CamSur tax collection, other income going up

Tax collection and other internally generating incomes have been steadily rising in the past few years.

This was gleaned from a recent report of the Provincial Treasurer’s Office (PTO) headed by Mario T. Alicaway reflecting a steady rise in collection of real estate tax, as well as in collection of annual fixed tax, governor’s permit fees, sand/gravel tax, transfer tax, professional tax and other provincial impositions.

Income from revenue-generating projects of the provincial government like rentals from villas, cabanas and the Mansion Suites, revenue from operations of the Camarines Sur Watersports Center, and from the Camarines Sur Information Technology Center which operates the South East Asian Institute of Computer Technology (SEAIct), an internet service provider, a call center and provider of medical transcription services, also showed substantial increases.

Even pending the remittance of realty taxes by some municipalities, actual collection recorded at the PTO has reached P17.5 million for the months of January and February of this year alone.

Last year’s total realty tax collection reached an all time high of P83.21 million, P5.16 million or 6.69% higher than 2005 which totalled P77.15 million which was in turn higher by P15.72 million or 25.59% than the P61.438 million real estate tax collection for 2004, the year Governor LRay Villafuerte assumed his position.

For the first two months of the current year, collection of provincial impositions was recorded at P961,550 and collection for the rest of the year is likewise expected at a record high.

In 2003, collection of provincial impositions was recorded at P3.967 million, rose to more than double in 2004 to more than P9 million equivalent to an increase of over 126%, dipped by some 16.33% down to P7.53 in 2005 caused in part by the effect of worldwide financial meltdown, but recovered to a record high of P11.974 million last year for an increase of almost 59%.

Camarines Sur’s sustained tax collection record is largely credited to the efforts of the provincial tax collection task force jointly spearheaded by the provincial treasurer’s office and the office of the provincial assessor launched by Governor LRay Villafuerte immediately upon assuming as governor.

The tax mapping and computerization programs of the provincial assessor’s office was also a big help to the revenue generation initiatives which included, among others, the collection activities of the Task Force Kalikasan and other income generating enterprises of the provincial government, provincial treasurer Alicaway said.

A consistent income generating venture, the Camarines Sur Information Technology Center (CSITC) has posted revenues totalling P752/141.15 for the first two months of the current year. From P679,195.02 gross revenues in 2003, CSITC revenues climbed to P1.675 in 2004 for a 147% increase, sustained revenues in 2005 with PI.699, and jacked up earnings last year to P2.478 million for close to 80% increment.

The Camarines Sur Watersports Center (CWC), the most recently entrepreneurial venture opened last year and grossed P2.405 million for its operations in 2006, has already posted a P3.763 million in revenues only for the first two months of 2007.

Total revenues from internal sources have also increased percentage-wise compared to the total revenues of the province including the internal revenue allotment (IRA): in 2003, P35.19 million or 5.33% of P660.623 million gross revenues; in 2004, P42.384 million or 6.35% of a total of P667.9 million; in 2005, P49.09 million or 6.78% of a total of P723.612 million, and in 2006, P63.3 million or 7.34% of a total P856.993 million.

The statistics would show increasing internally generated revenues making headway into the thrust of the provincial government to decrease dependence on the IRA, provincial treasurer Alicaway said. (GBCIaveria}

source (http://bicolmail.com/issue/2007/april19/camsur.html)

MTV Hall, soon to rise at NCF

The construction of the Naga College Foundation (NCF)’s newest building, the MTV Hall, is expected to be completed this July of 2007.

The structure will feature state-of-the-art design and facilities, which will be the first in the Bicol region. It will consist of seven floors with twenty classrooms, faculty rooms and student pavilion; and shall house the executive offices, the board room and a rooftop garden at the top floor. The building shall have a basement parking and an elevator. Described as a “naked” building, it will be form-finished, with minimal painting, exposed connections and materials mostly concrete wood and glass. The façade will be cladded with aluminum perforated panels which shall act as sun, rain and noise barrier.

The structure will be named after the school founder – Dr. Melchor Trinidad Villanueva. It shall be one of the many buildings that the institution will build to attain its vision of being the center of excellence and leadership providing dynamic, relevant and responsive education for the betterment of the Bicolanos, Filipinos and humanity.

source (http://bicolmail.com/issue/2007/april19/mtv.html)

Originally posted by sugarboy
. . . may i know if you are also based in Naga. do advise.
Yes, am based in Naga, but I travel a lot for business & leisure, around 90% of the time, so am very often out of Naga (like now).

Originally posted by bobbymay74
Those areas are occupied by mostly a well known family here in Naga, like for example the owner of Graceland, so the type of house are mixed 80's bungalo design houses and many big ones(contemporary). but if you go further inside and beyond Molave st. it is mostly from average or lower income group of families, meroon na hut type and maraming concrete houses din.

As among the first residents of MVS & Magsaysay Ave., may I say that those houses farther down Molave that are mostly "hut-type and maraming concrete houses din" are not part of MVS. Those are within Tapas Compound which is adjacent to MVS but not part of it. Tapas used to be the longest-serving tenant of the Mariano's, and was rewarded with that prime piece of property before MVS was actually developed so he can be out of the way, so-to-speak. Tapas "subdivided" his property and sold parcels at low, low prices, without TCT's, I was told. That was when your "hut-type" dwelling places came about.
Regarding MVS, bobbymay is right in saying houses therein were constructed during the 1980's, but construction continued without letup up to the present time, and belong to middle-class families, most of them well-known locally. MVS is sold-out. Phase II lots sell at "secondary market" prices of minimum P4,000/sq.m. while those along Magsaysay Ave. would sell at no less than P10,000/sq.m., if you can find one for sale.

@bobbymay, thank you very much for the info you've posted.

my turn to return the favor. about this....

yeah, i will try to visit Canon office, if i have time sa Canon CS sa makati.

By the way.. Do you mean lahat nang pics kinuha mo sa bicol na sira or yung lang nasa CWC or Naga?

thanks you don't need to go to Canon. i'll tell you it will cost you a little bit over P 10,000 to have that fixed. my A70 has the same problem and they are charging the same amount because it was not bought here in the philippines.

for all you guys who plan to buy a canon, buy at Automatic Center and pay extra for the 2 year extended warranty. basically what you are paying for is an insurance premium which will allow you to have your camera replaced when days like these come around.

it will cost you an extra 1,000++ but it buys you the peace of mind that you can have a new one if the unit you bought conks out. ;)

------------------------------------------
Yes, am based in Naga, but I travel a lot for business & leisure, around 90% of the time, so am very often out of Naga (like now).



As among the first residents of MVS & Magsaysay Ave., may I say that those houses farther down Molave that are mostly "hut-type and maraming concrete houses din" are not part of MVS. Those are within Tapas Compound which is adjacent to MVS but not part of it. Tapas used to be the longest-serving tenant of the Mariano's, and was rewarded with that prime piece of property before MVS was actually developed so he can be out of the way, so-to-speak. Tapas "subdivided" his property and sold parcels at low, low prices, without TCT's, I was told. That was when your "hut-type" dwelling places came about.
Regarding MVS, bobbymay is right in saying houses therein were constructed during the 1980's, but construction continued without letup up to the present time, and belong to middle-class families, most of them well-known locally. MVS is sold-out. Phase II lots sell at "secondary market" prices of minimum P4,000/sq.m. while those along Magsaysay Ave. would sell at no less than P10,000/sq.m., if you can find one for sale.


thanks @koltuvtbm. how about on kalantas rd.? what are the houses like?

yeah, i will try to visit Canon office, if i have time sa Canon CS sa makati.

By the way.. Do you mean lahat nang pics kinuha mo sa bicol na sira or yung lang nasa CWC or Naga?

thanks


nope not all pics nasira... yung photos lng natin. kasi ibang tao humawak ng camera. baka nagalaw nya yung fine adjustment sa lens. most of my pics na nandun din ako pangit. ahahhaha

[QUOTE=sugarboy;12754796]@bobbymay, thank you very much for the info you've posted.

my turn to return the favor. about this....

you don't need to go to Canon. i'll tell you it will cost you a little bit over P 10,000 to have that fixed. my A70 has the same problem and they are charging the same amount because it was not bought here in the philippines.

for all you guys who plan to buy a canon, buy at Automatic Center and pay extra for the 2 year extended warranty. basically what you are paying for is an insurance premium which will allow you to have your camera replaced when days like these come around.

it will cost you an extra 1,000++ but it buys you the peace of mind that you can have a new one if the unit you bought conks out. ;)

Thanks for the information sugarboy,

but as what Eric said,
"Bobby, is your Camera Model included in the list of Canon with defective CCDs? try to contact the Canon Service Center. they will repair it for free. I know a lot of canon digital has a defective CCDs and Canon has acknowledge this defect promises to repair it gratis..."

i tried to use the google search engine and found out that the repair is for free, i visited this website.
http://www.digitalcamera-hq.com/digital-cameras/canon-powershot-a70_reviews.html

I will let Eric do the talking sa Canon CS before i go to Canon makati office. Okey lang Eric..???

Sugarboy, where did you have it repair sa Canon-makati office?
It's possible ata, I will try to visit Canon Customer service in makati nextime once Eric will call them. but kung ayaw nang Canon, it's alright naman.

But thanks again for the advice, kasi matagal kuna rin gusto malaman kung mag kano ang cost of repair. kasi hindi talaga practical mag pa repair kung ganon ka mahal.

cge ill tryto ask Canon, if they wil replace the lenses kahit sa labas binili ang unit.

Eto, some pics from my Naga trip. The pics are not that clear since I just used a cam phone. Enjoy.

Dome of the 'gazebo' (obviously, I don't know what it's called) on the Naga Cathedral grounds. Unfortunately, there's a hole on the left side because they're cleaning the stained glasses for the holy week
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/198/459532282_aebd4c1443.jpg?v=0

Downtown Naga... naah. Actually it is still some meters away in the pic. Although you could already see a mall (the building with a huge E sign)
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/244/459532280_b10960914a.jpg?v=0

The Archbishop's Palace. The structure is really beautiful. Unfortunately, I was not able to go inside those walls to have a pic.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/248/459532276_95e01fa425.jpg?v=0

Colegio de Santa Isabel -this is where most of my relatives have studied :)
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/192/459532272_65f45dcd10.jpg?v=0

Colegio de Santa Isabel 2 - honestly, I really like the architecture of this building. And also including the other structures within this area.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/248/459532274_f1d92378ff.jpg?v=0

Naga Cathedral - This church looks small but in reality, it is huuuuge...
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/232/459530302_77775d5ac2.jpg?v=0

This is the 'gazebo' that I've been talking about.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/207/459530298_1d5fed4941.jpg?v=0

I really like this seminary (they said it's a minor seminary). The architecture is quite different from those in Intramuros. I think (since I wasn't able to go inside it), it is a two-storey building with both floors made of stone. Unlike in Intramuros in which the upper floors of most buildings are made of wood.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/190/459530294_a4e2eeab27.jpg?v=0

A structure used for the Easter celebrations or what we call the 'salubong' where people would re-enact the meeting of the Risen Christ and the Holy Mother of Galilea (from NCAA). The background is still the same seminary
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/220/459530290_0b0a04e0c9.jpg?v=0

A different perspective of the minor seminary (could someone please provide me the name of this building?)
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/175/459537081_f4ea4a78e1.jpg?v=0

The altar or retablo(?) looks simple in the picture but in reality it is really large and tall.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/243/459530250_f6eee34e4f.jpg?v=0

Camwhoring beside the altar or retablo(?)
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/177/459537077_ec82898f03.jpg?v=0
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/187/459537075_11d936081f.jpg?v=0

A very large painting inside the church
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/220/459530272_d9f160c088.jpg?v=0

I still have a few pics from Mt Isarog. I might as well post it tomorrow.

^^clear naman pics mo a. what camphone were you using?

waaa di ko nakita yang stained glass na yan dyan.. ganda pala.. panu kasi ang init sobra. para pumunta dun sa gita ng churchyard going to the gazebo.



neways sa mga simbahan na naikot ko na.. 2 palang na churches sa pilipinas nakita ko na gumamit ng art technique na tinatawag na Trompe L'oeil. its a painting technique, tapos nag mumukhang 3Dimensional na ang painting.

other chuch nakita ko may ganito is the San Agustin in Intramuros

waaa di ko nakita yang stained glass na yan dyan.. ganda pala.. panu kasi ang init sobra. para pumunta dun sa gita ng churchyard going to the gazebo.



neways sa mga simbahan na naikot ko na.. 2 palang na churches sa pilipinas nakita ko na gumamit ng art technique na tinatawag na Trompe L'oeil. its a painting technique, tapos nag mumukhang 3Dimensional na ang painting.

other chuch nakita ko may ganito is the San Agustin in Intramuros


THANKS ERIC,
I can relay on you.:)

Yeah ang init talaga noon, now nag uulan na dito or gloomy.. hehehehe
actually i was the one, who suggest to take the car going to the Archbishop Palace, na daan na natin Millennium Dome (the gazebo), may isa or dalawa na sirang glass ata.

Thanks again sa information, Trompe L'oeil is the state of the art for church Architecture.

"how about on kalantas rd.? what are the houses like?"

Hi SugarBoy,

I sometimes visited my relatives at DAO st. in Mariano Village, "probably" Dao is the last street, bordering tapas compound, but there is no gate in that boundery, it's a continous road going to tapas. I can visit Kalantas and can give you a description about the place, but if you want more information? just tell me. "I thing" it's the inner area of Tapas compound.

THANKS ERIC,
I can relay on you.:)

Yeah ang init talaga noon, now nag uulan na dito or gloomy.. hehehehe
actually i was the one, who suggest to take the car going to the Archbishop Palace, na daan na natin Millennium Dome (the gazebo), may isa or dalawa na sirang glass ata.

Thanks again sa information, Trompe L'oeil is the state of the art for church Architecture.

nung nasa naga ako, that was also the same day that metro manila registered its highest temp for the tear at 36 degrees,

neways frm comparison. this is the ceiling of San Agustin Manila, i took the photo last june. this is also an example of Trompe L'oeil art technique. notice mukha nang carving ang ceiling.. but its not. paiting lang talaga sya...

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i149/ericd001/Image00001-11.jpg

@XP ... Thanks for those beautifully taken pics... It's really nice, not that blurred..

HELLO EVERYBODY,

WE JUST FINISHED AN ADVENTUROUS DAY. WITH ERIC, KEVIN AND MYSELF. ERIC HAD TAKEN LOTS OF PICTURES FOR METRO NAGA.

AS KEVIN SAID, VISITED MORE THAN WE EXPECTED, EVEN AS FAR AS SAN FRANCISCO VILLAGE IN PACOL.

KEVIN, MARLON, GARZLAND, SIND24, kOLTUVTBM AND OTHER MEMBERS THAT I DIDN'T MENTION HERE IN SSC METRO NAGA.
WHY DON'T WE MEET PERSONALLY AND MAYBE WE CAN DISCUSS LITTLE THINGS, THAT WILL BE ACHIEVABLE FOR THE SSC METRO-NAGA. JUST AS ERIC TOLD US THAT SSC-CEBU MEMBER ARE AS ACTIVE ON MEETING EACH OTHER IN THEIR LOCALITY.




Why not Bobbymay.. It would be good to do that... Maybe we can do it this coming May.. Who will be the in-charge for that?

we jaz had a dinner nung tuesday night. then nag ikot ikot sa penaranda park. its not really tiring, but the lack of sleep is now taking its toll on me. kasi nag work ako night shift after the tour.

i think mas kaya ko pala mag work muna ng pang gabi, then tour boung umaga, like what i did after arrival in legazpi. pero kakapagod kung tour muna bago work hehe

Congratulations with your tour with eric and kevin.... Sana sa susunod makasama na ako hehehe...

Madami ba talagng yummy sa CWC? Wala akong nakita, sorry. Hehe... Buti naman at nagsaya kayo. Marami bang artista? Nung pumunta ako marami nagsabi sa akin na marami daw artista dun. Eh isa lang nakita ko. Sayang.

An dami talgang yummy dun kaya kailangang magbisita ka ulit this coming May hehehe...

kevin balik tayo dun.. may cutie dun. caucasian. i was just behaving so well at dapat may manners. di ako dapat mag sisi-sigaw at mag freak out dun kasi bago lng ao sa place nyo. baka ma iskandalo kayo. ahahahahahahahahha

Syempre kailangang poised pa rin di ba? :lol:

i let my officemates view the website of CWC and told them we went there, tapos my photo ako ng guy na naka tumbling sa tubig.. sus parang lahat gusto na rin pumunta jan bukas mismo. ahahah

Eh di papuntahin mo na! Masaya un! :lol:

i just cant imagine CWC on a summer weekend or holiday. ahahah goodluck.. kung si kevin pa.. pila daw sa cables. =))

Nung Holy Week kaya, pila-balde ang CWC. Pero tuloy pa rin ang mga tao. Parang mga adik! :lol:

post ko muna to... MORE to follow

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/197/465773893_3467770252_o.jpg

photo from CWC waterpark, Pili, CamSur


Bobby and kevin, iisa na lng lang photo natin, pangit pa. nagalaw yata nung kumuha ng pic yung lens, kaya ayun blurred tayong lahat. :ohno: :ohno:

Okay lang un. Babalik ka pa naman eh. :colgate:

Oh my, the word yummy is everywhere. Ahaha!

:lol:

Groundbreaking rites set
for first SM mall in Bicol

Based on latest report, it is estimated that Naga City alone accounts for nearly a third of the volume of trade and commerce in Bicol.

source (http://bicolmail.com/issue/2007/april19/groundbreaking.html)

http://bicolmail.com/issue/2007/april19/pictures/sm.gif

Excited na ako! Natuwa ako sa note na un. :colgate:

Dome of the 'gazeebo' (obviously, I don't know what it's called) on the Naga Cathedral grounds. Unfortunately, there's a hole on the left side because they're cleaning the stained glasses for the holy week
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/198/459532282_aebd4c1443.jpg?v=0

This is the 'gazeebo' that I've been talking about.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/207/459530298_1d5fed4941.jpg?v=0


It's the Quadricentennial Dome. It was built for the 400th year anniversary of the Archdiocese of Caceres.

Naga Cathedral - This church looks small but in reality, it is huuuuge...
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/232/459530302_77775d5ac2.jpg?v=0

It is. :colgate:

I really like this seminary (they said it's a minor seminary). The architecture is quite different from those in Intramuros. I think (since I wasn't able to go inside it), it is a two-storey building with both floors made of stone. Unlike in Intramuros in which the upper floors of most buildings are made of wood.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/190/459530294_a4e2eeab27.jpg?v=0

A different perspective of the minor seminary (could someone please provide me the name of this building?)
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/175/459537081_f4ea4a78e1.jpg?v=0

It's the Holy Rosary Minor Seminary. :)

The altar or retablo(?) looks simple in the picture but in reality it is really large and tall.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/243/459530250_f6eee34e4f.jpg?v=0

That's the altar. May pasukan pa yan sa likod, in case you want to pray at the back of the altar.

A very large painting inside the church
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/220/459530272_d9f160c088.jpg?v=0

It's like a history of Camarines Sur in canvas. :)

It's the Quadricentennial Dome. It was built for the 400th year anniversary of the Archdiocese of Caceres.

Thanks Kevin, i was wrong akala ko Millenium Dome.... hehehehe

I have been to Kalantas St., Mariano Villa., as What Sugarboy was asking before.

^^clear naman pics mo a. what camphone were you using?

Samsung... Di ko alam kung anong unit kasi sa fiance yun ng pinsan ko. Nakakahiya na nga kasi hiniram ko lang bigla nung nagulit akong maglakad-lakad around the place. Malapit lang kasi yung bahay nila dun. At ng pinsan ko na rin

waaa di ko nakita yang stained glass na yan dyan.. ganda pala.. panu kasi ang init sobra. para pumunta dun sa gita ng
churchyard going to the gazebo.

neways sa mga simbahan na naikot ko na.. 2 palang na churches sa pilipinas nakita ko na gumamit ng art technique na tinatawag na Trompe L'oeil. its a painting technique, tapos nag mumukhang 3Dimensional na ang painting.

other chuch nakita ko may ganito is the San Agustin in Intramuros

If I'm not mistaken, may Trompe L'oeil din yung sa Naga Cathedral. Hindi nga lang ganun ka detailed. Or baka hindi siya Trompe L'oeil.

Kahit mainit nung time na iyon nagpilit pa rin akong magpaikot-ikot. Hehe... Ang saya kasi. Ang ganda nung place.

THANKS ERIC,
I can relay on you.:)

Yeah ang init talaga noon, now nag uulan na dito or gloomy.. hehehehe
actually i was the one, who suggest to take the car going to the Archbishop Palace, na daan na natin Millennium Dome (the gazebo), may isa or dalawa na sirang glass ata.

Thanks again sa information, Trompe L'oeil is the state of the art for church Architecture.
Sira ba siya o nilinis lang? Nung pumunta kasi ako, may 2 mama na naglilinis. So I assumed na tinanggal lang nila temporarily tapos ibabalik din.

@XP ... Thanks for those beautifully taken pics... It's really nice, not that blurred..
Thanks, buti nga at hindi siya blurred. Akala ko kasi malabo sa computer. Pero kung digicam talaga yun, mas malaki at mas malinaw sana.

An dami talgang yummy dun kaya kailangang magbisita ka ulit this coming May hehehe...
Pipilitin ko ulit mom ko tsaka mga pinsan kong magbakasyon diyan. Sayang, hindi kasi ako nakalibot diyan kasi sa Pili kami nakabase nung time na iyon at nilibre lang kami so nakakahiya naman umalis-alis. Tapos pasukan namin that week so kailangan ko rin umuwi agad for enrollment.

@kEvin: thanks sa infos...

Welcome to the majestic Mt. Isarog!

This place is what they call "Hydro" since there is a hydroelectric plant there, that's according to my cousin. :)

This is what you'll see before you could enter to a resort there.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/196/459546683_7a791bd14f.jpg?v=0

Some small streams...
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/175/459546679_995e5af808.jpg?v=0

The flowers are really beautiful. Though, unfortunately, the picture has not
captured its beauty and colors that much
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/170/459533844_46d92016e2.jpg?v=0

This is what I hate about the place. There are some people who would rather take a bath (as in using soap and shampoo!) in that stream when there is actually a bathroom. Just look at that man below. Meron pa siyang mga kasama umalis lang. Sayang meron pa ngang nagluluto ng kanin at ulam sa mismong dinadaanan namin pababa sa streams and pools. Asar. Kapag nakapaa ka matatapakan mo eh mga mumo ng kanin.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/201/459533838_c9f816dca7.jpg?v=0
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/210/459533814_1340379bc2.jpg?v=0

As you can see, the water has turned black because of overcrowding. Nagfo-flow yung water pero it can't sustain the rapid influx of people kaya ayan, dirty water. Pero don't worry, hot water yan (mga 35 degrees celcius daw) kaya na-sterilize ng onti :lol:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/187/459533820_fb4ddd0f40.jpg?v=0

Ito naman sa other side ng stream. Sa medyo mataas na part. Malamig naman yung tubig dito. At tsaka malapit na sa cottages.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/231/459533808_7a432f3111.jpg?v=0

I swear, maganda talaga yung mga trees dun. Yung place na rin generally.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/170/459533800_2779ce6586.jpg?v=0

The mountain from afar.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/171/457831772_0e0dda2087.jpg?v=0

Bukas na lang yung sa CWC. Inaantok na ako eh.

bobby this is what the Trompe L'oeil ive been talking about. try to compare the ceilings of San Agustin in Intramuros and the ones in Naga Cathedral. they all look 3 dimensionals. parang carving. but in fact theyre just paintings. Trompe L'oeil is a rench word meaning to "trick the eye"

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i149/ericd001/Image00001-11.jpg
San Agustin Ceiling


http://farm1.static.flickr.com/201/466790752_ca9e8cefe7_o.jpg
Naga Cathedral Ceiling

Pa post ulit. first batch ng Naga Pix.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/171/466794420_06c57f4f6d.jpg
CWC

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/216/466794418_0780c2c774.jpg
CWC

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/197/466803451_b8cfe00174.jpg
CWC

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/182/466803449_bc905c4065.jpg
i was just too careless, di ko nakita may glare pala ang marble :(

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/223/466803409_ecdc1482c9.jpg
Basilica Minore del Penafrancia

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/175/466803407_9c95d84410.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/221/466803401_c42f314df5.jpg
Stained Glass on the right wing of the Basilica

Nag start na rin pala ako ng Bicolandia Series ko sa blog ko byahilo.com but i might have to cut it by next week dahil sa Aliwan Fiesta, pero i-reresume ko ito kasama ng mga natirako pang laguna photos 1st week ng May.

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The old Peñafrancia church

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Ceiling of the old Peñafrancia church

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Ateneo de Naga

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Naga Cathedral

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Naga Cathedral

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Holy Rosary Minor Seminary

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Holy Rosary Minor Seminary

Welcome to the majestic Mt. Isarog!

This place is what they call "Hydro" since there is a hydroelectric plant there, that's according to my cousin. :)

This is what you'll see before you could enter to a resort there.
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Some small streams...
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The flowers are really beautiful. Though, unfortunately, the picture has not
captured its beauty and colors that much
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/170/459533844_46d92016e2.jpg?v=0

This is what I hate about the place. There are some people who would rather take a bath (as in using soap and shampoo!) in that stream when there is actually a bathroom. Just look at that man below. Meron pa siyang mga kasama umalis lang. Sayang meron pa ngang nagluluto ng kanin at ulam sa mismong dinadaanan namin pababa sa streams and pools. Asar. Kapag nakapaa ka matatapakan mo eh mga mumo ng kanin.
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As you can see, the water has turned black because of overcrowding. Nagfo-flow yung water pero it can't sustain the rapid influx of people kaya ayan, dirty water. Pero don't worry, hot water yan (mga 35 degrees celcius daw) kaya na-sterilize ng onti :lol:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/187/459533820_fb4ddd0f40.jpg?v=0

Ito naman sa other side ng stream. Sa medyo mataas na part. Malamig naman yung tubig dito. At tsaka malapit na sa cottages.
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I swear, maganda talaga yung mga trees dun. Yung place na rin generally.
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The mountain from afar.
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I've been there.. Maganda talaga yung place at nakakarelax kasi very warm yung water... Nakakagaling daw yung tubig because of the temperature..37 degrees yata yung temperature...

Welcome to the majestic Mt. Isarog!

This place is what they call "Hydro" since there is a hydroelectric plant there, that's according to my cousin. :)

This is what you'll see before you could enter to a resort there.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/196/459546683_7a791bd14f.jpg?v=0

Some small streams...
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/175/459546679_995e5af808.jpg?v=0

The flowers are really beautiful. Though, unfortunately, the picture has not
captured its beauty and colors that much
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/170/459533844_46d92016e2.jpg?v=0

This is what I hate about the place. There are some people who would rather take a bath (as in using soap and shampoo!) in that stream when there is actually a bathroom. Just look at that man below. Meron pa siyang mga kasama umalis lang. Sayang meron pa ngang nagluluto ng kanin at ulam sa mismong dinadaanan namin pababa sa streams and pools. Asar. Kapag nakapaa ka matatapakan mo eh mga mumo ng kanin.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/201/459533838_c9f816dca7.jpg?v=0
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/210/459533814_1340379bc2.jpg?v=0

As you can see, the water has turned black because of overcrowding. Nagfo-flow yung water pero it can't sustain the rapid influx of people kaya ayan, dirty water. Pero don't worry, hot water yan (mga 35 degrees celcius daw) kaya na-sterilize ng onti :lol:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/187/459533820_fb4ddd0f40.jpg?v=0

Ito naman sa other side ng stream. Sa medyo mataas na part. Malamig naman yung tubig dito. At tsaka malapit na sa cottages.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/231/459533808_7a432f3111.jpg?v=0

I swear, maganda talaga yung mga trees dun. Yung place na rin generally.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/170/459533800_2779ce6586.jpg?v=0

The mountain from afar.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/171/457831772_0e0dda2087.jpg?v=0

Reminds me of my Sorsogon trips when I was a kid...

:banana: :banana: :banana: THANKS ERIC FOR THE LOVELY PICTURES :banana: :banana: :banana:

Why not Bobbymay.. It would be good to do that... Maybe we can do it this coming May.. Who will be the in-charge for that?

Well, first of all, we need to agree to show up (where and when.. that wouldn't be a problem, we can talk about it), and then lets get to know each other...Much better we don't give any obligation to ourselves yet. then see if we can find a way to meet goals (if we are planning for something) kung wala, at least nag kita tayo lahat, yan ang unang step. and nextime it will not be too difficult to have a meeting with the SSC Metro NAGA members.

^tama. sama ako if ever. hehe...

@eric: ganda naman ng pics mo. nainggit ako. hehe... nahihiya na tuloy akong i-post mga pics ko ng cwc. :lol:

Camsur Watersports Complex (CWC) - this would be the site of the World Championships in Wakeboarding in 2008

Since, the place is quite huge, I decided to focus on three parts:

THE CWC
The man-made lagoon is said to be one of the largest in SEA
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CWC with Mt. Isarog on the background
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CWC at night
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Those who do wakeboarding there are mostly caucasians. I've seen some Filipinos but they are 'beginners' or you will see them just watching by or dipping on the pool nearby (sorry, yung iba malabo, hirap kasi kumuha ng moving objects sa cam). Yung rent ng equipments is Php270 half-day for beginners and Php300+ sa amateurs.
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http://farm1.static.flickr.com/185/457823572_124e2dd505.jpg?v=0
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Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take pics of the swimming pool and the beautiful cottages around it. Yung mga cottages sa likod may nagmamassage. The food is quite expensive. Php150-Php250 per head just for the breakfast!

Ang maganda rin dito may billiards, wifi (I'm not sure though kasi marami lang akong nakita na nagiinternet around me sa cafe), at may expansion for rollerblading (yun ba yung tawag?), skateboarding at tsaka yung sa bike (yung may mga ramps).

THE ACCOMODATIONS
These structures are called cabana. Sorry because I don't have any interior pics. If you want to rent, it would cost you Php1,000+ a day (I believe, payment is not based on the number of persons who would occupy). Not bad because it has an airconditiong unit, a tv, a dvd player, hot water, 2 very soft beds and its own bathroom! The staff are courteous, approachable and hospitable. You only need to add Php500 if you need an additional matress.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/212/457877340_b77bf3bd23.jpg?v=0
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These are called Villas. I wasn't able to go near it because it is just useless due to the wall. The staff said it costs Php5,000 a day. Quite expensive so my friend rented the cabana and a trailer instead.
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The last choice is called the trailer. Unfortunately and surprisingly, I forgot to take exterior pics. The rent costs Php3,000 a day. Which is also good since the Trailers are pretty large. It has 2 'bedrooms'; one room has a mini king-sized bed and the other room has 2 half-sized beds. It has it's own bathroom with hot water/shower, a tv, a dvd player, an AC unit, a small refrigerator, a mini-sala, and a sink with cabinets below for food storage. (sensya na, magulo kami kumain, marami kasing bata. hehe...)
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/179/457865199_e9d14414b4.jpg?v=0
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OTHER SIGHTS
Well, aside sa artista (nakita ko si Marco Alcaraz, andun din daw si Joey M, Kristine H, Joyce H and Angel L) meron ding ibang structures dun kasi nasa loob siya ng Camarines Sur Capitol.

The Camsur Capitol - I'm worried because it looks so old and decaying fast.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/185/457829582_fcf514150d.jpg?v=0

They said that this is a convention center - I'm not sure because it looks so old and like the capitol, it's also decaying fast (with Mt. Isarog on the background).
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/252/457829584_f25c8459cb.jpg?v=0

Some landscaping in front of the capitol - on the right side, there's an ampitheater and (some said) a zoo and swimming pools. Unfortunately, I didn't have the luxury to walk around.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/175/457829576_c114415df5.jpg?v=0

Going to the capitol...
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XP, ano ka na.. this is not a photo contest. and honestly i never consider my self a good photographer. lol

kaya post lng ng post photos. :)
\

my bad.. i forgot to take photo of the world's "best" comfort room.

sobrang ganda at linis ng CR sa CWC may mga locker rooms pa!

Ok. This is the last set for my Naga trip.

I dont' know the name of this place. We ate our lunch here (not in Max's, sa Wok na yun?).
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http://farm1.static.flickr.com/185/457829532_834fd9f19c.jpg?v=0

May construction sa likod, nakalimutan ko kung anong pangalan. Hehehe...
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/233/457823590_2b3d7dac55.jpg?v=0

Nakita ko rin sa likod, ang ganda kasi weird yung dating sa akin. Imagine, magkatapat yung mosque at catholic chuch. Wala lang, it implicitly says na Naga is open to all faiths. Though ang dami talagang catholic churces dun, feeling ko napaka-makasalanan ko kasi kahit saan ako tumingin may church
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/198/457865213_cfde58fd6d.jpg?v=0

@kEvin: thanks sa infos...

No prob. :)

bobby this is what the Trompe L'oeil ive been talking about. try to compare the ceilings of San Agustin in Intramuros and the ones in Naga Cathedral. they all look 3 dimensionals. parang carving. but in fact theyre just paintings. Trompe L'oeil is a rench word meaning to "trick the eye"

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i149/ericd001/Image00001-11.jpg
San Agustin Ceiling

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/201/466790752_ca9e8cefe7_o.jpg
Naga Cathedral Ceiling

I never knew that until now. :lol: At ngayon ko lang din nahalata. :colgate:


I dont' know the name of this place. We ate our lunch here (not in Max's, sa Wok na yun?).
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/210/457829560_c53058ea66.jpg?v=0
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/185/457829532_834fd9f19c.jpg?v=0

That's Avenue Square. Oriental Wok ba kayo kumain?

May construction sa likod, nakalimutan ko kung anong pangalan. Hehehe...
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/233/457823590_2b3d7dac55.jpg?v=0

Hotel daw yan, according to Bobby.

Nakita ko rin sa likod, ang ganda kasi weird yung dating sa akin. Imagine, magkatapat yung mosque at catholic chuch. Wala lang, it implicitly says na Naga is open to all faiths. Though ang dami talagang catholic churces dun, feeling ko napaka-makasalanan ko kasi kahit saan ako tumingin may church
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/198/457865213_cfde58fd6d.jpg?v=0

:lol: Natawa ako sa feeling mo napakamakasalanan mo. :lol: Sa Sikhism pala ung mosque.

Yup sa oriental wok kami kumain... memorable kasi may cute dun na waiter... hehehe

@eric: ang cute kasi ng pics mo... nahiya ako magpost... :lol:

That's Avenue Square. Oriental Wok ba kayo kumain?

Have you tried eating sa Oriental Wok? Talagang super siraaam . even now i can't forget the taste of Chicken garlic.. super. They said it is too expensive, but guys maybe nextime we will try

Sa Sikhism temple...

Yeah, i forgot the website where i saw that temple in Naga, but it is ONE of the biggest in the Philippines. and also every fiesta of our Lady of Penafrancia, they also put streamers for our Lady."VIVA LA VIRGEN or Happy Fiesta of our Lady" We know they belong to a different religion from us, but they consider Virgen Mary and Jesus. Pig pro procession nila ang image of Mama Mary and Jesus and they pray for them sa India.


Hotel daw yan, according to Bobby.

Yeah, you can actually see the design of the hotel in the picture kaya lang masaydong maliit, it's a four star hotel as i heard from our member. Ang dami nang mga hotel sa Naga, yung nga sa Sampaguita hotel malaki rin pala, near and over looking Panganiban bridge.[/FONT]

Have you tried eating sa Oriental Wok? Talagang super siraaam . even now i can't forget the taste of Chicken garlic.. super. They said it is too expensive, but guys maybe nextime we will try

Maybe you can take me there so I can try it. :lol: :nocrook:

Have you tried eating sa Oriental Wok? Talagang super siraaam . even now i can't forget the taste of Chicken garlic.. super. They said it is too expensive, but guys maybe nextime we will try

True. Ang sarap nga. Grabe pati kanin masarap. Kahit walang ulam ok lang.

Sa Sikhism temple...

Yeah, i forgot the website where i saw that temple in Naga, but it is ONE of the biggest in the Philippines. and also every fiesta of our Lady of Penafrancia, they also put streamers for our Lady."VIVA LA VIRGEN or Happy Fiesta of our Lady" We know they belong to a different religion from us, but they consider Virgen Mary and Jesus. Pig pro procession nila ang image of Mama Mary and Jesus and they pray for them sa India.
That's nice. Good to hear that.

Yeah, you can actually see the design of the hotel in the picture kaya lang masaydong maliit, it's a four star hotel as i heard from our member. Ang dami nang mga hotel sa Naga, yung nga sa Sampaguita hotel malaki rin pala, near and over looking Panganiban bridge.[/FONT]
Wow. Congrats. Dumadami tourists diyan.

Maybe you can take me there so I can try it. :lol: :nocrook:

Bobby, he only means you should date him there. :rofl::lol:

^^ Tanga! :lol: Ang gusto kong sabihin, dalhin niya ako dun para libre ang food. :lol: :nocrook:

@XP.. Wow, those pics are amazing! Ngayon ko lang nakita yung mga Villas ng CWC.. And the night is great! Thanks for the pics XP!

@eric.. Ang gaganda ng shots mo.. You seem like a professional photographer! :cheers:

How much are the foods there in Oriental Wok by the way?

Mahal. hehehe... Ok lang masarap naman. lalo na yung buttered chicken. Actually nilibre lang kami. :lol:

^^ Buttered chicken! Sarap niyan ah kaso mahal pala....

^^ Mas masarap buttered chicken ni Ate. Hehe

How much are the foods there in Oriental Wok by the way?

Well, I dated a woman in Oriental Wok last month, and i choose Garlic Chicken and a tasty Squid na parang Thai style ang luto may Chili.. saraaap.

If i still remember the price of the Garlic Chicken were around P150 in a medium plate but good for 2 or 3 person na, as well as the tasty Squid with chili mga more that P100.

I spend less than P350 or something with the two rice, one juice and a coke.

So, It looks fair enough.

But the best, if you can drop by.

^^ Thanks for the info Bobbymay.. I find it expensive but I have to try and see if its really worth it....

How much are the foods there in Oriental Wok by the way?

Well, I dated a woman in Oriental Wok last month, and i choose Garlic Chicken and a tasty Squid na parang Thai style ang luto may Chili.. saraaap.

If i still remember the price of the Garlic Chicken were around P150 in a medium plate but good for 2 or 3 person na, as well as the tasty Squid with chili mga more that P100.

I spend less than P350 or something with the two rice, one juice and a coke.

So, It looks fair enough.

But the best, if you can drop by.



Kailan mo dinate? Ako rin kaya idate mo. :jk:

Parang ganyan nga yun price. Pero ok na rin. Marami naman yung servings.

Well, para sa atin budget, okey na ang Kinalas with Turon sa Mang Enting's Kinalasan sa may Diversion. basta yung extra Large na Kinalas solve yun. mga P40 plus each.

kasama na ang mga turon and Pepsi 1 Litro, talagang busog na tayo niya at masarap pa.
Kaya lang mas maganda punta doon morning pa :cheers:

P40 only... Wow, that's the cheapest so far. Kailangan makabisita rin ako jan hehehe...

P40 only... Wow, that's the cheapest so far. Kailangan makabisita rin ako jan hehehe...

Yeah, ang dami lang tao kuma- kain, kaya mas maganda kung bago mag tanghali dahil kunti pa tao, kung mga later afternoon halos na uubos ang kinalas nila.

Kaya it's good "kung gusto" nang members doon tayo kumain mas mura pa.

^nyek... gusto ko sa oriental wok pa rin... ahahaha

sige nga i-date niyo ako dun... wahahahaha :jk:

sana makapunta ulit ako diyan

^nyek... gusto ko sa oriental wok pa rin... ahahaha

sige nga i-date niyo ako dun... wahahahaha :jk:

sana makapunta ulit ako diyan

Gusto ninyo order na lang tayo sa Wok ,then sa labas na lang tayo ka kain.parang mas practical :)

^^ Pwede rin.. Parang nagpipicnic tayo niyan.. Mas masaya kung under the sun ang conversation natin hehehe...

^^ Pwede rin.. Parang nagpipicnic tayo niyan.. Mas masaya kung under the sun ang conversation natin hehehe...

yeah, now we are taking .. by then baka maka buo na tayong members..

^nyek... gusto ko sa oriental wok pa rin... ahahaha

sige nga i-date niyo ako dun... wahahahaha :jk:

sana makapunta ulit ako diyan

You have to.. para special.. Ikaw ang kagroup-date namin hehehe

@eric.. Ang gaganda ng shots mo.. You seem like a professional photographer! :cheers:

YOU SEEM lang.... hindi talaga professional. pero minsan pag may pag kakataon, but by strike of luck some of my photos landed at our nation's broadsheets and magazine. my latest work to see print was my sinulog collection. It was made as a front cover and centerfold in a Filipino-Dutch magaizine in netherlands. but i still consider myself more as a travel blogger, than a photographer.

^^ Mas masarap buttered chicken ni Ate. Hehe

battered chicken ba ito? ahahaha:lol: :lol:

Eric wala kang pasok tonight?

bobby>? im here office. baket? ahehe ill be hee until 7AM

bobby this is what the Trompe L'oeil ive been talking about. try to compare the ceilings of San Agustin in Intramuros and the ones in Naga Cathedral. they all look 3 dimensionals. parang carving. but in fact theyre just paintings. Trompe L'oeil is a rench word meaning to "trick the eye"


Eric, thanks for the clarification, akala ko a new way of archtectural design through crafting-carving, yun pala sa painting..

Click the link below...

http://www.naga.gov.ph/cityhall/soca/socr022007.pdf

pa post ulit.

Quice martires monument.

one of the most beautiful monument that ive ever seen in the entire philippines

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/175/466796397_c9abe3f20d.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/211/466796399_a9d1e9598a.jpg

pa post ulit.

Quice martires monument.

one of the most beautiful monument that ive ever seen in the entire philippines

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/175/466796397_c9abe3f20d.jpg

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/211/466796399_a9d1e9598a.jpg

Love'm Eric! :applause:

sige nga i-date niyo ako dun... wahahahaha :jk:

Gusto mo lang ma-meet si Bobby and Garz eh. :lol:

You have to.. para special.. Ikaw ang kagroup-date namin hehehe

XP, gusto ka rin daw ma-meat ni Garz. :lol:

battered chicken ba ito? ahahaha:lol: :lol:

Hindi naman ako battered brother no. :lol:

Quice martires monument.

one of the most beautiful monument that ive ever seen in the entire philippines

WOW, I never knew that, does it looks very original as in spanish design or post-spanish architectural design??

i have confidence what you said Eric, coz you have been so many places in our country.

Wow, ganda talaga ng monument na iyan...

Ganda talaga ang pag ka kuha ni Eric nang mga pictures

Eric pano mo ginagawa yung quality pics, dapat maganda ba talaga ang cam mo or sa nag hahawak na yan?

Please comment?

Ganda talaga ang pag ka kuha ni Eric nang mga pictures

Eric pano mo ginagawa yung quality pics, dapat maganda ba talaga ang cam mo or sa nag hahawak na yan?

Please comment?

gosh. million dollar question.

honestly di ko alam. di rin ako naka pag formal training for photography. everything was learned through books. balak ko mag aral, naka pag studentl loan na ako last year pa sa office, prob ko lng talaga ang schedule ko. hirappag sabayin ang trabaho at hobby/pag aaral. i was supposed to enroll either in UP Dilipman or in La Salle-Benilde

^^ Ibig sabihin kahit hindi pag-aralan talagang may magagaling sa photograhy... and you're one of them eric.. :cheers:

waaaa thanks garzland. honestly i never consider myself as magaling. in fact na i-insecure pa rin ako pag nakakaiita ako ng magagandang photos.

siguro ang advantage ko lng talaga over other photographers... pag ako kumuha ng pic, its usually "what you see is what you get" i never edit/photoshop/retoke my photos. the only edit that i do is resize and add watermark. minsan nga nga photos ko may mga kable ng kuryente. hihihihihi

hay miss ko na ang maga at legazpi!!!! gusto ko bumalik jan

^^ You have to go back this May eric para sa CWC.. My international competition na gaganapin yata jan kasabay ng Kaogma Festival...

mmmm try ko. ahehe

post ulit. Plaza Rizal.

my failed attempt to frame the monuments with leaves. aheheh

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/220/466796411_591f5612b4.jpg

SM Prime sets aside P35 B to continue expansion binge

By JAMES A. LOYOLA

Top mall developer SM Prime Holdings Inc. is spending P35 billion over the next five years for the construction of new malls as well as the expansion or renovation of existing malls nationwide.

SM Prime president Hans Sy said in a briefing after the firm’s stockholders’ meeting yesterday that the capex is consistent with the programmed capex of about P7 billion a year.

Jeffrey Lim, SM Prime executive vice president added that the firm plans to build or expand 35 to 40 new and existing malls over the next five years and will be financing this huge capex with both internally generated funds as well as with some borrowings.

Sy said the capex includes the P7 billion the firm intends to spend for this year for the construction of malls in Taytay, Rizal and Muntinlupa as well as the recently opened SM Bacolod.

He added that SM Prime is also allotting P1.8 billion for the expansion of the newly completed Mall of Asia since it is already a huge success. Sy said they will be adding leasable areas as well as a planetarium since they have just acquired new property adjacent to the mall.

In 2008, Sy said the firm will build new malls in Tarlac, Naga, Calamba, Baliuag, and Marikina in addition to the expansion of existing malls including the redevelopment of SM City North EDSA.

Lim said the firm intends to add 387,000 square meters in new gross leasable space with the expansion projects they have slated for 2008.

Sy said the P35 billion capex does not include the planned acquisition of more land for their expansion in both Metro Manila and the provinces.

"We are even open to the acquisition of existing malls," he said noting that there is a huge demand for mall space in the provinces due to the presence of families of overseas Filipino workers as well as the expansion of business process outsourcing firms which always prefer to have offices beside malls.

Lim said they will seriously look at existing malls for possible acquisition "when the opportunity presents itself." He added that several malls in both Metro Manila and the provinces have already been offered to them and they are currently evaluating them.

Meanwhile, Sy said SM Prime is doubling its authorized capital stock to P20 billion from the existing P10 billion so the firm will have enough unissued shares ready when there are investment or capital raising opportunities.

Lim explained that the firm’s P10 billion capital has already been fully issued and they need more capital to have the leeway to explore fund raising and investment opportunities.

Sy said the firm will also make an announcement in the second half on whether or not SM Prime will acquire the Sy family’s investments in China and, they are, how this will be done noting that it could involve the issuance of new stocks.

He said SM Prime currently has three malls in China with two in Fujian province in the cities of Xiamen and Jin Jiang and another mall in Xeng Du.

Source (http://www.mb.com.ph/BSNS2007042492478.html)

mmmm try ko. ahehe

post ulit. Plaza Rizal.

my failed attempt to frame the monuments with leaves. aheheh

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/220/466796411_591f5612b4.jpg

:banana: :banana: :banana:

i just finished making new header images for my blog. 6 lahat yun featuring:

1 mayon volcano
2. Wakeboarding at CWC
3. penafrancia stained glass
4. Bamboo bench @ CWC
5. Paraw Regatta @ iloilo
6. Museo Iloilo

:) for now ito lang muna pina pa revolve ko naimages. but headers will return to normal rotation by next week.

SM Prime sets aside P35 B to continue expansion binge

By JAMES A. LOYOLA

Top mall developer SM Prime Holdings Inc. is spending P35 billion over the next five years for the construction of new malls as well as the expansion or renovation of existing malls nationwide.

SM Prime president Hans Sy said in a briefing after the firm’s stockholders’ meeting yesterday that the capex is consistent with the programmed capex of about P7 billion a year.

Jeffrey Lim, SM Prime executive vice president added that the firm plans to build or expand 35 to 40 new and existing malls over the next five years and will be financing this huge capex with both internally generated funds as well as with some borrowings.

Sy said the capex includes the P7 billion the firm intends to spend for this year for the construction of malls in Taytay, Rizal and Muntinlupa as well as the recently opened SM Bacolod.

He added that SM Prime is also allotting P1.8 billion for the expansion of the newly completed Mall of Asia since it is already a huge success. Sy said they will be adding leasable areas as well as a planetarium since they have just acquired new property adjacent to the mall.

In 2008, Sy said the firm will build new malls in Tarlac, Naga, Calamba, Baliuag, and Marikina in addition to the expansion of existing malls including the redevelopment of SM City North EDSA.

Lim said the firm intends to add 387,000 square meters in new gross leasable space with the expansion projects they have slated for 2008.

Sy said the P35 billion capex does not include the planned acquisition of more land for their expansion in both Metro Manila and the provinces.

"We are even open to the acquisition of existing malls," he said noting that there is a huge demand for mall space in the provinces due to the presence of families of overseas Filipino workers as well as the expansion of business process outsourcing firms which always prefer to have offices beside malls.

Lim said they will seriously look at existing malls for possible acquisition "when the opportunity presents itself." He added that several malls in both Metro Manila and the provinces have already been offered to them and they are currently evaluating them.

Meanwhile, Sy said SM Prime is doubling its authorized capital stock to P20 billion from the existing P10 billion so the firm will have enough unissued shares ready when there are investment or capital raising opportunities.

Lim explained that the firm’s P10 billion capital has already been fully issued and they need more capital to have the leeway to explore fund raising and investment opportunities.

Sy said the firm will also make an announcement in the second half on whether or not SM Prime will acquire the Sy family’s investments in China and, they are, how this will be done noting that it could involve the issuance of new stocks.

He said SM Prime currently has three malls in China with two in Fujian province in the cities of Xiamen and Jin Jiang and another mall in Xeng Du.

Source (http://www.mb.com.ph/BSNS2007042492478.html)


So, they will start building the mall here in Naga in 2008 and they will just do the groundbreaking ceremony this coming April 28... Mukhang matagal yata ang start ng construction...

i just finished making new header images for my blog. 6 lahat yun featuring:

1 mayon volcano
2. Wakeboarding at CWC
3. penafrancia stained glass
4. Bamboo bench @ CWC
5. Paraw Regatta @ iloilo
6. Museo Iloilo

:) for now ito lang muna pina pa revolve ko naimages. but headers will return to normal rotation by next week.


Hey, I just checked out your blog and it's great... But I just want to correct this: Naga is in Camarines Sur not in Camarines Norte...:)

BusinessWorld: SM Prime sets P35-B plan
By RUBY ANNE M. RUBIO, 24 Apr 2007
Source: BusinessWorld

SM Prime Holdings, Inc., the country’s largest shopping mall developer and operator, will spend P35 billion in the next five years to open new malls and expand existing ones, President Hans T. Sy said yesterday.

In a briefing after the annual stockholders’ meeting, Mr. Sy said the programmed spending included the P1.8-billion redevelopment plan for the 331,861-square meter SM North EDSA in Quezon City. That redevelopment, which is ongoing and which involves the construction of new buildings, is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2009.

"We have a five-year business plan in place consistent with our expansion growth of P7 billion on average. This does not include the land acquisitions. We are open to acquiring more land if there are good offers and acquiring existing mall business if the opportunity comes in," Mr. Sy said.

SM Prime Holdings Inc. President Hans T. Sy addresses stockholders in the presence of (seated from left) Herbert T. Sy, director; Jose T. Sio, senior vice-president for Finance; Teresita T. Sy, executive vice-president; Jose L. Cuisia Jr., vice-chairman; and (hidden) Henry Sy, Sr., Chairman. — Photo by Jonathan L. Cellona SM Prime currently operates 28 malls.

SM Prime executive vice-president Jeffrey C. Lim said the firm’s capital requirements would be financed through a combination of internal generated funds and borrowing. In its annual stockholders’ meeting, the listed company secured shareholders’ approval to increase its authorized capital stock to P20 billion from P10 billion. However, Mr. Lim said, "there is no immediate use for that. What we want to do is prepare the company in taking [sic] more opportunities."

Mr. Lim said SM Prime may acquire malls from competitors, but declined to disclose offers coming from Metro Manila and provincial areas. This year, SM Prime will boost its gross floor area by 10% to 3.9 million square meters as it opens three new malls in Bacolod, Taytay and Muntinlupa, as well as expand existing malls in Cebu, Pampanga, and Fairview.

The group’s biggest mall, the SM Mall of Asia, will also be expanded to accommodate a science museum and planetarium. Mr. Sy said SM Prime budgeted P250 million for the 3,000-square meter science museum and planetarium, which should be finished by yearend.

"We have a foreign group from the US, which has done various planetariums in the US, helping us," Mr. Lim said. The Sy-led company is also developing the Esplanade Susnset Strip, a strip mall in front of the Mall of Asia in partnership with the Salem Group. Next year, SM Prime will be opening new malls in Tarlac, Naga, Calamba, Baliuag and Marikina.

"We will be pursuing both Metro Manila and outside [the capital], although it depends on opportunities, as we have certain requirements in terms of size. Obviously, we will have more chances of acquiring more land in the provincial areas. We are still on [a] binge of acquiring land for expansion, especially in the provincial areas," Mr. Sy said.

"I think there are a number of opportunities in the provincial area since there are a lot of business process outsourcing [operations] expanding outside. Many of the locators that have talked to us have shown interest in our provincial malls," he added. Asked for first quarter indications, Mr. Lim said SM Prime’s revenues likely grew by 24% to 25%, with Mall of Asia contributing 6% to 7%. He declined to disclose quarterly earnings.

This year, the Sy-led company targets to improve its net income by 10% to 13% from P5.45 billion in 2006. "We are still consolidating the figures. What we have is the initial indication of revenue growth. Net income should be a good one considering revenues increased more than 20%," Mr. Sy said. Meanwhile, SM Prime is still finalizing plans to fold in the Sy family’s malls and other properties in China, which are privately held but carry the "SM" trademark.

The Sys entered the booming China market by opening three malls in Xiamen, Jin Jiang and Zengdu. "We will be coming up with an announcement in the second half. We have yet to present to the board. There is no decision yet whether to go or not to go. we are still finalizing the details," Mr. Lim said.

http://www.smprime.com/News.php?BlurbID=488

^^ Thanks Sind for answering my question.. So the opening of Sm is et next year...That's good!

So, they will start building the mall here in Naga in 2008 and they will just do the groundbreaking ceremony this coming April 28... Mukhang matagal yata ang start ng construction...

heto pa ang ibang news...

SM Prime Holdings to spend P35B over five-year period
By The Philippine Star:, 24 Apr 2007
Source: Zinnia B. Dela Peña

SM Prime Holdings Inc. is setting aside P35 billion over the next five years for the construction of new malls and expansion of existing ones as it seeks to further strengthen its dominant foothold in the shopping mall industry.

In a press briefing following its annual stockholders’ meeting yesterday, SM Prime president Hans Sy said the firm is spending P7 billion a year in the next five years for the continued expansion of its shopping mall operations.

Sy said the amount excludes planned landbanking activities and acquisitions. The firm is also planning to acquire malls developed by other entities. At the end of the five-year period or by 2011, SM Prime expects to have a total of 35 to 40 new shopping centers.

By the end of the year, the company will have a total of 30 malls across the country from the current 28. It is opening three malls this year — SM Bacolod, SM Taytay, and SM Supercenter Muntinlupa, which will add 353,000 square meters in gross floor area (GFA) to bring the group’s total GFA to 3.9 million sq.m.

SM Prime is also expanding its malls in Cebu City, which will make available 107,000 square meters of GFA; Pampanga (18,000 sqm), and Fairview (23,000 sqm). SM North Edsa is also expected to undergo a major facelift this year, Hans said. Among the malls to be developed in 2008 are SM Tarlac, SM Naga, SM Calamba, SM Baliwag and SM Marikina, which will have a total GFA of 387,000 sqm.

Aside from this, Sy said the company is planning to put up a 3,000 sq. m. science museum and planetarium at its Mall of Asia along Roxas Boulevard to further increase foot traffic and boost profitability.

"We noticed that this is popular in the United States. We want to bring it here too as part of efforts to serve better the needs of the general public," Sy said. He said Mall of Asia’s average daily foot traffic has increased to 2.5 million in the first quarter of the year from only between 500,000 to one million a year ago.

Aside from this, SM Prime is raising its capital to P20 billion from P10 billion to allow it capitalize on promising opportunities. SM Prime executive vice-president Jeffrey Lim said while there is no immediate use for the funds from the capital increase, the group would like to be prepared to take on new challenges or opportunities.

Lim said the company’s performance in the first quarter was quite good with revenues seen to grow by 24 to 25 percent. SM Prime had same mall sales growth of 7 percent during the first quarter. For the whole of 2007, SM Prime is expected to register a 10 percent to 13 percent increase in its bottom line.

Last year, SM Prime posted a net profit of P5.45 billion, up 10 percent from the previous year on revenues of P13.2 billion, which is an improvement of 21 percent. Among the malls that opened last year were SM City Sta. Rosa, SM City Clark, SM Supercenter Pasig, SM City Lipa, and the largest mall in the country, the SM Mall of Asia, which accounts for about 11 percent of SM Prime’s total GFA.

SM Prime is a subsidiary of holding company SM Investments Corp. which also has interests in banking, real estate development, and retail.

SM Prime sets P35B to build 35 malls
By Honey Madrilejos-Reyes, 24 Apr 2007
Source: Business Mirror

SM Prime Holdings Inc., the country’s largest shopping mall owner, is spending P35 billion in the next five years to put up at least 35 new malls throughout the country and expand its current facilities.

At the sidelines of the SM Prime’s stockholders’ meeting late Monday, president Hans T. Sy said the capital expenditure is consistent with the pace of its growth. This year, the company is spending P7 billion to build three new malls and fund the expansion of it malls in Cebu, Pampanga, Fairview and SM Mall of Asia.

“The five-year capex does not include yet the land acquisitions,” Sy emphasized. Executive vice president Jeffrey Lim said the P35-billion capex would be equally financed by borrowings and internally generated cash. This year, SMPH would also set its sights at expanding in areas outside Metro Manila.

“We are building three new malls in the cities of Bacolod, Taytay and Muntinlupa. We are also expanding four of our existing malls, including the SM Mall of Asia,” Sy said. The Mall of Asia is considered the second-largest mall in Southeast Asia. SM Prime intends to expand the Mall of Asia’s existing facilities to accommodate a science museum and a planetarium.

These additions, according to Sy, would happen on a 3,000-square meter lot and will be completed at the end of the year. SM Prime has set aside P250 million for the theme-based attractions. Next year, the company is intends to allot P7 billion to finance the construction of new malls in the provinces of Tarlac, Bicol, Laguna and Bulacan, as well as in Marikina City in Metro Manila.

SM Prime remains a major source of income for SM Investments Corp., the holding company controlled by the country’s wealthiest man Henry Sy. Its net profit for 2006 amounted to P5.45 billion as operating revenues of P13.2-billion increased by 21-percent over that of the previous year. This year, Lim said the company’s net profit would likely increase 10 percent to 13 percent on the back of higher consumer spending and the continued improvement in the country’s economy.

SM Prime sees profit rising by double-digits
By Likha C. Cuevas, 24 Apr 2007
Source: Manila Times

SM Prime Holdings Inc. said profits this year are poised to grow by double digits, as the Philippines’ largest mall developer and operator saw first-quarter revenues rising by a quarter.
Hans Sy, SM Prime president, said full-year earnings may grow by 12 percent to 13 percent, adding the company would ride on the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry’s expansion outside Metro Manila and put up more shopping centers.

Sy said the company is earmarking P35 billion in capital expenditures for the expansion of its existing malls and construction of new ones nationwide.

About half of the budget would be financed through internally generated funds, he said. With that amount, SM Prime expects to have 35 to 40 malls. Sy said SM Prime would be acquiring land in Metro Manila, but is not discounting potential sites outside the capital.

About 60 percent of SM Prime’s revenues come from its mall operations. With BPO firms moving out of Metro Manila to other provincial centers, the company may seize the opportunity of getting business out of the geographical expansion of the booming industry, Sy said.

“It depends really on the opportunity. Much of the loca*tors have come to us showing interest in our provincial malls,” he said. In addition, SM Prime may also tap the vast business potential of rising remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFW) as people in the provinces now have the purchasing power on which the retail business depends.

The company is also on the look out for existing shopping centers to acquire in and outside the capital, Jeffrey C. Lim, SM Prime executive vice-president said, adding the company received a lot of offers from different groups.

SM Prime will spend P7 billion for a number of projects to include the construction of a planetarium within a science museum inside the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City, and the expansion of the SM North Edsa.

The development of the 3,000-square-meter museum and planetarium would cost P250 million, and would tap the expertise of a foreign group that developed similar facilities in the US. SM Prime expects to complete the educational facility by the end of this year.

SM North Edsa is undergoing expansion at a cost of P1.8 billion, with the company poised to demolish the existing Annex building to give way to a bigger facility. For next year, the company will open new malls in the cities of Tarlac, Naga, Calamba, Baliwag and Marikina.

^^
All of these articles are from the website of the SM Prime holdings but they seem to contradict each other

SM Prime revenues likely grew 25% in Q1
04/23/2007 | 05:32 PM

Revenues of SM Prime Holdings Inc., the country's largest mall operator, likely grew 24-25 percent in the first quarter of the year.

Jeffrey Lim, SM Prime chief financial officer, on Monday told reporters and analysts that SM Mall of Asia contributed as much as 6 percent to 7 percent to the company's revenues.

"We are still finalizing the report but we expect a growth in bottomline because our revenues increased by more than 20 percent," Lim said.

For the year, the company is looking anywhere between 12 percent to 13 percent growth in its net income. Its profits reached P5.4 billion in 2006.

Within the next five years, SM Prime is allotting P35 billion in capital expenditures which will fund 40 projects, including new malls and redevelopment of existing ones.

The redevelopment of SM North Edsa will cost P1.8 billion and is targeted to be completed by the first quarter of 2009.

The company will also be pouring in P250 million for the construction of a museum and a planetarium within SM Mall of Asia.

Lim added that 50 percent of the company's capex will come from internally-generated funds while the other half will be from borrowings.

This year, SM Prime will be opening malls in Bacolod, Muntinlupa and Taytay. The company will be launching malls in Tarlac, Naga, Calamba, Baliuag and Marikina next year.-GMANews.TV (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/39465/SM-Prime-expects-net-income-to-grow-25-in-07)

^^ Mayor Robredo said in an interview on DWNX-RMN Naga that SM will start the construction after a month of the groundbreaking ceremonies. Opening will be before the Peñafrancia Festival next year. I just don't know how credible that statement is since those were just speculations.

So ano na, mauunahan na ang Pacific Mall Naga?

^^
some news articles seem to contradict with the businessworld's article. Let's just wait. Bicol Mail might give a clearer and more accurate information regarding on the construction of SM.

^^
Okay lang na matagalan ang construction ng SM. As long as matutuloy parin ang PM naga. 5 hectares lang yung area ng SM according to bicol mail. 5.5 ha. naman yung sa PM inside the 12-hectare landco business park according to naga city journal kaya mas maganda.:) tuloy nga ba talaga ang PM naga?

This one is the accurate one:

Next year, SM Prime will be opening new malls in Tarlac, Naga, Calamba, Baliuag and Marikina.

^^ Mayor Robredo said in an interview on DWNX-RMN Naga that SM will start the construction after a month of the groundbreaking ceremonies. Opening will be before the Peñafrancia Festival next year. I just don't know how credible that statement is since those were just speculations.

kailan niya ba sinabi? baka credible naman since nagmeeting naman sila mayor robredo at ng SM top officers kasama na si SM President Anne S. Garcia at yung mayari ng lupa nung april 18.

BTW, tuloy pa nga ba talaga yug PM naga?

So ano na, mauunahan na ang Pacific Mall Naga?

^^ Siguro ok lang na medyo delayed yung planned construction ng PM basta ang importante ay matuloy...

^^ Mayor Robredo said in an interview on DWNX-RMN Naga that SM will start the construction after a month of the groundbreaking ceremonies. Opening will be before the Peñafrancia Festival next year. I just don't know how credible that statement is since those were just speculations.

I think it's really credible since it comes directly from the horse's mouth...He would not announce it if there's no basis...

SM Prime revenues likely grew 25% in Q1
04/23/2007 | 05:32 PM

Revenues of SM Prime Holdings Inc., the country's largest mall operator, likely grew 24-25 percent in the first quarter of the year.

Jeffrey Lim, SM Prime chief financial officer, on Monday told reporters and analysts that SM Mall of Asia contributed as much as 6 percent to 7 percent to the company's revenues.

"We are still finalizing the report but we expect a growth in bottomline because our revenues increased by more than 20 percent," Lim said.

For the year, the company is looking anywhere between 12 percent to 13 percent growth in its net income. Its profits reached P5.4 billion in 2006.

Within the next five years, SM Prime is allotting P35 billion in capital expenditures which will fund 40 projects, including new malls and redevelopment of existing ones.

The redevelopment of SM North Edsa will cost P1.8 billion and is targeted to be completed by the first quarter of 2009.

The company will also be pouring in P250 million for the construction of a museum and a planetarium within SM Mall of Asia.

Lim added that 50 percent of the company's capex will come from internally-generated funds while the other half will be from borrowings.

This year, SM Prime will be opening malls in Bacolod, Muntinlupa and Taytay. The company will be launching malls in Tarlac, Naga, Calamba, Baliuag and Marikina next year.-GMANews.TV (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/39465/SM-Prime-expects-net-income-to-grow-25-in-07)


:cheers: Sa wakas! i think this is a sample of a concrete reason for Naga City to Celebrate!!! cant wait for the new Design of new SM Malls...

Hey, I just checked out your blog and it's great... But I just want to correct this: Naga is in Camarines Sur not in Camarines Norte...:)


san to?? baka na overlook ko lng...

san to?? baka na overlook ko lng...

Yeah, probably na overlook mo lang..

By the way, anong course/masters kukunin mo sa De La Salle-Benilde/ OO UP Diliman?

Well, Anyway Pili is only the capital of Camarines Sur in papers.. but in reality the financial Capital of Camarines Sur is and always be Naga and even further Camarines Sur.:banana:

^^
Okay lang na matagalan ang construction ng SM. As long as matutuloy parin ang PM naga. 5 hectares lang yung area ng SM according to bicol mail. 5.5 ha. naman yung sa PM inside the 12-hectare landco business park according to naga city journal kaya mas maganda.:) tuloy nga ba talaga ang PM naga?

Sa akin okay lang din kahit na matagalan ang construction ng PM basta matuloy. Tsaka don't worry. Ung sa Legazpi nga natagalan din. Let's just wait. It's their loss kung hindi sila mag-invest dito. :nocrook:

kailan niya ba sinabi? baka credible naman since nagmeeting naman sila mayor robredo at ng SM top officers kasama na si SM President Anne S. Garcia at yung mayari ng lupa nung april 18.

I think the day before yesterday. Naniniguro lang ako kasi siyempre hindi naman talaga part si Mayor ng SM team. Pero ewan. Tapos sabi pa ni Sinjin, around 1.5 years ung construction. Pero as I always say, let's just wait. Hehe

:cheers: Sa wakas! i think this is a sample of a concrete reason for Naga City to Celebrate!!! cant wait for the new Design of new SM Malls...

Sana naman maganda ung design dito. Sana parang SM MoA ng Bicol. :lol: Hinde. Sana ibang concept naman. Napaka-generic na kasi ng shoebox design nila. And kung MoA-like na naman, magiging generic yan in the future.

Yeah, probably na overlook mo lang..

By the way, anong course/masters kukunin mo sa De La Salle-Benilde/ OO UP Diliman?

Well, Anyway Pili is only the capital of Camarines Sur in papers.. but in reality the financial Capital of Camarines Sur is and always be Naga and even further Camarines Sur.:banana:

photography sana or masscom or anything related to media. nakuha ko na nga ang cheke ko for my student loan sa office, pero ang hirap pagsabayin talaga ang work and studies. hay....

:cheers: Sa wakas! i think this is a sample of a concrete reason for Naga City to Celebrate!!! cant wait for the new Design of new SM Malls...

Yap, sana new design naman para kakaiba sa lahat...

pa post. latest entry ko sa blog ko.
===========================================

Honestly, Naga City was originally not included in my itinerary. I just considered Naga just two days before I actually departed for Legazpi City.

Because it was a rush. I didn’t have much time to reasearch on the places I should go to, or the foods to eat, or where and how to get to the city. Luckily, some friends from the SSC-Naga were there to tour me around the city. Sigh.

So from the Plaza Rizal, Kevin and Bobby brought me to the Holy Rosary Minor Seminary.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/219/466790746_46db342bc6.jpg

The very moment I set my eyes on this structure, I thought i was in a tme warp and was brought back to the 1800’s. The Seminary facade is just so beatiful. It has actually mesmerized me and made me speechless for a moment. I ran out of adjectives to describe this seminary.

But we are just in the facade yet.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/181/466796415_5c2fcb8e91.jpg

Right inside the seminary is a museum, that houses priceless collections like the vestments used by the bishops of the Diocese of Nueva Caceres. there are Ming Vases, burial jars, old books and stuffs used during masses. The items are all well-kept and preserved.

Because of its beauty and its significance in the local history of Naga, the National Historical Institute has inscribed the centuries-old Holy Rosary Minor Seminary as a National Historical Landmark

Permalink: http://www.byahilo.com/holy-rosary-minor-seminary/

^^ I really like your blog eric.. You've travelled to lots of beautiful places already..... And your descriptions regarding the places you've visited are somewhat unique...:cheers:

BusinessWorld: SM Prime sets P35-B plan
By RUBY ANNE M. RUBIO, 24 Apr 2007
Source: BusinessWorld

SM Prime Holdings, Inc., the country’s largest shopping mall developer and operator, will spend P35 billion in the next five years to open new malls and expand existing ones, President Hans T. Sy said yesterday.

In a briefing after the annual stockholders’ meeting, Mr. Sy said the programmed spending included the P1.8-billion redevelopment plan for the 331,861-square meter SM North EDSA in Quezon City. That redevelopment, which is ongoing and which involves the construction of new buildings, is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2009.

"We have a five-year business plan in place consistent with our expansion growth of P7 billion on average. This does not include the land acquisitions. We are open to acquiring more land if there are good offers and acquiring existing mall business if the opportunity comes in," Mr. Sy said.

SM Prime Holdings Inc. President Hans T. Sy addresses stockholders in the presence of (seated from left) Herbert T. Sy, director; Jose T. Sio, senior vice-president for Finance; Teresita T. Sy, executive vice-president; Jose L. Cuisia Jr., vice-chairman; and (hidden) Henry Sy, Sr., Chairman. — Photo by Jonathan L. Cellona SM Prime currently operates 28 malls.

SM Prime executive vice-president Jeffrey C. Lim said the firm’s capital requirements would be financed through a combination of internal generated funds and borrowing. In its annual stockholders’ meeting, the listed company secured shareholders’ approval to increase its authorized capital stock to P20 billion from P10 billion. However, Mr. Lim said, "there is no immediate use for that. What we want to do is prepare the company in taking [sic] more opportunities."

Mr. Lim said SM Prime may acquire malls from competitors, but declined to disclose offers coming from Metro Manila and provincial areas. This year, SM Prime will boost its gross floor area by 10% to 3.9 million square meters as it opens three new malls in Bacolod, Taytay and Muntinlupa, as well as expand existing malls in Cebu, Pampanga, and Fairview.

The group’s biggest mall, the SM Mall of Asia, will also be expanded to accommodate a science museum and planetarium. Mr. Sy said SM Prime budgeted P250 million for the 3,000-square meter science museum and planetarium, which should be finished by yearend.

"We have a foreign group from the US, which has done various planetariums in the US, helping us," Mr. Lim said. The Sy-led company is also developing the Esplanade Susnset Strip, a strip mall in front of the Mall of Asia in partnership with the Salem Group. Next year, SM Prime will be opening new malls in Tarlac, Naga, Calamba, Baliuag and Marikina.

"We will be pursuing both Metro Manila and outside [the capital], although it depends on opportunities, as we have certain requirements in terms of size. Obviously, we will have more chances of acquiring more land in the provincial areas. We are still on [a] binge of acquiring land for expansion, especially in the provincial areas," Mr. Sy said.

"I think there are a number of opportunities in the provincial area since there are a lot of business process outsourcing [operations] expanding outside. Many of the locators that have talked to us have shown interest in our provincial malls," he added. Asked for first quarter indications, Mr. Lim said SM Prime’s revenues likely grew by 24% to 25%, with Mall of Asia contributing 6% to 7%. He declined to disclose quarterly earnings.

This year, the Sy-led company targets to improve its net income by 10% to 13% from P5.45 billion in 2006. "We are still consolidating the figures. What we have is the initial indication of revenue growth. Net income should be a good one considering revenues increased more than 20%," Mr. Sy said. Meanwhile, SM Prime is still finalizing plans to fold in the Sy family’s malls and other properties in China, which are privately held but carry the "SM" trademark.

The Sys entered the booming China market by opening three malls in Xiamen, Jin Jiang and Zengdu. "We will be coming up with an announcement in the second half. We have yet to present to the board. There is no decision yet whether to go or not to go. we are still finalizing the details," Mr. Lim said.

At long last, Naga will have an SM shopping mall. GOOD NEWS, I hope the design will be much better than the existing box type of malls, i like the design of SM Bacolod. & SM North "THE BLOCK"

Now, i would consider Naga a very progressive city of Bicol, with CWC, lots of foreign tourists are pouring in that complex wow, great city, a truly Boom City of Bicol

At long last, Naga will have an SM shopping mall. GOOD NEWS, I hope the design will be much better than the existing box type of malls, i like the design of SM Bacolod. & SM North "THE BLOCK"

Yeah, I hope a new design will come out not the regular designs by SM... Bicol has waited so long to have an SM in this region particularly in this city..At lasssttt!

wow magkakaroon na ng SM sa naga, sana hindi ito katulad ng SM Megamall architecture. isang malaking shoebox.

^^ Yan nga ang pinagaalinlangan ko kasi baka shoebox na naman ang design... I hope it will be really unique dapat may touch ng Bicol architecture para talagang unique.. Gusto ko yung kagaya ng SM Baguio na talgang unique ung design..

^^ i dont think SM baguio architechture will work in SM Naga. i was there nung july. parang open tent/canopy lang sya.minsan nang pinasok ng tubig ang sm baguio last year nung bumagyo. dami nalugi na stalls dun.

so when heavy rain comes. pumapasok talaga ang ulan. ginawa nila ito para maximize ang pag pasok ng cold air sa loob ng mall. kaya walang erkon dun.

since ang bicol nadadanan ng bagyo lagi. i dont think its good to use the baguio design. id prefer the Bacolod Design. Small but elegant-looking

^^ Garz didn't say he wants an SM Baguio-type of design. He said he likes a uniquie design, just like what they did in Baguio. :) Pero mas gusto ko nga SM Bacolod kesa SM Baguio. Basta dapat ung SM Naga may touch of Bicolano culture. :cheers:

At long last, Naga will have an SM shopping mall. GOOD NEWS, I hope the design will be much better than the existing box type of malls, i like the design of SM Bacolod. & SM North "THE BLOCK"

Akala mo lang maganda ang The Block, pero hinde, hinde hinde!!! :nocrook: Pero sa totoo lang, okay naman ung The Block. Parang may mali lang na hindi ko malaman kung ano. Basta...

Now, i would consider Naga a very progressive city of Bicol, with CWC, lots of foreign tourists are pouring in that complex wow, great city, a truly Boom City of Bicol

Uhm. CWC is in Pili, FYI. :wink2:

^^ i dont think SM baguio architechture will work in SM Naga. i was there nung july. parang open tent/canopy lang sya.minsan nang pinasok ng tubig ang sm baguio last year nung bumagyo. dami nalugi na stalls dun.

so when heavy rain comes. pumapasok talaga ang ulan. ginawa nila ito para maximize ang pag pasok ng cold air sa loob ng mall. kaya walang erkon dun.

since ang bicol nadadanan ng bagyo lagi. i dont think its good to use the baguio design. id prefer the Bacolod Design. Small but elegant-looking

I haven't said that it should be like SM Baguio but rather it should be unique like SM Baguio... Personally, I don't like the interior of SM Bacolod but the exterior is great...

Now, i would consider Naga a very progressive city of Bicol, with CWC, lots of foreign tourists are pouring in that complex wow, great city, a truly Boom City of Bicol

Kahit nasa Pili ang CWC, ang nakikinabang masyado ang mga businesses ng Naga City because of the hotel and other amenities needed by tourists...

Kahit nasa Pili ang CWC, ang nakikinabang masyado ang mga businesses ng Naga City because of the hotel and other amenities needed by tourists...

Ganun ba? Are there any hotels na talagang nasa labas lang ng CWC? Yung tipong walking distance? If so, magandang feasibility study sana to!

^^An idea for business too! Let's invest in Pili!!!

Yeah, probably na overlook mo lang..

By the way, anong course/masters kukunin mo sa De La Salle-Benilde/ OO UP Diliman?

Well, Anyway Pili is only the capital of Camarines Sur in papers.. but in reality the financial Capital of Camarines Sur is and always be Naga and even further Camarines Sur.:banana:

Is Pili not functioning well as the capital of Camarines Sur? Hmmm... there's something...

Ganun ba? Are there any hotels na talagang nasa labas lang ng CWC? Yung tipong walking distance? If so, magandang feasibility study sana to!

There are rooms that can be rented inside the CWC.. The so-called villas or sort-of-a-hotel are just being constructed to accomodate large number of tourists....And these villas are just meters away from the CWC...

Is Pili not functioning well as the capital of Camarines Sur? Hmmm... there's something...

Pili may only be functioning as the administrative capital of Camarines Sur but more than that nothing.. I guess the provincial government should look into consideration the importance of Pili town by putting more investments there in the downtown area...

^^An idea for business too! Let's invest in Pili!!!

The municipal government should ask help from the provincial government to encourage more investors there especially investing in tourism-related businesses since there is already an influx of tourists....

Pili should be more than just an administrative capital.. It should take this edge to make it a more progressive town...

With the presence of CWC, I think Pili will become a city in ten year's time... This is very probable... :D

There are rooms that can be rented inside the CWC.. The so-called villas or sort-of-a-hotel are just being constructed to accomodate large number of tourists....And these villas are just meters away from the CWC...

With that kind of answer, I can come up with a conclusion that PUTTING UP A HOTEL NEAR CWC IS VERY VIABLE.

Any investors out there??? This is it, I'M GIVING YOU CLUES!!! :D!

^^ Yeah, that's very probable... It just needs a new CBD to fit in the status of being a city...

It will... CWC will revolutionize Pili's economy... trust me...

^^ Yeah, that's very probable... It just needs a new CBD to fit in the status of being a city...

With that kind of answer, I can come up with a conclusion that PUTTING UP A HOTEL NEAR CWC IS VERY VIABLE.

Any investors out there??? This is it, I'M GIVING YOU CLUES!!! :D!

I guess nothing yet.. Maybe soon.. Actually, these added rooms are expensed by the provincial government...

It will... CWC will revolutionize Pili's economy... trust me...

Definitely, just look at what's happening right now...Just within a year, there's changes.. What more if it's five more years...

I guess nothing yet.. Maybe soon.. Actually, these added rooms are expensed by the provincial government...

So that means, that will directly increase the provincial revenues... Galing talaga ni Villafuerte...

I think the reason why CWC is such a success was the fact that Villafuerte have a NATURAL PASSION for SPORTS. Without this passion, I don't think there will be a CWC existing at all. Good job! Ka-namesake ko pa naman!

Yap, all the profits will go directly to the province's coffer...He's really doing well as a governnor in promoting the province when it comes to eco-tourism.. A brilliant man indeed!

Yup, he has the mind of a businessman, remember he built a million-peso business out of P50,000 capital. Too bad his father is pulling him down. That's nasty. :ohno:

^^ That's what you call envious and insecurity hehehe. I guess his father is selfish...

uy napanood ko sa Probe about election nafeature ang Naga City,nasabi dun yung mga awards since 1988 3rd class city and become 1st class within 2 year...Asia week's most improve city...whattan accomplishments!!! SM is coming to town...

^^ Kelan ba pinalabas 'tol? sayang di ko napanood...

i just posted my Holy rosary Minor Seminary Blog entry to the Pinoy Travel. Im also one of the writers there

heres the link

http://www.pinoytravelblog.com/travel-destinations/bicol/546/holy-rosary-minor-seminary

Hello Mond, good to see you, it's been quite sometime. hopefully we will meet each other in Legaspi and also with your group..

Well, It's a healthy discussion about Pili.. Any success in Pili or the Provincial Capitol projects will always benefited the rapid economy of Naga City.


Pili as a member of the Metro Naga Development Council, is taking the advantage and reaping much success to this group. Through the effort of Mayor Bongalonta and Mayor Jess Robredo. As they work as a team,


http://metro.naga.gov.ph/mndc_index.htm

and as long as L-Ray Villafuerte will be the Governor in his term and
the success of CWC will benefited the "growing hotel's" in Metro Naga and more.


We are proud of Pili, and soon will be a Metropolitan Naga

Thanks again Mond for your confidence in Pili, as town growing Big and bigger in the future.

i just posted my Holy rosary Minor Seminary Blog entry to the Pinoy Travel. Im also one of the writers there

heres the link

http://www.pinoytravelblog.com/travel-destinations/bicol/546/holy-rosary-minor-seminary

Thanks Eric, Holy Rosary Minor Seminary is really a great place to stay, and ambiance para kang nasa Spain (When i was there too). It helps Pinoys travelers have a glimpse about the City of Naga historical treasures. :banana:

^^ Yup, mabuti't meron pa tayong mga ganyan dito sa Naga...

Ganun ba? Are there any hotels na talagang nasa labas lang ng CWC? Yung tipong walking distance? If so, magandang feasibility study sana to!

Nasa loob mismo ng complex ung hotels and condotels ng CWC. Narerentahan na rin sila ngayon. Un nga lang, may ibang turista ung gusto malapit ung hotels sa gimmickan or malls or restos kaya may ibang sa Naga nagbu-book ng hotels.

With the presence of CWC, I think Pili will become a city in ten year's time... This is very probable... :D

I also think so. :okay:

With that kind of answer, I can come up with a conclusion that PUTTING UP A HOTEL NEAR CWC IS VERY VIABLE.

Any investors out there??? This is it, I'M GIVING YOU CLUES!!! :D!

:lol:

I think the reason why CWC is such a success was the fact that Villafuerte have a NATURAL PASSION for SPORTS. Without this passion, I don't think there will be a CWC existing at all. Good job! Ka-namesake ko pa naman!

Actually, hindi ko alam na enthusiast pala ng wakeboarding so Gov. Sa Ate ko lang nalaman. Hehe Pero in fairness, ang galing!

Yup, he has the mind of a businessman, remember he built a million-peso business out of P50,000 capital. Too bad his father is pulling him down. That's nasty. :ohno:

And to think that he's not making patol to his Dad. Hehe

uy napanood ko sa Probe about election nafeature ang Naga City,nasabi dun yung mga awards since 1988 3rd class city and become 1st class within 2 year...Asia week's most improve city...whattan accomplishments!!! SM is coming to town...

That's under Mayor Robredo! :cheer:

Making the best better: Our thrusts

The sectoral advances presented above underscores the fact that the city government, with the strong support of its civil society and international development partners,has the proven institutional capacity to ensure sustainability of its efforts towards attaining the millennium goals before 2015. We will build on and leverage this unique strength to draw up a medium-term development plan that will achieve that key objective and secure the financial wherewithal required – from internal and external sources – to realize it. In fact, the revitalized city planning staff has begun this process late last year until Milenyo and Reming sidelined it; the plan should be ready for deliberation and adoption by the new city council when it assumes office by July 2007.

Nonetheless, allow me to outline the key initiatives
we will pursue in line with that plan, given the current
state of the city as I have described:
Our 2015 vision is about the “Maogmang
Ciudadano sa Maogmang Lugar.” It calls for a city that is powered by good governance and responsible citizenship, by people-centered development and by our abiding faith to set the pace in participatory urban development in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia, and inspire others in their own paths. We will achieve this vision by pursuing five key strategies: (a) “reengineering” Naga’ (b) reducing
poverty incidence; (c) improving access to quality basic services; (d) enhancing the quality of life through livable communities; and (e) promoting good governance and responsible citizenship.

1. “Reengineering” Naga. We will learn from the lessons brought by Super Typhoon Reming: that such ferocious calamities with winds reaching close to 300 kph will become commonplace, given the impact of global warming in the living environment. In this regard, we will undertake a comprehensive vulnerability assessment of the city, and based on its outputs redo our existing policies that govern infrastructure and housing design and construction, agriculture and cropping. In other words, our people must be ready to change our way of life in view of the new environmental challenges that this reengineering brings.

2. Reducing poverty. To further reduce poverty, we will continue to be guided by our development philosophy of pursuing growth with equity.

Growth oriented. The growth-oriented strategies include the following:

a. Improvement of the Naga City Public Market.
We have initially set aside P2M to improve the public
market. We are almost done reconstructing the stalls
gutted down by the fire last year. We are set to open
the “Vegetable Bagsakan” for our local vegetable
producers at the 3rd Floor, within the first half of the
year.

b. Additional district markets. We have established small district markets in Triangulo, Pacol and San Felipe. We will continue to provide opportunities for small vendors by putting up district markets in resettlement sites when they are viable – in San Rafael and Centro Cararayan, DRUPAI, Del Rosario, CLUPA, Calauag and eventually in Queborac, Bagumbayan Sur. to provide more opportunities for the informal sector and small traders.

c. Tiangge sa Central Bus Terminal (CBT). We will maximize the use of available commercial spaces at the CBT. Offhand, we will provide opportunities for informal traders whose basic handicap is the absence of an affordable commercial space with a secure tenure.

d. Improve agricultural productivity. We have built roads in the upland areas to ease the transport of goods for our farmers. We have invested more than P1M to provide irrigation facilities to agricultural areas in Panicuason, Carolina, Pacol and San Felipe. .Although we have not fully recovered our investment, we will provide funding support for the rehabilitation of this irrigation system to increase
productivity in its area coverage. We will expand our
farmer assistance program to put them back on track
after Typhoon Reming. 􀂃 Intensified, rationalized microlending. At the same time, we will intensify job-creation and generation through expanded micro-lending, both for agricultural and non-agricultural livelihood activities. Along this line, Metro Peso and the Ateneo de Nagabased Consuelo Madrigal Foundation will join hands in tapping the Canada Fund to augment our usual budgetary allocation.We will also pursue greater coordination among micro-lending institutions for synergy in coverage and greater efficiency in service provision.
Stronger safety nets. Complementing these growth-oriented initiatives is the establishment of more comprehensive and expansive safety needs that addresses the needs of the poorest segments of our society.

e. Expanded income extenders. These safety nets involve the following income extenders that will enable the poor to use their daily earnings for other basic needs of the family:
1. Increased coverage of the Sanggawadan Program
2. Projects QUEEN and QUEEN+ will ensure access to basic primary and secondary education for all Nagueños, thereby
ensuring that no child will be left behind.
3. We have initiated our Tindahan Natin Program in cooperation with local entrepreneurs. Aside from providing
livelihood opportunities to their proponents we have made available cheap basic commodities to more poor residents in the city. We intend to establish one Tindahan Natin in every urban poor site in the city before the end of the year; and
4. The launching of i-Serve this year will mark the implementation SOMECAP, our local health insurance program for the underprivileged in the city.

f. One livelihood for every household. Through micro-lending and other livelihood support schemes
under the “Trabaho o Negosyo Para sa Lambang
Pamilyang Nagueño” initiative, the Metro Peso and its partners will seek to provide at least one livelihood opportunity to every household in the city.

g. More equitable and responsible social housing. The Urban Poor Affairs Office, with the help of the Naga City Urban Poor Affairs Federation and the Housing and Urban Development Board of the city, will strive for greater efficiency in using the annual budgetary allocation for the Kaantabay program by weeding our undesirable beneficiaries, enhancing local equity collection and improving collection efficiency through alternative, debt-for-work payment schemes under Bayadnihan.
These efforts will help us reach our target to reduce the number of poor families living below the poverty threshold from 20 to 10%.

3. Improving access to quality basic services. We will continue to invest heavily in education, especially in sustaining our ongoing School Board-led effort to improve the quality of basic education from preschool to the secondary level.

a. The QUEEN and QUEEN+ initiatives. To address our only MDG shortfall, we conceptualized and will implement the multi-sectoral Quality Universal Elementary Education in Naga (QUEEN) initiative – supplemented by the ongoing
Sanggawadan, Nutri-Dunong and Iskolar kan Ciudad
effort – which seeks to help parents from financially
distressed families to send and maintain the children
in school. Through more effective targeting, we will
expand its coverage up to high school, which is the
“plus” part in the program name.

b. Improving quality. For the best and brightest
Nagueños, we will create and institutionalize a separate track that will ensure their access to the best possible education that the city can give. This will involve the establishment and heightened support for honors classes in all elementary and public schools; the positioning of the Naga City Science High School as first option for honor graduates from our elementary schools, which requires its expansion to admit as much as 10% of the total Grade VI
population annually; the deepening of the Iskolar kan
Ciudad program’s capability to place them in the
appropriate degree programs required by the local
labor market, including the public school system
itself; and pre-college interventions – similar to the
Pathways program of Ateneo de Manila – that will
better prepare outstanding high school students for a
more competitive college life in Manila-based institutions.

c. Greater efficiency in the health sector. We will continue to enhance our topnotch public health system by increasing synergy among our frontline health and nutrition units, improving beneficiary targeting through the ongoing i-Serve program, and increasing resources available to these units. We will be ready to fully implement SOMECAP, our local health insurance program, this year. We will review the Nutri-Ataman and Nutri-Nanay programs, with the end view of bringing in more private sector partners
that will pave the way for intensified spending in prenatal,
post-natal and maternal care.

d. Advancing children and women welfare. Through the Naga Council for the Welfare and Protection of Children and the Bantay Familia Foundation, we will sustain current initiatives advancing the welfare of children and women,
particularly those in difficult situations. At the same time, we will invite the representatives of our children to spend some time with us and sit as city children officials, similar to what we are doing with the youth and recently, with
the senior citizens. This way, we will be able to actualize new avenues through which they can have a bigger voice in the city’s governance processes.

4. Enhancing quality of life. To enhance competitiveness of Naga, we will embark on a stronger effort to improve its livability. This effort will involve the following:

a. Redevelopment of CBD 1. We will bring back people to CBD 1 by restoring its vitality. We will organize and empower a multisectoral council comprising of its current occupants to take the lead in beautifying and refurbishing our city center. The city government will set aside P 10 Million from its annual budget as its counterpart to the effort. We will also revisit current traffic management and zoning policies, with the end view of improving its flow and minimizing congestion.

b. Clean and beautiful Naga City. We will acquire new dump trucks and equipment to improve our solid management capacity to improve cleanliness all throughout Naga. In the ongoing updating of our city land use plan, we will identify a new site for our materials recovery facility (MRF) and build it before shutting down the one we currently have in Balatas. We have started the beautification of Panganiban Drive. We will extend the Panganiban Drive upgrading project up to Diversion Road. We will intensify investment in urban aesthetics to make
Naga more attractive to visitors and residents alike. We will maintain air quality in the city and enhance water quality in the Naga River through better management of effluents discharged by public and private facilities.

c. More efficient drainage and roads. We will also raise the efficiency of our drainage system by declogging it of sediment buildup. We will acquire the required equipment this year to ensure that we will be ready before the rainy season set in. We will expand existing drainage lines, such as that of J. Hernandez Avenue and Calauag-San Felipe Drainage Line (beside CLUPA and Villa Karangahan) to further ease the flooding problem in these areas and the surrounding environs. With the completion of the major circumferential roads by the end of the year, we will focus on the arterial roads in the upland barangays of the city. We will complete the basic infrastructure needs of all the urban poor sites in the next three years to comfortably resettle our program beneficiaries.

d. Enhanced peace and order. We will improve the city’s peace and order situation by improving the deployment of police resources and expanding our
Public Safety Office. We will also encourage greater
community involvement in securing the peace, in the
form of more responsive volunteer units and barangay tanods. At the same time, we will also clear bottlenecks that hinder the flow and processing of critical information relative to protective service provision. Tourism and investment promotion. At the same time, we will strengthen our tourism and investment promotion efforts to invite more people to visit Naga, and encourage them to invest or spend their money in availing of the services or investment opportunities we will make available. These efforts will focus on the following:

e. Naga highland development. We will position Naga as a top health, wellness, recreation and retirement destination. This effort will focus on the development of the Pacol-Carolina-Panicuason-San Isidro triangle as our own version of Tagaytay. We will add an outer radial link to the existing loop that terminates in Carolina by developing a Carolina- Panicuason circumferential road. This will open up
access to the area, consistent with our radialcircumferential
pattern of development, and promote it as a quality retirement and wellness haven.

f. Convention city. During the last decade, we hosted the Palarong Pambansa three times, maximizing the benefits out of our investments in the Metro Naga Sports Complex. Come April, we will have the YFC international youth leadership congress that will bring in around 10,000 delegates to Naga. The national convention of the Philippine Eagles Club will also be held here this year, the
second time we are hosting the same event. The annual Bicol Business Week of MNCCI will also bring both regional and national participants come June this year. The same opportunity of optimizing use of government facilities will present itself when we finally complete the Metro Naga Coliseum – unfortunately set back by super typhoons Milenyo and Reming – before the Peñafrancia Fiesta this
September. Together with the ongoing development
of a golf course integrated in the Naga highland property development projects, the coliseum will raise our profile and enable us to bid for bigger events that will help enhance our reputation as a convention city.

g. Digital city. Finally, we will position Naga as a
“digital city” anchored on widespread access to wireless technologies, particularly in the upland areas we have identified as priority growth centers. This will enhance our effort to niche on the emerging sunshine industries like business process outsourcing, digital animation and medical transcription.

5. Promoting good governance and responsible citizenship. We will further improve our people’s access to i-Governance by translating into Bikol the relevant portions of the Naga City Citizen’s Charter and distributing these citywide. At the same time, we will strengthen the program’s digital tools for civic engagement, particularly TxtNaga, where ordinary residents can text their concerns directly to city agency concerned and expect response and regular updates; the city website www.naga.gov.ph and i-Serve.
We will decentralize the provision of certain frontline services to the city’s barangay councils – including community-based garbage collection that will feed into the existing system – to expedite response and strengthen accountability. Finally, we will leverage Naga’s track record in urban governance to generate external resources for
these local development initiatives. As pointed out at the outset, Naga is probably the most awarded local authority in the country today – with more than 140 international, national and regional recognitions earned thus far. Aside from the pride and honor it brings us, these distinctions have opened doors and paved the way for international development assistance that has helped sustain our innovations and encouraged us to do even more.
Conclusion The preceding report on the state of our city has shown that for the long run, a strong commitment to
the principles and practice of good governance pays. It has painted an unmistakable picture of an urban community that has grown ever more secure and confident on its abilities, capabilities and potentials – led by an entrepreneurial local government committed to the principle of continuous improvement. It has affirmed the theses that (1) development is fully compatible with a democratic system of governance, and that (2) a development path built on the bedrock of competence, partnerships and participation with the local civil society is sound, solid and sustainable. It has valida ted the wisdom of pursuing growth with equity, a strategy that balances the sustainable growth of the local economy and the welfare of its citizenry. And to attain development that truly matters, the local state must oftentimes tilt the
balance on behalf of those who have less in life. Finally, it has clearly demonstrated that a locality, powered by a proud and confident people committed to a culture of excellence and tradition of innovations, can overcome its inherent natural and geographical limitations and be among the best there is. To borrow the words of two contemporary greats of the 20th century, what the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve; and what we can therefore achieve together is limited only by our magination.

^^ Ang galing. Andaming projects. And take note, hindi funded ng national gov't ang Naga. :banana: :banana: :banana:

Hello Mond, good to see you, it's been quite sometime. hopefully we will meet each other in Legaspi and also with your group..

Well, It's a healthy discussion about Pili.. Any success in Pili or the Provincial Capitol projects will always benefited the rapid economy of Naga City.


Pili as a member of the Metro Naga Development Council, is taking the advantage and reaping much success to this group. Through the effort of Mayor Bongalonta and Mayor Jess Robredo. As they work as a team,


http://metro.naga.gov.ph/mndc_index.htm

and as long as L-Ray Villafuerte will be the Governor in his term and
the success of CWC will benefited the "growing hotel's" in Metro Naga and more.


We are proud of Pili, and soon will be a Metropolitan Naga

Thanks again Mond for your confidence in Pili, as town growing Big and bigger in the future.


I'm looking forward to it... heheh... It's been a long time since I last talked w/ you. Heheh, what happened?

Nasa loob mismo ng complex ung hotels and condotels ng CWC. Narerentahan na rin sila ngayon. Un nga lang, may ibang turista ung gusto malapit ung hotels sa gimmickan or malls or restos kaya may ibang sa Naga nagbu-book ng hotels.


Another feasibility study on the rise! Bars are also feasible around CWC! :)!

Another feasibility study on the rise! Bars are also feasible around CWC! :)!

Good idea yang bars... Tourists love to party, nakita ko dun sa mga pictures ng official website ng CWC...

^^ Ang galing. Andaming projects. And take note, hindi funded ng national gov't ang Naga. :banana: :banana: :banana:

Yup, sana maipaayos din yung other side ng Panganiban, dapat mauniform din yung sidewalk dun and malagyan din ng lampposts... I'm glad that Diversion will also be beautified.. Galing talaga!

I'm looking forward to it... heheh... It's been a long time since I last talked w/ you. Heheh, what happened?

Hello, good to hear from you Mond. Actually i'm telling my SSC Naga group that we need to go out maybe this month of May hopefully.:banana:

Well, I'm just around and online with the SSC naga group and times busy ..

at least i already meet Kevin personally and also Eric (our SSC makati base). Hopefully we can get together soon. and possibly meet all our SSC-bicol members in th future.

Kaogma fest unveils hotter events in 2007
By Bobby Labalan

The merry month of May promises to be sizzling hot as organizers for the annual Kaogma Festival unveil its line-up of activities and celebrity guests for this year’s week-long festivities that will surely turn up the social temperature this summer.

Churning out a more compact yet better list of events and activities for the maximum fun and enjoyment of Camarines Sur constituents and its annual tourists and visitors, Governor LRay Villafuerte along with the Kaogma Foundation has released the event schedule for Kaogma 2007 as follows: May 19 – Opening Parade with Street Dancing Showdown with Jericho Rosales as special celebrity guest. A joint concert at night by bands Salamin and Cueshe will cap the opening ceremonies. The sports events opening on this day are: the 4 x 4 Competition and the Motocross that will be held for two days until May 20; the Tour of CamSur that will start in Caramoan and will run in the countryside for three days until its final lap finish and awards ceremonies on May 21.

KAOGMA FEST.....
May 20 – Start of Buruntolan, a mass-based marathon boxing match that is a crowd drawer, and the Extreme Sports Awarding Night. May 21 – Last day of Buruntolan which is capped by an awarding ceremony and a concert by Mayonnaise band; May 22 – the Grand Finals of the LRay Hot Kids Star Quest with the cast of popular TV fantaserye Mulawin with Sam Bumatay and Miguel Tanfelix along with Angelu de Leon as special celebrity guests.

May 23 – Opening of the CamSur Bike Park and a Mountain Bike Exhibition during the day and the much awaited Ms. Kaogma Beauty Pageant with Piolo Pascual as celebrity guest and Slide as the pageant host; May 24 – Opening of the CamSur Skateboard Park with various skateboard exhibitions and the finals of the Dalan sa Kalangitan Singing Competition with Erik Santos as special guest.

May 25 – the start of the CWC International Pro Tour with international riders from all over the world to see action at the best water cable ski park in the world that will last until May 27. In the evening of May 25, a Reggae World Night and a Bikini Open will be also be held as well as a flower show.

May 26 – the finals of the CWC Open with an awarding night capped by a Musicfest headlined by bands such as True Faith, Giniling Festival, Paramita, Stone Free, Dicta License, Spongecola, Callalily, The Dawn, Itchyworms, Join The Club, and Razorback; May 27 – a Thanksgiving Mass for the 428th Foundation Anniversary and a variety show with celebrities Jenni Hernandez, Archie Alemania, Sandara Park, and Joseph Bitangcol as show hosts.

Other activities for the Kaogma are the Hot Buys and Hot Food wherein food stalls, tiangges, and bazaars are set up for the veritable shoppers, curio aficionados, and food lovers to feast upon. JMTSantelices

source (http://www.bicolmail.com/)

Real property assessment, tax
mapping computerization pushed

PILI, CamSur – Governor LRay Villafuerte has directed the Provincial Assessor’s Office to intensify efforts and accelerate implementation of the real property tax assessment and tax mapping information systems, recently launched flagship projects of the Provincial Assessor’s Office (PAO).

The real property tax assessment and tax mapping information projects are computer-based data processing and record management systems designed to dramatically enhance real property tax administration of the estimated over 350,000 real property units in the 35 towns of Camarines Sur and further facilitate and boost real property tax collection.

As envisioned by provincial assessor Anecita V. Malali, the projects are projected to be completed in about three years, but Governor Villafuerte during a recent meeting of provincial department heads directed full implementation in one year.

Governor Villafuerte also directed that PAO be provided ten additional high-capacity desktop computers, the required IT-trained personnel and all logistical support in order to meet the shortened deadline.

Even as encoding and uploading of raw data, the most tedious part of the projects, are on-going full steam at the Provincial Capitol, real property tax assessment system implementation are also being conducted in eleven (11) towns, namely: Del Gallego, Sagñay, Buhi, Magarao, Lupi, Milaor, Camaligan, Gainza, Bato, Nabua, and Canaman.

Real property tax mapping information are also being integrated into the assessment operations of seven municipalities: Del Gallego, Sagñay, Buhi, Caramoan, Pili, Bato, and Nabua.

The projects have also been introduced, with positive responses, in the towns of Bula, Bato, Nabua, Pili, Camaligan, Sagñay and San Jose. (GBClaveria)

source (http://www.bicolmail.com/)

SM Naga to open 4000 jobs

NAGA CITY – The much awaited groundbreaking rites for the SM City Naga will take place at 10:00 a.m. of Saturday, April 28, 2007 at the 5-hectare site of the proposed shopping mall at the Central Business District II here with Naga City Mayor Jesse M. Robredo and key city officials joining the top brass of SM Prime Holdings headed by Hans Sy during the ceremonies.

Actual construction of the mall, the first SM Mall in Bicol and the 11th in Luzon outside Metro Manila, will immediately start two or three months after the groundbreaking rites, according to sources at city hall.

It is expected to be completed early next year, before the Peñafrancia fiesta, the same sources said.

The mall, estimated to cost P700 to P800 million, will be a 2-storey structure with its signature SM Mall architectural design.

Reuel Oliver, executive officer of the Naga City Investment Board said construction and operation of the mall alone could easily generate 4,000 additional jobs in favor of the city’s skilled, administrative and sales force.

source (http://www.bicolmail.com/)

Based on the first semester 2006 data of the Department of Tourism (yes, that’s the latest available data), here are some interesting numbers:

■ Following last year’s Holy Week pattern, the projected top three Philippine destinations for foreigners this year are Cebu City, Boracay and Pampanga.

■ For balikbayans, favorite destinations are Iloilo, Aklan, Naga City and Iriga City in Camarines Sur, and Zamboanga City/ Basilan.

■ Last year, Filipino travelers liked best Cavite, which had 617,23 visitors, followed by Cebu with 384,530; Baguio City, 345,401; Davao City, 270,077; and Aklan, 243,306. In the same period in 2005, Filipinos voted Cebu first with their feet, followed by Davao City, Negros Occidental and Iloilo.

■ Coming from low bases, the highest growth rates were shown by Kalinga, with 584.09 percent; East Samar, 450.34 percent; and Surigao del Sur, 126.34 percent

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/03122007/companies05.html

SM Naga to open 4000 jobs

NAGA CITY – The much awaited groundbreaking rites for the SM City Naga will take place at 10:00 a.m. of Saturday, April 28, 2007 at the 5-hectare site of the proposed shopping mall at the Central Business District II here with Naga City Mayor Jesse M. Robredo and key city officials joining the top brass of SM Prime Holdings headed by Hans Sy during the ceremonies.

Actual construction of the mall, the first SM Mall in Bicol and the 11th in Luzon outside Metro Manila, will immediately start two or three months after the groundbreaking rites, according to sources at city hall.

It is expected to be completed early next year, before the Peñafrancia fiesta, the same sources said.

The mall, estimated to cost P700 to P800 million, will be a 2-storey structure with its signature SM Mall architectural design.

Reuel Oliver, executive officer of the Naga City Investment Board said construction and operation of the mall alone could easily generate 4,000 additional jobs in favor of the city’s skilled, administrative and sales force.

source (http://www.bicolmail.com/)

What!!! Only a 2-storey structure? They should make it big... But any way, it's good that it could employ up to 4000 jobs... Wow!

Dapat makuha ko yung rendering...

can i work in sm?

^^ Of course you can...:)

What!!! Only a 2-storey structure? They should make it big... But any way, it's good that it could employ up to 4000 jobs... Wow!

Dapat makuha ko yung rendering...

Sana namali yung pakasulat:lol: bakit mas mataas yung gagastusin ng SM (700-800M) na 2-storey at 5 ha. compared to PM (500M) na 5.5 ha.?

ginawa nalang sanang 4 storey ng SM yung mall since maliit lang yung area nila dito sa naga compared to other places. pero kung hindi ako nagkakamali, masmaliit pa yung area ng SM sa Tarlac.

Other Development Properties

Owned
Cabanatuan City= 262,617
Pangasinan (Urdaneta)= 153,808
Dagupan City= 147,699
Paranaque (La Huerta)= 109,602
Bulacan (Baliuag)= 92,719
Pangasinan (Rosales)= 87,586
Marikina City= 58,805
= 912,836

Leased
Laguna (San Pablo)= 68,945
Laguna (Calamba)= 54,051
Naga City= 44,279
Tarlac City= 34,002
= 201,277

Total= 1,114,113

source (http://72.14.235.104/search?q=cache:w8zT694XEegJ:www.pse.org.ph/html/ListedCompanies/pdf/2007/SMPH_17A_Apr2007.pdf+SEC+17-A-2006.doc&hl=tl&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=ph&client=firefox-a)
^^
sana magkaroon ng expansion ang area ng SM sa Naga hindi pa nga yan 5 hectares pag kinonvert mo:lol: or kaya kahit annex:lol:

Another feasibility study on the rise! Bars are also feasible around CWC! :)!

May isang bar na sa CWC, pero I think it's part of the complex. Okay naman siya. Pero hindi siya bar that we know of. Parang resto.

SM Naga to open 4000 jobs

The mall, estimated to cost P700 to P800 million, will be a 2-storey structure with its signature SM Mall architectural design.

source (http://www.bicolmail.com/)

Nooooooo!!!! Signature SM mall architectural design?!?! Meaning the "shoebox" design?!?!?! :omg:

Based on the first semester 2006 data of the Department of Tourism (yes, that’s the latest available data), here are some interesting numbers:

■ For balikbayans, favorite destinations are Iloilo, Aklan, Naga City and Iriga City in Camarines Sur, and Zamboanga City/ Basilan.

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/03122007/companies05.html

:banana: :banana: :banana:

What!!! Only a 2-storey structure? They should make it big... But any way, it's good that it could employ up to 4000 jobs... Wow!

Ganun talaga ang ginagawa ng SM ngayon kahit saang lugar. Look at the latest malls that they have opened. Puro two-story malls lang, even the one in Bacolod. I think they're strategy is to open small malls and eventually expand if business is good. I think they'll expand here. Business in Naga is good, remember? :colgate:

can i work in sm?

Hey Matt! :hi: Long time no post.

Of course you can work in SM. A sanitary technician that is. :lol: :nocrook:

Other Development Properties

Owned
Cabanatuan City= 262,617
Pangasinan (Urdaneta)= 153,808
Dagupan City= 147,699
Paranaque (La Huerta)= 109,602
Bulacan (Baliuag)= 92,719
Pangasinan (Rosales)= 87,586
Marikina City= 58,805
= 912,836

Leased
Laguna (San Pablo)= 68,945
Laguna (Calamba)= 54,051
Naga City= 44,279
Tarlac City= 34,002
= 201,277

Total= 1,114,113

source (http://72.14.235.104/search?q=cache:w8zT694XEegJ:www.pse.org.ph/html/ListedCompanies/pdf/2007/SMPH_17A_Apr2007.pdf+SEC+17-A-2006.doc&hl=tl&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=ph&client=firefox-a)
^^
sana magkaroon ng expansion ang area ng SM sa Naga hindi pa nga yan 5 hectares pag kinonvert mo:lol: or kaya kahit annex:lol:

Ang alam ko Supercenter lang ung sa Calamba and San Pablo, eh bakit mas malaki ang land area nung dalawa kesa sa Naga? :?

Thanks Eric, Holy Rosary Minor Seminary is really a great place to stay, and ambiance para kang nasa Spain (When i was there too). It helps Pinoys travelers have a glimpse about the City of Naga historical treasures. :banana:

Indeed! I found the pictures from byahilo very tempting. It looks very historic and the architecture is very interesting... Bicolandia is really one of the most picturesque places in the country...

Hey Matt! :hi: Long time no post.

Of course you can work in SM. A sanitary technician that is. :lol: :nocrook:

whats a sanitary technician

Indeed! I found the pictures from byahilo very tempting. It looks very historic and the architecture is very interesting... Bicolandia is really one of the most picturesque places in the country...


Thanks, A national treasure i would say, the building is really well preserved and maintain by the Archdiocese of Caceres and with the support of Dept. of Tourism. "In-case" you're planning to visit Naga, We might be of help or assistance, please let us know.

Nooooooo!!!! Signature SM mall architectural design?!?! Meaning the "shoebox" design?!?!?! :omg:


Oo nga! SM Mall architectural design? That's bad... another shoebox design!:ohno:

^^ That is so too bad. :ohno: I hope press release lang yan. Sana unique ang concept. Sana..

whats a sanitary technician

A janitor. :colgate:

^^
Will the PM start its construction immediately after the opening of SM?

Wara kamo maginibo ka an, yan ang gusto kang SM! Heck, basta may mall na kamo, dapat mag-ogma na... I mean, ini ang 1st non-Bicol-based mall nindo, you should be happy...

Naintindihan po nindo ang kataramon ko? Weheheh... Albay Bicol ini!

Ganun talaga ang ginagawa ng SM ngayon kahit saang lugar. Look at the latest malls that they have opened. Puro two-story malls lang, even the one in Bacolod. I think they're strategy is to open small malls and eventually expand if business is good. I think they'll expand here. Business in Naga is good, remember? :colgate:

:

Hindi naman talaga kasi mapupuno agad-agad yan... There'll come a time na baka mag-expand din yan... PMall in Legazpi has expanded, right? And LCC too... Yes, business as a whole in Naga is good but it only reflects the historical part. SM, for sure, has made some risk analysis and might have concluded that 2-story malls might be more profit-generating and less costly as of the moment. For me, it's a good strategy. Starting from less, and then maga-grow into a big one in the end. ;)

Hello, good to hear from you Mond. Actually i'm telling my SSC Naga group that we need to go out maybe this month of May hopefully.:banana:

Well, I'm just around and online with the SSC naga group and times busy ..

at least i already meet Kevin personally and also Eric (our SSC makati base). Hopefully we can get together soon. and possibly meet all our SSC-bicol members in th future.

Good to hear from you too... Isn't it nice, you're finally having your first Naga Meet... Heheh, I hope it would be a success unlike last year!

Making the best better: Our thrusts

The sectoral advances presented above underscores the fact that the city government, with the strong support of its civil society and international development partners,has the proven institutional capacity to ensure sustainability of its efforts towards attaining the millennium goals before 2015. We will build on and leverage this unique strength to draw up a medium-term development plan that will achieve that key objective and secure the financial wherewithal required – from internal and external sources – to realize it. In fact, the revitalized city planning staff has begun this process late last year until Milenyo and Reming sidelined it; the plan should be ready for deliberation and adoption by the new city council when it assumes office by July 2007.

Nonetheless, allow me to outline the key initiatives
we will pursue in line with that plan, given the current
state of the city as I have described:
Our 2015 vision is about the “Maogmang
Ciudadano sa Maogmang Lugar.” It calls for a city that is powered by good governance and responsible citizenship, by people-centered development and by our abiding faith to set the pace in participatory urban development in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia, and inspire others in their own paths. We will achieve this vision by pursuing five key strategies: (a) “reengineering” Naga’ (b) reducing
poverty incidence; (c) improving access to quality basic services; (d) enhancing the quality of life through livable communities; and (e) promoting good governance and responsible citizenship.

1. “Reengineering” Naga. We will learn from the lessons brought by Super Typhoon Reming: that such ferocious calamities with winds reaching close to 300 kph will become commonplace, given the impact of global warming in the living environment. In this regard, we will undertake a comprehensive vulnerability assessment of the city, and based on its outputs redo our existing policies that govern infrastructure and housing design and construction, agriculture and cropping. In other words, our people must be ready to change our way of life in view of the new environmental challenges that this reengineering brings.

2. Reducing poverty. To further reduce poverty, we will continue to be guided by our development philosophy of pursuing growth with equity.

Growth oriented. The growth-oriented strategies include the following:

a. Improvement of the Naga City Public Market.
We have initially set aside P2M to improve the public
market. We are almost done reconstructing the stalls
gutted down by the fire last year. We are set to open
the “Vegetable Bagsakan” for our local vegetable
producers at the 3rd Floor, within the first half of the
year.

b. Additional district markets. We have established small district markets in Triangulo, Pacol and San Felipe. We will continue to provide opportunities for small vendors by putting up district markets in resettlement sites when they are viable – in San Rafael and Centro Cararayan, DRUPAI, Del Rosario, CLUPA, Calauag and eventually in Queborac, Bagumbayan Sur. to provide more opportunities for the informal sector and small traders.

c. Tiangge sa Central Bus Terminal (CBT). We will maximize the use of available commercial spaces at the CBT. Offhand, we will provide opportunities for informal traders whose basic handicap is the absence of an affordable commercial space with a secure tenure.

d. Improve agricultural productivity. We have built roads in the upland areas to ease the transport of goods for our farmers. We have invested more than P1M to provide irrigation facilities to agricultural areas in Panicuason, Carolina, Pacol and San Felipe. .Although we have not fully recovered our investment, we will provide funding support for the rehabilitation of this irrigation system to increase
productivity in its area coverage. We will expand our
farmer assistance program to put them back on track
after Typhoon Reming. �� Intensified, rationalized microlending. At the same time, we will intensify job-creation and generation through expanded micro-lending, both for agricultural and non-agricultural livelihood activities. Along this line, Metro Peso and the Ateneo de Nagabased Consuelo Madrigal Foundation will join hands in tapping the Canada Fund to augment our usual budgetary allocation.We will also pursue greater coordination among micro-lending institutions for synergy in coverage and greater efficiency in service provision.
Stronger safety nets. Complementing these growth-oriented initiatives is the establishment of more comprehensive and expansive safety needs that addresses the needs of the poorest segments of our society.

e. Expanded income extenders. These safety nets involve the following income extenders that will enable the poor to use their daily earnings for other basic needs of the family:
1. Increased coverage of the Sanggawadan Program
2. Projects QUEEN and QUEEN+ will ensure access to basic primary and secondary education for all Nagueños, thereby
ensuring that no child will be left behind.
3. We have initiated our Tindahan Natin Program in cooperation with local entrepreneurs. Aside from providing
livelihood opportunities to their proponents we have made available cheap basic commodities to more poor residents in the city. We intend to establish one Tindahan Natin in every urban poor site in the city before the end of the year; and
4. The launching of i-Serve this year will mark the implementation SOMECAP, our local health insurance program for the underprivileged in the city.

f. One livelihood for every household. Through micro-lending and other livelihood support schemes
under the “Trabaho o Negosyo Para sa Lambang
Pamilyang Nagueño” initiative, the Metro Peso and its partners will seek to provide at least one livelihood opportunity to every household in the city.

g. More equitable and responsible social housing. The Urban Poor Affairs Office, with the help of the Naga City Urban Poor Affairs Federation and the Housing and Urban Development Board of the city, will strive for greater efficiency in using the annual budgetary allocation for the Kaantabay program by weeding our undesirable beneficiaries, enhancing local equity collection and improving collection efficiency through alternative, debt-for-work payment schemes under Bayadnihan.
These efforts will help us reach our target to reduce the number of poor families living below the poverty threshold from 20 to 10%.

3. Improving access to quality basic services. We will continue to invest heavily in education, especially in sustaining our ongoing School Board-led effort to improve the quality of basic education from preschool to the secondary level.

a. The QUEEN and QUEEN+ initiatives. To address our only MDG shortfall, we conceptualized and will implement the multi-sectoral Quality Universal Elementary Education in Naga (QUEEN) initiative – supplemented by the ongoing
Sanggawadan, Nutri-Dunong and Iskolar kan Ciudad
effort – which seeks to help parents from financially
distressed families to send and maintain the children
in school. Through more effective targeting, we will
expand its coverage up to high school, which is the
“plus” part in the program name.

b. Improving quality. For the best and brightest
Nagueños, we will create and institutionalize a separate track that will ensure their access to the best possible education that the city can give. This will involve the establishment and heightened support for honors classes in all elementary and public schools; the positioning of the Naga City Science High School as first option for honor graduates from our elementary schools, which requires its expansion to admit as much as 10% of the total Grade VI
population annually; the deepening of the Iskolar kan
Ciudad program’s capability to place them in the
appropriate degree programs required by the local
labor market, including the public school system
itself; and pre-college interventions – similar to the
Pathways program of Ateneo de Manila – that will
better prepare outstanding high school students for a
more competitive college life in Manila-based institutions.

c. Greater efficiency in the health sector. We will continue to enhance our topnotch public health system by increasing synergy among our frontline health and nutrition units, improving beneficiary targeting through the ongoing i-Serve program, and increasing resources available to these units. We will be ready to fully implement SOMECAP, our local health insurance program, this year. We will review the Nutri-Ataman and Nutri-Nanay programs, with the end view of bringing in more private sector partners
that will pave the way for intensified spending in prenatal,
post-natal and maternal care.

d. Advancing children and women welfare. Through the Naga Council for the Welfare and Protection of Children and the Bantay Familia Foundation, we will sustain current initiatives advancing the welfare of children and women,
particularly those in difficult situations. At the same time, we will invite the representatives of our children to spend some time with us and sit as city children officials, similar to what we are doing with the youth and recently, with
the senior citizens. This way, we will be able to actualize new avenues through which they can have a bigger voice in the city’s governance processes.

4. Enhancing quality of life. To enhance competitiveness of Naga, we will embark on a stronger effort to improve its livability. This effort will involve the following:

a. Redevelopment of CBD 1. We will bring back people to CBD 1 by restoring its vitality. We will organize and empower a multisectoral council comprising of its current occupants to take the lead in beautifying and refurbishing our city center. The city government will set aside P 10 Million from its annual budget as its counterpart to the effort. We will also revisit current traffic management and zoning policies, with the end view of improving its flow and minimizing congestion.

b. Clean and beautiful Naga City. We will acquire new dump trucks and equipment to improve our solid management capacity to improve cleanliness all throughout Naga. In the ongoing updating of our city land use plan, we will identify a new site for our materials recovery facility (MRF) and build it before shutting down the one we currently have in Balatas. We have started the beautification of Panganiban Drive. We will extend the Panganiban Drive upgrading project up to Diversion Road. We will intensify investment in urban aesthetics to make
Naga more attractive to visitors and residents alike. We will maintain air quality in the city and enhance water quality in the Naga River through better management of effluents discharged by public and private facilities.

c. More efficient drainage and roads. We will also raise the efficiency of our drainage system by declogging it of sediment buildup. We will acquire the required equipment this year to ensure that we will be ready before the rainy season set in. We will expand existing drainage lines, such as that of J. Hernandez Avenue and Calauag-San Felipe Drainage Line (beside CLUPA and Villa Karangahan) to further ease the flooding problem in these areas and the surrounding environs. With the completion of the major circumferential roads by the end of the year, we will focus on the arterial roads in the upland barangays of the city. We will complete the basic infrastructure needs of all the urban poor sites in the next three years to comfortably resettle our program beneficiaries.

d. Enhanced peace and order. We will improve the city’s peace and order situation by improving the deployment of police resources and expanding our
Public Safety Office. We will also encourage greater
community involvement in securing the peace, in the
form of more responsive volunteer units and barangay tanods. At the same time, we will also clear bottlenecks that hinder the flow and processing of critical information relative to protective service provision. Tourism and investment promotion. At the same time, we will strengthen our tourism and investment promotion efforts to invite more people to visit Naga, and encourage them to invest or spend their money in availing of the services or investment opportunities we will make available. These efforts will focus on the following:

e. Naga highland development. We will position Naga as a top health, wellness, recreation and retirement destination. This effort will focus on the development of the Pacol-Carolina-Panicuason-San Isidro triangle as our own version of Tagaytay. We will add an outer radial link to the existing loop that terminates in Carolina by developing a Carolina- Panicuason circumferential road. This will open up
access to the area, consistent with our radialcircumferential
pattern of development, and promote it as a quality retirement and wellness haven.

f. Convention city. During the last decade, we hosted the Palarong Pambansa three times, maximizing the benefits out of our investments in the Metro Naga Sports Complex. Come April, we will have the YFC international youth leadership congress that will bring in around 10,000 delegates to Naga. The national convention of the Philippine Eagles Club will also be held here this year, the
second time we are hosting the same event. The annual Bicol Business Week of MNCCI will also bring both regional and national participants come June this year. The same opportunity of optimizing use of government facilities will present itself when we finally complete the Metro Naga Coliseum – unfortunately set back by super typhoons Milenyo and Reming – before the Peñafrancia Fiesta this
September. Together with the ongoing development
of a golf course integrated in the Naga highland property development projects, the coliseum will raise our profile and enable us to bid for bigger events that will help enhance our reputation as a convention city.

g. Digital city. Finally, we will position Naga as a
“digital city” anchored on widespread access to wireless technologies, particularly in the upland areas we have identified as priority growth centers. This will enhance our effort to niche on the emerging sunshine industries like business process outsourcing, digital animation and medical transcription.

5. Promoting good governance and responsible citizenship. We will further improve our people’s access to i-Governance by translating into Bikol the relevant portions of the Naga City Citizen’s Charter and distributing these citywide. At the same time, we will strengthen the program’s digital tools for civic engagement, particularly TxtNaga, where ordinary residents can text their concerns directly to city agency concerned and expect response and regular updates; the city website www.naga.gov.ph and i-Serve.
We will decentralize the provision of certain frontline services to the city’s barangay councils – including community-based garbage collection that will feed into the existing system – to expedite response and strengthen accountability. Finally, we will leverage Naga’s track record in urban governance to generate external resources for
these local development initiatives. As pointed out at the outset, Naga is probably the most awarded local authority in the country today – with more than 140 international, national and regional recognitions earned thus far. Aside from the pride and honor it brings us, these distinctions have opened doors and paved the way for international development assistance that has helped sustain our innovations and encouraged us to do even more.
Conclusion The preceding report on the state of our city has shown that for the long run, a strong commitment to
the principles and practice of good governance pays. It has painted an unmistakable picture of an urban community that has grown ever more secure and confident on its abilities, capabilities and potentials – led by an entrepreneurial local government committed to the principle of continuous improvement. It has affirmed the theses that (1) development is fully compatible with a democratic system of governance, and that (2) a development path built on the bedrock of competence, partnerships and participation with the local civil society is sound, solid and sustainable. It has valida ted the wisdom of pursuing growth with equity, a strategy that balances the sustainable growth of the local economy and the welfare of its citizenry. And to attain development that truly matters, the local state must oftentimes tilt the
balance on behalf of those who have less in life. Finally, it has clearly demonstrated that a locality, powered by a proud and confident people committed to a culture of excellence and tradition of innovations, can overcome its inherent natural and geographical limitations and be among the best there is. To borrow the words of two contemporary greats of the 20th century, what the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve; and what we can therefore achieve together is limited only by our magination.


Very comprehensive report... I like Robredo's plans. Al though, I have only been to Naga about 5 to 10 times, just reading this one makes me think that those plans are very appropriate and very timely that would satisfy the needs of Naga folks and its environs...

Btw, Is Robredo running for Mayor this elections? I think he deserves a higher position such as a congressman or a governor. A genius like him has to spread his gifts and blessings not only to Naga alone but to surrounding areas... :)

Very comprehensive report... I like Robredo's plans. Al though, I have only been to Naga about 5 to 10 times, just reading this one makes me think that those plans are very appropriate and very timely that would satisfy the needs of Naga folks and its environs...

Btw, Is Robredo running for Mayor this elections? I think he deserves a higher position such as a congressman or a governor. A genius like him has to spread his gifts and blessings not only to Naga alone but to surrounding areas... :)


Hi Mond, I agree, i was also thinking of his many achievement or many of us will agree of his capability to do more not just in Naga City but for the Region as a whole.


In my personal opinion, He will be more effective if he handles the whole Camarines Sur province, But I think Mayor Jess Robredo doesn't want to compromise himself to the Villafuerte's in-case he will run for Governor in Camarines Sur, or he prefer not to collide with the former Governor.

I know, he was giving the task to be DILG head during the first term of Gloria Arroyo administration, but he refuses it, because of his alinement's with the former Senator Roco running for a Presidency, but this was also the start of Gloria Arroyo's vendetta to Mayor Jess Robredo for his alinement's with the former Senator Roco.

As a congressman, i never heard of his intention to run for it, i think he is more of an administrator than a policy maker.

Yes, he will run for the Mayoral site again

I know, he was giving the task to be DILG head during the first term of Gloria Arroyo administration, but he refuses it, because of his alinement's with the former Senator Roco running for a Presidency, but this was also the start of Gloria Arroyo's vendetta to Mayor Jess Robredo for his alinement's with the former Senator Roco.



Politics is really crazy... I think he just wanted to play safe or something. I respect his decision not to become a DILG head and/or a governor but I think his position as a Naga city mayor is at a very much lower level than his administrative capacity.

Ang alam ko Supercenter lang ung sa Calamba and San Pablo, eh bakit mas malaki ang land area nung dalawa kesa sa Naga? :?

ey whats a Supercenter? is that different from a mall?

Wara kamo maginibo ka an, yan ang gusto kang SM! Heck, basta may mall na kamo, dapat mag-ogma na... I mean, ini ang 1st non-Bicol-based mall nindo, you should be happy...

Naintindihan po nindo ang kataramon ko? Weheheh... Albay Bicol ini!

Yup, Mond... hehehe... Wara pala means Mayo and kataramon means tataramon... Two different Bicol hehehe.

Well, yup we should be happy now...It's SM! But I really do hope that it will have a unique design....

Hindi naman talaga kasi mapupuno agad-agad yan... There'll come a time na baka mag-expand din yan... PMall in Legazpi has expanded, right? And LCC too... Yes, business as a whole in Naga is good but it only reflects the historical part. SM, for sure, has made some risk analysis and might have concluded that 2-story malls might be more profit-generating and less costly as of the moment. For me, it's a good strategy. Starting from less, and then maga-grow into a big one in the end. ;)

Jus tlook at the other SM Malls.. More on expansion sila ngayon.. Maybe later Naga's SM Mall be expanded too...

Politics is really crazy... I think he just wanted to play safe or something. I respect his decision not to become a DILG head and/or a governor but I think his position as a Naga city mayor is at a very much lower level than his administrative capacity.

Yup, his capability is more than a mayor... He should be running for Congressman or even Governor for that matter but, unfortunately, it's not in his vocabulary to do so....Very unfortunate indeed!

.... but I think his position as a Naga city mayor is at a very much lower level than his administrative capacity.

Well, " In reality " The job of Mayor Jess Robredo is really hard :nuts: , that's why he likes to stick his butt in the City Hall, mas challenging, but again i must admit he is better to be a Governor, so he can cover a very big scale of governance than only in Naga City.. a sort of " Strategic Planning" would be applicable.

[QUOTE=garzland;12910862]Yup, Mond... hehehe... Wara pala means Mayo and kataramon means tataramon... Two different Bicol hehehe.



Reflection:

I look at the different way. When i observed people talking specially the old ones , i simply realize they use to speak different Bicolano dialects.

like for example "Baba" is use in Albay.. but my uncles and Auntie's use to call this to my father.. it shows then that my ancestry is from Albay too. so that goes with other bicolano dialects..

I realize that Naga City is comprise of different dialect speaking Bicolanos from all the parts of Bicol. Even they adapt our native "Bicol- Naga" still you can hear few words which is from their original place in the Bicol region.

And increasingly will keep on changing, as long as many people are coming in the City.

Well, " In reality " The job of Mayor Jess Robredo is really hard :nuts: , that's why he likes to stick his butt in the City Hall, mas challenging, but again i must admit he is better to be a Governor, so he can cover a very big scale of governance than only in Naga City.. a sort of " Strategic Planning" would be applicable.

I think he should run for governor or congressman of the second district of camarines sur. This will be a big help not only to the camarines sur municipalities but also to Naga city. Maybe the disagreements between the city hall and the provincial capitol will be gone when he occupies one of those positions. It may even give birth to the new cities of camarines sur. Right now we 2 first class towns (Pili and Libmanan) and 7 2nd class towns. I would love to see a city in each districts of camarines sur.

Wara kamo maginibo ka an, yan ang gusto kang SM! Heck, basta may mall na kamo, dapat mag-ogma na... I mean, ini ang 1st non-Bicol-based mall nindo, you should be happy...

Naintindihan po nindo ang kataramon ko? Weheheh... Albay Bicol ini!

I know what you're trying to say. And I wholly understand you. I also know how to read between the lines. :wink2:

Hindi naman talaga kasi mapupuno agad-agad yan... There'll come a time na baka mag-expand din yan... PMall in Legazpi has expanded, right? And LCC too... Yes, business as a whole in Naga is good but it only reflects the historical part. SM, for sure, has made some risk analysis and might have concluded that 2-story malls might be more profit-generating and less costly as of the moment. For me, it's a good strategy. Starting from less, and then maga-grow into a big one in the end. ;)

Of course hindi naman madaliang mapupuno ang isang mall. But yes, there will come a time na mapupuno yan and sales will skyrocket, resulting to a mall expansion. Just as what happened to PM Legazpi.

SM hasn't made any risky decisions in building a mall here. They are confident with Naga's economy. In addition, business in Naga is really good that's why SM opted to put up its very first mall in Bicol here in our city, not in any other city or municipality. And what SM did to its mall in Naga has been done to other recently-opened malls as the ones in Bacolod, Lipa, and Sta. Rosa. It's actually a general strategy by SM Prime, not only in its Naga operations.

ey whats a Supercenter? is that different from a mall?

A Supercenter is a brand name of SM Prime. It is similar with the "SM Cities", just that the sizes of these malls are smaller and some anchors are different from the usual SM City and other non-SM City-named mall, such as SM MoA, SM Megamall, SM Southmall, etc.

People power thrives in Naga City

JESSE Robredo has logged some 16 years as mayor of Naga City — enough time for most politicians to consolidate forces and become so entrenched in power that they turn into local bosses. Yet while there is no question that Robredo is a dominating figure in Naga City, the metropolitan pride of Bicolandia thrives largely because of the crucial role played by its residents in the way it is governed.

Robredo was lucky that Naga already had a strong tradition of people participation by the time he began his first stint as mayor there in 1988. But he built on that tradition and institutionalized it through a council made up of groups from civil society. Now there is even an initiative that uses information technology to make the local government more responsive to the needs of the people. Not surprisingly, Naga City is one among the only nine areas in the country cited by the United Nations Development Fund as stellar performers in the implementation of the UN Millennium Development Goals.

The changes in Naga have not gone unnoticed; the city has received more than 150 awards and citations since Robredo became mayor, while the city chief executive himself has garnered some 21 awards, including the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service in 2000. And while Robredo has more than 70 cases filed against him at the Office of the Ombudsman, most of his constituents continue to have faith in him.

Now that Robredo says the coming elections will be the last in which he will run for mayor, however, some have been wondering whether the reforms he has put in place will last long after he is no longer in office.

We hope this latest article in i Report’s series on Faces of Change and Changeless Places (http://pcij.org/i-report/2007/apr2007.html) will inspire readers to vote for leaders of the people, as well as prompt them to see the value of their own participation in their communities.


Source (http://www.pcij.org/blog/?p=1639)

^^
:ohno: Is he really going to stop from running as mayor after this elections? baka naman misconception lang. I hope he'll run for congress on the next election. Sino kaya papalit sa kanya sa next elections? I REALLY hope na HINDI si Jojo Villafuerte:ohno: Back to square 1 tayo niyan when that happens:lol:

I know what you're trying to say. And I wholly understand you. I also know how to read between the lines. :wink2:


SM hasn't made any risky decisions in building a mall here. They are confident with Naga's economy. In addition, business in Naga is really good that's why SM opted to put up its very first mall in Bicol here in our city, not in any other city or municipality. And what SM did to its mall in Naga has been done to other recently-opened malls as the ones in Bacolod, Lipa, and Sta. Rosa. It's actually a general strategy by SM Prime, not only in its Naga operations.


To the 1st paragraph: ???

Tot the 2nd one: Every investment is accompanied by risks. You can never tell what lies ahead in the future. I know this, this is a topic I have reported on in our school. Not apparently, those that are expected to obtain bigger yields in the future have higher risks compared to those with lower ones. But accordingly, I think SM must've figured out that having 2-story malls at the start may be less risky and more cost-effective. Obviously, with only 2-story malls, it will have lower yield obtained from leasing space. Thus, lower risks will be incurred.

How to estimate risk? You need to study historical data. In SM's case, the historical data are its branches all over the world. They must've learned that based on profits, 2-story malls are more profit-generating than 3-story malls at the start. Observe this(this may only be a simulation but it can help you):

2-story mall, 1st year:

Revenue: (15 *50,000)_______________________7,500,000
Variable Costs: (2 stories * 10*10,000)__________2,000,000
=
Contribution Margin__________________________5,500,000
Fixed Costs________________________________2,000,000
=
Net Income________________________________3,500,000

3-story mall, 1st year:

Revenue: (15 *50,000)_______________________7,500,000
Variable Costs: (3 stories * 10*10,000)__________3,000,000
=
Contribution Margin__________________________4,500,000
Fixed Costs________________________________2,000,000
=
Net Income________________________________2,500,000

As you can see, the only difference is on the variable costs, in the 2-story mall, the variable cost only covers 2 stories that is why it is cheaper than the 3-story mall. The revenue are the same due to the assumption that the number of businesses who lease the space will be equal at the start of the business. I also made another assumption that all 15 businesses will all have the same 50,000 leasing fee. But granting all variables are similar in both cases except the number of stories, 2-story malls are more income-generating and more cost-effective in the inception year than the 3-story mall. Expansion will have to come over in the years ahead.

*You have to trust an Accountancy student of Bicol U! ;)

^^
:ohno: Is he really going to stop from running as mayor after this elections? baka naman misconception lang. I hope he'll run for congress on the next election. Sino kaya papalit sa kanya sa next elections? I REALLY hope na HINDI si Jojo Villafuerte:ohno: Back to square 1 tayo niyan when that happens:lol:

Akala ko taga-Pili ang mga Villafuerte...

^^
Ang alam ko they're from naga.

To the 2nd one: Every investment is accompanied by risks. You can never tell what lies ahead in the future. I know this, this is a topic I have reported on in our school. Not apparently, those that are expected to obtain bigger yields in the future have higher risks compared to those with lower ones. But accordingly, I think SM must've figured out that having 2-story malls at the start may be less risky and more cost-effective. Obviously, with only 2-story malls, it will have lower yield obtained from leasing space. Thus, lower risks will be incurred.

How to estimate risk? You need to study historical data. In SM's case, the historical data are its branches all over the world. They must've learned that based on profits, 2-story malls are more profit-generating than 3-story malls at the start. Observe this(this may only be a simulation but it can help you):

2-story mall, 1st year:

Revenue: (15 *50,000)_______________________7,500,000
Variable Costs: (2 stories * 10*10,000)__________2,000,000
=
Contribution Margin__________________________5,500,000
Fixed Costs________________________________2,000,000
=
Net Income________________________________3,500,000

3-story mall, 1st year:

Revenue: (15 *50,000)_______________________7,500,000
Variable Costs: (3 stories * 10*10,000)__________3,000,000
=
Contribution Margin__________________________4,500,000
Fixed Costs________________________________2,000,000
=
Net Income________________________________2,500,000

As you can see, the only difference is on the variable costs, in the 2-story mall, the variable cost only covers 2 stories that is why it is cheaper than the 3-story mall. The revenue are the same due to the assumption that the number of businesses who lease the space will be equal at the start of the business. I also made another assumption that all 15 businesses will all have the same 50,000 leasing fee. But granting all variables are similar in both cases except the number of stories, 2-story malls are more income-generating and more cost-effective in the inception year than the 3-story mall. Expansion will have to come over in the years ahead.

Yes, I know that. And I didn't even rebutt what you said. :colgate:

And please, avoid making me see those calculations. It makes my nose bleed. :lol:

*You have to trust an Accountancy student of Bicol U! ;)

Okay, especially that I'm not good in Accountancy, I don't even like it. That's why I'm wondering how come many of my batchmates took up Accountancy in college. Hehe

Akala ko taga-Pili ang mga Villafuerte...

Dai ko aram kung taga-sain talaga sinda. But Congressman lives along Magsaysay Ave in Naga. Governor lives in a subdivision near the Capitol Complex. He has a huge house! I love his house. Hehe Jojo, on the other hand, is a barangay captain in Brgy. Peñafrancia in Naga, so he's eligible to run as mayor of Naga. Kaso I don't see any good things he wants accomplish once he is elected as mayor. Even so during the polotical forum, he didn't even set the records straght on why he wants to be mayor of Naga. All he did is to throw mud at Mayor Robredo during his 20-minute speech.

PCIJ: People power, reforms thrive in Naga City
ALECKS P. PABICO


NAGA CITY — Just about anybody who has avidly followed the remarkable political career of Jesse Robredo exhibited the same perplexed reaction to the news that the multi-awarded chief executive of this premier city had fielded his wife Leny to run for mayor — a position he is also vying for in the coming local elections in May.

It was, after all, a classic move of a traditional politician, and therefore something way out of character for Robredo, who has maintained a reformist image for nearly two decades. But his supporters were quickly reassured.

According to the mayor of Naga City, which is smack in the center of Bicolandia, he fielded his wife — who had reluctantly agreed to file her certificate of candidacy at the last minute — as a calculated move on his part, should the Commission on Elections (Comelec) decide to give due course to yet another pending disqualification case against him.

Had it been another politician giving such a reason, perhaps eyebrows would remain raised. It's not even as if the disqualification case raises new issues against him (like the previous cases, it alleges that he is not Filipino because his grandfather and father were Chinese), but Robredo says he has been told the odds may be against him this time.

Robredo has built such a solid reputation that people do not find it hard to believe most (if not all) of what he says. And so while his opponents have been howling that he is building a political dynasty in Naga, it's an accusation that's not quite sticking.

"They're way too decent to take this route," says Wilfredo Prilles Jr., acting city planning head and Naga's prominent blogger, whose remarks about the Robredos echo those of most Nagueños.

Robredo says that had he really been bent on building a dynasty, he would have done it back in 1998, when he could have easily run for congressman, and his wife for mayor. But as early as then, he had declared that no one in his family would take over his post. "Not a relative, not my wife, not anyone who has blood relations with us," he said at the time.

Now Robredo, who turns 49 in May, is also saying this will be the last election that he will be involved in, and even hints at a possible successor to his position in 2010 from his own slate. But this early, too, even some of his supporters are wondering if the reforms he has instituted are strong enough to last well after he has bowed out of politics.


Whoever will replace Robredo will certainly have a tough act to follow. In the 16 years — likely going on 19 with another electoral victory in May, barring disqualification — that he has been Naga City mayor, Robredo has distinguished himself as a titan among local government officials, reaping in the process accolades locally and internationally not only for himself, but also for the city.

To date, Naga has received more than 150 awards and recognitions in diverse fields of local administration during his incumbency. These include being named Most Cost-Effective City in Asia by the United Kingdom's Foreign Direct Investment Magazine (2005); Public Service Awardee for Local e-Governance from the United Nations Department of Public Administration and Finance (2004); Women-Friendly City Award from the UN-Habitat and the UN Development Fund for Women (2004); Model City for Government Procurement from the World Bank and Procurement Watch (2003); CyberCity Awardee for its i-Governance initiatives from the United Nations Development Program (2002); Dubai International Awardee for Improving the Living Environment from UN Habitat (1998).

Last year, Naga bested bigger and richer urban centers like Manila, Makati, Cebu, Marikina, and Davao when it was recognized as the "Most Business-Friendly City" by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the third time — it also won in 2003 and 2004 — thus elevating it to the Hall of Fame. Naga is likewise a Hall of Famer of the Asian Institute of Management-Ford Foundation Galing Pook (Innovations Program) Award and the Presidential Gawad Pamana ng Lahi Award of the Department of Interior and Local Government. It was named "Most Child-Friendly City" in 2006 by the Philippine Council for the Welfare of Children, and received the Galing Pook Foundation's Award for Continuing Excellence.

Naga is also one of only nine areas in the country cited by the UNDP as among the leading lights in the implementation of the UN Millennium Development Goals. It leads the Bicol region in achieving the following goals halfway to the 2015 deadline: eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, reducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating major diseases, and providing basic amenities.


Robredo's own awards run up to 21, including being named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World (1996) and the Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines. He also received the Konrad Adenauer Medal of Excellence as Most Outstanding City Mayor of the Philippines (1998) and the first ever "Dangal ng Bayan" Award of the Civil Service Commission. In 2000, he became the Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Government Service.

UNDER ROBREDO'S leadership, Naga has blossomed into a model first-class city, regaining such status after being downgraded to third class during his first stint as its mayor. To many, Robredo's defining moment came early when he cut ties with Bicol's political big boss, Camarines Sur Representative Luis Villafuerte, his erstwhile political patron who was then the provincial governor.

A disagreement in the choice of Naga's police chief led to their falling out. Villafuerte wanted a former classmate appointed. Robredo, unsure of the person's reputation, particularly with regard to his administration's anti-illegal gambling drive, balked. Villafuerte's nominee got the post anyway. Robredo then sought the help of Monsignor Leonardo Legazpi, the archbishop of Caceres. Soon after the archbishop appealed to then President Corazon Aquino on the issue, the police chief was replaced.

This firm resolve to run after the symbols of bad government — jueteng, lewd shows, drugs, quasi-employees at city hall who appeared only during pay day — endeared Robredo to Nagueños and inspired confidence in his leadership. And so they blessed him and his ticket with an uninterrupted gabos kung gabos (sweep) in the last five local elections, even with him sidelined for a term in 1998.

Team Robredo, though, will be best remembered for providing the enabling environment for active citizen's participation and engagement in governance. This, says Fr. Nelson Tria, three-term chair of the Naga City People's Council (NCPC), has been made possible because Robredo understands and takes heed of the concepts of people empowerment and people-oriented development.

Renne Gumba, executive director of the Ateneo de Naga's Institute of Politics, also says that Robredo's "dominance" in Naga is "not the notion of dominance where someone orders everybody around. There's an element of pluralism in his leadership style, letting various political players get involved, take sides. It's really a commitment to a more democratic framework of governance."

But credit should also go to Naga's strong tradition of active citizens' participation. As Nagueño lawyer Soliman Santos Jr. pointed out in his introduction to a 1998 study on people's councils in the country, what made Naga different is also "the presence of an active and vibrant NGO-PO (nongovernmental organization-people's organization) community…that is characteristically pluralist."

The NCPC's precursor, the Naga City NGO-PO Council, had actively involved itself in the affairs of the city back in the early 1990s. And from their quiet discussions with Mayor Robredo and progressive councilors, notably Jaime Jacob, would emerge the "People Empowerment" Ordinance that institutionalized people's participation in local governance.

With the people empowerment ordinance's enactment in December 1995, a city-level federation of over 100 local NGOs and people's organizations, the NCPC, has been co-governing Naga City. NCPC representatives sit in all local special bodies all the way up to the standing committees of the Sanggunian Panlungsod (city council). It's the first of its kind in the country and remains the most developed experiment in the concept of people's councils espoused by "popular democrats" in response to Cory Aquino's call to build "organized People's Power" at the grassroots level.

Naga's faithful compliance with the Local Government Code provision for NGO accreditation even went as far as providing sectoral representation in the city council in the ordinance, one that is similar to the party-list representation in Congress. But the absence of an enabling law prevented the Robredo administration from fully enforcing it.

IN THE beginning, some city officials worried that the ordinance gave NGOs and POs too much authority. But Robredo would always argue that they should be more concerned with what would happen to city hall once they are all gone. He points out, "We'll not be in city hall forever. Everyone felt that we're doing the right thing, we're okay, so it's not necessary. I said it's necessary because sometimes we need to have people who will disagree with us."

"But we will not question their motives," he adds. "Because if you have people who have questionable motives questioning you, sometimes you say this is just a political issue. But when you have people questioning you who you do not doubt, are well-meaning, then you listen."

Illustrative of this healthy and dynamic relationship between City Hall and civil society is how a 1997 proposal to set up a golf course in Naga was settled. Robredo was for the golf course, but the NCPC campaigned against it citing environmental concerns. The mayor eventually had to concede defeat.

Under Robredo, the NCPC has executed programs like managing the caterers during the recent staging of the Palarong Pambansa hosted by the city. The council was also put in charge of the multisectoral Task Force Reming, which raised more than P3 million for Naga's post-typhoon relief and repair efforts in all 27 barangays. Through Archbishop Legazpi's intercession, the task force obtained an additional P30 million from the national calamity fund to repair school buildings. (To date though, Naga has yet to receive a single peso from the national government allocation. In the aftermath of Reming's devastation, there has been no relief assistance from the national government for the city.)

Robredo now wants the NCPC to go beyond its facilitative role in the policy formulation process in the sanggunian. He thinks the people's council should take the lead in crafting a legislative agenda for the different sectors that would then be enacted into ordinances and translated into programs.

But this "special" place of NGOs and people's organizations in the affairs of the local government has not escaped political intrigue, with the NCPC accused of collusion or that it has already been co-opted by City Hall. Fr. Tria thinks these accusations are unfortunate. If the NCPC rarely has differences with the local government now, he says, it is because "(we) exist in a friendly environment."

For NCPC Secretariat member Johann de la Rosa, the collusion issue can only come from sectors that are clueless about the context of the relationship, and hence feel they are not favored. He also says that the NGO-PO community is influential because of its established relationship with the government. "It exists to provide credible comments, not mere criticisms," de la Rosa says, even declaring that the NCPC is the "credible opposition in Naga, not the camp of the Villafuertes."

ROBREDO'S STRONG commitment to civic engagement in charting Naga's development path would also lead to another pioneering governance innovation. Winning a fresh term in 2001 after a two-year sabbatical at the Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, he realized that only about 30 percent of Naga's residents belong to an NGO or people's organization and whose concerns may be different from the rest.

"The challenge then was how do we engage with the households," he recounts. "So probably majority are interested with making sure that when they apply for a permit, everything is in order. They get it as correctly and as quickly as they can. They're interested with busted street lamps at the corners near their houses. They're interested with clogged drainages, garbage being collected, etc."

The initiative is called i-Governance (i to reflect the project's inclusive, information-open, interactive, and innovative characteristics) and gives Nagueños all the information about their local government. As Robredo envisions it, this would enable the city's residents to fully use the services provided by the city government — and tell city officials and employees if they are performing below expectations.

i-Governance has two basic features: offline (a charter) and online (a website). The Naga City Citizens Charter is a guidebook on the city government's key services, each of which gets a detailed description. There are step-by-step instructions on how to use each service, the standard response time for its delivery, and the city hall officers and staff responsible for its operation. There is also a list of requirements a customer must comply with to facilitate service delivery, plus location maps of the departments handling the enumerated services.

The website, Naga.gov, meanwhile, caters to Naga residents with Internet connectivity. The site provides accurate, relevant and essential information about Naga, including an extensive city profile, urban indicators and statistics, tourism assets, investment opportunities, and downloadable maps and tables.

An online component of the website called NetServe has an extensive catalog of City Hall's services and, just like the charter, lists procedures, response time, and responsible personnel for each of these. Plus, it contains information about the city's finances, including the annual city budget; postings of biddings and public offerings and their outcomes; city ordinances and resolutions; and a directory of city officials, complete with their contact numbers and email addresses.

Then there is TextServe, a cell phone-based service that allows Naga residents to send queries and feedback to the city government through short message service (SMS) or text. Launched in April 2003, Nagueños have been using it to comment on development programs and policies, as well as to complain, usually about drainage systems and collection of fees.

i-Governance's concomitant streamlining of processes and computerization of basic applications have dramatically improved the delivery of city hall's frontline services. For instance, the determination of business and real property tax due has been reduced from four hours to one minute. Birth certificates are now issued within 30 minutes when in the past it took almost a week's wait. The processing of mayor's permits is down to half an hour from two hours; and building permits, from 15 days (as mandated by the National Building Code) to just five days.

Yet while such efforts have won acclaim anew for Naga, Robredo says all the recognitions and awards are mere affirmations of what he believes is the single most important achievement of his administration: making the Nagueño believe in himself.

"I think," says the mayor, "if there's anything that we've done here, it's making the Nagueño proud, that, you know, I am a Nagueño, we can be as good as anyone, we can achieve many things that we have all along thought we cannot achieve."

Gumba agrees. If Naga residents, he says, are more empowered than before, are emboldened to be more active in public and governance issues, it can only be attributed to the city government's openness and transparency. He notes, "People visit the mayor and they see him conduct above-the-table transactions. This encourages them to even criticize him — and that's also being participatory."

ROBREDO HIMSELF admits to his own failings as a public servant. He says that while he espouses a merit-based system in filling up the bureaucracy, it sometimes becomes a gray area when it comes to casual employees due to certain political considerations. In fielding a ticket, winnability in some cases becomes the decisive factor in the choice of candidates, contrary to the principle that the choices should represent a sector, and are excellent in their respective professions.

Robredo also says he does the kasal, binyag, libing (wedding, baptism, funeral) thing more often associated with traditional politicians. Though he has made it a practice not to give personal gifts when he gets invited to be a wedding and baptism sponsor, the libing part, he acknowledges, is "patronage in the sense that we (city hall) provide burial assistance to people who need it."

That he doesn't spend his own money, even to build a network of loyal followers, could be why he is described snidely as being kuripot (a tightwad). Robredo retorts, "The reason why we don't use our personal money in helping our constituents is because we really don't want to touch government funds. That's very basic here. In fact, even my employees know that we will not touch government money in city hall no matter what the needs are."

But there are more serious allegations against Robredo, one of them being that he has enriched himself in office. While there has been no formal accusations about him making money out of the purchase of lots for urban poor housing projects and the like, his accusers allege that Robredo either erred in the appraisal, issued defective authorizations, or that a land swap with the Church was disadvantageous to the government. His response to those who say he has acquired properties upland: "If there is any piece of land that I have illegally acquired or was given to me as a favor, they can have it as long as they can show that it's mine."

Robredo has over 70 graft cases with the Ombudsman. More than half of these, however, were filed by a single complainant, Emilio M. Aguinaldo, who seems to have made a hobby out of poring over the mayor's declarations in his annual statement of assets and liabilities (SAL). Aguinaldo, a former councilor, is identified with the Villafuertes. The Ombudsman has dismissed many of the cases against Robredo, either for lack of merit or lack of probable cause.

Most Nagueños brush aside the allegations — which usually resurface every election, says Gumba — for lack of any concrete evidence supporting these. Says one resident here: "He is living within his capacity. He lives in the same house, uses government vehicles. The only private vehicle they have is the one his wife uses." Fr. Tria also says, "He's open, transparent, and leads by example."

Still, Gumba thinks Robredo has been in power long enough. "In the context of democracy," he says, "if a leader stays too long, it's going to be counterproductive. It's not healthy. It's time that he moves out so other leaders can come in and so that we can also test the waters."

By that, he means the sustainability of reforms in a post-Robredo era. Will institutionalization of people empowerment through the NCPC be sufficient? Will the future local chief executive be as open or will he be confrontational? "These are unknowns and they are frightening," says Gumba.

"They will have to repeal the law (the People Empowerment Ordinance)," says Fr. Tria. Although he says Naga's electorate has shown maturity (the Villafuertes, despite their resources, have not won in Naga), the San Fernando parish priest is not confident they will always be so, and wonders how long Nagueños can continue to resist the trapos' vote-buying machinery.

Robredo muses, "Maybe it might happen in the future that they might make a wrong choice, probably for a term. But realizing that they made a wrong choice, they'll make the right choice the next time around…. I'm sure that what we've done will benchmark the things that anyone will do in the future. And that benchmark will make the people decide and make the right choices."

"Of course, some people will be influenced," he says. "But at the end of the day, they will realize their long-term interest is more important than these short-term gifts." - Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism

Source (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/40365/PCIJ-People-power-reforms-thrive-in-Naga-City)

Yes, I know that. And I didn't even rebutt what you said. :colgate:

And please, avoid making me see those calculations. It makes my nose bleed. :lol:



I just made myself clearer by explaining through numbers and by pointing out that all investments are accompanied with risks... :D

Heheh... The truth is, I didn't like Accountancy in the first place but my parents pushed me. Well, guess what? I survived the past 3 years. We were 156 nung 1st year then naging 58 na lang kami ngayon. Nakakatakot but I told myself to love and feel the essence of Accountancy. I blended in. Now, I love it!

Your batchmates must have taken Accountancy because it's in demand. That's also my very reason. Good thing is, I love numbers and calculating solutions has been a passion to me since childhood. That's why I survived.

Btw, where did you study in High School? Ateneo de Naga? Universidad de Sta. Isabel? Our school, Aquinas University Science High have close ties with Ateneo de Naga. I remembered when our female batchmates met with Atenistas. And they have a great time. I think up to now, they're still friends. I even met two of the Atenistas last June 2005 and they kept on saying, "Mayo." We made joke about it that it's no longer "Mayo" but it's already "Hunyo." Wala lang, memories... ;)

[QUOTE=garzland;12910862]Yup, Mond... hehehe... Wara pala means Mayo and kataramon means tataramon... Two different Bicol hehehe.



Reflection:

I look at the different way. When i observed people talking specially the old ones , i simply realize they use to speak different Bicolano dialects.

like for example "Baba" is use in Albay.. but my uncles and Auntie's use to call this to my father.. it shows then that my ancestry is from Albay too. so that goes with other bicolano dialects..

I realize that Naga City is comprise of different dialect speaking Bicolanos from all the parts of Bicol. Even they adapt our native "Bicol- Naga" still you can hear few words which is from their original place in the Bicol region.

And increasingly will keep on changing, as long as many people are coming in the City.

"Baba" means padaba... Hmmm, it makes me feel comfortable just hearing that word... Hmmm...

Do you guys speak "Beh" too? I think it also means the same...

Here in Legazpi-Daraga area, the dialects once have obvious differences. But now, they are beginning to consolidate. The Daraga accent is slowly beginning to be converted into a Legazpi one and some original Daraga terms are beginning to be used by Legazpi folks too. This might be because of a 2 or 3 kilometer gap between Daraga and Legazpi.

To the 1st paragraph: ???

Tot the 2nd one: Every investment is accompanied by risks. You can never tell what lies ahead in the future. I know this, this is a topic I have reported on in our school. Not apparently, those that are expected to obtain bigger yields in the future have higher risks compared to those with lower ones. But accordingly, I think SM must've figured out that having 2-story malls at the start may be less risky and more cost-effective. Obviously, with only 2-story malls, it will have lower yield obtained from leasing space. Thus, lower risks will be incurred.

How to estimate risk? You need to study historical data. In SM's case, the historical data are its branches all over the world. They must've learned that based on profits, 2-story malls are more profit-generating than 3-story malls at the start. Observe this(this may only be a simulation but it can help you):

2-story mall, 1st year:

Revenue: (15 *50,000)_______________________7,500,000
Variable Costs: (2 stories * 10*10,000)__________2,000,000
=
Contribution Margin__________________________5,500,000
Fixed Costs________________________________2,000,000
=
Net Income________________________________3,500,000

3-story mall, 1st year:

Revenue: (15 *50,000)_______________________7,500,000
Variable Costs: (3 stories * 10*10,000)__________3,000,000
=
Contribution Margin__________________________4,500,000
Fixed Costs________________________________2,000,000
=
Net Income________________________________2,500,000

As you can see, the only difference is on the variable costs, in the 2-story mall, the variable cost only covers 2 stories that is why it is cheaper than the 3-story mall. The revenue are the same due to the assumption that the number of businesses who lease the space will be equal at the start of the business. I also made another assumption that all 15 businesses will all have the same 50,000 leasing fee. But granting all variables are similar in both cases except the number of stories, 2-story malls are more income-generating and more cost-effective in the inception year than the 3-story mall. Expansion will have to come over in the years ahead.

*You have to trust an Accountancy student of Bicol U! ;)

so thats why pacific mall and SM here are more than three stories...wais sila kasi alam nila mahal ang tax dito....:lol:

did the groundbreaking of SM Naga happen last April 28, 2007? According to Bicolmail news, the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of SM is scheduled on April 28, 2007. i read it 3rd wk of April 2007

30 - Php 700-M SM City to rise in Naga City
Monday, April 30 2007 @ 09:52 AM BST

Business
The construction of the Php 700-million SM City in a four-hectare lot at the new central business district of Naga City will start before the end of August this year, according to Hans Sy, president of SM Prime Holdings, the largest mall operator in the country.

Sy bared this development during the groundbreaking rites of the SM City Naga last Saturday, which was attended by city officials led by Mayor Jesse Robredo, SM top officials and other guests.

Sy said the first SM Mall in the Bicol region will be a two-storey building with a provision for another floor. It will have a total floor area of 40,000 square meters, 28,000 square meters of which is leasable.

The duration of construction works is 14 months and the mall is expected to formally open before December 2008. Some 1,000 workers will be employed during the construction phase, while an estimated 3,000 jobs will be generated when the mall opens for business, Sy said.

The SM Prime Holdings chief allayed the fears of the city's business community, saying that SM will enhance, not eat up the city's economy.

"We do not make the pie smaller, we make it bigger," Sy said, referring to the anxieties of small traders that SM's operation will gobble up their customers and income.

Meanwhile, Robredo said the city government has allocated P10 million for the renewal and beautification program of the old business district.

This program aims to preserve and protect the district's trade and commerce and cushion the impact of SM's operation on local traders.

The forthcoming operation of the SM department store in Naga is much awaited by city residents and those of the neighboring towns in Camarines Sur, including other Bicolanos from the provinces of Camarines Norte, Albay, Catanduanes and Sorsogon.

The SM City Naga, once completed, will be the 34th branch of the leading department store chain in the country. Its has 30 existing branches strategically operating around Metro Manila and key provinces in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Three other branches are undergoing construction at present and are expected to be completed before the year ends.(PNA)

^^

Okay the planned mall is really small compared to other SM's. I hope they're successful here without affecting the smaller businesses and that they'll expand their land area and floor area sooner:lol:.

So, any news about Pmall?

This church inspires awe in anyone who enters its portals. The clean lines and modern design add a stately elegance to the entire edifice. And of course, it is the home of Ina, the Patroness of the Bicol Region. The Basilica Minore of
Peñafrancia - truly a Bicol landmark like no other.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v739/dxpsycho/100_6841.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v739/dxpsycho/100_6847.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v739/dxpsycho/100_6851.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v739/dxpsycho/100_6853.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v739/dxpsycho/100_6836.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v739/dxpsycho/100_6835.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v739/dxpsycho/100_6837.jpg

Thanks sa pics dx...Ganda talaga ng Basilica...

Btw, where did you study in High School? Ateneo de Naga? Universidad de Sta. Isabel? Our school, Aquinas University Science High have close ties with Ateneo de Naga. I remembered when our female batchmates met with Atenistas. And they have a great time. I think up to now, they're still friends. I even met two of the Atenistas last June 2005 and they kept on saying, "Mayo." We made joke about it that it's no longer "Mayo" but it's already "Hunyo." Wala lang, memories... ;)

I studied in CamSur Natl High School. It's also in Naga City. Hindi kami masyado close sa mga Ateneans. As a matter of fact, isa sila sa mga karibal namin, Naga City Science HS being the other one. Hehe Karibal, in the academic sense. Lalo na sa debate and Science & Math Olympiads. Hehe

Pero may pinsan ako na graduate ng Ateneo High, okay naman kami. Actually close na kami dati pa before pa kami magHS, kaya okay talaga kami. :colgate:

[QUOTE=bobbymay74;12912157]

"Baba" means padaba... Hmmm, it makes me feel comfortable just hearing that word... Hmmm...

Do you guys speak "Beh" too? I think it also means the same...

Incidentally, my sister calls her BF "Baba". Hehe

Opkors, naggagamit man kami ng "Beh". :)

did the groundbreaking of SM Naga happen last April 28, 2007? According to Bicolmail news, the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of SM is scheduled on April 28, 2007. i read it 3rd wk of April 2007

Yes, at 10AM that day. :)

So, any news about Pmall?

No news about that. Actually, mas excited ako sa PMall kesa sa SM eh. Mas maganda kasi ang dadalhin ng PM dito kesa sa SM. Natalo lang ng SM ang PM sa pangalan. Sayang talaga ng Landco Business Park. It would have been the fourth CBD in the city. :(

No news about that. Actually, mas excited ako sa PMall kesa sa SM eh. Mas maganda kasi ang dadalhin ng PM dito kesa sa SM. Natalo lang ng SM ang PM sa pangalan. Sayang talaga ng Landco Business Park. It would have been the fourth CBD in the city. :(

Yun din nga ang tingin ko.. Mas maganda ang ibibigay na future ng PM kaysa ng SM dito sa Naga.... The area is much bigger than SM, even the mall itself is much bigger...

AS I SEE IT
Don’t vote for these candidates

By Neal Cruz
Inquirer
Last updated 01:53am (Mla time) 04/25/2007

MANILA, Philippines -- The Black and White Movement has issued a blacklist of congressional candidates to discourage voters from electing them. It said it would actively campaign against the 12 candidates they identified.

The list is headed by boxer Manny Pacquiao who is running for congressman of South Cotabato province. The others are Matias Defensor (Quezon City), Erwin Genuino (Makati City), Jose de Venecia (Pangasinan), Mikey Arroyo (Pampanga), Renato Unico (Camarines Norte), Dato Arroyo (Camarines Sur), Luis Villafuerte (Camarines Sur), Raul Gonzalez Jr. (Iloilo City), Iggy Arroyo (Negros Occidental), Michelle Tagarda-Spiers (Cagayan de Oro city) and Virgilio Garcillano (Bukidnon).

The group urged the people to vote for their opponents instead: Darlene Antonino-Custodio (South Cotabato), Danton Remoto (Quezon City), Abigail Binay (Makati), Benjie Lim (Pangasinan), Joey Montemayor (Pampanga), Liwayway Vinzons-Chato (Camarines Norte), Sabas Mabulo (Camarines Sur), Benjie Gimgos (Iloilo City), Apolinario Lozada (Negros Occidental), Tony Soriano (Cagayan de Oro) and Malou Acosta (Bukidnon).

I agree with the list especially as it pertains to Pacquiao. I think Pacquiao has become so swellheaded that he now believes he is God’s gift to the Filipinos. He even went to Makati to endorse Sen. Lito Lapid for mayor. What business does he have butting into the affairs of Makati when he is from General Santos?

In a press conference, Pacquiao said he is running because President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo promised to give whatever he asks for South Cotabato if he is the representative. In other words, he would be a beggar groveling before Malacañang.

He’s got it all wrong. That is not the job of a congressman. The job of a congressman is to make laws, not to be a beggar. Does he know how to write one?

Besides, to Ms Arroyo, a promise means nothing. She has broken so many promises. What makes Pacquiao think her promise to him would be any different?

Doesn’t he realize that he is being used? Malacañang wants him to be a congressman for only one reason: so he can vote against impeachment when the House tries to impeach Ms Arroyo. Never mind if he would not be an effective representative for the people of South Cotabato, the important thing is he would vote for whatever she tells him.

The people of General Santos City would be making a big mistake if they make Pacquiao their representative. He cannot represent them 100 percent. Whenever he has to train and fight, he would be away from Congress for long periods. So the people of General Santos City would have no representation. Meanwhile, while he is absent, Pacquiao would continue to draw his salary and allowances, siphoning the taxes people pay even if he is not doing his job.

It was obvious during the press conference that he had been coached on what to say. His answers to questions were all motherhood statements (he would provide more jobs and services to his constituents) but he couldn’t say how he would do that. All he knows is how to give doles like he is giving “balato” [tips, or tokens] to people. In so doing, he is making beggars of them. Every day, hordes of people line up in front of his mansion to ask for balato instead of working for a living. (By the way, giving balato at this time is against the rule of the Commission on Elections that bars the giving of money to voters, which is a ground for disqualification.)

While we are on the subject of blacklists, I would like to add a few more names. These are congressmen who were in the forefront of the foiled attempt of the House of Representatives to ram through a proposal to change the Constitution. I think they should be punished for that dastardly deed.

Already on the list are Jose de Venecia and Luis Villafuerte who were among the leaders of the aborted Charter change. The others are Edcel Lagman, Douglas Cagas, Constancio Jaraulla and the two Prosperos, Pichay and Nograles, who have become so prosperous after they became congressmen. Pichay’s province is among the poorest in the country, yet he himself is very prosperous, owning a plane and a helicopter. He didn’t have them before he became a congressman. How did he acquire them? Isn’t there a lifestyle check for congressmen?

Pichay is running for senator. I don’t know what positions the others are running for. But whatever they are, don’t vote for them even if they are running only for dogcatcher. Vote for their opponents. We already know what they are capable of doing when they are in power. Put them back in power and they will do the same thing.

Add to the blacklist members of political dynasties (they are prohibited by the Constitution), but if the dynasty member is running against any of the names mentioned above, vote for the dynasty member anyway. Don’t vote for any movie actor. You have already seen what the other actors, Lito Lapid, Bong Revilla and Tito Sotto, have done, or rather not done as senators. And don’t vote for the “balimbing” [turncoats]; there are many on the senatorial tickets.

All right, there is a blacklist, how about a white list, a list of candidates we should vote for? You can choose your own, but I will recommend a few names. Among them are Loren Legarda, Ping Lacson, Ed Angara, Chiz Escudero, Sonia Roco and Antonio Trillanes. I will add more later. Add your own favorites. If you need more names, add the three Kapatiran candidates (Martin Bautista, Zosimo Paredes and Adrian Sison). We should encourage others who are like them to run.

source (http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view_article.php?article_id=62284)
^^
for the betterment of the 2nd district. Sana hindi ma-reelect ang bulok na si "Congressman" Villafuerte :ohno: Sana manalo for senator si Sonia Roco

^^ I hope Sonia Roco wins the election as well as Cho Roco...
Congressman Luis Villafuerte is a traditional type of politician.. He even speaks vulgar words, a troublesome person...

^^
Sadly, hindi siya pasok sa top 12 based from the surveys. Sana fabricated lang yang mga surveys na yan. Sana may tumakbong Bicolano sa 2010 presidential elections. Both Escudero and Roco have the potentials to be the next president.

Opkors, naggagamit man kami ng "Beh". :)

so who's your 'beh' ? :D

^^aheheh intriga time ahehehe

^^
Sadly, hindi siya pasok sa top 12 based from the surveys. Sana fabricated lang yang mga surveys na yan. Sana may tumakbong Bicolano sa 2010 presidential elections. Both Escudero and Roco have the potentials to be the next president.

I'm rooting for Escudero for 2010 presidential elections. I just hope he'll perform very well at the Senate.

I'm rooting for Escudero for 2010 presidential elections. I just hope he'll perform very well at the Senate.

OO nga Escudero rin ako. tatay ko nangangampanya para sa kanya dito sa Cebu.
Diba Bikolano si Arroyo. bumisita siya nung 2001 elections sa cebu para mangampanya sa bicol association dito sa amin. magaling naman magexplain hindi ko nga lang maintindihan yung ibang sinabi kasi malalim na bicolano na yung sinasabi minsan, ayaw naman itranslate sa akin ng tatay ko (duda ko may ilang curse words na nasabi na pabiro). anyway sana straight bicolano vote. Escudero-Arroyo-Roco (adopted bicolano). Bicol pa naman ang pinaka consistent na ethnic vote sa Pilipinas.

COMELEC unseats Naga City mayor (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=76012)

The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) on Friday unseated Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo from his post for being a Chinese citizen, ABS-CBN News reported Friday.

The report said COMELEC’s First Division decision to unseat Robredo stemmed from a petition filed by his political rival Jojo Villafuerte who said Robredo's citizenship makes him ineligible to run for public office.

Robredo noted that the six cases questioning his citizenship have been filed in past elections but the poll body had been consistently deciding in his favor. In August 2003, Robredo added that the COMELEC en banc even released a ruling declaring that he is a Filipino citizen.

"Yesterday (Thursday), I received another decision this time from the First Division of the COMELEC saying that I’m a Chinese citizen and I should be unseated as mayor. The First Division reversed an en banc decision of the COMELEC," he told ANC.

He said that when he found out that COMELEC Commissioners Felix Brawner and Nicodemo Ferrer were hearing his case "I have this feeling that something wrong would happen this time." He said he even petitioned the two commissioners to inhibit themselves from the case but to no avail.

Robredo said Ferrer used to work for Camarines Sur 2nd district Rep. Luis Villafuerte, his opponent’s uncle. He added that the Ferrer was the congressman’s former classmate.

He said the case raised the same issues that were brought up in previous complaints.

He added that the first time he set foot in China was only two years ago. "It’s really a mystery to me how they decided that I am a Chinese citizen by mere allegations."

He said that he will file a motion for reconsideration next week, adding that he hopes to resolve the case before May 14, day of the elections.

Robredo said this prompted him and wife Maria Leonor, a lawyer, to decide to have the latter run for the same post "just to play it safe."

"I’ve been mayor for 15 years. This is my 16th year as a mayor, I’ve ran in six elections. This is the first time that a decision was made against my citizenship," he said.

He said that as of this time his camp is studying all options available to them. He added that one of his options is to bring the case to the Supreme Court.

^ oh no.
he's a good leader, why would they wanna bring him down. man o man

SM CITY NAGA. SM Prime Holdings big boss Hans Sy and Naga City Mayor Jesse M. Robredo pour cement on a time capsule during the groundbreaking rites for the first SM Mall in Bicol. :okay:

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b332/MatteoMatt/groundbreaking.gif
www.bicolmail.com

COMELEC unseats Naga City mayor (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=76012)


This is crazy. :bash: :ohno: If Mayor Robredo is a Chinese citizen, why only now? He's been serving for 16 years! It's just like Comelec is saying they've been stupid for 16 years for allowing a Chinese citizen to be mayor. That sleazy Villafuerte guy must be sneering behind the scenes right now. Neal Cruz is right, don't vote for this kind of politician who will resort to dirty tactics just to bring down anybody who opposes him, including his own son.

^^ Comelec has been stupid for 16 years! Whoah! Stupid Comelec.... Pretty crazy, huh! Wala lang magawa ang Villafuerte na ito....

SM CITY NAGA. SM Prime Holdings big boss Hans Sy and Naga City Mayor Jesse M. Robredo pour cement on a time capsule during the groundbreaking rites for the first SM Mall in Bicol. :okay:

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b332/MatteoMatt/groundbreaking.gif
www.bicolmail.com

At last...... The ground has been broken!

^^ Comelec has been stupid for 16 years! Whoah! Stupid Comelec.... Pretty crazy, huh! Wala lang magawa ang Villafuerte na ito....

IF MAYOR JESS ROBREDO IS A CHINESE CITIZEN then si GURANG.. LUIS ROBREDO - VILLAFUERTE IS ALSO A CHINESE AND NEEDED TO BE UNSEATED.. :nuts: :ohno:

WE KNOW THIS GUY LUIS R. VILLAFUERTE HAD A CRITICAL CAR ACCIDENT IN HIS WAY TO MANILA....AS IF IT'S HIS SECOND LIFE ALREADY.. STILL THIS GUY.. DIDN'T USE IT FOR THE GOOD OF OTHERS... HOPE THE LORD WILL FORGIVE YOU LUIS..:bash:

AT THE END IT'S GLORIA AND LUIS VILLAFUERTE POLITICAL ALLIANCE AGAINST THE BELOVED MAYOR.

[QUOTE=kevinb;12951884]I studied in CamSur Natl High School. It's also in Naga City. Hindi kami masyado close sa mga Ateneans. As a matter of fact, isa sila sa mga karibal namin, Naga City Science HS being the other one. Hehe Karibal, in the academic sense. Lalo na sa debate and Science & Math Olympiads. Hehe

Pero may pinsan ako na graduate ng Ateneo High, okay naman kami. Actually close na kami dati pa before pa kami magHS, kaya okay talaga kami. :colgate:

[QUOTE=Mond87;12916099]

Incidentally, my sister calls her BF "Baba". Hehe

Opkors, naggagamit man kami ng "Beh". :)
QUOTE]

"Baba" and "beh" are really common among Bicolanos. I think "Baba" is more common among older generations. I mean, they use it to address almost anybody they want to talk to... Hmmm...

On the other hand, "beh" is somehow used only on tight relationships or yung mga ka-close lang...

For the good of all, I think robredo should be retained. Regardless of the fact that he's a chinese, the benefits received by Naguenyos should be considered first before any requirement. Sa papel lang kasi itong mga requirements na ito. These requirements are made for the people but the people are not made for these requirements. If these requirements serve as constraints on improvements, it is wiser to just disobey them for the moment. If not, make some excemptions in the law or amendments...

WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!

nakakainis! I heard it yesterday at the TV Patrol Bicol. Hmmmp!!!. Anyway, don't vote for Villafuerte (yucks!). Villafuerte will just ruin our city. He'll turn our city into a town:ohno:. I think Robredo's wife is running. The results went out different from the past decisions because one of the members of the commission was i think a classmate of Luis? or Jojo? Villafuerte:ohno:

Qualified voters of Naga city should vote for someone who has performed an excellent job as a Mayor at the same time who made Naga city a very progressive & a first class city. Mayor Robredo has effectively turned Naga city's business bloomed and this can be attested to the resurgence of shopping malls, hotels & fastfood chains. The city itself is flourishing not to mention the construction of colliseum, roads & a lot so why would you people of naga city vote for someone who has not done anything yet for the city.

OO nga Escudero rin ako. tatay ko nangangampanya para sa kanya dito sa Cebu.
Diba Bikolano si Arroyo. bumisita siya nung 2001 elections sa cebu para mangampanya sa bicol association dito sa amin. magaling naman magexplain hindi ko nga lang maintindihan yung ibang sinabi kasi malalim na bicolano na yung sinasabi minsan, ayaw naman itranslate sa akin ng tatay ko (duda ko may ilang curse words na nasabi na pabiro). anyway sana straight bicolano vote. Escudero-Arroyo-Roco (adopted bicolano). Bicol pa naman ang pinaka consistent na ethnic vote sa Pilipinas.

:lol: Natatawa lang ako sa mga commercials ng mga senatorial candidates dito sa Bicol. Haaaaay. Ang iba sa kanila mga trying hard to speak in bicol. Marami nag-cclaim na bicolano daw sila. I won't be naming names hehehehehe. I think Arroyo is from Buhi, cam sur, hindi lang talaga ako sure.

Comelec’s disqualification of Naga mayor criticized (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view_article.php?article_id=64246)
INQUIRER.net
Last updated 12:36pm (Mla time) 05/05/2007

MANILA, Philippines -- The decision of the Commission on Elections to disqualify Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo from running for public office was criticized as “arbitrary” and “unjust” by Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr.

In a resolution by its First Division, Comelec said Robredo, son of Chinese parents, failed to “perform any act showing his intention to elect Filipino citizenship” even after reaching the legal age 31 years ago. It also ordered Vice Mayor Gabriel Bornado to assume the mayoralty post as mandated by the Local Government Code.

The Comelec’s First Division acted on the complaint of Jojo Villafuerte, Robredo’s opponent in this month’s election and a nephew of Camarines Rep. Luis Villafuerte.

In a statement, Pimentel also called the Comelec decision “ridiculous and illogical” because he has been elected mayor of Naga City four times by his constituents.

“The administration-instigated disqualification move against Robredo smacks of the policy of vindictiveness being followed by the powers-that-be against independent-minded and principled local government officials who have refused to be reduced into lapdogs or surrogates of Malacañang,” he said.

The opposition senator said Comelec decision is not just “a travesty of justice,” but also “an oppressive act against the residents of Naga City who elected him.”

Pimentel pointed out that Robredo’s winning of the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for outstanding community leadership in 2003 shows the mayor’s performance, competence, and leadership.


^^
Kapag nanalo si Jojo Villafuerte, napepredict kong magkakroon ng "mini-people power revolution" sa naga.

:lol: Natatawa lang ako sa mga commercials ng mga senatorial candidates dito sa Bicol. Haaaaay. Ang iba sa kanila mga trying hard to speak in bicol. Marami nag-cclaim na bicolano daw sila. I won't be naming names hehehehehe. I think Arroyo is from Buhi, cam sur, hindi lang talaga ako sure.

Si Zubiri nasa commericial ano?.. nag salitang broken bicol hahahahahha:lol:
taga Albay Mother niya daw.. sana sinabi niya noon parang makilala na siya...

Si Joker Arroyo taga- Baao, Camarines Sur siya

Si Dato Arroyo canditate for congressman in the 2nd district, anak ni Gloria, nag aral lang siya sa Ateneo De Naga Univ.noon, nag re rent noon, malapit sa bahay ni former Congressman Pocholo Roco sa San Felipe, Naga City. then ang alam ko naka asawa taga-Libmanan, Cam. Sur. kaya doon na siya nag file nang candidacy niya sa first district.

^Napanood ko sa Strictly Politics na sa Naga ipinanganak at lumaki si Joker Arroyo. Pero lumipat sa Baao, Cam Sur.

Si Dato Arroyo naman ay batchmate (I'm not sure kung naging classamate) ng pinsan ko sa Ateneo de Naga. Ok naman daw si Dato. Hindi daw mayabang. Totoo ba iyon?

^Napanood ko sa Strictly Politics na sa Naga ipinanganak at lumaki si Joker Arroyo. Pero lumipat sa Baao, Cam Sur.

Si Dato Arroyo naman ay batchmate (I'm not sure kung naging classamate) ng pinsan ko sa Ateneo de Naga. Ok naman daw si Dato. Hindi daw mayabang. Totoo ba iyon?


Sen. Joker Arroyo pala taga-Naga, akala ko taga-BAAO lang siya, thanks.

I really don't no much about Dato, but i heard from his close associate sa Ateneo, pig tutulongan niya mga friends niyang Atenista when they were classmates before, sa mga businesses, i think sa export or import ata..

Si Dato and ABA mag ka laban sa congreso parehas din Atenista, but mas matanda si ABA..


Grabe dito sa amin sa Camarines Sur and Norte halos 3 times nag bro- brown out sa isang araw. (Hindi kulang alam sa Albay)
Dati pagkatapos nang election lang doon na wawala ang electricity.

MAS ORGANIZE NA ATA ANG CORRUPTION SA ATIN... CORRUPTION AT IT'S BEST..
:ohno::ohno:

Albay is no exception. Grabe, di matapos-tapos ang feasibility study namin dahil sa brownout!!! Akala ko nga sa Albay lang. Surprised ako na pati Cam Norte and Sur, ganun din! Grrr...

It's actually region-wide, may sira daw sa transmission line somewhere in Quezon.

^^ I hope this will not happen during the election........

^^ I hope this will not happen during the election........

Good point tol' Garz!!! very rare yung case ng block out ngayong panahon na ito...same case here mukhang nagpapractice this comming election...yesterday nag block out din dito around 1am-4:30am bihirang mangyari yun dito...sana yung may mga binabalak wag na nilang balakin pa...may karma yan...:lol:

http://www.inquirer.net/specialfeatures/eleksyon2007/survey/CMP_Top24.PNG

^^
Please support our fellow bicolanos.:) I hope Sonia could make it to the top twelve. She's almost on it. I like her platform very much. What I just don't like about her is that she's trying to ride on Raul's political record when she can even show off her background being a teacher for 15 years. In fact she can also show off that she had studied in London about dramatic arts. Her background is very much related to her platform which is in education.

You can check out some interviews(elekston 2007 podcast) with Sonia and other senatorial candidates at the inquirer.net here (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/podcasts/)

I think I won't vote for Sonia. She still have limited experience in terms of politics and leadership. All her credentials are not what I'm looking for in a Senatoriable. But I'd vote for the following Bicolanos: Joker Arroyo, Francis Escudero and Migz Zubiri. In them, I am assured that they'd really work out as senators. However, I can still change my mind. Perhaps, I still need to learn more about Sonia!

I also like the other three. they have less absents in the sessions compared to other senatorial candidates. Medyo natatawa lang talaga ako sa commercial ni Zubiri. Isa rin si jambi Madrigal nung last elections.:lol: Anyway, I like Sonia because even though she's not that experienced in politics, she still knows about it because she had been supporting the projects of Raul Roco. She even cited them in the interview and she plans to continue them. Her plans are for the youth, teachers, women, and OFW's. I'd prefer her first from the opposition. She has the advantage from her co-leagues in the opposition because she's not chaotic:).

btw, i'm not trying to convince you:) :lol:

SM City Naga breaks ground (http://smprime.com/News.php?BlurbID=505)

Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo and SM Prime Holdings president Hans Sy led the groundbreaking ceremony of SM Naga in Camarines Sur.

http://smprime.com/uploads/images/NewsArticle-505_File-307_SMNaga1.jpg

Located along the entrance of the Central Business District 2 road beside the PNR Railway, the mall is scheduled to open during the last quarter of 2008.
The land area of the mall, which will be SM's first mall in the Bicol region, consists of two adjoining lots with a total area of 44,279 sqm.

The groundbreaking ceremony began with an invocation and blessing by his Excellency Monsignor Jose Roxas, the auxialiary bishop of Caceres. The groundbreaking was highlighted by a capsule-laying ceremony, in which a national and local daily of that day and the mall's floor plan were imbedded for future generations.

In his welcome remarks, Sy acknowledge that "Naga City is really growing. We feel a lot of growth potential here. Our experience in putting up malls around the country has showed us that we can enhance, rather than eat up the market. Before Christmas, we hope to be here with a warm welcome from Naga City.

Robredo, on the other hand, said that "we cannot express the joy and optimism of having an SM Mall here in the region. We are the regional center of commerce and trade, and despite difficulties in the city we are giving 5,000 jobs a year and growing by leaps and bounds. By building a mall in Naga, SM is giving oppurtunities for employment for its residents.

Also present during the ground breaking ceremony were Naga City officials-Vice Mayor Gabriel Bornado Jr. city council members Lourdes Asense, Salvador Castillo and John Bongat; Naga City Investments board executive director; Metro Peso manager Florencio Mongoso Jr.; and Barangay Captain Daniel Alhambra.

Joining them from the SM side were Shopping Centers Management Corp. President Annie Garcia, engineering executive vice president Antolin Paule, vice president for leasing Daisy Chua and associate vice president for engineering Fides Garcia. The property owners Romy Tan and Tomas Enrile were also present.

AS I SEE IT
Don’t vote for these candidates

MANILA, Philippines -- The Black and White Movement has issued a blacklist of congressional candidates to discourage voters from electing them. It said it would actively campaign against the 12 candidates they identified.

The list is headed by boxer Manny Pacquiao who is running for congressman of South Cotabato province. The others are Matias Defensor (Quezon City), Erwin Genuino (Makati City), Jose de Venecia (Pangasinan), Mikey Arroyo (Pampanga), Renato Unico (Camarines Norte), Dato Arroyo (Camarines Sur), Luis Villafuerte (Camarines Sur), Raul Gonzalez Jr. (Iloilo City), Iggy Arroyo (Negros Occidental), Michelle Tagarda-Spiers (Cagayan de Oro city) and Virgilio Garcillano (Bukidnon).


Whoever said I'm voting for Congressman LRV? Never will I. :puke:

^ oh no.
he's a good leader, why would they wanna bring him down. man o man

That's because the Congressman is power-thirsty. He's got hold over all of CamSur localities except in Naga.

SM CITY NAGA. SM Prime Holdings big boss Hans Sy and Naga City Mayor Jesse M. Robredo pour cement on a time capsule during the groundbreaking rites for the first SM Mall in Bicol. :okay:

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b332/MatteoMatt/groundbreaking.gif
www.bicolmail.com

I'd love this SM to open before next year's Peñafrancia Festival. :cheer:

This is crazy. :bash: :ohno: If Mayor Robredo is a Chinese citizen, why only now? He's been serving for 16 years! It's just like Comelec is saying they've been stupid for 16 years for allowing a Chinese citizen to be mayor. That sleazy Villafuerte guy must be sneering behind the scenes right now. Neal Cruz is right, don't vote for this kind of politician who will resort to dirty tactics just to bring down anybody who opposes him, including his own son.

And can you imagine the COMELEC trashing those complaints for how many times tapos biglang aapruban kung kailan sobrang tagal na nung stay niMayor dito? Dirty politics I might say, especially that the Congressman is very tied with the Administration. :ohno:

On the other hand, "beh" is somehow used only on tight relationships or yung mga ka-close lang...

Agree. Ung girl na friend ko, beh ung tawagan namin. Close lang kasi kami talaga. Walang malice kung nagtatawagan kami nun. :)

:lol: Natatawa lang ako sa mga commercials ng mga senatorial candidates dito sa Bicol. Haaaaay. Ang iba sa kanila mga trying hard to speak in bicol. Marami nag-cclaim na bicolano daw sila. I won't be naming names hehehehehe.

Si Zubiri un! :lol: Pinagmamalaki niyang taga-Albay Mom niya, hindi naman matatas magBicol. :lol:

It's actually region-wide, may sira daw sa transmission line somewhere in Quezon.

If I'm not mistaken, sa Calauag. Meron din daw sirang transmission line sa Garchitorena.

so who's your 'beh' ? :D

None at the moment. But I'm open for applications. I could even accept yours. :lol: :jk:

Albay is no exception. Grabe, di matapos-tapos ang feasibility study namin dahil sa brownout!!! Akala ko nga sa Albay lang. Surprised ako na pati Cam Norte and Sur, ganun din! Grrr...

Yup, I was there in Legazpi yesterday and just came home this afternoon... Pagdating ko ng Legazpi brownmout... pag-alis ko brownout... Grabe talaga... At pagdating ko sa Naga ng 7 brownout din! :ohno:

This is crazy. :bash: :ohno: If Mayor Robredo is a Chinese citizen, why only now? He's been serving for 16 years! It's just like Comelec is saying they've been stupid for 16 years for allowing a Chinese citizen to be mayor. That sleazy Villafuerte guy must be sneering behind the scenes right now. Neal Cruz is right, don't vote for this kind of politician who will resort to dirty tactics just to bring down anybody who opposes him, including his own son.

As I was heading my way home, I saw this streamer, it goes like this: "Kung Tsino si Pogi Tsino man si Villafuerte"... nakalimutan ko lang yung eksaktong nilagay pero yung ibg sabihin ay dahil nga magkadugo...

SM City Naga breaks ground (http://smprime.com/News.php?BlurbID=505)

Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo and SM Prime Holdings president Hans Sy led the groundbreaking ceremony of SM Naga in Camarines Sur.

http://smprime.com/uploads/images/NewsArticle-505_File-307_SMNaga1.jpg

Located along the entrance of the Central Business District 2 road beside the PNR Railway, the mall is scheduled to open during the last quarter of 2008.
The land area of the mall, which will be SM's first mall in the Bicol region, consists of two adjoining lots with a total area of 44,279 sqm.

The groundbreaking ceremony began with an invocation and blessing by his Excellency Monsignor Jose Roxas, the auxialiary bishop of Caceres. The groundbreaking was highlighted by a capsule-laying ceremony, in which a national and local daily of that day and the mall's floor plan were imbedded for future generations.

In his welcome remarks, Sy acknowledge that "Naga City is really growing. We feel a lot of growth potential here. Our experience in putting up malls around the country has showed us that we can enhance, rather than eat up the market. Before Christmas, we hope to be here with a warm welcome from Naga City.

Robredo, on the other hand, said that "we cannot express the joy and optimism of having an SM Mall here in the region. We are the regional center of commerce and trade, and despite difficulties in the city we are giving 5,000 jobs a year and growing by leaps and bounds. By building a mall in Naga, SM is giving oppurtunities for employment for its residents.

Also present during the ground breaking ceremony were Naga City officials-Vice Mayor Gabriel Bornado Jr. city council members Lourdes Asense, Salvador Castillo and John Bongat; Naga City Investments board executive director; Metro Peso manager Florencio Mongoso Jr.; and Barangay Captain Daniel Alhambra.

Joining them from the SM side were Shopping Centers Management Corp. President Annie Garcia, engineering executive vice president Antolin Paule, vice president for leasing Daisy Chua and associate vice president for engineering Fides Garcia. The property owners Romy Tan and Tomas Enrile were also present.

Thank God, because of this: Our experience in putting up malls around the country has showed us that we can enhance, rather than eat up the market.

Yan kalimitan ang worries ng mga small entrepreneurs...

No poll cheat conspiracy in Bicol blackouts--Transco

By Ephraim Aguilar, Bobby Labalan
Southern Luzon Bureau
Last updated 10:56pm (Mla time) 05/06/2007

Officials of the National Transmission Corp. have denied allegations that the daily power outages in Bicol, a known opposition bailiwick, were part of a conspiracy to rig the May 14 elections.

Guillermo Redoblado, vice president for Luzon operations and maintenance, said Transco remained apolitical.

“Electricity is for everyone,” he said. “Unfortunately the (technical) problem came close to election day.”

He said Saturday that it would take until May 12, two days before the elections, for the power situation in the Bicol region to return to normal.

The daily power outages were caused by the toppling of six towers, which formed part of the main transmission line that connected the region to the rest of the grid.

The toppling of the six towers happened on May 1 and 2 and was caused by metal fatigue in one of the towers damaged by the series of strong typhoons that hit the region.

It created a domino effect that toppled other towers. The cost of damage is pegged at P20 million.

The region is now isolated from the national grid and is forced to generate its own power through the two power plants it has--the Tiwi Geothermal Plant and the Bacon-Manito Power Plant.

However, the total power demand in Bicol is 150 megawatts and the two plants only produce around 90 megawatts, so “load dropping” has to be done every two hours.

The power outages start from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. where all provinces are affected except for the island provinces of Masbate and Catanduanes, which are powered by generators.

Redoblado said the temporary solution was for them to implement a bypass plan by using the “healthy” portions of the Gumaca-Labo line to provide Tayabas a new link to Naga.

It would take six days to construct the bypass or until May 13 to implement the whole plan but, he said, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo requested that the power be normalized on May 12.

Redoblado said new towers would be constructed this July.

It would cost around P800 million to bring power in Bicol back to normal, he said.
_______________________________________________________________

I will not say this is not true, but how come there was a metal fatigue just now, when there is an election? why not last December, January or even feb 2007. But to say there was a damaged only this May.hmmmm... it's so suspicious :ohno:

i would rather buy a story that after the typhoon the towers was damaged due to metal fatigue even as far as feb. or march 2007.

I just pass through the plaza, and saw the Grand Rally, i have time to listen Mayor Jess Robredo speech, and learn from him, that he is not yet disqualify as a mayoral candidate. But he needs to appeal, against the 2 Comelec officials which is the classmate of the former.. "LRV si gurang" in UP Diliman.

The Mayor already learned about this plan before the holyweek from a Comelec official, that is why he is also prepared for it, as he said.

The Mayor always stress us to VOTE for them and not the opposite party KAMPI- Jojo Villafuerte :bash: and Luis Villafuerte's.:bash:

SM CITY NAGA. SM Prime Holdings big boss Hans Sy and Naga City Mayor Jesse M. Robredo pour cement on a time capsule during the groundbreaking rites for the first SM Mall in Bicol. :okay:

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b332/MatteoMatt/groundbreaking.gif
www.bicolmail.com

wanna see how this new sm will look like.. any rendering?

wanna see how this new sm will look like.. any rendering?

Okey...:cheers:

some Naga residential communities I found online.
these are nice

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b332/MatteoMatt/cacerespic01_1_.gif
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b332/MatteoMatt/jardinpic02_1_.gif
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b332/MatteoMatt/jardinpic03_1_.gif
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b332/MatteoMatt/parkviewclubhouse.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b332/MatteoMatt/parkviewtennis.jpg

^^ sana ang Design ng SM City Naga ay may Parking lot sa Roof top para ma maximize yung Lote,IMO 45,000 sq mts. is a lil bit Small for 2 level mall

^^ I think there's still space. The whole property is around five hectares. So if the mall per se will be a little bit more than four hectares, then there's still space for parking area. :)

wanna see how this new sm will look like.. any rendering?

There's none at the moment. The rendering will be released after a month or two, as said by an SM official.

Comelec decision stinks

Rina Jimenez-David

When "only" journalists and activists, including church workers, were getting killed, we heard the appropriate noises from authorities, including President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, but little by way of action or political will.
The President would, as always, order an "investigation" into the killings, disappearances, or snatchings, but even such high-powered inquiries would sooner or later peter out, withering from the lack of sustained official attention or resources so that investigators and law enforcers could really get to the bottom of such matters.

When protests mounted against Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, now retired, considering his track record of human rights abuses wherever he was assigned, he was neither reprimanded nor forced out of service. Instead, he was singled out for praise during the President's State of the Nation Address as a "defender" of democracy and a bane of insurgents. Now the retired general wants to insinuate his brand of democracy into Congress by running for a party-list post on a "national security" platform.

When the unofficial campaign season began and the first killings of candidates took place, I wondered if police and officials would finally get off their arses and put a stop to the violence. Maybe now, I thought, now that politicians and their bodyguards were the ones getting killed, maybe those responsible would get their heads from out of their behinds and start smelling the gunpowder. Well guess what, nearly 50 people have been killed since the outbreak of election season, 11 of them in the course of a single day, and still no one seems sufficiently upset about it.

* * *

IN FACT, the Commission on Elections (Comelec), which theoretically has authority over all law-enforcement agencies at this time, has called the 2007 election period so far "relatively peaceful."

I don't know if they're being sarcastic, or if the Comelec has become so inured to election violence, including institutional violence, that it will take a massacre to scare them out of their stupor.

Reelectionist Sen. Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan sent a text message on the wave of election-related violence, noting that "this tolerance for election violence has turned our election process upside down." Responsibility falls squarely on the leadership of the Comelec, he says, "to end election violence by exercising and wielding its awesome powers over the candidates, including the power of disqualification."

From experience, I suppose, Pangilinan says that "when the cat is away the mice begin to play. We urgently need the presence of the Comelec in the field. We urge them to do a Haydee Yorac (who braved the notorious electoral battleground of Lanao and 'tamed' the warlord Ali Dimaporo) and have warring camps feel the awesome powers of the Comelec for them to behave and to arrest the free fall towards anarchy and more election-related violence."

Now I don't know if Kiko is the one being sarcastic, because the Comelec leadership seems to be more preoccupied these days twisting the law to suit their and their friends' needs. "Awesome powers," indeed. Awesome power to strip the poll body of the last remaining shreds of integrity and credibility it still enjoys.

* * *

THIS will surely happen if the Comelec en banc upholds the decision of its first division disqualifying reelectionist Naga City Mayor Jesse Robredo on grounds that he is not a Filipino citizen.

The decision itself is so shot full of holes it leaks like a colander. But that a division of the Comelec would issue just barely a week before elections quite frankly stinks.

Our columnist Solita Monsod has discussed the case, as well the decision of Robredo's wife to file her own candidacy for mayor of Naga as a fail-safe measure, in much greater detail in previous columns. Still, the lingering issue of Robredo's citizenship, owing to his having a grandfather born in China, is indicative of our national fear of the "foreigner," or at least of foreign blood.

Tessy Ang See, a leading light of the Chinoy community and outspoken as always, comments on the case against Robredo thus: "How can a Jesse Robredo, a Ramon Magsaysay Award recipient from the Philippines, who was born and educated as a Filipino, elected three terms as a mayor, finally be disqualified … because of his Chinese ancestry? Next, are we going to be asked to disclaim our national heroes for being of Chinese descent, too?"

* * *

OF COURSE, this case is not really about citizenship or our country's draconian laws and policies on citizenship. Three times his political opponents have questioned Robredo's citizenship, and three times they have been rebuffed. This is about politics, and about the clout of a political clan in Bicol who feel constantly threatened (and shamed) by the presence of a young up-and-coming politician who shows one can be in public service and still serve with integrity and vision.

In any other country, a politician of Robredo's caliber would be honored with parades. Indeed, he has racked up an impressive array of awards and recognition. But his government has rewarded him instead with endless intrigue and now this adverse decision.

Tessy recounts that in the aftermath of typhoons Milenyo and Reming, she brought some 2,000 packs of relief goods and chose to send it to Naga, "confident that the mayor will be able to help identify" those most in need. The recipients, she recalled, were tearful in their gratitude for while their houses were devastated, they received hardly anything from the government "because our mayor belongs to the opposition."

That Robredo has been able to serve his constituents admirably despite the petty punishments meted on him by the administration makes me feel confident he will also be able to overcome this latest wrinkle.

( www.inquirer.net )

Source (http://www.asianjournal.com/?c=193&a=20073)

^^ I think there's still space. The whole property is around five hectares. So if the mall per se will be a little bit more than four hectares, then there's still space for parking area. :)



The whole property is 4.4 hectares to be precise and I've read somewhere that the two level mall will be 40,000 square meters (but I'm quite doubtful with the figures released for SM Naga because I've also read in SM's 2006 Annual Report that any SM malls smaller than 50,000 square meters falls under the "Supercenter" brand). Assuming that each level would be 20,000 square meters or 2 hectares then you have yourselves 2.4 hectares left for the open parking areas, the transport terminal, etc.

Can somebody give me a hint what a 28,000 sq. meter-mall (2-level) looks like? Is it twice the size of E-mall (excluding the third and fourth level of course) or thrice the size of it?

30 - Php 700-M SM City to rise in Naga City
Monday, April 30 2007 @ 09:52 AM BST

Business
The construction of the Php 700-million SM City in a four-hectare lot at the new central business district of Naga City will start before the end of August this year, according to Hans Sy, president of SM Prime Holdings, the largest mall operator in the country.

Sy bared this development during the groundbreaking rites of the SM City Naga last Saturday, which was attended by city officials led by Mayor Jesse Robredo, SM top officials and other guests.

Sy said the first SM Mall in the Bicol region will be a two-storey building with a provision for another floor. It will have a total floor area of 40,000 square meters, 28,000 square meters of which is leasable.

The duration of construction works is 14 months and the mall is expected to formally open before December 2008. Some 1,000 workers will be employed during the construction phase, while an estimated 3,000 jobs will be generated when the mall opens for business, Sy said.

The SM Prime Holdings chief allayed the fears of the city's business community, saying that SM will enhance, not eat up the city's economy.

"We do not make the pie smaller, we make it bigger," Sy said, referring to the anxieties of small traders that SM's operation will gobble up their customers and income.

Meanwhile, Robredo said the city government has allocated P10 million for the renewal and beautification program of the old business district.

This program aims to preserve and protect the district's trade and commerce and cushion the impact of SM's operation on local traders.

The forthcoming operation of the SM department store in Naga is much awaited by city residents and those of the neighboring towns in Camarines Sur, including other Bicolanos from the provinces of Camarines Norte, Albay, Catanduanes and Sorsogon.

The SM City Naga, once completed, will be the 34th branch of the leading department store chain in the country. Its has 30 existing branches strategically operating around Metro Manila and key provinces in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Three other branches are undergoing construction at present and are expected to be completed before the year ends.(PNA)

^^
here's an article posted by Aries before. But according to this article, the floor area will be 40 000 sq m or 4 ha. so each floor level will be having 2 ha. and the remaining area (2.8 ha.) might be the parking area.

I thought SM Bacolod's floor area is around 60 000 sq m. so it should also fall in the Supercenter category:). Anyway the lot of SM in Tarlac is much smaller than Naga so it's still okay.:)

^^
With this, I'm getting more and more excited in Pmall Naga than SM.

Can somebody give me a hint what a 28,000 sq. meter-mall (2-level) looks like? Is it twice the size of E-mall (excluding the third and fourth level of course) or thrice the size of it?

I think E-mall is only a quarter hectare

Can somebody give me a hint what a 28,000 sq. meter-mall (2-level) looks like? Is it twice the size of E-mall (excluding the third and fourth level of course) or thrice the size of it?

It's in the league of the exisiting SM Supercenter Pasig which is at 25,000 square meters. SM Supercenter Pasig has for itself a basement parking area.

EDIT: I am sorry, I misread the article. The mall itself will be 40,000 square meters (with 28,000 square meters of retail space) so it's in the league of the existing SM Supercenter Molino (48,710 square meters)

^^

I thought SM Bacolod's floor area is around 60 000 sq m. so it should also fall in the Supercenter category:). Anyway the lot of SM in Tarlac is much smaller than Naga so it's still okay.:)

^^
With this, I'm getting more and more excited in Pmall Naga than SM.

1. Oops, typo error ako. SM Supercenters are SM malls which sizes are less than 50,000 square meters. Eh ang SM Supercenter Valenzuela ay 70,000 square meters. :bash: SM people should make up their minds, hindi sila marunong magdefine! :nuts:

2. How can you say that the Pacific Mall development can be more exciting than SMs? Are there articles about it already? Any renderings? Has it broken ground?

Just for the sake of comparison, here are the figures for the upcoming SM City Naga and the existing SM Supercenter Molino

SM Supercenter Molino:
Land Area - 4.8 hectares - 48,000 square meters
Mall Gross Floor Area - 48,710 square meters (24,355 on each floor)
Number of Levels - 2 levels
Number of Cinemas - 4
Open Parking Area + Transport Terminal - 2.4 hectares (23,645 square meters)

SM City Naga:
Land Area - 4.4 hectares (44,279 square meters)
Mall Gross Floor Area - 40,000 square meters (20,000 on each floor)
Number of Levels - 2 levels
Open Parking Area + Transport Terminal - 2.4 hectares (24,279 square meters)

2. How can you say that the Pacific Mall development can be more exciting than SMs? Are there articles about it already? Any renderings? Has it broken ground?

The gross leasable area is a lot bigger than SM, it's more than 50,000 sq. m. if I'm not mistaken... Aside from that, the PMall management wants to establish a city within a city... So it's like a new business district will be created around it with a hotel and a retirement village...So, it's actually far better than SM...

Talo lang sila sa signature... SM is already a veteran in this kind of business...

Just for the sake of comparison, here are the figures for the upcoming SM City Naga and the existing SM Supercenter Molino

SM Supercenter Molino:
Land Area - 4.8 hectares - 48,000 square meters
Mall Gross Floor Area - 48,710 square meters (24,355 on each floor)
Number of Levels - 2 levels
Number of Cinemas - 4
Open Parking Area + Transport Terminal - 2.4 hectares (23,645 square meters)


SM City Naga:
Land Area - 4.4 hectares (44,279 square meters)
Mall Gross Floor Area - 40,000 square meters (20,000 on each floor)
Number of Levels - 2 levels
Open Parking Area + Transport Terminal - 2.4 hectares (24,279 square meters)

Thanks for this sinj....So far so good if that is the calculation... So far it would be the biggest mall in the city when it comes to GLA.

^ Yeah, I'd like to see that Pacific Mall built because I am sure that Metro Gaisano will once again be the anchor store :banana:

^^ Yup, as usual :) .. It's just that it still doesn't have a fixed date when to break ground...

^ Sayang naman, gusto ko pa naman makakita ng battle of new shopping malls :lol:

http://nagueno.blogspot.com/2007/05/ipadagos-laban.html

^ Sayang naman, gusto ko pa naman makakita ng battle of new shopping malls :lol:

Me either.. hehehe

So far, SM Naga will be its fourth mall.. If PM comes it will be the fifth and probably the biggest....

2. How can you say that the Pacific Mall development can be more exciting than SMs? Are there articles about it already? Any renderings? Has it broken ground?

Biggest Mall To Rise in Naga


IT’S Final.
The biggest business park cum shopping mall in Bicol will soon rise in a 12-hectare expanse along Almeda highway in Naga City.

Construction will start September this year, according to Alfred Xerez-Burgos, Jr., president and CEO of Landco Pacific Corporation whose team met with the city’s local businessmen and city officials during a consultation-presentation held last Tuesday, March 29, at the Naga Regent Hotel.

World-renowned architect and urban planner Felino ‘Jun’ Palafox presented Landco’s conceptual master plan that is geared towards building up Bicol’s largest and most complete fully integrated business district.
The project is expected to generate some 4,000 new jobs, 1,200 of which to be hired during the construction period and 2,800 more during its actual operation.

In a digital animation presentation before Naga’s top business stakeholders, Palafox said it took them almost two years to finalize the design, along with technical and market feasibility studies that highlighted Naga’s strong economic indicators.

The project, to be undertaken by Landco Pacific Corp., builders of the Metro Pacific Malls in Metro Manila, Cabanatuan, Lucena and Legazpi cities. Dubbed as a business park, the development project will principally draw together the principal elements of shopping, business, entertainment and recreation within a single spot, virtually making it a “city within a city”.

The business park will feature a shopping mall, a Landco Plaza, cinemas, an office tower as potential IT zone, a hotel, parking zone, and promenades and pedestrian roads similar to those found in Makati’s Greenbelt. “Among its distinguishing features are the landscaped parks and gardens, tree-lined streets and a 400-meter pedestrian-friendly walkway with boutiques and bazaars on both sides of the walkway,” he explained.

The 12-hectare business park is over two times bigger than the Metro Pacific in Legazpi which sits on a 5.5-hectare lot. The shopping mall alone will cover a total of 55,000 sq.meters Gross Leasable Area (GFA) compared to Legazpi’s 22,000 sq.meters.

Landco’s Business Development Officer Joser Santos said Naga’s marketability with its contiguous adjacent towns that comprise the Metro Naga development area of 270,000 people suits well the expanse and design of the business park that will also attract clients from as far as Camarines Norte and Tagkawayan, Quezon and the northern towns of Albay bordering the province of Camarines Sur.

Santos, when queried by the local businessmen, disclosed that as an indicator of mall traffic in Bicol, Metro-Pacific Legazpi draws some 35,000 customers at peak hours daily and 25,000 on off-peak hours.

He clarified that the Naga Pacific mall would be more than a shopping complex but a mixture of business, commercial, residential, industrial and leisure amenities. He said that local entrepreneurs and investors and their products are most welcome at the business park that will give it its Bicol ambiance. “In fact, such partnership with local traders and suppliers is what distinguishes us from our closest competitor,” he said.

Xerex-Burgos added that their feasibility study took note of Naga’s strong purchasing power and the vitality of the city as a trading and financial center in Bicol. “We also underscored the city’s track record in governance which, regretfully, is rarely found in other urban centers in the country but is a key element in every business enterprise,” he added.

Completion of the business park is targeted on September 2006, in time for next year’s Peñafrancia fiesta.

^^
No news about it recently. Just read this article and you will really see the big difference between the planned Pmall Naga and SM. The only 2 disadvantages of Pmall are

1.The place and transportation- It's far from the business district and there is no transportation to that area although it is very near to the subdivisions.
2. The name- No need to explain

I hope the article above is really for real. IMO, Pm is very quiet for now because of that SM. I'm expecting to catch some news about it next year or late this year

Did they ever fixed the bumpy road between Naga and the Metro Manila... I think you guys know what I'm talking about. Been quite awhile since I've been there

^^
The last time I went out of Bicol by means of land transportation was on April. It was still being repaired, or shall I say being constructed.:lol:

Just for the sake of comparison, here are the figures for the upcoming SM City Naga and the existing SM Supercenter Molino

SM Supercenter Molino:
Land Area - 4.8 hectares - 48,000 square meters
Mall Gross Floor Area - 48,710 square meters (24,355 on each floor)
Number of Levels - 2 levels
Number of Cinemas - 4
Open Parking Area + Transport Terminal - 2.4 hectares (23,645 square meters)

SM City Naga:
Land Area - 4.4 hectares (44,279 square meters)
Mall Gross Floor Area - 40,000 square meters (20,000 on each floor)
Number of Levels - 2 levels
Open Parking Area + Transport Terminal - 2.4 hectares (24,279 square meters)


This Could be feasible...

Did they ever fixed the bumpy road between Naga and the Metro Manila... I think you guys know what I'm talking about. Been quite awhile since I've been there

Don't worry... the roads have been repaired with asphalt overlay.... Thr roads from Camariens Norte down to Sorsogon is better than ever......

Biggest Mall To Rise in Naga


IT’S Final.
The biggest business park cum shopping mall in Bicol will soon rise in a 12-hectare expanse along Almeda highway in Naga City.

Construction will start September this year, according to Alfred Xerez-Burgos, Jr., president and CEO of Landco Pacific Corporation whose team met with the city’s local businessmen and city officials during a consultation-presentation held last Tuesday, March 29, at the Naga Regent Hotel.

World-renowned architect and urban planner Felino ‘Jun’ Palafox presented Landco’s conceptual master plan that is geared towards building up Bicol’s largest and most complete fully integrated business district.
The project is expected to generate some 4,000 new jobs, 1,200 of which to be hired during the construction period and 2,800 more during its actual operation.

In a digital animation presentation before Naga’s top business stakeholders, Palafox said it took them almost two years to finalize the design, along with technical and market feasibility studies that highlighted Naga’s strong economic indicators.

The project, to be undertaken by Landco Pacific Corp., builders of the Metro Pacific Malls in Metro Manila, Cabanatuan, Lucena and Legazpi cities. Dubbed as a business park, the development project will principally draw together the principal elements of shopping, business, entertainment and recreation within a single spot, virtually making it a “city within a city”.

The business park will feature a shopping mall, a Landco Plaza, cinemas, an office tower as potential IT zone, a hotel, parking zone, and promenades and pedestrian roads similar to those found in Makati’s Greenbelt. “Among its distinguishing features are the landscaped parks and gardens, tree-lined streets and a 400-meter pedestrian-friendly walkway with boutiques and bazaars on both sides of the walkway,” he explained.

The 12-hectare business park is over two times bigger than the Metro Pacific in Legazpi which sits on a 5.5-hectare lot. The shopping mall alone will cover a total of 55,000 sq.meters Gross Leasable Area (GFA) compared to Legazpi’s 22,000 sq.meters.

Landco’s Business Development Officer Joser Santos said Naga’s marketability with its contiguous adjacent towns that comprise the Metro Naga development area of 270,000 people suits well the expanse and design of the business park that will also attract clients from as far as Camarines Norte and Tagkawayan, Quezon and the northern towns of Albay bordering the province of Camarines Sur.

Santos, when queried by the local businessmen, disclosed that as an indicator of mall traffic in Bicol, Metro-Pacific Legazpi draws some 35,000 customers at peak hours daily and 25,000 on off-peak hours.

He clarified that the Naga Pacific mall would be more than a shopping complex but a mixture of business, commercial, residential, industrial and leisure amenities. He said that local entrepreneurs and investors and their products are most welcome at the business park that will give it its Bicol ambiance. “In fact, such partnership with local traders and suppliers is what distinguishes us from our closest competitor,” he said.

Xerex-Burgos added that their feasibility study took note of Naga’s strong purchasing power and the vitality of the city as a trading and financial center in Bicol. “We also underscored the city’s track record in governance which, regretfully, is rarely found in other urban centers in the country but is a key element in every business enterprise,” he added.

Completion of the business park is targeted on September 2006, in time for next year’s Peñafrancia fiesta.

^^
No news about it recently. Just read this article and you will really see the big difference between the planned Pmall Naga and SM. The only 2 disadvantages of Pmall are

1.The place and transportation- It's far from the business district and there is no transportation to that area although it is very near to the subdivisions.
2. The name- No need to explain

I hope the article above is really for real. IMO, Pm is very quiet for now because of that SM. I'm expecting to catch some news about it next year or late this year


The Gross Floor Leasable area of PM Legazpi is over 22,000 sq. m... that means SM Naga is bigger than PM Legazpi so it would be the biggest mall in Bicol when it gets built but will be dethroned by PM Naga soon...

^Actually, according to Metro Pacific Corporation itself (the developer of Landco Business Park), Gross Leasable Area or GLA of Pacific Mall Legazpi was originally 32,000 sq. meters but was increased to more than 40,000 sq. meters after the expansion last year.


See ya later if I can get off from work earlier. :)


Source (http://www.metropacific.com/operations/landco.html)

^^
The article was written in the first quarter of 2005 (when PM was not yet expanded) but I think your source is still more credible since it came from the website of the Metro Pacific itself.

I think it was Kevinb who first said that the total ground floor of Pacific Mall Legazpi is equivalent to 1.3 hectares. The total 3 floors is already 3.9 hectares (1.3 * 3). Plus, there is a fourth floor for the Metro gaisano so it would be surely more than just 3.9 hectares but less than 5.2 hectares. My estimate is around 4.5 hectares...