A home-grown adaptation of an appropriate technology developed in Europe, Latin America and Africa has successfully proven itself in actual field installations during the aftermath of the Tropical Storm Sendong disaster in this city and nearby Iligan.

“Ecosan was piloted by the Center for Advanced Philippine Studies (CAPS) in Tingloy, Batangas in 2000,” said Dan Lapid, CAPS President. Similar initiatives have since been implemented in San Fernando, La Union; Panglao Island, Bohol; Balit Infirmary Hospital in Agusan del Sur; Bayawan and Dumaguete cities in Negros Oriental; Cagayan de Oro City and Libertad, Misamis Oriental.”

But it wasn’t until after Tropical Storm Sendong rampaged through Cagayan de Oro and Iligan Cities last December 17 that it had a chance to prove its worth in an emergency.

Locally fabricated Eco-San toilets were deployed by the Water, Agroforestry, Nutrition and Development (WAND) Foundation in cooperation with the Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan Sustainable Sanitation Center and local partners in over 30 evacuation centers and schools in the two cities.

WAND Foundation personnel transport Ecosan toilets to an evacuation center.

Dr. Elmer V. Sayre, in-house consultant, said WAND’s Eco-San toilet (also known as Urine Diverting Dehydration Toilet or UDDT) was originally designed to address the sanitation needs of the “base of the pyramid” (BoP): households too poor to afford their own toilets, those in remote areas not reached by government services, those with inadequate or no access to clean potable water, and those in conflict and/or disaster-hit areas.

“Present sanitation systems based on the flush-pour toilet operate on the premise that human wastes are better off disposed,” said Dr. Sayre. “But it is not effective in areas where there is no water or where septage is difficult to build as in the flooded zones of Iligan and Cagayan de Oro following the Sendong disaster.”

When the supply of potable water following the disaster became critical, especially in Cagayan de Oro, the dry/waterless Eco-San toilets proved a God-send.

Installing Eco-San toilets in Shelter Box City in Iligan.

“Ensuring sanitation for thousands of people during an emergency following a natural disaster is a challenge especially if the affected places lack water,” said Lilia GC. Casanova, CAPS executive director during a National Consultation Workshop on Guidelines for Implementing Ecological Sanitation in an Emergency held March 20, 2012 at Searsolin, Xavier University. “Until Typhoon Ondoy hit Manila in October 2009, sanitation during emergencies was not acknowledged as a concern.”

However, when portalets deployed in Manila after Ondoy and in Cagayan de Oro following Sendong proved too expensive to maintain and were rendered unusable after a few days, and latrines proved impractical, emergency workers turned to Eco-San toilets.

The Sustainable Sanitation Center of XU first installed two units each at the West City Central School and Macabalan Elementary School. WAND followed up with two locations in Cagayan de Oro and three in Iligan. Some 158 units of the “single-vault” design (including 30 ceramic UD bowls donated by CAPS) were eventually deployed to various locations in Iligan and Cagayan de Oro for the duration of the emergency.

Built with locally available indigenous materials, one unit of the single vault Eco-San toilet could be built within half a day for as little as $112 compared to $2,790 for a portalet (incl. chemicals and installation). Daily maintenance costs for a portalet was $53 compared to $0.70 for the econ-san.

WAND Volunteers orient flood victims at an evacuation center on the proper use of Eco-san toilets

“Based on the experiences of the two cities and one academic institution that early on implemented the demonstration projects, the ‘Eco-san’ toilets have been shown to exhibit qualities that make it socially, culturally, economically and environmentally appropriate, making it a sustainable option,” wrote Ms. Casanova in her evaluation presented during the workshop. “These demonstration projects validated the results of researches and studies on the viability of the Ecological Sanitation system done by global institutions like the Stockholm Environmental Institute (SEI) and German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ, today known as the GIZ).”

Urine and feces collected from the Eco-San facilities were collected on a daily basis by WAND crews in both cities and brought to the NGO’s Eco-Village Demonstration Farm in Libertad, Misamis Oriental where they would be recycled as organic fertilizer.

“We would like to eventually proceed to the next step and offer Eco-San for permanent relocation sites where the residents themselves can maintain the facilities and recycle the wastes as organic fertilizer for their vegetable gardens, bananas, trees and flowers thus literally ‘closing the loop’ between sanitation and food security,” Dr. Sayre said.

Papayas raised with organic fertilizer at the Eco-Village in Libertad, Misamis Oriental

World health statistics show inadequate sanitation facilities and poor hygienic practices cause debilitating water borne diseases which account for over two percent of the combined GDP of the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and Cambodia.

The UN Green Economy Report released last year for the World Water Week conference in Stockholm, Sweden cited how the Philippines loses about $1.4 billion (in 2005 prices) or some 1.5% of its GDP to problems caused by poor sanitation and lack of access to a clean water supply.

-  I N D N J C –

Contrary to popular belief, Mindanao could still have undeveloped hydroelectric power potentials which can negate the effects of climate change, more specifically the El Niño phenomenon.

Engr. David A. Tauli, spokesperson of the Mindanao Coalition of Power Consumers, said the experience of other countries which have a large hydroelectric power component are contrary to the Department of Energy and the Asian Development Bank’s opinion that further development of Mindanao’s hydropower potential is not advisable given their inherent vulnerability to drought, citing the recent 2010 power crisis ostensibly due to the El Niño phenomenon.

“Ninety percent of Norway and Brazil’s electricity are sourced from hydropower plants while New Zealand has 60%,” said Mr. Tauli. “They also have among the lowest rates internationally for power generation.”

Dinorwig Pumped Hydropower Station in Norway produces 172MW of power. A similar facility is being planned for Lake Mainit in the Caraga Region.

Even granting how Norway and New Zealand both have temperate climate patterns. Mr. Tauli said recent weather patterns in Mindanao demonstrate how energy planners can actually take advantage of these location specific climate patterns.

“The historical weather patterns in Mindanao show it is wet in the east side when the west side is dry, and vice versa,” he explained. “This means that construction of a judicious balance of hydro plants on the east and west sides would mean a virtually weather-independent total dependable capacity of hydro power plants. “In other words, hydro plants on both east and west sides would act as the base-load power plants so their combined dependable capacity would be available 24/7.”

Hydro power plants on the West Side include 600 MW of large hydro on the Pulangi River and around 500 MW on the Cagayan River and its tributaries. The East Side includes around 250 MW of large hydro on the Agusan River at least 200 MW of small hydro in various places, and 400 MW of pumped storage hydro on Lake Mainit.

“Hydro plants are supposed to be not operated as base-load,” said Gonzalo B. Julian, Jr., Electricity Sourcing, Business Development Manager, Holcim Philippines, Inc. “Usually these plants are peakers and ancillary reserves due to the fact that they are dependent on water level (which is dependent on weather patterns). “Balancing” hydro plants on the east and west could be possible to appear that hydro plants could act as base-load plants, but we need more of these plants and high investment is required to maintain supply security in the grid.

Engr. Sonny S. Navarro, a Fil-Am energy consultant who has extensive experience in the construction of nuclear and coal-fired power plants in the US, believes Mr. Tauli’s proposal merits further study.

“The experience of Norway and New Zealand is inspiring, considering they’re both industrialized countries and have the ability to build other types of power plants, especially Norway because of its bountiful North Sea oil fields. In comparison, the US only derives about seven percent of its power from hydro, the rest coming from coal (45%), natural gas (23%) and nuclear (20%). It would behoove the Philippines, particularly Mindanao though, not to rely too heavily on one type. The East and West weather patterns as averred by Dave will need to be studied more closely by weather experts to determine whether sufficient water can indeed be harnessed on a “rotating” basis. If assumptions are proved inaccurate, this scheme could potentially be a costly mistake.”

The Itaipu hydroelectric plant at the border of Brazil and Paraguay is 14GW, which made it the biggest hydroelectric power plant next to the Three Gorges Dam, in China. In 2011, Itaipu generated 92,24 TWh, or 17% of the total energy consumed in Brazil and 73% in Paraguay..

Mindanao’s present generating supply profile dictates the economically optimum choice for immediate construction are intermediate-load, not base-load power plants, said Mr. Tauli in an email to coalition members, copy of which was furnished to this paper.

“The optimum economic operation of a system of generating plants that supplies a grid normally requires a mix of base-load, intermediate-load, and peaking power plants. “

“I agree with Dave if the profile I have in mind is the same as that of him,” Mr. Julian noted. “ Intermediate supply has to come to augment peak demand. New hydro plants could fill in this gap. The system operator however has to manage this well.”

Base-Load power plants operate 24/7 at their rated dependable power capacity (coal, geothermal, and nuclear power plants) while Intermediate-Load power plants include hydro plants and other renewable energy (RE)-based power plants whose power generation varies rather than being held at the same level during operations.

Mr. Tauli says Mindanao has an “ideal mix” of the three types of power plants: 300 megawatts (MW) dependable (not installed) capacity of coal and geothermal baseload; 700MW of intermediate load hydro plants and 350MW of oil-fired/diesel powered peaking power plants.

Considering this, the decision as to which power plants should take priority in construction should not be based on type but rather on the least-cost power plant, regardless of type. The least cost power plants in Mindanao at present are the Agus III hydroelectric power plant in Lanao de Norte and the large multipurpose hydro plants on the Pulangi, Cagayan, and Agusan rivers.

But a former energy official, (who prefers to remain anonymous) also familiar with the Mindanao situation disagrees.

“The development of hydro power nowadays is becoming an expensive proposition both technically and socially. The notion of low price hydro is already a myth today,” he noted. “Environmental costs for hydro is staggering, one day eclipsing the fossil based ones. To my knowledge, Norway, during winter months when the water become ice, depends on nuclear plants. It’s only the when ice thaws, that water becomes available for hydro plants.”

However, while Mr. Navarro agrees the social and financial development costs of hydro could be a constraint, fiscal incentives may be granted by government to address it.

“Although coal has more negatives, developing hydros will also have social costs including possible displacement of residents living along lake shorelines. Hydros cost more to build than coal; therefore initial costs could be a tough hurdle for investors. They take longer to construct- investors will have to wait longer for returns on their investments. In order to entice investors, the government might have to provide incentives.”

On another aspect, Mr. Tauli cautions planners to consider the nature of the problem facing the present Mindanao grid in their future plans: i.e., how it is Energy, rather than Power Constrained.

“This means that there is a limit to the quantity of energy (kilowatt-hours) that can be generated annually, while the amount of power (kilowatts) that can be generated during peak-load periods can be increased suitably to meet peak demands or operating reserve requirements.”

Mr. Tauli said Mindanao’s present power supply system is Energy Constrained because of the operating characteristic of the hydro plants on the Agus River, which is determined by the operating procedure of the hydro plants established by the annual Rule Curve for Lake Lanao.

The Energy-Constrained nature of the power supply system in Mindanao also requires that the decision for the next power plant to be constructed should be based on least-cost rather than type of power plant, which are the large hydro power plants, and not coal-fired power plants, as the DOE insists.

“I support the Construction of Big/Large Hydro Plants, rather than Coal-Fired Base Load Plants, especially if such Big Hydro Plants could be coupled with a Big Dam” said Nestor Degoma, president of the Lanao Power Consumers Federation (LAPOCOF) and the Power Alternative Agenda-Mindanao (PALAG-Mindanao). “Provided, that it would not cause so much dislocations to the surrounding communities and with minimal impact on food production to store storm-water on rainy days to supplement power during the dry months.”

But the former energy official cited earlier does not share Mr. Degoma’s optimism.

“Hydro is already done for Mindanao. Long overdue na ang acceptance for Mindanao to bite the bullet and take the true cost of power as a way of life. The stark truth is no investor wants to come Mindanao and lose money. In Luzon and Visayas, their true power cost is on a level very much higher than ours, yet, it has long been accepted, no qualms, no big deal. They make noise only when there are adjustments every now and then, approved by ERC,” he noted.

A compromise would serve Mindanao better, according to Mr. Navarro.

“Overall, the country (and Mindanao) would benefit if we have more capacity than demand. The basic law of supply and demand will drive prices down. Right now, IPPs are racing to build coal plants because they’re cheaper, faster to build and can earn very good returns. Once power supply equals demand, there will be a slowdown in building more. If developers are required to build both coal and hydro, then capacity would increase.”

But Mr. Julian insists hydro should not be operated as base-load.

“The idea is to build coal as the base-load plants and maintain the existing hydro as the peakers and intermediate supply,” Mr. Julian noted.

- I N D N J C -

Things are looking bright for the Italo-Filipino joint venture group which is bringing Primavera Residences, Northern Mindanao first truly eco—friendly building with the recent appointment of a new sales head to head its newly organized independent sales group.

ITALPINAS Euroasian Design & Eco-Development Corporation recently announced the appointment of Mr. Daniel R. dela Cruz as its Vice President for Sales and Marketing during its First Brokers Business Meeting held March 10, 2012 at the Dynasty Hotel and Restaurant in Cagayan de Oro City. 

First Primavera Residences Brokers Meeting with SVP Daniel dela Cruz and CDO Sales Manager Jessie Ubay-Ubay.

Mr. dela Cruz has a diploma in Real Estate Management from the De La Salle University- College of St. Benilde and Professional Sales Management from Ateneo de Manila University.

He is a Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) of the National Association of Realtors, Philippines and has over 10 years experience in the real estate business.  He was also won multiple awards with some of the country’s premier realty and development companies such as Top Seller Business Partner, Top Broker, Top Sales Manager of the Year and Winner Circle.

Mr. dela Cruz is confident sales of Italpinas’ flagship project Primavera Residences at the Pueblo de Oro Business Park would significantly increase in the near future with the creation of  the new sales group.

Italpinas VP for Sales and Marketing in a marketing meets with Pres. & CEO Romolo V. Nati earlier this month at their Makati office to discuss new plans for the sale and marketing of Primavera Residences.

Mr. Rodolfo L. Menes, senior vice president and general manager of Pueblo de Oro Development Corporation (PODC) and Ms. Ara Solidum, PODC Senior Product Manager who attended the meeting shared their insights and confidence Italpinas would continue Primavera’s brisk sales in Cagayan de Oro.

Mr. Romolo Nati, ITALPINAS President and Chief Executive Officer expressed his pleasure in welcoming the Brokers and Agents who believed in Primavera Residences’ unique concept as the first eco-friendly condominium in Northern Mindanao.

Designed by the internationally awarded Italian architectural firm based in Rome headed by Mr. Nati, Primavera Residences was commended last year as “One Of The Best Condo Developments” in the Philippines by the South East Asia Property Awards (SEAPA) in Singapore, construction for theTower 1 of the 10 storey twin towers was capped this month with the first units scheduled for delivery later this year.

Social Entrepreneurship projects have literally taken a new drift in Cagayan de Oro with the advent of what aims to be Northern Mindanao’s biggest motor show aimed at raising funds for the economic upliftment of victims of the Tropical Storm Sendong disaster.

The 1st Cagayan de Oro International Motor Show dubbed “HOTCARZ Cagayan de Oro” is slated for March 30-April 1^st, 2012 at the SM City Cagayan de Oro Car park Building and the Pueblo de Oro Business Park Grounds.

“This is a non-profit major fundraiser that would serve as a portal for the automotive industry to manifest their support and channel their contributions and donations to the victims of Tropical Storm Sendong in cash, kind, services or empty 1.5L or 2L PET Bottles,” said Elmer Francisco, president of  ROUTE 11 (1111 Motor Corp.), an automotive service center  which is spearheading the show with the Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation, Inc. (Oro Chamber), SM City CDO, Pueblo de Oro Development Corporation, eFF – Elmer Francisco Foundation and MyShelter Foundation.

As a social entrepreneurship venture, the exhibit aims to raise funds for the Isang Litrong Liwanag Project and the Sendongpreneur project of the Oro Chamber and eFF-Elmer Francisco Foundation.

“All of the show’s the proceeds will be for the benefit of the three projects,” Mr. Francisco added.

“HOTCARZ is a motor show series that started in 2006 at Las Piñas City to promote brand new and pre-owned vehicles, automotive spare parts, accessories, consumables and after sales services; thus, uplifting the whole automotive industry,” Mr. Francisco recalls.

The CDO show would feature dressed-up show cars/bikes in competition; aftermarket automotive OEM, spare parts, accessories and consumables; aftermarket services; banks with auto financing options and insurance, and ancillary businesses to the automotive industry.

Among the activity highlights are test drives of latest models from local distributors and importers; demos of slalom and drifting; presentations of the Sendongpreneur, Isang Litrong Liwanag and Isang Litrong Bahay Projects, Miss HOTCARZ 2012 and a photo competition.

The Sendongpreneur project aims to provide start-up capital and training for Sendong survivors who have been displaced from their former communities and are now living in temporary shelters within and outside evacuation centers.

Isang Litrong Liwanag, a project in cooperation with MyShelter Foundation, aims to produce and install a million Solar Bottle Bulbs in a million households 2012. Isang Litrong Bahay is another project with MyShelter Foundation which aims to construct a training center where beneficiaries would be taught how to build houses from empty PET Bottles with the help of DOST-Department of Science and Technology, MIT – Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Hassel Studios.

“With Isang Litrong Liwanag and Isang Litrong Bahay projects, we could keep away those empty PET Bottles that we just usually throw away and end up being burned in dumpsites or clogging our drainage systems; moreover, we could turn them into Solar Bottle Bulbs and affordable yet reliable houses,” Mr. Francisco said.

eFF is coordinating with various government and non-government organizations such as DSWD-Department of Social Welfare Development, CSWD-City Social Welfare Development, DTI-Department of Trade and Industry, DOLE-Department of Labor and Employment, OB-Operation Blessing, CRS-Catholic Relief Service, HRC-Humanitarian Response Consortium, IDRN-International Disaster Response Network, ILO-International Labor Organization of the United Nations, UNDP-United Nations Development Program, Child Fund International and the  UNFPA-United Nations Population Fund.

MALAYBALAY CITY, BUKIDNON — The town of Malitbog narrowly missed scoring a clean sweep of the top awards at Bukidnon’s “Kaamulan Festival Ethnic Street Dancing” held in the streets of this capital city and at the Kaamulan Grounds on March 3.

SCENE FROM KAAMULAN FESTIVAL: 1st prize winner at the Ethnic Float Parade from Malitbog

“Costumes and the (indigenous peoples) were authentic and the floats were fantastic!” said Department of Tourism (DoT) Region 10 director Catalino B. Chan III.

“Kaamulan is certainly No. 1 for fun in the Philippines!” he added.

Malitbog garnered first place for the ethnic street dancing ground presentation tableau competition held at the Kaamulan Grounds, and was also runner-up in the showcase “Ethnic Street Dancing Competition” won by a contingent from the town of Maramag.

SCENE FROM KAAMULAN FESTIVAL: 1st prize winner at the Ethnic Float Parade from MalitbogMalitbog’s troupe featured the Higaonon tribe’s “Piglumanan hu mga Bagani” (legion of warriors), the tribe’s traditional defenders of their Tagbanhawan (ancestral domain), their Kabukalagan (tribe), Nabunayan (environment) and Kalandang (peace).

The town’s prize-winning float featuring a giant animated hawk or banog — an iconic figure, which is predominant in Higaonon myth and legend — was also judged “Best Float,” over floats from Quezon town and Valencia City, which finished second and third, respectively.

Malitbog’s tableau presentation was highlighted by a saot (war dance) depicting battle with the dumagats (lowlanders) who wanted to exploit their lands for illicit activities like logging, mining and land-grabbing.

Peace is eventually attained through a “Tampuda hu Balagun” (cutting of the green vine), an ancient ritual where a vine is cut to symbolize the end of tribal feuds among warring clans. Meanwhile, Maramag town won the grand prize for the Kaamulan Festival’s showcase “Ethnic Street Dancing” with its “Lalabutan,” or the traditional barter of goods among the lumads or indigenous peoples, focusing on its central role as the crossroads of Mindanao, whereby travelers from all over the island would rest and take their meals on flat stones along the banks of the Pulangi River.

Maramag also finished second to Malitbog in the tableau presentation at the Kaamulan grounds, which was personally led by town mayor Alicia P. Resus. Finishing third for both street dancing and tableau competitions was the town of San Fernando, which showcased the “Tigwahanons Logtoy” (bountiful harvest) featuring the “Pamalas” (a ritual seeking blessings and guidance from the Almighty), “Kamot” (cleansing the farm), “Talupak Pamugas” (planting of seeds) and the “Bangkakawan” (spear-fishing while awaiting the harvest).

SCENE FROM KAAMULAN FESTIVAL: Cabanglasan’s healing ritual dance

The Tigwahanons (people of the Tigwa River) are descended from the Proto-Manobos and reside along the Tigwa River and the Tigwa-Salug Valley in San Fernando town, next to Davao del Norte. They are outspoken people and are known as the traders among the Bukidnon tribes.

SCENE FROM KAAMULAN FESTIVAL: Cabanglasan’s healing ritual danceOther competitors included the “Pamuhat Te Haklaran” of Cabanglasan town, a healing ritual dance focusing on the Umayamnen’s faith in Magbabaya (the Almighty); the Sunggod ta Kamanga (blessings and protection for good harvest) of the Matigsalog tribe of Quezon town; “Kalilang” (Festival for Peace) showcases the history of conflict, reconciliation, and peace between the Manobos and the Maranaos of Kalilangan; and the “Kalagun” (thanksgiving for bountiful harvest) of the Higaonons of Valencia City.

Last year, the Kaamulan organizing committee modified the rules for the street dancing competition to ensure it would focus on the seven hill tribes of Bukidnon and the ‘Ulaging Hu Agyu’ epic hero of the Proto-Manobo.

Choreographers of the competing groups were briefed on the changes in line with the festival’s overarching objective to preserve the heritage and culture of Bukidnon.

Previously, the ethnic street dancing was criticized for not being faithful to the heritage and culture of the seven tribes of Bukidnon.

Kaamulan Festival is an ethnic cultural festival held annually in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon, from the second half of February to March 10, the charter anniversary of Bukidnon as a province in 1917.

It celebrates the rich cultural heritage of the province’s seven ethnic tribal groups: Bukidnon, Higaonon, Talaandig, Manobo, Matigsalug, Tigwahanon and Umayamnon.

Kaamulan comes from the Binukid word “amul” meaning “to gather.”

Kaamulan is gathering for a purpose, a datu or kingship ritual, a wedding, a thanksgiving during harvest time, a peace pact, or all of these together.

SCENE FROM KAAMULAN FESTIVAL: Higaonon courtship dance

SCENE FROM KAAMULAN FESTIVAL: Higaonon courtship dance

Kaamulan started as a festival on May 15, 1974, during the fiesta celebration of the then municipality of Malaybalay.

A town official thought of inviting some indigenous people to town and made them perform a few dance steps at Plaza Rizal to enliven the fiesta celebration. The celebration proved very popular, however, and the Kaamulan festival has been recognized as the regional festival of Northern Mindanao by the Regional Development Council, with national coverage.

Kaamulan was formerly held in the first week of September but in 1996, it was transferred to its present date to synchronize it with the foundation celebration of the province.

Fr. Cal is being waked at the University Chapel Xaview University – Ateneo de Cagayan
Wake Masses every evening at 8:00pm

Concentrix, which operates the city’s biggest call center at Pueblo de Oro’s IT Park in Uptown Cagayan de Oro, is one of the company’s three locations in the Philippines besides Manila and Davao. Its parent company SYNNEX Corporation is listed in the New York Stock Exchange (SNX) with over 25 years of expertise in technology, consumer electronics, broadcast and social media operating in 11 countries worldwide.

Vigor D. Amador, Jr.,  associate vice president for Philippines Contact Center Operations of Concentrix, relates the company’s experience in the aftermath of Sendong;

“When “Sendong” hit the region, we had a momentary downtime caused by the power outage and data and phone circuit breaks within our telco service providers’ network. As we have redundant power and multiple routes for our data and phone connectivity, we were back up in no time and our ability to process transactions for our clients was not adversely affected.”

To cover for staff affected by the disaster, the company tapped personnel from Davao and Libis. At the same time it was taking care of business, the company immediately started accounting for its entire staff and was able to determine all their status within several hours after the killer floods rampaged through the city.

“We mobilized a text, phone and social media brigade to contact each employee and another separate task force to assessment areas where our employees were concentrated and account for those who had not checked in thru our command center,” Mr. Amador recalls. “We also went around the various evacuation centers looking for our employees while doling out relief goods.”

Fortunately there were no casualties although 240 of the firm’s approximately 1,000 agents were affected, of whom 30 had houses completely destroyed, and for whom the firm provided temporary housing. Financial assistance was extended to all the victims from the firm’s internal calamity fund.

“Help poured in from everywhere — our offices in Manila and Davao; from our mother company SYNNEX Corporation; other Concentrix geo’s in the US, UK, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and India; and from our clients and their employees.”

Cash and relief goods poured in and medications like tetanus vaccine and prophylaxis antibiotics to protect against the Leptospirosis outbreak were issued to employees at risk in cooperation with government health agencies.

Another of the city’s BPO companies wasn’t so lucky. Syntactics is a small but multi-awarded BPO firm which has been cited by DTI and MSMED in Sept.2010 as its Outstanding MSME (micro, small and medium enterprise) in the micro category and ranked No. 2 in the Philippines as outstanding web development company.

Seventeen of its staff of fifty was affected, with 10 losing everything and another six with damaged properties. Stephanie P. Caragos, President and CEO, lost an uncle in the flash flood which hit nearby Barra, Opol, Misamis Oriental.

Employees reporting for work the day after found their office at Corrales Avenue without light and water. The company was slated to have its Christmas party that same evening.

“We cancelled the Christmas party to help our affected team members and everybody gave their kriss kringle to help their fellow team members,” Ms. Caragos said. “ We also provided a temporary place to stay for those who didn’t have family or relatives here. We had one apartment ready for them to stay till they found another place to stay or had returned to their places around 2nd week of January.”

The company proved its reputation was well-earned by showing grit and resiliency in getting the firm back online with a generator to provide electricity and manually hauling fresh water up six flights of stairs to their third floor office.

Another BPO firm, Arriba Telecontact Inc. has been in the global outsourcing industry since 2005 thanks to its CEO, Engr. Elpidio M. Paras who has been a prime mover and ICT advocate in Southern Philippines.

Besides Arriba, Mr. Paras has also set up Parasat Cable TV, a pioneer multi-system cable TV operator in the Visayas and Mindanao; Cable 21 Technologies, a broadband over internet service provider; Paramedix, a medical transcription company; Versatel, an English language training center and has equity in Syntactics, Inc.

His son Alexander G. Paras, who now oversees Arriba and Paramedix, relates their experience with Sendong: “There was a power outage that night although our operations weren’t interrupted since Arriba is located within the same compound as Parasat (our mother company) head end was located.  Their UPS (uninterruptible power supply) had enough capacity to accommodate our power requirements  for hours. We just had to buy extra cans of fuel to make sure our generator was topped up. Arriba’s broadband connectivity was not compromised even for a minute , since Parasat had multiple redundancy.”

It was only in the morning when the extent of Sendong’s devastation became evident and Arriba’s team leaders tried but were unable to account for all their staff who failed to report the previous night.

“Our sister company Paramedix had more affected people than us,” the younger Mr. Paras said. “It was sad to hear that one of their team members’ family was lost.”

With support from the group’s holding company UC-1, the firm distributed relief goods to its staff affected by the disaster.

“We were also thankful that our partners in the US made a generous donation to the families affected. Even our suppliers in Manila donated money for relief goods not only for our staff but also for everyone else that were affected. Our operations has resumed since the start of the year.”

Exactly a week after Sendong’s killer floods struck, Concentrix hosted Noche Buena for its affected employees and their families at their office and gave out gifts to the children.

“We knew then that preparing for the Christmas salo-salo may not be their priority at that time so we did it for them instead,” Mr. Amador said. “It’s through team effort that we were able to help our affected employees re-build what they lost to Sendong.”

-   I N D N J C -

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Two homegrown Pinoys, A Fil-Am who traces his roots to this city and nearby Balingasag, Misamis Oriental, his two Pakistani-American friends, an Indian Business Manager based in New Delhi and clients in the US, United Kingdom and Australia lend a truly global flavor to the newest call center in this Next Wave City for Pinoy BPOs.

The principals behind FBC Solutions (L-R): Niño Mae V. Duran, Noelle Noreen A. Juarez and Nathan John V. Yap.

FBC Solutions Corp. celebrated its first anniversary January 28th, a brainchild of cousins Niño Mae V. Duran and Nathan John V. Yap and family friend Noelle Noreen A. Juarez. Far-fetched as it seems, the venture arose from a confluence of unlikely events: Nathan visited Cagayan de Oro from his hometown in Houston, Texas in 2007 with two Pakistani-American friends who wanted to import copper concentrates from Mati for export to China.

However, when that fell through, the partners instead turned to exporting local delicacies from Iligan City to a growing Pasalubong market in the US thru FBC Worldwide, LLC, an import-export firm based in Houston and registered under US Laws.

Then, when Ms. Juarez’s in-laws began having second thoughts about continuing their CU Call Center in October, 2010, the local partners  thought it a great idea to help the call center agents keep their jobs through a new venture that would also address the need for some of Mr. Yap’s American friends for offshore customer services.

When the CU Call Center finally closed down in December, 2010, FBC Solutions was already ready to accommodate its former employees and clients barely a month later.

Today, FBC has its first call center in Gusa just opposite the CU Medical City and inaugurated a new annex at the site of the former CU Call Center.

“FBC’s niche is to be the default call center and outsourcer for small businesses,” noted Mr. Yap, FBC CEO. “There is a huge gap in the market serving this demographic — large centers don’t want to deal with small projects, and most smaller centers are not adequately funded nor do they have the infrastructure required to minimize downtime.”

Its clients are mostly small to medium sized companies for which it provides customer inbound services such as virtual assistant, live chat (voice/non-voice) and sales (investments, insurance), surveys, appointment setting, lead generation for outbound services.

“Our bread and butter is supporting entrepreneurs scale and grow their businesses, creating much-needed jobs both in the Philippines and the United States in the process,” Mr. Yap adds.

The firm’s business manager Ron Dutta, is an Indian national charged with recruiting new business for the company. He used to work for a Canadian call center but opted out when he started his own consultancy business. Today, he is a full-time employee of FBC Solutions working online from his base in New Delhi, India.

And top this: young as the firm is, it has already helped set up a separate company named E-confluence, a partner firm owned by some former CU Call Center employees which provides business, medicine and legal transcription services to clients in the US and Australia.

This, despite the young firm’s initial difficulties in recruiting call center agents due to intense competition from local and Cebu-based call centers. Besides FBC Solutions, there are four other call centers based in Cagayan de Oro, two in Iligan and one start-up in Bukidnon.

Just last week, the company had difficulty processing all the walk-in applicants who wanted to join them.

“That’s because we always tell our staff they will grow with, and not for the company,” said Mr. Duran, the firm’s managing director for Asia. “Provided our employee is qualified for a promotion, he will always get it because we prioritize internal over external recruitment. We believe that starting with the right culture and environment has helped us keep our employee turnover quite low.”

Ms. Juarez, the firm’s vice president for operations, believes management style also plays its part. “We manage our operations hands-on and have a 1:12 team leader/member ratio unlike other call centers where the usual ratio is 1:20. So our relationships with our employees are on a personal basis, one-on-one, and we encourage them to think of their workplace as their second home.”

Besides offering higher salaries than other local call centers, FBS also offers allowances for communications and transportation, free life insurance for regulars, and free juice, water and coffee for everyone.

The FBC (for Filipino Buying Corp) group of companies so far include FBC Worldwide, FBC Solutions Corp. and FBC Trust Corp.

TOPS (The Off-Price Store) had the grand launch of  its 11^th store nationwide last Jan. 14, 2012 at South Bank Plaza found at the corner of Don Apolinar Velez and Yacapin street.

The local franchise is owned and operated by the Dalkilic family, specifically brothers Mahmut and Rizal, who also set up the Turquoise Turkish Restaurant at SM and some other businesses based in the city.

The opening of the city’s first TOPS store was graced by TOPS President and CEO Jonas “Bols” T. Ang, who is the brain behind successfully setting up the nationwide chain far from the madding crowd.

“Cagayan de Oro is our 11^th store nationwide and we are also opening a 12^th this weekend in Subic,” Mr. Ang said.

Other  TOPS Stores can be found in Bel-Air Village in Makati, Blue Wave Mall in Marikina, Blue Wave Strip Mall in Pasay, QC Congressional, QC Commonwealth, Piazzo Sorrento in Bacolod, Asiatown IT Park  in Cebu, Red Square in Iloilo, Cash and Carry in Palanan, Makati; and Rufino street in Cotabato,

TOPS is also branded as The Off-Price Store for its specialty in selling factor overruns of branded apparel and accessories but Mr. Ang clarifies this doesn’t mean TOPS is selling seconds or merchandise which don’t meet quality standards.

“We’d like to believe we are advocating practical fashion with TOPS line of branded overruns,” Mr. Ang said. “TOPS makes the world’s leading brands accessible to the ordinary Filipino consumer at least as 80 percent off their original prices at boutiques.”

Mr. Ang said TOPS was inspired by similar discount outlet shops abroad such as Marshalls, Ross and TJ Maxx but was reformatted for the local market and packaged into smaller and more convenient store locations.

Among the brands carried by TOPS are Levi’s, Puma, Express, LeeCooper, Barbie, G-Star, American Eagle, Aeropostale, Melissa, Billabong, Jack & Jones, H&M, New York Company, Elle, Armani Exchange (EX), Replay, Crocs, Tommy Hilfiger, Ann Taylor, Junk Food,  and Seven7 which can be had for as little as P400-1,000.

According to its company website, TOPS  began as a fresh concept right after Star Trends sold “Urban Outlet”.  The stores were situated not in malls, but in areas not usually identified as retail store spaces.  This break in monotony and the professional manner in which merchandising and marketing were handled led to the steady rise of the first store. 

By the fourth store, the company decided to go solo and brake away from Star Trends,  formally incorporating The Off-Price Stores Corp. in  August of 2007.   In 2009 The Off-Price Store created the acronym TOPS and redesigned the logo to jibe with the mercurial world of retail.

“The best Brand names and quality you recognize, a dressing room all to yourself, someone to help if you need it, a place where you can spend less without getting less, that’s why TOPS was created,” Mr. Ang said.

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CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The private sector in this gateway city to Mindanao has petitioned President Benigno S. Aquino III  for a comprehensive package of proposed relief measures designed to get the city back on its feet.

PNoy at Xavier Ecoville: President Benigno S. Aquino III addresses movers and beneficiaries of the Xavier Ecoville, a purely private sector initiative to provide shelter to homeless victims of Typhoon Sendong on Jan. 25, 2012, the 79th anniversary of his late mother and former Pres. Cory Aquino

In a letter to the president, Oro Chamber President Ma. Teresa R. Alegrio, presented a petition in behalf of the private sector, outlining  a comprehensive package of relief measures for the president’s consideration

Pres Noy gets a lightning briefing from ABCI President Robert Pizarro as XU-Ateneo de Cagayan University Chairman of the Board of Trustees Elpie Paras listens.

Ms. Alegrio said it is also the private sector’s prayer that concerned government agencies strictly implement permanent “No Build Zones” following the president’s declaration of  riverbanks as “Off Limits to Human Habitation” and a total ban on all types of  mining along the Iponan River.

Besides the Oro Chamber, the petition was also signed by presidents of the various Filipino-Chinese chambers, industrial associations, consumer groups, exporters, bankers and business promotion NGOs.

In their consolidated petition,  the petitioners cited how Sendong paralyzed 40% of Cagayan de Oro’s trade and commerce and affected over 400,000 persons in Region 10 according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Mitigation Council (NDRRMC).

A survey conducted by the Oro Chamber (Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation, Inc. revealed that TS Sendong damaged equipment and structures of micro, small and medium sized enterprises amounting to PhP 158.5-million while equipment losses in the manufacturing sector totaled PhP 809-million.  Business losses arising from cancelled functions in hotel and restaurants as a result of brownouts and the collapse of the water system amounted to 50-60% of expected income.

Reports filed by the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) listed at least PhP 969.35 million in damages to 30 infrastructure projects including bridges, drainage and flood control. The Cagayan de Oro City Water District reported at least P30.4-million in damages to its infrastructure including major booster pumps of the city’s water district and its chlorination and laboratory facilities resulting in a water crisis which lasted for almost a month.

The package of proposed relief measures were categorized according to assistance to affected micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) such as a rehabilitation fund for technical assistance and special financing for working capital and equipment/machinery acquisition, a Banko Sentral moratorium on amortizations falling due within six months after Sendong for business, consumer, home and loans to large enterprises.

It also requests government to expedite the repair and rehabilitation of damaged infrastructure and logistics facilities such as river embankment/ flood control projects, bridges, water and electric distribution systems, irrigation facilities and most important, dredging of the Cagayan River.

For workers affected by Sendong, the petition requests  the Social Security System (SSS) and Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) for additional calamity loans to all affected private and government employees and to restructure the monthly payment for at least six (6) months; and for  PAG-IBIG to extend a moratorium of six (6) months on all existing loans; set up a rehabilitation fund to allow all borrowers to reconstruct and rehabilitate their damaged homes; and avail of a special calamity loan for personal rehabilitation without deductions to balance outstanding on previous loans.

The private sector is also requesting the Dept. of Trade and Industry (DTI) to conduct a stringent monitoring and enforcement of the price freeze on basic commodities and for the Department of Energy (DOE) to enforce a price freeze on all petroleum products in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan to their Dec. 16, 2011 price levels while the State of National Calamity remains.

In addition, the petition urges DOE to arrange for free servicing and oil change of all public utility and commercial vehicles affected by Tropical Storm Sendong; as well as provide a one-month subsidy for unpaid December 2011 electricity bills of all flood victims; as well as a 50% discount on retail electricity rates for affected survivors in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City, and for the Local Water Utilities Administration to cover a portion of the unpaid December 2011 water bills of all flood victims amounting to PhP 25.3M;

Government agencies like the Dept. of Foreign Affairs, National Statistics Office, Land Transportation Office, Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board are requested to grant free replacement of passports, birth and marriage certificates, driver’s license and all other documents requiring government authentication, free of charge.

Not the least, the petition proposes the following measures relating to disaster risk mitigation and management to preclude a repeat of the disaster: creation of a Task Force charged with updating  geohazard maps, aerial topographical surveys, sonar imaging surveys and satellite imagery needed for a detailed in depth study of the Cagayan de Oro River Basin, watershed and delta areas needed for efficient and accurate modeling studies needed to create a new Master Plan for the city.

In addition, DOST and DENR-MGB are requested to install flood water level gages and warning system in strategic areas of riverbanks and for DENR to strictly enforce the law prohibiting the cultivation of annual row crops on lands with over 15 percent slope and near river banks which previously resulted in massive erosion and silting.

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