CitySavings receives top tax contributor award for 2021 from BIR-Cebu

MINERVA BC NEWMAN

CEBU CITY—City Savings Bank, Inc. (CitySavings), on its 20^th anniversary was recognized as one of Cebu’s top tax contributors for CY 2021 by the Bureau of Internal Revenue Large Taxpayers Division (BIR LTD) – Cebu.

Receiving the award on behalf of the Bank was AVP - Reputation and Brand Management Head, Paula Ruelan with its officials and the other awardees in Cebu City on March 4 at the 1 Nito Tower, Cebu City, in recognition of their support and invaluable contribution to the country’s economic development efforts.

Ruelan, in her message thanked BIR LTD-Cebu for fostering an environment that encourages more investment and economic growth especially during the time of a pandemic. She highlighted the importance of adhering to good governance practices and expressed CitySavings’ continuous commitment to the agency and its initiatives.

“Together with the other large taxpayers in the private sector, we pledge our support to BIR, its programs and tax collection initiatives. We reiterate that we will responsibly perform our corporate duty to pay the correct taxes on time, for the greater good of our country,” Ruelan said.

The other awardees were Visayan Electric Company, Inc. and Cebu Energy Development Corporation. The event also served as the 2022 Tax Campaign Kick-off. (Photos: CitySaving/Google Images)

 

 

Smile Train, GSK, APO collab for cleft orthodontics webinar series

MINERVA BC NEWMAN

MANILA, Philippines – Smile Train, world’s leading cleft-focused organization in collaboration with GSK Consumer Healthcare supported the 3-day comprehensive cleft care webinar series organized by the Association of Philippine Orthodontists (APO) in February and March this year with 518 participants from 26 countries.

According to Smile Train, the highly informative online sessions featured discussions on various stages of cleft treatment for a child born with a cleft, with particular focus on the cleft orthodontics.  Panel of speakers included oral and maxillofacial surgeons, plastic and reconstructive surgeons, pediatric dentists, orthodontists, prosthodontist, speech pathologist, and pediatrician who have many years of cleft and craniofacial experience.

Many of the speakers work or have been trained at Smile Train’s partner, the Noordhoff Craniofacial Foundation of the Philippines.  

Dr. Alvaro Figueroa, a member of Smile Train’s Global Medical Advisory Board joined the panel. He shared his extensive knowledge on orthognathic surgery and treatment protocols for cleft and craniofacial patients, with more than 40 years of experience in treating patients with complex dental problems and craniofacial anomalies.

Smile Train vice president-South East Asia, Kimmy Coseting-Flaviano said, individuals born with a cleft require various types of dental and orthodontic treatments throughout their lifetime.  The webinar series is a continued commitment to empower local medical professionals and enabling them to provide safe, quality and timely cleft care for cleft-affected individuals who depend on the organization, she added.

GSK Consumer Healthcare general manager-Southeast Asia and Taiwan Emerson Aguinaldo said, GSK Consumer Healthcare is proud to partner with Smile Train to increase awareness about clefts. They are committed to help more people born with clefts to gain access to quality healthcare and to advance cleft care across the world.

Aguinaldo bared that to date the partnership has delivered 13,500 life changing cleft surgeries, training for over 8,800 healthcare professionals, and supported 38,000 families.  In 2021, with the support of GSK Consumer Healthcare and Smile Train, the World Dental Federation (FDI) released Oral Health Guidelines for comprehensive cleft care.   

“This webinar series enables orthodontists, and other cleft professionals, not only in the Philippines but in other countries to learn more about the specialized field of cleft orthodontics, and ensure they gain the necessary skills to support cleft-affected individuals,” Dr. Janet Pandan, President of the Association of Philippine Orthodontists (APO) said. (Photos: Smile Train/Google Images)

 

 

 

EDC-Geo powers Silliman University 24/7 to stay green, lower electricity costs

MINERVA BC NEWMAN

DUMAGUETE CITY – The Energy Development Corporation (EDC), a geothermal leading company in the country powers Silliman University 24/7 to stay green and lower electricity costs as it renewed its power supply contract with EDC for another two years.

Dr. Betty Cernol McCann, Silliman University president said the move to renew Silliman’s power supply contract with EDC manifest the institution’s commitment in institutionalizing its Environmental Principles, Policies, and Guidelines that serves as the blueprint for the university’s major component activities in which the renewable energy utilization is one.

McCann said, the university has chosen to stay with First Gen-owned EDC for its full load requirement not only because the power that it provides is clean, renewable, and reliable but also cheaper, based on its experience when it first shifted to the RE provider’s geothermal power or Geo 24/7 two years ago. Part of SU’s power supply also comes from its own solar power panels.

According to McCann that Silliman University as an institution shows the way as a model of a sustainable campus, demonstrating the principles of Zero Waste, the waste management hierarchy, energy conservation, renewable energy utilization, biodiversity conservation, and a reduced carbon footprint,

Silliman is the only university in Negros Island and one of the few in the country to be 100 percent powered by renewable energy (RE) and it is known for its strong environmental conservation programs.

“We did the math and we saw some savings but more importantly, it is the quality of life that we give to our students on campus. They see that we walk the talk, they see that our campus is green, and the savings from our energy is also passed on to our students so economically, it has benefited the university as far as energy use is concerned,” SU vice president for development, Jane Annette Belarmino noted.

Getting power from Geo 24/7 has likewise enabled Silliman to avoid 2,602 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) for its first two-year contract. This is consistent with the university’s aim of being a model sustainable campus not only in Negros Island but in the whole country.   

The university also enjoys these benefits from indigenous power generated locally from EDC’s Nasulo geothermal facility in Valencia, Negros Oriental.  Over the years, these shared values and strong environmental advocacy of SU and EDC have resulted in a strong partnership that goes beyond power supply.

The University is a proud partner of EDC-initiated 10 million trees in 10 years for a Greener Negros Movement (10Min10) that aims to plant, grow, and nurture at least 10 million trees to bring back the forests in Negros Island.

In 2020, SU and EDC inked a memorandum of agreement to establish the Silliman-EDC BINHI Arboretum inside the Center for Tropical Conservation Studies (CENTROP), the university’s field laboratory grounds in Palinpinon, Valencia, Negros Oriental to provide a safe haven for the long-term survival of our Philippine native trees.

In 2021, SU’s Biology Department also completed its biodiversity conservation and monitoring project in EDC’s Palinpinon geothermal reservation.  Silliman further strengthened its commitment to environmental preservation last year by signing a pledge as a pioneer member of EDC’s recently launched Net Zero Carbon Alliance.

The alliance aims to forge collaborative pathways with Philippine companies that have committed to becoming carbon neutral and helping decarbonize our country.  Shifting to RE through licensed GEOP providers like First Gen and EDC’s Geo 24/7 is crucial for business continuity and for the world’s battle against climate change. 

According to Silliman, the government’s Green Energy Option Program (GEOP) afforded businesses and institutions that have average monthly electricity consumption of at least 100 kilowatts can now choose to get power from renewable sources. (Photos: EDC/SU)

 

 

Silliman U officially holds in-person instruction at college level on May 2

MINERVA BC NEWMAN

 DUMAGUETE CITY -- Silliman University (SU) will officially hold face-to-face classes in selected courses/subjects at the college level effective May 2 after two years of using the online distance learning (ODL) modality because of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Dr. Betty Cernol McCann, SU president announced this during a university virtual convocation on March 23 but she clarified that there are courses that will continue to be delivered online; some are to be taught in a hybrid learning modality; others are to be primarily done in-person like laboratory courses, practicum classes, and internship programs.

McCann added that the university is currently retrofitting classrooms and preparing faculty and staff to transition into in-person and hybrid learning in May this year.  She explained that during the pandemic, Silliman has been closely monitoring shifts in health alert levels- 1, 2, 3 or 4 – as each level of alert means adjustments in the way we carry out our teaching, research, community service, and church activities.

Since last school year, Silliman University had instituted limited face-to-face instruction for the School of Medicine and in allied health programs such as Nursing, Physical Therapy, and Medical Technology, she added.

The university made this move after instituting and observing closely, health safety guidelines mandated by the Department of Health and the Commission on Higher Education. (Photos: SU/Google Images)

DTI-Cebu completes distribution of ‘negosyo’ kits worth P20M for its 2,500 MSMEs

MINERVA BC NEWMAN

CEBU CITY— The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-Cebu has completed its distribution of ‘Negosyo Kits” worth P20M for the 2,500 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Cebu Province that were badly hit by typhoon Odette through its livelihood seeding program, Pangkabuhayan sa Pagbangon at Ginhawa (PPG).

DTI-Cebu provincial director Rose Mae Quiñanola said, this livelihood program is DTI’s post-disaster response mechanism to address the need for continued economic activities in the affected areas in the province.

Quinola said, after giving out 140 negosyo kits in Cebu City on March 23, DTI-Cebu has completed its distribution of financial aid to these MSMEs. “We hope that this livelihood and entrepreneurship program will help reboot your businesses as we recover from the challenges brought to us by the pandemic and the recent calamity (typhoon Odette),” she added.

To further equip them with financial knowledge to restore their businesses, DTI-Cebu conducted seminars on entrepreneurial development and simple bookkeeping since February this year covering 29 cities and towns affected by typhoon Odette.

The MSME-beneficiaries were profiled Negosyo Center (NC) business counsellors in partnership with the local government units (LGUs) concerned.  Each beneficiary received P8,000 worth of livelihood assistance in the form of cash vouchers to purchase necessary items for their businesses in DTI-partnered establishments.

To date, DTI-7 has rolled out 6,900 livelihood kits with Cebu at 2,500; Bohol at 2,500; Negros Oriental at 1,500 and Siquijor at 400 MSMEs-beneficiaries with the total cost of more than P55 million. (Photos: DTI-7)

Bayfront Hotel opens its Caja Kitchen

CEBU CITY-- Bayfront Hotel Cebu welcomes 2022 with the opening of 

Caja Kitchen, an in-house restaurant that features modern Asian and Filipino cuisine. Caja Kitchen Cebu will be opening at both Bayfront Hotel Cebu-North Reclamation Area and Bayfront Hotel Cebu Capitol Site.

Caja Kitchen Cebu looks forward to having you over, so you can Feast on good food and even greater memories.

For advance reservations, please call 2306777 for their North Reclamation branch and 5053333 for their Capitol Site Branch.

US-PH Balikatan Exercise 22 set on March 28-April 8

MINERVA BC NEWMAN

MANILA, Philippines— Approximately 8,900 members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the U.S. military team up for Balikatan 2022, the largest-ever iteration of the Philippine-led annual exercise taking place across Luzon from March 28 to April 8. 

“Balikatan is a critical opportunity to work shoulder-to-shoulder with our Philippine allies toward a ‘free and open Indo-Pacific that is more connected, prosperous, secure, and resilient,’ as our Indo-Pacific Strategy calls for.  The U.S. is proud to continue our participation in this long-standing exercise,” said U.S. Embassy in the Philippines Chargé d’Affaires ad interim Heather Variava.

For 12 days the 3,800 AFP members and 5,100 U.S. military personnel will train shoulder-to-shoulder focusing on maritime security, amphibious operations, live-fire training, urban operations, aviation operations, counterterrorism, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

A command post exercise that tests the AFP and U.S. forces’ ability to plan, command, and communicate with each other in a simulated environment is included in the training to bolster the collective security and defensive capabilities of the alliance.

According to Maj. Gen. Jay Bargeron, 3rd Marine Division Commanding General that during Balikatan, the U.S. military and AFP train together to expand and advance shared tactics, techniques, and procedures that strengthen response capabilities and readiness for real-world challenges. 

Bargeron said that Balikatan 22 coincides with the 75th anniversary of U.S.-Philippine security cooperation and a shared commitment to promoting peace.  The countries’ alliance remains a key source of strength and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

Maj. Gen. Charlton Sean Gaerlan, AFP Exercise Director for Balikatan 22 bared that exercise Balikatan is a testament to the strength of the Philippines and United States’ security relationship and the experience gained in the exercise complements security cooperation endeavors and will help to enhance existing mutual security efforts.

Both forces will also conduct multiple humanitarian and civic assistance projects during this year’s Balikatan, including the renovation of four elementary schools, multiple community health engagements, and the exchange of advanced emergency rescue and lifesaving techniques.

These construction projects, health engagements and community relations events improve local infrastructure, facilitate the exchange of lifesaving medical skills, and strengthen ties between Philippine communities and PH-U.S. military forces.

Exercises like Balikatan strengthen international partnerships and the participating militaries’ abilities to rapidly respond to crises throughout the Indo-Pacific region.  Bargeron said the United States is proud to participate in this Philippine-led exercise to improve both nations’ capabilities across a wide range of military operations. (Photos: DVIDS Images)