The audit group validated that the dumping of overburden materials does not affect the close by housing communities as these are dumped in the accepted mining operation place some distance from the residential areas in Barangay Semirara,” the DOE stated within the audit record.

Semirara’s mining operation covers the islands of Semirara, Caluya, and Sibay in Antique.

Earlier, the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), an agency below the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), said in a report that it discovered the organization in compliance with all required metrics meant to defend the surroundings in and round Semirara Island.

The EMB record additionally said Semirara Mning became fully in compliance with its commitments to the community on the island via numerous packages inclusive of schooling and capabilities training, livelihood, economic empowerment, inland and mangrove reforestation among others.

The company is the principle business enterprise at the island and has furnished its employees free housing, electricity and water, colleges and a brick church. Island citizens also experience those benefits except housing. They, however, get livelihood schooling.

THE Department of Energy (DOE) has cleared Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) of allegations that it’s far discharging poisonous waste in its mining operation region in Antique following a technical audit performed with the aid of the DOE remaining month.

In disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Friday, SMPC stated it acquired on September 22 a replica of the technical audit outcomes from the DOE clearing the mining company of allegations that its operations had been harming the environment.

“On August 25, 2016, the DOE performed a technical audit on those topics. Today, the Company received a duplicate of the technical audit outcomes from the DOE dated September 21, 2016 which in sum states that the DOE audit team proven that the mining operation of SMPC does no longer discharge poisonous materials to the mangroves, the sulfur content of the coal is beneath 1 percent, there is no seaweed farm affected, and the dumping of overburden substances does not affect the nearby housing communities,” the employer said in the disclosure.
Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi despatched a copy of the audit outcomes to Isidro Consunji, chairman of SMPC, on September 21. SMPC connected a copy of the result in its disclosure to the PSE.

NEA additionally keeps to locate methods to make funds with no trouble to be had for the ECs in particular in instances of herbal and guy-made calamities for them to serve higher their member-clients,” she brought.

This yr, NEA introduced new credit score centers. These encompass Emergency, Unplanned and Contingency CAPEX Projects and Disaster Resiliency Program for ECs; and Renewable Energy Projects of ECs.

The average number of days to release a mortgage is 8 running days for everyday loans and five days for calamity loans for 2016.

To date, the forty seven-yr vintage country-run business enterprise has already prolonged P34.721 billion in loans to the 119 electric powered cooperatives national to finance their rural electrification projects.

NEA stated Camarines Sur I Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Casureco I) and Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Zamcelco) availed of the standby credit score loan facility for strength accounts totaling to P298.156M to bolster their creditworthiness with GenCos.

Meanwhile, three co-ops in Mindanao–Misamis Oriental II Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Moresco II), Agusan Del Norte Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Aneco) and Surigao Del Norte Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Surneco)–secured loans amounting to P207 million for the procurement of modular generator units [gensets] to deal with power lack inside the island particularly all through the summer months.

Moresco II also availed of a P131.6 million mortgage from NEA for the purchase of 5 units of 2- megawatt (MW) capacity modular gensets.

“As a part of NEA’s mandate, the enterprise has developed a credit assure program and facility for the ECs. This is to establish a electricity deliver guarantee to relaxed the power purchase of certified ECs in the Wholesale
Electricity Spot Market (WESM), Interim Mindanao Electricity Market (IMEM) or underneath a bilateral agreement with the GenCos or the NGCP,” NEA officer-in-charge Sonia B. San Diego stated in a declaration.

THE National Electrification Administration (NEA) stated Friday that it lent a total of P1.403 billion to forty three electric powered cooperatives (ECs) from January to August this yr to finance their capital expenditure tasks and the rehabilitation of their strength distribution structures.

NEA said that of the overall quantity, P399 million become extended as calamity loans to 9 ECs within the wake of Typhoons Lando and Nona.

A calamity loan has a repayment time period of 10 years with a one-year grace period and an hobby charge of three.25 percentage according to annum, the corporation stated.

It said P344.Five million become borrowed by means of five ECs to finance their month-to-month shortfalls at the settlement in their strength accounts with the technology corporations (GenCos) and the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP). The ECs should settle their arrearages with the era corporations on the way to avail of the prompt charge cut price.

The present day 299 Negosyo Centers across the u . S . A . Will retain to increase by means of yearend, he said.

Similarly, DTI’s more than 2,000 shared service centers (SSF) decorate MSME productiveness by using accelerating product development and innovation measures, thus making products saleable and extra applicable to marketplace needs.

AmCham individuals have been informed of DTI’s techniques to enhance domestic and international markets, to maximise gains from unfastened trade agreements, and to control the effect of the Asean economic integration, including through effective implementation of industry roadmaps.

With a sturdy mandate from President Duterte to alleviate poverty and uplift the best of life of Filipinos through sustainable economic growth that generates more earnings opportunities thru employment and entrepreneurship, Lopez stated the DTI has made this goal its precedence agenda.

“There is now a extra probability of achievement” for Filipinos to step out of poverty, he informed the AmCham members.

Lopez emphasised the DTI’s “Trabaho at Negosyo” paradigm and cited projects to improve ease of doing commercial enterprise frequently with the aid of streamlining and modernizing the business permit and licensing device in coordination with the Department of Interior and Local Government and the Department of Information and Communications Technology.

To further sell the increase of MSMEs, DTI establishes Negosyo Centers that cater to present and aspiring marketers by using assisting them comfy licenses and lets in and improve product quality, packaging and marketing, among many others.

The primary financial institution has issued the pointers on enterprise continuity control (BCM) that requires supervised economic establishments, particularly banks to make it an integral a part of their operations so one can resist the effect of predominant disruptions.

In a circular, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the rationale for the new policies is for supervised monetary institutions or BSFIs adversely stricken by disruption of critical operations due to inner and outside threats, which may be natural, guy-made or technical in origin may also still keep to perform and carrier its clients.

It said intense activities may also purpose fundamental disruptions whose impact are very vast in scope, duration or both and might pose a vast danger to the continued operation of BSFls.

“Because BSFIs play a essential role inside the economic device and economic system as a whole, it’s miles important to ensure that their operations can resist the consequences of fundamental disruptions,” the critical financial institution referred to.

With these scenarios, the BSP stated BSFIs need to have a comprehensive BCM process as an critical a part of their operational chance management gadget.

In precise, BSFIs must adopt a cyclical, manner-orientated BCM framework that includes at the least 5 phases: enterprise impact analysis (BIA) and risk assessment, approach system, plan development, plan testing and employees education and plan protection.

This framework represents a non-stop cycle that have to evolve through the years based totally on adjustments in commercial enterprise and running environment, audit pointers and take a look at effects, the relevant bank said.

This framework must cowl every commercial enterprise characteristic and the generation that helps it. Other related regulations, standards and processes must also be integrated with the general BCM framework, it brought.

A nicely-designed BCM procedure enables BSFIs to renew important operations unexpectedly and limit operational, financial, criminal, reputational and other fabric risks springing up from a disruption, in line with the BSP. This additionally helps mitigate systemic risks in addition to preserve public accept as true with and self belief in the financial system.

“The suggestions purpose to sell sound management of business continuity risks. These align present rules, to the extent feasible, with leading standards and diagnosed concepts on BCM, and shall function the Bangko Sentral’s baseline requirement for all BSFls,” it stated.

The guidelines apply to banks, non-banks with quasi-banking function, non-financial institution electronic money issuers and other non-financial institution establishments which might be situation to Bangko Sentral supervision and law below existing policies, guidelines and unique legal guidelines.

Since 2020 began, the Philippine business landscape has been shaken by unfortunate series of occasions, from the Taal Volcano eruption in January to the continued coronavirus sickness 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. Businesses continue to be floored with the aid of those, plus different outside factors. The query now is: How can they, mainly small and medium companies (SMEs), get better?

Luckily, we don’t want to appearance too a ways, as the SME environment in the country has transformed over time. Ongoing trends have proven that nearby SMEs are adaptable and resilient during periods of fast and ever-moving environments.

For example, in 2018, we noticed mother-and-pop shops go completely on line. Their inventory changed into effortlessly stored internal their houses and selling became carried out on social media or different electronic trade (e-trade) web sites. With the arrival of such media, humans found out that they can start and run their companies with low capital, minimal working fees and few workers.

To adapt to those tough occasions, we have to check out three small business developments that have guided SME proprietors for years and persevered to pressure the business panorama inside the Philippines:

1. Join the e-trade bandwagon. Every month, large e-trade vendors maintain special sales. If you’re keeping tune of the frequency of those income, you can compare them with the promos of large shopping malls. These promotions have elevated purchaser traffic to their web sites and enterprise owners have used human beings’s endured reliance on those e-trade vendors. For owners who don’t have time to manipulate their web sites or have the logistical and monetary functionality to set up their own e-commerce structures, they can easily enrol in those of Lazada and Shopee.

As a small business, you can use the have an impact on of Lazada and Shopee — presently the pinnacle e-commerce platforms within the united states of america — to sell your product and they will deal with all of the logistics and charge issues on your commercial enterprise. Shopee’s website states it “affords the proper gear to help all our sellers on our marketplace platform.” For additional reference, primarily based on a breakdown by Cjango Web Solutions, the top 3 listings on Lazada are mobiles and tablets, home and residing, and style.

Current occasions have limited the services of those e-commerce players because the present day provisions of the ongoing more desirable community quarantine simplest allow the movement of essential items and services. However, this region has additionally shown its range and well timed evolution. It wasn’t clean earlier than how marrying the supermarket and e-trade could flourish, however now they’re as applicable as ever. As physical distancing orders are performed, the thousands and thousands of center-class Filipinos wanted an opportunity in securing their fundamental requirements. This offers grocery store e-commerce players the best opportunity to serve their fellow Filipinos.

Cuttaree said this is attributed to some of underlying structural troubles, along with the archipelagic geography which creates divisions in connectivity.

If no longer cautiously managed and deliberate for, the blessings of urbanization aren’t found out and can bring about congestion, slums, pollution and inequality, Cuttaree said.

“Many slums are located on river floodplains or along seashores exposing low profits populations to recurring floods. This creates an extensive burden in terms of loss of livelihood, damage to housing and property, and multiplied health dangers because of prolonged exposure to water pollutants. Fires in slums are also pretty common creating an sizable hazard to low earnings households,” he stated.

Making cities aggressive

Some essential factors that contribute to city competitiveness are strong institutions and governance for the effective management of cities.

Cuttaree stated land administration and control structures (LAM) assist shape the spatial, economic and social improvement in towns.

“Weak land management and control, negative Sharefounders review land use making plans, and constrained capacities in assets taxation and valuation will have a long way ranging results on the vibrancy of the land market, in shaping and rationalizing urban increase in a sustainable way, and in generating sales to guide programs to enhance urban existence,” he said.

Inclusive urbanization, wherein each person can reap the blessings of city increase, is a key aspect of aggressive cities.

“If urbanization isn’t always managed well, it may give rise to inequality and exclusion which could derail the improvement method. Challenges including economic, spatial and social exclusion will in the end have an effect on possibilities for metropolis residents,” Cuttaree said.

The World Bank lately completed an urbanization review of the Philippines.

Cuttaree cited the review recommends a -pronged approach for Metro Manila and different secondary cities.

“These issues span across administrative limitations and may only be solved via robust political dedication and coalitions for change in metropolitan governance and land management management,” he said.

“At the same time, making an investment in secondary cities presents an enormous possibility for moving the overall stability of spatial development within the u . S . A ., increasing productivity in urban areas and avoiding, most of the issues which have developed over time in Metro Manila as these cities grow,” he brought.