by admin | Nov 17, 2015 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
The influx of business establishments, and the continuing progressive developments introduced by owners of existing business entities in Tagbilaran City and nearby municipalities, are viewed as products of good business climate brought about by better infrastructures such as water and power services.
This was the categorical statement issued by Atty. Jose Samonte who led the legal preparations for the consummation of the Joint Venture Agreement between the Province of Bohol and Salcon Industries in operating the former’s water and light utilities.
Samonte, who worked with the Gold Project of the USAID in 2000 revealed that the USAID took pride of the Provincial Government of Bohol’s Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) with Salcon Industries because it became a model in the country.
Samonte said because of the JVA, many local government units have sought their help for the same purpose in their respective localities.
The agreement was very advantageous to the Provincial government of Bohol because, aside from receiving a windful amount of more than P150 million, the payment of the PPUD outstanding debt of P21 million by Salcon to Land bank, the province remains a part owner with 30 per cent interest of the two utilities.
The agreement liberated the province from the annual subsidy of around P20 million for the operation of the two public utilities Samonte stressed.
Also, the Province has received dividends of more than P50 million and it keeps coming considering that the JVA is now a progressive going concern.
The dividends and the amount supposedly allotted to subsidize the two utilities are now being used for other basic services, such as the construction and repairs of roads , ,medicines and health care services, and agriculture farm implements, among others.
The JVA which became a model, became the subject of research by the Ateneo Graduate School of Economics. (F. Dagohoy III )
by admin | Nov 17, 2015 | Photo Story
Responsible journalism is essential! Say Gov. Edgar Chatto at the opening of the 2-day 2015 Press Conference organized by the Bohol Division DepEd. Over 500 student participants from across districts here will compete in the annual writing contest. This year’s press conference themed is the “Role of 21st century campus journalists in upholding Good Governance, Leadership and Transparency”
by admin | Nov 14, 2015 | Tech Talk
Google released its machine learning library called TensorFlow as open source software last week. The code may be downloaded from the website www.tensorflow.org.
TensorFlow is the company’s artificial intelligence engine currently in use now on may of Google’s customer facing services like search, Gmail and Google Photos. TensorFlow is used to automate detection of patterns and enabling the services to present options to users that are relevant to their data or usage patterns.
By releasing the source code to the open source community, Google hopes to accelerate development of machine learning or artificial intelligence as more developers and users can be involved in testing, experimenting and developing the machine learning library.
Open source development has been instrumental in producing software technologies that are widely used on the Internet today. The Linux operating system, the most popular open source operating system is being used not only on desktops and servers but also on mobile devices. The Android operating system for mobile devices is based on Linux.
40% of websites around the world runs on the Apache HTTP server which is open source software. 25% of all websites run on the open source content management system WordPress. Such is the impact of open source software development and Google hopes similar progress will be done on TensorFlow by making it open source.
by admin | Nov 14, 2015 | Tech Talk
Apple Inc. will shut down the service Beats Music on November 30, 2015 after buying the company for US$3B in May 2014. This was an expected move since Apple has its own music service called Apple Music. Beats Music stopped accepting new signups since June 2015.
Beats music subscribers has an option to move into the Apple Music service with all their music preferences and playlists included. The official post on the Beats support page read:
“Beats Music ends on November 30. Your subscription will be cancelled, but you can move your picks and preferences over to Apple Music right now.
All the pros that curated music for you are still crafting more amazing experiences. Plus, on Apple Music, you’ll get even better recommendations based on music you already listen to and love, 24/7 global radio with Beats 1, exciting material from your favorite artist, and more.”
The Beats purchase by Apple is one of the large tech purchases in recent years.
Beats also sell products like headphones and speakers and these will still continue to be available after the shutdown of Beats Music.
The Beats Studio headphones won the C|NET Best Bluetooth Headphone of 2015. Photo credits: Beats website at www.beatsbydre.com.
by admin | Nov 13, 2015 | Local News / Bohol Balita
With poverty reduction in the Philippines a prime focus of government’s activities, the identification of the felt needs of the targeted communities and sectors at the local level is crucial.
Since its implementation in 2012, the Bottom-Up Budgeting (BuB), also called participatory budgeting, has been a buzzword among civil society organizations (CSOs) all over the Philippines because of the fact that it is different from the usual top-to-bottom planning and budgeting where the high level executives make all the decisions in fund dispensations.
According to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the BUB scheme provides the opportunity for prospective beneficiaries to be involved in setting their own goals and expectations for a given period.
The department adds that this ownership of decisions, motivating them to meet budgetary constraints that otherwise might seem unattainable or unrealistic if they were delivered by someone without understanding of their day-to-day operations.
Using the bottom-up budgeting scheme, the DTI provides funds that municipal governments can use in priming up local industries and help small entrepreneurs become competitive.
The trade department is joined by the Department of Interior and Local Government in implementing the projects by way of providing beneficiary local governments the necessary guidance.
DTI underscored that Local Government Units (LGUs) are the ones that identify their programs or projects into the budgeting approach, program the allocations, recommend the needed interventions and decide on the manner of implementation.
Along with increased participation, DTI points out that the BUB also helps to create a more accurate picture of how much each fund beneficiary needs in order to function effectively, adding that this scheme also promotes good governance at the local level.
In Central Visayas, around Php 15 Million has been allocated by DTI for trade-related projects under the BUB, with a total of 13 LGUs benefiting from 16 identified BUB projects.
DTI narrates that the BUB projects in Region 7 include Rural Micro Enterprise Promotion Program, Industry Clustering Development Program, Price Mapping & Monitoring, Green Growth Initiative, Shared Service Facilities, and One-Town One Product (OTOP) Store Express,
DTI says provincial governments are tapped to help speed up the implementation of the BUB-funded projects, adding that monitoring of the implementation these projects is the responsibility of the LGUs.
Policy guidelines on BUB are jointly issued by Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC).
For information on DTI services, visit http://www.dti.gov.ph/
