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.
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.
