In the silence of guns, refugees continue to suffer in evacuation centers
PIKIT, NORTH COTABATO— Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in. –Robert Frost.
In this largely Muslim-dominated town that has seen four major wars since the late 1990s, thousands of homes in far-flung villages still await their owners as of today (Monday), although the volleys of gun fire and bomb explosions weeks before have essentially “fallen silent.”
The uncertain security situation has kept about a fourth of the town’s 90,000 population still cramped in 29 evacuation centers scattered across the town.
In the village of Baliki in the neighboring town of Midsayap, a cat could be the summary of that innate human feeling to relish in the warmth of a home, which had deprived the thousands evacuees for about a dozen days now. Read more
Conal Holdings ‘sure’ of getting environment clearance certificate
GENERAL SANTOS CITY— The Alcantara-led Conal Holdings Corp. appeared optimistic Friday it will be granted the environmental clearance certificate to operate a coal-fired power plant in Maasim, Sarangani.
Already in the pipeline will be the conduct of an environmental impact assessment, after the completion of public scoping which kicked off last Tuesday, Joseph C. Nocos, Conal Holdings vice president, said in a statement.
The latest indication that Conal Holdings is keen in pursuing the coal-fired project is its reported acquisition of a 55-hectare property in the hamlet of Tampuan in Barangay Kamanga. Read more
Foreign firms quarrel on Tampakan project copper marketing rights
KORONADAL CITY— A fresh rift has flared up between the two foreign companies already at odds with each other due to ownership stakes at the huge Tampakan copper and gold project, it was learned on Tuesday.
This time, Swiss miner Xstrata Copper and Indophil Resources NL, an Australian firm, disagreed over the marketing rights for copper concentrates once the project, pursued through Filipino affiliate Sagittarius Mines, Inc., starts commercial operations few years from now.
Earlier, Xstrata Copper attempted a hostile takeover of all Indophil shares at Sagittarius. Indophil rejected the takeover bid of Xstrata. Read more
GenSan fish port capable of servicing large fishing vessels
GENERAL SANTOS CITY— The fish port complex here can now accommodate large fishing vessels with the completion of construction works for the deep-water docking facility, a development seen to help boost scarce tuna supplies for canned production, officials said.
Miguel B. Lamberte, local chief of the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority, which is managing the city’s fish port complex, said the expanded portion of the wharf will allow more entry of huge foreign fishing vessels in the locality.
“Last week, a 160-footer foreign ship from Papua New Guinea unloaded two million kilos of tuna stocks for canned production. That’s the first time such a huge fishing vessel utilized the expanded wharf,” Mr. Lamberte said. Read more
Tuna industry players want fuel subsidy too
GENERAL SANTOS CITY—Two large groups of tuna producers here on Wednesday asked the government to extend fuel subsidies to their vessels to lessen the impact of the high cost of petroleum products to their operations.
Dexter T. Teng, president of the South Cotabato Purse-Seiners Association (SOCOPA), said any government subsidy on fuel products to tuna fishers is very much welcome during these difficult times.
“It’s not only the sardines industry that is reeling from the skyrocketing prices of fuel products. The tuna industry is also feeling its effect [but we are hanging on]. Even a temporary subsidy from the government would be a good relief,” Mr. Teng told BusinessWorld. Read more
Tuna industry players hang on despite high fuel prices
GENERAL SANTOS CITY— Despite reeling from high fuel prices, tuna fishing and cannery operations here continue as suspension so far is apparently not an alternative due to demands especially in the foreign market, it was gathered on Monday.
Richie Rich T. Tan, vice president for operations of the San Andres Fishing Industries, Inc., said that tuna fishing operators in the city, dubbed the “Tuna Capital of the Philippines, have not suspended operations due to the high cost of fuel products.
Recently, fishing operators in Zamboanga City, the country’s center for canned sardines production, stopped their fishing expeditions to protest the rising costs of fuel products. Read more
Tampakan project’s extended PFS due in November
KORONADAL CITY—The extended pre-feasibility study (XPFS) for the Tampakan copper and gold project is due for completion this November, a junior partner said in its latest quarterly report.
Indophil Resources NL, in its report for the three months ending in June 2008 released this week, said that Xstrata Copper has advised that the technical studies for the Tampakan project will be finished by the end of November.
“These studies cover infrastructure, mining and processing, [and] waste and water studies,” Indophil said.
Xstrata is managing the Tampakan project through a 62.5% stake in the venture pursued under Philippine affiliate Sagittarius Mines, Inc., the holder of a Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement approved by the government. Read more
Dapitan’s ‘glory’ buzzes with life
DAPITAN CITY, ZAMBOANGA DEL NORTE— Jose P. Rizal, the country’s national hero, and former Zamboanga del Norte congressman Romeo G. Jalosjos, who was convicted of statutory rape, maybe worlds apart but they have at least two things in common.
Both lived in this tranquil coastal locality and while in exile continue to conceptualize ideas that made a difference in the outside world.
Mr. Rizal’s four-year interregnum here during the Spanish colonization failed to extinguish the flame of his artistic and literary juices, medical expertise and quest for knowledge. Thus, a historical landmark, the Rizal Shrine, was bestowed on the national hero and remains well-kept hitherto.
On the other hand, Mr. Jalosjos, who was sentenced to two life terms (80 years), has been making economic and tourism wonders for this largely Christian-dominated, Visayan-speaking locality by calling the shot behind bars, where he has been for already a decade.
Read more
Planned coal-fired power plant within world-class dive spot hit
GENERAL SANTOS CITY— The proposal to construct a coal-fired power plant at a world-class diving spot in Sarangani province is a “stupid idea,” asserted critics who plan to put up road banners in Maasim town to inform the public of possible ill effects of such a project.
John Heitz, one of the scuba divers engaged in plunging artificial reef domes in Sarangani Bay and Celebes Sea, said that “anybody who knows and cares about coral reefs will never propose a coal-fired power plant in such area.”
Last month, the Alcantara-led Conal Holdings Corp confirmed it will construct a $450 million 200-megawatt coal-fueled power plant in Barangay Kamanga in Maasim town. The company has said it will utilize coal supplies from Kalimantan in Indonesia. It will increase the power plant’s capacity to 900 MW in two 350 MW increments in a period of 15 years. Read more
Sagittarius won’t leave despite 2nd attack on facility
GENERAL SANTOS CITY—Foreign-backed Sagittarius Mines, Inc. assured Monday that it will not pull out its mining exploration activities in three Mindanao provinces despite the suspected New People’s Army (NPA) attack last Saturday midnight, a senior company official said.
John B. Arnaldo, Sagittarius corporate communications manager, stressed the company will continue with its operations despite the threats posed by the communist rebels and opposition waged by the Catholic Church and environment groups.
“No, we will continue with our activities,” Mr. Arnaldo told BusinessWorld when asked if the second violent incident against Sagittarius perpetrated by alleged NPA rebels would force Xstrata to abandon the project. Read more
