Zamboanga Peninsula Still In Alert

Zamboanga City, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 6, 2008) – Police have maintained full alert status in Zamboanga Peninsula in the southern Philippines because of threats of terrorism and possible attacks by rebels, officials said.

Regional police chief Jaime Caringal directed all provincial and city police offices to adopt ample security precaution to protect civilians from terror threats. The order comes amidst continuous threats of attacks from Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels, blamed by authorities for recent deadly rampage in Lanao del Norte and North Cotabato provinces.

The rebels launched attacks after the aborted signing of the Muslim territorial deal between peace negotiators. Zamboanga City had been disturbed by rumors and text messages of sightings of MILF gunmen in several villages.

Security forces were pursuing MILF leaders Ameril kato and Abdurahman Macapaar, whom led the series of attacks that killed dozens of innocent civilians in Mindanao.

Local legislators and authorities have recently activated police auxiliary forces, whose primary task is to support and maintain peace and order, especially in far-flung areas here.

At least 48 villages here had been included in the proposed Bangasamoro Juridical Entity, which sparked protests from residents and politicians opposed to the deal.

Provincial authorities in nearby Zamboanga Sibugay also beefed up its security for fear that rebels would mount attacks there. The Abu Sayyaf had previously pillaged the town of Ipil in Zamboanga Sibugay in 1995 that left at least 53 people dead.

Ipil Mayor Edwin Alibutdan said he has already conferred with the police and military authorities, including other agencies and the private sector about the added security precaution in the town. (Erico Rosco)

Pryce To Put Up Gas Stations In Zamboanga Peninsula

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / 05 Feb) - Pryce Gases, Inc. is investing at least P6 million for the construction of three liquefied petroleum gas refilling stations in the Zamboanga Peninsula this year.

It is also expected to introduce the first “Autogas” product and refilling station here in March.

"From cooking gas, LPG is now gearing up to become a major transport fuel in the country," said Richard Nagac, Pryce’s assistant vice president and regional executive officer.

He said the company will build at least three refilling stations for the rest of the yearwith probability of setting up more, depending on the market demands."Eventually our plan is to put three refilling stations in Zamboanga City and another one in Dipolog City, however, we are yet to monitor the demand before we venture out to fully capture the untapped market in Zamboanga Peninsula," he said.

Each refilling station will cost around P2 million.

Pryce Gases has at least 12 existingAutogas refilling stations in Cagayan de Oro City and in Davao City, while Visayas has 9 and Metro Manila with five. Nagac said they aim to establish additional refilling gas stations in the country in line with the implementation of the 1999 Clean Air Act.

"We are confident that many motorists will now shift from using fossil fuel to alternative gas, particularly Autogas," he said.Pryce is presently maintaining a depot here, which has the capacity of about 200,000 liters of LPG. Autogas is among the alternative fuels the government is promoting toreduce the country's dependence on expensive oil imports.

Recently, President Gloria Arroyo signed the Bio-fuel law, which mandates the use of other alternative fuels, such as coco-biodiesel and bio-ethanol from sugarcane.

Autogas, however, has higher-octane levels, which increase acceleration and combustion of motor engines.Balbinito Elma III, Pryce’s marketing associate for Zamboanga Peninsula operation, said Autogas has a simpler chemical composition, which means cleaner combustion and less air pollution.

"As gaseous form, it burns more efficiently than gasoline or diesel when it enters the combustion cylinder. It also releases fewer deposits that build in car engines. And thus it will run smoother and can last longer," he explained.

He said Autogas is a mixture of 70 percent propane and 30 percent butane. "When it is pressurized, it becomes liquid and it is in this form that is pumped into the vehicle's fuel tank."

Elma said motorists can save as much as 40% in fuel costs and 50% less for vehicle maintenance."The performance is relatively the same with gasoline-run vehicles and environmentally beneficial too, because there is no carbon emission, no smoke and less noise in the engine. Simply, what differs is the price. Gasoline is about P 40 per liter, while Autogas is just less than P 28 per liter," he said.

The use of Autogas has become popular in some major cities in the country, particularly those in the public transportation sector, Elma said, but added that there is a need to address the huge market of tricycles used mostly as a mode of transportation in Zamboanga Peninsula.

"We are right now on a stage of designing devices and machineries for tricycles since many areas in Zamboanga Peninsula still used tricycles rather than taxis. This will serve as our pilot project," he said. (Darwin Wee)

BFAR Distributes Hybrid Tilapia Breeders In Mindanao

Tilapia

ZAMBOANGA SIBUGAY (Darwin Wee / 18 Oct) – Some 50,000 fingerlings of hybrid tilapia breeders were distributed Wednesday to Zamboanga City and Ipil town in the neighboring provinces of Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga del Sur as part of a government program to promote the newest genetically improved species of the fish.

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Western Mindanao said new hybrid called the Brackish-water Enhanced Selected Tilapia or BEST is expected to spawn millions of fingerlings in the next two months.

Virgilio A. Alforque, BFAR regional director, said the dispersal of the new tilapia hybrid breeder is inline with the fisheries program to promote the culturing of tilapia in Zamboanga Peninsula.

He said BFAR also released more than 15,000 fingerlings of the so-called Genetically Enhanced Tilapia or GET in Zamboanga del Sur.

"The tilapia hybrid can grow over a shorter period and attains higher weight as compared with conventional tilapia. It reaches a weight of up to 200 grams in four months," he said.

"This would be followed with a distribution program involving BFAR's outreach stations, local government units, provincial fish nurseries, private tilapia hatchery operators and grow-out fish farmers operating fishponds and integrated fish farms in the following months," he told the Mindanao Examiner.

The dispensing of the breeder is part of the weeklong celebration of this year's Fish Conservation Week, which currently being celebrated nationwide.

The hybrid tilapia breeder which came all the way from the BFAR's National Freshwater Fisheries Technology Center in Nueva Ecija province in Luzon is the newest genetically improved species that can survive in water with high saline content Mr. Alforque said.

He said they would also conduct a series of seminars and trainings on the new tilapia breed to fishermen and fishpond operators in the region.Most of the fish ponds, he said, are currently used for extensive culture of milkfish and prawns.

"This only shows that many fisher folks and fishpond growers in this region are still not acquainted in culturing tilapia and its potential benefits," he said.

Tilapia's meat is presently being processed into fillet and being exported to foreign countries. Its skin on the other hand has also gain recognition as one of the best source of raw material for leather products.

Mr. Alforque said that aside from technical trainings, the BFAR will also assist fishermen on how to market the fish. "The promotion of the hybrid tilapia is just one of many government projects which aimed to help augment income of farmers and fishermen and create more jobs in the countryside," Mr. Alforque said.

He said the BFAR is targeting to increase at least 10 percent annually the total production of tilapia in this region in the following years.Zamboanga Peninsula was able to produce more than 1,200 metric tons of tilapia in 2004, a way to far compared to other regions in the country.

Tilapia or St. Peter's fish is a spiny-finned freshwater fish of the family Cichlidae and native chiefly to Africa and the Middle East.They are economically important as food fishes, both in their native regions and elsewhere, where they have been introduced or are grown on fish farms. (Mindanao Examiner)