The Filipino people has so much to thank the San Miguel Corporation (SMC) for their endless assistances and benefits endowed ranging from food, drinks, fertilizers, feeds, and infrastructures like the elevated highways and even unsolicited projects like constructing the ‘biggest’ airport in Asia offered to the Philippine government.
The SMC promises to introduce an innovative project to the Philippines as it targets their battery energy storage systems (BESS) nationwide this year. Its BESS facilities in Limay, Bataan have a combined total capacity of 90 MWH – part of the total 32 BESS being built by the country’s leading corporation, through its subsidiary San Miguel Global Power.
It was learned from the president and CEO Ramon Ang when he said that “now, we have around 640 MW that are ready. The balance of 360 MW by December (2023). Further, he (Ang) pointed out that BESS is an important global innovation in the energy sector, one that will enable stable and reliable power to reach even far-off areas.”
Accordingly, SMC’S BESS project, part of its aggressive medium-term grid for power system decarbonization and resilience, “will support the country’s power grid by storing excess power from existing plants, and injecting this power back, when and where it is needed, within milliseconds – ensuring power quality is stable, and reaches users all over the country.”
Finally, President Ang opined that “with BESS, we can solve the problem with most renewable energy sources, which is intermittence , due to the irregularity or seasonality of solar and wind power sources. At present, BESS contributes to the ancillary services of he National Grid Corporation (NGCC) of the Philippines for grid stability and security.”
MY COMMENT:
The BESS project is another ‘first’ and notable attempt to help the Philippines find solution to its energy problem and excessive rate that “seem to turn-off foreign investors for investing money in the Philippines.
The Philippine government, its officials and the Filipinos in general owe the SMC a degree of gratitude for its manifold assistance, projects benefitting the country.
ooo000ooo
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CATARMAN, Northern Samar– A more convenient and improved mobility along portions of Catarman-Laoang road is now attainable as the Department of Public Works and Highways Northern Samar First District Engineering Office has completed the P47.91-million road widening project in the municipality of Mondragon, Northern Samar.
The road widening project in Barangay Chitongco involves the construction of 1.6 kilometers of road widening from 2-lane to 4-lane with road shoulders of 2 meters width both sides. The said project also covers the installation of metal guardrails and the construction of a canal on the left side.
“The widening project is deemed necessary to facilitate faster movement and delivery of goods and services and at the same time providing convenient and comfortable travel. The newly improved road section now caters large volume of traffic and larger types of vehicles like big busses and 10-wheeler trucks,” said District Engineer Mario D. Villena.
The said project is also part of the national government’s road expansion projects to facilitate rural and economic development in the area. (ANALIZA A. PABIA, PIO ALTERNATE/PR)
Manila-On May 30, the United States government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), announced new grants worth over Php20 million ($370,000) for Philippine higher education institutions (HEIs) working on innovative programs to improve the lives of Filipino out-of-school youth.
Administered through the USAID Opportunity 2.0 program, the announcement includes two types of grants: the “O2 GAIN Grants,” which will address local development priorities for out-of-school youth, and the “O2-ASPIRE Grants,” which will support partnerships between Philippine and U.S. HEIs on out-of-school youth advancement. The grants will help fund academic research, develop technological solutions, and enhance the quality of services for out-of-school youth.
USAID Mission Director Ryan Washburn announced the new grants during the Opportunity 2.0 program’s Higher Education Learning Summit in Quezon City, which brought together more than 200 USAID partners from across the Philippines. The summit highlighted the pivotal role of higher education partners in building a better future for out-of-school youth and provided stakeholders a space for further collaboration.
“Working together, we have been able to make progress and open doors for thousands of out-of-school youth to better education, employment, and entrepreneurship opportunities,” said Director Washburn.
To date, Opportunity 2.0 has supported around 35,000 Filipino youth by helping them gain employment, start their own businesses, or go back in school.
“I am confident that this learning summit will facilitate meaningful exchanges, foster collaboration, inspire innovative approaches, and find common ground to address the complex needs of out-of-school youth,” said Commission on Higher Education Chairperson J. Prospero De Vera. “I therefore express my gratitude to the USAID Opportunity 2.0 program and all the organizers for their vision and dedication for making this summit a reality.”
“Education is the cornerstone of all progress, and higher education institutions play a pivotal role in order to accomplish this as they serve as homes for training the minds of the youth and preparing them for the challenges of the ever-evolving world,” said Quezon City Vice Mayor Gian Sotto. “We view our higher education institutions as our beacon of hope. We are confident that with your help and support we can make out-of-school Filipino return to studying and get the quality education that they deserve.”
Interested grant applicants may contact GrantsPH@edc.org or follow USAID Opportunity 2.0 program’s Facebook account (https://www.facebook.com/USAIDOpportunity2.0) and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/usaid-opportunity-2-0/) for updates and additional information. (PR)
NSSDEO, Brgy. Burabud, Laoang, Northern Samar– In compliance to Department Order No. 41 series of 2016 otherwise known as Amended Policy Guidelines on the Maintenance of National Roads and Bridges, the NSSDEO Maintenance Section undertake several road improvement and maintenance activities within its four area of jurisdiction.
Along the Catarman-Laoang Road, Maintenance Point Person (MPP) Engr. Christian Dave Pangandoyon and his team conducted premix patching on bituminous pavement, filling the potholes and crack roads to prevent accidents, lush vegetation, cutting of tress, weeds and bushes that obstruct the roads, painting of faded and invisible markings, manual and machine grading on paved and unpaved shoulders.
Other activities were painting of concrete bridges railings and guardrails, manual ditch cleaning and removing debris on clogged drains, and filling of sealant on pavement joints. These activities were all conducted on April 2023.
The same activities were likewise conducted by MPP Engr. Danny M. Pillado, Jr. and team in his area of assignment along the Laoang-Calomotan Road Section. Additionally, they’ve done cold mix patching of potholes, manual ditching and cleaning of vegetative open canal to maintain proper flow of water to avoid flooding.
FIESTA PREPARATIONS. As the annual Tacloban city fiesta is drawing near, the city government is making sure that all venues related to the fiesta which give honor to its patron, Senior Santo Niño, would be ready. Photo shows, city personnel trimming trees at the Santo Niño Church, home of the miraculous Child Jesus.
(TACLOBAN CITY INFORMATION OFFICE)
3rd year in the running
FIESTA PREPARATIONS. As the annual Tacloban city fiesta is drawing near, the city government is making sure that all venues related to the fiesta which give honor to its patron, Senior Santo Niño, would be ready. Photo shows, city personnel trimming trees at the Santo Niño Church, home of the miraculous Child Jesus. (TACLOBAN CITY INFORMATION OFFICE)
TACLOBAN CITY– Just like the past two years, there will be no staging of the Kasadyaan Festival of Festivals.
The organizers of the Kasadyaan Festival of Festivals, acclaimed as the premier cultural festival in the region, decided to forego the holding of the said festival this year due to the lack of preparation among municipalities who are supposed to join the annual event.
The festival is participated by different municipalities not only in Leyte but even those coming from other towns and cities of the region.
The Kasadyaan Festival of Festivals is being held during the annual fiesta of Tacloban City which falls on June 30.
“Since most of the municipalities of Leyte were not able to prepare for their festivals, the committee has decided to forego the Kasadyaan Festival this year…,” the committee said in its communication as signed by its chairperson, Mayor Remedios Petilla of Palo town, dated May 15.
But instead, the group decided to have nightly activities at the Remedios Trinidad Romualdez (RTR) Park, this city, which involves dance and singing competitions and performances.
The organizers vowed to stage the festival next year, adding that this early, they are making some preparations.
The Kasadyaan Festival of Festivals was first staged in 1996 and has been regularly held until the past two years now due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Among its participants are the Buyugan Festival of Abuyog which has joined and been invited to several international cultural festivals; the Linganay Festival of Tanauan and the Karatong Festival of Dulag, past winners of the Cebu City-based Sinulog Festival.
It was learned that the Pintados Festival, organized by the Pintados Foundation, will be held this year.
Eugene Tan, the foundation’s president, that they are just awaiting for a permit from the city government of Tacloban for them to divulge when they will stage their street parade.
The city government-back Sangyaw Festival’s Parade of Lights has yet to officially confirm if they will also stage a street parade, two years since it was canceled due to the pandemic.
Meantime, the municipal government of Kananga, also in Leyte, is preparing for the first staging of its own festival, “Kananga Kaanyag Festival.’
The said festival is in connection to the town’s founding anniversary on June 11.
The festival is to officially start on June 7 with several line-up activities and events like floats parade, tree planting particularly ylang-ylang as the town’s official flower, and the search for the Kaanyag Festival queen.
“The Kananga Kaanyag Festival is a celebration of the fragrance, beauty, and bounty of our beloved town. We invite everyone to join us in this grand launch and immerse themselves in the vibrant culture and rich traditions that make Kananga truly unique,’ Mayor Matt Torres said in a statement issued on Tuesday (May 30).
FILIPINO BRAND. In order to attract more tourists, the Department of Tourism recently conducted a seminar under its Filipino brand of service excellence (FBSE) among tourism-related establishments in Tacloban City which focuses on how they should entertain their clients. Tourism regional director Karina Rosa Tiopes led the seminar. (DOT-8)
FILIPINO BRAND. In order to attract more tourists, the Department of Tourism recently conducted a seminar under its Filipino brand of service excellence (FBSE) among tourism-related establishments in Tacloban City which focuses on how they should entertain their clients. Tourism regional director Karina Rosa Tiopes led the seminar. (DOT-8)
TACLOBAN CITY – The regional office of the Department of Tourism (DOT) starts to roll out the Filipino Brand of Service Excellence (FBSE) training in several tourism-related establishments here in the city.
FBSE is a training provided by the DOT designed to promote the exceptional services and best qualities and positive values of Filipino hospitality in all tourism-related establishments in the country.
Karina Rosa Tiopes, the DOT regional director, said that this training is very timely considering that the tourism industry is now slowly restarting after several years of hiatus due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
“What makes the FBSE different, well the module itself has been studied. It is anchored on the value that we Filipinos had been taught since we were young. And it is a re-learning and making sure that we are able to show and practice these values on a daily basis, our habit kung sino ba talaga tayong mga Filipino,” Tiopes added.
The FBSE is rooted in the 7 M’s of core values that Filipinos are widely known, namely, ”Malikhain”, “Makatao”, “Makakalikasan”, “Makabansa”, “Masayahin”, “May Bayanihan”, and “May Pag-asa”, and is envisioned to enhance and uplift the quality of tourism services in the country aimed at fostering excellent service to tourists as part of distinct Filipino brand.
Thus, raising the quality of service standards among the workforce in key tourism and service sectors.
More than 200 participants who are working in tourism-related industries like transport services, accommodation facilities, travel and tour companies, and restaurants attended the training which will also be conducted in other provinces and cities in Region 8.
The DOT has so far trained about 2,000 out of its target of 6,000 individuals who are working in the tourism sector for this year.
Prior to the launching, the DOT8 has already conducted an FBSE pocket training in January and February participated by people who were involved in welcoming the first international cruise ship that visited Eastern Visayas and those who are involved on the recent visit of Miss Universe Philippines candidates.
“After this training, we hope that those who were trained will also become an advocate of this brand of hospitality because when we work together, we support each other that will really make a big difference,” Tiopes said.
After the training in Tacloban, the tourism department will conduct a caravan around the region for the conduct of FBSE. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)
SMC installs BESS Network Nationwide in 2023
The Filipino people has so much to thank the San Miguel Corporation (SMC) for their endless assistances and benefits endowed ranging from food, drinks, fertilizers, feeds, and infrastructures like the elevated highways and even unsolicited projects like constructing the ‘biggest’ airport in Asia offered to the Philippine government.
The SMC promises to introduce an innovative project to the Philippines as it targets their battery energy storage systems (BESS) nationwide this year. Its BESS facilities in Limay, Bataan have a combined total capacity of 90 MWH – part of the total 32 BESS being built by the country’s leading corporation, through its subsidiary San Miguel Global Power.
It was learned from the president and CEO Ramon Ang when he said that “now, we have around 640 MW that are ready. The balance of 360 MW by December (2023). Further, he (Ang) pointed out that BESS is an important global innovation in the energy sector, one that will enable stable and reliable power to reach even far-off areas.”
Accordingly, SMC’S BESS project, part of its aggressive medium-term grid for power system decarbonization and resilience, “will support the country’s power grid by storing excess power from existing plants, and injecting this power back, when and where it is needed, within milliseconds – ensuring power quality is stable, and reaches users all over the country.”
Finally, President Ang opined that “with BESS, we can solve the problem with most renewable energy sources, which is intermittence , due to the irregularity or seasonality of solar and wind power sources. At present, BESS contributes to the ancillary services of he National Grid Corporation (NGCC) of the Philippines for grid stability and security.”
MY COMMENT:
The BESS project is another ‘first’ and notable attempt to help the Philippines find solution to its energy problem and excessive rate that “seem to turn-off foreign investors for investing money in the Philippines.
The Philippine government, its officials and the Filipinos in general owe the SMC a degree of gratitude for its manifold assistance, projects benefitting the country.
ooo000ooo
NEXT TOPIC : “CREC expands its AgriSolar initiative to benefit other solar farms”
SHARE S & T THOUGHTS through E-Mail: drpacjr@yahoo.com.