Sokorshelpfarmers boostproduction

Philippine Daily Inquirer

7:33 am | Saturday, March 9th, 2013

MANILA, PhilippinesSouth Koreas major rural development movement has committed to help improve agricultural production in Sta. Cruz, Zambales, through the sharing of technical knowledge, skills and modern machinery with farmers of the municipality. Started in 1970 under President Park Chung-hee, Saemaeul Undong or New Village Movement is South Koreas campaign to boost agricultural production. Kim Kwan-yong, current head of Saemaeul Undong, said in a press statement he believes that Saemaeul Undong is the key to transforming the farming sector of developing nations like the Philippines. Kim, also known as Mr. Saemaeul, recently sent a team from the Gyeongsangbuk-do Agricultural Research and Extension Services, headed by Director General Jang-Heui Chae, to sign a memorandum of understanding with Sta. Cruz Mayor Luisito Marty. As a municipality relying mainly on agriculture, we welcome the promise of our South Korean friends to help improve our production by teaching us the modern ways of developing high-yield crops, Marty said after signing the agreement with Chae. Through the memorandum of understanding, Marty said he is hoping that cooperation with South Korea could expand in other areas that could help further improve the lives of his constituents. The signing was held after the visitors conducted a three-day lecture on Feb. 19-21 to introduce South Korean farming technologies on production and management of horticultural plants, including vegetables, trees and mushrooms. The South Korean delegation also included directors So-Deuk Park, Seong-Yong Choi, Jin-Kwan Lee, president Yong-Dae Kim, Gyeongsangbuk-do Overseas Advisor Charles Hung Soo Park, Park Mong Young, and senior researchers Yong-Seub Shin and Jong-Soo Kim. During the seminar, the farmers were introduced to different modern machinery for tilling, land preparation, harvesting and maintenance of livestock. The visitors also discussed the development in cultivation technologies, cultivation methods and the appropriate crop for each kind of soil. The experts also introduced the rain-proof cultivation and growing of crops, like the ice plant, watercress, strawberry and lettuce, in plant factories through the use of hydroponics. Farmers were also introduced to other techniques that can be used for cultivation of horticultural crops, improvement of soil quality, heating system in greenhouses, high pressure sterilizing system and hot-air circulation system.

Meralco rates goup by10/kWh

Philippine Daily Inquirer
12:37 am | Saturday, March 9th, 2013

Customers of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) can expect their electricity bills to go up by 10.1 centavos per kilowatt-hour this month due to the imposition of a new universal charge for stranded contract costs by a state-run energy agency. Thus, households consuming 100 kWh every month will have to pay P12.60 more for their electricity this month, while those consuming 200 kWh will shell out an additional P20.20, according to Lawrence S. Fernandez, assistant vice president and head of utility economics of Meralco. Households consuming 300 kWh, 400 kWh and 500 kWh every month will pay an additional P30.30, P40.40 and P50.50, respectively, Fernandez said in a text message on Friday. In a separate statement, Meralco explained that the increase stemmed from the collection by the staterun Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. of a new universal charge amounting to 19.38 centavos per kWh. The new fee was meant to recover from all power consumers P53 billion worth of stranded contracts costs over the next several years. Offsetting The imposition of this charge, however, has more than offset the combined reductions in the generation, transmission and system loss charges this month. According to Meralco, the generation charge alone fell by 5 centavos per kWh to P5.19 per kWh in March from Februarys P5.24 per kWh. This months generation charge is reportedly at its lowest level since May 2011. On a year-on-year comparison, this is lower by 14 per kWh compared to generation charge in March 2012. Meralco explained that the reduction in the generation charge reflected the lower cost of power obtained by the company from its new power supply agreements (PSAs), and from its existing independent power producers (IPPs). The cost of electricity sourced through these PSAswhich were the result of Meralcos earlier negotiations with key power generatorsfell by 19 centavos per kWh during the February supply month (which will be reflected in the March bill). IPP power rates also decreased by 25 centavos per kWh due largely to the improved output of Quezon Powers coal-fired power facility. Nothing for Meralco For the supply month of February, Meralco sourced 54 percent of its power requirements from the PSAs, 38 percent from the IPPs, and 8 percent from other sources, including the wholesale electricity spot market (WESM). Meralco also reported that the transmission and system loss charges to residential customers also went down by 3 centavos per kWh. The power firm stressed anew that it does not earn from generation charges. Payments for the generation charge, which is a pass-through cost for Meralco, goes to the power suppliers such as the IPPs, participating plants in the PSAs, state-run National Power Corp. and WESM. The rest of the pass-through costs included transmission, taxes, universal charges, and other charges. Meralcos own ratesin the form of distribution, supply and metering chargesaccount for only about 16 percent of the total electricity bill.

Baguio flowerfests verticalgardensdrawbusiness interest

Philippine Daily Inquirer
4:50 am | Monday, March 11th, 2013

BAGUIO CITY, PhilippinesVertical gardens mounted on simulated building walls have been part of the landscape of Burnham Park, the second year this flower carpet technique has been promoted by organizers of the Baguio Flower Festival. But local landscape artists say real estate developers have noticed the festivals latest advocacy and some building owners have started to incorporate vertical gardens in their projects. Lawyer Damaso Bangaoet, Baguio Flower Festival founder, pushed for vertical garden landscapes in the annual Flower Festival Market Encounter (renamed Blooming Odyssey), hoping to popularize a green building philosophy in Baguio and in areas from where the festivals annual visitors come. Cordelia Lacsamana, city environment officer, says the summer capital promotes green architecture and has been encouraging buildings to develop open air rooftop gardens to help reduce carbon in the atmosphere. She says vertical gardens are innovations of the traditional landscape garden, which are mounted on interior building walls. Lacsaman says vertical gardens can also be installed on the outdoor wall space available in high-rise buildings. Agriculturists and scientists believe this technique can be harnessed in the future so vertical gardens can be mounted on the walls of buildings, to augment the food supply of big cities, she adds. Vertical farming is still a theory, but vertical gardens are feasible options for building owners, who are willing to spend up to P2 million to grow seedlings of flowering plants or small fruit-bearing trees that thrive on rooftops and on building walls, according to Alexander Bangsoy, president of real estate developer, Goshen Land Capital Inc. Bangsoy says developers are taking advantage of the skills available in Baguio. Twelve members of the Panagbenga Landscapers Association take traditional and vertical landscaping assignments in Guam, Canada and Ireland, says Jonalyn Viloria, the association secretary. We have members, who earned as much as P5 million in net revenues last year and their only training came from their work as gardeners and from landscape competitions like Panagbenga, she says. Viloria adds she learned about vertical landscaping from an American friend in 2007, but was only able to apply its principles when Bangaoet introduced it for the competition. The very first vertical landscape competition was won by John Kimo, 34, the groups president. Kimo is a Kalanguya from Tinoc, Ifugao, who has an agriculture degree and who earned his stripes producing landscape gardens for the Baguio Country Club. Unlike other countries, the Philippines is rich with natural landscaping resources, such as sea stones in the Ilocos coastline, which make homegrown gardens unique, he says. He says landscapers charge P100,000 for a 10-square meter garden, but the price can sometimes shoot up to P1 million.

Telcosreport recordnumberof customers

Philippine Daily Inquirer
4:47 am | Monday, March 11th, 2013

MANILA, PhilippinesCompetition in the local telco industry remained tight as rivals Globe Telecom and Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) both posted healthy gains in subscriber acquisition, pushing the countrys mobile phone penetration to record highs. By end-2012, there were 103 million active mobile phones in the country, according to telcos data. This was up by 9.8 percent over the same period the previous year. The PLDT group, which operates Smart Communications, Sun Cellular and Talk N Text, had 69.9 million users at the end of 2012, keeping its market share steady at 67.86 percent. This was up from 63.7 million subscribers in 2011. The PLDT group said its strongest-performing segment was Smart Communications postpaid operations, which expanded by 24 percent last yearthe highest growth rate in a decade. Globe Telecom, operator of the Globe and TM brands, saw its subscriber base grow to 33.1 percent at the end of December from 30.04 percent the year before. This kept the companys market share steady at just over 32 percent. Globes postpaid user base rose 19 percent year on year, helping Globe retain its lead in the postpaid segment.

Seaoilearmarks P1.1B forexpansion in 13

2:04 am | Monday, March 11th, 2013

Seaoil Philippines, an independent fuel retailer, is spending another P1.1 billion this year to further expand its retail network. The goal is to reach a total count of 400 stations by the end of 2013. The capital spending program for this year is about the same as last years, which was also focused on increasing the number of retail stations, said Seaoil president and chief executive officer Glenn Yu. Yu told reporters that the funding for the P1.1-billion capital expenditure program for 2013 was raised last year, adding that Seaoils cash flow also remained strong. Last year, we were able to raise P1.5 billion with DBP (Development Bank of the Philippines). That forms part of the funding for our capex, Yu said. The company, however, is not closing its doors to the possibility of tapping the capital market to raise funds in case it decides to accelerate its expansion plans, he added. Seaoil has to date 340 retail stations across the country, including those that are about to open and those that are currently being constructed. Its strong network had helped the independent oil player to register about 20 to 25 percent growth in revenue to P16 billion last year, Yu said. We continue to see strong revenue growth. For this year, we remain bullish as our track record [shows] that weve been growing between 20 and 25 percent over the last several years. For this year, we expect the investments we have made in 2012 to start bearing fruit, Yu said. Although enjoying a steady revenue growth, Seaoil has no immediate plan to go public. We continue to watch market growth For us, our main considerations are the markets direction and the strength of our balance sheet. We continue to look at maintaining a strong balance sheet and if we believe that there is a need to tap the equity market to continue strengthening our balance sheet, then we will do that, Yu said, referring to the possible offering of shares to the public. Under the Oil Deregulation Law, only oil companies that are also engaged in the refinery business are mandated to offer to the public through the stock market at least 10 percent of their shares.