Page 1 - VBP Digital Edition 4

FOREX: US$=P44.4 UKL=P74.9 HK$=P5.73 BRUNEI$=P35.5 EURO=P61.6 JAPAN Y=P0.44 AUST$=P41.1 BAHRAIN D=P117.76 SAUDI R=P11.84 UAE DIR=P12.09 SING$=P35.5 August 2014 / Vol. I, No. 3 / 11 Sections / 8 Pages P15.00 NatioNwide
BusinessPost
Visayan Business Post website visayanbizpost.com
Visayan
Local news for the global Visayan
Ormoc fluvial parade amd procession
1B fruit trees for Visayas
AbillionfruittreesAgAinststorms. Plansforabillionfruitbearingtreestogrowalongcoastalpropertiesisanambitiousproposalsoughttobefundedas part of the rehabilitation of Eastern Visayas. The trees are expected to strengthen coastlines against ravaging storm surges. (Photo courtesy of OXFAM)
Inside
East Visayas econ- omy to grow this year-NEDA/p2 Naval gives incen- tives to BHWs/p3 Is DSWD a better builder?/p3 The perils of fake chargers/p7
AnAlysis
The VBP News Team Tacloban City, Leyte
If the historic proposed reforestation program is implemented properly, Eastern Visayas will be- come the top supplier of various tropical fruits in Asia, sustaining the re- gion’s own needs and low- ering the price of fruits in the country within a period of five years.
If funded but not imple- mented appropriately, gov- ernment will lose an enor- mous amount of resources and the confidence of its constituency in Samar and Leyte.
The Department of En- vironment and Natural Re- sources in Eastern Visayas plans to plant a billion fruit trees in the region.
This intention is carried in a proposal that DENR 1 billion fruit trees/p8
Tax employees urged to work harder
The VBP News Team South Leyte
MAASIN CITY –– Re- gional Director Diosdado Mendoza of the Bureau of Internal Revenue here have urged tax collection work- ers of the bureau’s Maasin City office to exert more effort to improve its collec- tion even as he acknowl- edged Maasin City to be one of the big contributors to the region’s overall tax
collections this year.
Atty. Mendoza who
graced the groundbreak- ing for a two storey P40 million BIR office building in Maasin prodded the em- ployees to do more, saying that the region is still 30% short of its collection tar- get of P6.1 billion this year.
the output performance system currently being fol- lowed by the bureau in re- taining the services of its employees. “To stay in BIR, be performing, otherwise, out you go,” he said, citing that the bureau cannot af- ford under-performers.
of attaining tax collection targets.
BIR Region 8 ranked 5th among the country’s top performing offices in 2012.
The new 600 square me- ter BIR offices in Maasin will be constructed in a 1,400 square meter lot ear- lier donated by the city government in Barangay Combado. Southern Leyte Governor Roger Mercado, city Vice-Mayor Maria
Tax employees urged/p2
Hilongos water project soon to be completed
The VBP News Team Eastern Visayas
HILONGOS –– The local government led by Mayor Albert Villahermosa is positive it will soon com- plete its Sagana at Ligtas na Tubig sa Lahat (Salin- tubig) project for Barangay Tuguipa where potable
Hilongos water/p2
Local Industry, p5
Success of Mahaplag Inland Resort silences critics
VBP News Team, West Leyte
MALINAO, Mahaplag –– Earlier critics of the local government unit operating a resort in Ma- haplag has been silenced with the continuous increase of the resorts’ annual revenue. “It was kind of unexpected con- sidering the prior doubt cast over the economic viability of the project
three years ago”, said Natu- ral Resource Management Specialist Mario S. Casas.
Inland Resort manage- ment revealed to the Visay- an Business Post News Team that the cool hidea- way in this landlocked municipality has been drawing so many local and foreign tourists that they now have a constant short- age of rooms. Cabanas that should house families are also one of the present
demands. “Plans for the resort’s building develop- ment will be an expected expansion move if we are to satisfy the resort’s grow- ing clientele”, said Casas who also currently stands as resort manager.
Mahaplag Inland Resort which now earns roughly P2 million to P3 million pesos in revenues annu- ally, up from the anticipat- ed P800 thousand yearly when the project was first
funded by the Department of Finance, also helps the local economy by employ- ing 21 locals. “The resort is self-sustaining and has giv- en additional revenue for the municipality”, beamed Casas, referring to the P6.8 million revenue raised by the local government in 2013. “Contrary to earlier negative forecasts by some of its detractors, the resort is not and will never be-
Mahaplag Inland/p5
Cool respite. Children frolic under a tree-shaded pool with crys- tal clear water in Mahaplag’s inland resort. (Photo by JnGrey)
Revenue District Office No. 90 employees together with their officer in charge Susan Golo listened as di- rector Mendoza explained
Mendoza also said that they are closely monitor- ing the enforcement of tax laws in the entire region, maintaining that it is still one of the key strategies