RIZAL PROVINCE – The provincial government is transforming the parents of students in public schools here into “super moms” and “super dads” as they undergo training on disaster management preparedness as part of the risk reduction measures in case disasters such as the great flood from tropical storm “Ondoy” last year.

This came as Rizal Governor Casimiro “Jun” Ynares, III, and the provincial council agreed on having a venue and other logistical support for the first-ever workshop on Disaster Risk Reduction Management for some 322 officers of the Federation of Parents-Teachers Association (FPTA) in the province. FPTA President Anthony Mateo said the workshop, to be held from August 17 to September 6, will be administered by the Oxfam GB, an international non-government organization which was one of the first groups to respond to disaster victims right after the onslaught of storm Ondoy in the province. (Nel B. Andrade)

With the opening of a new facility for neglected and abandoned older persons in Tanay in Rizal province, the Social Welfare department is urging the private sector to help government efforts in setting up care facilities.

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) acting Secretary Celia Capadocia- Yangco pointed out a growing concern for the care of the elderly, especially amid the growing trend of labor migration.

“With more and more Filipinos considering going abroad to seek employment opportunities, their attention to the elderly in the family undermined,” she said in an interview with GMANews.TV.

She added that more and more care facilities need to be put up to ensure the well-being of older people among us.

“If there are care facilities available, Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are willing to pay for the care of their elderly members,” she said.

Yangco said the DSWD has decided to transfer the Golden Acres (home for the abandoned and neglected elderly) from Bago Bantay in Quezon City to Sampaloc in Tanay, where a bigger and better facility –the Golden Acres: Haven for the Elderly –has been erected.

She added that some 270 elderly who have been staying at Golden Acres in Bago Bantay, Quezon City can now find fulfillment in the comfort of the new facility.

The new center has nine cottages that can accommodate 300 elderly people at a given time. It has two staff houses, multi-purpose building, an infirmary unit, and one unit each for the central kitchen and central laundry, as well as the administration building.

In 2008, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo allocated P200 million for the transfer of Golden Acres from Quezon City to Tanay.

Being managed by the DSWD, the new facility sits on a hilly 10-hectar lot, a conducive environment for the care and well-being of the elderly.

“The Golden Acres: Haven for the Elderly is designed to be a center of excellence, equipped with brand new facilities to ensure the well-being of the older persons,” Yangco said.

Earlier in April, the first batch of some 30 able-bodied older persons were transferred to this facility together with Golden Acres staff for them to enjoy quality senior lives, according to Acting Secretary Yangco.

Aside from managing the Golden Acres, the DSWD also operates residential care centers for victims of trafficking – the Haven for Women and the Marillac Hills. Both centers are in Alabang in Muntinlupa City. [See: RP presses for tough intl action vs cyber child porn]

The Haven for Women caters to disadvantaged women, 18 to 59 years old, who were abused, exploited and trafficked, while Marillac Hills is a rehabilitation center for girls and teenagers, 7 to 17, who were abused or were in conflict with the law. —Fernando dela Cruz/LBG, GMANews.TV

Taytay, Rizal – Around 500 entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs from Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Quezon and Rizal on April 27 flocked to the SM Event Center, SM in Taytay, Rizal to learn the rudiments of starting a successful business.

Brought by the Department of Trade and Industry in Calabarzon and in collaboration with the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurs, the’Go Negosyo’ seminar aims to inspire entrepreneurship and encourage people to start their own businesses, and help them learn the basics of establishing an enterprise.

Facilitated by mentors who are successful businessmen themselves, the seminar touches on the key principles of starting a business and focuses more on practical, informative, and useful strategies on marketing, product development and financial management.

The mentors – seasoned businessmen having different backgrounds and expertise and having a big heart and dedication to mentor existing and budding entrepreneurs – interacted with participants in question-and-answer segments that cover knowledge condensed from case studies and actual experiences.

In her message, DTI Regional Director Marilou Quinco Toledo assured entrepreneurs that government, particularly DTI, will be there to help them.

“Of course, one of these is providing this Go Negosyo Seminar – at no cost to the participants”, Toledo said.

The DTI regional director also appealed to existing and aspiring entrepreneurs to legitimize their businesses and adhere to fair trade laws thus become sustainable.

Ramon Lopez, executive director of the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurs said that learning from these non-formal sessions would be a great equalizer for those who want to empower themselves through entrepreneurship.

“Entrepreneurship courses offered at universities and management schools would cost several hundreds of thousands of pesos while this Go Negosyo seminar brought by DTI is free of charge”, Lopez said.

Efren’Ping’ Sotto, one of the speakers and co-writer of the book “Go Negosyo: 21 Steps on How to Start Your Own Business” asserted the importance of having a positive entrepreneurial mindset before plunging into establishing a business. “First, learn self-mastery. Then, when you are ready, the teacher appears”, said Sotto, when asked by budding entrepreneurs what’profitable’ business to engage into. Himself a successful entrepreneur operating 6 Shell service stations, Sotto underscored the value of saving, and’delaying pleasure’ for gratification for’ensured success’ later.

Eduardo Pilapil, Jr., a motivational speaker, provided tips on finding business opportunities.

Francisco Lapid thoroughly discussed product development and innovation.

‘Dean Pax’ to his students, he is professor and dean at the Entrepreneurs School of Asia and Lapid is Sotto’s co-writer of the instant best-seller, “Go Negosyo: 21 Steps on How to Start Your Own Business” and has launched several small and medium scale enterprises: quick-service restaurants and sandwich stores along the expressways; an IT company catering to North American clients; and a high-value crops farm supplying food processors and international fastfood restaurants.

Reuel Virtucio of Punla sa Tao Foundation, shared his expertise on marketing by detailing key facets of the subject. “Product development is part of the marketing plan. You have to know your customers as well as the competition so you would be able to propose your unique selling proposition”, Virtucio told his audience.

Benel Lagua, chief operating officer of the Small Business Corporation, a corporation affiliated with the DTI, talked about managing finance and funding businesses.

DTI, along with its collaborators in providing the missing links for development, believes that poverty could be addressed through extensive entrepreneurship around the country. “We at DTI along with the other relevant agencies and other organizations like Go Negosyo will be here for you”, Toledo assured entrepreneurs.

Go Negosyo is the advocacy of the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship (PCE)

PCE was founded by exceptional entrepreneurs and industrialists behind the successes of RFM, Jollibee Foods Corporation, National Bookstore, SM Investments Corporation, Entrepreneurs School of Asia; Splash Group of Companies, GMA Network; and Greenfields Development-Southeast Asia Food Empire.

Its founding was prompted by the appointment of Jose Ma. Concepcion III as presidential consultant for entrepreneurship development.

Concepcion, realizing he can not do it alone, enlisted outstanding entrepreneurs, individuals or families, to establish an entity to advocate multiplication of Filipino-owned business enterprises that would create wealth and employment and boost the Philippine economy.

Thus, PCE has been established as an organization that promotes entrepreneurship nationwide through a change in mindset and attitude, improving education, fostering a culture of enterprise, and providing a marketplace of innovations and best practices to increase the number of competitive Filipino entrepreneurs. (DTI)

Rizal Arts Festival will be launched on February 24, 2010. The exhibit will run until March 13, 2010.

Featuring:
Nemiranda’s Art camp
Rizal Bonsai Club
Eastern Rizal Photographers
Couturiers from Taytay, Rizal : Gener Gozum and Merlino Cruz
Street Graffiti by the Neo Angono Artists
Tattoo Icon, Butch Bautista
and a various artists and art groups from the province of Rizal
and internationally renowned artists of the Philippines.

Art Workshops:
Art and Sketching Lessons by Nemiranda’s Art Camp
Ceramic Painting
Bonsai Making
Photography
Art of Tattoo by Butch Bautista of Fine Line Tattoo

Invitational art exhibit and contest (Feb. 24, 2010):
- Open to all Rizal Artists Members
- For non-members, pls contact Ms. Rosie at (632) 6513867 / (+63) 929.2554957
- Submission of entries is from Feb.15-20, 2010 only at the mall admin office

For further inquiries about the event, please call
Tel. (632) 661.2033-37 loc. 118/127
Fax: (632) 286.2501 or email jason.smsupermalls@gmail.com

THERE ARE no earthquakes in a perfect world. Too bad we don’t live in such a place, as the staggering scope of the destruction in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, reminds us.

In more ways than one, the geological history of the Philippines is similar to that of the island of Hispaniola, where the sovereign states of Haiti and the Dominican Republic are located.

Like the Philippines, Hispaniola harbors pristine beaches and places where jungles blanket mountains of gold.

Sadly, where gold is found, earthquake faults lurk and spoil the calm of island paradises.

Faults in Haiti

The Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Fault in the southern part of Haiti was responsible for the destruction of its capital on January 12.

One of the two faults that straddle the east-west trending island of Hispaniola, the fault generated 7-magnitude earthquakes in centuries past.

The strongest in historical record was the 7.5-magnitude earthquake that struck Port-au-Prince in 1770.

The recent tremor originated 13 kilometers below the surface and released about 32 megatons of energy, comparable to the simultaneous detonation of 1,000 Nagasaki atom bombs.

Compressive stresses

The faults in Hispaniola were formed because of compressive stresses generated throughout millions of years by the unhampered westward movement of the western Atlantic seafloor underneath the Caribbean.

Hispaniola succumbed to these stresses and broke apart to form fractures that slip from time to time at intervals from a few decades to a few centuries.

When the fracture slips damaging earthquakes are spawned.

As a rule of thumb, the longer the time an active fault does not move, the larger the next earthquake will be along that fault or fault segment.

Unfortunately for Haiti, the last rupture of the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Fault was in 1860.

Most feared

The Philippine Fault is no different from the active faults that traverse Hispaniola.

Both are left-lateral strike-slip faults, which means that if you stand straddling the rupturing fault during an earthquake, your left foot would move back and your right foot, forward.

Both are also part of the list of the longest known active strike-slip faults in the world along with the San Andreas Fault of California, Denali Fault in Alaska and the North Anatolian Fault of Turkey.

Given that length of fault rupture is directly related to earthquake magnitude, it is no wonder that the Philippine Fault is one of the most feared faults on Earth.

Like how the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Fault of Haiti formed, faults in the Philippines are the product of the collision of the northwestward-moving Pacific Ocean floor with the South China Sea floor.

Brittle Philippine crust

In the grip of two colliding masses, the brittle Philippine crust cracked and formed many faults, the closest to Metro Manila being the Marikina Valley Fault.

Whenever these faults slip, stored energy is released and earthquakes occur.

This network of faults is responsible for the 5,000 to 7,000 island temblors recorded each year in the Philippine archipelago.

Most of these, however, are unfelt.

Quakes in Manila

Manila has been devastated by at least six large tremors between 1589 and 1864, experiencing heavy ground shaking in 1599, 1601, 1658, 1700, 1766 and 1863, according to a report published in 1985 by the Southeast Asia Association of Seismology and Earthquake Engineering.

The tally of earthquakes with intensity 6 or greater felt in Manila from 1589 to 2000 was placed at 23 in an updated study of historical quakes, with 13 causing significant damage.

The deadliest among these were the 1863 and 1880 earthquakes, which were comparable to the impact of the 1990 Luzon seismic event.

Ruby Tower

One of the latest devastating seismic events that affected Metro Manila was the 1968 Casiguran, Aurora earthquake.

Infamously known as the Ruby Tower earthquake, its name is derived from the six-story apartment building in Binondo, Manila, which collapsed like a house of cards, killing 342 of its more than 600 tenants.

Most residents of Metro Manila, who are at least 25 years old, remember the earthquake of June 16, 1990.

1990 Luzon temblor

Known as the Luzon earthquake, the 7.8-magnitude temblor, which originated in Nueva Ecija, was felt as intensity 6 in Quezon City and as intensity 7 in the low-lying areas of Manila.

Although nearer to the earthquake epicenter, the tremor registered lower in the intensity scale in Quezon City because of its relatively firmer ground composed of adobe.

Unlike Quezon City, Manila’s subsurface is dominated by unconsolidated river and coastal sand, ground that is more unstable and prone to liquefaction.

Marikina Valley Fault

The name “Marikina Valley Fault” was first coined by Dr. Carlo Arcilla of the National Institute of Geological Sciences in a monograph published in 1983.

Based on his field research in San Mateo, Rizal, Arcilla, who was then only 21 years old, described two fault structures that caused the Marikina Valley to sink relative to Quezon City and the hillsides of San Mateo and Montalban.

At the time, it was not known that the Marikina Fault was actively moving and it took nearly a decade before the Marikina Fault was finally established as active through detailed investigation by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) and by paleoseismologists of the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The name “Marikina Valley Fault” was changed to the “Valley Fault System” when the local government complained that the fault’s name might affect the economy of the city.

Tagaytay Ridge

Since the western part of the Marikina Valley Fault System extends up to Tagaytay Ridge, it was deemed unfair to call it by its original name. Hence, the change of term. (See map.)

Some contend, however, that such change in nomenclature is not standard practice in the field of Geology, since the locality of the fault structure is usually attached to the place where it is best exposed and first described.

I believe this is rightfully so, because the name “Valley Fault System” may refer to any valley in the world – imagine calling the “San Andreas Fault” the “Fault.”

Science in its true form does not buckle from political, economic and even religious pressure.

The study by Allan R. Nelson and others of the USGS and Phivolcs, published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, reports the Marikina Fault as having moved at least two and perhaps four times over the past 1,300 to 1,700 years.

A range of 200 to 400 years is estimated as the recurrence interval of the studied part of the Marikina Valley Fault, with the most recent rupture occurring probably some 200 years ago.

A 6 to 7-magnitude earthquake is expected based on the predicted rupture length of the Marikina Valley Fault, according to Nelson.

The Metro Manila Earthquake Impact Reduction Study, designed to reduce the impact of hazards in the metropolis, predicts a slightly larger 7.2-magnitude event.

Like branch of tree

The paleoseismic study by Nelson and others was conducted on a splay of the West Marikina Valley Fault.

A fault splay is like the branch of a tree reaching outward from the main trunk.

The main trunk of the Marikina Valley Fault is easily traceable since its surface expression is quite distinct.

Splays of the Marikina Fault, however, are more difficult to find because they are less prominent and are often masked by urban concrete.

High-rise buildings

In some instances, these fault splays crop up when large pits as deep as 20 meters are excavated during the early construction stages of high-rise buildings in areas like Muntinlupa, Fort Bonifacio, Ortigas and Quezon City.

Whenever these faults are seen, it is important that an in-depth study is made to determine the fault’s activity or inactivity and its relationship with the Marikina Valley Fault.

It is irresponsible to dismiss the fault when it is found because the possible consequences are dire.

I would recommend full disclosure by property developers of the underlying geology, including the presence of faults, if any, to prospective-building tenants, a practice observed in the United States.

Culture of safety

To prepare ourselves for any disaster we need to develop a culture of safety.

It is not difficult to demonstrate that we lack this culture. For instance, cyclists take the wrong lane without helmets and reflectors, and search-and-rescue teams don’t know where to find rubber boats to save flood victims.

Developing a culture of safety is awareness of hazards by everyone in a community.

It means active participation of all sectors in disaster-mitigation efforts following the lead of civil authorities, long before catastrophe strikes.

It is not taking short cuts or condoning illegal acquisition of environmental and building permits because business is more important.

A society with a culture of safety invests heavily in knowledge and treats disasters not as rare events but as unresolved problems in developmental planning.

We have to be smart about living with natural hazards because nature will not adjust to people. It is society that must adjust.

(Alfredo Mahar Lagmay is an associate professor at the National Institute of Geological Sciences, University of the Philippines. He holds a Ph.D. in geology from the University of Cambridge and was a visiting scientist at the Geophysics Department of Stanford University.)

Expected damage in Metro Manila from 7.2-magnitude quake

33,500
Number of people killed

18,000
Number of dead from 500 simultaneous fires

114,000
Number of injured

3 million
Number of residents who will flee

175,000
Number of buildings destroyed

30 to 35
Percentage of public buildings damaged

By Alfredo Mahar Lagmay
Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines – Airsoft gun owners on Wednesday urged the Supreme Court to exempt airsoftToy Gun Ban guns from a nationwide election gun ban imposed by the Commission on Elections.

In a 14-page petition, lawyer Reynante Orceo, founder of Easternbloc Airsoft Philippines, asked the Supreme Court to declare as unconstitutional a provision in Comelec Resolution No. 8714, which bans all persons from carrying firearms and deadly weapons in public places including public buildings, streets, parks and private vehicles from January 10 to June 9, 2010.

Aside from regular firearms and deadly weapons, also covered by the ban are air guns and replications, as well as bladed instruments, hand grenades, and other explosives except for fireworks.

Orceo, however, said Republic Act 8294 or An Act Amending the Provisions of Presidential Decree No. 1866 or the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition law, did not mention airsoft guns and their replica in classifying different firearms.

image “In including airsoft gun within the meaning of firearm, the subject resolution in effect criminalizes the sport and playing the game makes it irrelevant if one’s possession of airsoft gun and their replica/imitation is now covered by prohibited acts notwithstanding that there is still no law that governs the use thereof,” he said in his petition.

He asked the Court to direct the Comelec to issue a resolution allowing the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police and other law enforcement agencies deputized by the Comelec to desist from further enforcing Resolution No. 8714.

Easternbloc Airsoft Philippines is an alliance of airsofters composed of professionals, businessmen, students and government workers based in the eastern part of Rizal province.

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines (MMPC) closed 2009 with sales of 23,247 units, accounting for an impressive 32.5-percent growth compared to its previous year’s sales of 17,539 units.

With this sales performance, MMPC also managed to improve its market share from 14 per cent in 2008 to 17.6 per cent in 2009, to maintain its strong No. 2 position in the industry.

MMPC also posted growth in all segments for the first quarter. Lancer and Galant sales totaled to 1,562 units for a slight one-percent growth in the passenger car segment.

In the light commercial vehicle segment, total growth registered was 36 per cent as MMPC sold a total of 20,959 light commercial vehicles versus 15,382 units sold in 2008.

MMPC credits this performance to the strong sales of its new Montero Sport, Adventure, Strada pick ups and L300 models.

Both Adventure and L300 models continue to attract private and government fleet, as well as small to medium scale entrepreneurs, and overseas Filipino workers and their dependents.

The Adventure and L300 continue to be significant due to their very low cost operation and maintenance and reliable performance of its now Euro-2 compliant 4D56 engine.

Meanwhile, the warm market acceptance for the Montero Sport and Strada pick up were further validated by the various awards received last year.

For the Montero Sport, it was voted as the best mid-size SUV and best value for money by motoring media in the Auto Focus Peoples Choice Award and also the best mid-size 4×2 SUV in the 2009 Car Awards Group Inc.

Likewise, the Strada was also voted as the best pick up in the Auto Focus Peoples Choice Award.

In the truck and bus segment, MMPC sold a total of 726 units which has increased by 20 per cent compared to 2008 due to improved fleet sales business.

Aside from its notable sales performance, MMPC also led the industry in customer satisfaction by topping both J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2009 Philippine Sales Satisfaction Index Study and Customer Service Index Study.

In December 2009, MMPC also achieved its 500,000th cumulative production milestone, being the first automotive manufacturer in the country to achieve this feat, as it rolled off its first locally assembled Lancer EX in its manufacturing plant situated in Cainta, Rizal.

MMPC is confident in further increasing sales of its Lancer EX given the sustained availability from its local production at the same time repositioning the price at very competitive levels.

The Lancer EX was initially introduced by MMPC in 2008 as a completely built up unit from Japan and received commendations from several local motoring media including the Car Awards group which proclaimed it as the best Compact Sedan for 2009.

For 2010, MMPC remains optimistic as it aims to further increase sales volume and market share.

“Our objective for this year is to sell 28,000 or a 20-percent growth from our 2009 performance,” Froilan Dytianquin, Assistant Vice President for Marketing Services said.

Our positive growth projections will be supported by our refreshed vehicle line up such as the 2010 models of the Lancer EX, Montero Sport, Strada and Adventure. There will be also new exciting additions this year such as the Lancer EX Ralliart, a new compact cross over plus new variants of our core models,” Dytianquin added.

Apart from realizing this sales target, MMPC will also continue to improve further its after sales to ensure the total satisfaction of our customers.

The Philippine automotive industry defied threats of automotive slump due to global financial crisis as it posted a 6.4-percent growth in 2009 over the previous year.

Total vehicle sales reached 132,444 units in 2009, exceeding the flat growth forecast for 2009 by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) or 125,000 units. In 2008, total vehicles sold were 124,449 units.

CAMPI and TMA credit this growth to the aggressiveness of automotive players in introducing new models and various promotion schemes as well as by banks/financial institutions to accept auto financing from loans especially from entry level buyers such as small to medium scale entrepreneurs and also OFWs.

In addition, the strong typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng last October which brought heavy floods in Metro Manila and Luzon areas caused irreparable damaged to most vehicles, have partially contributed to the increase as it accelerated vehicle replacements, especially in the last quarter.

Source:www.tradingmarkets.com

OFFICIALS OF TAYTAY TOWN IN RIZAL province said they have started drafting their own city charter in preparation for their bid for cityhood this year.

Taytay Mayor Joric Gacula said the local government was “serious” in its campaign to become the second component city in the province after Antipolo City, and has started “spadework toward the conversion of the now first-class municipality into a city.”

“Taytay is far more qualified in terms of population, area and income aspects. We don’t see any reason for Congress to disapprove it,” Gacula said in a statement.

He added that a technical working group has been formed to create the technical and legal framework of their bid.

Part of the working group’s responsibilities, he said, was to see to it that no tax increase would be imposed for five years from the date of its conversion into a city.

Gacula said the local government was completing requirements mandated by the Local Government Code on the standards on population and revenue collections. Taytay’s target revenue this year has been placed at P400 million.

Under the law, to qualify to become a city, towns must have an annual self-generated income of P100 million and a population of 150,000 or more, or a contiguous territory of 100-sq km.

Rizal Gov. Casimiro Ynares III earlier indicated his support for the cityhood bids of Taytay and another town, Cainta.

MANILA, Jan. 13 — The local government of Taytay, Rizal has set its sight on transforming the now bustling and first-class municipality as the second component city in the province.

Mayor Joric Gacula said they have started drafting a component city charter for the next Congress to deliberate and hopefully approve.

Gacula said that Taytay, an erstwhile backward town, is serious on its bid to become Rizal province’s second city after that of Antipolo.

The local chief executive said that a technical working group has long been doing the spadework on the technical and legal framework of their cityhood bid.

Part of the working group’s task is to see to it that no tax increase would be imposed within five years from the date of Taytay’s transformation into a city.

Gacula disclosed that the Taytay municipal government is now completing requirements mandated by the Local Government Code on the standards on population and revenue collections.

Taytay’s target revenue this year is estimated at P400 million

Like the other towns that have been converted into cities, Taytay stands to get a bigger share in the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) from the national government once it becomes a city.

Gacula also expressed optimism that their bid would not face rough sailing amid a Supreme Court decision issued last month declaring as constitutional the 16 cityhood laws earlier passed by Congress.

“Taytay is far more qualified in terms of population, area and income aspects. We don’t see any reason for Congress to disapprove it,” Gacula noted.

He likewise cited an earlier statement issued by Rizal Governor Casimiro Ynares III supporting their cityhood bid.

Once approved, the new component city also gets to have its own representative in Congress, translating to additional funds to cover the cost of national infrastructure projects, which include major thoroughfares and other vital installations. (PNA)

scs/HCT

THE government should extend subsidies, such as input subsidy and preferential tariff similar to those given to chemical agriculture, to develop the organic-farming industry.

Minus the subsidies to organic farming, the government can consider removing funding support to chemical agriculture to “level the playing field,” Pablito Villegas, member of the board of trustees of the Organic Producers and Trade Association (Opta), said.

Villegas said in lieu of subsidy, the government could give industry players incentives through lower costs of doing business in organic-farming. He cited the case of the municipality of Baras, the organic farming capital of Rizal, which extends as much as 25-percent discount on the cost of registering an organic enterprise. He said costly certification and other regulations should not be used to “strangle” the growth of the industry.

“We also want the government to patronize organic-fertilizer industry products in the country or make a strong effort to enable farmers to be able to produce their own organic fertilizers,” he said.

Villegas said businesses in organic farming could also be given tax breaks under the Barangay Micro Business Enterprise Act because they use 100-percent basic raw material.

Aside from these measures, he also batted for the adoption of the “polluters pay principle” and the creation of a marketing infrastructure—an organic wholesale exchange market—which could serve the needs of both the local and export markets.

“This is a global market of more than $50 billion, [wherein] we must be able to participate. We are only producing less than $10 million worth organic products domestically,” Villegas noted.

www.businessmirror.com.ph
Written by Jennifer A. Ng

]]> http://rizalbiz.com/?feed=rss2&p=333 0 http://rizalbiz.com/?p=326 http://rizalbiz.com/?p=326#comments Thu, 16 Apr 2009 13:57:26 +0000 admin http://rizalbiz.com/?p=326

MANILA, Philippines – Lopez-led Manila Electric Co. will source clean energy from Montalban Methane Power Corp.’s (MMPC) 8.19-megawatt renewable power generating plant in Rodriguez, Rizal, raising its clean and renewable energy portfolio.

In a statement, Meralco said the contract for the supply of electricity is its
“expression of support” to Republic Act No. 9513 signed by President Arroyo, which aims to promote the development, utilization and exploration of renewable energy resources in the country.

“The plant will recover harmful methane gas from the Rodriguez garbage dumpsite to generate electricity enabling Meralco to increase its capacity and alleviate global warming through the reduction of carbon emissions during electricity generation,” it added.

The law creates a framework for the accelerated development of renewable energy resources and development of a strategic program to increase its use. Establishing the necessary infrastructure and mechanism,

The Renewable Energy Act urges the development and use of renewable energy resources as tools to effectively prevent or reduce harmful emissions and balance goals of economic growth and development with the protection of health and environment.

MMPC is a joint venture formed by Tranzen Group, Inc. and Carbon Assets Fund of Cayman Island, which is a majority owned company of United Kingdom-based Carbon Capital Markets. Tranzen is a local firm headed by Salvador B. Zamora II, owning 60 percent of the power firm. -Ruby Anne M. Rubio, GMANews.TV