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)

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

Rizal Province’s male and female jins chalked up four gold medals in the senior division (advance and novice) of the recent Smart/Petron Manila Open taekwondo championships at the Rizal Memorial coliseum.

Fin/fly Sanya Amarillo and bantam Jessica Ramos triumphed in the advance level while fly George Barcelona and bantam Jordan Pamayas pulled through in the novice competition to lead the Rizalian’s successful campaign in the tournament sponsored by the Philippine Sports Commission, Smart, PLDT, Petron, Milo and Adidas.

Amarillo beat teammate Michelle Monterez, Ramos topped Santiago City’s Sharon Domingo, Barcelona nipped CEU’s Charlemagne Nagal and Pamayas whipped teammate Daniel Tan in the finals.

Pamantasan ng Muntinlupa bagged three golds courtesy of fin Joeriz Montiero, fly Jocel de Guzman and light-welter Marvin Pababero, all in the novice level.

The other senior gold medalists were:

Women (advance) – Karen Boldo, Las Pinas, feather; Jamuna Pasili, UE, feather.

Women (novice) – Sarah Jane Penosa, CEU, fin; Noemi Agbuya, Lyceum, fly; Pacita Capistrano, Lyceum, bantam; Marites Cordova, PWU, feather; Sheena Ann Lacopia, PWU, light; Honeylou Vilchez, AIMS, welter-heavy.

Men (advance) – Mark Angelo Tabeta, Las Pinas, fin; Jonas Enriquez, SBC, feather; Jojo Fusana, CSA-Binan, middle-heavy.

Men (novice) – Arjay Luterte, Shark Batangas, bantam; Rannie Boy Villazor, CCM, feather; Franz Elman Molo, CCM, light; Jumar Ace Abanto, AIMS, welter; Michael Julius Diaz, AIMS, middle-heavy.

LISTED REALTY firm Interport Resources Corp. will start developing its properties in Binangonan, Rizal starting with a townhouse and condominium complex in the second quarter and a subdivision for mid-income customers in the third quarter.

In a telephone interview yesterday, Interport Resources Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Esteban Peña Sy said they would start building two two-storey townhouses at the Eastridge golf course in Binangonan and a three-floor condominium soon after.

He added that the company also planned to start development by the third quarter of a 30-hectare subdivision project, which will be sold to mid-income families by yearend.

“We are now at the planning stage. We are also securing the necessary permits to begin development of the areas,” he said, but could not immediately say how much the projects will cost.

He said Interport Resources would also develop a 30-hectare lot adjacent to the golf course for the high-end market.

The subdivisions are part of the 71.84-hectare property that the firm had agreed to buy from affiliate PrimeEast Properties, Inc. on Friday for P215.52 million. Interport also plans to buy 13,406 square meters of land from its affiliate for P46.92 million.

The company disclosed these plans to the stock exchange yesterday.

Also yesterday, Interport Resources said it had agreed to give PrimeEast the right to P145 million worth of stocks as payment for its debts.

In a separate interview, Colliers International Research Manager Ramon Jose Aguirre said mid-income housing projects are good bets for property developers since demand for these have yet to ease.

“There are still backlogs for these developments,” he said, adding that developers have yet to meet half of the yearly requirements of buyers. — Don Gil K. Carreon

LOREMAR REALTY CORP. invites you to discover the highlife in LOREMARHOMES, the new residence in the heart of Antipolo.

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Explore your new lifestyle at LOREMARHOMES elegant home designs adapted from top engineers of the world to fit for your needs here in the Philippines.

The 45-minute drive from work in Makati city or 30-minute trip from Ortigas Center, is definitely worth your time. Transportation is available round the clock. Access roads make the trip even shorter.

Visit: http://www.loremarhomes.com

Experience the grandeur of a 8 hectare land resort which you will cherish for its relaxing and unique ambiance. Loreland Farm Resort offers an ideal accommodations for business, leisure and family in breathtaking location amidst the rolling hills and green landscapes of Antipolo City. It is the best location for meetings, events reunions and weddings with an overlooking view of Metro Manila.

Loreland Farm Resort is the brainchild of an enterprising couple who delighted in the naturally sculpted beauty of the place and wanted to share it with the community. Today, in its more than ten years of existence, Loreland is a byword as “the place to be”.

For More Information visit: www.loreland.com.ph

The AVILON MONTALBAN ZOOLOGICAL PARK is the largest zoological park in the Philippines to date. Nestled in the picturesque valley of Barrio San Isidro, Rodriguez (formerly Montalban),Rizal, Philippines, the 7.5-hectare land area of the Zoo was once raw rice land.

AVILON had its un seeming beginnings when Mr. Jake Gaw, an avid animal hobbyist who,at the age of four had his first encounter with animals while staying at his grandpa’s farm in Sta. Ana,Manila (still quite rural then) mingled among goats, cows, pigs and chickens at the farm. This initial encounter would make such a lasting impression on young Jake that he carried his interest in animals from then on. Thus, from guppies and budgies, Jake over the years extended and expanded his interest and collection to arapaimas and eagles and lions and macaques, pythons,etc.

There are two, so to say, crossroads in the history of AVILON. The FIRST was when Jake had to transfer his pet lion IO to a new home, because his neighbors were concerned about the presence of a full-grown male lion living amongst them inside a subdivision. This search for a new home to house IO led Jake to the scenic countryside of San Isidro, Montalban (later to be called Rodriguez) in the Province of Rizal where he decided to build a weekend place for his family and, of course, IO and his other pets. It was 1992.

By 1994, the land within AVILON had been leveled and the concrete hollow block perimeter walls finished. Several man-made lagoons and ponds were then excavated, and the Big Lagoon where the Pavilion now stands is the largest, comprising an area of 3,000 square meters. Construction of animal exhibits followed, starting off with the Corrals where hoofed animals are being kept, the Multi-Purpose Building (now the Herpetarium) and the Hexagonal Birdcages (now the Avian Exhibit), followed by the Crocodiles and the Hornbills enclosures,and many more.

Aside from steel and cement, the construction required tons of huge rocks, river boulders and adobes of different textures, colors and shades, which were sourced from quarries in Luzon and as far as Mindanao. Saplings of a wide variety of native and exotic trees, bamboos, palms,epiphytes, vines and shrubs were also acquired to create a natural setting to the once barren landscape. A greenhouse was also built to house and propagate plants for landscaping use.

Then the SECOND turning point came in the person of Mrs. Teena Gaw who had only a vague idea of what Mr. Jake Gaw was doing in Montalban. An auspicious trip by Mrs. Teena Gaw to the construction site, some AVILON is a perfect place to know more about Wildlife and Nature. Guided Tours and Educational Fieldtrips offer guests/visitors a privilege to observe and know more about the ecology and behavior of the animals, and how we can help conserve and protect the threatened and endangered species, and also on how to help save and protect our environment. Sometime in 1995, resulted ultimately in the decision to develop the Weekend place into a Zoo. THUS AVILON ZOO WAS BORN.

From then onwards, Jake, the animal hobbyist had to literally transform himself into Jake, the Zoo Administrator. It was a one-man-army task, so to say. With helpful suggestions from Mrs. Teena Gaw and friends, the construction went into high gear.

AVILON over the next years gradually “evolved” into a zoological and botanical park.

But why the name AVILON?

Having had to decide a name for this wildlife sanctuary, Jake thought of combining two French words: AVES meaning of or about BIRDS, and LON meaning LAND, to form the word AVILON or LAND OF THE BIRDS.

And of course, AVILON is not just about birds. With its large exhibits of more than 3,000 specimens of exotic and endemic animals represented by more than 600 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, fishes and invertebrates, and close to 400 species of plants, of which more than 50% are Philippine endemics, AVILON ZOO is one of the zoos in Southeast Asia having the most diverse representation of flora and fauna.

AVILON ZOO adopted the motto: Celebrating Life! to symbolize its philosophy. Life is precious and every living creature on Earth has a right to live — freely and fully. AVILON endeavors to showcase the Living Creatures that share the Earth with us in all its diversity and splendor; its cycles of birth and rebirth; its fragility and resiliency.
COME CELEBRATE LIFE AT THE AVILON ZOO!
Source: www.avilonzoo.com.ph

Located in the scenic foothills of the Sierra Madre Mountains, Pranjetto Hills provides a beautiful venue be it for a short weekend stay for the family, corporate planning, or your dream garden wedding.

Pranjeto Hills boasts of a beautiful olympic-size swimming pool, detached air-conditioned cottages with room for the whole family, children’s playground, various recreational facilities, and a large grand ballroom.

MONTALBAN METHANE Corp. (MMPC), owner of the first methane plant in the country, has received a certificate of compliance from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), which will allow it to operate commercially.In a statement, the ERC announced that it had awarded the certificate to MMPC on Feb. 9 for its nine energy-generating sets with a total capacity of 8.19 megawatts worth $33 million.MMPC said the facilities could supply power to around 20,000 households.

The company plans to sell its power to Manila Electric Co. and the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.According to the ERC, the MMPC’s generating facilities, after thorough evaluation and ocular inspection conducted by the ERC, were found to have met the required financial, environmental and technical standards.With respect to market share limitations, MMPC’s installed capacities of 0.0814% and 0.0611% were found to be well within the installed generating capacity limitations of 30% for the grid and 25% nationally. The ERC will periodically monitor the operation of MMPC to ensure its compliance with the terms and conditions of the certificate.

Under the implementing rules and regulations of the Electric Power Reform Act of 2001, no generation company can commence commercial operations until it obtains a compliance certificate from the commission.A compliance certificate issued to a generation company covering all its generating facilities in operation at the time of application.
Any expansion, conversion, or empowering of any of the generation company’s facilities or an acquisition of a new generating facility requires a separate compliance certificate.

MMPC’s plant, which was commissioned in July, has a full capacity of 15 megawatts.The Rodriguez landfill hosts 1,500 tons of garbage enough for a five-year operation plan for MMPC.If the garbage volume hits 2,500 it can extend the contract to 10 years.Methane is a by-product of anaerobic bacterial processes found in sanitary landfills or in municipal sewage treatment plants.Local scientists have been doing research on how to put methane to good use because of the garbage crisis that was heavily felt in Metro Manila in 2001, with the closure of the Payatas dump in Quezon City.

The project, experts said, would boost the country’s campaign against the ill effects of global warming, noting that methane, one of the greenhouse gasses that are being emitted by the garbage at the Rodriguez landfill in Rizal will be put to good use.Methane is 21 times more potent as an environmental pollutant than carbon dioxide.The Montalban plant is the country’s first clean development mechanism (CDM) project and the world’s fourth-largest landfill gas-to-energy project.

It is expected to earn at least 5,000 carbon credits over its operation contract of five years.MMPC Executive Vice-President Danilo B. Cantiller said the spot price of carbon credits is €15-€20 per credit.The CDM is under the Kyoto Protocol, which allows companies to develop carbon dioxide emission reduction projects in developing countries and receive credits for doing so.

Developing renewable energy projects is a way to obtain carbon credits.MMPC is a joint venture of mining magnate Salvador Zamora and Carbon Capitals Market, a British firm that specializes in financing CDM projects and trading carbon credits.In another development, the ERC has appointed Rolando T. Bacani as the new chairman of the Grid Management Committee (GMC) in place of Carlito C. Claudio, whose term ended in December.

Mr. Bacani presently serves as the general manager for business development of KEPCO Philippines Corp. and former vice-president for system operations of the National Transmission Corp. and National Power Corp. He will serve as GMC chairman until December.

The 15-member GMC is a nonstock, nonprofit private organization that monitors Grid Code compliance of power providers at the operation level. — Ava Kashima K. Austria

Source: www.bworldonline.com