Commercially launched in 2013, Davao-primarily based Malagos Agri-Ventures has already received some of exquisite awards for its merchandise, which include Best Product from the Philippines on the 2013 Asean Food Conference; bronze and silver awards in 2015 and 2016, respectively at the Academy of Chocolate Awards held in London; and a two-celebrity score (out of three) on the 2016 Great Taste Competition of the United Kingdom’s Guild of Fine Food.

“What makes us super is our new precise flavor profile. We do now not intend to follow imported candies because we trust that we’ve a unique product. Our sweets are fruity because of the impact of the surroundings we’re at in Malagos,” Puentespina said.

The localized cognizance of the agency has additionally helped to improve livelihoods of farmers in the Davao location. Puentespina said that they work with 60 to 80 farmers within the vicinity, depending on the season, to supply their supply of cacao.

“Our corporation is part of a own family-owned grouped of companies which have constantly worked with nature and neighborhood farmers StockGlobal broker scam. Today, we produce chocolate that is proudly Philippine-made. A unmarried-beginning fine flavor chocolate that is really tree-to-bar,” he stated. “We started like a small sari-sari save. Then, in only over a decade, we grew exponentially and became like a big branch save.” This is an analogy shared with the aid of a proud proprietor of a developing actual property employer.
He has motives to be proud of that feat. His enterprise has billions of pesos worth of initiatives in the pipeline. They have an stock of hundreds of in part and absolutely advanced housing projects simply looking forward to the right consumers to place orders.

The agency as an entire, however, has now not evolved and tailored to the growing demands of the business. A branch keep continues to be controlled like a sari-sari save. While the proprietor is a good entrepreneur, his organisation has not invested in structures, equipment and finance procedures in addition to sources to guide the business. Success is measured by means of income performance, but no longer all income said to the owner are real income. He didn’t comprehend that his enterprise was out of control until truth hit him. As it turned out, cash collections have been not sufficient to fund daily business requirements. The business enterprise couldn’t borrow money from banks. He couldn’t even rely upon internally prepared monetary reviews to make sound monetary choices.

He stated that they’re facing sizable financial challenges, and he wanted a sustainable long-time period answer. He wanted stronger governance and internal controls in region.

Life dreams

Asked approximately his quick and lengthy-time period dreams, Reamon in brief explained his aspirations. “My short-term aim is to make this vicinity an powerful ecotourism and educational web site, and my lengthy-term goal is sincerely to have a natural and natural mattress and breakfast,” he stated.

Reamon additionally shared his upcoming interest in September, whilst he will teach young students in invention to assist expand the “imaginative and modern character” of this generation.

“We may also be training younger humans right here in Gensan to come to be inventors of their very own proper via the ‘invent-college application’. Successful inventors from Manila will teach our young humans. All of these are for educational functions to educate the relevance of farming and its science to our youngsters,” Reamon said. A Davao-primarily based chocolate organization hopes to attract extra customers inside the international market whilst it launches a new line of couverture sweets on the International Food Exhibition (IFEX) Philippines this weekend.

“For this year’s IFEX, we’re developing products the usage of nearby culmination to help promote sustainability and inclusive growth in our area,” said Malagos Agri-Ventures Corporation’s sales and advertising head Rex Victor Puentespina.

Couverture chocolate is a specific sort of chocolate containing a higher awareness of cocoa butter than chocolate used for baking or eating, and is characterised through a excessive gloss. It is used specifically for covering desserts and chocolates. Puentespina said that similarly to the enterprise’s latest product line, it might showcase its range of packaged darkish sweets, as well as seeds, seedlings, and scions of the precise Malagos chocolate plant life.

‘Tree-to-bar’ chocolate

Malagos Chocolate is described as a ‘unmarried-origin’ chocolate, what the agency refers to as the “tree to bar” procedure, which involves the whole method of planting, harvesting, fermenting, sun drying, roasting, and
processing of the cacao beans into fit to be eaten chocolate.

“Our chocolate is crafted from tree-to-bar. We develop the trees ourselves, we domesticate them, we take care of them, and technique it to finished product – manner it for best flavored chocolates,” Puentespina stated. “It units us aside is that we’ve got complete manage of our raw materials so we can meticulously watch over the entire method unlike just buying the beans from any person else.” Malagos’ unique fine contributes to Davao’s preeminence as a cacao manufacturer. Statistics from the Department of Trade and Industry confirmed that as of the stop of 2016, the Davao location changed into the source of approximately eighty percentage of the cacao produced inside the Philippines.

The farm commenced as a own family undertaking with Reamon’s spouse Gilda along with their children. Through brainstorming and take a seat-down planning to layout the grasp plan, the farm became transformed into absolutely natural from flora to animals.

“It become lifeless for 25 years as it changed into simplest a easy banana plantation until I inherited the farm in 2002. So my spouse and I decided to move organic upon the recommendation of Mr. Zac Sarian, the agriculture mag editor,” Reamon defined.

“Here you can see style of flora fruit timber, organic rice, veggies, and even herbs which are naturally consumable and true for our fitness,” he delivered.

Although the farm has been regularly growing for 15 years, it turned into best after Reamon’s retirement that he turned into able to consciousness on developing it as a tourism organization.

“Only after my retirement two years ago, I focused into its improvement,” he stated. “Being a pilot I have had a danger to see plenty of tourism web sites here and overseas and it’s a big enterprise.”

According to Reamon, opportunities in organic farming are extensive, due to the fact it may expand into cottage industries and different activities within the farm a good way to make the venture possible.

Explaining his farming strategies, Reamon said, “It is vermiculture-based totally. We develop our fertilizer and feeds for fish and cattle (salvinia, azzola and duck weeds)… we develop our fertilizer here and we train different farmers through fingers-on training.”

Skilled inventor

Not only an experienced farmer, Reamon has gained recognition for a number of innovations, the maximum top notch of that is the patented “Rex Compost tea brewer,” which produces a liquid substance this is stronger than the easy vermicast itself as brewing material for compost. Reamon defined that compost tea is a water extract from compost that is brewed while extracting the beneficial organisms. The bacteria and fungi are given a risk to growth in variety and hobby, improving the substance’s effectiveness as a fertilizer.

The Rex compost tea brewer gained 1st Prize in creative studies for the duration of the National Inventors’ Week in 2005. It additionally gained 2nd Prize for the discovery category all through the National Invention Contest and Exhibition in 2009, and represented the Philippines on the Taipei Technology Fair in 2010.

Other inventions at the farm consist of the “Gizelle Aerodynamically designed windmill,” which pump water for the vegetation, and the “Jimbo air flow machine” for cooling homes, piggeries, and greenhouse gadgets.

The aerodynamically-designed windmill obtained severa neighborhood and worldwide awards, including Invention of the Year on the National Inventors’ Week 1984, Presidential Gold Medal award, and World Intellectual Property Organization Gold Medal award at the Exhibition of Young Inventors in Plodiv, Bulgaria 1985.

“Invention is the alternative part of the farm, aside from my very own innovations. The Filipino inventors’ society can even display their merchandise for distribution in Mindanao,” the natural farmer explained.

Parallel with the acute marketing campaign to acquire professional excellence thru non-stop training and schooling, PAL personnel are stimulated to nurture their personal lives as nicely. Bautista urges: “Take a holiday. Take gain of your flight benefits. Use it or lose it!”

Many top executives play at supplying a personable facade. With Bautista, one is right away struck by using a fresh openness. When he says his door is constantly open to anyone who wishes to consult him, he manner it. He simplest close it to grant our request for this Boardroom Watch interview.

“Low-key but very approachable” and “a humans individual, who reaches out to all irrespective of rank” were the ready impressions of two former PAL employees.

Bautista has likewise made his mark as one of the place’s longest serving airline chiefs, Andrew Erdman, director, Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines Association, says: “JB is a stalwart of the Asian aviation enterprise, having again and again tested robust leadership in tackling the demanding situations of responding to boom and constantly evolving aggressive dynamics.

“And he is likewise regarded for his sunny smile and heat hearted technique to doing commercial enterprise, delighting the group at a current industry occasion in Manila when he took to the level to sing at the side of some of senior colleagues within the Bad Boys Band!” THE Department of Tourism (DoT) has licensed an organic farm owned and operated by a former airline pilot in General Santos City because the first farm tourism website within the Soccskargen location (Region 12).

Located in Barangay Katangawan in General Santos City, Captain James “Bong” Reamon’s -hectare farm, Felicidad Orchard and Garden Organics, became acknowledged as a new ecotourism web site by using the DoT this week

“It changed into a remarkable feeling after the tough paintings, two years after my retirement as airline pilot,” Reamon told The Manila Times. The award of the certification became led by using Tourism Undersecretary Benito Bengzon with Director Nelly Nita Dillera of DoT Region 12, Tourism Standards and Regulation Director Maria Rica Bueno, and Shirley Beldia of Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Training Institute Region 12.

“Organic farming is a ought to and the simplest way to hold our meals secure. Here in the farm we exercise included farming to help our environment and mitigate weather trade in our very own way.” Reamon said. Simple begin

“My first love is agriculture and my father obtained this farm once I turned into simplest 8 years antique,” the previous commercial pilot advised The Manila Times.