PCCI-Aklan Pres. Larry Barbaza distributes in Brgy. Bakhaw, Kalibo, Aklan

PCCI-Aklan President Larry Barbasa distributes water container in Brgy. Bakhaw, Kalibo, Aklan, one of the areas severely affected by Typhoon Frank. Water containers came from assistance of Officers of the PCCI-National Office. Assisting Pres. Larry are member of the PCCI-Aklan, August 24, 2008

PCCI-Aklan Pres. Larry Barbaza donates water container to Brgy. Mobo,Kalibo, Aklan

PCCI Western Visayas President's Meeting with Visayas Area VP - Joe Ng

Helping restore power in Aklan, from Negros Electric Cooperative of Pres. Bobby Montelibano, Bacolod Chamber of Commerce

Thank you to PCCI for the assistance to Typhoon Frank victims in Province of Aklan - from PCCI Aklan

PCCI - Aklan Relief Operations

PCCI Aklan conducted Relief Operations for Victims of Typhoon frank in the Municipality of Kalibo!

A week after the catastrophic Typhoon Frank and the Mud Flood that followed, PCCI Aklan together with the PCCI - Region VI Western, distributed relief goods for victims of the disaster. Most of the recipients were employees of member companies of the local chamber especially those who lost almost everything after the typhoon.

More than 100 sets of the relief assistance were distributed during the operation.

Metro Bacolod Chamber organizes forum on Construction and Sorghum Industry

By: Alf Rino
Panay News
August 20, 2008

BACOLOD CITY - The Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Inc. (MBCCI) and the Province of Negros Occidental will hold two forums on Japanese construction technology and human development this coming August 23 and sweet sorghum technology investment on August 29, 2008.

MBCCI partners with the Negros Japan Human Resource Exchange Association Inc. (NJHREAI) in inviting Japanese industry leaders in the construction business. They are Takenori Nakahata, president of the Multi Builders Corp. and Takeshi Nakamura, project executive of Obbayashi Construction. To be held at the Grand Regal Hotel this August 23, 2008. Nakahata and Nakamura will be speaking about the latest Japanese construction technology, Japanese work ethics and expanding the MBCCI-NJHREAI "Train and earn Livelihood Program" by sending more construction trainees to Japan. Nakahata and Nakamura are both members of the MARUCON, a contractors cooperative in Japan which were among the first Japanese construction companies that accepted Filipino trainees.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, energy Secretary Angelo Reyes and Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri will also be here in another forum this August 27 where they will be resource speakers in the First Sweet Sorghum Techno Investment Forum organized by the Province of Negros Occidental, Department of Agriculture, Philippine Agriculture Development and Commercial Corp., Biofuels Philippines and MBCCI.

In a statement issued by MBCCI-Biofuels Philippines to its members, "sweet sorghum already grows in some of the poorest areas in the world". This biofuel feedstock could offer resource-poor nation a shot at energy independence and increased development, without the massive destructive environmental impacts which modernization brought through unhampered expansion of the industrialized world."

Visayas Chambers seek Power Crisis Solution, Food Security

By: Malou M. Mozo
Manila Bulletin
August 17, 2008, Sunday

MANDAUE CITY, Cebu - Business Chambers in the Visayas called on government through the Department of Energy (DoE) to seek timely solutions to solve the looming power crisis int he region. During the 17th Visayas Area Business Conference last Friday, the a6 active chambers in Western Visayas, Central Visayas and Eastern Visayas proposed that President Gloria Arroyo grant the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) a permit to start its commercial operations here.

WESM, run by the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. that works like a stock market for buyers and sellers to trade electricity as a commodity, has been scheduled for commercial operations in the in the Visayas early this year but was deferred by the energy Secretary Angelo Reyes, citing "inadequate power resources, both in transmission and in the generation aspects".

"There are many economic activities happening in the Visayas and we believe that government must lay down the necessary infrastructure projects and provide a venue for competitive power rates, to make us also competitive to investors" , said Jose T. Ng, PCCI Vice President for Visayas. Part of the joint resolution also urged the DoE to require all electric cooperatives to provide for free transformers and meters to their clients and reimburse those who were made to pay for them.

The group also called on president Arroyo to order the DoE to fast track the implementation of the National biofuels Program, where the blending of bio-ethanol with gasoline will be observed.

Zeroing in on the issue of food security, the chambers' joint resolutions also advocated for government to direct direct its resources and efforts in resolving the existing rice problem and to support the campaign for massive public and private investments in food production.

For infrastructure projects covering the regi0n, the Visayas chambers likewise sought for the rehabilitation and the expansion of the Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport in Tacloban City and the installation and maintenance of lighting and navigational aids along San Juanico Strait.

The business group also tackled on the computerization of election returns, a review of the Juvenile Delinquency Act and Bouncing Check Law and the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program. These resolutions were drafted and consolidated during the Chamber Management Meeting last Thursday to be approved and passed on to the PCCI for review and approval before it will be submitted to the National Government for consideration in policy making.

WESM Key to averting Visayas power shortage

MARITES S. VILLAMOR, Visayas Bureau Chief, BusinessWorld08/19/2008 03:18 AM

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The chambers of commerce in the Visayas are pushing for the commercial operations of the electricity spot market here to prevent a power shortage starting late this year.Representatives of the 16 Visayas chambers, who gathered here on Friday last week for the 17th Visayas Area Business Conference, passed a resolution asking President Gloria M. Arroyo to order the start of operation of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) in the Visayas.The businessmen also pushed for the approval of the time-of-use (ToU) rates for the Visayan Electric Co., Inc. and the promotion of private and public sector investments in renewable energy development. The ToU scheme involves varying electricity rates according to peak and off-peak hours of demand and supply. Hence, a company that is flexible enough could move part of its operations to the off-peak evening-to-dawn hours to avail of cheaper rates.Related resolutions that were passed during the conference urged:the Energy department to require all electric cooperatives to provide the transformers and meters for free to their clients and reimburse those who were made to pay the costs; andthe President to order the Department of Energy (DoE) to fast-track the implementation of the National Biofuels Program.The Energy department has deferred WESM operations in the Visayas due to inadequate capacity in both power generation and transmission facilities, as revealed in a study conducted by consultancy firm Intelligent Energy Systems (IES).Visayas businessmen said they were aware that the lack of capacity could lead to higher power rates. But they wouldn’t mind paying for more expensive power rather than having none at all, said Carlos P. Co, chairman of the Cebu power core group, a multi-sectoral group led by the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry.National Power Corp. and National Transmission Corp. officials earlier warned that the Cebu-Negros-Panay grid will run short of power starting in the last quarter of this year until the early part of 2010, when the first of five coal-fired power plants that are being constructed in Cebu will be completed."We are aware that power cost will go up if we operate the WESM now. But on the other hand, we will run out of power if we don’t operate the WESM," Mr. Co said."It’s better to have more expensive power than none at all. We need the WESM," he stressed.He believed that any rate increase will be minimal, considering that demand will rise only during peak hours. Existing demand is already covered by bilateral contracts between the distribution utilities and end-users. Hence, only the rate for the contested demand during peak hours will go up. If WESM is allowed to operate, Mr. Co said some hidden excess power supply could be traded over the spot market.WESM operator Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC) has said it was ready to operate the market. WESM Visayas has been on trial operations since 2005.PEMC had targeted to go live in the Visayas last January. Commercial operations was postponed to February, then to March and further to April 26, until the DoE deferred market operations due to findings of the IES study.The power supply situation in Cebu, Negros and Panay is projected to stabilize in early 2010 with the completion of the first of the three 82-megawatt coal-fired plants that are being built by the consortium of Global Business Power Corp., Formosa Heavy Industries and Abovant Holdings (a joint venture of Aboitiz Power Corp. and Vivant Corp.)The second and third units are scheduled to go on stream in June and September 2010.KEPCO-SPC Power Corp. also targets to complete its two 100-megawatt coal-fired plants in Naga in 2011.

Welcome

Welcome to the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Western Visayas Region 6, Philippine Islands. The organization of chamber of commerce and industry in Visayas Island promoting business and investement, protecting interest and acting as the voice of the business sector in the region. PCCI Western Visayas comprise of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Aklan, Iloilo, Capiz, Antique, Guimaras, Boracay, and Bacolod.