General Santos City and South Cotabato Province [Archive] - Page 16

Fahdingding

February 24th, 2010, 12:41 AM

FVR tours Socsargen, refreshes peace in Mindanao

Polomolok, South Cotabato (PIO Sarangani/PIA SarGen) -- Revitalizing peace advocacies in pushing environment-friendly tourism in Mindanao, former President Fidel V. Ramos toured Sarangani, General Santos City and South Cotabato in his three-day visit here during the weekend.

The first two days was also an occasion for the Ramos Peace and Development Foundation, Incorporated (RPDEV) chaired by the former President to promote sustainable tourism in the region.

"The hope of Sarangani and General Santos City is not the tuna industry, but tourism and agriculture," Ramos said during his arrival at Sarangani provincial Capitol Friday (February 19).

Ramos graced the Philippine Conference on Eco-tourism and Eco-productivity seminar- workshop in the Lemlunay Dive Resort in Maasim town, Sarangani in the afternoon where he said "our natural resources are in place. All we have to do is dare to make the first step and make a difference."

For his part, Governor Migs Dominguez urged local officials and investors to begin thinking as one region and not as many islands at a similar conference in Koronadal on Saturday.

"Let us, together as one region, start branding as a tourist destination and transform our resources into a product," Dominguez said.

"Let us change the image of Mindanao by telling ten success stories for every one single story that saddens it."

In Sarangani, visitors? arrival surged up to 350,000 in each of the past three years and tripled its guests during provincial festivals, according to the provincial tourism office.

"Many envies Sarangani. You are a rich province because you have enough in life starting with education and harmony between the Christians and the Muslims," Ramos said.

A landmark infrastructure project in the province was the construction of the artery concrete road funded by the United States Agency for International Development connecting Sarangani?s seven towns under the Ramos administration.

Ramos did scuba diving at the Sarangani Bay ?s Tinoto Reef from Lemlunay Dive Resort in Maasim town early Saturday morning. Dive master Dennes Villalva said Ramos wanted to go down 100 feet as he enjoyed diving. Lemlunay Dive Resort, formerly South Point Divers, is a world-class all-season dive spot in the country.

"We Filipinos are naturally hospitable as we are rich in natural resources. Let us enhance our environment to make it more enjoyable and think about the better future of the young ones," Ramos said.

On Sunday, Ramos played an honesty game with club members of the Kalsangi Golf Club in Polomolok where he had informal discussions on investments with businessmen in the region.

Ramos, for the third time since he arrived in Socsargen (South Cotabato-Sarangani-General Santos City), showed Lakas-Kampi-CMD standard bearer Gibo Teodoro?s green wristband while being hosted by Governor Dominguez, Lakas-Kampi-CMD national president. Ramos is co-founder and chairman emeritus of Lakas-CMD. (PIO Sarangani/PIA SarGen) [top] :banana:

earlat

February 24th, 2010, 12:54 AM

Fahdingding

February 24th, 2010, 01:58 AM

:banana::banana: So he is endorsing Gibo. Isn't he? Ramos was actually the president who gave much attention to SoCSarGen.. :D :D

EAGA, The Airport, Road Modernization, Expansion of the Wharf, time lahat ni RAMOS yun!

Fahdingding

February 24th, 2010, 05:42 AM

Tecla, a contemporary ballet at KCC Convention Hall today!!!

The Kalilangan 2010 Festival is now on high gear as the city’s multi-awarded dance- theater ensemble, Teatro Ambahanon opens its newest offering to the public today, Wednesday, February 24, 2010 after a highly-succesful private dinner show last night.

A Philippines Festival Arts Presentation, in celebration of NCAA’s National Arts Month, TECLA, is an original full-length contemporary ballet from Ramon Magsaysay Memorial College’s resident performing arts group.

http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/585/71954645.jpg (http://img690.imageshack.us/i/71954645.jpg/)

For the very affordable prize of P50, you may choose to watch either the 2:00pm or 6:00pm performances of Teatro Ambahanon’s TECLA at the air-conditioned KCC Convention and Activity Center, 3rd Floor, KCC Mall of GenSan.

Wow! That’s even cheaper than watching a movie! And besides, you will be amazed at how far our very own and home-based dance artists of Teatro Ambahanon nurtured by the likes of RMMC Resident Director Bing Carino and CEMCDO’s Egai Cadiente have gone and why they deserve all those accolades from various award-winning bodies!

Halina’t mag-Kalilangan!!! Panoorin ang talentong-GenSan!

earlat

February 24th, 2010, 07:00 AM

hakz2007

February 24th, 2010, 07:29 AM

DA-12 pushes immediate cloud seeding as El Niño damage to crops reaches P131-M (http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=260664)

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Feb. 24 (PNA) – The Department of Agriculture (DA) in Region 12 or Southwestern Mindanao recommended Wednesday the immediate launching of cloud seeding operations due to the continuing onslaught of the long dry spell or El Niño phenomenon that already destroyed some P131 million worth of agricultural crops in the region.

Zaldy Boloron, officer-in-charge of DA 12’s office of the regional technical director for operations, said their latest monitoring showed that some 25,669 hectares of agricultural production areas in the region have already dried up since the drought started last month.

Hardest hit were the region’s corn production areas, wherein some 17,888 hectares or 18 percent of the total corn area of 97,938 hectares have been so far declared as damaged, he said.

Boloron said some 6,819 hectares or five percent of the 136,074 hectares of palay areas in the region have been listed as damaged while 962 hectares or 43 percent of the total production area for various high-value crops have been so far destroyed.

He said some 2,779 heads of livestock in the region were also affected by various animal diseases that were reportedly triggered by the prevailing unusually intense dry condition.

“We really need to conduct the cloud seeding now to help ease the impact of the El Niño in our remaining standing crops,” Boloron said in a media forum in Koronadal City Wednesday morning.

Region 12 covers the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, North Cotabato and the cities of Koronadal, General Santos, Kidapawan, Cotabato and Tacurong.

The national government’s El Niño Task Force earlier identified the provinces of South Cotabato and Sarangani as among the 24 provinces in the country that were considered as highly vulnerable to the impact of the prolonged dry spell.

In 1998, an intense El Niño dried up farmlands and some water sources in the two provinces, causing billions worth of damage to agricultural crops and livestock.

Several tribal children in the area have died after they were forced to eat "kayos", a toxic root crop, due to a shortage in food supplies.

As part of its El Niño mitigation program, Boloron said DA 12 initially distributed some 800 bags of open pollinated corn seeds to local farmers who availed of the agency’s corn-after-rice program.

Under the program, he said they provided subsidized corn seeds to farmers who signified to plant corn in their rice lands.

Aside from providing corn seeds, Boloron said they also distributed some 60 kilograms of at least 11 types of vegetable seeds to some 9,000 households and various animal vaccines to local livestock farmers.

“Our massive information dissemination drive and consultations with local irrigator’s associations and farmers are ongoing, focusing mainly on the effects of the drought and some alternative measures that they can pursue,” he added.(PNA)

earlat

February 24th, 2010, 07:54 AM

hakz2007

February 24th, 2010, 08:01 AM

^^wala bang dam diyan para makatulong sa drought sa mga palayan?

DJdanz

February 24th, 2010, 08:42 AM

^^wala bang dam diyan para makatulong sa drought sa mga palayan?

Meron 2 dam from buayan river and silway river e2 ung nag susuply ng tubig sa irrigation, kaso umabot na sa critical level. :bash:

romix

February 24th, 2010, 01:57 PM

dapat iaknowldge nyo rin si madam rosita nunez, the former city mayor of gensan, dahil sa time nya nagstart mga big infra sa gensan, wher is she now , is she running for any position

Fahdingding

February 25th, 2010, 12:31 AM

dapat iaknowldge nyo rin si madam rosita nunez, the former city mayor of gensan, dahil sa time nya nagstart mga big infra sa gensan, wher is she now , is she running for any position

Narealize yung pag boom ng GENSAN in 90's because of the POLITICAL WILL of former GENSAN Mayor Rosalita Nuñez!

Yes, She will run again as Mayor of GENSAN!

Fahdingding

February 25th, 2010, 12:41 AM

Lucio Tan was here in GENSAN! Adopted son na xa ng GENSAN ngayon! Hope yung visit nya sa syudad would translate in Lucio Tan's INVESTMENT into our city!

MAGANDANG GENSAN

earlat

February 25th, 2010, 01:09 AM

dapat iaknowldge nyo rin si madam rosita nunez, the former city mayor of gensan, dahil sa time nya nagstart mga big infra sa gensan, wher is she now , is she running for any position

^^ i guess she will be running again as mayor.. Anyone one here who can confirm?

earlat

February 25th, 2010, 01:10 AM

Lucio Tan was here in GENSAN! Adopted son na xa ng GENSAN ngayon! Hope yung visit nya sa syudad would translate in Lucio Tan's INVESTMENT into our city!

MAGANDANG GENSAN

^^nag-unsa cya dinha? I hope makatabang cya sa present problem sa city.. Katong tun fishing ban bah... Hope mka-help cya sa unemployment problem.

nj_than

February 25th, 2010, 02:46 AM

Narealize yung pag boom ng GENSAN in 90's because of the POLITICAL WILL of former GENSAN Mayor Rosalita Nuñez!

Yes, She will run again as Mayor of GENSAN!

^^vote for mayor ng gensan.. Rosalita Nuñez! para babalik ang pag boom ng gensan...

rodincouch

February 25th, 2010, 04:38 AM

dagan diay balik si nuñez, i think that will be good for the people of gensan.

earlat

February 25th, 2010, 10:13 AM

^^vote for mayor ng gensan.. Rosalita Nuñez! para babalik ang pag boom ng gensan...

^^ I hope she wins this election. What Gensan needs right nw is a person with track record and experience in governance... Executive experience ha..

STRAYCATXIII

February 25th, 2010, 10:18 AM

:banana::cucumber::applause::applause:
LEZ ROCKnROLL:rock::rock::rock::rock::rock:
go gensan.hataw pa!

STRAYCATXIII

February 25th, 2010, 10:19 AM

bantay lang jud ning gensan
pag nakauli ko..
ug mka stay ug dugay2x.. haha
tss. daghan na pede laagan.

qwert_guy

February 25th, 2010, 11:18 AM

bantay lang jud ning gensan
pag nakauli ko..
ug mka stay ug dugay2x.. haha
tss. daghan na pede laagan.

uli na Cat kay mingaw na mi nimo....:cheers:

national guard

February 25th, 2010, 11:30 AM

INTERESTING NET FIND::)

Jinkee reveals love story with Manny in interview (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=552758&publicationSubCategoryId=51)
(The Freeman) Updated February 25, 2010 12:00 AM

CEBU, Philippines - Just like how he tackles opponents inside the ring, Filipino boxing hero Manny Pacquiao courted and wooed Jinkee Pacquiao relentlessly before she became his wife, according to an online report.

In an exclusive interview with Yahoo! Southeast Asia, Jinkee revealed that she was introduced to Manny in a shopping mall by her uncle, who also served as Manny’s then-trainer. He was still an unknown and fledgling boxer then, while she a sales attendant for a cosmetics brand in General Santos City.

“Pinakilala kami ng uncle ko, kasi yung uncle ko trainer niya before. Ayun, star struck sa akin nung unang punta niya,” she was quoted as telling Yahoo! Southeast Asia.

For three months, Manny courted her persistently, visiting her everyday. Seven months later, they got married. Today, they now have four kids: Jemuel, Michael, Princess and Queen Elizabeth.

Nevertheless, little did Jinkee know at that time that the unknown boxer who would become her partner in life would achieve global superstar status not only in boxing, but in the world of sports some years after.

But she has been content to stay in the sidelines, and to let her man enjoy the spotlight. “Siyempre kapag idol, talagang nilalapitan ng tao. Pinapabayaan ko para may time siya sa mga fans niya,” she told the Yahoo! Southeast Asia. “Pwede ko naman siyang ma-solo.”

Even as the marriage went through some rough patches lately, at the end of the day, they are still very much together, and for her part, her support remains stronger than ever. “We pray together before his practices, usually one week before the fight. I also kiss him and tell him good luck even if he’s just going to the gym.”

Manny Pacquiao’s next fight will be with Joshua Clottey of Ghana on March 13 at the Cowboys Stadium in Texas.

Fahdingding

February 25th, 2010, 11:52 AM

Remember this?

http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/59/21643351.jpg (http://img29.imageshack.us/i/21643351.jpg/)

http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/5321/10943506.jpg (http://img685.imageshack.us/i/10943506.jpg/)

To see the complete article about this U/C , please click the link below:

http://www.gensantos.com/2010/01/11/cafee-firenzo-to-anchor-new-gensan-restaurant-complex/

Hey guys big news, dumaan ako kagabi sa National Highway and na "shock" ako sa nangyayaring U/C dun sa harap ng MABUHAY IT PARK at gilid ng EAST ASIA ROYALE Hotel...

Based doon sa last article ni Kuya Avel Manansala, isang building (white) pa lang ang nakatayo yung nasa picture.. pero ngayon 3 building na ang U/C yung white building na naka BLUE BOX sa Google earth, another similar building yung RED BOX at the left and another L - Shaped building na naka yellow!

Ano kaya ito pag natapos? I'm getting excited sa development!
:dance:

m1k3

February 25th, 2010, 01:42 PM

official mayoralty candidates:

1. ton-ton acharon
2. darlene custodio
3. flor congson
4. rosalita nunez

national guard

February 25th, 2010, 01:49 PM

Manny Pacquiao Returns to Jimmy Kimmel Live Next Week (http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=22916&more=1)

HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. (February 25, 2010) -- Boxing's No. 1 pound for pound box office attraction, Fighter of the Decade and Congressional candidate, MANNY "PacMan" PACQUIAO, will make an encore appearance on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live, This Wednesday! March 3 (12:05 a.m. ET/PT.) Pacquiao made his U.S. network television debut, on Jimmy Kimmel Live, last November, on the eve of his challenge of world welterweight champion Miguel Cotto, earning rave reviews for his good humor and singing performance. This time Pacquiao will take time from training for his upcoming defense of his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title against former world welterweight champion and current No. 1 contender Joshua Clottey..

marlowe_cano

February 25th, 2010, 04:13 PM

OLAER: The Premier Cold Spring Resort in GENSAN!

http://i813.photobucket.com/albums/zz52/fmdear/1-60.jpg

http://i813.photobucket.com/albums/zz52/fmdear/2-36.jpg

http://i813.photobucket.com/albums/zz52/fmdear/3-20.jpg

http://i813.photobucket.com/albums/zz52/fmdear/4-15.jpg

http://i813.photobucket.com/albums/zz52/fmdear/5-11.jpg

http://i813.photobucket.com/albums/zz52/fmdear/6-11.jpg

http://i813.photobucket.com/albums/zz52/fmdear/10-4.jpg

http://i813.photobucket.com/albums/zz52/fmdear/7-7.jpg

http://i813.photobucket.com/albums/zz52/fmdear/8-6.jpg

http://i813.photobucket.com/albums/zz52/fmdear/9-5.jpg

wow!! maihahambing sa Sto.Nino Cold Spring ng Camiguin Is.! :applause: :okay: :applause:

STRAYCATXIII

February 25th, 2010, 04:49 PM

uli na Cat kay mingaw na mi nimo....:cheers:

haha ge lang uy. :)

makauli lage ko makalagaw
napod ko sa gensan ug marbel.
bantay ra jud ng mga U/C na!
picturan ta dayon! :lol::lol:

jhunix

February 25th, 2010, 05:32 PM

Toyota Tsusho plans biodiesel hub in RP

Thursday, 25 February 2010 00:00
BY KATRINA A. VALDEZ Reporter
Manila Times

TOYOTA Tsusho Corp. is eyeing to dominate Asia’s biodiesel industry with a plan to establish a hub in the Philippines in two years’ time, a company executive said Wednesday.

Hirohiko Omura, the firm’s global project planning department head, told reporters that come 2012, the company is “very likely” to push through with investments in General Santos and Davao cities for jathropa plantations and factories.

These facilities will cater to the biodiesel requirements not only of the Philippines but also of China, South Korea, Japan and parts of Europe, he said.

“Right now, we are still in the joint venture study with Dole Philippines. We provide all the technical and scientific aspect of it, while they do the actual feasibility and viability studies,” he added.

Toyota Tsusho started its joint venture study with Dole Philippines last July on 50 to 200 hectares of land. In one and a half to two years, the Japanese firm will determine how many hectares factories would be required for its biodiesel venture.

The Japanese executive said this was the first time that Toyota Tsusho would venture biofuels production.

He said the company would want to expand to other Asian countries, such as Indonesia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand.

“Several developing and developed countries need biodiesel. We chose the jathropa since it requires minimal water and will not compete with edible crops,” Omura said.

Rosemarie Gumera, an official of the National Biofuels Board (NBB), said Toyota Tsusho has been coordinating with NBB to comply with the government’s requirements for biodiesel plantation and production.

At present, the country’s demand for biodiesel stands at 169 million liters. It has an available supply of 352 million liters of Coco Methyl Ester (CME) Diesel.

“This means, Toyota Tsusho’s intent of exporting biodiesel will likewise help the country since we have a surplus and it will redound to the benefit of the economy,” Gumera said.

Developing jathropa costs P22,000 to P30,000 per hectare. Toyota Tsusho is eyeing to develop at least 200,000 hectares.

Gumera said the currently mandated biodiesel blend for oil companies in the country is 2 percent. However, this will be increased to 5 percent in the near future.

The biggest players in the biodiesel industry are Chemrez Technologies Inc., which has a rated capacity of 75 million liters a year, followed by Pure Essence International Inc. and Senbel Corp., each with a rated capacity of 60 million liters.
:cheers::cheers::cheers::cheers:

Fahdingding

February 26th, 2010, 01:14 AM

Good News to!

Fahdingding

February 26th, 2010, 01:36 AM

10-hour brownout hits C. Mindanao

KORONADAL CITY -- The rotating brownouts in Central Mindanao could last until June or July, as the region's power supply condition worsened further Thursday, causing around 10-hour outages in several localities that have affected workers' productivity, officials said.

And in a bid to curb losses to companies, the regional Department of Labor and Employment called on electric distributors across the region to schedule the brownouts to allow companies to adjust their work programs.

In the wake of this development, bishops will be releasing a special prayer “Oratio Imperata” to cope up with the impending El Niño phenomenon in some areas in the country.

The El Niño phenomenon has caused the reduction of water levels in dams that supports hydro-electric plants which supplied a big bulk of Mindanao’s power supply.

Nacionalista Party (NP) standard bearer Manny Villar also vowed Thursday to work for the full and immediate privatization of all National Power Corp. (Napocor) power plants and power purchase agreements as a major step to solve the country's energy problems, particularly in Mindanao.

"Fully implement the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) law which provides for the full privatization of Napocor's power plants, as well as all PPAs. This is priority A-1 under my presidency," Villar said.

Thursday's blackout, which was almost straight 10 hours from just two hours on rotating basis in this city, the regional seat of government of Central Mindanao, came unannounced.

Workers at a machine shop here were seen playing card games to while away the time while elsewhere government employees rushed out of their offices to escape the heat as the power shortage paralyzed operations.

Santiago C. Tudio, South Cotabato Electric Cooperative I manager, said the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) further curtailed load supply in Central Mindanao region, causing blackouts in this city and in the towns of Tantangan and Tampakan in South Cotabato and Lutayan in Sultan Kudarat.

Blackouts also hit the Cotabato Electric Cooperative and the Lanao del Sur Electric Cooperative, which serves North Cotabato and Lanao del Sur towns respectively, he added.

"Consumers should brace for longer power outages that could last until June or July," Tudio told reporters, citing the lack of new power generating units in Mindanao that could have addressed the situation.

He noted that power produced from the Agus plants has been reduced to 50 percent capacity and Pulangi dams declining to 75 percent, due to the continued decline of water level as a result of the El Niño phenomenon.

For South Cotabato, the NGCP curtailed 18 megawatts (MW), out of the nearly 30 MW required daily by the province, Tudio said.

Ma. Gloria A. Tango, regional labor department director, said no firms in the region so far have notified the agency of workers' retrenchment as a result of the abnormal power condition.

"The companies are implementing flexible work schedules to adjust to the electricity shortage," she said in a phone interview, adding that the regional office has yet to formulate a contingency measure once business firms cut their workforce due to the power crisis.

She called on electric utilities to fix the brownout schedules so that companies could prepare or adjust work schedules.

But next month, Tango said regional wage boards across Mindanao will meet in Davao City to discuss the power supply situation with the energy sector and labor and private business leaders.

"The power shortage could lead to the impact that may trigger clamors for wage hike increases among workers," she warned, apparently referring to lower productivity pay to some workers due to shorter work hours.

Villar on the other hand explained that the power situation in Mindanao continues to worsen because the government has been unable to institute measures to bring in investments in the power sector.

The last power plant that was opened in Mindanao was in 2007 when a coal-fired plant in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental was inaugurated.

Other proposed power plants like the 42.5-MW hydropower plant in Sibulan, Davao del Sur and the 27-MW Tamugan hydropower plant in Davao City will still take years before coming on-stream, while a 200-MW coal-fired plant in Maasim, Sarangani is expected to start operations by 2012.

"Mindanao continues to labor under a lack of investments in its power sector. This has discouraged many investors from setting up factories and economic zones in the region. I intend to pave the way for these investors to come in and generate economic activity and jobs in the region," Villar said.

At the same time, the NP presidential candidate pledged to prioritize the development of alternative energy in the country by creating pilot sites in Mindanao.

"I will task agencies like the Departments of Energy, Agriculture and Science and Technology to draw up an alternative energy master plan and develop pilot projects in Mindanao," Villar said.

In 2007, oil accounted for 55.9 percent of the country’s energy demand followed by coal at 23.9 (percent), gas (12.4 percent) and hydro electric energy (7.8 percent).

The power supply in Mindanao continues to worsen as the shortage has now hit 358 MW, according to NGCP.

Save for Davao City, which still has adequate power supply, most provinces in Mindanao are now experiencing rotating brownouts of between four to ten hours.

NGCP data showed that the available capacity on the island was now only 842 MW as against peak demand of 1,200 MW.

Rain prayer

Cebu Archdiocese spokesperson Monsignor Achilles Dakay said bishops will release their special prayer on February 28.

“This coming Sunday, maglalabas na kami ng Oratio Imperata,” he said, in an interview over Radio Veritas 846.

Dakay added that the prayer is in anticipation of the big effect of the drought on crops as well as farm lands.

The “Oratio Imperata” is a special prayer for a special intention, besides the ones prescribed by rituals that the Pope or the bishop of a diocese may require to be said during Mass in all parishes.

Basilan Bishop Martin Jumoad said they will also release their own Oratio Imperata in a circular letter to pray for it to rain.

Likewise, Jumoad is appealing to other prelates and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) council to release a nationwide Oratio Imperata since many farmers are now affected by the El Niño.

“I am appealing too, to my co-bishops, to CBCP council na maglabas na ng nationwide Oratio Imperata dahil halos lahat ng mga magsasaka sa ating bansa ay apektado na ng El Niño,” he said.

On the other hand, Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal recently met with officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to discuss the environmental programs in the various parishes of the archdiocese.

The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) earlier reported that the El Niño phenomenon hitting the country is expected to worsen in the coming months.

Experts said the areas that are likely to be hit by the natural calamity are the whole of Luzon and Western Visayas. (FP/Bong Sarmiento and Nelson Bagaforo of Sun.Star Davao/Bong Garcia/Sunnex)

Fahdingding

February 26th, 2010, 01:37 AM

haha ge lang uy. :)

makauli lage ko makalagaw
napod ko sa gensan ug marbel.
bantay ra jud ng mga U/C na!
picturan ta dayon! :lol::lol:

Cge bitaw ha! Asahan namin yan! :banana:

Fahdingding

February 26th, 2010, 01:38 AM

badtrip talaga tong POWER CRISIS nato!

nj_than

February 26th, 2010, 04:23 AM

Fahdingding

February 26th, 2010, 04:47 AM

Sigurado yan!

STRAYCATXIII

February 26th, 2010, 04:28 PM

nakaranas din kami neto samin, 9am gang 8pm tsk

Fahdingding

February 27th, 2010, 01:12 AM

Hay Naku! Perwisyo ito sa mga investors at businessmen!
Kawawa naman yung mga negosyanteng dependent sa kuryente para mabuhay (e.g. Micro, Small and Medium enterprises)

Fahdingding

February 27th, 2010, 03:29 AM

Magnitude-5.3 earthquake rocks General Santos City

A magnitude-5.3 quake rocked General Santos City shortly after midnight Friday, with state seismologists warning of possible aftershocks.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said the quake was recorded at 12:18 a.m., with the epicenter at 76 km southeast of General Santos City in the southern Philippines.

It said the quake was tectonic and was felt at Intensity IV in General Santos City.

While Phivolcs said no damage was expected, it said aftershocks were possible.

The United States Geological Survey added the epicenter was 75 km east-southeast of General Santos City; 140 km south of Davao; 1,110 km south-southeast of Manila; or 2,490 km east-northeast of Jakarta, Indonesia.

hakz2007

February 27th, 2010, 04:14 AM

Rotational brownouts slow down businesses, hospital operations in GenSan (http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=261200)

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Feb. 26 (PNA) – The rotational brownouts here since last month have reportedly started to slow down the operations of various local businesses, including those in the multi-billion tuna industry, a local business leader disclosed Friday.

Manuel Yaphockun, director of the General Santos City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc., said some local companies have complained of dwindling productivity due to the three to four-hour daily rotational brownouts being implemented by distribution utility South Cotabato Electric Cooperative (Socoteco) II.

“Nine of 10 phone calls the chamber’s office has been receiving are complaints about the brownouts,” he said.

Yaphockun said among the businesses that were adversely affected by the brownouts were local ice plants, producers of fresh and frozen food products, tuna canneries, shopping malls and hospitals.

He said producers of fresh and frozen tuna products and the tuna canneries have been piling up huge losses due to the high maintenance and operating costs of power generators.

Yaphockun said local hospitals were also forced to stop using some of their modern medical equipment due to the lack of stable power supply.

“Medical equipment like the CT-Scan is electricity-dependent and they can’t be used by just using generator sets,” he said.

Yaphockun said the business chamber is initially planning to meet with officials of Socoteco II to help ease their situation by properly scheduling the rotational brownouts.

He said the brownouts being implemented by Socoteco II have not been following a specific schedule, making it difficult for them to make the necessary preparations.

He said they will also ask the Socoteco II management to spare the hospitals in the city from the brownouts so they could operate normally and be able to utilize their vital equipment, especially during emergencies.

“I think our main problem here is the lack of immediate solutions to the problem. We’re tied up to it right now,” Yaphockun said.

He urged the national government to provide some solutions, among them the deployment of power barges in the area.

Yaphockun said they are more than willing to absorb additional costs for the operation of the power barges if it will help end the intermittent power outages.

Rodolfo Ocat, Socoteco II general manager, said they are willing to sit down with the local business chamber to discuss possible solutions to the current power shortage in the area.

But he pointed out that they could just assure an immediate end to the brownouts since they are only depending on the power allocations from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

Citing a latest advisory from the NGCP, he said the long brownouts could not be remedied immediately due to the very low cycle of the Mindanao grid’s distribution system.

He said such situation was reportedly caused by the El Niño-triggered decline of the water levels of Lake Lanao-Agus River System in Lanao del Sur and the Pulangi River in Bukidnon.

“The hydroelectric plants originally supply 55 percent of the Mindanao grid’s power requirements but because of the El Niño, the generation capacity of the plants dropped to critical levels,” Ocat said.

Socoteco II serves this city, the entire province of Sarangani and the municipalities of Polomolok and Tupi in South Cotabato.

The power cooperative lists its client base in the area at 110,000.(PNA)

m1k3

February 27th, 2010, 03:56 PM

Kalilangan Festival 2010 Fireworks

W8YB6c6Mkj4

m1k3

February 27th, 2010, 04:38 PM

Kalilangan Carnival Rides

pOKLc95xZuQ

Fahdingding

February 28th, 2010, 01:43 AM

One the best yung fireworks Kagabi! And yun ang pinaka innovative at most colorful sa lahat! Congratulations sa organizers ng KALILANGAN FESTIVAL! Job well done!

Fahdingding

February 28th, 2010, 03:54 AM

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earlat

February 28th, 2010, 02:23 PM

^^ kalain gud anang rotational brownout oi.. :ohno::ohno::ohno:

Our leaders should make a lasting solution to the power crisis... it's becoming a nuisance..

Linguine

March 1st, 2010, 02:00 AM

RP lists 12 nuclear plant sites

Monday, 01 March 2010 00:00
BY EUAN PAULO C. AÑONUEVO Reporter

THE Philippine government has identified a dozen potential sites for a nuclear power plant. In a presentation, state-owned National Power Corp. (Napocor) identified alternative locations in the three major island-groups of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

In Luzon, possible locations for a new nuclear power plant are Mapalan Point in Morong, Bataan; San Juan, Batangas; Padre Burgos, Quezon; Port Irene/Matara Point in Cagayan; and Rakat Hill, also in Cagayan.

In the Visayas, nuclear power plants could be established at Tagbarungis, Inagauwan, which is southwest of Puerto Prinsesa; Concepcion, Tanabag, which is located northeast of Puerto Princesa; Cansilan Point, Bayawan in Negros Oriental; and Baluangan, Cawayan, also in the same province.

In Mindanao, potential sites are Piacan Point in Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte; Cauit Point, also in Siocon; and General Santos, Sarangani.

Because of the archipelagic nature of the country, Froilan Tampinco, Napocor president, earlier said that it would be more suitable to put up small nuclear plants of between 600 and 800-megawatts capacity in different locations.

Two foreign entities, Korea’s Korean Electric Power Corp. and an undisclosed French firm, have already expressed interest in putting up such facilities.

Napocor is spearheading the revival of the country’s nuclear power program, decades after the Aquino government shelved the Philippines’ first such facility in Bataan province.

However, putting up a new facility would take at least 10 years, Tampinco said, or double the time that would be needed if government were to rehabilitate the mothballed Bataan plant.

source (http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/business-columns/12404-rp-lists-12-nuclear-plant-sites)

Fahdingding

March 1st, 2010, 03:56 AM

Oops! Opinions mga BRO and SIS!

earlat

March 1st, 2010, 05:05 AM

Fahdingding

March 1st, 2010, 05:31 AM

^^ I'm quite scared about that plan. Coz what if there's an earthquake, Gensan is frequented by earthquakes right?, diba harmful man na cya sa community? Although it's renewable pero hadlok kaayo cya.. :ohno: :ohno: :ohno:

Very reliable source jud ang "NUCLEAR POWER PLANT" sa energy ug power! Pero dapat very strict at stringent ang safety measures ng planta to ensure the safety of the environment and of course the people......

And of course ang security ng planta should be reckoned with! Just imagine: Nuclear Plant + Terrorista = "KABOOM" City jud ang GENSAN...

Pero I always remember what had happened in CHERNOBYL, Ukraine when sumabog ang Nuclear Power Plant.... Scary!

Pero I think it's high time for us to reconsider this option and wiegh in the positive and negative aspects of it...

But one thing is always and apparently sure, we relly need to address this POWER CRISIS before it gets out of hand! This crisis is not just becoming a nuisance but a THREAT already! :bash:

hakz2007

March 1st, 2010, 07:29 AM

Tuna fishing ban to hurt Mindanao (http://mb.com.ph/articles/245592/tuna-fishing-ban-hurt-mindanao)

The fishing industry in General Santos City will be forced to axe about 150,000 jobs this year owing to the two-year tuna fishing ban in the Pacific Ocean, the Socsksargen Fishing Federation and Allied Industries Inc. (SFFAII) warned Sunday.

The SFFAII said the number of jobs is based on the 200 mother fishing boats, including ocean-going super seiners, and the canning industry that employs locals and contributes four percent of the gross national product worth P50 billion.

“For our projection this year, the ban would render idle at least 200 fishing boats. The tuna catch will dip by 20 percent during the first quarter. Displaced fishermen will definitely have to look for other fishing grounds to compensate their losses,” said Marfenio Tan, SFFAII president.

“The ban could really harm the entire fishing business in the southern part of the region. For now, the effect is already being felt by some 50,000 families dependent on the tuna fishing and canning industry,’’ he added.

The warning came after the Department of Labor and Employment bared measures to mitigate the impact of the ban.

Labor Secretary Marianito Roque said the DoLE has prepared emergency employment and other livelihood programs for fishermen likely to be displaced by the ban. The DoLE regional office has profiled at least 470 directly affected workers.

Roque also said that the ban will hurt 50 fishing companies in Saranggani and General Santos, 13 of which have licenses to fish in the high seas covered by the purse seine ban.

Unless concrete measures are set in place, Undersecretary Virgilio Leyretana, head of the Mindanao Economic Development Council, earlier said that the closure of the high seas will not only affect fishermen but also auxiliary businesses.

On top of this, he noted that the revenue generation of the local government units concerned will also be in peril.

“In the long run, it could hurt the economic stability of Mindanao,’’ said Leyretana.

The SSFAII said the government through the DoLE should immediately forge bilateral partnerships with other countries in terms of sharing ocean resources to moderate the effects of the fishing ban.

The two-year ban on tuna fishing in the Pacific Ocean, which took effect last January 1, was implemented by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) due to the alleged dwindling population of the yellow fin and big-eye tuna in the high seas.

earlat

March 1st, 2010, 09:39 AM

^^ :ohno: :ohno: that would be so sad.. From one crisis to another.. Haay, Gensan's economy should diversify. . Why not tap BPO, KPO and tourism????

Fahdingding

March 1st, 2010, 10:17 AM

^^ :ohno: :ohno: that would be so sad.. From one crisis to another.. Haay, Gensan's economy should diversify. . Why not tap BPO, KPO and tourism????

They are already tapping it.... let wait in the near future! :banana:

nj_than

March 1st, 2010, 03:26 PM

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Fahdingding

March 2nd, 2010, 12:08 AM

The Grandest Street Dancing Competition Ever

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Photos by Ariel Oclarit

In the many years that I have handled the Festivals of Gensan, last Saturday’s Street Dancing Competition was a first in so many things…

For the first time, I walked the length of Pioneer Avenue giving out instructions to the marshals and parade participants. Despite the searing heat, I didn’t complain. I was uber excited.
Both lanes were filled with the colorful contingents. I have never filled Pioneer Avenue with such pomp and pageantry.
If the lanes were filled with the dancers – the parking area was filled with people! Spectators from all sizes – they were all there.
I have not seen so many photographers with their expensive cameras in tow. Their presence created more excitement for the participants.
Lastly, I left Pioneer only after the contingents started marching their way to the Oval Plaza stage. It warms the heart when you see the participants dancing with gusto.
These pictures taken by my friend and fellow blogger, Arnel Marco Oclarit, not only depict the vibrancy of this year’s Kalilangan Festival. It brings together our aspirations for a better Gensan. Once again, we proved to all and sundry that if we put our acts together, nothing is impossible.

Here are the official results of the competition:

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Kadsagayan Street Dancing Competition

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Festivals of Mindanao Street Dancing Competition

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nj_than

March 2nd, 2010, 02:07 AM

^^ang ganda... very colorful...

romix

March 2nd, 2010, 03:43 AM

thank god inuulan kami dito sa caraga region , kayo lang ata ang nagka el nino dyan , sana matigil na ang brownout DAHIL ULAN NA DITO

Fahdingding

March 2nd, 2010, 04:28 AM

thank god inuulan kami dito sa caraga region , kayo lang ata ang nagka el nino dyan , sana matigil na ang brownout DAHIL ULAN NA DITO

Praise and Thanks be to GOD! Congrats tol... Blessing talaga yang ulan sa inyo! :banana:

dito GENSAN last monday and tuesday pa umulan... one week na rin walang ulan dito.... mag cloud seeding nga ngayon eh! :ohno:

tunatuna

March 2nd, 2010, 05:55 AM

regjeex

March 2nd, 2010, 05:59 AM

:ohno: saka pa nag labasan ang mga walang kwenta during election time... Mo oppose jud ko ani nga project :ohno: daghan potential labi na diri sa Mindanao using the natural resources not this nuclear nga dakung kadaot sa atong kina iyahan... This will not materialize....:cheers: Daghang Lake sa pinas... NO TO NUCLEAR... YES TO CHA CHA :lol:

RP lists 12 nuclear plant sites

Monday, 01 March 2010 00:00
BY EUAN PAULO C. AÑONUEVO Reporter

THE Philippine government has identified a dozen potential sites for a nuclear power plant. In a presentation, state-owned National Power Corp. (Napocor) identified alternative locations in the three major island-groups of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

In Luzon, possible locations for a new nuclear power plant are Mapalan Point in Morong, Bataan; San Juan, Batangas; Padre Burgos, Quezon; Port Irene/Matara Point in Cagayan; and Rakat Hill, also in Cagayan.

In the Visayas, nuclear power plants could be established at Tagbarungis, Inagauwan, which is southwest of Puerto Prinsesa; Concepcion, Tanabag, which is located northeast of Puerto Princesa; Cansilan Point, Bayawan in Negros Oriental; and Baluangan, Cawayan, also in the same province.

In Mindanao, potential sites are Piacan Point in Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte; Cauit Point, also in Siocon; and General Santos, Sarangani.

Because of the archipelagic nature of the country, Froilan Tampinco, Napocor president, earlier said that it would be more suitable to put up small nuclear plants of between 600 and 800-megawatts capacity in different locations.

Two foreign entities, Korea’s Korean Electric Power Corp. and an undisclosed French firm, have already expressed interest in putting up such facilities.

Napocor is spearheading the revival of the country’s nuclear power program, decades after the Aquino government shelved the Philippines’ first such facility in Bataan province.

However, putting up a new facility would take at least 10 years, Tampinco said, or double the time that would be needed if government were to rehabilitate the mothballed Bataan plant.

source (http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/business-columns/12404-rp-lists-12-nuclear-plant-sites)

earlat

March 2nd, 2010, 06:58 AM

hakz2007

March 2nd, 2010, 10:17 AM

Dwindling irrigation supplies threaten more palay farms in South Cotabato (http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=&nid=11&rid=261889)

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, March 2 (PNA) – Some 5,300 hectares of standing rice crops in South Cotabato are reportedly at risk of totally drying up within the next few weeks due to the dwindling irrigation supplies in the area, an official of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) reported.

Engr. Ramon Bugacia, irrigation management supervisor of NIA-South Cotabato, said Tuesday they already stopped serving some farming areas in the province due to the drastic decline of the water levels of various irrigation systems in the area since the long dry spell or El Niño phenomenon intensified last month.

He said their latest monitoring showed that some 870.30 hectares of palay farms were already damaged in areas being served by the Ala River Irrigation System (RIS) after its waters dropped to critical low level.

Bugacia said they classified another 5,300 hectares in the area as threatened since they could no longer be reached by the remaining irrigation supplies due to their distance from the existing irrigation or water sources.

The Ala RIS, which was forced to operate a rotational scheme starting last December due to its declining water levels, serves the rice-producing towns of Surallah and Sto. Nino in South Cotabato and portions of Isulan town in Sultan Kudarat.

“Most of our irrigation dams are now operating below their reserve levels as shown by their almost depleted spills,” Bugacia said.

Aside from the Ala RIS, he said the Marbel and Banga RIS are now under rotational operations due to their declining water levels.

The two river-based irrigation systems serve the city of Koronadal and the neighboring towns of Banga, Norala, Tantangan and Tampakan in South Cotabato.

“If the current intense dry condition will continue until June as predicted, a lot of our farms will certainly run dry. So we’re just hoping that the predicted long drought will not last very long and for the rains to come early,” he said.

The national government’s Task Force El Niño has been closely watching the impact of the continuing drought in South Cotabato and nearby Sarangani province after they were listed as among the areas that are considered as highly vulnerable to the effects of the prolonged dry spell.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) had predicted that the two provinces may experience three to four consecutive months of below normal rainfall due to the El Niño. (PNA)

Fahdingding

March 2nd, 2010, 11:55 AM

Fahdingding

March 3rd, 2010, 01:12 AM

...
Guyz may sunog kagabi dito GENSAN... alam nyo kung saan yun?

hakz2007

March 3rd, 2010, 07:30 AM

NFA beefs up buffer rice stocks for South Cotabato by 320,000 bags (http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=&nid=2&rid=262056)

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, March 3 (PNA) – The National Food Authority (NFA) in South Cotabato has beefed up its rice stocks by at least 320,000 bags in the wake of a possible supply shortage in the coming weeks due to the continuing onslaught of the prolonged dry spell or El Niño phenomenon.

Angelina Lucena, assistant provincial manager of NFA-South Cotabato, said Wednesday they set aside some 110,000 bags of locally-produced rice and an additional 210,000 bags of imported rice as emergency stocks for the province’s 10 towns and lone city.

She said such allocation was based on its approved marketing plan and proposed interventions on the impact of the long dry spell in the area.

“We have buffer stocks of 320,000 bags and we’re confident that they would be enough to address all our needs in case of a shortage,” Lucena said.

She noted that during the 2008 rice crisis, which saw prices of commercial rice hitting at least P45 per kilo in the area, their total rice sales in the local markets reached 203,000 bags of imported rice.

For this year, Lucena said they are so far comfortable with their emergency stocks of 320,000 bags in case another shortage and drastic increase of commercial rice prices would occur.

“That is only our initial allocation. We can still add more buffer stocks in case a need arises,” she said.

As of this week, Lucena said nine of their 11 “Bigasan ng Bayan” rice outlets have already been activated to help augment the rice requirements of major markets in the province.

She said the “Bigasan ng Bayan” rice outlets have been selling its subsidized rice at P18.50 per kilo for the imported ordinary rice and P25.50 for the well-milled premium rice.

Lucena said they opened three “Bigasan ng Bayan” outlets each in Koronadal City and in Polomolok and Surallah towns, which are currently the top three rice markets in the area.

She said two other outlets would be opened soon in the municipalities of Sto. Nino and Norala.

The Office of the Provincial Agriculturist of South Cotabato earlier identified that at least 11,000 hectares of palay farmlands would be affected during the initial onset of the El Niño and might expand further if the extreme dry condition would take longer as predicted.

The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) reported that more than 800 hectares of palay in the province were already damaged while another 5,300 hectares were classified as threatened due to the continuing decline of the province’s irrigation supplies. (PNA)

m1k3

March 3rd, 2010, 01:46 PM

...
Guyz may sunog kagabi dito GENSAN... alam nyo kung saan yun?

baka yung grass fire sa san miguel st. yesterday afternoon..

Fahdingding

March 4th, 2010, 12:13 AM

Microtel GenSan Hotel starts construction this year

http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/9209/27625507.jpg (http://img168.imageshack.us/i/27625507.jpg/)

rom Mr. Rene “Rocky” Jordan, General Manager of Microtel Inn and Suites Davao who was in General Santos City last week for the Kalilangan Trade Fair at Robinsons Place GenSan and to pay a courtesy visit to Mayor Pedro “Jun” Acharon, came this pronouncement.

“Microtel GenSan Hotel will commence construction within the next quarter in its designated location at the old Floreindo property along the National Highway.”

This came, more than 18 months after Bariles first blogged about it in a post which elicited much excitement and delight among GenSan News Online Mag’s readers.

With the promise of a new GenSan hotel finally coming into fruition, the solution to the ages-old problem of where to house delegates of conventions with more than a thousand participants will soon be a reality.

Aside from Microtel GenSan Hotel, more inns, pension houses are in the process of completion all throughout the city. And right after the National Assembly of the Councilors League of the Philippines in General Santos last February 2010 which exposed the glaring lack of hotel rooms here, a number of businessmen have expressed interest to invest on more lodging houses.

Microtel GenSan Hotel on the other hand will be a two-storey, 70-room establishment according to Mr. Jordan, and will be bigger than their Davao branch. It will boast of a swimming pool and facilities for large gatherings, a move of the Floreindos which will be a big help in ensuring that GenSan’s bid to be South Central Mindanao’s “CONVENTION CAPITAL” will further be strengthened.

Fahdingding

March 4th, 2010, 12:16 AM

GenSan Job Vacancies for KCC Mall

In line with its expansion, KCC Malls recently released a list of job vacancies for its biggest mall in General Santos City. Thanks to Mr. Shui Lam for ensuring that Gensan News Online Mag be furnished with this notice.

Below is the poster for these newest job vacancies at the KCC Mall of GenSan.

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/6960/34954282.jpg (http://img20.imageshack.us/i/34954282.jpg/)

For more information with regard to these GenSan jobs available for qualified applicants, please call (083) 554-5555.

Fahdingding

March 4th, 2010, 12:42 AM

Coal power project launch set

GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- Construction of Alcantara-led 200-mewagatt coal fired power project in nearby Maasim, Sarangani was delayed to next month since the contract has not yet been finalized, a senior company executive said Tuesday.

Conal Holdings Corp., proponent of the $450 million coal power plant in the village of Kamanga, earlier targeted to commence the construction phase within the three months to March 2010 through several media announcements.

"The implementation of the [coal-fired power plant] project will officially be launched in the beginning of April," said Joseph C. Nocos, Conal Holdings vice president.

Nocos said the company is presently in the process of finalizing negotiations with the prospective contractors, which he declined to name.

Asked whether Conal has inked an agreement with investors to help push the project, he replied that "an announcement will be made in due course."

At present, Nocos said they are also not considering seeking the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to bankroll the project, following a report that Conal Holdings and bank officials had a recent meeting in Maasim town.

He said the company was not in discussions with the ADB for financing.

The ADB has been financing power generation projects, such as the $135 million loan for a coal plant project in the People's Republic of China.

Nocos said that Conal Holding’s coal power plant will be built in two 100-MW phases, at an interval of one year, which will improve supply the Mindanao grid.

It is expected to go on commercial stream two to three years from now.

Since last month, Mindanao since has been experiencing daily rotational power interruptions due to the declining generation capacities of the Agus and Pulangi hydropower plants.

Low water level inflow due to the El Nino phenomenon has diminished the production capacities of these hydropower plants, which provide more than half of Mindanao’s power supply.

Nocos said its coal-fired power plant project will be the "most economic and quickest solution to the need for a non-hydro baseload power station in the Mindanao grid."

It will help reduce the island’s dependence on hydro resources that are vulnerable to the vagaries of the weather, he added.

Conal Holdings is 60 percent controlled by Alsons Corp. The rest is held by the Electricity Generating Public Company, Thailand's biggest power producer.

The local Catholic Church and various environmental groups have been opposing the coal plant project of Conal Holdings, which will rise near a world-class diving spot in Maasim town, on concerns over its impact to human health and the environment.

Even with the power shortage Mindanao has been experiencing, Fr. Romeo Q. Catedral, social action director of the Diocese of Marbel, nixed anew the coal-fired power project.

The priest has urged the company to embark on renewable energy sources.

Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on March 3, 2010.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/coal-power-project-launch-set

Fahdingding

March 4th, 2010, 12:46 AM

Marasa Grill’s Food Fancy

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I have long wanted to treat my Davao Blogger friends to Marasa Grill. Tinawagan ko agad si Kring Macion, Owner and General Manager ng Marasa Grill. Ora-orada akong tumawag and as usual Kring said yes! Nakakatuwa ang beginnings ng resto ni Kring. Karenderiya ever lang ang drama nila na sa unang akala ko eh mga trike drivers ang main market nila. Aba napansin ko na lang na puro mga nagoopisina ang customers nila. That was over three years ago. Ngayon, bonggacious ever na ang Marasa Grill.

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Dating bahay nina Kring ang location ng Marasa Grill. Yung dati nilang apartment along Kadulasan Street ay parte na ngayon ng restaurant. Very homey ang dating. Friendly pang masyado ang mga staff nila. Am sure hindi lang saken sila friendly kasi pati mga kaibigang kong kumakain dito, puro superlatives ang naririnig ko in terms of service. Kung sa food naman, kapag sa Marasa ka kakain, itapon mo na ang diet mo! Dahit dito, lutong bahay talaga at maaalala mo ang luto ng nanay or lola mo!

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Ngayon may loft na sa Marasa Grill. O di ba, sosyalan! Loft ever na! Actually second-floor ang ibig kong sabihin. Maganda lang pakinggan ang loft! Dun kami kumain with my Dabawenyos. Kasama ko sina Lyle, Brendel, Chattee, Ria, Angel and Dulce. Sa karagatan soup pa lang takam na takam na kami. Sumunod ang tuna kinilaw and sashimi nila na fresh na fresh na para kang bagong paligo and nakapag-pulbos! Wagi ang bagoong nila na sila mismo ang gumawa!

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Nung nilabas na ang pinaputok na tilapia, sinugbang panga and grilled pork belly — unahan ever so much kaming lahat! Wa na pagka-sosyalan ek-ek! Lamon talaga ang ginawa namin. Eh sinundan pa ng Marasa-style talong ensalada with gata! Wow! Para kaming mga batang nag-agawan eh kasi naman sobrang sarap talaga! Kaya nung dumating pa ang ibang kasama namin, snob-snoban muna para di maubusan! hahahahaha!

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Ang masarap sa Marasa Grill para ka lang nasa bahay talaga. Maswerte nga kung minsan lumalabas ang nanay ni Kring. I love Nanay talaga. She reminds me of my mom. Nagmamano ako sa kanya and mega-yakap ever. Kaya pag nagkikita kami sa Marasa, mas napapadami ang order ko. Hay naku buti na lang di sya lumabas at mapapasubo nanaman ako ng walang pakundangan. Sinisi pa si Mother!

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Eh si Kring panay pa ang labas ng pagkain. Ano ba!! Tuloy kahit wala akong rice, uber dami namang ulam ang kinain ko! Hay, naku kapag sa Marasa Grill mabuburyong ka sa dami ng masasarap na pagkain. And siempre hindi magiging kumpleto ang kainan kung walang dessert. Dito well-known ang Marasa Grill dahil sa kanilang mango float and durian float. Sila talaga ang nagpauso and sumunod na lang ang iba dyan. Pa-tweetums pa siempre nung kinain ko ang share ko… kaso bitin eh! Tig-iisa lang kami!

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Salamat kay Kring Macion sa invitation. Actually ganito yung sabi ko ke Kring: “I am inviting you to invite us!” O di ba! Pano pa sya makaka-hindi nyan! Kung type nyong magpa-cater, kayang-kayan ng Marasa. Pwede rin kayong magmiting dun kasi may dalawang conference rooms sila dun na very comfy talaga. Maluwag pa ang parking! Two-lanes kaya ang kalsada sa tapat nila! Hehehehe! For particulars, tawag na sa 552-4628. Nasa Kadulasan Street lang ang Marasa Grill.

Fahdingding

March 4th, 2010, 12:56 AM

Mindanao’s power shortage: foreseen but ignored?

DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/03 March) – The El Nino phenomenon is allegedly to blame for the daily brownouts in Mindanao: one hour in Davao City; a total of eight hours -- from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m.; 11 a.m to 2 p.m. -- in Kidapawan City, home to the Mt. Apo Geothermal Power Plant; five to six hours in Butuan; one hour thrice daily in General Santos; at least two hours in Tagum; four hours in Cagayan de Oro; six hours total in South Cotabato; four hours in Surigao del Sur; five to six hours in Ozamiz; six hours in Bukidnon; two hours in Iligan, home to the Maria Cristina Falls; etc…
The total number of hours of daily brownouts this year, however, has not reached the level of the early 1990s when brownouts were longer and generators were bestsellers.

Presidential Assistant on Mindanao, Jesus Dureza, who met in Davao City with Mindanao’s power industry stakeholders on February 25, proposed a Mindanao Power Action Center “to ensure that we keep the possibility of a power crisis in Mindanao away from becoming imminent.”
He said that while the current situation is far from being a crisis level, “the widening gap between power generation capacity and surging demand is too serious to ignore.”

As of March 3, Mindanao’s available capacity is 808 megawatts to meet a peak load of 1,318 or a deficit of 510 mw, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said. NGCP is the country's only utility responsible for transmitting high-voltage power from generators to distributors. It does not own or operate and maintain any power generation and distribution facilities.
NGCP had earlier warned that the capacity of the Agus power plants, source of hydroelectricity in Mindanao, has been reduced to as much as 60 percent and the Pulangi plant to 80 percent.

The National Power Corporation's (Napocor) Agus Hydro-electric Power Plants have a total available capacity of 110 mw out of the total rated capacity of 727 mw. Pulangi Plant, also owned by Napocor, is running at only 30 mw out of the total rated capacity of 255 mw.

Iligan Diesel Power Plant, which has been unavailable since February 1, is alreadyonline and providing 35 mw to the grid.

The hydroelectric power plants run under normal conditions, when the water level of Lake Lanao is at least 701 meters above sea level (masl)
El Nino reduced the water level to what is now a critical level of 699.06 masl as of March 3, below the 699.15 minimum allowable drawdown level.

“Impossible”

The Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCo) released a list of generating plants in Mindanao showing that the total generating capacity of the combined diesel, geothermal, hydro and oil thermal is 1,877.73 mw of which 997.65 is from hydro, 457 from diesel, 210 from coal, 108.60 from oil thermal and 104.48 is from geothermal.

Of the total generating capacity of 1,877.73 mw, only 808 mw is available. If all the power plants were running at full capacity, 1,877.73 mw would have been enough to meet the peak load of 1,318 mw and still have a reserve of 559.73. As of March 3, the total deficit is 510 mw.

Dureza told the February 25 meeting of stakeholders that reduction in generation capacity is due to “El Nino effect; plant maintenance; unit derating; and deactivated shutdown.”

But Guido Delgado, president of the National Power Corporation from 1994 to 1998, told MindaNews the problem had been foreseen but ignored.

“It is impossible for the administration not to have foreseen the situation,” he said.

From January to June 2009, according to Dureza, the power generation mix was 53% hydro, 19% coal, 17% oil, and 11% geothermal. There was no El Nino episode last year.

For the same period in 2010, the power generation mix had become 34% hydro, 33% oil, 22% coal and 11% geothermal.

Delgado recalled that during the Aquino administration (1986 to 1992), “the deficiency was 100 to 150 mw and that was giving us 10 to 12 hours of brownouts. This was because our peak at that time was just around 800 mw and 3/4 of the power was coming from the hydros.”

Delgado was then chair of the Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and convenor of Mindanao Against Darkness (MAD). In 1992. Aquino’s successor, President Fidel Ramos, appointed him board member of NPC and later president.

“Today the peak hits 1,300 mw and the hydros are down to 50% (approximately) of the system capacity. So it couldn't have been just El Nino to explain the shortage because the hydros are now a smaller contributor to the system. The government really failed to put in place the required power capacity. The government was aware of this fact. And something could have been done about it,” Delgado said.

Delgado said government “was also aware that one of the bigger problems of Mindanao is the low price of power -- it is as if we were still living in the age of unlimited hydro capacity. So the low price of electricity has not encouraged investors in the power sector in Mindanao. The last government project was the 200mw STEAG plant which I signed three days before I retired. I got a lot of criticism for it especially from the Osmenas claiming that I signed a ‘midnight’ deal. But as I said, and the situation today is bearing me out, only a Mindanawon in Napocor will have the interest and the guts to put up a power plant in Mindanao”

He said the National Economic Development Authority “was criticizing me for signing the power plant. But I said I wanted to sign it because I was predicting that there will be no Mindanawon NPC president once I retire. And therefore no one will think of Mindanao's power situation. True enough, the current situation is proving me right.”

Problem 10 years ago hounds present

“That's why I feel so bad. I had been telling people that Mindanao had a problem 10 years ago,” Delgado said.

Dr. Fermin Adriano, MEDCo consultant , was quoted by the OP-Min as saying, "More than three years ago, I presented a paper which included a policy recommendation that the power situation in Mindanao should be looked into by MEDCo because it would surely have an impact on the island's development in the future. As usual, nobody listened and we are now again in a firefighting mode."

In his paper titled “Review Of The Government’s Mindanao Peace And Development Paradigms,” Fermin raised looming power crisis as one of the emerging issues.

"Mindanao faces a looming power crisis as there is hardly new power generation projects being undertaken in the island. With the possible operations of huge mining firms within three to five years from now, the take-off of business out-sourcing sector, and with the rising demand for energy of an increasing population in Mindanao, it is imperative that the process of addressing this critical concern be done as soon as possible."

“So what did MEDCo do?,” asked a former OP-Min official in a social networking forum. “If power supply is deficient, why are big-ticket investments coming in? It doesn’t wash,” he said.

“We’ll have to ask MEDCo about that,” an incumbent government official replied.

He added: “On the second question, obviously nagka brown-out yata when power/energy sector and the planning/investment entities of the government were supposed to work together to prepare utilities for the growing demands of the population and new industries. Also, while everyone perhaps is thinking about investments to generate employment, incomes/revenues and better services, there was a patent neglect of the fact that with the unabated growth of population and industries, the corresponding ability of the energy sector to generate proportionally required power cannot logically be met without increasing its generating capacities.”

But who’s accountable?

For Delgado, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) “is also to blame for this mess.”

“This World Bank subsidiary is supporting this so-called Mindanao aggregation of electric cooperatives. Their idea was to aggregate all the co-ops into one large company and then they will have the ‘power’ to negotiate a good price for Mindanao. Obviously it didn't work as we are all facing the shortages in Mindanao now. They forget the simple rule in credit: the credit of the group is only as good as the credit of the weakest part of the group. The EU, in a much larger scale, is facing a similar problem now with Greece's and most likely Spain's economy falling apart due to bad credit and fiscal decisions of these governments. The aggregation concept will have the same problem albeit in a smaller and simpler way,” Delgado noted.

He said an even bigger problem “is the power industry structure that the EPIRA (Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001) had laid down.”

“You have PSALM (Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management) that is not responsible for power generation but is holding the purse/budget for NPC (National Power Corporation). You have NPC who is the supplier of last resort with no funds for bringing in power nor is it allowed under the EPIRA. In other words, even if NPC had a solution, it cannot enter into any power sales contract because it has no funds and even if it had the funds, the law prohibits that. You would think now, where will the consumers and citizens run to? The Department of Energy (DOE) has no power to do anything either. The DOE is only Vice Chairman in all government power companies of any relevance. The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is limited to tariff regulation and cannot impose any contractual obligation between two private parties who may want to set up a power generation part,” Delgado said.

“In short, NO ONE in government is responsible for the power shortage in Mindanao. No one is accountable to us in Mindanao. So no matter how we in Mindanao cry in anger, the government cannot do anything about it without stretching the limits of the law. Think about it: if the government could have done something about it, why has nothing been done about it? I rest my case,” said Delgado. (Carolyn O. Arguillas/MindaNews)

_________________________________________________________________

Pero ngayon thrice pa rin brownout sa GENSAN pero hindi na 1hour each but 2 hours na... Kahapon 4 times nag BO dito sa Amin! 8 hours lahat! Bring it on! :lol:

regjeex

March 4th, 2010, 07:33 AM

arang ka tihik man ni nga hotel... nganong wala man gyod gihimong 2 to 10 stories... :lol: nganong 2 ra man... basin wa kaayo kwarta... :)

Microtel GenSan Hotel starts construction this year

http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/9209/27625507.jpg (http://img168.imageshack.us/i/27625507.jpg/)

rom Mr. Rene “Rocky” Jordan, General Manager of Microtel Inn and Suites Davao who was in General Santos City last week for the Kalilangan Trade Fair at Robinsons Place GenSan and to pay a courtesy visit to Mayor Pedro “Jun” Acharon, came this pronouncement.

“Microtel GenSan Hotel will commence construction within the next quarter in its designated location at the old Floreindo property along the National Highway.”

This came, more than 18 months after Bariles first blogged about it in a post which elicited much excitement and delight among GenSan News Online Mag’s readers.

With the promise of a new GenSan hotel finally coming into fruition, the solution to the ages-old problem of where to house delegates of conventions with more than a thousand participants will soon be a reality.

Aside from Microtel GenSan Hotel, more inns, pension houses are in the process of completion all throughout the city. And right after the National Assembly of the Councilors League of the Philippines in General Santos last February 2010 which exposed the glaring lack of hotel rooms here, a number of businessmen have expressed interest to invest on more lodging houses.

Microtel GenSan Hotel on the other hand will be a two-storey, 70-room establishment according to Mr. Jordan, and will be bigger than their Davao branch. It will boast of a swimming pool and facilities for large gatherings, a move of the Floreindos which will be a big help in ensuring that GenSan’s bid to be South Central Mindanao’s “CONVENTION CAPITAL” will further be strengthened.

romix

March 4th, 2010, 12:45 PM

akala ko gusto ni ate glo maging newly developed country na tayo, e bakit bumalik tayo sa pagiging third world country with this brownouts , bakit di nya matanggal tanggal ang incompetent na angelo reyes na yan

jhunix

March 4th, 2010, 04:02 PM

arang ka tihik man ni nga hotel... nganong wala man gyod gihimong 2 to 10 stories... :lol: nganong 2 ra man... basin wa kaayo kwarta... :)

dili na siya microtel bai kung 10 storey up imong gusto hehe. check mo website nila para naa kay idea about it. http://www.microtelphilippines.com/

chevy_boy

March 4th, 2010, 08:16 PM

Fahdingding

March 4th, 2010, 11:58 PM

Robinsons GenSan offer FREE RIDES

Two weeks ago, a fleet of seven orange multi-cabs can be seen plying the streets of General Santos City with eye-catching streamers hanging on their sides. Curiouser than a cat, Bariles immediately took pictures of one with his NOKIA E63 phone cam as soon as he saw it parked at the rear car lot of Robinsons Place-GenSan.

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Wow! That was all Bariles could say after finding out that the vehicles are all commissioned by Robinsons. This particular one he saw ferries customers and shoppers to and from the mall to Susana Homes and Dona Soledad Subdivision.

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Upon further investigation, Bariles also found out that other routes included in this LIBRENG SAKAY offer of Robinsons Place GenSan are Barangay Calumpang, Barangay Apopong and even as far as the municipality of Alabel in Sarangani Province! He hopes that this won’t be just a temporary thing but will make it a regular promotion in General Santos City.

One thing for sure is that this move is very commendable on the part of the management of Robinsons and will not only increase foot traffic inside the mall from these far-flung areas of GenSan and Sarangani but will also endear them more to the hearts of the locals.

Fahdingding

March 5th, 2010, 12:10 AM

Google Mapping Party for GenSan at Cafe Amoree

A few weeks back, a Google Mapping Party (GenSan Mapping Party) was conducted in General Santos City with the Tuna Capital’s very active bloggers in attendance for an afternoon of fun, learning and advocacy.

But first, what is a Mapping Party?

A Mapping Party is a gathering where you invite your friends who have laptops to a venue with fast internet connection, and together, with the use of Google Map Maker and aided by an instructor, map out and name your locality’s streets, roads, highways, establishments, housing, etc.

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In this case, Bariles, through his network of online journalists, the Soccsksargen Bloggers group, gathered 20 of the best ones from General Santos City at one of GenSan’s newer coffee shops, Cafe Amoree. Lending his expertise to the exercise if GenSan Blogger and UP Diliman student, Mikko Gozalo.

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The Mapping Party lived up to its slogan “Mapping GenSan for the world: Now no one gets lost in General Santos City again!” by being able to insert more than a thousand names for the the map of the Tuna Capital collectively. It was one notable project of the Soccsksargen Bloggers and hopefully, will not be the last of its kind for their beloved locality.

Here are more photos to show for it.

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"BLOGGER MIKO GOZALO EXPLAINING THE GOOGLE MAPPING PROCEDURES TO THE SOCCSKSARGEN BLOGGERS AT CAFE AMOREE'S FUNCTION ROOM"

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"A CAMERAMAN OF ABS-CBN FILMS THE SOCCSKSARGEN BLOGGERS AT WORK. THIS ACTIVITY WAS FEATURED ON THE LOCAL KAPAMILYA NEWS PROGRAM."

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"THE SOX BLOGGERS AT WORK DILIGENTLY ON THEIR MAPS"

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"THE SOCCSKSARGEN BLOGGERS AT THE MAIN DINING AREA OF CAFE AMOREE AFTER THE GOOGLE MAPPING PARTY"

The attendees, by the way are the following bloggers: Orman Manansala, Ariel Lalisan, Mark Aethen Agana, Gilbert Tan, Mikko Gozalo, Donna Mae Congson, Emman, Mandi Nicolas, Rain Cindy and her friend, Hannah Espinosa, Rabsky Villanueva, Arnel and Rosilie Lim, Gay Carillo, www and her husband and yours truly, Bariles.

A million thanks goes out to the owners of Cafe Amoree, especially our good friend Ricky and his lovely wife and to Orman for facilitating their hosting of this first ever and historical GenSan Mapping Party.

Shout outs of gratitude to Ate Aileen Apolo-De Jesus for the Google shwags, to K101’s Kabayan Joe for the mousepads with wristrests and Mr. Mandi Nicolas for the Adobe Photoshop freebies.

And to the people of GenSan who are into mapping the city, and making it easier to circumnavigate, thank you for sharing our very own home with the rest of the world.

Fahdingding

March 5th, 2010, 12:16 AM

SOCOTECO II’s Power Advisory amidst worsening cases of brownouts

Are you sick and tired of all the unannounced power brownouts in Soccsksargen which have been happening at least four times daily, sometimes lasting for an hour or even up to 15 hours?

Have you ever wondered by SOCOTECO II has not come up with a pronouncement aside from the usual “EL NINO” excuse and a solution to all these since for sure, they saw this coming years back?

Anyway, for all that it is worth, we are publishing verbatim SOCOTECO II’s latest Power Advisory sent out to the city’s media outlets and the City Mayor’ Office.

This notice was signed by SOCOTECO II’s Institutional Services Depatment Manager Geronimo C. Desesto.

POWER ADVISORY

EL NIÑO WORSENS POWER SITUATION IN MINDANAO, HOURS OF ROTATING BROWN-OUT INCREASE

The El Niño phenomenon worsens the already fragile power situation in Mindanao, as water level drops at faster rate than expected.

Over the week, SOCOTECOII customers experienced two to three times two-hour brown-out to meet National Grid Corporation of the Philippines’ (NGCP) load curtailment requirements. Power supply curtailment has been imposed by NGCP in Southern Mindanao since August 2009 due to power generation deficiency, ranging from 20 MW to as high as 40 MW, daily.

As per recent NGCP advice, water elevation at hydroelectric power plants reaches below critical level. Power crisis is expected to continue until rainy season arrives or until power generation deficiency is addressed.

SOCOTECOII management implores for public’s understanding since this power crisis is beyond its control and is experienced by Mindanao and the Philippines, as a whole. The management also finds difficulty in coming up with load shedding schedule due to the erratic curtailment demands required by NGCP from SOCOTECOII, which varies at hourly basis.

Energy conservation activities are requested from all electricity users, especially during 5PM to 9PM, through the following:

1. No ironing of clothes on above-mentioned time;
2. Limited use of air-conditioner and other electrical appliances;
3. Unplugging of refrigerators/freezers from 6PM to 8PM;
4. Use one television set only for the whole family;
5. Sensible use of lighting facilities at home
Thank you.

# # # # #

Approved for Release:

GERONIMO C. DESESTO

Manager, Institutional Services Department

MARCH 1, 2010

ISD/MPR-Information

HOTLINE: Telephone #s553-5848 to 50 local 133

And now for your rants and raves, complaints, whatever, you may write them down here. We’re sure SOCOTECO II will read them.

Fahdingding

March 5th, 2010, 12:20 AM

dili na siya microtel bai kung 10 storey up imong gusto hehe. check mo website nila para naa kay idea about it. http://www.microtelphilippines.com/

arang ka tihik man ni nga hotel... nganong wala man gyod gihimong 2 to 10 stories... :lol: nganong 2 ra man... basin wa kaayo kwarta... :)

Microtel Baguio: 60 Rooms
Microtel Tarlac: 50 Rooms
Microtel Cavite: 57 Rooms
Microtel Batangas: 77 Rooms
Microtel Boracay: 51 Rooms
Microtel Davao: 51 Rooms
Microtel Cabanatuan: 50 Rooms
Microtel Palawan: 50 Rooms

Microtel SM Mall of Asia: Soon to Open

MICROTEL GENSAN: 70 ROOMS

earlat

March 5th, 2010, 11:39 AM

Microtel Baguio: 60 Rooms
Microtel Tarlac: 50 Rooms
Microtel Cavite: 57 Rooms
Microtel Batangas: 77 Rooms
Microtel Boracay: 51 Rooms
Microtel Davao: 51 Rooms
Microtel Cabanatuan: 50 Rooms
Microtel Palawan: 50 Rooms

Microtel SM Mall of Asia: Soon to Open

MICROTEL GENSAN: 70 ROOMS

:banana::cheers: wow, this looks good. 70 rooms to fill in the shortage for hotel rooms.. :D

regjeex

March 5th, 2010, 12:17 PM

Ah OK... salamat Sir... :)

dili na siya microtel bai kung 10 storey up imong gusto hehe. check mo website nila para naa kay idea about it. http://www.microtelphilippines.com/

hakz2007

March 5th, 2010, 01:03 PM

South Cotabato electric coop calls off plan to buy power from Aboitiz (http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=262592)

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, March 5 (PNA) -– Power distribution utility South Cotabato Electric Cooperative-I (Socoteco) has called off its earlier plans to tap independent power producer Aboitiz Power Corporation (AboitizPower) as alternative power source reportedly due to their high price tag.

Engr. Santiago Tudio, Socoteco-I general manager, said Friday they could not pursue the planned purchase of at least five-megawatts (MW) of power supply from AboitizPower to augment the requirements of its service areas in South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat as local consumers are reportedly concerned on their affordability.

He said that based on their initial projections, the purchase of additional power supply from AboitizPower will likely raise the monthly electric bills by P14 to P17 per kilowatt-hour (kWh).

“A lot of consumers are already having difficulty coping with our current rate of P6 per kWh so I think the situation will only worsen if we increase the rates further even on temporary basis,” he said in a media forum.

Tudio said they earlier considered negotiating with AboitizPower for the provision of additional power supplies in the wake of the drastic cuts imposed by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) on the area’s power load.

AboitizPower, which is among the top privately-owned power producers in the country, operates the 50-MW Southern Philippines Power Plant in Alabel town in Sarangani province.

The diesel-fired plant is a joint venture between Aboitiz Power and the Alcantara-led Conal Holdings Corporation.

Socoteco I had been implementing five to six-hour rotational brownouts within its service area since last month due to the NGCP’s load shedding scheme as a result of the El Niño-triggered deterioration of the water resources that were running the island’s major hydroelectric plants.

Tudio said they initially planned to purchase five MW of power supply from AboitizPower to help ease the daily brownouts in the area.

He said Socoteco I, which covers nine municipalities and one city in South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat provinces, has a peak demand of 28-29 MW but the NGCP only supplies an average 13 MW for the area so far.

Tudio said the South Cotabato Provincial Development Council allowed the Socoteco I late week to explore the possible purchase of power supplies from AboitizPower until the current crisis would be resolved, provided it would not burden the consumers too much.

“But right now, I don’t think it’s possible for us to tap AboitizPower. It’s too costly and will not solve our problems with these brownouts since we can only acquire five MW from them,” he explained.

Tudio urged consumers instead to make use with the available power supplies and start consuming lesser amount of electricity until the situation would return to normal.

“I don’t think there’s an immediate and viable alternative solution to our problem. We’re just hoping that the El Nino will not last long as predicted so our power supply situation will again return to normal,” he added. (PNA)

earlat

March 6th, 2010, 12:41 AM

^^ :ohno::ohno::ohno: So the brownout stays... Ouch this would really be a great blow to all.. Especially to the economy, not just of Gensan but also the entire country.. :ohno:

Fahdingding

March 6th, 2010, 12:47 AM

NDDU at National Cheerleading Championship Live on Studio 23

Grand Slam Winner for three consecutive years at the Tuna Festival Tuna Pasiklaban Cheerdance Competition,the Notre Dame of Dadiangas University Sarimanok PEP Squad has done it again! Please click here for their video.

After qualifying in the Mindanao Regional Finals of the 2010 National Cheerleading Competition last year together with Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan and Iligan Medical Center College, it is now competing in the National Finals of the Collegiate Coed Division tomorrow, March 6, 2010, from 2pm-6pm, at the Ynares Sports Arena, Shaw Boulevard, Pasig, Metro Manila.

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/889/40932090.jpg

According to NCC’s press release:

The competition will showcase the 21 best collegiate squads from around the nation, who had qualified for the NCC Finals in regional competitions since last year. Teams to watch out for are: 2009 National Champions and NCAA Champs University of Perpetual Help Dalta System (UPHDS), 2009 1st runner up University of the Cordilleras, 2009 2nd runner up Xavier University-Ateneo De Cagayan (XU). Also expected to show strongly are 2007 and 2008 champions Central Colleges of the Philippines (CCP), SCUAA Champs Rizal Technological University (RTU), and Polytechnic University of the Philippines-Taguig (PUPT). Darkhorses include De La Salle University (DLSU) who placed 3rd in the NCR Qualifiers, Jose Rizal University (JRU) who placed 2nd in the NCAA competition, and Ateneo De Manila University (ADMU). Notable finalist also include Palawan State University (PSU), Tarlac State University (TSU), Notre Dame University (NDDU) from General Santos, and Mapua Institute of Technology (MIT).

For the more complete line-up of the competing collegiate teams, here is the poster below…

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/9371/21121570.jpg

This is the first time that the NDDU Sarimanok PEP Squad will be competing on a national level, thanks to the support of President Bro. John Tan, FMS. It would be great then if the generals could watch them during the 2010 National Cheerleading Competition Finals.

Well, Bariles has good news for everyone – ABS-CBN’s Studio 23 will be airing the competiton LIVE TOMORROW from 2pm-6pm!!

http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/5322/26147449.jpg

So tell your friends, families, classmates, and all the generals you know about this momentous event and watch how they clobber competition LIVE on Studio 23!!!

Or better still, if you are in Manila or have friends there, ask them to head off to Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig and cheer for our homegrown talents while they strut their stuff and show the world what the generals are made of!

From us here at GenSan News Online Mag, GOOD LUCK to the NDDU Sarimanok PEP SQUAD!!!! Go Dameans!!! Go Maristas! Go NOTRE DAME!!!

Fahdingding

March 6th, 2010, 01:40 AM

Lakan at Lakambini 2010

THE Kalilangan Festival is the celebration of General Santos City?s foundation honoring its founders and pioneers led by General Paulino Santos. On its 71st year of cityhood, the Tuna Capital of the Philippines, led by Mayor Jun Acharon celebrates with the theme “Honoring the Past, Celebrating the Present, and Embracing the Future.”

Every festival needs a king and a queen, and the Kalilangan Festival of General Santos City is no different. With the geniuses of Festival Director, Orman Manansala (http://www.gandaeversomuch.com) and Pageant Director, Dino Veloso, the Lakan at Lakambini ng Kalilangan 2010 was an enjoyable pageant to watch.

The show started with the introduction of the candidates in their Kalilangan Festival attires. Each candidate presented themselves well with youthful vibrance which reflected well the energy and color of the Kalilangan Festival. The candidates also showed their poise and elegance in their colorful playsuits and glamorous Filipiniana attires by noted Filipino fashion designer Johnny Abad.

Abad, president of the Fashion Designers Association of the Philippines,
was also one of the members of the board of judges.

Also judging the pageant were Couniclor Meg Santos, Davao internet professional Angel Abella (http://www.everythingandthegirl.com), nurse blogger Lyle Santos (http://www.lylesantos.com), and fashion and beauty blogger Brendel Balaga (http://www.getprettified.com).

Prior to the pageant, a percentage of their scores were already given when they presented their talents in a pre-pageant event. The judges had a hard time in judging the contenders during the pageant as each youngster presented themselves well, eager to be the representative of General Santos City’s Kalilangan Festival.

It was during the casual interview portion that some candidates stood out from the rest. After the wit and intelligence of the vibrant and energetic candidates were judged, six competitors were declared as finalists.

Those who stood out from the pack were Lakan candidates David James Barbero, Jenel Labiana, and Gevic Romero. Among the ladies, Lakambini candidates Sarashvati Sarkar, Maureen Paolo, and Caroline Lim were picked to be finalists.

Special awards were also given to the candidates who stood out during the search month long duration. Jimmy Ortiz, Jr. and Maureen Paulo grabbed the Best in Talent Awards. Maureen also bagged the best in Festival Attire and Best in Gown prizes. Jenel Labiana grabbed the Mr. Photogenic and Best in Formal Attire prizes.

After all the special awards were handed out, the finalists sashayed on stage once again and prepared themselves to answer one final question which determined who the new Lakan and Lakambini would be. The final question was ‘How do you see General Santos City in five years and how would you contribute to this vision?’

Each candidate thoughtfully wrote out their answers and waited for their chance to share their ideas to the judges and the audience members. Caroline, with much poise and grace impressed the crowd with her vision of a much more developed General Santos City and her willingness to work hard with other members of the sector to work towards this vision.

It was, however, male contender Gevic, who won the hearts of many when he answered that he will work hard in promoting General Santos City through writing and blogging about its beauty and attractions.

At the end of the night, Lakan at Lakambini ng Kalilangan 2009 Ryan Reyes and Hermany Shaine Lara turned over their crowns and sashes to Gevic and Caroline. Jenel and Maureen got the first runner-up awards, while David James and Sharashvati got the second runner-up honors.

These six, along with the other candidates, truly reflect the best of General Santos City. In our stay there, long after the pageant was over and the winners were crowned, all the candidates exhibited their hospitality and kindness with wit and much energy to make our stay their enjoyable and worth remembering.

Congratulations to the winners and to all the other candidates! May you do well and continue to reflect the best of General Santos City.

Fahdingding

March 6th, 2010, 01:40 AM

Mining firm fine-tunes treatment plant in SC

KORONADAL CITY -- The initial testing phase of the T'boli gold-silver project has commenced smoothly but mechanical adjustments are still being carried out to achieve optimum recoveries, the operator said this week.

Cadan Resources Corporation said the ball mill and CIP (carbon-in-pulp) tanks section of its gold-silver treatment plant in T'boli town, South Cotabato have been put in place.

Some 500 metric tons (MT) of old tailings and lower grade material, ranging from one to three gram-per-ton gold, is being used to test the plant and equipment.

The ball mill has been running between eight and 10 MT per hour with mechanical amendments being undertaken to fine-tune the plant and equipment, the Canadian company said.

In a statement, Robert Butchart, Cadan chief operating officer, said the testing phase will provide them progressive information to achieve maximum recoveries of gold and silver, which was expected to be at 90 percent.

While such work is ongoing, the plant contractors will complete additional infrastructure for the primary and secondary crushing circuits, he added.

The T'boli project contains an estimated 420,000 ounces of gold and 1.6 million ounces of silver, a latest company study showed.

Cadan is pursuing the T'boli gold-silver project with Tribal Mining Corp, which obtained from the government a Mineral Production Sharing Agreement covering 85 hectares in 1997. It has a term of 25 years.

The Canadian company is an emerging gold-silver producer in the country. It is also pursuing a mining venture in Compostella Valley in southern Mindanao.

Published in the Sun.Star Davao newspaper on March 6, 2010.

nj_than

March 6th, 2010, 01:28 PM

earlat

March 7th, 2010, 12:51 AM

^^nice ung promo ng rob.. makakainganyo talaga ng tao... at galing ako robinson kanina..,. at ang daming tao sa rob...

^^ that's good to hear na maraming tao sa Robinsons.. Most probable reason for that is the brownout. :D

Fahdingding

March 7th, 2010, 01:14 AM

^^ that's good to hear na maraming tao sa Robinsons.. Most probable reason for that is the brownout. :D

...Yes! Sakto jus ka lat!

And by the way, HIRING na pala ang mga mag open na call centers sa MABUHAY IT PARK... Sino gusto mag - apply?

Ako try ko if may vacant pa! :)

Fahdingding

March 7th, 2010, 01:35 AM

San Miguel buys coal firm
by Alena Mae S. Flores

TOLEDO CITY, CEBU—-San Miguel Corp., through energy unit San Miguel Energy Corp., plans to put up a 150-megawatt to 300-MW power plant in General Santos City after acquiring a mining company that has rights over one of the country’s richest coal deposits.

San Miguel president Ramon Ang told reporters here at the sidelines of a switch-on ceremony that the company had started planning for the construction of a mine-mouth power plant.

The coal plant is estimated to cost up to $150 million to $300 million at a cost of $1 million per megawatt.

Ang said San Miguel recently acquired a coal mine in General Santos, whose deposits could supply a 2,000-MW coal plant. Ang declined to name the company but a source said San Miguel had bought Daguma Agro Minerals Inc., which is headed by businessman Ben Guingona.

Daguma Agro was the former partner of UK-based Crew Gold Corp., which pulled out from the coal project in Barangay Ned, Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, due to a strong opposition from the church.

Ang said the planned coal-fired power plant would initially generate 150 MW to 300 MW of electricity and could later increase the capacity, depending on coal production.

He said San Miguel was preparing the permits and applications needed for the coal plant and the coal mine.

Ang added that San Miguel might start construction of the coal plant with the year and expected to complete it by 2012.

Hydroelectric power plants provide the bulk of Mindanao’s power requirements but they have limited capabilities now due to low water inflow to reservoirs.

The Agus power plant of National Power Corp. have an available capacity of 65 MW out of the total rated output of 727 MW. The Pulangi plant, also owned by Napocor, provides 20 MW out of the total rated capacity of 255 MW.

San Miguel has been intensifying its investments in the power sector. It now owns the 620-MW Limay bunker-fired power plant and trading the 1,000-MW contract of the Sual coal-fired power plant.

San Miguel is also vying for the 246-MW Angat power plant up for bidding next month.

Another coal mining company, Sultan Energy Philippines Corp., has started test production of its Daguma coal field. Sultan Energy holds a separate coal operating contract in the Daguma coal field covering 7,000 hectares.

MG Mining and Energy Corp., a unit of Sultan Energy, earlier forged an P8-billion, 10-year supply deal with Kepco SPC Power Corp. for its 200-MW power plant in Naga, Cebu.[/B]

http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/insideBusiness.htm?f=2010/march/6/business1.isx&d=2010/march/6

Fahdingding

March 7th, 2010, 01:50 AM

San Miguel Energy plans $2 billion power plant: 2,000 MW capacity for Mindanao

Mindanao’s power capacity is expected to get maximum shoring up with the 2,000-megawatt mine-mouth facility being proposed by San Miguel Energy Corporation (SMEC) to be undertaken in phases.

At $1 million per megawatt estimated investment, SMEC will have capital infusion of up to $2 billion for the greenfield capacity, but it was not specified when is the exact timeframe to complete the entire proposed capacity.

In an interview with reporters, SMEC president Ramon S. Ang said the initial capacity could range from 150 to 300 megawatts at the company’s proposed site in General Santos. The capacity planning will also be aligned with the projected demand growth in the grid.

“We are still doing our feasibility study (on the project),” Ang noted, but when proposals push through, he stressed that the first unit is expected on stream by 2012. “It will take 24 months to build the first unit,” he added.

The project, when completed, he said will have comparable tariff to the existing grid rate in Mindanao; since the fuel will be sourced on-site.

Nevertheless, San Miguel will have to cross the hurdle of market cap policy under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), which is set at 30-percent per grid and 25-percent on a national basis.

Ang said applications for environmental compliance certificate (ECC) with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as well as the filing for coal operating contract (COC) with the Department of Energy (DoE) are currently being prepared.

Currently, Mindanao is being plagued by worsening power outages due to the strike of El Niño phenomenon. The drought situation resulted in drastic decline in water level at Lake Lanao, which is the main source of water supply for the Agus hydropower plants.
__________________

Fahdingding

March 7th, 2010, 02:17 AM

Pages: Gen.San’s new name: Manny Pacquiao City
By John Pages

ROMY S. DyPico did the unthinkable last Friday night. While attending the Rotary District Conference, Romy, the president of my club, the RC of Cebu West, scurried near the front stage and tiptoed to sit beside a lady for that one-click photo moment.

We were in Gen. Santos City along with 1,200 other Rotarians from District 3860 when President Romy posed beside Ms. Seductive. Who was she?

Mommy Dionisia.

The Discon was fun! Apart from attending the successful event (kudos to District Governor Tony Veneracion) and gorging on tuna in the Tuna Capital of the Philippines for four days until yesterday, we did one more act: we saw the empire of King Manny.

As soon as we landed in “Magandang Gensan” last Wednesday, our driver whisked us to see the city’s most publicized landmark: Pacman’s house.

House? Sorry. It wasn’t; it was a mansion, a castle, a palace equipped with a blue pool that’s shaped after his red glove.

We visited Robinson’s. After lunch at Grab-A-Crab, we strolled along the mall’s corridors. Together with my Rotary club’s past presidents, Wilton Uykingtian, Maxwell Ahyong and Ronnie Medalle, I toured the Food Court.

There, at the center, stood another landmark: Pacman Shawarma. Yes, like our beef-and-pita stands in Ayala and SM in Cebu, it was the same take-out food stall owned by a boxer who’s job is to take-out opponents.

Next, we entered TEAM PACQUIAO. It was a museum and souvenir shop bundled into one. The white pair of shoes Manny wore against Juan Manuel Marquez sat on the open shelf. Everything MP was found there: mugs, towels, CDs and DVDs priced P99 and P150, keychains, a pair of Nike shoes worth P8,000. Picture frames of MP adorned the walls. A pair of boxing gloves with his signature could be yours for P15,000. There sat trophies, jackets, T-shirts with the words “Now You Know.” A Victorinox watch was priced P30,000.

Right beside was Blue Gre Cafe. Known for its Durian Gatchpuccino, it’s owned by... now you know... Mr. and Mrs. Pacquiao.

Next, we toured the city. One building stood out. The two-story structure was colorful, eye-catching, modern and named JMP Building after the initials of its owners.

For here’s what I witnessed: Manny P. has transformed himself into more than just the world’s No.1 boxer. He’s a promoter. An actor. A singer. A Rotarian honorary member of the RC of Midtown Gen.San.

A congressman?

Most of all, he’s a businessman.

That’s what we saw, our group from the Rotary Club of Cebu West led by Past District Governor Toto Cupin, president Romy and his wife Julie, past president Ex Bollozos and his wife Cynthia, and our past president (and current District Trainer) Philip Tan.

Pacquiao has a myriad of ventures. There’s Pacman H20. Promoted as the “Pambansang Tubig,” Manny’s photo is on all the plastic water bottles.

At the KCC mall, Jinkee has two stores: a fashion boutique and a franchise of the beauty clinic, Flawless. They also own a gas station.

The JMP Bldg.? That’s Part One. There’s also JMP Bldg. 2 and, last Friday, after the dancing and revelry of the Rotary Discon party, we sojourned into the corner building along Aparente Avenue.

On the ground floor of JMP 2, a collection of Manny’s photos lined the walls. At the corner was “Pacman Sports Bar,” a venue to drink at while playing two of Manny’s favorite pastime games: billiards and darts.

JMix is on the second level and, complete with dancing lights and ear-splitting music, it’s the newest disco-bar Gensan hangout.

To top all these, when our Rotary group toured the Fishport two afternoons ago, we passed a construction site. Located in Tambler, it reportedly costs P20 million and will house four buildings including a covered basketball court and a world-class boxing facility. It’s called the JMP Multi-Purpose Gymnasium.

Now, imagine if, seven days from this morning, Manny beats Joshua Clottey and, later this 2010, gifts ‘Money’ Mayweather with his first loss? Manny and his money will own the city.

earlat

March 7th, 2010, 02:34 AM

earlat

March 7th, 2010, 02:36 AM

...Yes! Sakto jus ka lat!

And by the way, HIRING na pala ang mga mag open na call centers sa MABUHAY IT PARK... Sino gusto mag - apply?

Ako try ko if may vacant pa! :)

^^ For real? Wow, I always wanted to go home and settle in Gensan.. Do they have openings for Quality Assurance Analysts? hehehe :D

Fahdingding

March 7th, 2010, 02:37 AM

^^ Wow, I know this guys.. He owns 'Thirsty' and a school here in Cebu. He's quite a wealthy guy and has a column, mainly sports, in Sunstar.. :D

Wow! I appreciate his appreciation of Manny PAC and GENSAN!
More Power to him!

And about Manny Pacquiao, simula pa lang 'to, let's hope bigger investments from him would materialized here in GENSAN like his proposed GENSAN Eco - tourism Development in brgy. Olympog and his rumored HOTEL in GENSAN! fingers - crossed! :nuts:

Fahdingding

March 7th, 2010, 02:38 AM

^^ For real? Wow, I always wanted to go home and settle in Gensan.. Do they have openings for Quality Assurance Analysts? hehehe :D

I'll inform you lat if maka punta na ako! gusto ko rin mag apply for a summer job!

Fahdingding

March 7th, 2010, 02:41 AM

earlat

March 7th, 2010, 03:19 AM

Photos are from DONNA MAE CONGSON (facebook)

http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/2403/91757385.jpg

http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/1469/68204956.jpg

http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/7798/55078294.jpg

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http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/2554/76917468.jpg

http://img18.imageshack.us/img18/1317/63330091.jpg

http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/7060/73554430.jpg

http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/2570/26357666.jpg

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/8453/58165110.jpg

^^ I hope they follow a strict and high regard to our environment. Responsible mining bah... Hopefully this would elevate our region into a great province and improve the 'Living' standards of the areas affected. Build more roads and other infrastructure..

earlat

March 7th, 2010, 03:22 AM

I'll inform you lat if maka punta na ako! gusto ko rin mag apply for a summer job!

Ok. that would be great! And if you may, please inform us of the name of the company.. :D

romix

March 7th, 2010, 09:12 AM

sana walang brownout sa march 14, fight ni manny vs. clottey , talagang bobombahan na yang transco office if magkabrownout

Blueleo

March 7th, 2010, 12:40 PM

Mindanao-wide blackout looms
By MIKE U. CRISMUNDO
March 7, 2010, 5:19pm

BUTUAN CITY – The Agus hydroelectric power plant in Lake Lanao and the Pulangi plant in Bukidnon, major sources of the Mindanao grid, might be forced to shut down if their critical low water levels continue, raising the possibility of a Mindanaowide blackout, industry stakeholders said.

Mindanao is currently experiencing up to six hours of rotating brownouts as a result of a severe shortage in the grid, which has a peak demand of 1,470 megawatts. The Agus plant has a total rated power capacity of 727 megawatts while Pulangi has a rated power capacity of 225 MW.

Technical engineers from various electric cooperatives in Mindanao who personally visited the Agus and Pulangi plants said the water sources powering the two facilities are already in the critical stage.

“We are afraid of this situation because those power plants already suffered vibrations and this will further damage the turbines,” observed Agusan del Norte Electric Cooperative Manager Engineer Noli Namocatcat.

He said it would be dangerous once the water level in Lake Lanao, source of the Agus power plant, breaches the critical level of 699.15 meters. As of Saturday, the water level was at 700.04 meters.

The Pulangi plant is in the same situation as water reservoirs in Bukidnon that feed the Pulangi River continue to dry up due to the effects of the El Niño phenomenon.

To date, Pulangi plant is already producing 20 megawatts below its rated capacity, contributing to the increasing deficiency in the grid.

The development has prompted the Mindanao Chamber of Commerce to appeal to concerned government agencies, especially the national government, to act fast before the situation reaches its worst.

They said that once the Agus and Pulangi plants shut down, billions of pesos will be lost in terms of production and revenues while thousands of employees and workers might lose their jobs.
Meanwhile, the Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry together with the PHIVIDEC Industries Association (PIE-MO) and the Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Industries have also voiced grave concerns.

The Cagayan de Oro groups filed a joint resolution addressed to the national government urging the Department of Energy, the National Power Corporation, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines and the Private Sector Asset and Liabilities Management Corp. to act on the generation and transmission-related problems in the Mindanao grid.

Copies of the resolution were given to Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes by Oro Chamber Vice President for the Manufacturing and Industry Sector, Ghaye Alegrio.

Agriculture officials also said at least 14,000 hectares of farms were already severely affected by the continuing dry spell in Northern Mindanao, affecting the most the agricultural provinces of Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental and Misamis Occidental as well as parts of Lanao del Norte and Camiguin.
The Department of Agriculture in Northern Mindanao has reactivated the Regional Task Force on the El Niño phenomenon to alleviate the worsening situation.

The drought is feared to cause billions of pesos in agricultural losses, particularly in rice and corn production, said Region 10 Regional Executive Director Lealyn A. Ramos.

Ramos, who is also the task force chairperson, said cloud seeding operations by the Air Force’s 900th Air Weather Group will prioritize areas near the river basins of Lake Lanao and the Pulangi River in Bukidnon.

Farmers in Northeastern Mindanao, also called the Caraga Region, have also started to feel the effects of the dry spell.

nj_than

March 7th, 2010, 04:04 PM

Fahdingding

March 8th, 2010, 12:37 AM

sana walang brownout sa march 14, fight ni manny vs. clottey , talagang bobombahan na yang transco office if magkabrownout

lalo na yung mga taong kumuha at nag subscribe sa mga PPVs! :lol:

Fahdingding

March 8th, 2010, 12:38 AM

Hey guys may nakita akong rendering doon sa lote ng DepEd Regional Academy Building sa may Quirino Avenue and guess what?

ON THIS SITE WILL RISE: DepEd Regional Dormitory... Sa pagka kita ko 3 - 4 storeys ang building.

Fahdingding

March 8th, 2010, 12:40 AM

^^nakita ko ang video ng cheerdance ng nddu... kawawa talaga kc my na bugsuk sa ilaha mo wala natarong ang lifting.. sayang over all na sayaw at pakitang gilas ay napakaganda...

11th placer lang ang NDDU pero at least, honored pa rin sila na kasali sila sa event!

Congratulations NDDU!

Fahdingding

March 8th, 2010, 12:59 AM

Mindanao State University students debate on international humanitarian law

ILIGAN CITY (ICRC/05 March) -- Students from the three campuses of Mindanao State University displayed their knowledge on the international humanitarian law (IHL) during the first inter-campus IHL debate at MSU-Iligan Institute of Technology today.
The half-day debate held by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Philippine Red Cross (PRC) and MSU-IIT produced lively discussions from the six teams fielded by the General Santos, Marawi and Iligan MSU campuses, during deliberations on the relevance of IHL or the law of armed conflict.
"These bright students will in time be the country's decision makers. So at an early stage, we want them to understand and appreciate the IHL, which upholds the measure of humanity in the midst of armed conflict. We want to bring the IHL closer to the youth," said Julien Chalier, deputy head of the ICRC sub-delegation in Davao City.
Bringing the IHL to schools, added Chalier, would increase student awareness on the effects of armed conflicts; and impart the need to protect human dignity during war.
Using the Australasian parliamentary format, two teams from each campus presented their cases based on an IHL topic while MSU professors, ICRC and PRC representatives judged their merits.

The two highest-scoring teams from the elimination rounds advanced to the final round, after which the judges declared the champion of the IHL School Debates.

The winning team and their campus library received trophies, student prizes and IHL books while the runner-up received secondary prizes and IHL books for their school library.
The IHL debate is the first in a series of student symposiums aimed at expanding appreciation of the IHL among undergraduates. Since 2005, the ICRC has worked with law students and law professors through the annual Moot Court competition on IHL.

Complementing the IHL debate, a five-day photo exhibit depicting the faces of war was launched yesterday at the MSU-IIT campus to give a firsthand look into the evolution of armed conflicts all over the world.

The "Humanity in War" exhibit traces the history of war and its humanitarian consequences from the American Civil War to modern-day conflicts. Beyond the sorrow and hardships, the exposition reflects the courage, hope and caring for others amidst the chaos and destruction caused by war.

The inspiring exhibit, which includes 40 photographs from the ICRC archives dating back to the 1860s, will be shown until 8 March 2010.(ICRC)

earlat

March 8th, 2010, 01:48 AM

^^ The crisis has worsen.. What were they doing when they realized that a power crisis was looming.. kakainis!

Fahdingding

March 8th, 2010, 12:02 PM

^^ The crisis has worsen.. What were they doing when they realized that a power crisis was looming.. kakainis!

The Private Sector is the only sector that can solve this problem... We really need additional power plants and let's also hope na matapos na tong El Niño para balik ulit sa normal ang water level...

Now? What can our National Government do?

nj_than

March 8th, 2010, 12:08 PM

Fahdingding

March 9th, 2010, 05:07 AM

San Miguel Corp. building power plant in GenSan

With the worsening power crisis in this part of Southern Mindanao, comes this peace of news….

In separate news reports today, March 09, 2010, from the online editions of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Manila Standard and other national media outlets, it was gathered that food and beverage behemoth San Miguel Corporation is building a 150-megawatt to 300-MW power plant in General Santos City!

http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/6672/44619754.jpg (http://img202.imageshack.us/i/44619754.jpg/)

This came about with the acquisition of San Miguel Corporation, of Daguma Agro Minerals Inc., a coal plant based in South Cotabato, of the Guingonas, which has the rights over one of the Philippines’ richest coal deposits. This one is located at Barangay Ned, Lake Sebu.

According to San Miguel president Ramon Ang, “a switch-on ceremony is being planned for the construction of a mine-mouth power plant”, which will cost from $150 million to $300 million, at a cost of $1 million per megawatt.

He added that initially the coal-fired power plant would generate 150 MW to 300 MW of electricity but could be increased depending on coal production. His people are now in the process of securing the permits and other requirements needed for both the coal mine and coal plant.

If plans don’t miscarry, construction of the coal plant in General Santos City will start within the year and will be completed by 2012.

The report further revealed that “Another coal mining company, Sultan Energy Philippines Corp., has started test production of its Daguma coal field. Sultan Energy holds a separate coal operating contract in the Daguma coal field covering 7,000 hectares“.

Hydroelectric power plants provide the bulk of Mindanao’s power requirements but they have limited capabilities now due to low water inflow to reservoirs.

The Agus power plant of National Power Corp. have an available capacity of 65 MW out of the total rated output of 727 MW. The Pulangi plant, also owned by Napocor, provides 20 MW out of the total rated capacity of 255 MW.

San Miguel has been intensifying its investments in the power sector. It now owns the 620-MW Limay bunker-fired power plant and trading the 1,000-MW contract of the Sual coal-fired power plant.

San Miguel is also vying for the 246-MW Angat power plant up for bidding next month. – MANILA STANDARD TODAY

If and when San Miguel Corporation complies with all the requirements needed and goes through the necessary processes involved to secure the permits for operation, of this power plant, we are certain that the GenSan City Council will hold no objection to it this time.

romix

March 9th, 2010, 05:15 AM

kung ganoon na mga private sector na ang may hold sa electricity, , san mig, aboitiz at kung anek anek pa, we can expect an expensive electricity in the coming days, totoo hinala ko na sinakyan ng govt ang el nino kuno para wala ng oposisyon at mapursige tayong iallow mga private firms to takeover the power industry, at sa ganoon they can dictate na magkano sisingilin nila sa atin, while the govt sigurdaong kikita sa mga firms na ito, tayong mga consumers nagsasuffer,

romix

March 9th, 2010, 05:18 AM

dahil naginvest sila ng malaki ,malaki din sisingilin nila sa atin, they are businessmen at habol nila profits not servic, unlike noon na govt ang may hold sa power industry na services talaga nag priority , punta na kang tayo sa papua new guniea

Fahdingding

March 10th, 2010, 01:16 AM

P70million Culinary School in GenSan coming up!

We just found this on the web!

A private learning institution will soon rise in General Santos City, along the Leon Llido Road in Barangay Lagao, together with a branch of an international pre-school. The whole thing costs P70 million!!!!

The names of the schools: The Institute of International Culinary and Hospitality Entrepreneurship (ICEHEF); and, Tumble Tots, a franchise of a Uk-based pre-school, also at the same venue.

Not only will this mean that GenSan is on its way to be the EDUCATIONAL CAPITAL of Region 12 (with the UST commencing the construction of their campus in 2010), but also more employment for our local teaching force.

http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/2231/20435197.jpg (http://img412.imageshack.us/i/20435197.jpg/)

"The property where the P70million Culinary School and Pre-School will rise. It is located along Leon Llido Street."

Ibang klase ka na talaga, GEnSan!!!!

Here is the news report from Philippine News Agency:

DAVAO CITY, Dec. 5 (PNA) — The Institute of International Culinary and Hospitality Enterperneurship (ICHEF) and Tumble Tots, a franchise of the International UK Based Pre School, run by Joji Ilagan Foundation, Inc. will expand in Barangay Lagao, General Santos City.

George Bian, president of JIB Welding Academy said a 3,000-square meter lot ground preparations are underway to fast track the construction in time for the June 2010 opening of classes.

Bian said the school has a capital expenditure of P70 million.

He said there is a need to expand to the provinces because in the coming years people would have problems on transportation cost and would rather look for good schools in the locality that could provide the kind of standards that they want to have for their children.

Joji Ilagan Foundation, Inc. chairperson Joji Ilagan Bian said the school will have the same instructions as all their schools follow uniform concepts including operations based on international standards.

Bian said the reason they are expanding in General Santos is that they believe in the economy of the city.

“We will be introducing the concept of international hospitality schools in the city noting that they have lots of students coming from that area in their Davao City-based schools,” she said.

She said they really have plans for General Santos City even as she said that they are eyeing other neighboring areas like South Cotabato and Sarangani.

She said the General Santos City expansion is part of their five year plan from 2010 to 2015 to put up schools in key cities in Mindanao like Sultan Kudarat. They had one in Iloilo, she added.

The schools could smaller but the facilities will be the same, Bian emphasized. (PNA)

_____________________________________________________________

Nadaanan ko ang Leon Llido St. Kahapon at nakita ko na full - blast na ang consrtuction.... Very imposing ang building (4 storeys)

earlat

March 10th, 2010, 02:27 AM

^^ asa ni cya banda sa Gensan? Sorry nakalimot na ko asa ni.. :D :D

Fahdingding

March 10th, 2010, 02:50 AM

^^ asa ni cya banda sa Gensan? Sorry nakalimot na ko asa ni.. :D :D

http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/3531/75019887.jpg (http://img13.imageshack.us/i/75019887.jpg/)

Mao na xa exact location lat! If only I have my DigiCam! :ohno:

Fahdingding

March 10th, 2010, 06:27 AM

regjeex

March 10th, 2010, 07:41 AM

hahahahaha :lol: hahahhaaha makalagot nga makatawa... bitaw so far Fahds, andam nako kaayo sa akong pag uli sa amo karong mayo... so for now, mag eenjoy sa ko sa full supply diri sa among area... with A/C no interruption at all day, all night... :cheers: pero when i get home, na tabla ray na ligo permi.. ligo og singot... hahaha pastilang inita... :bash: ma feel nako nga during alas 7 AM basa na akong ilok... :lol: lahi na akong paminaw basta mo uli kay mang lagkit man daun... humid na jud ang pinas.. murag nag change na jud ang planeta... hahaha kay diri sa mga deserto, nag cge nag ulan... hahahaha so murag nibali na jud ang panahon.. puhon ang pinas nasad mag snow... hahahaha... take note ha. diri sa akong area, desert man unta ni.. pero ga snow oi... :cheers: it changed a lot brother.. mao nga sooner or later, ang pinas dili na pede kung wala A/C.. bisan pag nipa ang balay...

nj_than

March 10th, 2010, 10:14 AM

12 hours na brownout dito GENSAN 3hrs INTERVAL... meaning 3 hours may ilaw then 3 hours wala and so on and so forth! vice versa! paulit ulit na lang! masisiraan na ako ng bait!
:badnews::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah:

^^tama jud ka dira fadh.. nabuang na pud ko....:nuts::nuts::nuts::nuts:

Fahdingding

March 11th, 2010, 12:47 AM

According to Sir ORMAN O. MANANSALA in his FB post:

Beginning March 30, PHILIPPINE AIRLINES will have an afternoon flight to-from Manila. This is in addition to their morning schedule!

nj_than

March 11th, 2010, 03:17 PM

According to Sir ORMAN O. MANANSALA in his FB post:

Beginning March 30, PHILIPPINE AIRLINES will have an afternoon flight to-from Manila. This is in addition to their morning schedule!

^^yan ang good news.... sana tuloy na rin to renovate sa gensan airport...:banana::banana::banana:

Fahdingding

March 12th, 2010, 12:50 AM

Source:

http://www.davaocityjobs.com/hiring/2010/03/general-manager-for-a-memorial-park-in-gen-san/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+DavaoCityJobs+(Davao+City+Jobs)

General Manager For A Memorial Park In Gen San
Job posting date: Wednesday, March 10, 2010.

BIOCIELO REALTY AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, a member of the CK Universal Group of Companies has recently acquired a 25-hectare land in Mabuhay, General Santos City. This memorial park will cater to the most modern memorial park facilities and services that will be first in the South Cotabato and North Cotabato areas.

We are seeking for a General Manager to direct and lead the operations of its memorial park located in General Santos City. The primary responsibilities of this position include, but are not limited to the following:

Ensure that a premier level of client satisfaction is provided that exceeds the expectations of our client families.
Achieve the financial goals of the location while executing the marketing strategies of the organization in collaboration with the sales team.
Develop and maintain a positive and productive working environment that motivates employees to strive for performance excellence.
Develop the business in such a way that we are the provider of choice in the area.
Job Requirements / Qualifications:

Ability to analyze financial reports to determine actions necessary to maintain and/or improve the location’s performance.
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
Active participation in community organizations.
Significant managerial experience gained from a memorial park operations.
Willing to work or be assigned at General Santos City.
Interested applicants may e-mail their comprehensive resume together a colored 2×2 picture to

Email Address : tgvenigas@yahoo.com
using MSWord 2003 format.

Contact Person:
TEOFILO G. VENIGAS
HRMD Corporate Officer
Biocielo Realty and Development Corporation
Osmena Street, Koronadal City
South Cotabato

Peng Hok

March 12th, 2010, 01:39 AM

12 hours na brownout dito GENSAN 3hrs INTERVAL... meaning 3 hours may ilaw then 3 hours wala and so on and so forth! vice versa! paulit ulit na lang! masisiraan na ako ng bait!
:badnews::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah::gaah:

Thank God it's not like that here in Davao City. Only 1-2 hours daily power interruption in selected sectors (mostly downtown) and almost no power interruption in residential districts.

Fahdingding

March 12th, 2010, 01:49 AM

Thank God it's not like that here in Davao City. Only 1-2 hours daily power interruption in selected sectors (mostly downtown) and almost no power interruption in residential districts.

buti pa jan DAVAO!

earlat

March 12th, 2010, 04:11 AM

buti pa jan DAVAO!

Na-unsa man diay ang Gensan.. Coz here in Cebu, we don't have any power interruptions at all.. AFAIK.. :ohno::ohno::ohno:

tunatuna

March 12th, 2010, 05:29 AM

Isa lang ang pwedeng tanungin... SOCOTECO II?!!! Whats happening???!!!

Fahdingding

March 12th, 2010, 06:23 AM

Na-unsa man diay ang Gensan.. Coz here in Cebu, we don't have any power interruptions at all.. AFAIK.. :ohno::ohno::ohno:

Isa lang ang pwedeng tanungin... SOCOTECO II?!!! Whats happening???!!!

Swerte ang Luzon at Visayas kasi may may reserba pa ng 200+ MW ang Luzon at deficit lang ng 3 MW ang Visayas...

Unlike dito sa MINDANAO 700+ MW lang na - gigenerate na power while ang consumption ay 1,400+ MW at peak hours... meaning kalahati lang ang supply ng kuryente dito sa Mindanao over the demand....

Partly to blame here is yung EL NINO kasi drained lahat ng water sources dito sa Mindanao kung saan dependent ang mga power plants.... Take note, 70% ng energy dito sa MINDANAO is supplied by Hydro Power Plants.

IMHO, we cannot blame SOCOTECO dito kasi distributor lang naman sila eh!

Kaya we need to invest on power plants other than hydro kasi vulnerable sya sa weather...

Fahdingding

March 12th, 2010, 06:28 AM

Pacquiao-Clottey Fight to be aired LIVE via Pay-per-View at GenSan Gym

It’s final and official!

After getting the assurance from the National Grid Corporation (formerly TransCo) that General Santos City will not experience any power outage or blackout on Sunday, March 14, 2010, GenSan Mayor Jun Acharon immediately decided to push through with the FREE LIVE AIRING on Pay-per-view of the Pacquiao-Clottey Fight at the General Santos City Gymnasium.

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/5559/20248065.jpg (http://img19.imageshack.us/i/20248065.jpg/)

At first, the good mayor opted to back out from what has been a tradition in the city to air Manny Pacquiao’s bouts on a giant screen inside the biggest airconditioned gym in Mindanao. This was after the management of SOCOTECO II, the city’s electric power supplier could not assure him of a brownout-free Sunday when the Pacquiao-Clottey fight will occur.

But with this latest development and assurance from the National Grid Corporation itself, then it’s all systems go for the FREE PAY-PER-VIEW LIVE AIRING of the Pacquiao-Clottey Fight at the GenSan Gym in Barangay Lagao.

Both the local government unit of General Santos and the Office of Congresswoman Darlene Antonino-Custodio are once again joining forces to handle the rights from Solar Sports, to broadcast to more than 10,000 people at the GenSan Gym this FREE PAY-PER-VIEW LIVE AIRING of this Pacquiao-Clottey fight.

No admission tickets will be given out in advanced.

Instead, interested parties may just go directly to the gym, line up at the major entrances as early as 7am on Sunday, March 14, 2010; and wait to be ushered in on a first come, first served basis.
Note: Thanks to Mandirigma for the Poster.

Fahdingding

March 12th, 2010, 12:20 PM

Pupunta talaga ako ROB bukas sa kanilang sale!

Fahdingding

March 12th, 2010, 12:23 PM

Robinsons GenSan’s Summer Lovin’ Midnite Sale

Wave to rush this great piece of news for bargain shoppers and great-buys hunters!

To meet the hot, hot summer months, Robinsons Place – General Santos is conducting a three-day mall-wide sale aptly called Summer Lovin’ Sale this weekend!

For today, Friday, March 12, 2010, it’s gonna be a mall-wide MIDNIGHT SALE with discounts as much as 50% not only at its flagship stores, Robinsons Department Store, Robinsons Supermarket and Robinsons Appliance Center and Handy Man but in almost all of its tenants. If you have been living under a rock for years, a midnite sale is when the mall is still open for business until 12am while offering huge discounts!

Other than that, its FURNITURE SALE is still ongoing at the mall Atrium. Bariles even bought a tall 4 cabinet with glass doors for P2,000 only!

As for the movie enthusiasts, the mall’s Barkada Treat Promo has been extended until March 30, 2010!

Whew!

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/3600/91184301.jpg

See you guys at Robinsons Malls Summer Lovin’ Midnight Sale tonight!
Pahabol:
Tomorrow, Saturday, March 13, 2010, shoppers may have a chance to MEET and GREET Kapuso Sexy Star IWA MOTO at 5pm at the Robinsons Atrium. It’s your chance to ogle at one of FHM Magazine’s Sexiest Pinay Covergirls.

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/5414/74373041.jpg

regjeex

March 12th, 2010, 01:40 PM

OT:

Ganahan ko anang Iwa moto kay himsog.. hehehe :cheers:

nj_than

March 12th, 2010, 02:42 PM

national guard

March 12th, 2010, 09:15 PM

GenSan hospital gets P4-M medical equipment, supplies from Rotary International

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, March 12 (PNA) – The ongoing modernization and upgrading program of the city hospital here received a major boost with the arrival of some P4 million worth of donated equipment and medical supplies from an international civic group.

City Mayor Pedro Acharon Jr. said Friday they received various sets of new medical equipment, assorted supplies and hospital machines through donations from club members based in Australia of the Rotary International.

The donated hospital equipment and supplies were composed of a baby warmer, two incubators, 16 hospital beds, two heart machines, a side table, a microwave oven, a cautery machine, a set of endoscopy machine and 234 boxes of various medical supplies.

“These items are very important for our hospital’s operations and will certainly help improve its services,” Acharon said.

Rey Billena, president of the Rotary Club of Greater GenSan, said they initially sought for the acquisition of the hospital equipment and supplies a year ago through counterparts in other countries.

He said their plan was well received by club members in Australia who immediately worked for the gathering of the donations for the hospital.

“They also helped us in with the two surgical missions that we organized for the area,” he said.

Dr. Arvin Alejandro, medical director of the city hospital, said the arrival of the new hospital equipment and supplies were a big help for the facility as it could now accommodate more patients from the area.

“We’re really short of equipment and available beds right now so these donations would really help ease our problems here,” he said.

In January, the city hospital also received some P7 million worth of modern medical equipment from the Department of Health (DOH).

The new equipment were part of the P11 million worth of assistance package committed by the DOH this year for the city hospital’s continuing upgrading and modernization program.

The local government earlier allocated some P100 million for the city hospital’s expansion and upgrading to facilitate its plans to elevate the classification of the hospital to tertiary level. (PNA)
FFC/AVE

SOURCE : PNA (http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=7&sid=&nid=7&rid=263889)

Fahdingding

March 13th, 2010, 03:49 AM

Pacquiao stops scheduled brownout in General Santos City
By Aquiles Zonio
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 07:19:00 03/13/2010

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines—The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines will spare the city from brownouts on Sunday, when Manny Pacquiao faces Joshua Clottey.

Because of this, the city government announced that the live showing of the fight at the 6,000-seater Lagao gymnasium would push through as scheduled.

Earlier, the city government said it would cancel the free live showing of the bout because the local power utility could not give an assure there will be no power interruptions on Sunday.

“The assurance from the NGCP that there would be no brownout made the City Mayor change his mind,” said Avel Manansala, media liaison officer of Mayor Pedro Acharon.

Manansala said the city government would regulate the number of people inside the gym as in the past, by giving out admission tickets.

Like the rest of Mindanao, General Santos City has been under the rotational brownout scheme being implemented by the NGCP due to the El Niño phenomenon.

Pacquiao is a native of General Santos City.

chevy_boy

March 13th, 2010, 07:49 AM

Just got back here in Manila from GenSan last thurs til yesterday with three of my officemates...

Pumunta kami ng Gumasa - sa Coco beach... Sobrang nag enjoy sila.. parang Bora daw pero tahimik at peaceful. Parang paradise daw...

Akala nila yung GenSan daw ay parang rural area lang like smaller cities sa Luzon. Nagulat sila sa roads natin and sa city. Malaki daw and urban na urban na....

Sa tingin ko kung hindi mag dagdag ng regular flights ang PAL between Manila and GenSan, magdadagdag siguro ang Cebu Pacific dito. Yung load ng 2 daily Manila - Gensan ay mataas lagi... esp. GES-MNL halos laging puno...

romix

March 13th, 2010, 11:37 AM

sana dito sa butuan wala ding brownout bukas para di kami makapunta sa gaisano mall at babayad ng 150 sa pacquio-clottey encounter

romix

March 13th, 2010, 11:44 AM

narenovate na ba ang giasano mall dyan sa gensan, sa totoo lang nakakhilo g mall nyo dyan ang daming daan i like kcc mall parang sm city ,

[earthling]

March 13th, 2010, 01:21 PM

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/8956/businessworld.jpg

Tuna firm hikes stake in New Zealand venture
07:38 PM, March 12, 2010

LISTED ALLIANCE Tuna International, Inc. has increased its stake in its New Zealand venture as it continues to go beyond its core business.

The company told the bourse on Friday that it now owns 50% plus one share or one million shares of Prime Foods New Zealand, Ltd., from just 39.4% last year.

Alliance Tuna said it bought the shares at NZ$1.00 apiece using internally generated cash.

Prime Foods is a New Zealand-based salmon processing company and is the first venture of Alliance Tuna outside its core tuna business. The acquisition will give the homegrown tuna giant a controlling interest in a successful brand in the lucrative Oceania market.

A joint venture company, Big Glory Bay Salmon Processing, Inc. will start building a plant in General Santos City this year. Alliance Tuna expects commercial operations of Big Glory Bay to start in August. The new unit plans to export tuna to Australia, Singapore and the Middle East this year.

Prime Foods has been manufacturing and selling smoked tuna since 1994. Its products include hot smoked, cold smoked and marinated salmon. It is one of the largest retailers of smoked seafood in New Zealand, with a market share of more than a third in that country.

Aside from Prime Foods, Alliance Tuna has another offshore unit based in Indonesia, PT International Alliance Food Indonesia. Alliance Tuna plans to boost the operations of its Indonesian tuna subsidiary to 100 metric tons (MT) a day from just 30 MT a day this year.

Shares in the company did not move at P1.80 per share on Friday.

eldard

March 13th, 2010, 01:26 PM

^^Mahina na ang Gaisano Gensan buti nga. Karma 'yan sa mga mabagal mag-innovate. Pati mga saleslady naga-pamaypay kay hinay ang aircon (this was way before the rotating brownouts.) Pagsulod nimo sa KCC ah, kalami! Lamig kaayo ang aircon. Sabagay, pare-pareho lang silang pag-aari ng mga bwisit na -----. joke

BTW, I'm loving this El Nino. Balos ni sa mga farmers after gikawat ang lupa sa amo'ng parente para i-distribute sa CARP. Oh, yeah. LOL

eldard

March 13th, 2010, 01:30 PM

Dugay na kaayo ko'g wala kaadto'g dagat. Baho'g lana lang ba gihapon around the canning areas? ahahaha

eldard

March 13th, 2010, 01:44 PM

Isa lang ang pwedeng tanungin... SOCOTECO II?!!! Whats happening???!!!

Conspiracy. Remember, walang energy crisis nu'ng nagka-El Nino last 1998. :banana: And AFAIK there wasn't a drop of rain for 6 months back then. Halos mapatay gani ang lanzones namo sauna.

jundem_dq63

March 13th, 2010, 03:33 PM

Robinsons GenSan’s Summer Lovin’ Midnite Sale

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/3600/91184301.jpg

Nationwide d ay ang ilang summer sale...midnight sale.... same date din... eheheh....nice nice....

m1k3

March 13th, 2010, 03:34 PM

Dugay na kaayo ko'g wala kaadto'g dagat. Baho'g lana lang ba gihapon around the canning areas? ahahaha

baho lang gyapon og isda labi na sa philbest baho jud kaayp kay daplin ra sa kalsada ilang planta...

earlat

March 13th, 2010, 08:59 PM

;53365823']http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/8956/businessworld.jpg

Tuna firm hikes stake in New Zealand venture
07:38 PM, March 12, 2010

LISTED ALLIANCE Tuna International, Inc. has increased its stake in its New Zealand venture as it continues to go beyond its core business.

The company told the bourse on Friday that it now owns 50% plus one share or one million shares of Prime Foods New Zealand, Ltd., from just 39.4% last year.

Alliance Tuna said it bought the shares at NZ$1.00 apiece using internally generated cash.

Prime Foods is a New Zealand-based salmon processing company and is the first venture of Alliance Tuna outside its core tuna business. The acquisition will give the homegrown tuna giant a controlling interest in a successful brand in the lucrative Oceania market.

A joint venture company, Big Glory Bay Salmon Processing, Inc. will start building a plant in General Santos City this year. Alliance Tuna expects commercial operations of Big Glory Bay to start in August. The new unit plans to export tuna to Australia, Singapore and the Middle East this year.

Prime Foods has been manufacturing and selling smoked tuna since 1994. Its products include hot smoked, cold smoked and marinated salmon. It is one of the largest retailers of smoked seafood in New Zealand, with a market share of more than a third in that country.

Aside from Prime Foods, Alliance Tuna has another offshore unit based in Indonesia, PT International Alliance Food Indonesia. Alliance Tuna plans to boost the operations of its Indonesian tuna subsidiary to 100 metric tons (MT) a day from just 30 MT a day this year.

Shares in the company did not move at P1.80 per share on Friday.

^^ This is a piece of good news.. How about the 2 year fishing ban in the Pacific? Investors are still very positive for Gensan's economy. :)

earlat

March 13th, 2010, 11:05 PM

Good Morning Gensan.. How's the preparation there for Manny Pacquiao's fight?

busyjay

March 14th, 2010, 12:56 AM

morning gensan...

Fahdingding

March 14th, 2010, 01:14 AM

Gensan Gazer Magazine Pays Tribute to 2010 Graduates

http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/3977/26487562.jpg (http://img683.imageshack.us/i/26487562.jpg/)

This week, the March issue of Gensan Gazer magazine will be out
The superlatives that the maiden issue received was heart-warming
for publisher Mandi Nicolas, it was an adrenaline-rush
I had to resign on his parade and bring him back to earth
As a friend, I was happy for his good-fortune
But as a banker, I was concerned about the magazine’s bottom-line
After doing some quick calls to close FRIENDs of mine
The second issue of Gensan’s up and coming lifestyle magazine
Was on its way to the printing press
Gensan’s honest-to-goodness lifestyle magazine is good to go!

http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/5876/46319777.jpg (http://img715.imageshack.us/i/46319777.jpg/)

The problem about publications like this is sustainability

That’s spelled in one word: ADVERTISERS

Considering that the Gensan Gazer is distributed for free

The main source of revenues is every single bit of advertising contract

SIGNED, SEALED and DELIVERED

Without this, we can kiss our future issues goodbye

So how can YOU, my loyal readers, HELP?

Here’s how:

1. Get a copy of Gensan Gazer Magazine

2. Read, re-read then share it with friends.

3. Talk about it. Facebook it. Twitter it. Plurk it.

4. Feature it in your blogsite. Talk about it.

5. Convince your parents to ADVERTISE in it!

I’m not kidding.

We need your help, NOW!

You can view the whole content in:
http://gandaeversomuch.com/2010/03/what-ever/gensan-gazer-magazine-pays-tribute-to-2010-graduates/comment-page-1/#comment-3211

or

http://issuu.com/armandpj/docs/gg_march2010

earlat

March 14th, 2010, 01:35 AM

Fahdingding

March 14th, 2010, 03:19 AM

Do we have a Fan Page in Facebook for this Fahdz??? Perhaps we could help through Facebook. :D

Why don't we create one lat!
Paghimo lat!

Fahdingding

March 14th, 2010, 03:23 AM

GenSan businessmen see hope with PGMA’s calamity declaration over Mindanao power crisis

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (PNA) – Businessmen here and the neighboring areas are cautiously supporting President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s declaration of the entire Mindanao on Thursday under the state of calamity as they hope for an immediate end to the worsening power crisis in the island.

Antonio Veneracion, director of the General Santos City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc., said Friday they were not much concerned with the President’s calamity declaration and were keen on supporting it as long as it would be focused on mainly resolving the lingering power crisis in the island.

“I’m assuming that the government will now step in and take the necessary remedial measures that will correct this worsening problem,” he said.

Veneracion, who is administrator of the St. Elizabeth Hospital here, said they desperately want the power crisis to end soon since most businesses in the area were already losing millions of pesos due to the effects of the brownouts, which already stretched to 12 hours daily during the last two weeks.

He said they could now hardly cope with their growing losses, specifically from the reduced sales or revenues and the high costs of using generator sets during brownouts.

“Business is severely being affected by what is happening now so it must be resolved soon,” he said.

Ronnel Rivera, vice president of tuna industry player RD Corporation, said the President’s declaration could open up some immediate solutions to the power supply deficiency of the island that dropped to the 650-megawatt (MW) level on Thursday after nearing the 800 MW-mark earlier this week.

“I think they should study this matter further and consult the affected sectors so they can come up with some effective solutions,” he said.

Along with the calamity declaration, Rivera urged the national government to come up with some measures that would help ease the impact of the crisis on the business sector.

“They could grant tax free incentives for the importation of generator sets since we also need them right now,” he said.

Veneracion said the government may also study the possibility of granting easy payment options on taxes and other fees to the crisis-hit businesses.

“They may give us some time to settle our payments and other obligations (with the government) on installment basis,” he said.

Manuel Yaphockun, director of the city’s business chamber, said the government may offer tax incentives to some big businesses in exchange for the implementation of voluntary power load curtailment, especially during peak hours.

He said these incentives may be applied to major industrial power users, which can afford to unload from the critical Mindanao power grid during the peak periods.

“They may consider agreeing to such scheme if they can have some incentives in the process,” Yaphockun said.

The entire city and the neighboring provinces of Sarangani and South Cotabato have been experiencing 12-hour rotational brownouts due to a load shedding scheme implemented by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

The long brownouts were blamed on the drastic decline of the generating capacities of the National Power Corporation’s hydroelectric plants due to the El Nino-triggered reduction of the water levels of Lake Lanao and the Agus and Pulangi river systems.

Distribution utility South Cotabato Electric Cooperative II (Socoteco II) is currently utilizing an average daily load capacity of 47.3 to 50.9 MW, a sharp drop from its daily peak demand of 104 to 107 MW.

Due to the NGCP’s power cutback, Socoteco II was forced to implement three-hour brownouts in four phases daily to its entire service area. (PNA)
FFC/AVE

Fahdingding

March 14th, 2010, 03:25 AM

Electric coop eyes construction of mini hydro power plants in South Cotabato

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (PNA) -– Power distribution utility South Cotabato Electric Cooperative (Socoteco) is pushing for the immediate development of mini hydroelectric plants in at least two major river systems in South Cotabato to help stabilize the area’s power requirements within the next two to three years.
Engr. Santiago Tudio, Socoteco-I general manager, said they are currently studying the viability of developing the river systems in Lake Sebu and Tampakan towns in South Cotabato as alternative power resources in the wake of the worsening power shortage in Mindanao.

He said their initial assessment showed that the river system in Sepaka, Lake Sebu and in Barangay Tablu in Tampakan have potentials of generating at least 20-megawatts (MW) of renewable power supplies.

“These resources may later stabilize our power requirements and even supply the needs of our neighboring areas,” he told the Philippines News Agency.

Tudio said they initially proposed to the Provincial Development Council (PDC) of South Cotabato for the development of a 10 MW hydroelectric plant in Lake Sebu town.

He said that based on estimates, the construction of the hydroelectric plant will cost at least P120 million per megawatt or a total of P1.1 billion.

“Right now, we’re trying to bring in some domestic and foreign investors to finance the project,” Tudio said.

Two years ago, Socoteco-I initially planned to develop a portion of the famed Seven Falls in Lake Sebu for the proposed hydroelectric plant. Socoteco officials tried to enlist a group of Japanese investors to finance the project but it later fizzled out.

Tudio said they scrapped the proposed project as it might affect later on the provincial government’s efforts to develop the seven waterfalls of Lake Sebu as a tourist destination.

“So far, our main problem is the financing part. Right now, most investors are very wary of putting their money here in Mindanao because of the peace and order situation,” he said.

Socoteco-I, which has an average power demand of 28 MW, serves at least nine municipalities and one city in South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat provinces.

Its service area has been experiencing rotational brownouts that last for five to six hours daily due to a load shedding scheme implemented by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

The long brownouts were blamed on the drastic decline of the generating capacities of the National Power Corporation’s hydroelectric plants due to the El Nino-triggered reduction of the water levels of Lake Lanao and the Agus and Pulangi river systems.(PNA)
FFC/AVE

Fahdingding

March 14th, 2010, 03:28 AM

boju2

March 14th, 2010, 03:32 AM

May free link kayo sa Paquiao-Clottey fight live streaming? hehe

Fahdingding

March 14th, 2010, 03:33 AM

narenovate na ba ang giasano mall dyan sa gensan, sa totoo lang nakakhilo g mall nyo dyan ang daming daan i like kcc mall parang sm city ,

^^Mahina na ang Gaisano Gensan buti nga. Karma 'yan sa mga mabagal mag-innovate. Pati mga saleslady naga-pamaypay kay hinay ang aircon (this was way before the rotating brownouts.) Pagsulod nimo sa KCC ah, kalami! Lamig kaayo ang aircon. Sabagay, pare-pareho lang silang pag-aari ng mga bwisit na -----. joke

BTW, I'm loving this El Nino. Balos ni sa mga farmers after gikawat ang lupa sa amo'ng parente para i-distribute sa CARP. Oh, yeah. LOL

Yes! Under Renovation pa rin ang CINEMA Complex ng Gaisano...
Pero infairness, mas malakas pa rin ang GAISANO kesa ROBINSON'S... Mas lumakas nga ngayon GAISANO since ngopen ang ROB!

Fahdingding

March 14th, 2010, 03:35 AM

Lack of rain clouds hampers cloud seeding in GenSan, South Cotabato
GENERAL SANTOS CITY (PNA) –

The lack of seedable rain clouds has been slowing down the national government’s cloud seeding operations for several areas here and nearby South Cotabato province that were ravaged by the continuing long dry spell or El Niño Phenomenon.
Merlinda Donasco, city agriculture office chief, said Thursday the aircraft commissioned by the Department of Agriculture (DA) to conduct the cloud seeding only managed to launch a single sortie or flight since last week due to the continuing shortage of cumulo-nimbus clouds in the area’s atmosphere.

“The (cloud seeding) operations were postponed several times because there were not enough suitable clouds to seed,” she said.

The DA’s Bureau of Soil and Water Management (BSWM), which supervises the government’s cloud seeding operations, earlier scheduled the cloud seeding in the South Cotabato area and in this city beginning last March 1.

Cloud seeding is the process of manually spreading either dry ice or salt into the upper part of the clouds to help stimulate the precipitation process and form rain.

But Donasco said BSWM personnel called off the scheduled operations during its first week due to the absence of seedable clouds.

She said the BN Islander aircraft chartered by the BSWM for the cloud seeding made its first sortie for the city this week but the seeded clouds were carried by the winds within the Mt. Matutum area and eventually poured into Barangay Palkan in Tupi, South Cotabato.

For the South Cotabato area, Provincial Agriculturist Reynaldo Legaste said only four sorties have materialized so far and they were still waiting for its results.

He said three sorties were launched in T’boli town last Monday and one in Koronadal City area last Tuesday.

“The induced rains usually come two to three days later so we’re still monitoring if the initial operations were successful,” he said.

Legaste said BSWM personnel are currently monitoring possible formations of seedable clouds in Datu Paglas area in Maguindanao and within the mountainous boundaries of Tampakan town in South Cotabato and Columbio in Sultan Kudarat for the next cloud seeding sorties.

“The cloud seeding team is on standby and is preparing to launch another round of sorties once they find enough formations of seedable clouds,” he said.

Leolito Siase, BSWM’s area coordinator for Region 12, said they earlier anticipated the possible shortage of suitable clouds in the area due to the worsening heat condition in the area as a result of the El Niño.

“We’re actually in a hurry to do this because it would be very difficult to conduct cloud seeding once the dry spell peaks because the rain clouds are usually scarce by then,” said Siase, citing their recent experience in drought-hit areas in northern Luzon.

The provincial government of South Cotabato earlier requested for the launching of cloud seeding operations due to the worsening impact of the El Niño in the area but it decided to postpone them until the first week of March to avoid disruptions to the flowering and fruiting of fruit-bearing trees in the area.

Based on recent field assessments made by the City Agriculture Office, the drought already destroyed some P18.1 million worth of agricultural crops in the area.

It said the areas ravaged by the drought comprised 1,189 hectares of corn with a damage of P15.8 million and 114 hectares of palay worth at least P2.3 million.

In South Cotabato, Legaste said some 3,600 hectares of corn valued at P43 million and 1,800 hectares of palay worth P11 million have been so far damaged because of the drought.(PNA)
LDV/AVE

Fahdingding

March 14th, 2010, 03:36 AM

May free link kayo sa Paquiao-Clottey fight live streaming? hehe

Ako connected ako sa PLDT WATCHPAD! :lol:

earlat

March 14th, 2010, 03:43 AM

Why don't we create one lat!
Paghimo lat!

Di man ko kahibaw.. Pero I'll try.. hehehe.. :banana:

Fahdingding

March 14th, 2010, 04:05 AM

Di man ko kahibaw.. Pero I'll try.. hehehe.. :banana:

Thnx 4 creating lat! fan nako!

snaku

March 14th, 2010, 04:50 AM

magproblema na pod nang san miguel sa ilang coal fired power plant kay sa gensan jud mismo ipatindog

snaku

March 14th, 2010, 05:15 AM

according sa COA report of 2008

polomolok income 214,033,904.03

visit the website
http://www.coa.gov.ph/Financial_Reports.htm
dont forget page 116

snaku

March 14th, 2010, 05:20 AM

by the way download nyo ung buong report..ung may volume III para makaabot kau sa page 116

chevy_boy

March 14th, 2010, 08:59 AM

Conspiracy. Remember, walang energy crisis nu'ng nagka-El Nino last 1998. :banana: And AFAIK there wasn't a drop of rain for 6 months back then. Halos mapatay gani ang lanzones namo sauna.

Election na kasi!!!

chevy_boy

March 14th, 2010, 09:01 AM

HaHaHa! Now They Know! -Manny Pacquiao! :lol:
Yes, effective March 30, may afternoon flights na ang PAL every TUE, THUR and SAT. :banana:

kaso lang til june 6 lang yan... dapat gawin na kasi regular flights yan...

boju2

March 14th, 2010, 09:04 AM

http://www8.gmanews.tv/images/topstories/pac%20wins%20over%20clottey%20ap.jpg
Boxing champ Manny Pacquiao celebrates after defeating Joshua Clottey of Ghana, with a unanimous decision Saturday in Arlington, Texas (Sunday in Manila). AP

mrboy

March 14th, 2010, 09:10 AM

^^ mabuhay at Congrats!! :banana: :banana: :banana:

raztadog

March 14th, 2010, 11:45 AM

PHOTOGRAPHY ADDICTS!! here is a chance of winning!

"ATING MINDANAO" photo competition..

http://angatingmindanao.webs.com/Ang%20Ating%20Mindanao%20Photo%20Compttn.JPG

Just take a good shot in a beautiful scenery found in Mindanao and send it to us!

submit your pictures now!! to contact@gensanpubhouse.com

PRIZES

Grand Prize: One Return Ticket Dubai-Manila Or Vise-Versa Plus Php 20,000/- cash

Monthly Prizes: Hotel/Resort accommodation for two persons or family of 4 to any tourist destinations in the Philippines

Fahdingding

March 14th, 2010, 01:33 PM

magproblema na pod nang san miguel sa ilang coal fired power plant kay sa gensan jud mismo ipatindog

Why? reminiscent of their failed SAN MIGUEL BREWERY here in GENSAN?

Fahdingding

March 14th, 2010, 01:33 PM

kaso lang til june 6 lang yan... dapat gawin na kasi regular flights yan...

talaga?

nj_than

March 14th, 2010, 01:45 PM

romix

March 14th, 2010, 02:29 PM

dark_knight_detectve

March 14th, 2010, 03:52 PM

congrats manny! congrats gensan! this is something to be proud of.

mrboy

March 14th, 2010, 05:05 PM

buti walang brownout sa whole mindnao, congrats manny kaya lang di namin matake si arnel pineda , sumimplang sa huling nota ng lupang hinirang , what happened, is he nervous , dinaga ang dibdib , nakakahiya

na nerbyos siguro... kasi naman lahat naman ata ng singer na kumanta sa laban ni pacquiao ganun nararamdaman lalo na alam nila babantayan talaga sila at expected na ma-criticized. kaya naiintidihan ko para sa akin... pero ok naman ang performance niya as a whole.

Fahdingding

March 15th, 2010, 01:55 AM

na nerbyos siguro... kasi naman lahat naman ata ng singer na kumanta sa laban ni pacquiao ganun nararamdaman lalo na alam nila babantayan talaga sila at expected na ma-criticized. kaya naiintidihan ko para sa akin... pero ok naman ang performance niya as a whole.

buti walang brownout sa whole mindnao, congrats manny kaya lang di namin matake si arnel pineda , sumimplang sa huling nota ng lupang hinirang , what happened, is he nervous , dinaga ang dibdib , nakakahiya

YEs! Napansin ko rin pero natural talaga yung kabahan ka pag kumakanta ng LUPANG HINIRANG lalo na alam mo sinusubaybayan ka ng lahat!

earlat

March 15th, 2010, 04:08 AM

^^ Did he falter while singing the National Anthem? :D I didn't watch the fight coz of the intermittent internet connection..

eldard

March 15th, 2010, 08:55 AM

Yes! Under Renovation pa rin ang CINEMA Complex ng Gaisano...
Pero infairness, mas malakas pa rin ang GAISANO kesa ROBINSON'S... Mas lumakas nga ngayon GAISANO since ngopen ang ROB!

Uh, no. Mas malakas ang Robinson compared sa Gaisano. Pero pinakamalakas ang KCC. (Naay promo buy 3 take 1 ang Rob sinehan kay wala kaayo gatan-aw.)

notnot

March 15th, 2010, 12:49 PM

hakz2007

March 15th, 2010, 01:14 PM

Mindanao electric coops negotiate 150 MW power purchase from Aboitiz (http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=264327)

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, March 15 (PNA) – Mindanao’s 33 electric cooperatives have started negotiations with power producer Aboitiz Power Corp. (AboitizPower) for the possibility of aligning some 150-megawatts (MW) of additional power supplies to the critical Mindanao power grid.

Engr. Santiago Tudio, South Cotabato Electric Cooperative I (Socoteco I) general manager, said key officers of the Association of Mindanao Rural Electric Cooperatives (Amreco) have made representations with AboitizPower to negotiate a supply agreement that will supplement some 100 MW to the power requirements of the island’s electric cooperatives.

He said AboitizPower initially offered to supply some 30 MW to the Mindanao grid but Amreco, through its president Sergio Dagooc, is working to increase the allocation to 100 MW.

Tudio said Amreco officials are currently negotiating the price and the terms and conditions of the proposed power purchase based on regulations provided for by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

“We’re particularly after the cost. We want to give our consumers the best price that we can negotiate,” he told reporters over the weekend.

Aside from the 100 MW being negotiated by Amreco, Tudio said Socoteco I is also exploring the possibility of opening negotiations with AboitizPower for the utilization of the additional 50 MW from its diesel-fired power barge stationed in Nasipit, Agusan del Norte.

He said the 100 MW-capacity power barge, which was taken over by AboitizPower earlier this month, currently supplies some 50 MW to the Mindanao grid.

“If these additional power supplies would be aligned to the Mindanao grid and rationed to the electric cooperatives, the number of hours covered by the rotational brownouts would likely be reduced by at least half,” Tudio said.

Socoteco I, which has an average peak demand of 28 MW, serves at least nine municipalities and one city in the provinces of South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat.

Tudio said that in the case of Socoteco I, which implements four to six hours of rotational brownouts daily, the additional power load may reduce the brownouts to just two hours daily.

The firm’s counterpart electric cooperative, Socoteco II, currently implements three-hour brownouts in four phases daily or a total of 12 hours to its entire service area that covers this city, the entire Sarangani province and the municipalities of Polomolok and Tupi in South Cotabato.

Socoteco II, which has a peak demand of 104 to 107 MW, only maintains a power load of 47.3 to 50.9 MW daily as a result of the load shedding scheme imposed by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

The NGCP blamed the power cuts to the drastic decline of the generating capacities of the National Power Corporation’s hydroelectric plants due to the El Niño-triggered reduction of the water levels in Lake Lanao and the Agus and Pulangi river systems. (PNA)

hakz2007

March 15th, 2010, 01:15 PM

15 GenSan villages seek calamity declaration (http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=264326)

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, March 15 (PNA) – At least 15 farming villages here are working for their declaration under the state of calamity due to the continuing onslaught of the long dry spell or El Niño phenomenon.

The City Agriculture Office (CAO) here reported Monday that officials of the 15 villages have initially requested the calamity declaration from the city government to allow the use of their calamity funds to combat the impact of the drought, which already destroyed more than P18 million worth of agricultural crops in the area.

The barangays that were listed as severely affected by the drought were Conel, Olympog, Mabuhay, Sinawal, Upper Labay, Batomelong, Tinagacan, Katangawan, Ligaya, San Jose, Tambler, Fatima, San Isidro, Buayan and Baluan.

City agriculturist Merlinda Donasco met with officials of the affected barangays Monday to evaluate the extent of the drought’s impact, especially on agricultural crops.

She said they also launched an assessment on the request for calamity declaration that was sought by the affected barangays.

CAO personnel are now evaluating President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s declaration of the entire Mindanao under the state of calamity last Thursday to determine whether it could serve as basis to respond to the needs of the drought-hit areas in the city.

The President issued the calamity declaration to allow the national and local governments to respond to the impact of the lingering power crisis, which was mainly triggered by the long dry spell.

Since the drought intensified last month, more than 1,100 hectares of corn and 230 hectares of palay in the city have been damaged.

The unusually intense heat brought by the dry spell also affected farmlands planted with sugarcane, mango, sorghum and banana.

Abeto Gulle, Olympog barangay chair, said more than 300 hectares of corn and other crops in the area that were worth around P300,000 to P500,000 were so far destroyed due to the El Niño.

Gulle said they sought for the calamity declaration to allow them to immediately respond to the needs of some of their constituents who were affected by the El Niño.

He said such declaration would authorize the barangay council to utilize their calamity funds, which comprise five percent of their annual budget, worth around P50,000.

“We intend to use our calamity fund to purchase rice and other food items and distribute them to our affected farmers and their families,” he said.(PNA)

nj_than

March 15th, 2010, 02:55 PM

may bagong news!

nag silent protest na ang mga taxi operators at drivers sa gensan!!
Finally umabot na talaga sila sa sukdulan!!
wala kasing paki alam ang city government sa transportation sa gensan!!
kahit mga colorom at mga illegal na sasakyan naglipana..
ang mga kawawang taxi drivers natin na legal ang pamamasada ang naapektuhan
kahit sino na lang pwede mamasahero!!
ano ba yan!!
syudad tayo! syudad!

hahai!!

^^mas mabuti kung ganon.... para naman maiwasan na talaga ang mga kulorom dito sa gensan.. kawawa naman ang nga taxi driver natin kung wala pakialam ang local government natin..

earlat

March 16th, 2010, 12:10 AM

^^mas mabuti kung ganon.... para naman maiwasan na talaga ang mga kulorom dito sa gensan.. kawawa naman ang nga taxi driver natin kung wala pakialam ang local government natin..

Honestly, yung 'habal-habal' ang gusto kong mawala coz it's really very unsafe. I mean, let's face it, it might be very cheap, but your life is at stake.. :( :ohno:

Fahdingding

March 16th, 2010, 01:07 AM

KCC Mall of GenSan opens North Wing expansion

A week ago KCC Mall of GenSan finally unveiled the first phase of expansion on its flagship store, the KCC Department Store Annex. The move was part of its preparations to meet head-on the entry of Manila-based malls in General Santos City, Robinsons Place which opened in October 2009 and most notably, SM City which is reportedly opening during the 2nd quarter of 2011.

Occupying the farthermost end of the new and longer North Wing of the Second Floor, the bigger KCC Department Store (or Annex) houses its Household Items sections, its Electronic Goods Section, Furniture Section, and its Fabrics Section, among others, which all were separated from the original site at the First Floor.

http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/4465/34031907.jpg
"THE ENTRANCE TO THE 2ND FLOOR KCC DEPARTMENT STORE AT THE NEW NORTH WING OF KCC"

The new KCC Department Store (annex) at the North Wing has a very high-end look and could be mistaken for an outlet of the department stores of Rustans or Robinsons.

As one enters the main entrance, this is what greets him (see picture below)….

http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/1332/74585984.jpg
"THE MINI-ATRIUM/LOBBY OF THE NEW KCC DEPARTMENT STORE GREETS SHOPPERS WHO ENTER ITS WIDE OPEN ENTRANCE DOORS"

The aisles are more spacious, the lighting fixtures brighter and the merchandise are more varied and of higher quality and therefore are pricier. The ambience definitely is, as Melai of PBB would say, “PANG-MAYAMAN“!

Here are more pictures of the new KCC Department Store Annex at the mall’s North Wing Expansion.

http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/6523/37719730.jpg
"THE NOVELTY SECTION OF THE KCC DEPARTMENT STORE ANNEX"

http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/7488/40231514.jpg
THE LINENS SECTION BOASTS OF MORE AND CLASSIER IMPORTED PIECES AS EVIDENCED BY THIS PICTURE."

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/2275/84922410.jpg
"THE CLASSY TEXTILE SECTION OF THE KCC DEPARTMENT STORE ANNEX"

http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/9803/82812659.jpg
"ANOTHER SHOT OF THE NEW KCC DEPARTMENT STORE WIDE AISLES"

Competition really brings out the best in all the players concerned. KCC Mall of GenSan’s recent expansion and improvement moves only strengthened its hold on the bigger bulk of Soccsksargen’s value-conscious shoppers. Last we heard, even Gaisano Mall of GenSan has responded to the challenge and has started renovating its old building to accommodate a bigger, shinier and hippier four-storey edifice.

Even newly-opened Robinsons Place GenSan shows no signs of letup in coming up with surprises for its trendy upscale market and has definitely opted to concentrate in cornering a big slice of the A-B market.

What do all these mean for us? Economically, lot of course and will in no doubt award the city with a new monicker as the new “SHOPPING CAPITAL OF SOUTH CENTRAL MINDANAO”.

Fahdingding

March 16th, 2010, 01:13 AM

Lash in the City is in GenSan!

A few weeks ago, Bariles was noticing something different about the ladies in his office.
Not only were they looking prettier and were dressing smarter but were also projecting more self-confidence in they way they were carrying themselves and in interacting with their clients. They were more patronizing too and kept fluttering their eyelashes at him each time by walk by his office table!

Bariles couldn’t make out the cause of all these and thought that there was a female virus at loose in the building until finally, he found out the real reason behind the ladies’ more self-assured stance and more stunning looks.

They all came from a series of visits at the new LASH IN THE CITY Eyelash Extension Lounge! In short, they had eyelashes extensions plastered on their now captivating eyes!!!

http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/2149/17264510.jpg

These eyelash extensions are actually synthetic single fiber polyester thread-like materials which are applied to individual eyelashes to create a fuller, longer look. With the use of a surgical adhesive they are attached and bonded with the natural eyelashes, making them appear longer….. giving the ladies’ faces in Bariles’ office lovelier, more seductive, dreamy and tantalizing looks.

Based on the price list of the services (see poster above), the extensions could go as low as P500 and as high as P1,000. According to my office mates, you can use them even while showering and they could last until two weeks.

http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/438/16490380.jpg

Lash in the City which is owned by entrepreneur Bebot Haw is located at the Second Floor office of Mr. Big Shot Indoor Badminton Court, inside the NCCC Compound, National Highway, General Santos City. (See map above.) It is the compound where one can find Six Blings Restaurant, Oh-Olang Seafood Resto, San Mig Sports Bar and ICONS Restaurant.

For appointments, please call or text 0906-3600171 or 0932-9812323. If you want to see how effective LASH IN THE CITY is in transforming ladies’ eyes into those of Bette Davis’, go and visit Bariles at his office and let him introduce you to his officemates. Then you will see what he means…

Fahdingding

March 16th, 2010, 02:02 AM

15 GenSan villages seek calamity declaration

GENERAL SANTOS CITY(PNA) – At least 15 farming villages here are working for their declaration under the state of calamity due to the continuing onslaught of the long dry spell or El Niño phenomenon.
The City Agriculture Office (CAO) here reported Monday that officials of the 15 villages have initially requested the calamity declaration from the city government to allow the use of their calamity funds to combat the impact of the drought, which already destroyed more than P18 million worth of agricultural crops in the area.

The barangays that were listed as severely affected by the drought were Conel, Olympog, Mabuhay, Sinawal, Upper Labay, Batomelong, Tinagacan, Katangawan, Ligaya, San Jose, Tambler, Fatima, San Isidro, Buayan and Baluan.

City agriculturist Merlinda Donasco met with officials of the affected barangays Monday to evaluate the extent of the drought’s impact, especially on agricultural crops.

She said they also launched an assessment on the request for calamity declaration that was sought by the affected barangays.

CAO personnel are now evaluating President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s declaration of the entire Mindanao under the state of calamity last Thursday to determine whether it could serve as basis to respond to the needs of the drought-hit areas in the city.

The President issued the calamity declaration to allow the national and local governments to respond to the impact of the lingering power crisis, which was mainly triggered by the long dry spell.

Since the drought intensified last month, more than 1,100 hectares of corn and 230 hectares of palay in the city have been damaged.

The unusually intense heat brought by the dry spell also affected farmlands planted with sugarcane, mango, sorghum and banana.

Abeto Gulle, Olympog barangay chair, said more than 300 hectares of corn and other crops in the area that were worth around P300,000 to P500,000 were so far destroyed due to the El Niño.

Gulle said they sought for the calamity declaration to allow them to immediately respond to the needs of some of their constituents who were affected by the El Niño.

He said such declaration would authorize the barangay council to utilize their calamity funds, which comprise five percent of their annual budget, worth around P50,000.

“We intend to use our calamity fund to purchase rice and other food items and distribute them to our affected farmers and their families,” he said.(PNA)

nj_than

March 16th, 2010, 02:58 AM

eldard

March 16th, 2010, 05:26 PM

^^Looks high end nga except for that baggage counter. ahahaha! ka-cheapan pa rin ang dating...

Medyo disappointed man ko sa Robinson, uy. Elitista market man gud ang target nila. Elitista market daw, o? Walang elitista market ang Socsargen, no? LOL Pila pa lang ka-bulan nag-open nag-sale na ang mga botique. Pa-boutique2x pa mga wala man mga brand. Makalagot. Dili na mo mag-tingala kung "masunog" na'ng Robinson as it realizes nga kailangan talaga nilang magpa-bongga to compete head-on sa KCC and the upcoming SM.

earlat

March 17th, 2010, 12:52 AM

^^ regarding the expansion, walay expansion for restaurants and dining areas? Or perhaps kanang STALLS for other stores? :D

hakz2007

March 17th, 2010, 01:12 AM

Lake Sebu atop South Cotabato's tourism pedestal
Koronadal City (16 March) -- In a world, where everybody is in constant motion, every tick of the clock requires dynamism; every breath is designed to attend to a pressing matter at hand and every action tips the scale between failure and success, is there still a place that would cater to the simple joys in life?

Down in South Cotabato is the place you have been yearning for. Carefully molded by God's magnificent hands, embellished by nature's lavish grace, manicured by the people's nature-loving souls and bettered by time's healing and renewing supremacy is a sanctuary of splendor and solitude juxtaposed excitement, adventure and thrill. A superb combination found only in Lake Sebu.

Lake Sebu is a cache of nature's finest creations. With a land area of 89, 138 hectares , Lake Sebu is South Cotabato's biggest municipality. With a temperature that ranges from 20-37.5 degrees Celsius, it surely is a vacation target for many people. Who wouldn't be proud when you have three lakes; (Lake Sebu, Lake Lahit and Lake Seloton) The Seven Falls, Traankini Falls, Isla Grande and Teyega Island,Talili Mt. Range, Tasaday Caves, Sta. Cruz Mission and resorts that sweep tourists of their feet and make them want to visit again and again? Surely, Lake Sebu has all the right to be put on the tourism pedestal of South Cotabato.

Lake Sebu offers two opposing yet highly sought after yearnings of the human soul: tranquility and adventure. The former is no doubt a trademark of Lake Sebu as it has long been acclaimed for its soothing, unquestionably cool weather, its culturally-inclined people willing to share a portion of themselves to their visitors and the enticing sound of the falls as it cascades its way to the river. The latter would first seem to many as an obscured, blurry, almost non-existent feature of Lake Sebu but lo and behold, as the altitude increases as one ascends the way to the Seven Falls so does the adventure heightens to a breath-taking level as one sets foot on the rigging area of Seven Falls' now famous zipline.

For years, Lake Sebu has taken hold of many people's interest. Those who visit the place for a relaxing trip around its vast, almost surreal lake hemmed by magnificent mountains and verdant vegetation never fail to carry with them the smiles they have all been wearing during the tour around the lake. Those who visit the place for their illustrious tilapia, scrumptious as always ,would want to take some with them, for their family and loved ones to have a taste of Lake Sebu's super star fish.

A trip to Lake Sebu would certainly be incomplete if one has not visited its prime attraction-no less than the Seven Falls. With its bamboo design arch entrance, one couldn't help but see more of the treasure that lies beyond it. They even have wooden and bamboo-designed toilets. It's as if you're on a fairy tale journey and you get to enter one of those big trees reserved only for fairies and the supernaturals. The arch bridge at Falls No. 2 is also a surefire attraction. Every now and then, tourist would rush to this bridge and would likely beat Hollywood stars for their seemingly endless picture-taking.

If you think you already had enough of Lake Sebu, think again. The best is yet to come. Seeing the tempting water as it gushes down to the river, enjoying its teasing as it gently splash on your skin as you approach them and feeling the coolness of the place would make you want to live in the place.

They also have trekking from falls no.1 to falls no.7 that would test one's strength and stamina. And who wouldn't feel as if he's reached the peak of Mount. Everest if he has successfully climbed the 1,000 steps? On top of it, the splendor of the view 1,000 steps below your post and the hurdles you have overcome as you trod your way to the peak will overwhelm you with bizarre admiration.

One can also observe the wildlife particularly the presence of monkeys, hornbill and other animas that are too elusive in our world today.

Their newest attraction is the zip line ride from falls no.2 to falls no. 5 and to falls. No.2 parking area. For the adventure-thirsty, here's something that would quench your thirst. Sliding your way 700 meters above the ground is enough to make your throat constrict a little, your heart beat a little faster, your voice a little louder and your prayers more pleading . The experience is enough to make even the brave shout as he is propelled towards one of the most extreme, exhilarating moments of his life. As you fly like the most powerful bird on earth, you will see that along with the thrill is the beauty of the falls viewed from the top. Some will experience hyperventilation; others will be flabbergasted and speechless while some others will have to talk endlessly after the intense experience. Capping all these emotions, all of them would feel like, ?Whew. That was quite tough but I enjoyed it nevertheless.? I would know, I have tried it myself. And in spite of the hyperventilation and the fear, I might as well do it again.

These attractions have caused 421,226 visitors to flock to Lake Sebu, as shown by the 2007-2009 Visitors Arrivals record. A 16% growth rate has been recorded from 2008-2009.

All of these beauties seem to speak of one thing: whether you're looking for a momentary laid-back or an adrenaline-filled experience, Lake Sebu will never prove you wrong. (PIA)
http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=12&fi=p100316.htm&no=23

Fahdingding

March 17th, 2010, 01:15 AM

hakz2007

March 17th, 2010, 01:16 AM

Fahdingding

March 17th, 2010, 01:53 AM

Mindanao electric coops negotiate 150 MW power purchase from Aboitiz

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (PNA) – Mindanao’s 33 electric cooperatives have started negotiations with power producer Aboitiz Power Corp. (AboitizPower) for the possibility of aligning some 150-megawatts (MW) of additional power supplies to the critical Mindanao power grid.
Engr. Santiago Tudio, South Cotabato Electric Cooperative I (Socoteco I) general manager, said key officers of the Association of Mindanao Rural Electric Cooperatives (Amreco) have made representations with AboitizPower to negotiate a supply agreement that will supplement some 100 MW to the power requirements of the island’s electric cooperatives.

He said AboitizPower initially offered to supply some 30 MW to the Mindanao grid but Amreco, through its president Sergio Dagooc, is working to increase the allocation to 100 MW.

Tudio said Amreco officials are currently negotiating the price and the terms and conditions of the proposed power purchase based on regulations provided for by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

“We’re particularly after the cost. We want to give our consumers the best price that we can negotiate,” he told reporters over the weekend.

Aside from the 100 MW being negotiated by Amreco, Tudio said Socoteco I is also exploring the possibility of opening negotiations with AboitizPower for the utilization of the additional 50 MW from its diesel-fired power barge stationed in Nasipit, Agusan del Norte.

He said the 100 MW-capacity power barge, which was taken over by AboitizPower earlier this month, currently supplies some 50 MW to the Mindanao grid.

“If these additional power supplies would be aligned to the Mindanao grid and rationed to the electric cooperatives, the number of hours covered by the rotational brownouts would likely be reduced by at least half,” Tudio said.

Socoteco I, which has an average peak demand of 28 MW, serves at least nine municipalities and one city in the provinces of South Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat.

Tudio said that in the case of Socoteco I, which implements four to six hours of rotational brownouts daily, the additional power load may reduce the brownouts to just two hours daily.

The firm’s counterpart electric cooperative, Socoteco II, currently implements three-hour brownouts in four phases daily or a total of 12 hours to its entire service area that covers this city, the entire Sarangani province and the municipalities of Polomolok and Tupi in South Cotabato.

Socoteco II, which has a peak demand of 104 to 107 MW, only maintains a power load of 47.3 to 50.9 MW daily as a result of the load shedding scheme imposed by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

The NGCP blamed the power cuts to the drastic decline of the generating capacities of the National Power Corporation’s hydroelectric plants due to the El Niño-triggered reduction of the water levels in Lake Lanao and the Agus and Pulangi river systems. (PNA)
FFC/AVE

Fahdingding

March 17th, 2010, 03:08 AM

Who has seen "THE CORRESPONDENTS" last night featuring Manny Pacquiao?

Grabe 10 pala bahay ni Manny dito sa GENSAN... ang 9 ay pinaparentahan nya....

featuring din yung mga businesses nya here in GENSAN...

on going na yung construction ng 4 building multi - purpose gym nya sa tambler

at eto pa...

may ginagawa pala sa apopong na Multi - Purpose COMMUNITY na may hospital, resto atbp.... marami na rin biniling lupa dito sa GENSAN...

and JINKEE said sa YES MAG (Jan 2010 issue) page 84:

"Their next planned project for GENSAN is a HOTEL, kasi daw "wala masyadong magandang hotel dito sa GENSAN, eh! :lol:

nj_than

March 17th, 2010, 03:49 AM

STRAYCATXIII

March 17th, 2010, 04:00 AM

bah! di sila maramot ha. sana nga matuloy na yang hotel na pinaplano nilang itayo sa gensan.

earlat

March 17th, 2010, 04:00 AM

Fahdingding

March 17th, 2010, 04:01 AM

sure yan!

Fahdingding

March 17th, 2010, 04:02 AM

bah! di sila maramot ha. sana nga matuloy na yang hotel na pinaplano nilang itayo sa gensan.

Sana pati yung planned BILLION - PESO ECO - TOURISM Project ni Manny sa Barangay Olympog!

Fahdingding

March 17th, 2010, 04:03 AM

Ano kaya klase yung ginagawang project dun sa APOPONG ni MANNY?

nj_than

March 17th, 2010, 04:13 AM

Sana pati yung planned BILLION - PESO ECO - TOURISM Project ni Manny sa Barangay Olympog!

^^sana din matuloy na to...

nj_than

March 17th, 2010, 02:03 PM

Fahdingding

March 18th, 2010, 01:13 AM

...my 2 gasoline station na U/C sa brgy. calumpang.. ang isa ay phoenix sa my lanoy calumpang at ang isa di ko pa alam kung ano name sa my san miguel calumpang.. parang dumadami na ang gasoline station d2 sa gensan... paliwanag nyo daw...:nuts::banana:

Simple... BOOMING ang economy ng GENSAN!
At nakikita din ng mga OIL COMPANIES na'to na malakas ang market ng GENSAN for their product!

Thnx for the info BRO!

Fahdingding

March 18th, 2010, 01:47 AM

Jinkee Pacquiao’s FLAWLESS offering Student Discounts

Good news to students who would want to pamper themselves during these hot summer days with a facial!

Jinkee Pacquiao’s FLAWLESS is offering Student Discounts for a month from March 15, 2010 to April 15, 2010.

http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/7082/62977017.jpg (http://img716.imageshack.us/i/62977017.jpg/)

There is a 15% Discount on Advanced and Regular Facials and there is also a 10% Discount on selected in-house products. Just show them any valid school I.D. to avail of these discounts.

Check out the product listing below which is part of their Summer Promotions….

http://www.gensantos.com/2010/03/17/jinkee-pacquiaos-flawless-offering-student-discounts/

Flawless, a beauty and skin clinic, another one of Jinkee Pacquiao’s business ventures, can be found at the 2nd Floor of the KCC Mall of GenSan. For more info, you may call them at 0922-5431511 or (083) 554-2422. Their email address is flawless_gensan (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Fahdingding

March 18th, 2010, 01:52 AM

earlat

March 18th, 2010, 02:23 AM

^^ Wow that's nice.. :D Can't wait to have a facial.. hehehe

nj_than

March 18th, 2010, 02:47 AM

earlat

March 18th, 2010, 02:50 AM

Gensan's Political Landscape:

AIM and LP, a Harmonic Alliance

http://www.gensantos.com/2010/03/17/aim-and-lp-a-harmonic-alliance/

NOTE: Allow us to feature a guest writer for today’s blog post. His name is Ben Sumog-uy. He writes an insightful article about the AIM and LP coalition in General Santos City, in time for the May 2010 local and national elections. Ben is currently finishing his law degree at the Mindanao State University GenSan. He is also a part-time blogger. Read on….
Harmonic alliance

The recent decision of the Achievement with Integrity Movement (AIM), a well-entrenched local political party founded by former General Santos City Mayor and Congressman, Adelbert W. Antonino, to work in alliance with the Liberal Party (LP) this forthcoming 2010 electoral campaign has earned positive reviews from various sectors and communities here in GenSan, or even in the entire First Congressional District of South Cotabato.

The alliance brings to the fore a amazing combine of tough national and political personalities who are giving their respective adversaries in the electoral race an uphill battle, as they continue to maintain their dominance in the national and local political arenas.

At the local level, AIM is fielding the incumbent City Mayor of GenSan, Pedro B. Acharon, Jr., for the House of Representatives, while the concurrent representative of the First Congressional District, Darlene Magnolia R. Antonino-Custodio, is battling for the mayoralty post.

On the national scene, LP is working to rev up Senator Noynoy Aquino’s fight for the presidency; while Senator Mar Roxas is grappling it out with his adversaries in the vice presidential race. They are leading in the results of all surveys conducted by mainstream survey institutions.

Academe-based political analysts here regard the political alliance forged between LP and AIM as a rhythmic corroboration between two titanic electoral parties, which are bonded by common history, vision, principles and programs.

With LP and AIM already tailing their respective opponents, based on both formal and informal surveys and in terms of electoral infrastructures, the political alliance has caused the overarching political power to emerge ominous in the horizon, exuding the aura of an awesome electoral power.

Viewing things through the lens of ideology (to use usual activist jargon), LP and AIM are progressive parties that strongly embrace the concept of liberal democracy, but with strong pro-poor welfare and economic development programs to ensure that the poor shall not be bulldozed in the processes of development.

This liberal democratic concept is one that bats for a libertarian society where all the people could freely and fully exercise their right to self-expression and pursue their dreams for a contented and meaningful life. Towards this end, LP and AIM are seeing to it that the social equilibrium is maintained through its pro-poor programs and projects.

"Former Congresswoman Lualhati Antonino and GenSan City Mayor Jun Acharon flank Senator Noynoy Aquino during their visit to the Queen of Mindanao Festivals Pageant at the Robinsons Place GenSan during the Kalilangan Festival last month"

Without these pro-poor programs, all major development interventions would only end up aiding social inequality and widen the social fault-line that separates the rich and the poor, plunging our society deeper into a state of disarray and crisis of hope.

LP and AIM have earned strong followings among various social classes because of their common advocacies for equitable economic development and solid egalitarian principles. They aim at creating a society that humanizes the rich and dignifies the poor, giving them all the right to hope and all the opportunity to dream.

LP and AIM are diametrically different from all other traditional parties that become visible only during elections. They have a permanent organizational life and are continuously accompanying the people in their struggle for reform and social transformation.

Finally, LP and AIM are both holders of solid records in the fight against graft and corruption and other forms of excesses and abuses in government. They are permanently painted in the canvass of the people’s consciousness because of their unrelenting fight to restore honesty and decency in government.

They are meant to stay, at least, after the 2010 elections.

earlat

March 18th, 2010, 02:52 AM

^^ So I guess my candidate (G1BO) will lose in Gensan.. tsk, tsk, tsk.. Too bad. But i'll still vote for him anyway... :ohno::ohno::ohno:

Fahdingding

March 18th, 2010, 12:31 PM

Fahdingding

March 18th, 2010, 12:34 PM

If I'm not mistaken, this would be the 1st Phase sa renovation and expansion of GSCIA... 121 Million ang total allocated amount eh based sa earlier post ni Kuya AvEl...

regjeex

March 18th, 2010, 12:50 PM

Oi bere nice... moving forward gensan as we move forward too.. :hahaha: or shall i say, move forward mindanao...

regjeex

March 18th, 2010, 12:52 PM

yaw kabalaka lat-lat... mo daug lagi si GIBO... :cheers::cheers: kanang survey survey gibayaran na nila aron ang mga tao malisang...:lol::lol: we'll see on the actual na... :cheers:

^^ So I guess my candidate (G1BO) will lose in Gensan.. tsk, tsk, tsk.. Too bad. But i'll still vote for him anyway... :ohno::ohno::ohno:

chevy_boy

March 18th, 2010, 01:49 PM

If I'm not mistaken, this would be the 1st Phase sa renovation and expansion of GSCIA... 121 Million ang total allocated amount eh based sa earlier post ni Kuya AvEl...

Yup... kasi sabi nung taga CAAP na naka-usap ko dati sa airport, ilipat na daw sa second floor ang departure at lagyan na daw ng tube kasi nasukat na rin daw yung bubutasan sa second floor.... :cheers:

Most nung funds alam ko para sa navigational aids ng airport daw yun eh...

eldard

March 18th, 2010, 03:58 PM

Kung dili madaug si Gibo I'll bet against the peso. Erap-style collapse jud ni ba. OFWs lang mag-benefit ana.

earlat

March 19th, 2010, 12:33 AM

Yup... kasi sabi nung taga CAAP na naka-usap ko dati sa airport, ilipat na daw sa second floor ang departure at lagyan na daw ng tube kasi nasukat na rin daw yung bubutasan sa second floor.... :cheers:

Most nung funds alam ko para sa navigational aids ng airport daw yun eh...

^^ Wow.. Exciting development. Hopefully ma-achieve jud ni cya.. :banana::banana: Dapat pa nindoton jud atong airport para di sad ta mabiyaan sa ubang lugar nga nindot ug modern ang airport.. :banana::banana:

Fahdingding

March 19th, 2010, 02:02 AM

nj_than

March 19th, 2010, 03:16 AM

Fahdingding

March 19th, 2010, 03:23 AM

GenSan International Airport Terminal’s P20million expansion commences

In what is to be the most simple blessing rites Bariles has ever come across with, the General Santos City International Airport was blessed and prayed over this morning of March 18, 2010 by Diocesan Priest Fr. Joseph Benitez to mark the start of its renovation and expansion.

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/8392/73870506.jpg

Present during the blessing and the ribbon cutting plus the wall-wrecking ceremonies which followed were Representative Darlene Antonino-Custodio of the 1st District of South Cotabato and General Santos City Mayor Jun Acharon. Playing host was Air Transport Office Manager for GenSan Nathaniel Nazareno.

http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/4571/93678585.jpg

"FR. JOSEPH BENITEZ BLESSES THE WALL TO BE TORN DOWN TO GIVE WAY TO THE BIGGER AND WIDER ARRIVAL AREA AND BAGGAGE CONVEYOR"

The renovation includes the improvement and renovation of the baggage area and the welcome area.

Accoring to ATO Manager Nathaniel Nazareno, the FIRST PHASE of the renovation work which will last from three to four months, and to cost P20million, includes the following:

The Improvement, widening and renovation of the BAGGAGE CLAIM and WELCOME AREA. A longer carousel to handle more incoming baggage and luggage and checked-in cargo from as many as two planes at once will replace the old one.
The improvement, widening and renovation of the CHECK-IN AREA which will include the setting up of a CONVEYOR behind the counters to immediately transport the luggage of departing passengers to the build-up area where they will be brought to the cargo compartment of the plane.
The improvement, widening and renovation of the PRE-DEPARTURE AREA to accommodate more seats for a projected surge in the volume of traffice in the coming months.

http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/1550/39572603.jpg

Representative Darlene Custodio and GenSan Mayor Jun Acharon cut the ribbon to signal the start of the expansion work on the GenSan Airport terminal building while ATO Manager Nathaniel Nazareno looks on.

The funds for the improvement of the GenSan International Airport which totals P121 million (READ BLOG POST HERE) was mainly through the efforts of Congresswoman Darlene Antonino-Custodio. This will be her legacy to the people of the Soccsksargen Area even as she leaves her seat after the May 2010 elections for a new mandate closer to her people.

http://img406.imageshack.us/img406/7864/48155896.jpg

"Mayor Jun Acharon perform the ceremonial wall-breaking of one of the walls of the old Baggage-Claim and Welcome Area of the GenSan International Airport."

All these mean a more aesthetically beautiful and functional airport and as GenSan Mayor Jun Acharon quipped, “Now everyone who flies in and sees the new GenSan International Airport will really declare as soon as they alight from their planes, “WOW! MAGANDANG GENSAN NGA TALAGA!”

nj_than

March 19th, 2010, 03:51 AM

earlat

March 19th, 2010, 04:42 AM

I really hope they build an aerobridge so that the passengers won't have to be drenched when it's raining or if it's scorching hot summer day, we won't be sun bathing... :D

tunatuna

March 19th, 2010, 05:18 AM

Whoever can post the rendering of gensan airport is the best person ever!.......

romix

March 19th, 2010, 06:14 AM

the last time i went to genssan air[port from cebu was last november, talagang the terminal needs new facelifting para magmukhang international ok lang sana kung domestic airport, sana matigil na yang mga taxis dyan asking exurbetant fee, imagine 500 ang hiningi sa akin going to dwtown , walang metrohan na taxis, nakaka sama sa image ng gensan ang mga drievrs na ito

chevy_boy

March 19th, 2010, 11:20 AM

regjeex

March 19th, 2010, 12:38 PM

mas mahal pa diay hinuon kay sa manila... kay so far akong nabayran from NAIA to ortigas kay 350 ra man...

murag dili katuohan ang 500 oi... :nuts:

Grabe php 500 talaga... php 300 is more reasonable... 17 kilometers ang distance ng airport from downtown kaya kung metro yan abutin siguro ng php 200...

Fahdingding

March 19th, 2010, 01:34 PM

mas mahal pa diay hinuon kay sa manila... kay so far akong nabayran from NAIA to ortigas kay 350 ra man...

murag dili katuohan ang 500 oi... :nuts:

the last time i went to genssan air[port from cebu was last november, talagang the terminal needs new facelifting para magmukhang international ok lang sana kung domestic airport, sana matigil na yang mga taxis dyan asking exurbetant fee, imagine 500 ang hiningi sa akin going to dwtown , walang metrohan na taxis, nakaka sama sa image ng gensan ang mga drievrs na ito

Yes! Abusado au mga tasi drivers dha.... nakakasira sila sa image ng GENSAN.... dapat may alternate transportation jan para may competition...

bluepanther

March 19th, 2010, 01:43 PM

mas mahal pa diay hinuon kay sa manila... kay so far akong nabayran from NAIA to ortigas kay 350 ra man...

murag dili katuohan ang 500 oi... :nuts:

ambot lang ani. sa akong nabantayan. basta gkan sa airport to downtown or vice versa mahal. like bacolod to silay airport P500 sad pangayo, samantala mga 20 kms lang. gkan sad iloilo- sta barbarra airport basin 15 kms lang P400/ sobra mahal.

regjeex

March 19th, 2010, 02:36 PM

maut-ot man sad atong bulsa ana... :lol:

Fahdingding

March 20th, 2010, 01:31 AM

maut-ot man sad atong bulsa ana... :lol:

Mao jud JEEX!

Fahdingding

March 20th, 2010, 01:36 AM

Lito Sy Photography Workshop in GenSan

In the second of a series of photography workshops by the Masters, Montage Digital Photography, Inc. together with the GenSan Camera Club is bringing to General Santos City one of the country’s acclaimed photographers, in The Lito Sy Experience, on May 26, 2010.

Lito Sy who hails from Davao City is an international multi-awarded wedding photographer. Due to his unique style of blending storytelling and artistry in his shots, he has been commissioned to do weddings all over the world. He has also been generous in teaching other photographers tricks of his craft through seminars alone or with some other master shooters.

http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/7883/55421095.jpg (http://img696.imageshack.us/i/55421095.jpg/)

The Lito Sy Experience in General Santos City will cost early-bird registrants P7,500 only, if paid before April 30, 2010. After that period, a regular seminar fee of P8,000 will be collected on interested attendees. GenSan Camera Club members may pay P7,000 only.

The one-day photography workshop on May 26, 2010 will be held at the Rosewood Place, National Highway, Lagao, GenSan.

For inquiries and reservations to The Lito Sy Experience Photography Workshop, please contact any of the following members of the GenSan Camera Club: Ronald Velasquez (0922-836-3428); Ronald “hunk daddy” Rivera (0917-700-0409) or the Montage Office (083-304-0660).

Fahdingding

March 20th, 2010, 01:40 AM

Red Trellis

http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/3528/15674520.jpg

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Fahdingding

March 20th, 2010, 01:59 AM

Jose: Kalilangan 2010 Street Dancing

IT SEEMED like the entire populace of General Santos City was out in the streets last February 27. It was the last day of the Kalilangan Festival 2010, and the day when dance contingents brought their best to the streets of General Santos City.

The contingents were divided into two categories: the Kadsagayan Competition and the Mindanao Festivals Competition. The contingents from within General Santos City competed in the Kadsagayan Competition.

Meanwhile, groups representing the various festivals in Mindanao competed in the Mindanao Festivals Competition.

Each contingent presented not just a dance but a story representing the best of their rich history, arts, and culture through music and dance.

Competing in the Kadsagayan Competition were Barangay Bula, Buayan High School, SPED High School, Trade School, and Datu Acad Elementary School.

And representing their festivals were contingents from Malapatan, Bagumbayan, Tampakan, Sultan Kudarat Pendatun 1, General Santos City, Sarmiento, and Sultan Kudarat Pendatun 2. Together with their own Festival Queens, the contingents from other parts showcased their best music and dance on the streets of General Santos City.

It was a very overwhelming experience for me who witnessed the affair for the first time. Despite the piercing heat, the stress, and the pressure of the tight competition, all the contingents presented their best to the spectators. Each dancer gave their best smile while performing complex dance routines and fancy footwork complemented by the use of various props.

And their costumes were great representations of the colorful and diverse cultures of the peoples of Mindanao. Coupled with rousing music performed with much gusto by the contingents? musicians, it was really a sight to behold which tickled all the senses.

Overwhelming! There is no other word that could better describe what the participants showed.

After the street dancing, the contingents proceeded to the City Oval where they waited for their turn on the center stage. If I was overwhelmed by the street dancing, the showdown at the oval overwhelmed me even more. Amazing!

The choreography, the discipline of the performers, the costumes and props, the stories and histories presented were all good. It must have been a very tough time for the judges.

At the end of the night, however, with fireworks in the sky, only six contingents were declared as the winners of the tight competition.

For the Kadsagayan Competition, it was SPED High School contingent who took home the Championship trophy and prizes. Taking Second Place was Trade School and taking Third Place was Datu Acad Elementary School.

In the Mindanao Festivals Competition, it was the SPED Elementary School that took home the Championship. The Municipality of Malapatan and Bagumbayan took the Second and Third Place prizes, respectively.

It was indeed a great way to end the colorful and meaningful Kalilangan Festival of General Santos City. It was a great week of celebration, living up to the theme: Honoring the Past, Celebrating the Present, and Embracing the Future.
General Santos City indeed owes a lot to its pioneers led by General Paulino Santos and to its rich heritage and history. Through the Kalilangan Festival, the bounties of the city, its products and its gracious people celebrate the best of their city, looking forward to better years ahead.

Much praise must be showered to Mayor Jun Acharon, his first lady, Dr. Rose Acharon, the city officials, the General Santos City Chamber of Commerce led by Ms. Pilar Afuang, and the Kalilangan Festival Committee led by Director Orman Manansala. Congratulations to General Santos City on the success of its Kalilangan Festival 2010!

marlowe_cano

March 20th, 2010, 03:00 AM

ambot lang ani. sa akong nabantayan. basta gkan sa airport to downtown or vice versa mahal. like bacolod to silay airport P500 sad pangayo, samantala mga 20 kms lang. gkan sad iloilo- sta barbarra airport basin 15 kms lang P400/ sobra mahal.

dito sa zamboanga, kung going to CBD or any places within the 5 kilometer radius, u pay 50-80 pesos regardless the number of passengers, regardless how many baggages u have. un nga lang tricycle ang mode of transpo. :lol::lol:

Fahdingding

March 20th, 2010, 03:17 AM

Hay kamalas sa GENSAN...sa ubang lugar sa mindanao ng ulan dnh wala jud!

regjeex

March 20th, 2010, 06:23 AM

Kalooy sa Ginoo Fahds ga ulan sad ang BXU... ug nice ang tubo sa among humay... :banana:

Hay kamalas sa GENSAN...sa ubang lugar sa mindanao ng ulan dnh wala jud!

hakz2007

March 20th, 2010, 01:23 PM

Two GenSan tuna fishing firms avail DOLE’s emergency employment program
GENERAL SANTOS CITY, March 20 (PNA) – At least two tuna fishing companies here have availed of the emergency employment and livelihood programs of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to assist their workers who had been displaced as a result of the two-year fishing ban in the international waters off the central and western Pacific Ocean.

Lawyer Ma. Gloria Tango, DOLE Region 12 director, said they initially provided emergency employment assistance to at least 207 workers of tuna fishing and canning firm Damalerio Group of Companies through a partnership scheme with the affected company.

Based on DOLE’s action program for the affected tuna workers, she said they adopted an employment scheme covering at least 30 days wherein the beneficiaries would avail of various work detail and be paid with the prevailing minimum wages on a 60:40 mode of payment.

She said that 60 percent of the prevailing minimum wage in the region, currently at around P245 for the industrial workers, would come from DOLE while the remaining 40 percent would be shouldered by the affected company that have availed of the program.

Tango said the initial beneficiaries were mainly employees of the Damalerio Group of Companies, which includes the Celebes Tuna Fishing Corp., Tuna Venture Corp. and Damalerio Fishing Enterprise.

“The displaced workers were assigned to do maintenance work such as painting, welding, carpentry, electrical and mechanical repair, net-mending, refrigeration and hardware stock inventory,” she said.

To facilitate the programs implementation, Tango said DOLE-12 initially released some P456,435, which represented 50 percent of the 60 percent share of the agency for the minimum wages of the beneficiaries.

The emergency employment program has a required funding of some P1.52 million, P912,870 of which comes from DOLE and the remaining P608,580 from the participating company.

Aside from the Damalerio Group, Tango said another fishing firm NH Agro Industrial, Inc. availed of signified DOLE’s Kabuhayan Starter Kits for its displaced workers and beneficiaries.

She said the starter kits represent various livelihood packages for new ventures that the affected workers and their beneficiaries could pursue.

Aside from getting the livelihood packages, Tango said the youth beneficiaries or dependents of the workers would also be prioritized in the Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES) or the Kabataan Information Technology Opportunities (K-ITo).

She said the beneficiaries might be assigned as mentors for basic IT courses being given by the program should they qualify.

Tango also said that aside from the emergency employment and livelihood assistance, the other companies affected by the fishing ban may also avail of DOLE’s Workers’ Income Augmentation Program to help address the impact of the crisis on their employees.

DOLE-12 earlier estimated that at least 1,600 workers from eight of the 13 local tuna fishing companies would likely be displaced as the fishing ban continues.

Local tuna fishing companies estimated a 10 to 20-percent drop in tuna catches this year as a result of fishing ban in the Pacific’s international waters that was imposed starting Jan. 1 by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC).

The WCPFC imposed the fishing ban on all of its 25-member countries and 10 other observer-states as a result of scientific studies and the emergence of statistics that showed the drastic decline of tuna fish stocks, especially big-eye and yellowfin tuna.

The WCPFC was established by the Convention for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, of which the Philippines was a signatory, that came into force in 2004.(PNA)http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=265508

earlat

March 20th, 2010, 06:34 PM

Hi Gensan! Good Morning.. I'm praying for rain to fall in Gensan.. I hope you're all doing great there.. :D

hakz2007

March 21st, 2010, 12:47 AM

RP, NZ firms form joint venture to process, ship salmon from RP
MANILA, Philippines--After taking over a majority stake in New Zealand’s second largest smoked salmon processor Prime Foods NZ Ltd., canned fish exporter Alliance Tuna International Inc. has set up a new venture to likewise process and export smoked salmon from the Philippines.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange Friday, Alliance Tuna said it had entered into a joint venture with Prime Foods to establish a new subsidiary to serve as importer and processor of smoked salmon.

The new subsidiary, named Big Glory Bay Salmon and Seafood Co. Inc. (BGB), will have its salmon processing facilities in General Santos City, near Alliance’s tuna operations. Once construction of the facilities starts next month, the capital will be increased to P47 million.

The new unit had been registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Board of Investments as a new export producer of smoked salmon and its by-products. The venture is expected to start operations in the last quarter of this year.

Under the Provisions of the Omnibus Investment Code of 1987, BGB will be entitled to an income tax holiday for four years starting in July 2010.

Alliance Tuna will have a 50 percent plus one share stake in the salmon venture, with the balance held by Prime Foods. Alliance Tuna also owns 50 percent and one share in Prime Foods, while the rest of the shares are held by a trustee of HC & JW Studholme Trust.

Prime Foods carries both hot and cold salmon and also produces smoked New Zealand Green Lip Mussels and other food items. Its smoked seafood factory is located in the village of Hororata, Canterbury under the Southern Alps of New Zealand’s South Island.

Alliance Tuna started commercial operations in 2004, engaging in tuna processing, canning, and export of canned tuna products. It exports to over 50 countries.

In 2008, Alliance Tuna organized a joint venture with P.T. Wailan Pratama and invested in P.T. International Alliance Food Indonesia to acquire a tuna cannery in Bitung, North Sulawesi.http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view/20100319-259670/RP-NZ-firms-form-joint-venture-to-process-ship-salmon-from-RP

Fahdingding

March 21st, 2010, 01:23 AM

RP, NZ firms form joint venture to process, ship salmon from RP
http://business.inquirer.net/money/topstories/view/20100319-259670/RP-NZ-firms-form-joint-venture-to-process-ship-salmon-from-RP

Another Investment in the TUNA CAPITAL.... SALMON naman! :lol:

Fahdingding

March 21st, 2010, 01:25 AM

Kalooy sa Ginoo Fahds ga ulan sad ang BXU... ug nice ang tubo sa among humay... :banana:

Ako gi tanaw satellite image gahapon, wa jud clouds ang GENSAN, almost tanang part ng mindanao natabunan ug bagang clouds!

congrats BXU! Blessing jud ng ULAN!

Fahdingding

March 21st, 2010, 01:43 AM

Summer Rate Promos at Isla Jardin del Mar

Gumasa,Glan,Sarangani Province, The cold month of February has just left us but it seems that summer is already here much, much earlier courtesy of the El Nino Phenomenon. The series of daily brownouts that ensued has made matters worse for everyone, disrupting work schedules, bedtime habits and sleeping hours due to the sweltering heat and humidity, especially in this city of what was once the barren lands of dusty Rajah Buayan.

It seems that all everyone wants to do right now is to hie off to the nearest beach getaway in GenSan or nearby Sarangani Bay or fresh water pool resort to escape from all these.

The good news is one such resort has come up with their Summer Weekdays Escapade Promotions in time for the long hot Summer break.

Friends, below is Isla Jardin Del Mar Resort’s Summer Weekdays Escapade Promo which have been adjusted to accommodate more barkadas and families looking for the perfect and affordable getaways.

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Isla Jardin del Mar, located at Gumasa, Glan, Sarangani opened less than three months ago in a star-studded affair and has lowered their rates for beachgoers and vacationists who hate the usually crowded weekends and go for the more peaceful weekdays at the beach.

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The Isla Jardin del Mar Weekdays Escapade Promo is valid only from Mondays to Thursdays and runs from Marh 8, 2010 to June 30, 2010. Please read the mechanics of the two packages they are offering in the poster above. They have separate packages for DAY TOURS and OVERNITE STAYS plus separate fees for their OPEN and CLOSE COTTAGES.

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"THE TWO ROWS OF OPEN COTTAGES OF ISLA JARDIN DEL MAR RESORT LOCATED AT THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE BEACH"

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"SOME OF THE 10+ OVERNIGHT COTTAGES OF ISLA JARDIN DEL MAR RESORT FOUND AT THE NORTH SIDE OF THE BEACH FRONTAGE EQUIPPED WITH EITHER FANS OR AIRCONDITIONING. EACH COTTAGE HAS TWO ROOMS WITH DOUBLE-DECKED BEDS."

Here are some of the pictures we took during our visit there at the Inauguration, courtesy of Manager Wanchin Tan-Delfino.

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"THE NORTH SIDE BEACH OF ISLA JARDIN DEL MAR"

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"BEACH VOLLEYBALL IS JUST ONE OF GAMES ONE CAN PLAY AT ISLA JARDIN DEL MAR"

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"A JET SKI COULD BE RENTED WHILE AT ISLA JARDIN DEL MAR RESORT. AN INSTRUCTOR WILL BE ON STAND BY TO ASSIST YOU"

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"THE LARGE LAGOON BEHIND THE OVERNIGHT COTTAGES. IT COULD ALSO BE SEEN FROM THE HILLSIDE ROAD LEADING TO ISLA JARDIN DEL MAR'S MAIN ENTRANCE."

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"THE CLUBHOUSE BESIDE THE ENTRANCE OF THE RESORT SERVES AS THE MAIN RESTAURANT/CANTEEN OF ISLA JARDIN DEL MAR."

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"THE CONCRETE ROAD BEHIND THE OVERNIGHT COTTAGES."

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"SOME PICNICKERS ENJOY THE SHADE OF THE TALISAY AND COCONUT TREES AT THE BEACH:

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"THE ENTRANCE OF ISLA JARDIN DEL MAR AFTER NEGOTIATING A ROAD CARVED OUT FROM THE HILLS OF GUMASA GLAN COURTESY OF THE PROVINCIAL GOVT OF SARANGANI. THAT'S THE BUS WHICH OFFERS FREE RIDES TO PICNICKERS."

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"BARILES IN A SOUVENIR SHOT WITH (L-R) BING & ARMI ROYECA; ISLA JARDIN DEL MAR MANAGER WANCHIN TAN-DELFINO; BLOGGERS JINKY BORELA; MANDI NICOLAS (GENSAN GAZER); LYLE SANTOS, ORMAN MANANSALA; RIC DUMALAY DURING THE OPENING OF THE NEW TOURIST DESTINATION."