CEBU and DAVAO, hand in hand for a stronger Philippines!

[diehardbisdak]

^^ As per EO 341 - Davao International Airport is one of the airports under the supervision and management of the Manila International Airport. Thus, those from the capital decide and draft the expenses of Davao International Airport.

As per EO 341, Davao International Airport will have to remit the revenues generated including airport fees directly back to the capital (MIA). MIAA, in return will use these earnings to pay back the investors and use it for the upgrade and expansion of other airports in the Philippines.

Hence, although DIA is the most active and busiest airport in Mindanao, we are still at the mercy of those from the Capital! In short, while Davao earns...Manila spends.....

... i think the only solution to this probelm is that the LGU of Davao should lobby in Congress with the help of Davao congressmen to pass a bill creating the Davao Airport Authority. This way, DIA will be independent from MIAA. This is exactly what happened in Cebu 16 years ago when the airport management was under the office of ATO and every movement they made must have the approval of MIAA. But with the Republic Act 6958, which created the Mactan-Cebu Airport Authority in 1990, the aiport now has its own governing body and it can spend anything (salary, airport expansion, beautification or basically, everything) using its own profit without getting approval from Manila or from the MIAA in particular... Cebu airport operates independently from MIAA or from any government agency

[diehardbisdak]

double post...

[diehardbisdak]

...update on airlines flying to Cebu

****************

MALAYSIA AIRLINES announced additions to its international network for the winter schedule. From Oct. 29 it will increase Paris Charles de Gaulle service to daily aboard 777s and add a sixth weekly 747-400 flight to Los Angeles. Weekly services to Hanoi will increase to nine and to Cebu to four. Last week it announced a comprehensive codeshare agreement with Virgin Blue covering 22 MAS flights into Australia.

source: http://atwonline.com/news/other.html...=9%2F18%2F2006

[diehardbisdak]

OT: ... another feat for Cebu

*****************

Feature:
Cebuano discovers Jupiter "Red Spot Jr" from his backyard
By Minerva BC Newman

Cebu City (18 September) -- Christopher Go, a Cebuano amateur astronomer, is making waves in the international scene, particularly in astronomy after he discovered the "Red Spot Jr." of the planet Jupiter from his own backyard.

Go has a degree in Physics at the University of San Carlos and has been an avid sky watcher since he was in high school and has been imaging planets since 2003. "More on documenting the changes in planets by taking electronic photos using various types of telescopes," Go explains.

This young Cebuano astronomer is also a businessman, exporting furniture, but it seems skyward is his directions since he discovered the smaller red spot around Jupiter during one of his routine imaging. Go describes himself as a 'planetary imager.'

"I take electronic pictures of Jupiter whenever it's Jupiter season." He beams, and what exactly does it mean by Jupiter season? "It starts as dawn until evening, and I discovered the red spot at 4:30 a.m. Philippine time last February 25, 2006," he quips.

His discovery sent the astronomers worldwide in a magnificent panic. NASA website, on March 3, 2006 read: "Backyard astronomers grab your telescopes. Jupiter is growing a new red spot. Christopher Go of the Philippines photographed it on February 27th using an 11-inch telescope and a CCD camera."

Astronomers all over the world report their achievements directly to the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers based in Georgia, USA, which usually broadcast them. Go, in an exclusive interview with the Cebu Daily News, described his discovery of "Red Spot Jr.":

"The spot was an existing storm on planet Jupiter, called Oval BA. It started with three spots in the 1930s and 1940s, and during that time there was a disturbance in the south tropical zone of Jupiter. It created three south temperate spots, and in the 1998 to 2003 the spots merged and formed the Oval BA. It was still white during that time and it remained white for five years until December of last year. I think that on December 1 to 9, 2005, the spot turned red. It took about three months for the discovery because of the condition of Jupiter. It was very low so nobody in the earth's northern hemisphere was able to see it. It's a little higher here in the Philippines compared to other places in the northern hemisphere. Higher in terms of latitude, which means, Jupiter is more visible in Cebu."

Life has changed so much for this young amateur astronomer. He has come a long way since he started imaging the "most dynamic planet in the universe. According to him, he has been filing his reports on all his observations to the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers in Georgia since three years ago. "It's a standard operating procedure when you have an image; you have to make a report directly to them," Go added.

According to Go, anybody who images Jupiter is a significant contributor because it increases our understanding on the planet. "I made one of my most significant contributions in 2004, when a white spot on a south equatorial belt turned into a rift. Basically, it's a lightning system in the south equatorial belt and it created a break in its band. Most of these we could not understand why," he explains.

Go further said, the reason there is much publicity on his discovery of 'Red Spot Jr.' is because this is the first time in history that the world is able to witness a major anti-cyclonic white storm that turned red. "I'm part of the group of researchers based in Berkely California, USA that is studying the discovery. We will have a presentation next month in Pasadena, California during the annual meeting of the American Astronomers Association Division for Planetary Sciences," Go said.

This young Cebuano astronomer is having fun right now as he is one of those amateur astronomers that would pit his brains with the giants in the field. He said, his companions have doctorate degrees in Physics and Astronomy. The group will present his discovery in a poster presentation entitled: "Junior Red Spot: The Evolution of Red Spot Junior" in front of bout 3,000 astronomers all over the world that will attend the meeting that is sponsored by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The presentation, according to Go, would focus on detailing his documentation. It would also include the images which the group took using the Hubble space telescope and the two observatories in Mauna Kea, the largest telescope in the world.

Go went on to say that there are many Filipino contributors like him but he lamented that most of them are not recognized in the country. He said, there is Fr. Leo Boethin, an SVD priest based in the northern province of the country that discovered one of the planets that will be targets of Deep Impact, a satellite in the U.S. There are other Filipino contributors and scientists, like Edwin Aguirre and Imelda Joson, the first couple to have a comet named after them, he reported.

For Christopher Go, being an amateur astronomer that comes from a third world country like the Philippines, his journey was a hard road. When he started making waves, he was accused of plagiarism. He sighed and said, "At first, nobody believed me… It is difficult for a Filipino to reach the top in the international arena because we belong to a poor country. You have to persevere and be the best because not just people from abroad but also people here will put you down, telling you that your efforts are useless."

Currently, Christopher Go, a Filipino from Cebu is the top planetary imagers in the world! He was recognized in the October 2005 issue of the Sky and Telescope Magazine as "one of the planetary masters in the world."

Recently, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAG-ASA) urged Malacanang to confer to Go the highest presidential honor, the Order of Lakandula for discovering the Red Spot Jr.

[Tj-Mixxed]

... i think the only solution to this probelm is that the LGU of Davao should lobby in Congress with the help of Davao congressmen to pass a bill creating the Davao Airport Authority. This way, DIA will be independent from MIAA. This is exactly what happened in Cebu 16 years ago when the airport management was under the office of ATO and every movement they made must have the approval of MIAA. But with the Republic Act 6958, which created the Mactan-Cebu Airport Authority in 1990, the aiport now has its own governing body and it can spend anything (salary, airport expansion, beautification or basically, everything) using its own profit without getting approval from Manila or from the MIAA in particular... Cebu airport operates independently from MIAA or from any government agency

I hope that could be done in Davao too.....

[Tj-Mixxed]

Last September 15-17, DTI Region XI and the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. sponsored the Davao Trade Expo 2006 (DATE 2006), showcasing Davao's products and services. It was held at the Central Bank Convention Center.

Here are some pics from the event.


The ICT/Telecommunications Section in the background


SWIFT - Single Window for Investment Facilitation and Trade, a one-stop shop that does for Region XI what DCIPC does Davao City


The center is occupied by DTI, DCIPC and other government agencies


One Town One Product Showcase, showing Davao Region's products


An assessment meeting, with DTI Undersecretary Carissa Evangelista-Cruz, to discuss Davao City's ICT capabilities how to promote it globally. [L-R: Jason Banico (SiliconGulf.net / Hubport Interactive), Chito Lucero (Hubport Interactive), DTI Undersecretary Carissa Evangelista-Cruz, Jane Tesoro (Executive VP of the Davao Chamber), DTI Region XI Drector Lou Pasawa, and Rodney Jao (Lane Systems) - pics from www.vizmin.com

[Tj-Mixxed]

DTI prepares for creation of agency to help investors
Sunstar Online

To improve the country’s investment climate, the National Government will create an economic research and business assistance center, which will be placed under the jurisdiction of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

The National Economic Research and Business Assistance Center (Nerbac), an agency tasked to assist prospective entrepreneurs and investors in the country, will be pilot-tested in Cebu and Davao within the year, according to DTI 7 Director Aster Caberte.

The creation of the Nerbac is provided under Republic Act (RA) 7470, otherwise known as the National Economic Research and Business Assistance Center of the Philippines Act of 1992.

RA 7470 provides that “it is the policy of the State to enhance economic growth by providing necessary and strategic economic and business information and research assistance, thereby expediting the process of business formation and encouraging the growth of entrepreneurship in the country.”

Information

The Nerbac will be tasked to provide prospective investors and entrepreneurs basic information on various business options that are open to them, in accordance with investment priorities of the government.

Nerbac’s central office will be in Manila but it will have branches in different regions, which will be integrated into DTI regional offices.

The center will provide a one-stop action center that will facilitate the processing and documentation of all requirements in the establishment of business enterprises in the country. It will also link prospective entrepreneurs to credit services.

Other functions of the Nerbac include: establishing an updated data bank of all industries and business enterprises in the country; preparing pre-feasibility studies; and identifying possible areas for investment.

It is tasked to monitor technological advances relevant to business and the economy, as well as to disseminate information to Filipino entrepreneurs and the public

[paulo_ortega]

cebu scrapers are sights to behold, not your usual concrete monsters

[img width=500 height=375]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b384/peejay_domek/IMG_1650.jpg[/img]

[img width=500 height=375]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b384/peejay_domek/IMG_1647.jpg[/img]

[img width=500 height=375]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b384/peejay_domek/IMG_1477.jpg[/img]

[img width=500 height=375]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b384/peejay_domek/IMG_1474.jpg[/img]

[img width=375 height=500]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b384/peejay_domek/club.jpg[/img]





[img width=500 height=375]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b384/peejay_domek/sc12_4.jpg[/img]

[img width=375 height=500]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b384/peejay_domek/sc12_1.jpg[/img]

[img width=375 height=500]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b384/peejay_domek/fuente5.jpg[/img]

[img width=500 height=375]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b384/peejay_domek/porto16.jpg[/img]

[img width=375 height=500]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b384/peejay_domek/porto14.jpg[/img]



[img width=500 height=375]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b384/peejay_domek/cebuayala2.jpg[/img]

[img width=375 height=500]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b384/peejay_domek/cebuayala5.jpg[/img]

[img width=375 height=500]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b384/peejay_domek/cebuayala4.jpg[/img]

[img width=375 height=500]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b384/peejay_domek/fundraiser1.jpg[/img]

[paulo_ortega]

cebu lang muna akong mga pic for now. haaaaaay, mularga na lang ko ugma for davao wala gihapoy ssc! pero sige lang,ig balik nako sa cebu il have tons of pic of davao, it will be davao's turn, wakekekeke.

[diehardbisdak]

Here are some photos I shot a while ago...

The dimensions of the photos are 600 on the longest side. Since iStorya automatically resizes them to 500, some pixelization are visible.



[b]Uptown Cebu Skyline[b]


[img width=500 height=375]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/skyscrapercity/cebu_city_skyline_01.jpg[/img]


[img width=500 height=375]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/skyscrapercity/cebu_city_skyline_02.jpg[/img]


[img width=500 height=375]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/skyscrapercity/cebu_city_skyline_03.jpg[/img]

...CONTINUATION


A touch of red at a junction in front of the provincial capitol building.
- I think this is the trend nowadays because the junction box near the Basilica Minore del Santo Nino was also painted with red.


[img width=500 height=334]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/skyscrapercity/cebu_city_intersection_red03.jpg[/img]

[img width=500 height=334]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/skyscrapercity/cebu_city_intersection_red01.jpg[/img]

[img width=500 height=334]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/skyscrapercity/cebu_city_intersection_red05.jpg[/img]

[img width=500 height=334]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/skyscrapercity/cebu_city_intersection_red02.jpg[/img]

[img width=500 height=355]http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b396/arnoldsa/skyscrapercity/cebu_city_intersection_red04.jpg[/img]