Tuesday, 15 December 2009 19:26
THE incoming director of the tourism office in Central Visayas said she will beef up the region’s presence in the large-scale conventions and diving markets in an effort to bring in more tourists to the country’s best-selling tourism destination.
More blackouts for Visayas
Sunday, 06 December 2009 19:56
EVEN as the Visayas is on its knees at present, trying to crawl out of a power crisis, an official of the energy department has warned of another power crisis by 2013 as no new power plants are breaking ground to supply the region’s electricity needs in the next several years.
EVEN as the Visayas is on its knees at present, trying to crawl out of a power crisis, an official of the energy department has warned of another power crisis by 2013 as no new power plants are breaking ground to supply the region’s electricity needs in the next several years.
Toll for subway
Monday, 30 November 2009 19:18
VEHICLE owners in Cebu City may find themselves stopped and paying at a toll gate when the kilometer-long subway section of the Cebu South Coastal Road opens early next year, as public-works officials and representatives of the Japanese contractor said there is no budget to pay for the equipment and utilities to run the facility.
The project manager from Japanese contractor Kajima Corp. told government and private-sector planners that although they have a one-year warranty period and maintenance obligation after the project is completed, this does not include payment for the bills.
VEHICLE owners in Cebu City may find themselves stopped and paying at a toll gate when the kilometer-long subway section of the Cebu South Coastal Road opens early next year, as public-works officials and representatives of the Japanese contractor said there is no budget to pay for the equipment and utilities to run the facility.
The project manager from Japanese contractor Kajima Corp. told government and private-sector planners that although they have a one-year warranty period and maintenance obligation after the project is completed, this does not include payment for the bills.
Cebu north coastal road in peril
Business Mirror
Monday, 23 November 2009 19:59
THE contractor of the P2.36-billion Cebu North Coastal Road has asked to suspend the project a month after it is set to be completed after the national government failed to pay for its monthly accomplishment payments for the last four months, public-work officials said.
The highway, hinged on a 1.25-kilometer, four-lane offshore bridge over Cansaga Bay in Consolacion town north of Mandaue City, is the final half of the second north-south road corridor in Metro Cebu. The project was started in 2008 and has been targeted for completion by next month.
Monday, 23 November 2009 19:59
THE contractor of the P2.36-billion Cebu North Coastal Road has asked to suspend the project a month after it is set to be completed after the national government failed to pay for its monthly accomplishment payments for the last four months, public-work officials said.
The highway, hinged on a 1.25-kilometer, four-lane offshore bridge over Cansaga Bay in Consolacion town north of Mandaue City, is the final half of the second north-south road corridor in Metro Cebu. The project was started in 2008 and has been targeted for completion by next month.
No BRT-LRT Showdown
Thursday, 19 November 2009
THE expected showdown between proponents of the mass-rail transit and bus rapid transit (BRT) projects in Metro Cebu at the Regional Development Council (RDC) meeting will not happen, as the two projects have not been lined up for discussion.
National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Central Visayas director Marlene Rodriguez told the BusinessMirror that the two projects have not been scheduled for discussion in the council’s infrastructure development committee and could not be taken up in the full council.
THE expected showdown between proponents of the mass-rail transit and bus rapid transit (BRT) projects in Metro Cebu at the Regional Development Council (RDC) meeting will not happen, as the two projects have not been lined up for discussion.
National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Central Visayas director Marlene Rodriguez told the BusinessMirror that the two projects have not been scheduled for discussion in the council’s infrastructure development committee and could not be taken up in the full council.
Cebu's Power Struggle
Business Mirror
Monday, 02 November 2009
IN a single day, October 23, Metro Cebu suffered sporadic brownouts for close to 12 hours, “rotated” to different feeders by the local distribution utility to spread out the damage. That Friday was just one of many, increasingly recurring days this year when most of the Visayas run short of its needed power, a problem predicted years ago but has not yet quite been prepared for.
Cebu is luckier, according to the Department of energy (DOE) in the Visayas. The real effects of the brownouts, caused by the power shortages in central Philippines, only affected the biggest metropolis outside Metro Manila the past few months. Other islands and cities like Iloilo, Bacolod and tourist capital Boracay had been suffering almost daily brownouts since 2008.
And it is bound to get worse, with a less glittery Christmas to boot, the agency warned.
Monday, 02 November 2009
IN a single day, October 23, Metro Cebu suffered sporadic brownouts for close to 12 hours, “rotated” to different feeders by the local distribution utility to spread out the damage. That Friday was just one of many, increasingly recurring days this year when most of the Visayas run short of its needed power, a problem predicted years ago but has not yet quite been prepared for.
Cebu is luckier, according to the Department of energy (DOE) in the Visayas. The real effects of the brownouts, caused by the power shortages in central Philippines, only affected the biggest metropolis outside Metro Manila the past few months. Other islands and cities like Iloilo, Bacolod and tourist capital Boracay had been suffering almost daily brownouts since 2008.
And it is bound to get worse, with a less glittery Christmas to boot, the agency warned.
Apo Cement helps Veco ease power-supply shortage in Cebu
Tuesday, 08 September 2009
CEBU-based Apo Cement Corp. on Tuesday signed an agreement to supply up 10 megawatt (MW) of power to distribution utility Visayan Electric Co. (Veco) as the central Philippines’ grid plunges deeper into incessant rotation brownouts.
The agreement was signed by representatives of Apo’s mother company in the country, Cemex Philippines Corp., led by its president Sergio Menendez and vice president for planning Paul Vincent Arcenas.
CEBU-based Apo Cement Corp. on Tuesday signed an agreement to supply up 10 megawatt (MW) of power to distribution utility Visayan Electric Co. (Veco) as the central Philippines’ grid plunges deeper into incessant rotation brownouts.
The agreement was signed by representatives of Apo’s mother company in the country, Cemex Philippines Corp., led by its president Sergio Menendez and vice president for planning Paul Vincent Arcenas.
Riding the Waves
For many people, hearing the word Siargao conjures images of roaring waves and surfboards under the bright sun.
But the island is more than just the proverbial surf and sun. The islands surrounding Siargao and the Caraga region in northeastern Mindanao remain hidden, waiting to be discovered—breathtaking nooks and lagoons seemingly taken out of a Tolkien book; soaring cliffs and tranquil lakes—ready to take their rightful place as one of the country’s best tourist attractions.
“We want to show that Caraga is more than just Siargao,” Department of Tourism (DOT) regional director Leticia Tan told the BusinessMirror. “We are a region of culture, adventure and nature.”
Natural reforestation succeeds in RP sites
Thursday, 18 June 2009 01:45
Farmer Dado: Welcome to the jungle.
TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol—Diosdado Abergosado is a typical farmer. Early mornings he usually goes to his small rice field in Danao town in central Bohol with his young wife and two kids.
This day, however, is different. Abergosado is meeting three other farmers and walking a few hours to the hills for their weeklong tour of duty.
Arbegosado and other farmers from San Miguel village take weeklong turns up in the hills, armed with lunch and a plywood board. Their objective is the pesky cogon grass. Their mission: to restore the once lush forest that they’ve heard of only in stories told by their elders.
Cebu City eyes cultural heritage to boost tourism
Tuesday, 09 June 2009 20:01
CEBU CITY—The Cebu City Tourism Commission (CCTC) is embarking on an ambitious long-term thrust to revitalize the downtown heritage area and turn it into a tourist attraction.
The commission will kick off its first heritage trail history tour on June 25, and commissioner Tetta Baad said the long term plan is to rehabilitate old buildings and uplift the overall condition of the historic downtown area.
“We would like to discover many of the history hidden behind the buildings,” Baad told the BusinessMirror.
Considered as the country’s oldest city where the Spaniards built their first settlement, this city’s many historic places downtown are now dilapidated, Baad said.
“We would like to bring the government and private sector in partnerships in order to preserve our rich history,” she said.
Long-term, the commission wants to identify and rehabilitate known historical locations and educate tour guides on the background stories in each destination.
The commission is also looking at lobbying for a city ordinance prohibiting the demolition of old buildings in the central business district. Developers should instead renovate the buildings while preserving the rich history of the place, Baad explained.
The commission also plans to make the “heritage trail walking tour” a permanent feature of the city’s tourism agenda where tourists join guided tours from Magellan’s Cross to Fort San Pedro to Plaza Hamabar—where the only real-life depiction of Rajah Humabon exists—and the Sandiego ancestral house, one of the oldest houses in the country.
The city’s travel tour operators, led by the National Association of Independent Travel Agencies (Naitas), said they are excited about the new program.
“I’m sure many tourists would ask for this tour. We just have to make it sustainable and efficient,” Naitas Cebu chairman Jenny Franco said.
The city government has committed to rehabilitate sidewalks downtown and promised to provide adequate lighting and security.
Part of the long-term plan is to rehabilitate the old tartanilla, or horse-drawn carriage, which used to dominate the city streets.
Baad said many business owners in the town center possess historic artifacts in their properties.
In the middle of the Hutong Hardware warehouse, owned by the Sy family, is the Jesuit convent that dates back to 1730 or before the congregation was expelled from the country, she noted.
Many businesses have “preserved history and we will now bring all these together for tourists and Cebuanos,” she added.
CEBU CITY—The Cebu City Tourism Commission (CCTC) is embarking on an ambitious long-term thrust to revitalize the downtown heritage area and turn it into a tourist attraction.
The commission will kick off its first heritage trail history tour on June 25, and commissioner Tetta Baad said the long term plan is to rehabilitate old buildings and uplift the overall condition of the historic downtown area.
“We would like to discover many of the history hidden behind the buildings,” Baad told the BusinessMirror.
Considered as the country’s oldest city where the Spaniards built their first settlement, this city’s many historic places downtown are now dilapidated, Baad said.
“We would like to bring the government and private sector in partnerships in order to preserve our rich history,” she said.
Long-term, the commission wants to identify and rehabilitate known historical locations and educate tour guides on the background stories in each destination.
The commission is also looking at lobbying for a city ordinance prohibiting the demolition of old buildings in the central business district. Developers should instead renovate the buildings while preserving the rich history of the place, Baad explained.
The commission also plans to make the “heritage trail walking tour” a permanent feature of the city’s tourism agenda where tourists join guided tours from Magellan’s Cross to Fort San Pedro to Plaza Hamabar—where the only real-life depiction of Rajah Humabon exists—and the Sandiego ancestral house, one of the oldest houses in the country.
The city’s travel tour operators, led by the National Association of Independent Travel Agencies (Naitas), said they are excited about the new program.
“I’m sure many tourists would ask for this tour. We just have to make it sustainable and efficient,” Naitas Cebu chairman Jenny Franco said.
The city government has committed to rehabilitate sidewalks downtown and promised to provide adequate lighting and security.
Part of the long-term plan is to rehabilitate the old tartanilla, or horse-drawn carriage, which used to dominate the city streets.
Baad said many business owners in the town center possess historic artifacts in their properties.
In the middle of the Hutong Hardware warehouse, owned by the Sy family, is the Jesuit convent that dates back to 1730 or before the congregation was expelled from the country, she noted.
Many businesses have “preserved history and we will now bring all these together for tourists and Cebuanos,” she added.
‘Job interview’ for Mar, Chiz
Thursday, 11 June 2009 22:29
PRESIDENTIAL aspirants Mar Roxas and Chiz Escudero were extensively grilled for almost four hours by businessmen and economists in Cebu City on Thursday, making them commit to issues from presidential appointments to federalism, oil deregulation, nuclear power and even code of ethics for spouses.
The 1st National Business Conference of Independent Business Clubs, organized by the Makati and Cebu business clubs, gathered close to 20 business chambers and clubs as well as stakeholders from all over the country for a forum highlighted by the “job interview” of the aspirants.
A third guest, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, begged off from the event at the last minute. According to Gordon Alan Joseph, president of the Cebu Business Club, the forum paves the way for a stronger commitment for a partnership between the private sector and the future leaders of the country.
“This is a chance for the private sector to give our input and to also hear what the plans are of our leaders,” Joseph said. He said other leading aspirants for president were not available for the event at the Marco
Polo Plaza Hotel.
The aspirants were subjected to a panel interview by former Cabinet secretaries Benjamin Diokno and Felipe Medalla, Eric Ng Mendoza of the Mandaue City business chamber, Simeon Marfori III representing Davao City businessmen, and former Napocor chief Jesus Alcordo. Later, the estimated 300 participants joined in to ask their questions.
Escudero said he would push for five priority programs—lowering the cost of business, investments in education, lowering the cost of food, tourism and good governance, while Roxas espoused a government leaning on a “rock of morality and good governance” and what he called an agricultural renaissance.
There were not too many clashes in the general policies of the two senators as they agreed on the merits of a federal form of government, a popular advocacy by many regions including in Cebu and Davao.
Escudero said a federal form of government is good and must be done, through a Constitutional amendment, only after 2010. He also preferred a merit-based federal state, where regions “earn” their right to become autonomous.
Roxas, on the other hand, expressed concern on how the states will be funded and how to prevent the regions from becoming fiefdoms of local political families.
“As a desired end state, a federal government is ideal but we must be careful how we get there. Right now the regions are not becoming small kingdoms of political families because of the role of a strong central government,” Roxas said. “[Federal state] It will be like, I want to be independent but I want my allowance.”
Chiz: to fund infra
Escudero said he would fund airports, ports and road networks for a seamless connection of the island to further tourism, while Roxas said he would create a scale economy and allow smaller resorts and sector players to tap the global market.
Roxas also pushed for continuing peace talks with seperatists rebels in Central Mindanao but said he would not accede to a peace-for-land deal nor the dismemberment of the country. Escudero pushed the envelope further by proposing a tribe-by-tribe peace talks and the building of new highways for social services and security response.
The two senators also committed to limiting the appointment powers of the President, with Roxas limiting his to secretaries and undersecretaries, and Escudero, to a few sensitive Cabinet posts out of the present 5,200 presidential appointed positions, leaving the rest to career government executives.
“This will allow the infusion of new and young blood into the government assuring us that only the most qualified will run these posts,” Escudero said.
Roxas even hinted at a code of ethics for spouses, while Escudero said he asked his wife not to interfere with his political world.
No to new taxes
AS for taxes, the two aspirants agreed there should be no new taxes as of yet except for the indexation of the sin taxes, pushing instead for improvements in the tax collection system in order to cover the estimated P300 billion in deficit by the time the new president takes office.
The two aspirants also agreed to study further the benefits of nuclear power, separate from the moth-balled Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. They also agreed to prioritize education.
Escudero committed to provide the biggest budget to education, while Roxas hit at the past governments’ incrementalism—doing little things everywhere—and instead promised to attack two to three problems with all the available resources of government.
The two also promised to review the oil deregulation law, hitting the Department of Energy for failing to check the books of the oil companies and a sector-by-sector review of the fiscal incentives for foreign investors in the country.
Other speakers in the forum were Rep. Teofisto Gungona III of Bukidnon, who talked about the government budgeting process; Peter Wallace, on foreign investments in the country; and Jose Cuisia, on transparency and governance.
PRESIDENTIAL aspirants Mar Roxas and Chiz Escudero were extensively grilled for almost four hours by businessmen and economists in Cebu City on Thursday, making them commit to issues from presidential appointments to federalism, oil deregulation, nuclear power and even code of ethics for spouses.
The 1st National Business Conference of Independent Business Clubs, organized by the Makati and Cebu business clubs, gathered close to 20 business chambers and clubs as well as stakeholders from all over the country for a forum highlighted by the “job interview” of the aspirants.
A third guest, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, begged off from the event at the last minute. According to Gordon Alan Joseph, president of the Cebu Business Club, the forum paves the way for a stronger commitment for a partnership between the private sector and the future leaders of the country.
“This is a chance for the private sector to give our input and to also hear what the plans are of our leaders,” Joseph said. He said other leading aspirants for president were not available for the event at the Marco
Polo Plaza Hotel.
The aspirants were subjected to a panel interview by former Cabinet secretaries Benjamin Diokno and Felipe Medalla, Eric Ng Mendoza of the Mandaue City business chamber, Simeon Marfori III representing Davao City businessmen, and former Napocor chief Jesus Alcordo. Later, the estimated 300 participants joined in to ask their questions.
Escudero said he would push for five priority programs—lowering the cost of business, investments in education, lowering the cost of food, tourism and good governance, while Roxas espoused a government leaning on a “rock of morality and good governance” and what he called an agricultural renaissance.
There were not too many clashes in the general policies of the two senators as they agreed on the merits of a federal form of government, a popular advocacy by many regions including in Cebu and Davao.
Escudero said a federal form of government is good and must be done, through a Constitutional amendment, only after 2010. He also preferred a merit-based federal state, where regions “earn” their right to become autonomous.
Roxas, on the other hand, expressed concern on how the states will be funded and how to prevent the regions from becoming fiefdoms of local political families.
“As a desired end state, a federal government is ideal but we must be careful how we get there. Right now the regions are not becoming small kingdoms of political families because of the role of a strong central government,” Roxas said. “[Federal state] It will be like, I want to be independent but I want my allowance.”
Chiz: to fund infra
Escudero said he would fund airports, ports and road networks for a seamless connection of the island to further tourism, while Roxas said he would create a scale economy and allow smaller resorts and sector players to tap the global market.
Roxas also pushed for continuing peace talks with seperatists rebels in Central Mindanao but said he would not accede to a peace-for-land deal nor the dismemberment of the country. Escudero pushed the envelope further by proposing a tribe-by-tribe peace talks and the building of new highways for social services and security response.
The two senators also committed to limiting the appointment powers of the President, with Roxas limiting his to secretaries and undersecretaries, and Escudero, to a few sensitive Cabinet posts out of the present 5,200 presidential appointed positions, leaving the rest to career government executives.
“This will allow the infusion of new and young blood into the government assuring us that only the most qualified will run these posts,” Escudero said.
Roxas even hinted at a code of ethics for spouses, while Escudero said he asked his wife not to interfere with his political world.
No to new taxes
AS for taxes, the two aspirants agreed there should be no new taxes as of yet except for the indexation of the sin taxes, pushing instead for improvements in the tax collection system in order to cover the estimated P300 billion in deficit by the time the new president takes office.
The two aspirants also agreed to study further the benefits of nuclear power, separate from the moth-balled Bataan Nuclear Power Plant. They also agreed to prioritize education.
Escudero committed to provide the biggest budget to education, while Roxas hit at the past governments’ incrementalism—doing little things everywhere—and instead promised to attack two to three problems with all the available resources of government.
The two also promised to review the oil deregulation law, hitting the Department of Energy for failing to check the books of the oil companies and a sector-by-sector review of the fiscal incentives for foreign investors in the country.
Other speakers in the forum were Rep. Teofisto Gungona III of Bukidnon, who talked about the government budgeting process; Peter Wallace, on foreign investments in the country; and Jose Cuisia, on transparency and governance.
Power users in Visayas to face huge rate hikes
Business Mirror
Wednesday, 18 March 2009 22:56
POWER consumers in the Visayas, including Metro Cebu, can expect to get the biggest hike yet in their bills as distribution utilities start to pass on, starting this month, the provisional increase in the generation rates of the National Power Corp. (Napocor)
The Visayan Electric Co. (Veco) announced on Tuesday its close to 300,000 consumers will receive an average of around P1 increase per kilowatt-hour starting in their April electric bill.
Arlo Garcia Sarmiento, assistant vice president for utility economics, said they have no choice but to pass on to consumers the Napocor rate increase. “This is a purely generation- rate increase.”
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) on February 16 provisionally approved the adjustments sought by Napocor and Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) “to immediately alleviate NPC’s current financial difficulties given its current costs of generating power, including discounts that it is mandated to extend to certain customers.”
The ERC approved a P0.4682 increase for Napocor generation rates in Luzon, P1.1460 in the Visayas and P0.7147 in Mindanao per kilowatt-hour spread across every hour of its existing time-of-use-based rates. The ERC has one year to decide with finality on the petition.
“Since the increase is only provisional, the hearings will continue and Veco will observe the proceedings,” added Sarmiento. “The increase should be justified by the supply company. We want to ensure the increase is fair to protect the interest of our consumers.”
Since Veco only gets around 75 percent of its power supply from Napocor, the actual average increase for all its consumer categories will only be around P0.936 per kWh.
For an average household consuming 175 kwh per month, the bill will see a P199 increase to around P1,326 a month, according to Veco.
Veco’s new average generation rates will be P4.2779, still lower than Meralco’s preincrease generation rate of P4.4750, Veco noted. The company is jointly controlled by listed companies Aboitiz Power Corp. and the Vivant Corp. of the Aboitiz and Garcia families of Cebu.
Sarmiento said the rates will not affect its buying rates from its independent power suppliers, the biggest of which is Cebu Private Power Corp. (CPPC). He said its contract with CPPC is no longer pegged on the Napocor rates, and thus will not be affected by the provisionally approved Napocor generation rate hike.
At the hearing of the Napocor petition in Cebu City on Wednesday, members of the Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) held a protest asking the regulatory body to junk the petition.
Lito Vasquez, secretary-general of FDC Cebu, said officers from its chapters in Eastern Visayas, Negros and Iloilo will come to Cebu to join the protest and express their opposition to the rates increase.
He said Gov. Ben Evardone of Eastern Samar and Gov. Sally Perez of Antique have already expressed opposition to the increase. The Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Negros Occidental, likewise, passed a resolution opposing the increase.
“The NPC is raking in billions from its present rates yet it demands billions more in the middle of a raging worldwide crisis,” added Vasquez in his statement.
Wednesday, 18 March 2009 22:56
POWER consumers in the Visayas, including Metro Cebu, can expect to get the biggest hike yet in their bills as distribution utilities start to pass on, starting this month, the provisional increase in the generation rates of the National Power Corp. (Napocor)
The Visayan Electric Co. (Veco) announced on Tuesday its close to 300,000 consumers will receive an average of around P1 increase per kilowatt-hour starting in their April electric bill.
Arlo Garcia Sarmiento, assistant vice president for utility economics, said they have no choice but to pass on to consumers the Napocor rate increase. “This is a purely generation- rate increase.”
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) on February 16 provisionally approved the adjustments sought by Napocor and Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) “to immediately alleviate NPC’s current financial difficulties given its current costs of generating power, including discounts that it is mandated to extend to certain customers.”
The ERC approved a P0.4682 increase for Napocor generation rates in Luzon, P1.1460 in the Visayas and P0.7147 in Mindanao per kilowatt-hour spread across every hour of its existing time-of-use-based rates. The ERC has one year to decide with finality on the petition.
“Since the increase is only provisional, the hearings will continue and Veco will observe the proceedings,” added Sarmiento. “The increase should be justified by the supply company. We want to ensure the increase is fair to protect the interest of our consumers.”
Since Veco only gets around 75 percent of its power supply from Napocor, the actual average increase for all its consumer categories will only be around P0.936 per kWh.
For an average household consuming 175 kwh per month, the bill will see a P199 increase to around P1,326 a month, according to Veco.
Veco’s new average generation rates will be P4.2779, still lower than Meralco’s preincrease generation rate of P4.4750, Veco noted. The company is jointly controlled by listed companies Aboitiz Power Corp. and the Vivant Corp. of the Aboitiz and Garcia families of Cebu.
Sarmiento said the rates will not affect its buying rates from its independent power suppliers, the biggest of which is Cebu Private Power Corp. (CPPC). He said its contract with CPPC is no longer pegged on the Napocor rates, and thus will not be affected by the provisionally approved Napocor generation rate hike.
At the hearing of the Napocor petition in Cebu City on Wednesday, members of the Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) held a protest asking the regulatory body to junk the petition.
Lito Vasquez, secretary-general of FDC Cebu, said officers from its chapters in Eastern Visayas, Negros and Iloilo will come to Cebu to join the protest and express their opposition to the rates increase.
He said Gov. Ben Evardone of Eastern Samar and Gov. Sally Perez of Antique have already expressed opposition to the increase. The Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Negros Occidental, likewise, passed a resolution opposing the increase.
“The NPC is raking in billions from its present rates yet it demands billions more in the middle of a raging worldwide crisis,” added Vasquez in his statement.
Making Folks Want What You Produce
Business Mirror
Monday, 16 March 2009 21:16
EXPORT furniture manufacturer Charles Streegan is known in Cebu not to mince his words. And so when asked during a press conference how bad the business are these days, people braced for his words and reality. “It’s terrible. There is no business these days.
We’ve been in this business for 35 years, and I have not seen anything like it,” Streegan, who is also vice president of the Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation (CFIF), said. “2009 is practically lost. We are now already looking at how to make it in 2010.”
The recently concluded Cebu International Furniture and Furnishings Exhibition (CebuX) 2009 was a clear gauge of the sheer size of the challenge the industry is facing these days, with exhibitors and attendance down by almost half. It did not also help that Manila- and Luzon-based manufacturers set their own show, Manila NOW, exactly on the same dates as the 25-year-old CebuX.
In less than two years, close to 15,000 direct employees of the industry lost their jobs, while around 30 companies closed. This does not count the subcontractors, suppliers and support economies relying on the industry.
Yet in many corners during the CebuX, manufacturers were still hopeful, in many booths business was still being transacted and overall industry players said they are hitting rock-bottom and there should be no other way but up.
The Cebu furniture industry is a proud example of Filipino creativity, ingenuity and craftsmanship—the best example of how a local industry can make it big abroad. From Hollywood movie sets, the recently most popular being the Las Vegas set of Ocean’s 12, to homes of celebrities like Brad Pitt, as well as Mr. and Mrs. André Agassi, or even Big Brother Australia, Cebu-made furniture is making a splash wherever it is displayed.
As of three years ago, Cebu made up almost half of the country’s estimated $300-million total in furniture exports, despite comprising only 20 percent of the total number of manufacturers in the country—a testament to Cebu’s positioning as a center for design-oriented, high-end furniture pieces as compared with mass-produced chairs and tables of China and Vietnam.
That is why the Department of Tourism, through Secretary Joseph Ace Durano, formally adopted the industry as a tourism attraction and with it valuable assistance in terms of marketing for the industry.
“There is no other industry that best describes the best of what the Philippines can offer,” the Cebuano secretary said. “The materials show our rich natural resources and the design and craftsmanship reflect the culture and the aptitude of our people.”
Despite the slowing world economy, manufacturers are holding fast, trying to survive the year while getting ready for the good times they all hope would come soon.
According to Lita Quisumbing of JLQ International Inc., they were already expecting a slow show this year, yet they committed to display and take up two booth spaces just to show to their clients and buyers that they are still in business and ready to take orders.
“We need to show to our buyers that we are still here, that is why we joined the show,” she said.
Another exhibitor, Jim Cassels of Mandaue City-based Lenbert Manufacturing Inc., said Cebu is surviving the hard times because it positioned itself as a design destination, not for promo furniture.
“We know that during bad times the rich are not that affected. They are affected but they can still buy furniture,” Cassels said. “If you look at the promo market, they’re dead. Factories in China are closing because there are no buyers anymore.”
Buyers are also recognizing the value of attending the Cebu show, although many lament the small size in terms of number of exhibitors. Tom Bihari of Australia said he had been visiting CebuX for many years, missing the event only last year.
“I come here because I know Cebu is very creative, and so I come here to look for new designs,” Bihari said.
Just like many other buyers, however, he said the show was small.
“I don’t understand why Manila is having another show. It’s just silly. There should only be one show,” he added.
According to Eric Vincent Casas, president of CFIF, the economic crisis is also in a way weeding the industry of players who could not slug it out in the international market. He said the companies that are surviving are finding ways to further cut costs and “going back to the basics”—design and material innovation.
“This is the time for us to reassess ourselves and how we are doing things, because we have to be ready for the future,” Casas said.
Angela Paulin, also the vice president of CFIF, said many companies like her take these times to develop more designs.
Despite the challenges, industry players are still optimistic about the future of the industry. During a side seminar at the CebuX, Hans Merkel, the editor in chief of Mobelmarkt magazine in Germany, said the country and its €8-billion-a-year furniture import, the biggest in Europe, is a lucrative market during these crisis years.
“They say there is a relationship between cars and furniture. When people buy less cars, they buy more furniture,” Merkel said. “It is about culture, Germans like to make a cozy home while there are problems outside.”
German furniture imports grew by 8 percent during the first nine months of 2008 compared with the same period in 2007, just as the global economic crisis was setting in. Imports from China hit €720 million, Vietnam €111 million and Indonesia €77.5 million, underlining the vast market the Philippines could tap with its superior design.
“Furniture is seen to be the winners during the crisis,” Merkel said. During the last day of CebuX, several German retailers visited the show to look for potential pieces they could sell to the Germans. “The situation is not as bad as expected. The Germans continue to be the highest spender per capita on furniture, making them very attractive to international manufacturers and suppliers.”
Merkel said the Chinese market, once the juggernaut of the export furniture industry, is losing its foothold because of poor quality and failure to meet strict German standards, creating an opportunity for Philippine manufacturers.
Streegan said that with all the economic problems, 2009 is the defining moment of the industry—the stronger, better managed companies will survive to live for the better days while the weaker ones will disappear.
“This is the defining moment in the industry and the people who want to make it big in the industry. This is a great opportunity for us to change and be better for 2010,” Streegan said.
Cebu-based celebrated designer Kenneth Cobonpue said during crisis, Filipinos and designers are pushed not only to create beautiful pieces but ones that are truly global.
“The world does not need another chair. But we have to create something that will make the buyer say, ‘I want to have that piece,’” Cobonpue said.
Monday, 16 March 2009 21:16
EXPORT furniture manufacturer Charles Streegan is known in Cebu not to mince his words. And so when asked during a press conference how bad the business are these days, people braced for his words and reality. “It’s terrible. There is no business these days.
We’ve been in this business for 35 years, and I have not seen anything like it,” Streegan, who is also vice president of the Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation (CFIF), said. “2009 is practically lost. We are now already looking at how to make it in 2010.”
The recently concluded Cebu International Furniture and Furnishings Exhibition (CebuX) 2009 was a clear gauge of the sheer size of the challenge the industry is facing these days, with exhibitors and attendance down by almost half. It did not also help that Manila- and Luzon-based manufacturers set their own show, Manila NOW, exactly on the same dates as the 25-year-old CebuX.
In less than two years, close to 15,000 direct employees of the industry lost their jobs, while around 30 companies closed. This does not count the subcontractors, suppliers and support economies relying on the industry.
Yet in many corners during the CebuX, manufacturers were still hopeful, in many booths business was still being transacted and overall industry players said they are hitting rock-bottom and there should be no other way but up.
The Cebu furniture industry is a proud example of Filipino creativity, ingenuity and craftsmanship—the best example of how a local industry can make it big abroad. From Hollywood movie sets, the recently most popular being the Las Vegas set of Ocean’s 12, to homes of celebrities like Brad Pitt, as well as Mr. and Mrs. André Agassi, or even Big Brother Australia, Cebu-made furniture is making a splash wherever it is displayed.
As of three years ago, Cebu made up almost half of the country’s estimated $300-million total in furniture exports, despite comprising only 20 percent of the total number of manufacturers in the country—a testament to Cebu’s positioning as a center for design-oriented, high-end furniture pieces as compared with mass-produced chairs and tables of China and Vietnam.
That is why the Department of Tourism, through Secretary Joseph Ace Durano, formally adopted the industry as a tourism attraction and with it valuable assistance in terms of marketing for the industry.
“There is no other industry that best describes the best of what the Philippines can offer,” the Cebuano secretary said. “The materials show our rich natural resources and the design and craftsmanship reflect the culture and the aptitude of our people.”
Despite the slowing world economy, manufacturers are holding fast, trying to survive the year while getting ready for the good times they all hope would come soon.
According to Lita Quisumbing of JLQ International Inc., they were already expecting a slow show this year, yet they committed to display and take up two booth spaces just to show to their clients and buyers that they are still in business and ready to take orders.
“We need to show to our buyers that we are still here, that is why we joined the show,” she said.
Another exhibitor, Jim Cassels of Mandaue City-based Lenbert Manufacturing Inc., said Cebu is surviving the hard times because it positioned itself as a design destination, not for promo furniture.
“We know that during bad times the rich are not that affected. They are affected but they can still buy furniture,” Cassels said. “If you look at the promo market, they’re dead. Factories in China are closing because there are no buyers anymore.”
Buyers are also recognizing the value of attending the Cebu show, although many lament the small size in terms of number of exhibitors. Tom Bihari of Australia said he had been visiting CebuX for many years, missing the event only last year.
“I come here because I know Cebu is very creative, and so I come here to look for new designs,” Bihari said.
Just like many other buyers, however, he said the show was small.
“I don’t understand why Manila is having another show. It’s just silly. There should only be one show,” he added.
According to Eric Vincent Casas, president of CFIF, the economic crisis is also in a way weeding the industry of players who could not slug it out in the international market. He said the companies that are surviving are finding ways to further cut costs and “going back to the basics”—design and material innovation.
“This is the time for us to reassess ourselves and how we are doing things, because we have to be ready for the future,” Casas said.
Angela Paulin, also the vice president of CFIF, said many companies like her take these times to develop more designs.
Despite the challenges, industry players are still optimistic about the future of the industry. During a side seminar at the CebuX, Hans Merkel, the editor in chief of Mobelmarkt magazine in Germany, said the country and its €8-billion-a-year furniture import, the biggest in Europe, is a lucrative market during these crisis years.
“They say there is a relationship between cars and furniture. When people buy less cars, they buy more furniture,” Merkel said. “It is about culture, Germans like to make a cozy home while there are problems outside.”
German furniture imports grew by 8 percent during the first nine months of 2008 compared with the same period in 2007, just as the global economic crisis was setting in. Imports from China hit €720 million, Vietnam €111 million and Indonesia €77.5 million, underlining the vast market the Philippines could tap with its superior design.
“Furniture is seen to be the winners during the crisis,” Merkel said. During the last day of CebuX, several German retailers visited the show to look for potential pieces they could sell to the Germans. “The situation is not as bad as expected. The Germans continue to be the highest spender per capita on furniture, making them very attractive to international manufacturers and suppliers.”
Merkel said the Chinese market, once the juggernaut of the export furniture industry, is losing its foothold because of poor quality and failure to meet strict German standards, creating an opportunity for Philippine manufacturers.
Streegan said that with all the economic problems, 2009 is the defining moment of the industry—the stronger, better managed companies will survive to live for the better days while the weaker ones will disappear.
“This is the defining moment in the industry and the people who want to make it big in the industry. This is a great opportunity for us to change and be better for 2010,” Streegan said.
Cebu-based celebrated designer Kenneth Cobonpue said during crisis, Filipinos and designers are pushed not only to create beautiful pieces but ones that are truly global.
“The world does not need another chair. But we have to create something that will make the buyer say, ‘I want to have that piece,’” Cobonpue said.
Cebu furniture sector upbeat despite crunch
DESPITE the difficult times, Cebu’s landmark event for its proud export- furniture sector is set to open today with the number of exhibitors and buyers expected to be slightly lower, but with manufacturers exuding the same vigor that has spelled success for the industry for many decades.
With less than a hundred exhibitors, the Cebu Furniture and Furnishings Exhibition (CebuX) 2009 claims to have gathered the oldest and strongest players in the industry—manufacturers who have survived the political and economic storms for more than five decades.
“These are challenging times, yet we see this as an opportunity to solidify Cebu’s position as the design destination of Asia,” show chairman Allan Murillo said.
“While our competition holds back, we are as aggressive as ever to bring our products to the attention of the international market,” he added.
Cebu’s products are hardly hit by the successive setbacks, especially from its biggest market, the United States. Barely surviving the Asian economic crisis, the 9/11 attacks pushed demand down, then this was followed by the foreign-exchange debacles, the subprime-mortgage crisis and now the global economic recession, which pulled a once $300-million Cebu industry to face its toughest challenges yet.
Players, however, say while traditional markets like the United States feel the effects of the economic pinch, Philippine furniture exports are getting more attention elsewhere, including at home, which will be highlighted more than ever this year.
The domestic market, buoyed by the boom in the real-estate and tourism sector, is also keeping the sector alive as more stylish condominiums and luxury hotels turn to world-class Philippine furniture to spruce up their projects.
This year CebuX will bring to its show not only buyers from international furniture retail chains but interior designers, architects, resort and hotel managers, as well as property developers in the country and from abroad, representing the new market furniture manufacturers are tapping starting this year.
“These are trying times but there is still business as long as we focus on our strength in design and manufacturing,” said Eric Casas, president of Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation (CFIF), the organizer of CebuX.
The optimism is not without basis, despite the economic crunch in 2008, sales actually went up a little at the CebuX at $15.4 million, slightly higher than the $15 million in the 2007 show.
The number of buyers who joined last year’s show was also modestly higher at 1,551, compared with 1,483 from the previous year.
And one of the most promising signs is that more buyers from more countries attended the show last year, a record-high at 77 countries represented in the show.
“It is during times like this when the bolder players take the risks and push their limits of design and innovation. It is during times like this when passionate players position themselves for the certain good times ahead,” Murillo said.
With extensive programs like the design and product development program (DPDP) in place, companies joining CebuX have been trained by key players in the industry on design and materials manipulation.
Upcoming designers from academe are also given the chance to release their bold breakthrough creations through the student-internship program, also under the DPDP.
With less than a hundred exhibitors, the Cebu Furniture and Furnishings Exhibition (CebuX) 2009 claims to have gathered the oldest and strongest players in the industry—manufacturers who have survived the political and economic storms for more than five decades.
“These are challenging times, yet we see this as an opportunity to solidify Cebu’s position as the design destination of Asia,” show chairman Allan Murillo said.
“While our competition holds back, we are as aggressive as ever to bring our products to the attention of the international market,” he added.
Cebu’s products are hardly hit by the successive setbacks, especially from its biggest market, the United States. Barely surviving the Asian economic crisis, the 9/11 attacks pushed demand down, then this was followed by the foreign-exchange debacles, the subprime-mortgage crisis and now the global economic recession, which pulled a once $300-million Cebu industry to face its toughest challenges yet.
Players, however, say while traditional markets like the United States feel the effects of the economic pinch, Philippine furniture exports are getting more attention elsewhere, including at home, which will be highlighted more than ever this year.
The domestic market, buoyed by the boom in the real-estate and tourism sector, is also keeping the sector alive as more stylish condominiums and luxury hotels turn to world-class Philippine furniture to spruce up their projects.
This year CebuX will bring to its show not only buyers from international furniture retail chains but interior designers, architects, resort and hotel managers, as well as property developers in the country and from abroad, representing the new market furniture manufacturers are tapping starting this year.
“These are trying times but there is still business as long as we focus on our strength in design and manufacturing,” said Eric Casas, president of Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation (CFIF), the organizer of CebuX.
The optimism is not without basis, despite the economic crunch in 2008, sales actually went up a little at the CebuX at $15.4 million, slightly higher than the $15 million in the 2007 show.
The number of buyers who joined last year’s show was also modestly higher at 1,551, compared with 1,483 from the previous year.
And one of the most promising signs is that more buyers from more countries attended the show last year, a record-high at 77 countries represented in the show.
“It is during times like this when the bolder players take the risks and push their limits of design and innovation. It is during times like this when passionate players position themselves for the certain good times ahead,” Murillo said.
With extensive programs like the design and product development program (DPDP) in place, companies joining CebuX have been trained by key players in the industry on design and materials manipulation.
Upcoming designers from academe are also given the chance to release their bold breakthrough creations through the student-internship program, also under the DPDP.
Bizmen on Mactan Island brace for 12,000 job losses
Business Mirror
Tuesday, 03 March 2009 23:57
LOCAL businessmen on Mactan Island in Cebu are bracing for at least 12,000 job losses this year as exporters and manufacturers in the city’s three economic zones continue to suffer the effects of the recession.
Mactan Island Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Efraim Pelaez Jr. said the group estimates that companies would retrench up to 25 percent of their work force as orders from abroad dwindle.
“Everybody’s having problems managing their inventories and canceling orders,” Pelaez said. “We must think that people abroad are the ones buying the furniture by Dedon and Maitland-Smith [furniture companies] and even the printers of Lexmark.”
He said Maitland-Smith alone, one of the four biggest locators at the Mactan Economic Zone 1, has retrenched 750 casual employees and 150 regular workers as demand for high-end furniture mostly from the US declined.
The numbers do not include support economies like subcontractors, who are also relying on the production scale of the locators on Mactan.
Pelaez, however, said that unlike other regions in the Philippines, Cebu is in a much better situation because of two “sunshine industries”— business-process outsourcing (BPO) and tourism, which are still experiencing robust growth.
He said the chamber is now preparing a program to train displaced manufacturing workers to work as chambermaids or support staff for hotels and resorts on Mactan which are continually building and expanding.
“We have committed that we [chamber] can take care of the tourism sector and leave the BPO to the others,” he said. He explained business chambers have pledged to further strengthen the two growing industries to keep the Cebu economy going.
“We are lucky we are insulated somewhat because of tourism and BPO and there are still some room for growth there,” he said.
Tuesday, 03 March 2009 23:57
LOCAL businessmen on Mactan Island in Cebu are bracing for at least 12,000 job losses this year as exporters and manufacturers in the city’s three economic zones continue to suffer the effects of the recession.
Mactan Island Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Efraim Pelaez Jr. said the group estimates that companies would retrench up to 25 percent of their work force as orders from abroad dwindle.
“Everybody’s having problems managing their inventories and canceling orders,” Pelaez said. “We must think that people abroad are the ones buying the furniture by Dedon and Maitland-Smith [furniture companies] and even the printers of Lexmark.”
He said Maitland-Smith alone, one of the four biggest locators at the Mactan Economic Zone 1, has retrenched 750 casual employees and 150 regular workers as demand for high-end furniture mostly from the US declined.
The numbers do not include support economies like subcontractors, who are also relying on the production scale of the locators on Mactan.
Pelaez, however, said that unlike other regions in the Philippines, Cebu is in a much better situation because of two “sunshine industries”— business-process outsourcing (BPO) and tourism, which are still experiencing robust growth.
He said the chamber is now preparing a program to train displaced manufacturing workers to work as chambermaids or support staff for hotels and resorts on Mactan which are continually building and expanding.
“We have committed that we [chamber] can take care of the tourism sector and leave the BPO to the others,” he said. He explained business chambers have pledged to further strengthen the two growing industries to keep the Cebu economy going.
“We are lucky we are insulated somewhat because of tourism and BPO and there are still some room for growth there,” he said.
Half of Cebu bizmen have dim outlook
BUsiness Mirror
Monday, 02 March 2009 00:00
CEBU CITY—Close to half of business executives in Metro Cebu expect the economy to worsen in 2009, according to a survey by various business chambers and professional organizations here.
Clarito Fruelda, vice president for external affairs of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), said one reason is that in the coming months, the manufacturing and export sectors are expected to reduce production for lack of orders and sales.
“Many of the businessmen are expecting their production volumes to go down. This may result in more jobs getting lost,” said Fruelda. “The condition of the market could force companies to reduce their manpower.”
The survey was conducted by the Cebu Economic Advisory Group (CEAG), composed of various local and foreign business chambers and the academe. Over 100 respondents answered the survey held between December and January.
Those surveyed were members of the CCCI, businessmen from the Japanese, American, and European business chambers, locators at the Mactan Economic Zone, Finex Cebu, and the Cebu Bankers Club. The survey was managed by Dr. Juanito Aliño of the University of San Jose-Recoletos.
According to the survey, 46 percent of the respondents expect the economy to worsen, and 41 percent expect a higher inflation rate.
Despite the generally grim expectations, a number of businesses also expect improvements in their sector. Some 28 percent of respondents said they expect an improvement in the “main business activity/sector” while 34 percent said there will be no change. Around 36 percent expect a “deteriorating condition.”
Respondents from 75 of the Japanese firms that are members of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Cebu see their business “deteriorate” in 2009.
Still, Fruelda said Cebu is faring better than the rest of the country because while manufacturing and exports are plummeting, the tourism and business process outsourcing sectors are showing advances. “We are lucky because there are some balancing factors in the region’s economy. While many sectors are going down, some sectors are still going up and this keeps the economy going.”
CCCI president Edward Gaisano said in a statement it is crucial for the individual businesses and government agencies to identify the workers set for layoffs so they could be retrained.
“There is also a need to address issues and concerns especially in the areas of peace and order, traffic, power, and water utilities as these can strategically affect the overall business climate in Cebu for 2009,” said Gaisano.
The CEAG was organized to identify and address common concerns of the various business groups in Cebu. Gaisano said that while certain issues are top priority for some business sectors, there are common problems that businesses in general should face.
Monday, 02 March 2009 00:00
CEBU CITY—Close to half of business executives in Metro Cebu expect the economy to worsen in 2009, according to a survey by various business chambers and professional organizations here.
Clarito Fruelda, vice president for external affairs of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), said one reason is that in the coming months, the manufacturing and export sectors are expected to reduce production for lack of orders and sales.
“Many of the businessmen are expecting their production volumes to go down. This may result in more jobs getting lost,” said Fruelda. “The condition of the market could force companies to reduce their manpower.”
The survey was conducted by the Cebu Economic Advisory Group (CEAG), composed of various local and foreign business chambers and the academe. Over 100 respondents answered the survey held between December and January.
Those surveyed were members of the CCCI, businessmen from the Japanese, American, and European business chambers, locators at the Mactan Economic Zone, Finex Cebu, and the Cebu Bankers Club. The survey was managed by Dr. Juanito Aliño of the University of San Jose-Recoletos.
According to the survey, 46 percent of the respondents expect the economy to worsen, and 41 percent expect a higher inflation rate.
Despite the generally grim expectations, a number of businesses also expect improvements in their sector. Some 28 percent of respondents said they expect an improvement in the “main business activity/sector” while 34 percent said there will be no change. Around 36 percent expect a “deteriorating condition.”
Respondents from 75 of the Japanese firms that are members of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry-Cebu see their business “deteriorate” in 2009.
Still, Fruelda said Cebu is faring better than the rest of the country because while manufacturing and exports are plummeting, the tourism and business process outsourcing sectors are showing advances. “We are lucky because there are some balancing factors in the region’s economy. While many sectors are going down, some sectors are still going up and this keeps the economy going.”
CCCI president Edward Gaisano said in a statement it is crucial for the individual businesses and government agencies to identify the workers set for layoffs so they could be retrained.
“There is also a need to address issues and concerns especially in the areas of peace and order, traffic, power, and water utilities as these can strategically affect the overall business climate in Cebu for 2009,” said Gaisano.
The CEAG was organized to identify and address common concerns of the various business groups in Cebu. Gaisano said that while certain issues are top priority for some business sectors, there are common problems that businesses in general should face.
1,500 Chinese tourists arrive in Cebu out of 10,000 target
Red Storm Rising. Mainland Chinese descend in Cebu by the thousands.
Business Mirror
Monday, 02 February 2009 21:01
CEBU—Some 1,500 Chinese tourists arrived in Cebu the past week, the first batch of around 10,000 visitors that a China-based leisure company and its Filipino partner want to bring to this island in 2009 alone.
Six full Cathay Pacific chartered flights arrived in Cebu as early as January 25, with many others coming in by regular commercial flights through Hong Kong and Manila.
The tourists went around Cebu City and the beaches of Badian Island in the south, while others went to the neighboring island of Bohol.
“The Philippines has a lot to offer to Chinese tourists,” said Wei Nian Bu, general manager of leisure company Dong Fang International Travel Services Ltd., based in Guangzhou.
“There will be more Chinese tourists coming to the Philippines from China, especially to Cebu,” he said through an interpreter.
The visitors, mostly from Guangdong, Fujian and Shanghai, were treated by Dong Fang to a grand dinner at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
While the adults danced to Chinese, Filipino and Western music, a special playground facility was built for the children at the back portion of the grand hall.
Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia said the Chinese market presents a new growth area for Cebu tourism. She said the cultural connection between Cebuanos and the Chinese is very apparent, while Cebu’s natural resources is something that the Chinese appreciate.
“While in other places we only hear of gloomy news, in Cebu, we give everybody a glimmer of hope,” the governor said during a press conference.
“Other cities of the world have Chinatowns. In Cebu , the entire city is a Chinatown. I can say all of Cebuanos have Chinese blood in them.”
The governor said the population of China alone posts a huge potential for Cebu, and the proximity between the two countries is also an advantage for the local tourism industry.
At present, however, there are only four direct flights a week between Cebu and Guanzhou.
Allan Dino, vice president of Donga Fang Leisure Philippines, said the tourists loved the beaches in Cebu and Bohol but they had problems with the accommodations, since most of the hotels and resorts are packed with the Chinese New Year celebrations—a regular peak season for Cebu ’s tourism industry. “But the beaches and the natural resources are perfect and they all loved it,” he said.
Tourism Undersecretary Phineas Alburo said China remains the fifth-biggest market for Cebu, but is one of the fastest-growing markets.
Tourist arrivals slow in 2008 but still up 2%; flat growth seen this year
Business Mirror
Monday, 02 February 2009 00:18
THE Department of Tourism announced a slower but positive 2-percent growth in the number of foreign arrivals in the country in 2008, but is projecting a flat growth in 2009, as the country’s biggest markets continue to reel from the impact of the global recession.
Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano said the decrease in the number of tourists coming in from Japan, Korea and the United States slowed down the sector. In 2008, arrivals reached 3.2 million, significantly lower than the 3.5-million target of the department.
He said, however, that the Philippines continues to fare better than its Southeast Asian neighbors. The country’s tourism sector grew close to nine percent in 2007.
“A zero percent growth in a market in decline is like a double-digit growth in a market in good times,” Durano told reporters in Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu on Friday.
Durano was guest in the formal presentation of the declaration placing the Imperial Palace Water Park Resort and Spa in Cebu as a special tourism economic zone.
He said that while Japan posted a -7-percent growth in arrivals, Korea -9 percent, and the United States -1 percent, emerging markets like Russia, France and the United Kingdom posted double-digit growth along with steady growths from Australia, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Durano also lauded the efforts of the private sector which continues to invest in beefing up facilities of the industry.
The P5-billion investment of BXT Philippines Corp. on the eight-hectare 556-room Imperial Palace, arguably the biggest existing investment in the country, will also help solve the perennial problems of lack of quality accommodations in the country, especially in Cebu.
“These international companies have their own marketing efforts and this will put the country in a very strategic position when the market bounces back,” he said. “These investments will be adding to our competitiveness in the global market.”
Being in a tourism economic zone, Imperial Palace enjoyed free import duties and tax holidays. The resort is set to have a soft opening in March with full opening in April this year. The resort plans to hire 1,500 employees when if goes full swing in its operations.
Park Jong Whan, president of Phil BXT Corp., said the tax holidays they are enjoying are a big help to their investment.
“This project started during a short visit to the Philippines and Cebu and this opened our eyes to the world-class destination potential,” he said. “We also experienced firsthand the hospitality of the Filipinos which made us decide to stay.
BXT started as Busan Express Bus terminal in Korea, which later expanded to BXT Resort Development in 2005. BXT entered into a partnership with Taihan Electronics Wire Co. Ltd. of South Korea to establish Phil BXT Corp.
The operator of the property, Imperial Palace, runs several hotels in Korea and Japan.
Monday, 02 February 2009 00:18
THE Department of Tourism announced a slower but positive 2-percent growth in the number of foreign arrivals in the country in 2008, but is projecting a flat growth in 2009, as the country’s biggest markets continue to reel from the impact of the global recession.
Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano said the decrease in the number of tourists coming in from Japan, Korea and the United States slowed down the sector. In 2008, arrivals reached 3.2 million, significantly lower than the 3.5-million target of the department.
He said, however, that the Philippines continues to fare better than its Southeast Asian neighbors. The country’s tourism sector grew close to nine percent in 2007.
“A zero percent growth in a market in decline is like a double-digit growth in a market in good times,” Durano told reporters in Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu on Friday.
Durano was guest in the formal presentation of the declaration placing the Imperial Palace Water Park Resort and Spa in Cebu as a special tourism economic zone.
He said that while Japan posted a -7-percent growth in arrivals, Korea -9 percent, and the United States -1 percent, emerging markets like Russia, France and the United Kingdom posted double-digit growth along with steady growths from Australia, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Durano also lauded the efforts of the private sector which continues to invest in beefing up facilities of the industry.
The P5-billion investment of BXT Philippines Corp. on the eight-hectare 556-room Imperial Palace, arguably the biggest existing investment in the country, will also help solve the perennial problems of lack of quality accommodations in the country, especially in Cebu.
“These international companies have their own marketing efforts and this will put the country in a very strategic position when the market bounces back,” he said. “These investments will be adding to our competitiveness in the global market.”
Being in a tourism economic zone, Imperial Palace enjoyed free import duties and tax holidays. The resort is set to have a soft opening in March with full opening in April this year. The resort plans to hire 1,500 employees when if goes full swing in its operations.
Park Jong Whan, president of Phil BXT Corp., said the tax holidays they are enjoying are a big help to their investment.
“This project started during a short visit to the Philippines and Cebu and this opened our eyes to the world-class destination potential,” he said. “We also experienced firsthand the hospitality of the Filipinos which made us decide to stay.
BXT started as Busan Express Bus terminal in Korea, which later expanded to BXT Resort Development in 2005. BXT entered into a partnership with Taihan Electronics Wire Co. Ltd. of South Korea to establish Phil BXT Corp.
The operator of the property, Imperial Palace, runs several hotels in Korea and Japan.
Cebu furniture exporters brace for toughest year
Thursday, 22 January 2009 19:47
CEBU’S export-furniture industry is bracing for its toughest year as its global sales face a possible plunge that could place thousands of workers out of job in the next few months.
A deepening recession in the US and Japan—Philippine exports’ biggest markets—is to blame for the industry’s woes.
“We’ve been through the Asian financial crisis, the China threat and foreign-exchange problems, but even if you combine these three it would be small compared to the magnitude of the problem we are facing now,” Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation (CFIF) president Eric Casas told the BusinessMirror.
Since 2007, 67 companies out of some 200 CFIF members have already closed down, according to CFIF data.
The shutdowns and the layoffs in surviving companies have displaced up to 11,800 regular employees in one-and-a-half years, according to the CFIF data.
The numbers exclude subcontractors and service providers whose services have been discontinued because of plunging and canceled orders by foreign buyers.
According to CFIF executive director Ruby Salutan, the exact number of employees in the industry at present is “fluid” as more companies are in retrenchment mode and some are in the process of closing down.
Data show that container shipments from Cebu dropped by 18 percent to 13,489 in the 11 months to November 2008, compared with 16,367 container vans a year earlier.
As raw-material and labor costs keep rising and competition in the global market gets tougher, the industry said it is facing a situation it has never faced before.
“This is the first of its kind for our industry. It is no longer regions that are affected but everybody. It is global,” said Angela Paulin, CFIF vice president for internal affairs.
“We need to be realistic. We expect the industry to contract by a further 30 percent in 2009,” said Charles Streegan, CFIF vice president for external affairs. “This is reality. The sooner we face reality the sooner we can institute programs to address these realities.”
“We can’t give the exact number of employees of the industry, because every day companies are retrenching and closing,” Salutan said. “At times we have to personally go to the factories and knock on their gates to see if they are still operating.”
Cebu’s furniture sector is perhaps one of the best success stories in Philippine industries as it conquered big- time the global market. The province accounted for nearly half the country’s $275-million exports in 2006.
Many of Cebu’s signature pieces by Filipino designers and craftsmen have landed in high-end retail stores and homes of celebrities and blockbuster Hollywood movie sets, and garnered international acclaim.
According to Casas, companies may be forced to further cut costs and regular jobs and turn to subcontracting.
Other companies have started to cut on working days in a week and some are thinking of temporary closures, Casas said. “We hope the [markets] will recover by the end of 2009. But realistically, it could happen in late 2010,” Streegan added.
The industry’s showcase event, the Cebu International Furniture and Furnishings Show (CebuX) in March, is also bracing for its toughest year.
After close to $30 million in record sales and number of buyers in 2005, the show’s succeeding years saw close to a 50-percent slump in sales.
This year, confirmed exhibitors are down to 56 from 85 last year and more than 100 companies in previous years. But the industry remains optimistic and is banking on some figures that show the light at the end of the tunnel.
Despite the dip in sales in the last few years, CebuX managed to sell $15.4 million in 2008 compared with $14 million in 2007.
The number of registered foreign buyers that visited the show also increased by 5 percent to 1,551, while the number of countries that sent buyers to the show increased to 77, underlining the success of CFIF’s efforts to look for emerging markets outside the US.
“The orders are still coming in by trickles,” Paulin said. “The volume, however, has dipped but there are still buyers out there.”
Despite the closures the past year, eight companies have joined CFIF and are gearing up to make it in the international market, which Paulin said “inspires” the industry and its old players.
Streegan said the domestic market is getting help from real-estate projects and tourism, although the orders are small.
CFIF is also strengthening its marketing efforts in the Middle East, Russia and even the Balkans in an effort to seek emerging markets.
For CebuX, buyers from new markets like the Middle East, Europe, Africa and Russia have increased.
“Cebu has never been known as the source for the cheapest goods,” Casas said. “We are known for our design and innovation.”
Casas said the crisis has, in a way, “screened” the industry. Companies and owners that have the passion for the business are left, and those with best practices and the strongest designs survive.
“We have to survive. We have to focus on our strength in design and innovation so when the market picks up again, we can be more globally competitive,” Casas said.
“When all this is over, what will remain is a few companies, but they will be the strongest; they will surely have the passion for the business. We can watch ourselves go down or we can go out to face the storm,” Casas added.
CEBU’S export-furniture industry is bracing for its toughest year as its global sales face a possible plunge that could place thousands of workers out of job in the next few months.
A deepening recession in the US and Japan—Philippine exports’ biggest markets—is to blame for the industry’s woes.
“We’ve been through the Asian financial crisis, the China threat and foreign-exchange problems, but even if you combine these three it would be small compared to the magnitude of the problem we are facing now,” Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation (CFIF) president Eric Casas told the BusinessMirror.
Since 2007, 67 companies out of some 200 CFIF members have already closed down, according to CFIF data.
The shutdowns and the layoffs in surviving companies have displaced up to 11,800 regular employees in one-and-a-half years, according to the CFIF data.
The numbers exclude subcontractors and service providers whose services have been discontinued because of plunging and canceled orders by foreign buyers.
According to CFIF executive director Ruby Salutan, the exact number of employees in the industry at present is “fluid” as more companies are in retrenchment mode and some are in the process of closing down.
Data show that container shipments from Cebu dropped by 18 percent to 13,489 in the 11 months to November 2008, compared with 16,367 container vans a year earlier.
As raw-material and labor costs keep rising and competition in the global market gets tougher, the industry said it is facing a situation it has never faced before.
“This is the first of its kind for our industry. It is no longer regions that are affected but everybody. It is global,” said Angela Paulin, CFIF vice president for internal affairs.
“We need to be realistic. We expect the industry to contract by a further 30 percent in 2009,” said Charles Streegan, CFIF vice president for external affairs. “This is reality. The sooner we face reality the sooner we can institute programs to address these realities.”
“We can’t give the exact number of employees of the industry, because every day companies are retrenching and closing,” Salutan said. “At times we have to personally go to the factories and knock on their gates to see if they are still operating.”
Cebu’s furniture sector is perhaps one of the best success stories in Philippine industries as it conquered big- time the global market. The province accounted for nearly half the country’s $275-million exports in 2006.
Many of Cebu’s signature pieces by Filipino designers and craftsmen have landed in high-end retail stores and homes of celebrities and blockbuster Hollywood movie sets, and garnered international acclaim.
According to Casas, companies may be forced to further cut costs and regular jobs and turn to subcontracting.
Other companies have started to cut on working days in a week and some are thinking of temporary closures, Casas said. “We hope the [markets] will recover by the end of 2009. But realistically, it could happen in late 2010,” Streegan added.
The industry’s showcase event, the Cebu International Furniture and Furnishings Show (CebuX) in March, is also bracing for its toughest year.
After close to $30 million in record sales and number of buyers in 2005, the show’s succeeding years saw close to a 50-percent slump in sales.
This year, confirmed exhibitors are down to 56 from 85 last year and more than 100 companies in previous years. But the industry remains optimistic and is banking on some figures that show the light at the end of the tunnel.
Despite the dip in sales in the last few years, CebuX managed to sell $15.4 million in 2008 compared with $14 million in 2007.
The number of registered foreign buyers that visited the show also increased by 5 percent to 1,551, while the number of countries that sent buyers to the show increased to 77, underlining the success of CFIF’s efforts to look for emerging markets outside the US.
“The orders are still coming in by trickles,” Paulin said. “The volume, however, has dipped but there are still buyers out there.”
Despite the closures the past year, eight companies have joined CFIF and are gearing up to make it in the international market, which Paulin said “inspires” the industry and its old players.
Streegan said the domestic market is getting help from real-estate projects and tourism, although the orders are small.
CFIF is also strengthening its marketing efforts in the Middle East, Russia and even the Balkans in an effort to seek emerging markets.
For CebuX, buyers from new markets like the Middle East, Europe, Africa and Russia have increased.
“Cebu has never been known as the source for the cheapest goods,” Casas said. “We are known for our design and innovation.”
Casas said the crisis has, in a way, “screened” the industry. Companies and owners that have the passion for the business are left, and those with best practices and the strongest designs survive.
“We have to survive. We have to focus on our strength in design and innovation so when the market picks up again, we can be more globally competitive,” Casas said.
“When all this is over, what will remain is a few companies, but they will be the strongest; they will surely have the passion for the business. We can watch ourselves go down or we can go out to face the storm,” Casas added.
Veco, consumers brace for Cebu brownouts
Monday, 19 January 2009 19:45
Visayan Electric Co. (Veco) and 15 of its biggest consumers are drafting a deal that would allow companies to use generator sets and help avert brownouts in Metro Cebu this year.
Veco chief operating officer Jaime Aboitiz said under the agreement companies will stop receiving power supply from the distribution utility at certain hours of the day when generators sets are on.
The arrangement will help Veco franchise areas save up to 40 megawatts (MWs) of power, or enough to stave off expected brownouts later this year when power supply in the Cebu-Negros-Panay grid drops to critical level.
“What is good is that companies are supportive of the plan, there is no [selfishness] in this case,” Aboitiz told reporters on Monday.
The two biggest consumers, SM City Cebu and San Miguel Corp., consumes close to 9 MW and 7 MW, respectively, and have made pledge commitment to the plan.
Other big consumers like Ayala Center Cebu, the Gaisano group and industrial users were also responsive to the proposal, Aboitiz said.
However, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) needs to approve the deal.
Aboitiz believes the commission will approve the agreement on account of the power situation in the Visayas that can drop to critical levels.
Under the plan, Veco will pay the difference between regular power bills and the amount companies would incur when generator sets are used.
The plan would mean an increase in the bill of household consumers, Aboitiz admitted.
Veco computed that an average household that pays P200 a month for electricity would have to pay about P8 more.
“But this will mean there will be no brownouts, especially during times when people go home from work,” he said. “We are also asking the Cebuanos to save power a little more.”
Veco vice president for administration Sebastian Lacson said the companies will be given a fixed rate, or a premium over their bills if they run their generator sets efficiently.
“If they are very efficient then they may actually earn a little. If not, then they” would incur added cost, he told the BusinessMirror.
Veco wants the plan in place before the summer months when electric consumption goes up as people turn air-cooling units on.
The Visayas grid expects brownouts this year as no additional power supply has been identified to meet higher demand and as existing power plants age.
New power plants in the Cebu-Negros-Panay grid include the 245-MW coal-fired plant of Cebu Energy Development Corp. in Toledo City, and would be online by the first half of 2010.
The 200-MW plant of Kepco Salcon Power Corp. won’t be in operation unit 210 11. The grid consumes an estimated 900 MW at peak hours, with Visayan Electric Co. accounting for close to 350 MW.
Veco is owned by listed companies Aboitiz Power Corp. and Vivant Corp.
Visayan Electric Co. (Veco) and 15 of its biggest consumers are drafting a deal that would allow companies to use generator sets and help avert brownouts in Metro Cebu this year.
Veco chief operating officer Jaime Aboitiz said under the agreement companies will stop receiving power supply from the distribution utility at certain hours of the day when generators sets are on.
The arrangement will help Veco franchise areas save up to 40 megawatts (MWs) of power, or enough to stave off expected brownouts later this year when power supply in the Cebu-Negros-Panay grid drops to critical level.
“What is good is that companies are supportive of the plan, there is no [selfishness] in this case,” Aboitiz told reporters on Monday.
The two biggest consumers, SM City Cebu and San Miguel Corp., consumes close to 9 MW and 7 MW, respectively, and have made pledge commitment to the plan.
Other big consumers like Ayala Center Cebu, the Gaisano group and industrial users were also responsive to the proposal, Aboitiz said.
However, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) needs to approve the deal.
Aboitiz believes the commission will approve the agreement on account of the power situation in the Visayas that can drop to critical levels.
Under the plan, Veco will pay the difference between regular power bills and the amount companies would incur when generator sets are used.
The plan would mean an increase in the bill of household consumers, Aboitiz admitted.
Veco computed that an average household that pays P200 a month for electricity would have to pay about P8 more.
“But this will mean there will be no brownouts, especially during times when people go home from work,” he said. “We are also asking the Cebuanos to save power a little more.”
Veco vice president for administration Sebastian Lacson said the companies will be given a fixed rate, or a premium over their bills if they run their generator sets efficiently.
“If they are very efficient then they may actually earn a little. If not, then they” would incur added cost, he told the BusinessMirror.
Veco wants the plan in place before the summer months when electric consumption goes up as people turn air-cooling units on.
The Visayas grid expects brownouts this year as no additional power supply has been identified to meet higher demand and as existing power plants age.
New power plants in the Cebu-Negros-Panay grid include the 245-MW coal-fired plant of Cebu Energy Development Corp. in Toledo City, and would be online by the first half of 2010.
The 200-MW plant of Kepco Salcon Power Corp. won’t be in operation unit 210 11. The grid consumes an estimated 900 MW at peak hours, with Visayan Electric Co. accounting for close to 350 MW.
Veco is owned by listed companies Aboitiz Power Corp. and Vivant Corp.
Cebu remains upbeat on Sinulog Festival
Business Mirror
Thursday, 15 January 2009 19:28
CEBU CITY—Cebuanos remain upbeat on the Sinulog Festival despite the impact of the global financial crisis.
Hundreds of thousands of local and foreign tourists are expected to flock at the center of this central Philippine island this Sunday to witness what is arguably the country’s biggest festival.
Despite the anticipation and the fanfare, organizers said a religious festival like the Sinulog has not been immune from what is happening in the world today.
Sinulog Foundation Inc. executive director Ricardo Ballesteros said several big-ticket sponsors have backed out this year because of the financial crisis.
“We are really affected. It takes a long time for sponsors to commit and some sponsors have backed out,” he said.
Four big business-process outsour-cing companies that have facilities in Cebu and were the biggest sponsors last year are no longer part of the festival.
“We were told that they have to cut down on their marketing budget, which is understandable,” Ballesteros said.
Participants from out-of-town are also having a tough time after budgets for props and costumes have been cut. Others would have to skip the event, according to organizers.
Through inclement weather in the past weeks, Ballesteros said organizers have been preparing for the worst. Participants for the grand presentation inside Cebu City Sports Center—where over 30,000 spectators are expected—have practiced their routine.
“This is really going to be a very challenging year,” Ballesteros said.
The Sinulog traces its roots to the candle dancers around Basilica Minore del Santo Niño. The dancers offer candles and prayers to the miraculous image of the Child Jesus on behalf of clients and patrons. The Sinulog follows the rhythmic dance of women in a two-steps-forward, one-step-backward routine.
Compared with other festivals in honor of the Santo Niño, the standard Sinulog beat is graceful and rhythmic and more melodious than that of the Dinagyang and the Ati-Atihan which follow warlike drumbeats.
According to Cebu City Acting Mayor Michael Rama, it is the combination of religion and pageantry that makes the Sinulog Festival special.
“The Sinulog is about the Santo Niño and the people. Without the people, there won’t be any Sinulog,” he said.
This year organizers are bracing for 2 million people to pack the 5-kilometer carousel route.
Ballesteros said after several big sponsors backed out, others came in. Telecom giants Globe and Smart and food-beverage conglomerate San Miguel Corp. still lead the list of the biggest donors, helping the foundation to reach its P15-million sponsorship target.
Plus the P8 million given by the city, organizers said they are now close to the P25-million budget for the entire event.
The city is also laying out a subsidy package to encourage out-of-towners to join. The city is offering a P100,000 subsidy for 10 of the best visiting contingents, a pittance considering some groups spend close to a P1 million to prepare for and join the festival.
Other groups that will take part this year are those from Sta. Catalina, Oriental Negros; Borongan, Samar; Sultan Kudarat; Tangub City, Misamis Oriental; and San Carlos City in Negros Occidental.
Hotels here have been fully booked since late November and flights during the Sinulog weekend are also booked, while the number of chartered flights courtesy of the Balik Cebu program is still bringing in hundreds of balikbayan and devotees of the Santo Niño.
“Days before the Sinulog you can’t expect any room available even in the resorts [in Mactan],” says Marco Protacio, the president of the Hotels Resorts and Restaurants Association of Cebu.
According to Ballesteros, the marketing power of the Sinulog is difficult to ignore.
“With the size of the crowd and the media, the Sinulog is the perfect avenue to market yourself and your brand,” Ballesteros said.
Rama said despite the product sponsorships and dances, Sinulog has remained true to its roots.
The religious side of the festivities centers on the Santo Niño and is equally astounding.
“While we expect the biggest crowd in the grand parade, we are also expecting the same for the religious procession,” Rama said. “The Sinulog has not lost its religiosity and that is very special.”
In fact, this year, the city has more than doubled the route of the procession of the Santo Niño, on the Saturday before the grand parade, to almost 5 km to accommodate devotees who pack the six-lane boulevards.
“Priests in the basilica [Minore del Santo Niño] always ask me and the police where do all the people come from because they keep on coming,” Rama said. “It shows that Cebuanos and the Filipinos keep to their faith.”
With close to 40 contingents, 10,000 volunteers and 20,000 grandstand tickets sold out, the Sinulog 2009 is ready, crisis or no crisis, rain or shine.
Unstable supply delays cheaper power for Visayas region
Business Mirror
Monday, 12 January 2009 23:56
UNTIL power supply in the region is stable, the Department of Energy (DOE) will likely put off the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (Wesm) in the Visayas.
Based on a study commissioned by the department, the Visayas is not yet ready for Wesm, despite the system’s reported readiness since 2007, DOE Visayas director Vicente Labios said.
“Wesm is not yet viable as of this time because of the tight power situation in the Visayas,” Labios told the BusinessMirror.
Wesm, along with the time-of-use rates mechanism of the Visayan Electric Co. (Veco), had been identified by various sectors as a possible measure to avert widespread brownouts as power supply falls short of demand in central Philippines this year.
Labios said the study of Australian consultant Intelligent Energy Systems shows that market participants are not yet ready for Wesm’s full implementation, and that the system is not ready. Also, that there is still a large gap in the demand-supply scenario.
“Until these conditions are met, Wesm is not viable,” Labios added. “If we implement Wesm during a tight supply situation, power rates will definitely go very high.”
National Transmission Corp. (Transco) and National Power Corp. projected last month rotation brownouts in the Cebu-Negros-Panay (CNP) grid, as power demand goes up without a matching increase in supply.
“By 2009 we will still have the same aging plants whose output become lower and lower with power demand going higher and higher,” Crispin Lamayan, Transco assistant vice president for systems operations, said.
“By 2009 the situation will be severe; we cannot afford any of our plants to trip. Until 2010 [with no new power plants], we will have plenty of brownouts.”
Next-generation power plants in the Cebu-Negros-Panay grid would tap to the grid by the first half of 2010, such as Cebu Energy Development Corp.’s 245-megawatt (mw) coal-fired. Kepco Salcon Power Corp.’s 200-MW facility would start to operate only in 2011.
The CNP consumes around 900 MW of electricity at peak hours, with Visayan Electric Co. accounting for nearly 350 MW.
Lamayan said talks are on for large industries to crank up their own generators during peak hours.
“NPC has also rented out modular generator units for Panay Island, the tail-end of the gird, which has been experiencing brownouts since early 2008,” he added.
He hopes that summer wouldn’t be so hot, as air-cooling units would raise power demand and compel more rotation brownouts.
Monday, 12 January 2009 23:56
UNTIL power supply in the region is stable, the Department of Energy (DOE) will likely put off the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (Wesm) in the Visayas.
Based on a study commissioned by the department, the Visayas is not yet ready for Wesm, despite the system’s reported readiness since 2007, DOE Visayas director Vicente Labios said.
“Wesm is not yet viable as of this time because of the tight power situation in the Visayas,” Labios told the BusinessMirror.
Wesm, along with the time-of-use rates mechanism of the Visayan Electric Co. (Veco), had been identified by various sectors as a possible measure to avert widespread brownouts as power supply falls short of demand in central Philippines this year.
Labios said the study of Australian consultant Intelligent Energy Systems shows that market participants are not yet ready for Wesm’s full implementation, and that the system is not ready. Also, that there is still a large gap in the demand-supply scenario.
“Until these conditions are met, Wesm is not viable,” Labios added. “If we implement Wesm during a tight supply situation, power rates will definitely go very high.”
National Transmission Corp. (Transco) and National Power Corp. projected last month rotation brownouts in the Cebu-Negros-Panay (CNP) grid, as power demand goes up without a matching increase in supply.
“By 2009 we will still have the same aging plants whose output become lower and lower with power demand going higher and higher,” Crispin Lamayan, Transco assistant vice president for systems operations, said.
“By 2009 the situation will be severe; we cannot afford any of our plants to trip. Until 2010 [with no new power plants], we will have plenty of brownouts.”
Next-generation power plants in the Cebu-Negros-Panay grid would tap to the grid by the first half of 2010, such as Cebu Energy Development Corp.’s 245-megawatt (mw) coal-fired. Kepco Salcon Power Corp.’s 200-MW facility would start to operate only in 2011.
The CNP consumes around 900 MW of electricity at peak hours, with Visayan Electric Co. accounting for nearly 350 MW.
Lamayan said talks are on for large industries to crank up their own generators during peak hours.
“NPC has also rented out modular generator units for Panay Island, the tail-end of the gird, which has been experiencing brownouts since early 2008,” he added.
He hopes that summer wouldn’t be so hot, as air-cooling units would raise power demand and compel more rotation brownouts.
Cebu govt bid on Filinvest project rejected once more
Business Mirror
Sunday, 11 January 2009 21:41
THE Cebu City government on Friday rejected for the second time the provincial government’s bid to challenge the unsolicited proposal of Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) to develop 60 hectares of the reclaimed South Road Properties.
With no other challenger signifying intention to challenge FLI, the property development firm is scheduled to be formally awarded with the project on January 23.
However, the governor’s spokesman, Rory John Sepulveda, told the BusinessMirror that the Capitol has yet to receive the formal decision of the joint venture selection committee (JVSC) of the city government.
“The governor, the provincial board and the economic affairs team will surely talk about it and decide our next course of action,” Sepulveda said.
The JVSC, in its resolution, said the Capitol still failed to prove that it is a private entity, that it has the track record to undergo a huge development, and it has the financial capability for big-ticket projects, as provided by the city’s own joint venture ordinance and National Economic and Development Authority rules on unsolicited proposals.
Commitee chairman and city administrator Francisco Fernandez said the committee’s decision will be sent to Acting Mayor Michael Rama for final approval. Pending any appeal from the Capitol or a rejection by Rama, Fernandez said it is logical for Filinvest to be declared winner.
Sepulveda criticized the JVSC for releasing the results of the meeting even before sending the matter for final approval of the acting mayor.
“They themselves admit they are only a recommending body and the final decision rests upon the head of office [mayor], yet they immediately went public with their decision as if it was already final,” Sepulveda said. “If this is how things are run at City Hall, then it is not in accordance of good taste.”
With the rejection of the Capitol, the city government plans to formally award the project to FLI by next week.
In its original proposal, FLI plans to buy the 10 hectares for P2 billion, or about P20,000 per square meter. The remaining 50 hectares will be developed through a joint venture with the city, with the local government getting revenue shares or cash income, whichever is higher. Tristan las Marias, Filinvest’s vice president for the Visayas and Mindanao, said the company’s investment in the property could reach P80 billion.
Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia and Mayor-on leave Tomas Osmeña has had a public quarrel since 2005 after the collapse of a land swap deal between the two government units.
The province was supposed to give up its claim to 50 hectares of prime property inside the city in exchange for vacant lots at the north reclamation area. The deal, however, collapsed after the government units disagreed on the values of their respective properties.
The province pushed to recover the 50 hectares, planning to make business through joint ventures with private firms.
The mayor vowed to block the recovery and the city council issued a moratorium on developments over districts where the provincial lots are located, effectively stopping the Capitol’s projects,
The SRP, completed in 2001, was built through a loan obtained by the city government with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. The loan is payable up to 2020
Sunday, 11 January 2009 21:41
THE Cebu City government on Friday rejected for the second time the provincial government’s bid to challenge the unsolicited proposal of Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) to develop 60 hectares of the reclaimed South Road Properties.
With no other challenger signifying intention to challenge FLI, the property development firm is scheduled to be formally awarded with the project on January 23.
However, the governor’s spokesman, Rory John Sepulveda, told the BusinessMirror that the Capitol has yet to receive the formal decision of the joint venture selection committee (JVSC) of the city government.
“The governor, the provincial board and the economic affairs team will surely talk about it and decide our next course of action,” Sepulveda said.
The JVSC, in its resolution, said the Capitol still failed to prove that it is a private entity, that it has the track record to undergo a huge development, and it has the financial capability for big-ticket projects, as provided by the city’s own joint venture ordinance and National Economic and Development Authority rules on unsolicited proposals.
Commitee chairman and city administrator Francisco Fernandez said the committee’s decision will be sent to Acting Mayor Michael Rama for final approval. Pending any appeal from the Capitol or a rejection by Rama, Fernandez said it is logical for Filinvest to be declared winner.
Sepulveda criticized the JVSC for releasing the results of the meeting even before sending the matter for final approval of the acting mayor.
“They themselves admit they are only a recommending body and the final decision rests upon the head of office [mayor], yet they immediately went public with their decision as if it was already final,” Sepulveda said. “If this is how things are run at City Hall, then it is not in accordance of good taste.”
With the rejection of the Capitol, the city government plans to formally award the project to FLI by next week.
In its original proposal, FLI plans to buy the 10 hectares for P2 billion, or about P20,000 per square meter. The remaining 50 hectares will be developed through a joint venture with the city, with the local government getting revenue shares or cash income, whichever is higher. Tristan las Marias, Filinvest’s vice president for the Visayas and Mindanao, said the company’s investment in the property could reach P80 billion.
Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia and Mayor-on leave Tomas Osmeña has had a public quarrel since 2005 after the collapse of a land swap deal between the two government units.
The province was supposed to give up its claim to 50 hectares of prime property inside the city in exchange for vacant lots at the north reclamation area. The deal, however, collapsed after the government units disagreed on the values of their respective properties.
The province pushed to recover the 50 hectares, planning to make business through joint ventures with private firms.
The mayor vowed to block the recovery and the city council issued a moratorium on developments over districts where the provincial lots are located, effectively stopping the Capitol’s projects,
The SRP, completed in 2001, was built through a loan obtained by the city government with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. The loan is payable up to 2020
Cebu government appeals decision on Filinvest P80-B development project
The hottest 60 hectares of SRP. Filinvest eyes it, the Capitol wants it.
Business Mirror
Thursday, 08 January 2009
The Cebu provincial government is appealing the decision of the Cebu City Hall to disqualify the former from challenging an P80-billion unsolicited proposal by Filinvest Land Inc. (FLI) to develop 60 hectares of land at the reclaimed South Road Properties (SRP).
In a letter to the city’s Joint Venture Selection Committee (JVSC), provincial administrator Adolfo Quiroga said the province has the legal personality and the financial capacity to challenge FLI and provide a better deal for the city.
“Based on the provisions of the Local Government Code, there is no question that the province of Cebu, as a corporate entity or private corporation, is qualified to challenge FLI’s proposal,” Quiroga said in a later dated January 5.
No other entity, aside from the provincial government, challenged FLI’s plan over its proposal.
The provincial government’s appeal will be taken up in a special meeting by the JVSC today, said committee chairman and city administrator Francisco Fernandez.
“We will consider this letter as an appeal and we will make our decision today and send our recommendations to the chief executive for his approval,” Fernandez told the BusinessMirror.
He pointed out that he doesn’t believe the challenge posed by the provincial government is not a means to muddle into the city government’s affairs, taking into considertation the rough relations between Cebu City mayor on-leave Tomas Osmeña and Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia.
“We will consider their appeal as a collegial body. We will be nitpicking on the technicalities,” he said.
With no other eligible challenger, FLI will be declared the winner to develop 46 hectares of the SRP, should the city stand by its decision to disqualify the provincial government, Fernandez said.
If the city agrees to allow the Capitol to challenge FLI, then the JVSC will give the provincial government enough time to prepare a counter-proposal. However, being the original proponent, FLI has the option to match whatever proposal the Capitol will come up with to retain the project.
The JVSC earlier disqualified the Cebu provincial government from challenging FLI, citing the city’s own ordinance along with national government rules on joint-venture agreements. The city argued that the two rules indicated that local government units are not allowed to enter into such projects with another local government unit.
The JVSC also said the Capitol failed to show that it has the financial muscle to undertake such a massive project.
According to Fernandez there is a provision in the city’s ordinance, which governs joint-venture projects indicating that challengers, which would like to appeal the decision of the city file a nonrefundable appeal fee of not less than one-half of 1 percent of the total project cost, or, in FLI’s case, P250 million.
“We would still have to discuss if this provisions cover appeals on the eligibility phase or appeals during the actual challenge over the project,” Fernandez said.
Should teh JVSC reject the Capitol again, Fernandez said they will declare FLI as the winning proponent of the project.
“It is common sense that we declare Filinvest as the winner as there are no other qualified challengers,” he said.
In its letter, the provincial government cited Section 15 of the Local Government Code, which stated defines the political and corporate nature of local government units.
Provincial administrator Quiroga also cited Section 18 which gives local government units freedom to generate and apply resources to raise revenues.
He also stipulated a certification by the Commission on Audit supposedly indicating it has fixed assets and cash in bank to undertake the project.
In its original proposal, FLI plans to buy the 10 hectares for P2 billion cash, or some P20,000 per square meter.
The remaining 50 hectares will be developed through a joint venture with the city, with City Hall getting revenue shares or guaranteed cash revenues whichever is higher.
The governor and the mayor’s quarrel started in 2005 when the province moved to recover 50 hectares of property in the city now occupied by informal settlers. The mayor vowed to protect the more than 20,000 of his constituents affected by the move. The council then issued a moratorium on development over districts where the provincial lots are located, effectively stopping the Capitol’s projects, mostly made in partnership with private investors.
The governor’s spokesman Rory John Sepulveda earlier said they are challenging FLI, because the province “has nothing else to do” with the moratorium in place.
Aussie company starts oil exploration efforts off Cebu
Business Mirror
Wednesday, 07 January 2009
THE Department of Energy (DOE) and Nor-Asian Energy Limited are preparing to sign agreements with two local government units in southern Cebu as they expect to commence offshore exploratory oil drilling operations later this year.
DOE Visayas director Vicente Labios told the BusinessMirror that the draft memorandum of agreement has been sent to the local governments of Argao and Sibonga towns in southeastern Cebu for their consideration.
“The agreement will govern our activities and procedures as well as processing of claims of fishermen who have their livelihood disrupted,” Labios said.
He said Nor-Asian has already identified a spot some seven kilometers offshore as a prospective drilling site to determine whether deposits of oil found during seismic surveys are of commercial quality and quantity. Early estimates place the deposits off Argao at some 270 million barrels.
Labios, however, said the activities will be delayed because Nor-Asian has difficulty looking for a floating rig for the area.
Nor-Asian is a company jointly owned by Australia’s Ottoman Energy Ltd. and AustralAsian Energy Ltd.
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) as well as environmental activist-lawyers from the Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Cebu is questioning the planned exploration activities, citing irregularities in the procedures and the lack of public consultations.
CHR-Cebu is also looking at the alleged role of Army soldiers in pacifying dissent among fishermen affected by the exploration.
Labios, however, said the consultations conducted in 2008 already cover both the preliminary surveys and the planned exploratory drilling.
“That consultation already covered everything,” he said.
He said another round of consultations will be conducted in the event Nor-Asian drills for commercial quantities.
Labios explained the proposed memorandum of agreements with the Sibonga and Argao local governments will also contain provisions for compensation packages to affected fishermen.
Nor-Asian is the second company to push oil prospecting efforts in the seas around Cebu.
A local company of Japan Petroleum Exploration recently withdrew activities in western Cebu off Pinamungajan town after exploration drills indicated that oil in the area is not of commercial quantity.
Environmental activist Gloria Estenzo-Ramos said their group has a pending case against the DOE and the national government—filed in behalf of “permanent residents” of Tañon Strait such as the dolphins, whales and other marine animals. She said this must first be resolved before Nor-Asian proceeds with its drilling operations.
She insists it is only Congress and the President, who can award service contracts to oil exploration companies, not just the DOE.
Wednesday, 07 January 2009
THE Department of Energy (DOE) and Nor-Asian Energy Limited are preparing to sign agreements with two local government units in southern Cebu as they expect to commence offshore exploratory oil drilling operations later this year.
DOE Visayas director Vicente Labios told the BusinessMirror that the draft memorandum of agreement has been sent to the local governments of Argao and Sibonga towns in southeastern Cebu for their consideration.
“The agreement will govern our activities and procedures as well as processing of claims of fishermen who have their livelihood disrupted,” Labios said.
He said Nor-Asian has already identified a spot some seven kilometers offshore as a prospective drilling site to determine whether deposits of oil found during seismic surveys are of commercial quality and quantity. Early estimates place the deposits off Argao at some 270 million barrels.
Labios, however, said the activities will be delayed because Nor-Asian has difficulty looking for a floating rig for the area.
Nor-Asian is a company jointly owned by Australia’s Ottoman Energy Ltd. and AustralAsian Energy Ltd.
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) as well as environmental activist-lawyers from the Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Cebu is questioning the planned exploration activities, citing irregularities in the procedures and the lack of public consultations.
CHR-Cebu is also looking at the alleged role of Army soldiers in pacifying dissent among fishermen affected by the exploration.
Labios, however, said the consultations conducted in 2008 already cover both the preliminary surveys and the planned exploratory drilling.
“That consultation already covered everything,” he said.
He said another round of consultations will be conducted in the event Nor-Asian drills for commercial quantities.
Labios explained the proposed memorandum of agreements with the Sibonga and Argao local governments will also contain provisions for compensation packages to affected fishermen.
Nor-Asian is the second company to push oil prospecting efforts in the seas around Cebu.
A local company of Japan Petroleum Exploration recently withdrew activities in western Cebu off Pinamungajan town after exploration drills indicated that oil in the area is not of commercial quantity.
Environmental activist Gloria Estenzo-Ramos said their group has a pending case against the DOE and the national government—filed in behalf of “permanent residents” of Tañon Strait such as the dolphins, whales and other marine animals. She said this must first be resolved before Nor-Asian proceeds with its drilling operations.
She insists it is only Congress and the President, who can award service contracts to oil exploration companies, not just the DOE.
Cebu City hotels fully booked for Sinulog Festival on Jan. 18
Business Mirror
Tuesday, 06 January 2009 21:25
IF there is an economic crisis in many parts of the world, it is not yet felt by Cebu City hotels, with many rooms already fully booked months before the Sinulog celebration two weeks from now.
Marco Protacio, president of the Hotels, Resorts and Restaurants Association of Cebu, said many city hotels are now full for days leading to the Sinulog Festival on January 18.
“If there is a crisis, it is not yet felt,” Protacio told the BusinessMirror. “It is very early to tell if the crisis really has an effect on the industry, because Cebu is blessed with a very long peak season.”
Most of the city hotels’ guests for the Sinulog are Filipino expatriates from different countries who come home for the festival and its religious traditions.
Protacio said the volume of bookings is still the same compared with the previous years, helped mainly by the availability of online bookings.
Cebu’s hotel industry peak season spans the Christmas months to the Sinulog in January and even up to February for the Chinese New Year.
Protacio, who is general manager of Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino, said his more than 300 rooms have been fully booked for the Sinulog days since late November.
“As far as the city hotels are concerned, many are already fully booked,” he said.
“This highlights the fact that during our peak months, Cebu City needs more rooms. But many guests are already opting to stay in the resorts in Mactan, which is also very good.”
There are some 7,000 hotel rooms dotting Cebu City.
Jenny Franco, chairman of the National Association of Independent Travel Agencies in Cebu, said group bookings for the Sinulog are still coming in, mostly composed of Filipinos based abroad.
Protacio also belied reports that hotels are overcharging clients with exorbitant room rates, saying the difference in prices is normal across industries.
“I find this accusation unfair because airlines jack up their prices on a daily basis,” he said.
He said hotel-room prices and their increases during peak months are carefully studied and adjusted to reasonably reflect the general economic situation.
“It is still supply and demand and as you can see, many of the hotels are fully booked,” he said.
Tuesday, 06 January 2009 21:25
IF there is an economic crisis in many parts of the world, it is not yet felt by Cebu City hotels, with many rooms already fully booked months before the Sinulog celebration two weeks from now.
Marco Protacio, president of the Hotels, Resorts and Restaurants Association of Cebu, said many city hotels are now full for days leading to the Sinulog Festival on January 18.
“If there is a crisis, it is not yet felt,” Protacio told the BusinessMirror. “It is very early to tell if the crisis really has an effect on the industry, because Cebu is blessed with a very long peak season.”
Most of the city hotels’ guests for the Sinulog are Filipino expatriates from different countries who come home for the festival and its religious traditions.
Protacio said the volume of bookings is still the same compared with the previous years, helped mainly by the availability of online bookings.
Cebu’s hotel industry peak season spans the Christmas months to the Sinulog in January and even up to February for the Chinese New Year.
Protacio, who is general manager of Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino, said his more than 300 rooms have been fully booked for the Sinulog days since late November.
“As far as the city hotels are concerned, many are already fully booked,” he said.
“This highlights the fact that during our peak months, Cebu City needs more rooms. But many guests are already opting to stay in the resorts in Mactan, which is also very good.”
There are some 7,000 hotel rooms dotting Cebu City.
Jenny Franco, chairman of the National Association of Independent Travel Agencies in Cebu, said group bookings for the Sinulog are still coming in, mostly composed of Filipinos based abroad.
Protacio also belied reports that hotels are overcharging clients with exorbitant room rates, saying the difference in prices is normal across industries.
“I find this accusation unfair because airlines jack up their prices on a daily basis,” he said.
He said hotel-room prices and their increases during peak months are carefully studied and adjusted to reasonably reflect the general economic situation.
“It is still supply and demand and as you can see, many of the hotels are fully booked,” he said.
Bohol hilltop-town residents in novel, cheaper reforestation effort
Business Mirror
Sunday, 04 January 2009 22:46
DANAO, Bohol—Residents of this town on a hilltop literally in the middle of the forest are reviving and protecting their most valuable resource— the trees—in a very unique way. There are no usual nurseries, no seedlings and no tree-planting activities for photo-ops. It’s just the trees and good old nature doing the work with some helping hand from man.
Danao town (population 17,000) was once the impenetrable lair of the longest Filipino revolt against Spanish rule, which lasted for almost a hundred years led by Bohol’s pride, Francisco Dagohoy.
At present, it continues to lead in being the first in the country to adopt a new and very effective way of rehabilitating forests denuded by logging and destructive farming methods—assisted natural regeneration (ANR).
Instead of the usual and very costly planting of seedlings, which mostly die anyway, the people of Danao scour the grasslands to look for young trees, scattered by nature’s forces like the birds and the wind, and allow them to grow by removing obstacles like the ever-present cogon grass and other shrubs, giving the trees an opportunity to break out on own their own and scatter their seeds some more.
Mayor Louis Thomas Gonzaga said the forest is the town’s major resource and the local government is looking for ways for the people to reap the economic benefits of their movement, which they started in 2006. It is now a law in the town to adopt ANR.
Gonzaga said that by reviving their forest, they are positioning the town as a center for eco-adventure in central Philippines. The forest cover is also helping the town’s river basins and a power company is already talking with town officials for a possible construction of a hydroelectric power plant in the town.
“Our people have been in agriculture for so long and we have barely improved our economic situation,” Gonzaga told the BusinessMirror.
“We are not giving the people money to plant trees. We are motivating them to believe in this project. You just can’t tell them that it has to be done, you have to motivate them that there are actual benefits for them in the future.”
The town is also getting the support of other local governments. Gonzaga said they are currently talking with officials from Makati City for the country’s financial center to give financial assistance to Danao and the reforestation efforts to cover for Makati’s carbon emission. The carbon trade will require a number of trees enough to absorb the same volume of greenhouse-gas emissions in the urban center.
“This is being done in the international level but we are starting in a local level–town to town,” Gonzaga said.
“This is not required by law, but Makati is very conscious about its carbon footprint and we hope to partner with it.”
The town’s efforts are being assisted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, as well as the Forest Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Bagong Pag-asa Foundation.
Neria Andin, assistant director of the Forest Management Bureau, said ANR is the most effective and cheapest way to recover the country’s lost forests. Aside from it does not require development and transport of trees up and down hills, it also allows local tree variety to survive in their natural environment.
Compared with as much as P44,000 per hectare for tree-planting activities, ANR will only require P20,000, Andin said.
“We are barely assisting nature in creating a new forest,” Andin said.
Pat Dugan, president of Bagong Pag-asa Foundation, said the mortality rate of natural grown seedlings or “regenerants” are also very promising. He estimates that at least some 9,000 regenerants can be found in a 150-square-meter area. At an average of 10-percent survival rate for every 100 square meter, then the forest is well on its way to recovery.
“People think the biggest cause of the destruction of the forest is logging. It’s not. It’s burning by farmers,” Dugan said. “It’s the humans who destroyed the forest and we can bring it back.”
Things are on a roll for Danao at present. A P17-million grant from the World Bank kickstarted its Extreme Eco Educational Adventure Tourism (EAT) Danao Project. Inside a 32-hectare complex lies every extreme activity one can think of—caving, river trekking, rubber tubing, rapelling, rock climbing, kayaking and root climbing.
Under construction is a giant zip line that will bring participants side by side the clouds on a good day, estimated to be completed by early 2009. Another round of assistance from the World Bank is also in the offing.
Danao, although still a bumpy 72 kilometers away from Tagbilaran City and the airport, is just under an hour from Tubigon town port, the closest port to Cebu City at just 30 minutes of sea travel, underlining its potential to draw in the big crowds for EAT Danao.
The provincial and national government is also pooling in money to fully develop the road network from Tagbilaran to Danao, as well as build the necessary facilities in the town. There is currently a tourist accommodation center—more like a clubhouse—several rooms and utilities already in place, but more rooms and more camp sites are needed if the town wants to bring in the big crowd and the big money.
Gonzaga said the ecotourism project is just one of the many benefits for the hard working people of Danao, all because they cared for their forest.
Sunday, 04 January 2009 22:46
DANAO, Bohol—Residents of this town on a hilltop literally in the middle of the forest are reviving and protecting their most valuable resource— the trees—in a very unique way. There are no usual nurseries, no seedlings and no tree-planting activities for photo-ops. It’s just the trees and good old nature doing the work with some helping hand from man.
Danao town (population 17,000) was once the impenetrable lair of the longest Filipino revolt against Spanish rule, which lasted for almost a hundred years led by Bohol’s pride, Francisco Dagohoy.
At present, it continues to lead in being the first in the country to adopt a new and very effective way of rehabilitating forests denuded by logging and destructive farming methods—assisted natural regeneration (ANR).
Instead of the usual and very costly planting of seedlings, which mostly die anyway, the people of Danao scour the grasslands to look for young trees, scattered by nature’s forces like the birds and the wind, and allow them to grow by removing obstacles like the ever-present cogon grass and other shrubs, giving the trees an opportunity to break out on own their own and scatter their seeds some more.
Mayor Louis Thomas Gonzaga said the forest is the town’s major resource and the local government is looking for ways for the people to reap the economic benefits of their movement, which they started in 2006. It is now a law in the town to adopt ANR.
Gonzaga said that by reviving their forest, they are positioning the town as a center for eco-adventure in central Philippines. The forest cover is also helping the town’s river basins and a power company is already talking with town officials for a possible construction of a hydroelectric power plant in the town.
“Our people have been in agriculture for so long and we have barely improved our economic situation,” Gonzaga told the BusinessMirror.
“We are not giving the people money to plant trees. We are motivating them to believe in this project. You just can’t tell them that it has to be done, you have to motivate them that there are actual benefits for them in the future.”
The town is also getting the support of other local governments. Gonzaga said they are currently talking with officials from Makati City for the country’s financial center to give financial assistance to Danao and the reforestation efforts to cover for Makati’s carbon emission. The carbon trade will require a number of trees enough to absorb the same volume of greenhouse-gas emissions in the urban center.
“This is being done in the international level but we are starting in a local level–town to town,” Gonzaga said.
“This is not required by law, but Makati is very conscious about its carbon footprint and we hope to partner with it.”
The town’s efforts are being assisted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, as well as the Forest Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Bagong Pag-asa Foundation.
Neria Andin, assistant director of the Forest Management Bureau, said ANR is the most effective and cheapest way to recover the country’s lost forests. Aside from it does not require development and transport of trees up and down hills, it also allows local tree variety to survive in their natural environment.
Compared with as much as P44,000 per hectare for tree-planting activities, ANR will only require P20,000, Andin said.
“We are barely assisting nature in creating a new forest,” Andin said.
Pat Dugan, president of Bagong Pag-asa Foundation, said the mortality rate of natural grown seedlings or “regenerants” are also very promising. He estimates that at least some 9,000 regenerants can be found in a 150-square-meter area. At an average of 10-percent survival rate for every 100 square meter, then the forest is well on its way to recovery.
“People think the biggest cause of the destruction of the forest is logging. It’s not. It’s burning by farmers,” Dugan said. “It’s the humans who destroyed the forest and we can bring it back.”
Things are on a roll for Danao at present. A P17-million grant from the World Bank kickstarted its Extreme Eco Educational Adventure Tourism (EAT) Danao Project. Inside a 32-hectare complex lies every extreme activity one can think of—caving, river trekking, rubber tubing, rapelling, rock climbing, kayaking and root climbing.
Under construction is a giant zip line that will bring participants side by side the clouds on a good day, estimated to be completed by early 2009. Another round of assistance from the World Bank is also in the offing.
Danao, although still a bumpy 72 kilometers away from Tagbilaran City and the airport, is just under an hour from Tubigon town port, the closest port to Cebu City at just 30 minutes of sea travel, underlining its potential to draw in the big crowds for EAT Danao.
The provincial and national government is also pooling in money to fully develop the road network from Tagbilaran to Danao, as well as build the necessary facilities in the town. There is currently a tourist accommodation center—more like a clubhouse—several rooms and utilities already in place, but more rooms and more camp sites are needed if the town wants to bring in the big crowd and the big money.
Gonzaga said the ecotourism project is just one of the many benefits for the hard working people of Danao, all because they cared for their forest.
