Proposed medical waste processing project underway

THE City Council committee on health and sanitation chaired by Councilor Dante Pajo and Committee on environment and natural resources chaired by Councilor President Elipe jointly discussed with the management of different hospitals and health establishments on Friday the proposal of Basura Atbp. Inc and the Philippine Abatement Systems Specialist Inc. (Passi), for the establishment of a centralized medical waste processing facility within the city’s landfill area at Upper Dagong, Carmen at no cost to the City Government.

DTI holds entrepreneurship seminar to OFWs

ILIGAN CITY, Lanao del Norte -- A total of 20 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) attended an entrepreneurship seminar in the town of Linamon, Lanao del Norte recently.

Experts from the Business Development Division (BDD) of the Department of Trade and Industry, Lanao del Norte Provincial Office, conducted the two day activity wherein majority of participants are women working in the Middle East countries, Taiwan, and Malaysia.

SM Mall GenSan opens in August

GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- The opening of the Sy-led SM Mall branch in this city, the "Tuna Capital of the Philippines," is expected to further invigorate the local economy, a City Hall official said on Tuesday.

The local government unit is bullish the entry of SM Mall will attract more investors to the city, the economic hub of Soccsksargen (Region 12), said Avelmar Manansala, city hall media affairs officer.

MRDP cites Salay town's infra reforms

THE Mindanao Rural Development Program (MRDP) has cited the Municipal Government of Salay, Misamis Oriental for initiating reforms in infrastructure development.

"Salay had been making headway in implementing farm-to-market roads (FMR) having shown good construction supervision and management of their rural infrastructure projects including their contractors," said Department of Agriculture (DA) director in Northern Mindanao Lealyn Ramos.

Health firms asked on medical wastes disposal

COUNCILOR President Elipe, chairperson of the Cagayan de Oro City Council committee on environment, is inviting management of different hospitals, dialysis centers and other medical establishments to attend its meeting on Thursday.

This, as the environment and health committees jointly studying the proposal for the establishment of a Centralized Infectious Medical Waste Processing Facility within the city's landfill area in Upper Dagong, Carmen.

Mayor: Businessman inserts doubtful pages on contract

MAYOR Vicente Emano admitted that cancelling the supposed contract for a Chinese businessman to lease parts of the Carmen public market in Carmen, Cagayan de Oro, was due to doubtful insertions.

“If it wasn’t strictly reviewed, I may have signed it,” Emano said over a radio talk Wednesday.

Smart recognized anew as top Asian operator

THE Philippines’ leading wireless service provider bagged three major international awards, including top honors as Operator of the Year at the recently concluded 2012 Asia Communication Awards — winning over Singapore’s Singtel and StarHub, Australia’s Telstra Global, and Unitel of Laos.

The only Philippine telephone company recognized at the prestigious awards program, Smart reaped the most number of operator accolades during the Annual Awards Dinner held in Singapore.

Sun, ACE partner to create mobile phone insurance program

AFTER bringing Sun Cellular’s best-value mobile services, Sun Business takes a bigger leap by partnering with Insurance Company of North America (ACE Insurance) to create a mobile phone insurance program.

The “Sun Mobile Shield” is a value-added feature to mobile subscriptions of Sun Business clients that protects their Sun Cellular-powered mobile phones and covers the cost of unit replacement, in cases of untoward incidents like theft.

AXA Phils expands, opens new branch in Oro

THE opening of the new AXA Philippines branch in Cagayan de Oro City brings the world’s number one insurance brand (Interbrand Report, 2011) to local residents and allows them to avail of the best-fit instruments that would support them to secure their financial future.

Congress bloc vows bigger Mindanao budget for 2013

DAVAO CITY – Mindanao can be assured of a hefty share of the country’s General Appropriations Act (GAA) as the 62-member Mindanao lawmakers’ bloc vowed for more budget for the island-region next year.

Representative Arnulfo Go (2nd District, Sultan Kudarat), House Committee chairperson on Mindanao Affairs, said they could seek for bigger allocation to fund various Mindanao programs and projects during the budget deliberations.

Bank depositors distressed; 2,000 employees displaced

OVER 547,000 depositors have been distressed by the collapse of 41 banks in the last 18 months.

The increasing number of lenders biting the dust has prompted Representative Arnel Ty, a member of the House committee on banks and financial intermediaries, to push for a legislative inquiry.

Peso-investment with multiple returns

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) road projects linking multiple municipalities bring an average return of P2.74 for every peso invested, in terms of reduced transport and vehicle operation costs, and increases in the net value of agricultural produce due to quicker farm-to-market travel.

This is according to a study by the Institute for Socio-Economic Development Initiatives at the Ateneo de Davao University.

Soriano: Why a family advisory board?

"IF THERE were only one "success strategy" I could recommend to a family business, creating an Advisory Board would be that strategy. In times of crisis, the Advisory Board can act as a safety net for both the family and the family business," says top family business expert Don Schwerzler, founder of the Family Business Institute.

Business group elects Sun.Star columnist

A SUN.STAR Cagayan de Oro business columnist was elected President of the Association of Marketing Educators (AME-Philippines), a Manila-based business group of marketing educators established by the Philippine Marketing Association (PMA).

As the new captain of the ship for Academic Year 2012-2013, Prof. Enrique M. Soriano III, as the 22nd elected AME National President (Ateneo Graduate School of Business), pledged that his term will move towards the chosen theme for this year: “Shaping the Future of Marketing Education Amidst the Challenges of Technology and Globalization”.

Order to harmonize national, local mining policies

EXECUTIVE Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr. said on Tuesday that a final draft of the proposed executive order (EO) on mining had already been submitted to President Benigno S. Aquino III for his approval.

Ochoa said that thorough consultations with all the stakeholders and other processes involved in the drafting of the proposal had been fulfilled, as he expressed hope that the recommended EO will be able to harmonize the conflicts in the mining policies between the national and local governments.

Sun Business extends support for SMEs 24/7

SUN Business, the enterprise solutions arm of Sun Cellular, assures its full support to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) through its intensified 24/7 customer service system.

Now, SME clients may get in touch with Sun Business through its 24-hour operational hotline at (02) 395-8PRO (776). This dedicated service channel runs seven days a week and accommodates all inquiries on Sun Business products, requests for service modification, reporting of lost phones and assistance on technical concerns.

Northern Mindanao shows positive revenue performance

NORTHERN Mindanao showed a positive revenue performance for the first quarter of 2012, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

The region, said the Neda report, posted P1.43 billion tax collections and P1.36 billion customs collections, which are higher by 26 and 18 percent, respectively, compared with the same period last year.

GMA Network invests P200M for Oro station

GMA Network Inc. will invest P200 million for the construction of its Cagayan de Oro station.

Oliver Victor B. Amoroso, GMA Network assistant vice president for Integrated Marketing Services (IMS) Division Regional TV Department, said before the year ends, they will start the construction of the state-of-the-art GMA premier station.

Globe offers Samsung Galaxy S III for postpaid subscribers

AFTER announcing the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S III under its portfolio of fully customizable postpaid plans, Globe Telecom revealed it will be offering Samsung’s newest flagship smartphone for as low as P1,699 monthly, touted as the best and most affordable offer in the market to date.

Under Globe Unli Surf Combo 999 with P700* monthly cash-out, subscribers can already maximize the highly-intelligent and exceptionally powerful features of the Samsung Galaxy S III.

With Sun Cellular, reach anyone, anywhere

DO YOU remember that time when you found yourself craving for a sandwich – a peanut butter sandwich to be specific - but you just can’t, because you’re stuck in traffic with no sandwich bar near in sight? No?

LuzViMin sharing of P2-B energy fund sought

THE P2-billion public trust fund meant to support the development of renewable energy resources should be equally shared between Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, former senator Juan Miguel Zubiri said.

“The money should be distributed evenly, with the three main island groups sharing equally. This will ensure the balanced countrywide development of new energy sources that are naturally replenished,” Zubiri said.

Award-winning maritime school opens Oro branch

THE best maritime training center of the year for 2012 by the Business Achievement and Recognition Awards opens a branch in Cagayan de Oro over the weekend.

The preferred maritime training and assessment center in the Philippines, New Simulator Center of the Philippines Inc. (NewSim), is now ready to serve seafarers not only in Northern Mindanao but its regions.

‘We are bouncing back’

MAYOR Vicente Emano said Cagayan de Oro is getting back on track following the onslaught of Toprical Storm Sendong in December 2011.

“We are bouncing back,” he said during the opening of the two-day “Mega Job Fair 2012” Thursday at the City Hall in time for the city’s 62nd Charter Day celebration.

Mindanao rural banks cited for winning performance

MINDANAO rural banks pulled off an impressive performance in terms of earnings, number of borrowers, and deposits in 2011, based on the Rural Banks Association of the Philippines – Microenterprise Access to Banking Services (RBAP-MABS) reports.

Results were based on the EAGLE (Efficiency, Asset Quality, Growth, Liability Structure, and Earnings) assessment results, which were presented recently during the 2012 RBAP-MABS National Roundtable Conference and 15th Anniversary Celebration held in Manila.

Soriano: There can only be one boss

THE tenth and most important rule is that “there can only be one boss.” Lance explained that this rule is related to succession. The role of the family and owners is to prepare a board to appoint a successor.

“You must establish a process to appoint the leaders. My dad and his brothers established a clear process on who can decide who the next leaders will be. They created an outside board whose role is to appoint and fire the CEO. This is critical so that a business can smoothly pass on from generation to generation, and achieve longevity.”

Energy office calls for strict monitoring of LPG

TO FULLY enforce regulations on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) refilling and distribution, the Department of Energy (DOE) is now pushing for the creation of an LPG Task Force at the local level in a bid to strengthen its monitoring activities.

LDN consumer orgs join consumer confab

A TOTAL of 90 participants attended the recently concluded Regional Consumer Organizations’ Assembly held in Cagayan de Oro City.

The gathering consisted of key officers from the Local Price Coordinating Councils (LPCCs), the youth sector, and non-government groups in Northern Mindanao, of which 22 came from Lanao del Norte and two from the College of Law Advocates and Nobles (CLAN) in Iligan City.

Fuel prices roll back nine times

A GIANT oil company in Cagayan de Oro had its ninth-time rollback on prices of petroleum products since April, a gasoline station staff told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro Monday.

The staff, who asked his identity and the name of his company be kept secret, revealed that they had implemented the series of price rollbacks totaling more than P5 for gasoline and close to P7 for diesel.

LPG price rolls back since June 5

DEALERS of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) here have implemented the price cut on cooking gas.

Sia Marketing, the most famous LPG dealer in the city, cut P40 on the price per 11-kilogram LPG tank to P740 from P780 since June 5, 2012. The LPG dealership is owned by City Councilor Juan Sia.

Irrigation project to boost rice produce in Lanao Sur

BALINDONG, Lanao del Sur – The implementation of the P11-million irrigation project in this lakeside town is expected to boost rice production in the province.

Mayor Raysalam Mangondato said the Balindong pump irrigation project would irrigate 75 hectares of rice land in Barangays Bantogawato, Dailusan and Cadayonan.