance of the
program in their lives that can catch their deepest interest and that
everything we should do will be done faithfully, sincerely and fairly,” Gov.
Plaza said.
Encouraged by Valentine Turtur, chairman of Cacao
Industry Council and Chris Lindo, cacao nursery owner from Cabadbaran, the
cacao growers and stakeholders of Agusan del Sur is contemplating of organizing
themselves in order to strengthen and expand the cacao industry in Agusan del
Sur. (DMS/PIA-Agusan del Sur)
BCWD fully operates infiltration gallery by-pass
line
By Ramil S. Barquin
BUTUAN CITY, Apr. 27 (PIA) – The Butuan City Water
District (BCWD), in partnership with the Taguibo Aquatech Solutions Company
(TASC), is now operating the by-pass line of the infiltration gallery. The
facility was completed and has started functioning as a means of increasing
production of potable water for the almost 40,000 concessionaires of BCWD.
While the operation of the by-pass line was
ongoing, a bigger volume of BCWD’s water supply was dependent on the operation
of the pumping stations and a small percentage coming from the infiltration
gallery after having been partially declogged. Production of water at the filtration
plant averaged only at 500 cubic meters per hour.
With the operation of the by-pass line, water
production at the filtration plant increased to 800 up to 1,000 cubic meters an
hour. As of April 2015, BCWD has already attained the 100 percent water supply
distributed to its entire service area utilizing both the two sources of water,
such as ground and surface water.
The by-pass line is an alternative method of
extracting water from Taguibo River, conceptualized amidst the water crisis
experienced by the city of Butuan after the tropical storm SeΓ±ang damaged the
infiltration gallery of BCWD. The idea is to extract water through an intake
box at the upstream of the infiltration gallery and convey water to the
transmission line through a combination of reinforced concrete pipes, steel
pipes and uPVC pipes. When the turbidity level of the water is high, water will
be pumped to the desander/filtration facility of the TASC and the product water
will be conveyed through the by-pass line toward the injection point at the
transmission line. Through the desander/filtration facility, BCWD will still be
able to deliver to its concessionaires even if the water of the Taguibo River
is very turbid during rainy weather.
As of press time, the desander facility of TASC is
still under construction. Thus, during rainfall events at the watershed area,
the service area of BCWD will still experience low pressure, and the extreme
parts of the water system will have no supply of water.
The challenge of providing ample water supply to
BCWD concessionaires is never ending. BCWD has been gearing toward the
preparation in case another problem will occur with regards to the supply of
water. In fact, as per observations of the technical personnel of BCWD, the
water yield of the Taguibo River is now decreasing amidst the El NiΓ±o declared
by the DOST-PAGASA. As, such, should the Taguibo River dries up, the source of
water for BCWD will be coming from the underground. (BCWD/PIA-Caraga)
OWWA-13 releases P430,000 worth of livelihood
starter kits to OFW returnees
BUTUAN CITY, April 27 (PIA) - In aid to the
displaced and distressed migrant workers in Caraga region, the Overseas Workers
Welfare Administration (OWWA) recently released a total of P430,000 worth of
livelihood starter kits under the “Balik Pinas Balik Hanapbuhay” Program.
OWWA Caraga regional director Samuel Madrid
personally distributed the starter kits to OFW beneficiaries amounting to P10,
000.00 each. A total of 43 OFW returnees from Agusan del Norte (39) and Surigao
del Norte (4) benefited from the program.
Aside from receiving starter kits, these OFW
returnees were also provided with entrepreneurship development training and
other technical assistance which aims to enable them generate a small-scale
livelihood enterprise and/or engage into wage employment.
The livelihood grant is part of OWWA’s
reintegration services afforded to OFWs who underwent repatriation after
premature termination of their contracts. The reasons given by the displaced
workers as to why they were not able to finish their contracts include the
following: political conflict, civil war, sickness, non-compliance by employer
of agreed salary, maltreatment, sexual assault, death in the worker`s family,
non-payment of salaries, closure of the company, and layoffs, among others.
One of the OFW beneficiaries, Glady May Buque
decided to use the assistance to finance meat vending. OFW Gildo Ando, on the
other hand, chose to venture on swine production, while, two other program
beneficiaries, Randolp Lumain and Joiza Mae Go, preferred to utilize the
livelihood grant to start rice trading.
Both Lumain and Go also expressed gratitude to the
agency for its support to the OFWs who were unfortunate in their journey
overseas.
More so, an additional P130,000.00 is currently
being processed for release to 13 OFW beneficiaries from the provinces of
Agusan del Norte (3), Surigao del Sur (5) and Agusan del Sur (5).
(OWWA-Caraga/PIA-Caraga)
PNP highway patrol group trains motorcycle cops
By Noel B. Najarro
BUTUAN CITY, April 27 (PIA) - The Philippine
National Police Highway Patrol Unit 13 conducted a refresher training for the
motorcycle-riding policemen here.
The five-day refresher training which will end on
April 29 is aimed to hone the motorcycle riding skills and techniques to ensure
the maximum handling of the issued vehicles for the motorcycle cops.
The training is mainly participated by those cops
who have been in charge of the recently issued 135cc Kawasaki Rouser
Motorcycles from the PNP national headquarters Directorate for Logistics,
supervised by the chief of the RHPU 13 PSupt. Lawrence B. Cajipe, according to
PRO 13 chief spokesperson PSupt. Martin M. Gamba.
Recently, the Police Regional Office 13 received
25 units of 135cc Kawasaki Rouser Motorcycles, one unit of which was used by
the PNP PRO 13 Liason Office based in Camp Crame, PNP NHQ.
The issuance of the motor vehicles as well as the
recent training according to Supt. Gamba is in compliance with the PNP’s Peace
and Order Agenda for Transformation and upholding of the Rule Of Law (PATROL)
Plan 2030 to continually equip frontline service providers with the much needed
police mobility.
All the representatives of the 24 recipient police
offices and stations participated in the training, Gamba said. (PNA/PIA-Caraga)
EAGA leaders push for connectivity to propel
sub-regional dev’t
KEDAH, Malaysia, April 27 (PIA) - Leaders from
BIMP-EAGA are pushing for projects that will enhance connectivity among member
countries in a bid to strengthen trade and increase investments within the
ASEAN sub-regional group.
In the 11th BIMP-EAGA Leaders Summit to be held
Tuesday (April 28) here at the Langkawi International Convention Centre,
leaders from the member countries will discuss priority infrastructure projects
aimed to improve roads within EAGA, as well as the current expansion of sea
ports and airports that will help sustain socioeconomic development in the
sub-regional economic bloc.
“While other BIMP-EAGA countries are connected
through land transport, the Philippines is working on the establishment of air
and sea linkages to be fully accessible to our EAGA neighbors,” said Luwalhati
Antonino, chair of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) and Philippine
Signing Minister for BIMP-EAGA.
BIMP-EAGA stands for Brunei Darussalam Indonesia
Malaysia the Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area. The initiative was launched in
1994 as a key strategy to accelerate social and economic development of less
developed areas in participating countries.
Antonino, who is a participant in the summit added
that establishing air and sea links within the sub-region is among the key
strategies to further integrate the economy of Mindanao and Palawan within the
larger economy of the ASEAN.
The BIMP-EAGA Leaders Summit is an annual meeting
of heads of states of the four EAGA countries with the aim of assessing the
developments and accomplishments of the sub-region. Philippine President Benigno Aquino III heads
the Philippine delegation composed of cabinet secretaries and key officials
from government line agencies.
One of the connectivity projects to be discussed
during the meeting is the Davao/General Santos – Bitung RoRo operation, which
is expected to commence within the year. The leaders will also review the
recent launch of the Brookes Point – Kudat sea route that strategically provides
a faster and cheaper channel of trading goods from Palawan to Sabah, and vice
versa.
“Maritime transport is crucial to BIMP-EAGA, thus
the Philippines will continue to push for the Davao/GenSan – Bitung shipping
service and the Brookes’ Point – Kudat,” said Usec. Prudencio Reyes of the
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) one of the Philippine senior officials
who is participating in the summit.
He added that transport and connectivity hold
crucial roles in achieving the goals of the other three EAGA pillars, which are
agribusiness, tourism, and the environment.
An additional pillar, the socio-cultural and
education will be formalized during the summit, which is seen to enhance
multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder programs that promote education, social
exchange, sports, and cultural exchanges within the sub-region.
“Connectivity brings food, people, and investments
around the sub-region, and will stir further socio-economic developments within
EAGA,” said Reyes.
In a recent statement, Reyes said DTI has
committed to help pursue initiatives and projects aimed to spur trading and
economic activities in the sub-region, while citing the steady increase of
gross domestic product growth, tourism, trade and investment among EAGA-member
countries.
Total trade within BIMP-EAGA reached P7.319
trillion, contributing to the sub-region’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
growth of 4.7 percent.
The BIMP-EAGA statistical information brief
compiled by the BIMP-EAGA Facilitation Center showed that other factors
contributing to the region’s GDP growth include the increase of its foreign
direct investments which grew by 23 percent from P360 billion in 2012 to P444.8
billion in 2013.
Domestic investments in the sub-region also showed
tremendous increase from P50.16 billion in 2009 to P202.84 billion in 2012,
providing optimistic growth prospects for the sub-region in the coming years.
Investments in 2013 grew by 6.6 percent from the previous year and amounted to
P216.48 billion.
EAGA leaders are also keen on re-establishing the
air linkages in the sub-region specifically the Davao-Manado,
Zamboanga-Sandakan, and Puerto Princesa-Kota Kinabalu routes, as sea
connectivity is being pursued.
All transport and connectivity initiatives
developed within EAGA are supportive to the Masterplan on ASEAN Connectivity,
given that the sub-region is viewed as a platform for the integration of its
member-countries into ASEAN Economic Community. (MinDA/PIA-Caraga)
