P 15.00 • 20 PAGES www.edgedavao.net VOL. 8 ISSUE 135 • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 07, 2015 D AVAO City Mayor Rodri- go R. Duterte said two of the 11 men who abduct- ed a Filipina and four foreign- ers in the Island Garden City of Samal (IGACOS) on September 21 have been arrested. In an interview on Monday afternoon, Duterte said identi- fied one of the suspects as Ban- dajar Adona, alias Banon. “He was identified kasi na- kuha ang mukha niya sa CCTV (because his face was captured on closed circuit television),” he said. The mayor was referring to the CCTV camera of Holiday Ocean View where the victims Kjartan Sekkinstad, a Norwei- gian National and the Opera- tions Manager of the resort, Canadians John Ridsel and Robert Hall, and Marithes Flor, live-in partner of Hall, were ab- ducted on September 21. Duterte said the two were arrested after the intelligence community intercepted calls they were making within the Bunawan area. The mayor, however, did not give any more details on the arrest, saying he was leav- ing the solution of the case to the Armed Forces of the Philip- pines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP). “I cannot talk more about it. I was there during the brief- ing of the intelligence commu- nity because I was invited to listen,” he said. For its part, the Special In- vestigation Task Group (SITG) Ocean View said it still has no updates on the kidnapping in- cident. In a text message, Po- lice Regional Office (PRO) 11 spokesperson Superintendent Antonio Rivera said the SITG has not give him an update yet. Duterte had earlier said the victims had been taken to Sulu and that the kidnappers were members of the Abu Sayyaf. SITG Ocean View head FABDUCTORS, 10 Puerto Rican star to play as import in PSL P15 EDGE DAVAO Sports ABDUCTORS ARRESTED Mayor Duterte confirms arrest but refuses to give further details EDGE Serving a seamless society DAVAO NU-Ateneo war in UAAP BY ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR. END OF THE ROAD. In Davao City, not even a baller showing one’s support for Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is a man’s protection for committing a crime. Here, a blooded Duterte baller is seen worn by one of the two suspects in the killing of Senior Police Officer 1 Vevencio Vertudazo who met their end after trying to elude arrest yesterday in Toril, Davao City. Lean Daval Jr.
Transcript
P 15.00 • 20 PAGESwww.edgedavao.netVOL. 8 ISSUE 135 • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 07, 2015
DAVAO City Mayor Rodri-go R. Duterte said two of the 11 men who abduct-
ed a Filipina and four foreign-ers in the Island Garden City of Samal (IGACOS) on September 21 have been arrested.
In an interview on Monday afternoon, Duterte said identi-fied one of the suspects as Ban-dajar Adona, alias Banon.
“He was identified kasi na-kuha ang mukha niya sa CCTV (because his face was captured on closed circuit television),”
he said.The mayor was referring
to the CCTV camera of Holiday Ocean View where the victims Kjartan Sekkinstad, a Norwei-gian National and the Opera-tions Manager of the resort, Canadians John Ridsel and Robert Hall, and Marithes Flor, live-in partner of Hall, were ab-ducted on September 21.
Duterte said the two were arrested after the intelligence community intercepted calls they were making within the
Bunawan area.The mayor, however, did
not give any more details on the arrest, saying he was leav-ing the solution of the case to the Armed Forces of the Philip-pines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP).
“I cannot talk more about it. I was there during the brief-ing of the intelligence commu-nity because I was invited to listen,” he said.
For its part, the Special In-vestigation Task Group (SITG)
Ocean View said it still has no updates on the kidnapping in-cident.
In a text message, Po-lice Regional Office (PRO) 11 spokesperson Superintendent Antonio Rivera said the SITG has not give him an update yet.
Duterte had earlier said the victims had been taken to Sulu and that the kidnappers were members of the Abu Sayyaf.
SITG Ocean View head FABDUCTORS, 10
Puerto Rican star to play as import in PSLP15
EDGEDAVAOSports
ABDUCTORS ARRESTED
Mayor Duterte confirms arrest but refuses to give further details
EDGE Serving a seamless society
DAVAO
NU-Ateneo war in UAAP
BY ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.
END OF THE ROAD. In Davao City, not even a baller showing one’s support for Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is a man’s protection for committing a crime. Here, a blooded Duterte baller is seen worn by one of the two suspects in the killing of Senior Police Officer 1 Vevencio Vertudazo who met their end after trying to elude arrest yesterday in Toril, Davao City. Lean Daval Jr.
VOL. 8 ISSUE 135 • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 07, 20152 EDGEDAVAO
NEWS
TWO gang members were shot dead by po-lice yesterday morning
less than 15 hours after al-legedly killing a police officer in Toril, Davao City.
In an interview yester-day, Davao City Police Office (DCPO) spokesperson Mil-grace C. Driz said the two, identified as Batang District Hall Gang members Nelson Gadiane and a certain alias Pao-Pao, were shot dead af-
ter pulling a gun at police officers who were trying to arrest them.
Driz said the police were supposed to arrest the sus-pects in Agton Street in Toril Poblacion at around 10:30 a.m. on October 6 but Gadi-ane drew his .38 caliber re-volver, prompting the police to fire back.
The two were killed on the spot. A third companion, identified as Romeo Cayo,
was able to escape.Authorities recovered a
.38 revolver, marijuana, and P40 in cash from Gadiane.
According to Driz, it was Gadiane who stabbed Senior Police Officer (SPO)1 Viven-cio Vertudazo in the neck at around 8:10 p.m. on October 5 while Pao-Pao served as lookout.
Police said Vertudazo was deployed in Agton Steet in front of the Toril District
Hall for police visibility.Gadiane and Pao-Pao ran
towards the inner portion of the Toril Public Market while Vertudazo was rushed St. John Hospital where he was declared dead due to the fatal wounds he sustained.
Driz said the suspects were notorious in the area for having killed several people.
For his part, Toril Police Station commander Chief In-
2 cop killers slain
THE alleged leader of a no-torious robbery group in the region was killed in
a shootout with law enforcers in Tagum City, Davao del Norte early morning yesterday.
Operatives of Davao City Police Office (DCPO) Intel-ligence Branch along with Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) Davao del Norte said the suspect, Fi-del G. Flores alias Rodel Galeo, was killed in a shootout after he resisted arrest.
Police said the team was about to serve a warrant of arrest on Flores at around 5 a.m. on October 6, 2015 at Sta. Teresa Village, Barangay Cuambogan in Tagum City when the suspect fired at the operatives.
The police officers fired back at Flores, hitting him sev-eral times.
The suspect was rushed to the Davao Regional Hospital for treatment but was declared dead at around 5:20 a.m.
Police said they recovered a shotgun with five shells and a homemade caliber .38 pistol from the slain suspect.
Just last week, DCPO di-rector Senior Superintendent Vicente D. Danao Jr. warned that he would “bury” Flores if he ever catches the crime lead-er, who he said led the Flores robbery group responsible for a series of robberies in Davao City and neighboring areas.
Police said Flores’ group robbed a delivery van in Hill-side Subdivision in Bajada on Monday night, just before his death.
Danao said Flores’ group victimized public utility vans and delivery trucks in the cities of Tagum, Panabo, and Davao.
The suspect had pending warrants of arrests for robbery with violence and intimida-tion from Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 4 in Panabo City and robbery with violence and intimidation from RTC Branch 17 in Davao City.
DAVAO City Mayor Ro-drigo R. Duterte said he will allow Senator Alan
Peter Cayetano to use his name in the latter’s campaign for the vice presidency in next year’s election.
This after reporters asked him on Monday afternoon for his reaction on reports that posters and leaflets with the words “Duterte-Cayetano para sa pagbabago” are circulating in Manila.
“Kung dad-on lang niya ang akong pangalan eh, OK lang, amigo man mi (If uses my name, that’s OK. After all he is my friend),” he said.
“Just give the guy space to do it,” he added.
Cayetano had declared his vice presidential bid in Davao City on September 29, hinting that he wanted to run with Duterte.
The following day, Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos
Jr. visited Duterte, although the two insisted they did not talk about a possible tandem.
Marcos on Monday de-clared that he would run for vice president also.
Duterte, for his part, said he has not decided yet if he will run for president or for mayor next year.
Ateneo de Davao Univer-sity (AdDU) political science professor Ramon Beleno III earlier said if Duterte decides to run for president in 2016, his logical running mate should be Marcos because the latter has a solid voter base in the north.
Beleno said “winabili-ty-wise, it’s Marcos since he has captured voters. Ideolo-gy-wise, it’s Cayetano.”
But he said if he were Duterte, he would choose winability because ideology is “useless” if the candidate does not win.
Gang leader killedBy ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR. and FUNNY PEARL A. GAJUNERA
Cayetano can use my namein campaigning: Mayor RodyBy ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.
INTERNATIONAL humani-tarian organization Oxfam, the European Union, and
women’s rights group Likhaan Center for Women’s Health will be implementing a P232 million (4.459 million euro) project in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in a bid to improve the access of women and youth to health services.
“It is high time to invest
in programs that aim to im-prove the access of women and youth to different health services in ARMM because it is often neglected,” Likhaan ex-ecutive director Dr. Junice Mel-gar said during the launch of the program at the Waterfront Insular Davao Hotel yesterday.
Dubbed “Improving Avail-ability of Reproductive Health Services in ARMM (ARCHES),” the program aims to protect
rights of women and address the gaps in the delivery of re-productive health services in the region.
The implementation of ARCHES started in December 2014 and will last until De-cember 22, 2019. It will cover one city and 13 municipalities located in Lanao del Sur, Bas-ilan, Sulu, Maguindanao, and Tawi-tawi.
Melgar said the state of
reproductive health in ARMM is a reflection of the national state. “The problem of ARMM is the problem of everyone. It affects everyone. Therefore, any improvement in ARMM is an improvement of the whole body politics,” she said.
“The project is so critical because it promotes autono-my in women which is what ARMM is fighting for,” she add-
P232-M health project for ARMMBy CHENEEN R. CAPON
KILLERS KILLED. Members of the Scene of the Crime Operatives (SOCO) inspect the body of one of the suspects in the killing of Senior Police Officer 1 Vevencio Vertudazo. The two alleged killers were themselves killed after trying to evade arrest in Toril, Davao City yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.
WHILE he forgives her wrong concept on Federalism, Davao
City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte told presidential hopeful Sen-ator Grace Poe to study more about Federalism to correct her feudal state of mind.“It has nothing to do with (political) dynasties,” he pointed out.
The mayor’s statement came on the heels of reports about Poe’s stand on Federal-ism. At a gathering in Butuan City, she was quoted saying, “For me, we have a problem
on political dynasty, and under federalism, there is autonomy and the proposal is by region. What if a particular region is dominated by only one fami-ly? “What kind of devolution of power will it be if only one particular family controls the area?”
Duterte said Poe is dwell-ing on the feudal stage. Duterte stressed federalism has noth-ing to do with ruling families. In Philippine politics, Duterte said that “whether you like it or not you go by names”.
Rody tells Poeto study more‘Federalism is not about dynasty’
SENIOR Board Member Tyron Uy was named standard bearer of the
ruling Liberal Party for gover-nor in Compostela Valley prov-ince in the 2016 election.
Uy’s proclamation was fa-cilitated last Saturday, October 3, in a mass oath taking con-ducted by LP in this town that was also joined by hundreds of provincial and municipal offi-cials in the area.
The event was also wit-nessed by more than a thou-sand barangay officials, civic organizations, the business community, and other con-cerned groups in Compostela Valley.
Majority of the mayors, vice-mayors, and council members in Compostela Valley swore allegiance to the ruling party last Saturday.
MEMBERS of civil soci-ety organizations and the academe in Mind-
anao have called on legislators to abide by their “solemn duty to legislate and enact laws and to transform themselves as peace builders and not as ordi-nary lawmakers” in legislating
the Bangsamoro Basic Law.They said Mindan-
ao-based CSOs will continue to lobby legislators from Min-danao in particular to attend sessions in the House of Rep-resentatives to ensure quo-rum so that the deliberations on the BBL could proceed and
PHOTO OP. Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte is flanked by people who want to have a souvenir photograph with him during the culmination of the 131st Araw ng Sta. Cruz on Monday afternoon where the mayor was the guest of honor. Lean Daval Jr.
Tyron Uy is ComVal’sLP bet for governor
ON THE RISE. High School students stroll along Tionko Avenue in Davao City yesterday. According to reports given by the Department of Health (DOH) 11, cases of pregnancy among teenagers in the city continue to increase as society seems already accepted the trend of premarital sex. Lean Daval Jr.
Mindanao CSOs, academe ask legislators to pass BBL
STANDARD BEARER. Senior Board Member Tyron Uy (left) is named standard bearer of the ruling Liberal Party for governor of Compostela Valley province in the 2016 election during the mass oath taking of hundreds of provincial and municipal officials held in Pantukan town on Saturday, October 3. Photo by ALEX LOPEZ
He said Poe herself is a living example of a dynasty syndrome. “Siyamismohindi-namantalagamakatakbo kung walangpangalan eh – ganun-talagaditosaPilipinas,” Duterte said, reminding Poe that her father, Fernando Poe, ran be-fore her.
According to Duterte, Poe has been declaring to continue what his father started.
Earlier, Peter Laviña, spokesperson of the Duterte for Federalism, said rejecting federalism has exposed Poe as shallow-minded, fearful of change and lacks faith in the capacity of the Filipino people to decide their own destiny.
“That is the whole trou-ble with someone who has not lived in our country long enough to immerse in our po-litical culture and wants to be our next President,” Laviña said in a press statement.
Laviña said Poe is not aware that it is under the pres-ent set-up of unitary system that has bred and perpetuated the political dynasties in the Philippines.
“She should not look far indeed. Her vice presidential team mate, ChizEscudero, is part of this political anom-aly. His father served under Marcos and was a member of Congress, and her mother has replaced him in his former seat in Congress, which was passed on to him by his father. Three family members perpetuating their hold on one district, with
one elected as senator and now wants to be vice presi-dent,” Laviña noted.
Laviña however pointed out that there is nothing wrong with it because these individu-als belonging to one family are for the common good. “What is wrong really is a family or clan that is only in government for their selfish ends,” he stressed.
Laviña further cited that the Federal system in the United States where Poe once pledged allegiance, has not bred political dynasties which she fears so much. He named the Kennedys, Bushes and Clintons who have been elected because of individual-ity and not by their ancestry. I believe the American voters elected them not because of their popular names but be-cause of their qualifications, he stressed.
Laviña hinted to Poe’s lack of respect and faith in the ca-pacity of the Filipino voters to choose their own leaders and chart their own destiny.
“This smacks of elitist ar-rogance. She wants to instill fear, instead of inspiring the people for change. She wants to perpetuate a system that has caused so much poverty and misery to our people. She represents the status quo pro-tecting her rich financial back-ers. She stands in the way and blocking the surging clamor of the masses including overseas Filipinos for genuine change in our country,” he said. (PNA)
FTYRON, 10
FMINDANAO, 10
VOL. 8 ISSUE 135 • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 07, 2015
FOOD security and fishery leaders and policy-mak-ers from Asia Pacific
economies have formally ad-opted the Iloilo Plan of Action that strongly promotes climate resiliency and inclusive growth in the sector, as the two-day Asia Pacific Economic Cooper-ation (APEC) High Level Policy Dialogue on Food Security and the Blue Economy came to a
close on Monday.Philippine Agriculture Sec-
retary Proceso Alcala said the Iloilo Plan of Action -- which was eventually endorsed to APEC Leaders who will meet in Manila later this year -- was a product of a dialogue pro-cess that involved smallhold-ers, including marginal and sub-marginal farmers and en-trepreneurs.
“In our hosting of the ag-riculture, food security and blue economy meetings of the APEC this week, the private sector voice -- normally domi-nated by the big business rep-resentatives -- has been given the right balance by (sectoral representatives supported by the Philippine Council for Agri-culture and Fisheries),” Alcala said in a news briefing at the
Iloilo Convention Center.He said such procedure
supports instructions of Pres-ident Benigno Aquino III “that we push not just the interests of small and medium enter-prises but also the more nu-merous micro-enterprises, including our small farmers, fishers and agribusiness entre-preneurs -- reflecting our ob-
4 EDGEDAVAO
ECONOMY
FSTRATEGIES, 13
TWO major infrastruc-ture projects based here were recently inaugu-
rated by the City Government this week, highlighting the local government’s commit-ment in promoting agricul-tural advancement as well as reinvigorating its health care services.
No less than Mayor Allan L. Rellon led in the blessing and inauguration of the new-est building of the City Health Office along Mabini Street last
September 29, 2015, where he underscored the realization of having a conducive space to bolster the local government’s goal of providing quality health care services for Tagu-menyos.
The new building just beside the old City Health Office—valued at P6.8 mil-lion, according to City Health Officer Dr. Arnel Florendo—features conducive places for dental services, pharmacy, social hygiene clinic, sanitary
office, laboratory and adminis-trative offices, respectively.
Dr. Florendo expressed this is a major development in the city’s health care services since the old and dilapidated building cannot cater to the growing number of clients the office is serving on a daily basis.
On the other hand, the multi-specie hatchery lo-cated in Barangay Liboga-non was also inaugurated by the local government led
by Mayor Rellon, Davao del Norte Governor Rodolfo del Rosario and BFAR Regional Director Fatma Idris.
The multi-species hatch-ery project, which has been tagged by local leaders as a “dream come true” after being finally realized after 10 years of intensive planning and lob-bying, features an algal tank, larval tank, a reservoir, a pow-er supply system and a nurs-ery. BFAR XI poured P2.4 mil-lion for the said project while
the city government allocated some P650,000 as its counter-part.
City Agriculturist Harold S. Dawa said that among the impacts this project will bring is the revival of the interest of the brackish fishpond own-ers to invest in intensive crab farming, in line with his de-partment’s goal of making the city as a “crab capital” in this part of Mindanao.
This will also increase the numbers of wild crabs along
Tancuan Creek since every production season; the hatch-ery will release some of its products to the wild, there-by benefiting the fisher folks along the creek leading to the Davao Gulf.
Prior to the inauguration of the said hatchery, the local government also unveiled its newest landmark along Daang Maharlika dubbed as “Bangka,” highlighting the latter’s role in advancing development in both fisheries and agriculture.
Tagum infra projects inaugurated
NEW CHO BUILDING. Tagum City Mayor Allan L. Rellon, DOH Assistant Regional Director Dr. Annabelle Yumang and City Health Officer Dr. Arnel Florendo lead the ribbon-cutting ceremony during the inauguration of the new building of the City Health Office. Vinzel Bret Davo/CIO Tagum
IN a bid to increase its local revenues, the provincial government of South Cota-
bato has launched a compre-hensive review of its revenue code.
Alfredo Dumanig, acting head of the Provincial Trea-surer’s Office, said Tuesday the local government has created a technical working group (TWG) to spearhead the review process, which in-cludes the updating and revi-sion of key components of the code.
“We need to review and amend some provisions of the code to complement with the changes in the socio-econom-ic scene and other related de-velopments these past several years,” he said.
Dumanig noted that the
province’s revenue was last amended in 2011 and some of its provisions, especially the local tax rates, needs updating based on their assessment.
The provincial imposi-tions, as provided by the Lo-cal Government Code, covers business taxes for entities involved in printing and pub-lication; local franchises; and, quarrying of sand, gravel and other resources.
It also levies professional taxes on persons exercising or practicing their profes-sions; amusement tax; and, annual fixed tax not exceeding PHP500 for every delivery truck or van used by manufac-turers, producers, wholesal-ers, dealers, among others.
“We’re targeting to imple-ment new tax rates by next
year,” Dumanig said.In line with the initiative,
he said the provincial govern-ment has commissioned the TWG to conduct study mis-sions in Luzon and Visayas to look into the revenue codes of various local government units (LGUs).
The TWG, which is com-posed of PTO personnel, was divided into two teams to fast track the conduct of the study missions, he said.
Last week, he said a five-person team embarked on an initial mission to the provinces of Batangas and Pampanga.
Dumanig said the second team will leave for the prov-inces of Cebu and Iloilo on the third week of October.
“We’re mainly looking at
how other LGUs prepared and updated their revenue codes as well as their basis in the imposition of new local tax rates,” he said.
He said the results of the studies will serve as basis for the crafting of the province’s revised revenue code, which will later be submitted to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan or provincial board for review and approval.
In 2014, the provin-cial government generated PHP173.4 million in local rev-enues and PHP1.16 million from other revenue sources.
Dumanig said they are targeting to increase the prov-ince’s tax revenues by 50 per-cent with the implementation of new local tax rates in 2016. (PNA)
SoCot starts review of revenue code
Strategies presented for growth in fisheries
THE challenge of at-taining food security and healthy marine
and aquaculture ecosystem amidst the threats of unsus-tainable fishing practices and environmental degra-dation is an issue that must be squarely addressed by Asia-Pacific Economic Coop-eration (APEC) countries as one community, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said on Sunday.
In his welcome remarks at the opening ceremony of the APEC High Level Policy Dialogue on Food Security and Blue Economy at the newly-built Iloilo Conven-tion Center, Alcala called on strengthened cooperation among APEC member-econ-omies to “come up with re-sponsive and feasible plans and recommendations that will substantially deal with ensuring the sustainability of of the economic benefits we get from our seas.”
Blue economy refers to a development approach anchored on sustainable de-velopment and utilization of marine resources and ecosys-tems in APEC region.
“Food is basic need,” the DA chief said. “As one commu-nity, we ought to put strength and ideas together to ensure that there will always be safe and nutritious food on the plates of our citizens.”
Alcala mentioned the vast Pacific Ocean, which all APEC countries share.
“Sharing the same re-source means sharing the re-sponsibility of protecting and conserving it not only for our economies today, but also for future generations,” he said.
Alcala co-chairs the two-day meeting with Environ-ment and Natural Resources Secretary Ramon Paje, which forms part of lead up activ-ities to the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting (AELM) in November this year in Ma-nila.
“This forum, I believe, is one of the most significant APEC meetings as this seeks to address primary concerns most relevant to our peo-ple such as hunger, general
health and well-being,” Alcala noted.
Paje, in his message, ex-pressed optimism that the forum would come up with policy commitment in (a) making our oceans, coast-al resources and ecosys-tems more resilient and the aquaculture industry more sustainable; (b) working to-gether to reduce food loss and waste; and (c) promoting agribusiness and blue econo-my.
Senate President Frank-lin Drilon, who hails from Iloilo, welcomed the APEC delegations and emphasized the commitment of the Phil-ippine Government in its food security programs.
Drilon shared some rela-tive legislative measures that the Philippine Congress has passed citing, among others, the Agriculture and Modern-ization Act and the amended Fisheries Code.
The Senate President also announced the upcom-ing approval of the Senate Bill classifying smuggling of agricultural products as hei-nous crime punishable with life imprisonment.
The High Level Policy Dialogue provides a venue and opportunity for decision makers from the government and the private and business sectors from APEC member economies to harmonize pol-icies conducive to economic growth of the region.
Scheduled 4-6 October 2015, the forum aims to ar-rive at a consensus on a pro-gram of action on food secu-rity and blue economy. The program is to be endorsed to the APEC leaders of state arriving in Manila this No-vember.
A series of related meet-ings were held earlier in Bo-racay, Cebu and this city to provide inputs to the high level dialogue.
Alcala, however, re-minded the member econ-omies that all policies they would approve should be rooted in protect-ing the natural resources for the sustainable liveli-hood of the people. (PNA)
Shared responsibility urged in food security
VOL. 8 ISSUE 135 • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 07, 2015 5
The PPI. Or your pie.EDGE Serving a seamless society
DAVAOBlazing the trail in innovative journalism.
“For allowing the readers to arrive with a stand, succeeded in manifesting the conviction of the community members while embodying transparency and excellence in delivering the news to the community.”BEST EDITED COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER (DAILY) 2014
“Demonstrated the highest standards in terms of creativity, quality, utility and style of writing that uphold the highest journalistic standards and tradition. It presents with more consistency a strong and concise community relevant stories. The style of writing is such that even as an article deals on local events it is never myopic and parochial in treatment because its perspective also transcends beyond the locality. As a whole, Edge Davao is a paragon of high quality journalism; a local newspaper that combines, in seamless meld, high quality writing and community value.”BEST EDITED COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER 2013
“Actively dedicating regular coverage of environmental reports through news, features, columns and editorials that help promote high degree of environmental consciousness among the public. EDGE DAVAO is mindfully aware of the power of information in molding an environmentally-critical public.”BEST IN ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING 2014
“Precisely exercised its excellence in a community-oriented culture, arts and history articles. It really focused on the preservation, protection and promotion of the cultural practices, local artists and presented to the readers the impact of arts and culture on community life.”BEST IN CULTURE, ARTS AND HISTORY REPORTING 2014
EDGEDAVAO
VOL. 8 ISSUE 135 • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 07, 20156
THE Davao City Invest-ment Promotions Center (DCIPC) is pushing for
the entry of more investment in the manufacturing industry as it projected that the city’s strong ICT industry will expe-rience a slowdown in growth five to 10 years from now.
“The ICT (Information and Communication Technology) of the country will reach sat-uration point which will not be too long from now,” DCIPC
chief Ivan C. Cortez said in a recent interview.
In Davao for instance, Cortez said the city will soon become saturated because ev-erybody is now into investing in the ICT industry due to huge demand on outsourced ICT-BPO and knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) skills.
“Everybody is building professionals and they are looking for clients,” Cortez said.
He said five to 10 years
from now, only big BPO com-panies which were able to built strong relationship with their clients will stay. Small compa-nies will be out of the picture soon, according to him.
With the forecasted fate of the ICT industry in the Philip-pines, especially in Davao City that is coined as one of the Next Wave Cities, Cortez said investment in manufacturing sector should be increased.
“Our battle cry in DCIPC is
to really move to manufactur-ing sector because if you look to the bulk of our investments here only about five percent is into manufacturing. That’s re-ally small,” he said.
Among the heavy man-ufacturers here are those in-volved in steel and cement production.
He said the city needs to lure more investment in pro-cessing and manufacturing if it
Slowdown seenin ICT industry
TEMPERED price move-ment in food, power, and oil rates pushed
inflation to another all-time low of 0.4 percent in Sep-tember 2015, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
The Philippine Statistics Authority reported today that headline inflation rate recorded its lowest level, easing further to 0.4 percent in September 2015 from 0.6 percent in the previous month and from 4.4 percent in September 2014.
“We expect the current low inflation environment exhibited in the first nine months of 2015 to persist throughout the rest of the year, more so, as internation-al oil prices continue to re-main low and are not expect-ed to increase significantly in the near term,” said Econom-ic Planning Secretary Arsen-io M. Balisacan.
Inflation in the food sub-
group continued to ease in September 2015, (0.7% from 1.1%) following slower price adjustments in majority of its sub-items such as breads and cereals, fish, fruits, and rice. The declining prices of regular milled rice due to sufficient supply partly sup-ported the downward trend in overall food prices. On the other hand, meat (0.4% from 0.3%) and vegetables (2.3% from 2.0%) exhibited slightly faster upward price adjust-ments relative to the previ-ous month.
Non-food inflation also declined (-0.2% from 0.2%) resulting from the sustained lowering of prices of electric-ity, gas, and other fuels.
Meanwhile, core infla-tion—which excludes select-ed volatile food and energy prices—slid further to 1.4 percent from 1.6 percent in August 2015 and 3.4 per-cent in September 2014. Core inflation in the first nine months of 2015 averaged at
2.1 percent.“The slowdown of core
inflation further indicates that prices across a broad range of consumer items continue to remain stable,” the Cabinet official said.
Inflation for the National Capital Region (0.1% from 0.2%) and other regions in the country (0.4% from 0.8%), were also restrained in September 2015 relative to the previous month.
Balisacan noted that while low oil prices are likely to provide a cushion to up-side inflationary pressures, government should remain wary of the upside risks to in-flation such as the current El Niño episode in the country.
“Government must en-sure that food supply is suf-ficient by improving the level of inventories and efficiency of the distribution system. Continued monitoring of drought occurrence in agri-cultural areas is necessary to
Inflation dips to record low
A FOREIGN-BASED com-pany expressed interest in constructing the of
200-hectare mixed-use recla-mation project from R.Castillo St. to Bucana, an official said.
“The company is a consor-tium between a firm based in The Netherlands and Malay-sia,” Davao City Investment Promotions Center (DCIPC) chief Ivan C. Cortez told re-porters in a recent interview at the Marco Polo Davao.
Cortez, however, refused to disclose the name of the firm since it hasn’t submitted its intent to bid in the reclama-tion project.
The reclamation project was originally proposed by the Mega Harbour Develop-ment Corp. which has an esti-mated cost of P39 billion.
Cortez said there is a pos-sibility that two companies might bid for the establish-ment of the first reclamation project in the city.
Meanwhile, the Davao City’s Public Private Partner-ship (PPP) Board is targeting to publish the invitation to pre-qualify for the bidding this month.
This, after the board expe-rienced a delay in the sched-uled bidding which was first targeted to be conducted in the third quarter of the year.
“The negotiation with the is still ongoing,” Cortez said. “We already have en-dorsed the project for Swiss challenged. Hopefully, we can publish the invitation to pre-qualify or the notice to prequalify for the bidding this month.”
The bidding will take three more months before it will be awarded to the win-ning bidder, according to him.
Since there will be two possible bidders for the proj-ect, Cortez said if the Mega Harbour will not win, it can still invoke its right to match as the original proponent of the project.
According to the Official Gazette of the national gov-ernment ,“the original propo-nent has the right to match the better price proposal submit-ted by a comparative propo-nent.”
Earlier, Davao City Plan-ning and Development Office division chief for planning Engr. Jose Froilan Rigor the city government of Davao is set to enter into a joint venture agreement (JVA) with Ma-nila-based Mega Harbour Cor-poration for the multi-billion reclamation project this year.
Based on the proposal of Mega Harbour the project will involve the reclamation of four islands, with the first three to be connected by a coastal road.
The fourth island, fac-ing Sandawa area, will be connected to the road lead-ing to Quimpo Boulevard. The first island with an area of 75.01 hectare (ha) will be for port operation and govern-ment center.
Rigor said the 39.24 hect-are- second island will become the central business district and shopping center.
The third island that will be allocated for tourist centers and residential resorts will have a total area of 59.47 has.
The 40.89-hectare fourth island will be devot-ed for township develop-ment, according to Rigor. “The developer intends to start with the Island 1 which will have the port operation and government center,” Rigor said. Once completed, the port op-eration of the first island will have a berthing capacity of 2.5 kilometers, twice the current capacity of the Davao Sasa Port. Rigor also said that the city government will have free hand on a five hectare proper-ty in the project.
“The 5 hectare area could be used by the city for any kind of development project,” he said. CHENEEN R. CAPON
Foreign-based company eyes reclamation project
By CHENEEN R. CAPON
FSHOWDOWN, 10
FINFLATION, 10
EDGEDAVAOTHE ECONOMY
MOBILE BUSINESS. A hawker peddles bobble head dogs to passing motorists near the junction of Jacinto Extension and E. Quirino Avenue in Davao City yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.
FOR TODAY’S cosmopolitan lady and mother, whether it is with old or new individuals, finding a con-nection with female groups is one of those precious joys we reward ourselves with. As for me, aside from my beautiful bunch of trusted friends, I’ve also like meeting new faces who I can connect with in dif-ferent ways, be it through arts and crafts or motherhood. In essence, I simply do not just count the num-ber of individuals in my circle. In-stead, I count my blessings through meaningful encounters and con-versations I’ve had with each per-son, all of which have inspired my way of living life to the fullest. This is one of the reasons why I joined this year’s Bliss-makerie. A con-cept that was launched in December 2014 by established blog coach and digital content strategist, Mar-tine de Luna, the event gathers together women of the same passion and interest to share insight-ful stories and experiences. For this year’s get together, Martine collaborated with fellow bloggers Carmel David, Audrey Angcos and Rikka Redrico. The venue, Mateo’s Café, looked so much like a dreamy indoor garden, tastefully styled by Sweet Street Manila. The room was packed to the brim, with all the lady partici-pants blending in the chic motif.
WOMEN
EDGEDAVAOINdulge!
Blissmakerie
METRO MOM A4
2015
VOL. 8 ISSUE 135 • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 07, 2015
A2 INdulge! EDGEDAVAOABOUT TOWN
VOL. 8 ISSUE 135 • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 07, 2015
DAVAO CITY – Inves-tors who are keen on reaping a return of their investments in the future should invest in the Island Garden City of Sa-mal now, particular-ly in Talikud.
Governor Rodolfo del Rosario said that today is the perfect time for capitalists to put their money in the island while prices of properties are still rela-tively low.
“This is the perfect time to invest in Samal, particularly in Talikud” he said, as he made a pitch for the city be-fore the participants of the Brunei Darussalam, Indornesia, Malaysia, Philippines – East Asian Growth Area (BIMP-EA-GA) Trade and Tourism Investment Conference at the Marco Polo Hotel, here, on Monday.
He assured investors
to earn income and see their capital investment appreciate over time, as tourism and com-mercial activities are expected to grow more intensive in the coming years.
He also revealed the crafting of the compre-hensive tourism secu-rity and safety plan in the island to ensure the safety of tourists and in-vestors and to prevent a repeat of the recent untoward isolated inci-dent in the city.
Del Rosario her-alded both the tourism and trade advantage of Samal, highlighting its natural beauty, rich marine resources, and close proximity to the bustling city of Davao.
He featured the best attraction of the island include “pristine white-sand beaches, world-class diving sites, local handicrafts and delica-
cies and the warmth of its people,” that lend its potential to be the top tourist and investment destination in the south.
He also invited the investors to pour capital to over P1 billion-worth of infrastructure proj-ects meant to address the infrastructure re-quirement and increase connectivity, especially in Talikud.
He revealed that over 400 hectares of cheap open properties are available in Talikud for tourism market and investment, either for sale, rent, or joint ven-ture.
The governor is pro-moting particularly Talikud because of the commitment of the pro-vincial government to the Open Beach Line Project in the island, un-der the Canada-funded Local Governance Sup-port Program for Local
Economic Develop-ment ( LGSP-LED).
Through the proj-ect, Talikud became the model in sustainable tourism development and enhanced com-petitiveness and invest-ment promotion in the Davao Region.
The province has started to prepare the quality skilled work-force needed to meet the demands of inves-tors, as well as, the in-crease of tourist arrivals in the island.
Del Rosario also ex-pressed optimism the Samal’s great prospect as investment and tour-ism hub will be bol-stered by the coming construction of the Sa-mal Bridge.
He earlier called the proposed project as a “bridge of change” that will link the people of the island to a better future.
Now is the best time to
invest inTALIKUD
BIMP-EAGA confab DavNor Gov. Rodolfo del Rosario promotes Samal before participants of the BIMP-EAGA Trade and Tourism Investment Conference
LED recipientsDavNor Gov. Rodolfo del Rosario, center, poses with fellow presenters from other Mindanao province-recipients of the LGSP-LED at the BIMP-EAGA Trade and Tourism Investment Conference.
DavNor Gov. Rodolfo del Rosario, center, poses with Philippine delegation to the BIMP-EAGA Trade and Tourism Investment Conference at the Marco Polo Hotel, Davao City.
by Noel Baguio
Eat Bulaga’s AlDubbreaks new records
ASAP20 thanks and thrills thousands of fans in Laguna
INdulge! A3EDGEDAVAOENTERTAINMENT
THE AlDub phenomenon continues to gain unpar-alleled success as it broke Twitter records once more with the hashtag #ALDU-BEBforLOVE garnering over 25 million tweets as Eat Bulaga celebrated the first National Pabebe Wave Day last September 26. This surpasses a previous re-cord of over 12 million tweets also set by AlDub for the hashtag #ALDUBMostAwaitedDate during Alden Richards and Maine Men-doza a.k.a. Yaya Dub’s first date in the Kalyeserye segment of Eat Bulaga, which is aired internation-ally on GMA Pinoy TV. It was definitely a thrilling weekend for AlDub Nation, as Alden and Maine’s avid followers are called, when the two were permitted by Lola Nidora (Wally Bayola) to have their second date on last Saturday’s episode. Now widely known as the Pam-bansang Bae, Alden was finally welcomed into the de Explorer’s mansion by Lola Nidora, Tidora
(Paolo Ballesteros) and Tinidora (Jose Manalo) where Yaya Dub was eagerly awaiting their third face-to-face encounter. Before going to the mansion, Alden fulfilled one of Lola Ni-dora’s conditions for courting Yaya Dub, which was to sing their theme song “God Gave Me You” live. Viewers were touched as Al-
den, overwhelmed with emotion, began crying during his perfor-mance. He finally met Yaya Dub again with the condition that the pair were not to touch at any time during their date. The promise was accidentally broken as Yaya Dub choked on her food and Al-den had to give her a glass of wa-
THE BIGGEST and bright-est “ASAP20” Kapamilya stars went full-force to Binan, Laguna on Sunday (October 4) to bring ex-citing, quality entertain-ment closer to thousands of Kapamilya fans for their unwavering support through the years. The “ASAP20” biyaheng Bi-nan was welcomed warmly and was met with loud cheers from Kapamilya fans who braved the heat and patiently lined up to get inside the Alonte stadium. As a reward, fans were thrilled to see their favorite Kapamilya stars perform a variety of stun-ning song and dance numbers live on Sunday with the hottest love teams of Daniel Padilla, Kathryn Bernardo, Enrique Gil, and Liza Soberano opening the show with a bang. Stars of top-rating Kapami-lya programs also graced the “ASAP20” stage such as the well-loved cast of “Pangako Sa’Yo” led by Daniel Padilla, Kathryn Ber-nardo, Jodi Sta. Maria, and Ian Veneracion who sent fans shriek-ing in delight. Exclusive backstage meet and greet passes and ABS-CBNTVplus boxes were also given personally by “ASAP20” stars to lucky audi-ence members. Meanwhile, Kapamilya stars
Piolo Pascual, Robi Domingo, and Alex Gonzaga, among oth-ers were spotted gamely tak-ing selfies and approaching the crowd to give them a complete “ASAP20” experience they will remember. “I think it’s about time that we tour ‘ASAP’ nationwide here in
the Philippines. There are a lot of people who want to see us per-form live,” Piolo Pascual said in an interview with “TV Patrol.” Binan city mayor Len Alon-te also thanked and praised “ASAP20” for mounting a very or-ganized and successful event for the people of Binan.
ter. They admitted this to Lola Nidora during the Wednesday episode of the Kalyeserye, which made her furious, taking back her surprise gift of allowing the two to have a movie date. However, Lola Nidora eventually forgave the two for be-ing honest with her. The exciting Saturday episode drew a 45.7% rating among Mega Ma-nila Households (based on overnight data) ac-cording to ratings ser-vice provider Nielsen TV Audience Measurement, higher than either of pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao’s latest
fights. Eat Bulaga also post-ed a 37.2% rating in the Nationwide Urban Television Audience Measurement (NUTAM), marking a significant lead over its ABS-CBN counterpart. Whether on television or in online platforms, the year’s breakthrough love team has certainly enamored viewers from all over the world. And as the Kalyeserye con-tinues to unfold, audi-ences will just have to await and stay tuned to the onscreen love team of Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza.
On top of the beautiful sto-ries shared by new friends in the room, the most memorable one for me was the story of April San Pedro, a Dabawenya crafter and artist who was the guest speaker for that afternoon. I’ve known April for years and have writ-ten about her work countless of times, but I will never tire of hearing how she followed her bliss and those significant “ac-counts” which molded her to the person she is today. Thoughtful giving comes with a conscious effort to learn
more about one person by pay-ing close attention to his/her personality and needs, to share something meaningful through your own precious time and en-ergy. The Blissful Boxes handed out by the four gracious and generous hosts simply sent ev-eryone in a state of excitement, even more so as we opened each box which contained useful products from carefully curated brands that tell great and inspir-ing stories of hard work, dedica-tion, gratitude and purposeful living.
The most significant take away from this year’s Blissmak-erie is the message of persever-ance --- to believe you can make a difference and to find joy, meaning and purpose in your journey and how you can be the best version of yourself (or any of your Pinterest boards). Thank you to Martine, Au-drey, Carmel and Rikka for bringing us all together. It re-ally is heartwarming to be in the company of women who inspire and live their passion.
A4 INdulge!WOMEN
METRO MOM A1
EDGEDAVAO VOL. 8 ISSUE 135 • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 07, 2015
VOL. 8 ISSUE 135 • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 07, 2015 7
Disneyland of organic farmingTEXT and PHOTOS By HENRYLITO D. TACIO
AFTER Bacolod, Davao City hosted the na-tional convention of
the Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines (ATOP) last October 1-3. It was the 16th year of such gathering and the theme was: “Pearl Award: ATOP-DOT Best Tourism Practices of the Philippine Awards.”
In its constitution and by-laws, the objectives of ATOP were enumerated. Its top reason: “Promote tour-ism potentials in our respec-tive locality in collaboration with the private sector; here-by commit ourselves the future tourism sustainable programs in the community.”
Other reasons: “Provide support to all tourism relat-ed activities, produce and disseminate promotional materials to various places abroad, and assure the safe-ty and convenience of our tourist.”
Most importantly, ATOP serves as the linkages not only of the Department of Tourism but also local gov-ernment units and private sectors in their “respective jurisdiction for the good har-mony and in order to attain peaceful, progressive and world class tourist destina-tion.”
Davao City is just one of the six urban areas of Davao region (which is composed of Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte, Davao Oriental, Com-postela Valley and Davao Occidental). The other cities are Panabo, Samal, Tagum, Mati, and Digos.
On the last day of the convention, the participants had the pleasure of select-ing the tourist spots Davao region has to offer. Some of those came to Davao del Sur and among the sites visited was the Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center (MBRLC), a non-government organi-zation located 86 kilometers away from Davao City. It is based in barangay Kinusku-san, about 10 kilometers from the town proper of Bansalan.
“This place is one of Davao del Sur’s top tourist destinations,” says Roy C. Al-imoane, the center’s director. “Every year, about 15,000 people come to the center not only to see it but in some instances undergo training of the courses it offers.”
People from other coun-tries have also come to the place: United States, Great Britain, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Thailand, Indone-sia, Malaysia, South Africa, Nigeria, Australia, Japan, El
Salvador, Pakistan, India and Afghanistan -- just to name a few.
“We have chosen your place as one of the itinerar-ies of the tour since our two main thrusts are agriculture and cultural heritage,” ex-plained Oscar Casaysay, the tourism officer of Davao del Sur.
Geraldine E. Batal agreed. “We want to show-case our sustainable farm-ing practices which the cen-ter has shown through the years,” said the municipal tourism officer.
The MBRLC is known as Davao del Sur’s goat center as it is one of the provincial pioneers in raising goats. Among the breeds of goats it introduced, it found Anglo Nubians as the best breed for the tropical climate of the country.
Because of the various diversified farming systems it has developed through the years, it has also been called the Disneyland of organic farming systems. The center is noted foremost of its up-land farming scheme called Sloping Agricultural Land Technology (SALT). A modi-fication of the system, where goats are introduced, was added later on and is now known as Simple Agro-Live-stock Technology (SALT 2).
Because of the rapid dis-appearance of forests and trees in the country, MBRLC has come up with another system called Sustainable Agroforest Land Technology (SALT 3). Davao, being the fruit basket of the country, is blessed with various fruits; a system was developed for those who grow fruits: Small Agrofruit Livelihood Tech-nology (SALT 4).
Since most people in ru-ral areas don’t have refriger-ator, MBRLC came up with a viable gardening system (in 100 square meters) which can provide vegetables for a family of six throughout the year. Food Always In The Home (FAITH) is its name and the central feature of the garden is the basket and trench composts.
Aside from goats, the cen-ter has also rabbits, sheep, swine, chickens and ducks. Various fruits are scattered all over the 19-hectare farm: durian, mangosteen, rambu-tan, avocado, guyabano, ba-nana and a lot more. There is a nursery where people can buy first-class seedlings.
Its sources of fertilizer include azolla (which are also used a feed for tila-pia), vermicast (manure of
earthworms), and leaves of various nitrogen-fixing trees and shrubs like flemingia, ren-sonii, indigofera, ipil-ipil and kakawate.
For encouraging inter-national utilization of these farming systems, its former director, Harold Ray Watson, received the 1985 Ramon Mag-saysay Award (the Nobel Prize
of Asia) for peace and interna-tional understanding.
During the World Food Day celebration in 1991, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization gave the center a certificate of recognition for its “contribution to mobilize people’s participation in tree planting and sustainable for-est resources management.” It
was signed by its director-gen-eral, Edouard Saouma.
MBRLC also received sev-eral citations and recognition from various organizations and including those from the government (Agriculture, Agrarian Reform, Science and Technology, Environment and Natural Resources and Educa-tion).
Milking goatsHarvesting tilapia
Roy Alimoane, the center’s director, welcoming the ATOP visitors
Food Always In The Home (FAITH) gardening
EDGEDAVAO
BIGGER PICTURE
VOL. 8 ISSUE 135 • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 07, 20158 EDGEDAVAO
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EDITORIALRegaining lost glory
Columnists: MA. TERESA L. UNGSON • EDCER C. ESCUDERO • AURELIO A. PEÑA • ZHAUN ORTEGA • BERNADETTE “ADDIE” B. BORBON • MARY ANN “ADI” C. QUISIDO • LEANDRO B. DAVAL SR., • NIKKI GOTIANSE-TAN • NICASIO ANGELO AGUSTIN • EMILY ZEN CHUA • CARLOS MUNDA Economic Analyst: ENRICO “GICO” G. DAYANGIRANG • JONALLIER M. PEREZ
OLIVIA D. VELASCOGeneral Manager
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THERE was a time when politics was an honored and honorable calling, one that invited the best and the brightest to serve the people to the utmost of their ability -- even if it meant sacri-
ficing much of themselves. There was the occasional misfit and bad egg, to be sure, but many of us can still remember the giants who served with conviction and offered an ideal to which we all could as-pire. The Senate, in particular, was peopled by men and women who were eminently worthy of being called “solons” -- after the ancient Athenian statesman and lawmaker Solon who legislated against the political, economic, and moral decline of the time. Solon was not just a lawmaker but also a poet, setting the bar as to who the people should trust to lay down the basic tenets that would rule how they related with each other.
Over the years, however, we have seen the Senate’s image decline as more and more of its members display attitudes and behaviors that are the direct opposite of what are expected of them. Currently three members are facing plunder charges, two of them in detention and a third out on bail due to his advanced age. Some members have done little, while others have shown an over-enthusiasm for public attention in an obvious attempt to advance their political careers. It
cannot be denied that the Senate is the best stepping stone for the two highest positions in the executive department as shown by the past three elected Presidents, but one yearns for the time now long gone when legislators served simply because it is an honor to do so for the people.
The decline in the upper chamber’s political clout is perhaps the reason it attracts people like Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao. The boxing champion has declared his intention to run for a seat in the Senate, no doubt because he and his people know he is extremely popular with the masses and can easily snag the position. But popu-larity is one thing, ability to perform the task needed quite another. By all accounts Pacquiao has been a great boxer -- but a terrible con-gressman. Last year it was reported that he had reported only four times to the sessions of the House of Representatives sessions, re-portedly because he was busy doing “constituency work.” Everyone knows, of course, that he was a habitual absentee because he was too busy fighting boxing matches.
We can only hope the Senate -- and all other branches of govern-ment, for that matter -- can regain lost glory and again become the home of the greatest of our generation.
line passengers in the event the planes are delayed?
JPriz
Dear JPriz,Indeed, I want to thank the
low-cost air carriers operating here in the Philippines be-cause they allow me to travel all over the country at a cost of a bus ride. But these low-cost air carriers also showed me that travelling is not as glam-orous as I thought it was – es-pecially if you travel in econo-my class. Nevertheless, wheth-er the plane is delayed or not, it is inevitable for passengers to spend at least an hour or two at the airport, but the sto-ry is different if the air carriers cause passengers to wait for more than three hours or the flights are cancelled.
Under the Air Passen-
ger Bill of Rights (DOTC-DTI JOINT ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 01-12 dated December 10, 2012), when planes are delayed for at least 3 hours after the “estimated time of departure,” the airlines must provide refreshments or meals (sufficient snacks, breakfast, lunch, or dinner, as the case may be), free phone calls, text or e-mails, and first aid, if necessary, to the passen-gers.
In case the flight is can-celled due to the carrier and the passenger is already at the airport, the passenger must be given sufficient refreshments, hotel accommodation, trans-portation from the airport to the hotel and free phone calls, text or emails and first aid if necessary. If the passenger decides not to fly, then the pas-senger must be reimbursed the value of the fare, includ-
ing taxes and surcharges. The passenger must likewise have the option to rebook the flight without additional charge to the next flight available or within 30 days.
But if the reason for the cancellation of flight is force majeure, as certified by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, then the pas-senger has the right to be re-
imbursed for the full value of the fare.
The above rights are the minimum entitlement of an airline passenger. The pas-senger may file a complaint before the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) in the event the airline was not able to provide the above entitlements to the passengers. The above rules apply, even if the passengers purchased “piso fares” or “on sale tickets.”
Most passengers while away their waiting time at the airport through mobile inter-net and gadgets. In my case, I take advantage of these hours of waiting time by practicing my new found skill on mind-fulness.
Meditation and mindful-ness are steadily gaining pub-lic recognition as scientific research show that these are the keys to battling stress. We
have the latest craze in adult coloring books and the steadi-ly rising popularity of yoga and meditation. In fact, UK-based Action Against Hunger (ACF) for Start Network, a consor-tium of 24 leading nongovern-ment organizations (NGOs), recently launched a three-year program funded by the Brit-ish government, to conduct a eight-week training program for Philippine aid workers on mindfulness- based stress re-duction (MBSR).
Hitendra Solanki, ACF’s mindfulness and well-being adviser, said that practicing mindfulness results to 70 percent reduction in anxiety, ongoing reduction in anxi-ety three years after taking a mindfulness course, and longer and better quality of sleep. It also reduces negative feelings like anger, tension and depression; increases
disease-fighting antibodies, which suggests improvement in the immune system, and improves medical conditions such as psoriasis, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. (Philippine Daily Inquirer, Oc-tober 4, 2015 edition article entitled “For stress-free life, live in the moment” by Jocelyn R. Uy)
On our next stay at the airport waiting lounge, as we are inevitably cut-off from our life’s “busy-ness” and daily dis-tractions, let us make the most of our time by trying mindful-ness for a change.
-000-The opinion rendered by
the author does not constitute a lawyer-client relationship. Please send your comments and questions to [email protected] or like her facebook page at www.face-book.com/zensibilities.
THINK ON THESE!IN 1993, American author and relationship counselor John Gray wrote the book
Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus. The book sold more than 50 million copies and spent 121 weeks on the bestseller list.
In the movie, The Martian, currently shown in the the-aters, there is only one Martian and his name is Mark Wat-ney, the protagonist in Andy Weir’s 2011 novel of the same name. Ridley Scott directed this film which topbilled the award-winning Matt Damon.
The film also featured Jes-sica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Jeff Daniels, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, Sean Bean, Sebastian Stan, Aksel Hennie, and Chiwe-tel Ejiofor.
The story goes this way: A group of astronauts was sent to Mars on a mission but a fierce windstorm made the plan to go wrong. Watney was left behind in the planet and was presumed to be dead. But for-tunately, he was alive and had to survive on his own. Shades of Tom Hanks in Castaway; but instead of being stranded in an island, it’s in another planet.
One movie critic wrote: “From the creative back and forth of Hampton Fancher and David Peoples on Blade Run-
ner, through the genius of Cal-lie Khouri’s Thelma and Louise screenplay, to this terrifically crowd-pleasing adaptation of Andy Weir’s book by The Cab-in in the Woods creator Drew Goddard, Scott’s greatest debt has always been to his writers. The director may have earned a justified reputation as a ‘world-building visionary’ but his audiences always demand a good story and that’s exactly what they’ve got here.”
Another film critic wrote: “The Martian delivers on both intergalactic spectacle and feet-in-the-soil character dra-ma. Like Duncan Jones’s Moon, much of the film’s running time finds its leading man ba-sically talking to himself, with video diaries and delayed dig-ital communications providing a handy dramatic framework for his quip-filled soliloquies.”
There are several good moments in the film. But one of the most interesting parts was planting potatoes fertil-ized with human manure (if you know what I mean). After all, he was “the best botanist on the planet.” Watch how he was able to produce water in the waterless planet.
Yes, there were other ac-tors in the movie but I think Damon’s co-star is actually
science.In an article, journalist
Lee Hutchinson reported: “Author Andy Weir famously put in months of painstaking research on potential ways Watney could survive on Mars, working out detailed math and procedures on how and what to do. Damon was quick to assure us that Weir’s efforts didn’t go to waste and that the science remains the star in the movie as well.”
Damon told Hutchinson: “When we made the movie, we had to go through step by step,” he said. “He (Watney) is very logical and practical and me-thodical in how he goes about surviving. He says, essentially, ‘I need air, water, and food, and what do I need to do to ensure I have those things?’ And then kind of lets the science bring you there.”
So far, here are some com-ments on what the critics said about the movie:
“What’s so fascinating about the film is that it truly turns on the solving of prob-lems, and its chief solver, stuck on Mars, manages to be so fun-ny, interesting and infallibly likable that you’re invested in his predicament at every mo-ment.” -- Joe Morgenstern in Wall Street Journal
“The supporting cast is an embarrassment of riches for Scott, and Chastain is particu-larly strong as the concerned commander of the mission. Yet this is most definitely Damon’s movie and a throwback to the unabashed idealism of Holly-wood past.” -- Brian Truitt in USA Today
“The director and screen-writer downplay the conven-tional melodrama inherent in the situation in favor of em-phasizing how practical prob-lems should be addressed with rational responses rather than hysteria, knee-jerk patriotism or selfish expedience.” -- Todd McCarthy in The Hollywood Reporter
“Mr. Damon’s Everyman quality (he’s our Jimmy Stew-art) helps scale the story down, but what makes this epic per-sonal is Mr. Scott’s filmmak-
ing, in which every soaring aerial shot of the red planet is answered by the intimate landscape of a face.” -- Manohla Dargis in The New York Times
“Yes, The Martian does look like it was shot on Mars, even though the film’s tone is suspiciously light and cheerful for Scott, who tends to thrive on a chillier, more dour habi-tat.” -- Rene Rodriguez in Mi-ami Herald
“Scott’s sci-fi adventure is the kind of film you leave the theater itching to tell your friends to see. Like Apollo 13 and Gravity, it turns science and problem solving into an edge-of-your-seat experience.” -- Chris Nashawaty in Enter-tainment Weekly
“The Martian is a film that respects the geekiest among us, and that pays off all around.” -- Kenneth Turan in Los Angeles Times
“An enthralling and rigor-ously realistic outer-space sur-vival story.” -- Peter Debruge in Variety
“This suspenseful survival tale, smartass to its core, slaps a smile on your face that you’ll wear all the way home.” -- Pe-ter Travers in Rolling Stone
“It’s one of the most com-forting science fiction films in years.” -- Michael Phillips in
Chicago Tribune“The Martian is a straight-
forward and thrilling sur-vival-and-rescue adventure, without the metaphysical and emotional trappings of, say, In-terstellar. It’s pure fun.” --- Lou Lumenick in New York Post
“The Martian really, truly works — not as art, neces-sarily, but as the sort of epic, intelligent entertainment the mainstream film industry has supposedly forgotten how to craft. All that, and the movie’s a valentine to creative collab-oration as well as an example of it. It’s enough to make you almost grateful.” -- Ty Burr in Boston Globe
“The Martian is nearly all things to all audiences: a tick-ing-clock drama, an intimate character study, a sci-fi com-edy, a rollicking space adven-ture. It’s almost impossible to dislike, which is perhaps its only flaw. When a huge film reveals its eager-to-please intentions from the get-go, the stakes evaporate awfully quick.” -- Barry Hertz in The Globe and Mail
“Damon is terrific. The movie lives and breathes on his performance, and he comes through in every scene.” -- Richard Roeper in Chicago Sun-Times
Emily Zen Chua
ZENSIBILITIES
VOL. 8 ISSUE 135 • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 07, 201510 EDGEDAVAO
ABDUCTORS... FROM 1 P232M... FROM 2 Tyron... FROM 3
2 cop... FROM 2
Mindanao... FROM 3New life... FROM 14
Showdown... FROM 6
Inflation... FROM 6
NEWS
Police Regional Office (PRO) 11 deputy director for admin-istration Chief Superintendent Federico L. Dulay Jr. presented the cartographic sketch of one of the suspects in the kidnap-ping incident.
Dulay said the suspect was identified by a foreign couple (names did not reveal for security purposes) when he barged in to their yacht at around 11:40 p.m. of Septem-ber 21.
The suspect, according
to the witnesses, has a height 5’2” to 5’3”feet, medium built body and his age is around 25 to 30 years old.
Dulay said only one sus-pect was identified because he is the only one who tried to abduct the couple.
The Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom) of the Armed Forces of the Phil-ippines (AFP) reporter that the group was on board two motorized banca forcibly took the victims inside the resort.
EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF ESTATE WITH DEED OF
ABSOLUTE SALE / TRANSFER OF RIGHTS
Notice are hereby given that the estate of the late ABDUL UY SR. and ALICIA B. UY has been the subject of an EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF ESTATE WITH DEED OF ABSOLUTE SALE / TRANSFER OF RIGHTS executed among their heirs per Doc. No.301; Page No.61; Book No. 108; Series of 2015, of the NOTARY PUBLIC FATIMA IRENE T. ADIN10/07.14.21
NOTICE OF LOSSNotice is hereby given by LOYOLA PLANS
CONSOLIDATED INC. That CERTIFICATE OF FULL PAYMENT No.(s) MRO21020962 under LOYOLA PLAN Contract No.(s) 10162944 issued to MA. ILOWA KRISTINE B. DARANTINAO was lost. Any transaction entered into shall be null and void.10/7/14/21
spector Hamlet Lerios said an informant close to the sus-pects told them that Gadiane once told them that he would kill all members of the intel-ligence branch of Toril Police Station.
He said Gadiane was fac-ing several charges before the Toril Police Station for theft.
Lerios said police are still looking into all possible an-gles of the case, including the
involvement of Vertudazo in the apprehension of Michael Chua, a well known drug pusher in the city.
Lerios said Vertudazo had acted as a poseur buyer in the buy-bust operation in which Chua was arrested.
He said Vertudazo’s death may lead to the dis-missal of the drug case against Chua. ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR. AND FUNNY PEARL A. GAJUNERA
ed.Melgar said the project
will focus on capacity-building of health service providers, formulization of supporting policies and advocacies, and mobilization of communities.
“The project aims to im-prove the availability of and access to basic Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) services fir underserved wom-en and young people in the ARMM,” Morgan added.
Department of Health (DOH)-ARMM chief admin-istrative officer Tato Usman said it is not just the number of health centers and hospi-tals that is scarce in ARMM but also the number of health service providers.
“The ratio of reproduc-tive health units (RHUs) per municipality in ARMM is not 1:1. Women have to travel far just to access birthing services and prenatal checkups,” Us-man said.
He said only 25 percent of the women population in ARMM have also availed
themselves of health services because of their fear of pay-ing a high amount, while only a few are members of Phil-Health.
For his part, Oxfam coun-try director Justin Morgan said with the support and cooperation of the regional government and other stake-holders, “we will make SRH happen in the ARMM.”
“Between the Reproduc-tive Health Law and ARMM’s Reproductive Health Care Act, we have enough policies to implement SRH services and program that, if implemented successfully, will improve the lives and health of 1.44 million people from the target areas, and assure their children’s fu-ture,” Morgan added.
The project aims to reach 150,00 women and adoles-cents in covered areas in ARMM as well as capabili-ty building of 290 frontline health service providers like midwives, barangay health workers from both the public and private sectors. CRC
Uy will be in tandem with incumbent Vice-Governor Manuel ‘Way Kurat’ Zamora who also took his oath to LP on Saturday.
1st District Rep. Maricar Zamora also graced the gath-ering and will continue to run as the district’s representative in 2016.
LP’s line-up for provincial board members in district 1 includes Joseph Jauod, Renato Basanes, Joanna Gentugaya, Marie Jude Lopoz and Nena Calim.
For the province’s district two are Macario Humol, Mycel Sebumpan, Vivencia Secuya, Randy Opisan and Governor Arturo Uy.
In his message during the proclamation, Governor Artu-ro Uy said the choice for the province’s standard bearers for LP was finalized in consul-tation with the key leaders of
Compostela Valley, from the provincial, municipal and ba-rangay levels.
He also urged the up-coming leaders of the prov-ince to continue the pro-grams and proj-ects aimed to bring in devel-opments in the area especial-ly in the far-flung villages.
Last Saturdays’ proclama-tion was also in time with the inauguration and opening of the biggest gymnasium in the province that was constructed here.
With a cost of P62 mil-lion, the gymnasium will be-come the venue of upcoming sports events in the province.
It can accommodate around 3,000 individuals, said Governor Uy, who led the in-auguration ceremony that was witnessed by other provincial and town officials in the area. Alex D. Lopez
ensure its eventual passage.“We call on them to con-
sider the common good and not for self-interests,” said Atty. Romeo Cabarde, chair of Ateneo de Davao University’s Community Engagement and Advocacy at a media forum conducted concurrently with the launching of the Peace Photo Exhibit entitled “Peace Now! Mindanao” at SM City Davao on September 28.
He said “they must consid-er that the Bangsamoro Basic Law is no ordinary legislation as this is a result of 17 years of negotiation and is repre-sentative of the Bangsamoro people’s struggle for self-de-termination.”
Cabarde said they con-sider a BBL to be meaningful and acceptable for all if “it … recognize(s) the right of the Bangsamoro people’s right to self-determination and must be consistent with what has been agreed upon in the Com-prehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro.”
He also said CSOs believe the BBL should reflect vested powers and benefits not less than what the existing laws al-ready gave to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
“They (should) be given genuine political autonomy and (should) not to be treated as an ordinary local govern-ment unit, which is consistent with the Constitution.” Cabarte said.
Lyndee Prieto, represen-
tative of the Initiatives for In-ternational Dialogue National Secretariat for International Dialogue, said CSOs would continue lobbying with leg-islators to religiously attend deliberations on the BBL and ensure quorum.
Prieto said despite the apparent “deliberate delays caused by successive lacks of quorum during sessions due to absences from the other legislators, our battle cry re-mains: Never say never to hopelessness and un-peace.”
Meanwhile, a peace photo exhibit entitled called “Peace Now! Mindanao” was put up at the SM City Davao last Sep-tember 28 to mark the cele-bration of the National Peace Consciousness Month. The ex-hibit ran up to October 2 and was organized by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Mindan-ao Media Bureau (MMB) in partnership with with PIA 11, Mindanews and the SM City Davao.
The photo exhibit aimed to provide a venue for the dif-ferent stakeholders in Mind-anao, including the grassroots to project their efforts and significant contributions in attaining genuine and lasting peace in Mindanao. “It pro-vided a clear perspective of how the people in the grounds strive to work for peace in their respective localities,” said MMB Director Marlon Peter F. Dedumo. (PNA)
really wanted to a sustainable economic growth and devel-opment.
Among its initiative to po-sition the city as the “manu-facturing belt in Mindanao” is its promotion activities slated two weeks from now in Metro Manila.
“We will be assisting the promotion of the Ciudades, a property project of the Loren-zo Group, to owners and chief executive officers of different manufacturing companies in Metro Manila two weeks from now,” Cortez said.
Ciudades is the only real estate project in Davao City that has an accreditation from
the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA). Locators in PEZA zone can avail incentives.
“Ciudades is the only PEZA area in the city which can host manufacturing companies,” he said. However, it is only limited to light to medium manufac-turing activities because it also host three residential projects.
The northern part of the Davao City, specifically to areas going to Bunawan, can host companies engaged in heavy manufacturing.
Positioning Davao City as the center for manufacturing industry in Mindanao will al-low products passing trhough here to be value-added. CRC
subsidy in the total amount of P316,000.
Among the areas of coop-eration, the barangay is set to partner with the Technical As-sistance Movement for People and Environment Inc. (TAM-PEI), a non-government or-ganization which has pool of technical staff, architects and apprentice who shall render and extend technical support in behalf of the barangay to hasten the project implemen-tation.
It will provide P250,000 for the construction mobiliza-tion, supervision and manage-ment expense to be incurred by the partner NGO which will supervise the construction of shelter units using the agreed structural model.
Upon complete impleen-tation of the project, the ba-rangay is tasked to facilitate, process and assist in individ-ualization and transfer of the title in coordination with PIL-HOAI into the name of individ-ual member-beneficiaries.
The barangay will also source out the necessary counterpart funding support for the implementation of the community development plan which includes the provision of community organizing/social preparation, Day Care Center, Health Station and livelihood training of the ben-eficiaries.
For the part of the city government, the CSSDO is tasked to provide food assis-tance for the beneficiaries and volunteers during the im-plementation of the construc-tion of houses in the project site.
It will facilitate the for-mulation of the community development plan for the relocation project and lead the implementation of com-munity organizing and social preparation activities.
The CSSDO will also en-
sure the implementation and installation of commu-nity sustainable mechanisms which shall include but not limited to community and in-dividual livelihood activities, community conflict resolu-tion mechanisms and family development programs.
PILHOAI, meanwhile, is tasked to ensure that no member of the association is a recipient of any government housing program, owns or co-own a real property and is a professional squatter or is a recipient of any other housing assistance to families from any other individual groups or agency of government or non-government organiza-tion for a disaster victim.
It shall also ensure compliance by all the mem-ber-beneficiaries with the agreement and understand-ing that upon turn-over of their new dwelling units, they shall dismantle their house and other structure and completely remove all their materials from their old site and transport them to their respective areas at the reset-tlement area.
The association also ex-pressed its agreement that the individual titles to be re-leased to all the member-ben-eficiaries shall contain an an-notation of a deed of a restric-tion that the property granted them shall not be conveyed, transferred, encumbered and disposed of unless by heredi-tary succession within a peri-od of 20 years from the issu-ance of the title.
“This is a meaningful day for all of us, for our children and our grand children. This day marks a new chapter of our lives. We are very grate-ful to all of you,” said PILHOAI president Vircelina Suarez as she addressed the audi-ence after MoA signing and groundbreaking ceremony.
ensure timely policy actions, including importation of rice and other basic commodities to augment domestic supply,” Balisacan said.
The NEDA Director-Gen-eral added that expanding agriculture support struc-tures from production areas to the demand centers will also further bring down the cost of transporting goods and services.
As the El Nino intensifies, Balisacan said that the gov-ernment may consider in-creasing the number of agri-cultural workers as potential beneficiaries in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program to offset farm output losses. He said government must also ensure that access to fi-nance in the agriculture and fisheries sectors remains un-hampered.
VOL. 8 ISSUE 135 • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 07, 2015 11EDGEDAVAO
COMPETITIVE EDGE
Phl developers push for global digital inclusion
UNITY. ARENA XI President and DPWH 11 Regional Director Mariano R. Alquiza delivers a speech before employees from various National Govern-ment Agencies during the ARENA XI (Association of Regional Executives of
National Agencies in Region XI) Quarterly Flag Raising ceremony held at the People’s Park last October 5, 2015. In his message, Alquiza stressed the im-portance of unity among his fellow civil servants.
PHILIPPINE startups and developers were recently called to push
for global digital inclusion by providing free access to basic internet services to millions of people worldwide through Facebook’s Free Basics pow-ered by Globe.
Globe, through its ven-ture capital subsidiary Kick-start Ventures, Inc., recently brought Facebook’s Free Ba-sics closer to Philippine devel-oper and startup communities to rally them to develop locally relevant and useful services for Filipinos through the Free Basics platform.
Jackie Chang, Product Partnerships Manager, Face-book, spoke to over 150 mem-bers of the Philippine startup community at the Raid The Fridge event hosted by Kick-start.
“We’re here to support local developers create locally relevant services and content that will make a real impact in people’s lives. This is an opportunity for the developer community in the Philippines to scale their products and bring the benefits of the in-ternet to more Filipinos,” said Chang.
One of Kickstart’s portfo-lio companies, Kalibrr, which provides online job training and assessment tools to job applicants, is already one of the pioneer Philippine digi-tal startups to be part of the Free Basics platform. To date,
Kalibrr has 40,000 monthly active users on its blog advice content.
Globe Senior Advisor for Consumer Business Group Daniel Horan is equally excited with the partnership between Globe and Facebook to con-nect more people around the world through free internet services.
“Globe continues to share with Facebook the common goal of expanding the digital lifestyle and make it more in-clusive. By opening Free Ba-sics to developers and entre-preneurs, we see more oppor-tunities to bring more Filipi-nos online and to benefit from the free basic services offered. With this collaboration, Globe and Kickstart aims to bring more developers and services to the platform,” Horan said.
He said the Globe-Free Ba-sics partnership would serve as the company’s impetus to drive existing business mod-els, launch new and exciting offers and make mobile inter-net more accessible within a safe browsing environment for Globe customers, without having to worry about unex-pected data charges.
With the refurbished plat-form, more than 60 new ser-vices are available across the 19 countries where free basic services are available. People using the app or mobile web version can navigate to a menu where they can select which services to add to the list.
DavOr gets P 8.5M water system projectsA TOTAL of P8.5 million
in water system proj-ects to be implement-
ed in five far-flung barangays was approved by the Provin-cial Peace and Order Council during its meeting last Sep-tember 30, 2015.
Funded by Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process (OPAPP) through the Payapa at Masa-
ganang Pamayanan (Pama-na) and the Department of Interior and Local Govern-ment (DILG), the project aims to provide ample sup-ply of potable water to the residents in these remote villages.
Recipient barangays in-clude Binondo in Baganga town, Sitio La Fortuna, Mali-bago in Cateel town, Magan-
da and Tubaon in Tarragona town, and Sitio Camanuyan, Maragatas in Lupon town.
These water system projects are part of the ap-proved Pamana-DILG Fund Projects for 2015 based on the proposal submitted by the Provincial Government through the DILG.
In addition to these new-ly approved projects, the
OPAPP through the Pamana Program pledged a total of P1.5 million intended for livelihood projects in con-flict-affected areas.
Governor Corazon N. Malanyaon thanked the OPAPP and the DILG for their constant support that has been helping improve the lives of residents in far-flung communities. PIO
PEZA zone to rise in Panabo CityThe entrance to the 53-hectare Anflo Industrial Estate, situated in Barangay San Vicente in Panabo City, Davao del Norte
AS 2015 comes to a close, the Anflo Group of Companies, through its
subsidiary company, the Anflo Industrial Estate Corporation (AIEC), races to the forefront of Mindanao’s booming economy with its latest project, the Anflo Industrial Estate (AIE).
The estate has recently been proclaimed a Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Special Economic Zone by the Office of the President. With this authorization, future investors can put their confi-dence and trust in this proj-ect, which will be developed into an area suitable for man-
ufacturing and warehousing agro-industrial components.
Situated in Barangay San Vicente in Panabo City, Davao del Norte, a mere 25 kilometers from Davao City, this 53-hectare property is designed to be a world-class and self-sustaining ecozone to accommodate agro-industrial and light manufacturing com-panies. Best of all, it is located near the leading and most modern container terminal in Mindanao, the Davao Interna-tional Container Terminal, Inc. (DICT).
“This is one of the many initiatives that the Anflocor
Group is undertaking in Pana-bo City which we believe will help develop the city further and create an alternative yet complementary investment destination in the region,” said Ricardo “Cary” Floirendo Lagdameo, Vice President for Damosa Land, Inc. (DLI) who is also heading its affiliate com-pany, AIEC.
With the integration of production areas into econom-ic zones in the Regional Devel-opment Council’s Long Term Plan (2003-2030), the estate will provide a conducive envi-ronment for locators, enabling them to compete in the export
market. This will ultimately help in expediting the econom-ic growth not just of Panabo City, but also of the entire Min-danao region.
“The project can poten-tially create thousands of jobs, increase trade in the city, and thus boost the local econo-my. With the establishment of DICT [in 2013], there is truly a strong case for locating man-ufacturing operations in our industrial park, which is only 300 meters away from DICT. You won’t find that in many other places,” Lagdameo elab-orated.
Adding to the character-
istics that make AIE a world-class facility are the safety measures that will be installed, such as a suitable perimeter fence, CCTV, and 24/7 securi-ty. The estate will be equipped with basic structures and facil-ities, including power, water, communications facilities, and sewage or drainage systems. Aside from these, meeting rooms, PEZA facilities, and a central administration build-ing will be constructed within the area to house its service team.
Apart from this, the com-pany is also launching new projects in Panabo City that
will highly complement the op-erations of AIEC. This includes the joint undertaking of the Anflocor Group and the Uni-versity of the Philippines for the establishment of the Uni-versity of the Philippines (UP) Los Baños extension campus, which will offer courses spe-cializing in the study of agricul-ture. In addition, a proposed mixed-use development with residential, tourism and com-mercial components will be launched by Damosa Land Inc (another subsidiary of Anflo-cor) in early 2016. The future UPLB Panabo campus will be located in this development.
VOL. 8 ISSUE 135 • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 07, 201512
GENERAL SANTOS CITY MARKETING OFFICEEDMUND D. RENDONMarketing Specialist
Mobile: (Smart) 0909-424-7990
DAVAO CITY MAIN OFFICEJOCELYN S. PANES
Director of SalesDoor 14 ALCREJ Bldg.,
Quirino Ave., Davao CityTel: (082) 224-1413
Telefax: (082) 221-3601
MANILA MARKETING OFFICEANGELICA R. GARCIA
Marketing Manager97-1 Bayanbayanan Ave.,
Marikina Heights, Marikina City Tel: (02) 654-3509
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ZION ACCUPRINT PUBLISHING, INC.
MACHINE OPERATOR (Printing Press)
HR SupervisorZION Accuprint Publishing, Inc.
Door 14 Alcrej Building, Quirino Ave., 8000 Davao City, Philippines
- At least high school graduate, not more than 30 years old
- Physically and mentally fit- Can handle minor repairs of the machine
- Has the ability to be cool under pressure of deadlines and complex projects
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Strategies... FROM 4jective of fostering all-inclusive growth.”
He added: “Their influ-ence and contribution to the outcomes of these policy di-alogues is marked and I am proud of their substantive con-tributions.”
The Department of Ag-riculture (DA) co-hosted the dialogue with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), with Alcala and DENR Secretary Ramon Paje Jr. sharing chairmanship duties in the sessions.
This year’s meetings in-cluded for the first time a ses-sion on blue economy, which refers to a development ap-proach anchored on sustain-
able development and utiliza-tion of marine resources and ecosystems in APEC region.
The Iloilo Plan of Action on Food Security and the Blue Economy consists of three very specific implementable pillars: blue economy towards sustainable food supply chains for food security; fish loss reduction for increased fish production; and, agribusiness development for food security and inclusive growth.
Alcala said the plan of ac-tion will operationalize and help realize the intent and goals of all of numerous APEC declarations on food security and the blue economy, includ-ing the Xiamen Declaration
(2014) and Bali Declaration (2013).
“It is now the time to take the necessary actions of mutu-al interest and benefit to APEC Member-Economies,” Alcala said.
In the same statement, the DA chief thanked and congrat-ulated all other government agencies, local governments that helped ensure the success of the meetings, including the host city and province of Iloilo, and the officials of Miag-ao and the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center in Tig-bauan, Iloilo which the dele-gates visited earlier this week as part of the technical tours. (PNA)
VOL. 8 ISSUE 135 • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 07, 201514
New life, new hope for a new settlement
By GREG G. DELIGERO
TOUTED as a pioneering initiative in Davao City, if not in the entire coun-
try, a new community will soon rise in barangay Ilang showcasing the convergence of resources in making avail-able decent housing and basic services through public-pri-vate partnership with direct and active participation of the community members them-selves.
With a theme “New Life, New Hope,” members of the Pag-Asa Ilang Homeowners Association, Inc. (PILHOAI) were in a celebratory mood last September 9 as they wit-nessed the signing of Memo-randum of Agreement (MoA) and groundbreaking ceremo-ny held in a three-hectare lot located in the upper portion of barangay Ilang where their homes will be built.
PILHOAI is community association of clusters of in-formal settlers occupying the riverbank and river delta of Ilang River who were affected by flooding incidents some-times in 2011, 2012 and 2014.
At the behest of barangay officials chaired by former
city councilor Arnolfo Ricar-do B. Cabling, the disaster-af-fected settlers “subsequently organized for the purpose of pursuing voluntary and in-ba-rangay relocation.”
“We initially met re-sistance from the settlers because of their fear and intrigue that they will be dis-placed without an assurance of affordable and accessible relocation site. Even as they have experienced flooding for a couple of times, they still opted to remain in their di-saster-prone homes. We did a lot of convincing for them to agree for relocation,” Cabling said.
Key stakeholders in the collective drive to provide safe and comfortable to the settlers are Holcim Philip-pines, Inc., Department of So-cial Work and Development (DSWD), the city government through the City Social Ser-vices and Development Office (CSSDO) and the local govern-ment of barangay Ilang.
For Cabling, the conver-gence of resources from both the public and private stake-holders would best serve as
a “model initiative” worthy to be replicated in other parts of the city and elsewhere in the entire country.
“We have demonstrated how close collaboration of ef-forts and resources work,” he said.
Under the “collaborative resettlement project,” Holcim executed a deed of donation in favor of the Barangay Ilang for the resettlement site contain-ing an area of 30,000 square meters square meters valued at P54 million.
In addition, the company provided skills development and training for the beneficia-ries of the project “to capac-itate them to take active part in the construction of their respective houses.”
Holcim also pursued the land preparation of the proj-ect site including road net-works, grading, dozing, site survey, road rolling, monu-ment installation, topographic activity, drainage system con-struction and water drilling in the total amount of P8.64 million.
As spelled out in the signed MoA, the company
which is operating mainly in Barangay Ilang, declared its commitment in “pursuing cor-porate social responsibility, managing resources responsi-bly and working with commu-nities to develop sustainable options for their future.”
For its part, DSWD is set to release P9.03 million to the 129 beneficiaries for the construction of the houses. It will also provide cash as-sistance amounting to P2.91 million to support the needs
of the beneficiaries and their families through cash-for-work scheme at the rate of 75 percent of the daily regional wage, worth of cash for a max-imum period of ten days with 25 percent as beneficiary eq-uity.
However, according to the agreement, the rate per day shall only be given to families who work for at least eight hours per day.
“In an effort to help fami-ly-victims of various disasters
to start their lives anew, the government has implement-ed various shelter programs,” said the document, adding that DSWD has ensured that the areas where the resettle-ment or houses will be built are not prone to hazards.
Barangay Ilang, on the other hand, has contributed to the social preparation and the skills development and training of the beneficiaries in form of allowance and rice
EDGEDAVAO
COMMUNITY SENSE
GROUNDBREAKING. Officials from Holcim Philippines, Inc., DSWD, local governments of Davao City and Barangay Ilang and the recipient community association participated in the groundbreaking ceremony for the three-hectare relocation site.
SHELTER ASSISTANCE. DSWD assistant regional director Rebecca A. Sta. Maria (seated, leftmost) lead the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) for the shelter assistance to the disaster-affected beneficiaries together with Ilang Barangay Captain Arnolfo Ricardo B. Cabling, Holcim Davao Plant Manager Zita D. Balogo and PILHOAI president Vircelina Suarez. Witnessing the signing are (from left) Barangay Ilang councilor Amado T. Babao, CSSDO department head Ma. Luisa T. Bermudo and representatives of settlers’ association.
GREETINGS. Ilang Barangay Captain Arnolfo Ricardo B. Cabling greets Holcim Philippines Chief Executive Officer Edu-ardo A. Sahagun when they meet for the MoA signing and groundbreaking ceremony at the relocation site.
FNEW LIFE, 10
DONATION. Holcim Philippines Inc. has executed a deed of donation in favor of the Barangay Ilang for the resettle-ment site containing an area of 30,000 square meters square meters valued at P54 million. Signing the document are (from left) Ilang Barangay Captain Arnolfo Ricardo B. Cabling, Holcim Davao Plant Manager Zita D. Balogo and Holcim Philippines Chief Executive Officer Eduardo A. Sahagun. Witnesses at the back are (from left) Barangay Ilang councilor Margo Babao, PILHOAI president Vircelina Suarez, DSWD assistant regional director Rebecca A. Sta. Maria and CSSDO department head Ma. Luisa T. Bermudo.
VOL. 8 ISSUE 135 • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 07, 2015 SPORTS15EDGEDAVAO
COACH Roger Go-rayeb has his sights on the
UAAP title, saying it is his purpose to bring the National Universi-ty Lady Bulldogs to the top of the collegiate league.
“I want NU to make it to the champion-ship in the UAAP this season. That’s really my dream. That’s my purpose for NU,” said Gorayeb after steer-ing NU to the Shakey’s V-League Collegiate Conference crown.
NU bagged its sec-
ond V-League colle-giate crown on Sun-day, downing Ateneo, 25-21, 26-24, 25-19, at the Arena in San Juan City last Sunday.
Gorayeb said the stint helped his team a lot in terms of experi-ence, preparations and poise although they will be without Dindin Santiago-Manabat and Rubie de Leon in the UAAP starting in Feb-ruary next year.
But Gorayeb be-lieves the two guest players have done their jobs for NU in the
V-League, boosting the team to the title as well as share their knowl-edge with the rest of the Lady Bulldogs.
“That’s why I only took in Rubie late in our V-League cam-paign so that my oth-er players, including my setter can learn,” said Gorayeb, refer-ring to young Rica Dio-lan, who takes over as starting setter.
“Rubie took her un-der her wing in a few weeks she was with us and I hope she has learned from her, espe-
cially in decision-mak-ing,” he said.
De Leon dished out solid performances in the finals, especially in the last two match-es where she exploited the team’s advantage in depth and talent.
Myla Pablo, who was named Finals MVP trophy, is also expect-ed to be assigned skip-per.
“I’m choosing be-tween Myla and Jorelle (Singh) to be my team captain but it’s prob-ably her (Pablo),” said Gorayeb.
After beating Ateneo, NU ready for UAAP warsBATTLE ROYALE
ALL is set for caliber volleyball action in the 2015 Philippine
Superliga (PSL) Grand Prix featuring arguably the strongest batch of reinforce-ments in the league to date.
Set to see action are Lyn-da Morales of RC Cola-Air Force, Bojana Todorovic of Philips Gold and Christi-na Alessi of Meralco in the Grand Prix opening on Sat-urday at Alonte Sports Are-na in Binan, Laguna.
A 6-foot-1 middle block-er, the 27-year old Morales is touted as a gem of an im-port as she remains an ac-tive member of the Puerto Rican women’s national vol-leyball team. In fact, she will not arrive until Friday as she is still competing in the World Grand Prix in Turkey.
She will team up with Sarah McClinton, who emerged as one of the best volleyball players out of Kansas University.
“We haven’t personally seen Lynda, but I think she
is the player we badly need,” said RC Cola-Air Force coach Rhovyl Verayo.
“She is a middle blocker and an experienced inter-national campaigner. She will be the anchor of our de-fense and will play an active role in our offensive attack. I think we found a gem in her.”
Todorovic is a 5-foot-11 outside hitter who led National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Uni-versity of California-Los An-geles to the national title in 2011. She will partner with 6-foot-5 Alexis Olgard.
Alessi competed for Palm Beach Atlantic Univer-sity in the NCAA Division II and gained significant international experience after playing as import in a commercial league in Swe-den. She will team up with Liis Kullerkann, who played for Ohio University before suiting up for the Estonian national team in the 2014 FIVB World Championships.
Puerto Rico star to play as PSL import
MEMBERS of the Philippine national men’s football team
landed in North Korea on Monday after a long ardu-ous journey to the reclusive state.
The Azkals arrived three days before their tiff in the FIFA World Cup qualifi-ers against North Korea on Thursday.
With no direct flights available and only China serving as the entry point to North Korea, members of the Azkals based in Manila had to first board a flight to
Bangkok, Thailand on Sun-day evening.
From there, they had to ride another plane, this time going to Beijing, China where they linked up with the foreign-based players who came from the United States, Germany, England, among others.
In Beijing, they waited for another six hours before finally leaving for North Ko-rea on Monday noon.
The 31-member Philip-pine delegation arrived here at around 3 p.m. and headed straight to Koryo Hotel, one
of the luxurious hotels in this North Korean capital.
They also made a quick trip to the Kim Il-Sung Sta-dium in the afternoon to get a feel of the 55,000-capaci-ty venue where they’ll train and play.
North Korea is still un-beaten after three matches in its FIFA World Cup Qualifi-ers campaign as it currently sits atop of Group H.
The Azkals, meanwhile, are at third with a 2-1 slate as they lost their last outing against Uzbekistan, 5-1, last September.
Azkals battle N. Koreans tomorrow
The Azkals arrived three days before their tiff in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers against North Korea on Thursday.
VOLLEY BEAUTIES. (Left-right) Alyssa Valdez of Ateneo, Myla Pablo of NU and Lynda Morales of Puerto Rico and RC Cola (PSL).
VOL. 8 ISSUE 135 • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 07, 2015
Rancho Palos Verdes Lady Swingers for PAL Ladies Interclub bared
16 EDGEDAVAOSports
By NEILWIN JOSEPH BRAVO
READY TO FLYDAVAO City’s Rancho
Palos Verdes Golf and Country Club will be
sending a solid squad capable of springing some surprises in the Philippine Airlines Ladies Interclub golf team tourna-ment set to tee off October 7-9 in Bacolod City.
The Cabantian-based RPV Lady Swingers will be skip-pered by Jean Gotianse and will see action in the Sportswriters division.
Backstopping Gotianse are Korean expats Kim Young Ram, Jo Mi Sun, Chon Young Run, Park Ok Hee and Kim Sun Ae. Also with the squad are Gem-ma Bokawachi and Cristine Powell.
Also seeing action for Davao is the Apo Golf and Country Club squad headed by jungolf phenom Alessandra Christine “Ella” Nagayo with Mimi Siason who will act as team captain, veteran Imee Garcia, Lilibeth Crisologo, Mafy Singson, Danica Nagayo, Rose Sara, and Tsouky Montillo.
APO BET. Jungol sensation Ella Nagayo will be suiting up for Apo Golf.
RPV SWINGERS. The Rancho Palos Verdes squad in a
team photo.
Manila Southwoods-Mas-ters is odds-on favorite to ex-tend its reign to five years due to its intact line-up.
“We are definitely going for our fifth crown,” said Masters playing team captain Claire Ong in a statement.
Ong said the same players that won them their fourth title last year in Cebu City will be back to rekindle their rivalry
with Cebu Country Club.Aside from Ong, the other
members of the squad are Lora Roberto, Sofia Chabon, Abby Arevalo, Missy Legaspi, Annika Guangko, Claudine Garcia and Serafina Kim.
The event, now on its 10th year, will be held Thursday, Oct. 8 and will run for three days.
Each of the 19 teams en-tered will play two rounds un-
der the Molave scoring system at the Negros Occidental Golf and Country Club, popularly known as Marapara.
It will mark the first time that the tree-lined course will play host to the event.
Ong said Marapara will play longer than what they’re used to, but added they’re ready for the challenge.
“We will have our practice
rounds on Tuesday and Wednesday,” she said.
CCC, which lost by a single point at the Alta Vista Golf Club last year, will be missing two or three players, ac-cording to team captain Mary Kim Hong.
