Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Senators Edgardo Angara, Manuel Roxas II and Francis Escudero are pushing for an increase in the maximum bankdeposit insurance from 250,000 to 500,000 pesos by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC).

This is to to help strengthen and restore confidence in the country’s banking system, three senators are pushing for an increase in the maximum deposit insurance from P250,000 to P500,000.

The said bill seeks to strengthen the very foundation of the banking system and continue to foster confidence among investors and depositors. The Philippine Deposit Insurance Co. (PDIC) supports the proposal, which projects a 97.2-percent coverage of all deposit accounts in the banking system compared to 95.1 percent in the present maximum coverage.

This is picture was taken by me on an early morning ride going to work in Digos City my resident city. I quickly got my digicam and took this pictures.

Transportation of different kind exist here in Davao, just like the tricycle as what we call it here. In other parts of the Philippines they call it Pedicab. Tricyboat(if they use a modified engine use to run a small banca/boat), Trisikad(if it is manually ran by a man which uses bicycle) and some names I am not familiar with.

More on the article after the jump! Click read more below.

They are used to transport people from one place to the other within the city and neighboring Barangays. And just like the picture shown above, they are also used for transportation of goods. I don’t know how they did it, there must be around 10-15 small bikes that fits in there.

What do you think? How many are being transported?

Monday, October 20, 2008

Another good news is coming before the Christmas season will come! Reduction of the minimum fare by P1.50 by December is very much possible due to the ever decreasing oil price not just in the world market but also locally. That would mean a little relief for all Filipinos and an early Christmas gift for all of us.

Reports says that the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board may release a decision on the petition to reduce the minimum fare for passenger utility vehicles by December following the latest round of fuel price cuts.

LTFRB chairman Thompson Lantion said that he sees a ruling by the first week of December following consultations with transport groups and even officials of petroleum companies.

“It was agreed during the frist consultation hearings that [if] they had to pursue a rollback, that will be dependent on the price and amount of gasoline and diesel as a point of reference,” Lantion said, referring to petitions to cut fares in Central Luzon, Southern Luzon provinces and Metro Manila.

On Friday, independent oil player Unioil announced a P2 per liter reduction in prices of its diesel product while P1 per liter will be removed from gasoline and kerosene.

Seaoil, another independent player, meanwhile, has been selling diesel at P44.98 per liter for private motorists and P43.98 per liter discounted price for PUVs.

Based on the petition submitted by a group on September 19, there should be a P1.50 cut in the minimum fare for passenger jeepneys and P2 for buses.

Transport groups, however, said they can only take P0.50 off the prevailing minimum fare of P8.50 for the first four kilometers.

The LTFRB has set November 4 for the formal hearing of the petition submitted by the National Council for the Protection of Commuters, Inc. Aside from the petitioner, the LTFRB has also invited representatives from Pilipinas Shell, Petron Corp. and Chevron (formerly Caltex Philippines) and those from the independent players.

Should there be a consensus on November 4, the LTFRB will give concerned parties to submit their respective memoranda. The agency will then issue a ruling within 30 days after receiving comments.

Source

Palawan has a lot to offer when it comes to eco-tourism. Puerto Princesa’s Subterranean River National Park is almost 2 hour drive from the city and half of the road going there is not paved or cemented. Thirty minutes before you arrive at the coast going to the cave the road are mostly rough gravel and mountainous. You need to register and pay the boat fare and the underground river on the port. Then you will ride a small boat going to the park. There at the park you’ll find an entire ecosystem of fish, bats, birds and all those other wildlife to explore.

You will see this sign on the park, it is a trail sign that tells you where to go and what you expect to see.

Read the rest of the article after the jump! Click read more below.

Before anything else, you are required to:

• register your name and address
• wear the required attire, the helmet and life vest
• Keep your voice to a minimum while inside the cave
• Not to scare the cave dwellers( I don’t know what that means
• No smoking and eating while inside the cave
• Do not take rocks as souvenirs
• Do not leave a trash in the boat or in the water
• Stay calm at all times
• and trust your able cave guides

If you’re all geared up for the ride then it is time to ride the boat and go inside the cave.

Look out for manong the tourist guide–this guy will make the trip even more worthwhile. But this tour guide is the best there is in the country. I tell you, he’s made my trip worthwhile. Humor on the boat–that’s nice! There are formations that I’ve seen cathedrals, bananas, even mushrooms inside this wondrous spot formed by stalactites and stalagmites for millions of years!

An advice to firs timers, be early so that you will also leave early since the cave cannot accommodate all the tourist that wants to go inside the cave at once, we have to take our turns since a boat can only accommodate 6-8 persons at a time.

That was an amazing experience, it’s all worth every penny I spent in going to Palawan!

Davao Museum of History and Ethnography will present Celebrating Ginum: A Festival for a Bountiful Harvest, a satellite exhibit of the nationwide Amorsolo Retrospective on October 23 at the museum’s Carlos O. Dominguez Gallery.

Celebrating Ginum will be the thirteenth satellite exhibit to open among 20 Amorsolo Retrospective satellite exhibits nationwide and will highlight Ginum, the pre-planting festival of the Bagobo held annually. The exhibit will drive a connection between the Bagobo community’s expression of Filipino communities’ shared aspiration of a bountiful harvest as “Fruit Harvesting”, which will accompany the exhibit.

The satellite exhibit is a joint presentation of the Metropolitan Museum of Manila and the Davao Museum for the “His Heart, Our Heart” Amorsolo Retrospective. The Amorsolo Retrospective which opened last September 26 at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila is aimed to take another look at Philippine National Artist Fernando Amorsolo and his fruitful life in the arts through a four-month multi-venue exhibition of his finest works.

The satellite exhibit will run until January 13, 2009.

Davao Museum
Zonta Building
113 Agusan Circle,
Insular Village Phase I,
Lanang, Davao City.

For more inquiries:
Davao Museum Information Desk at 233-1734 and look for Wilma or Chi or email davaomuseum@yahoo.com.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

According to the Times Higher Education Supplement-Quacquarelli Symonds (THES-QS), four prominent Philippine universities are included in their list of Top 500 schools worldwide for 2008.

This year’s result showed a significant improvement in the standing of Philippine universities against other school worldwide.

The four RP schools and their worldwide rankings:

1. Ateneo de Manila University - 254
(Last year: 451)

2. The University of the Philippines – 276
(Last year: 398)

3. De La Salle University – 415th
(Last year: Out of the 500)

4. University of Sto. Thomas - 476th
(Last year: Out of the 500)

THE-QS based its results on the following categories:
# peer academic review
# recruiter review
# international faculty ratio
# international student ratio
# student-faculty ratio
# research citations per faculty

The 10th Davao Trade Expo(DATE) will be on 23-25 October, 2008 at Davao Convention & Trade Center (DAVCON) F. Torres Street, Davao City.

This year, DATE celebrates a decade of success in providing business opportunities for local and national Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). DATE will once again usher the world-class potential of Davao Region and Mindanao to the rest of the world. Furthermore, DATE 2008 underscores the promotion of Corporate Green Initiatives among its participants.

DATE promises to surpass previous year’s performance, increasing the exhibitor’s sales by 25%, closing it to about Php 1M, both direct and booked sales. Accordingly, marketing and promotion will be intensified to be able to raise participation of exhibitors, advertisers, sponsors and visitors.

DATE 2008 will be featuring close to 200 exhibitors coming from a wide array of business sectors, as well as development-oriented agencies offering financial and technical assistance. It will particularly focus on food processing and technology, agro-industrial, local franchises, tourism, information & communication technology, electronics and telecommunications, green advocates and organic products, among others. Involvement of Local Government Units (LGUs) and Foreign Embassies will also be highlighted. DATE will feature balanced programming of indoor and outdoor exhibits, trainings & seminars, product presentations, product sampling, business matching, raffle promo, job fair and other special events.

Source

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Henry Sy, founder and chairman of the SM group of companies, has been named the Philippines wealthiest man, according to the Forbes Asia 2008 Philippines Rich List.

Sy, who ranked second in last year’s Forbes list, has an estimated net worth of US$3.1 billion. The 83-year old mall mogul and his family control SM Investments, which owns stakes in a dozen companies including the nation’s second largest bank, Banco de Oro Unibank. Their wealth is up by $1.4 billion, the biggest gain on the list in absolute terms.

In second place is business tycoon Lucio Tan and family with a net worth of $1.5 billion, down by $100 million from last year. Their holdings include the nation’s largest cigarette maker, Fortune Tobacco, Philippines Airlines, Asia Brewery, mining operations and Hong Kong property.

Forbes Asia said the collective wealth of Philippines’ 40 richest has fallen 18 percent to $14 billion from $17 billion in 2007 as the global financial turmoil took its toll on stock prices.

The top 10 richest in the Philippines are:

1. Henry Sy & family; US$3.1 billion
2. Lucio Tan & family; $1.5 billion
3. Jaime Zobel de Ayala & family; $1.2 billion
4. Andrew Tan; $700 million
5. Tony Tan Caktiong & family; $690 million
6. John Gokongwei Jr. & family; $680 million
7. Eduardo Cojuangco Jr.; $610 million
8. Enrique Razon Jr.; $525 million
9. George Ty & family; $435 million
10. Inigo & Mercedes Zobel; $430 million

To compile the list, Forbes Asia calculated net worths using October 3 stock prices and exchange rates. Public wealth was estimated using shareholder and financial information while privately held assets were estimated based on what they would be worth if public.

Source

Thursday, October 16, 2008

The song Gikumot Kumot by a Cebu based band Kantin became popular due to the tandem of Ted Failon and Korina Sanches who sing the song with gusto in their morning radio show on DZMM.

Gikumot Kumot

Gipanumpa ko na, nga kitang duha
Magtiunay sa ato nga gugma
Abi mo kita, magkadayon na,
Kay sa gugma mo, nanumpa ka…
Kalit gibyaan, ikaw na naghilak
Mao nang dagway mo kung sa samin daw mabuak.
Chorus:
Kay gikumot-kumot, sa dakong kamot
Ang dughan mong pagkadako, dako sa gugma.
Kay gikumot-kumot, sa dakong kamot
Ang dughan mong pagkadako, dako sa gugma.
Gipanumpa ko na, nga kitang duha
Magtiunay sa ato nga gugma
Abi mo kita, magkadayon na,
Kay sa gugma mo, nanumpa ka…
Kalit gibyaan, ikaw na naghilak
Mao nang dagway mo kung sa samin daw mabuak.
Chorus:
Kay gikumot-kumot, sa dakong kamot
Ang dughan mong pagkadako, dako sa gugma.
Kay gikumot-kumot, sa dakong kamot
Ang dughan mong pagkadako, dako sa gugma.

Kay Gikumot-kumot, gikumot-kumot
Gikumot-kumot, gikumot-kumot
Gikumot-kumot…
Kalit gibyaan, ikaw na naghilak
Mao nang dagway mo kung sa samin daw mabuak.
Chorus:
Kay gikumot-kumot, sa dakong kamot
Ang dughan mong pagkadako, dako sa gugma.
Kay gikumot-kumot, sa dakong kamot
Ang dughan mong pagkadako, dako sa gugma.
Kay Gikumot-kumot… !

The first thing that tourists will see when they arrive in Davao City is the Davao International Airport. For local and foreign tourist they will see Davao airport first and hope that your stay here will be remembered always.

Here are some images that I have taken:
Click the images to enlarge!

The famous Durian sculpture that has become the icon of the city.

The main airport building.

More images after the jump! Just click read more below.

At the check in counters.

Be early in going to the airport at least two hours before your scheduled flight.

Air control tower.