P 15.00 • 20 PAGES www.edgedavao.net VOL. 8 ISSUE 39 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 Sports P15 ALL LINED UP. High School enrollees form a long queue near the school cashier office under the searing heat of the afternoon sun during the second day of enrollment at the Davao City National High School yesterday. Lean Daval Jr. INSIDE EDGE ROCKETS WIN GAME 4, STAY ALIVE IN SERIES EDGE Serving a seamless society DAVAO 2014 CIVIC JOURNALISM COMMUNITY PRESS AWARDS 2013, 2014 BEST EDITED COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER T HE more controversial Davao City Mayor Ro- drigo Duterte talks, the more titillated the public gets. In the midst of yet an- other brewing talk of his in- volvement to summary kill- ings in Davao City following a controversial statement the tough-talking executive said in his latest broadcast, the camp of Mayor Duterte says he is standing by his word. Not surprisingly, pub- lic reaction seemed to favor Duterte. This is what he said in his radio program on Sunday: “They are saying that I am the DDS. Yes, it’s true.” The remark detonated like a bomb shortly therafter and for someone being con- sidered as a strong bet for the presidency in 2016, the unbrodled comment could be a PR nightmare for his drum- beaters. However, his camp is not fazed. They call it a calcu- lated risk. Flirting with his involve- ment with the dreaded Davao Death Squad (DDS), Duter- te appeared to have poked the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and Justice Sec- retary Leila de Lima on the unsettled issue. “Takot si De Lima na tatakbo si Duterte bilang Presidente,” a post on Rody Duterte for President Move- ment International facebook page read. “Oh, now the protector of those criminals are talking,” said a post on ANC 24/7 face- [email protected]By NEILWIN JOSEPH L. BRAVO TOUGH TALK FAVORS RODY Mayor Duterte’s controversial statement is winning public approval FTOUGH, 10
Transcript
P 15.00 • 20 PAGESwww.edgedavao.netVOL. 8 ISSUE 39 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015
Sports P15
ALL LINED UP. High School enrollees form a long queue near the school cashier office under the searing heat of the afternoon sun during the second day of enrollment at the Davao City National High School yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.
INSIDE EDGEROCKETS WINGAME 4,STAY ALIVE INSERIES
EDGE Serving a seamless society
DAVAO2014 CIVIC JOURNALISM
COMMUNITY PRESS AWARDS
2013, 2014 BEST EDITED COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER
THE more controversial Davao City Mayor Ro-drigo Duterte talks, the
more titillated the public gets.In the midst of yet an-
other brewing talk of his in-volvement to summary kill-ings in Davao City following a controversial statement the tough-talking executive said in his latest broadcast, the camp of Mayor Duterte says
he is standing by his word.Not surprisingly, pub-
lic reaction seemed to favor Duterte.
This is what he said in his radio program on Sunday: “They are saying that I am the DDS. Yes, it’s true.”
The remark detonated like a bomb shortly therafter and for someone being con-sidered as a strong bet for
the presidency in 2016, the unbrodled comment could be a PR nightmare for his drum-beaters. However, his camp is not fazed. They call it a calcu-lated risk.
Flirting with his involve-ment with the dreaded Davao Death Squad (DDS), Duter-te appeared to have poked the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and Justice Sec-
retary Leila de Lima on the unsettled issue.
“Takot si De Lima na tatakbo si Duterte bilang Presidente,” a post on Rody Duterte for President Move-ment International facebook page read.
“Oh, now the protector of those criminals are talking,” said a post on ANC 24/7 face-
TOUGH TALK FAVORS RODYMayor Duterte’s controversial statement is winning public approval
FTOUGH, 10
VOL. 8 ISSUE 39 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 20152 EDGEDAVAO
NEWS
DAVAO Light and Pow-er Company (DLPC) yesterday said it in-
creased the duration of the rotational blackouts within its franchise from one hour to a maximum of 1.5 hours starting yesterday due to the much lower power supply coming from the Mindanao Grid.
In a statement, DLPC said the National Grid Cor-poration of the Philippines (NGCP) advised it only yes-terday that there is “a further reduction of the capability of
the National Power Corpora-tion’s (NPC) Agus and Pulangi hydro-electric power plants.”
“This is the result of the now very low water elevation due to no rain or the lack of it which has forced the NPC to decrease its supply alloca-tion to Davao Light and other electric utilities in Mindanao,” DLPC said.
The company said as of yesterday, NPC through NGCP only allocated about 194 MW to Davao Light from last week’s allocation of about 241 MW of power. “This is
way lower than the Davao Light’s contracted supply with NPC of 279 MW,” it said.
DLPC corporate commu-nications officer Ross Luga said with the decreased pow-er allocation by the NPC, “the only option remaining is to stretch the duration of the ro-tating outages.”
“This is to avoid total col-lapse of the entire Mindanao transmission grid which hap-pens when the demand for power exceeds the available supply,” he said.
Luga said DLPC will go
on with this measure until further advice from the NGCP to lift its implementation is received.
He said DLPC will opti-mize the power being gener-ated from facilities where it has supply agreements with such as Therma Marine, Inc., Hedcor Sibulan and Talomo in order mitigate the impact of the power shortage
It will continue to run its standby Bajada Power Plant and activate the Interruptible Load Program as part of its contingency measure.
DAVAO City Mayor Ro-drigo Duterte on Tues-day warned the Aquino
administration against at-tempting to railroad approval of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), saying such move will only do more harm than good to the country.
Speaking before hun-dreds of barangay captains in Sibalom in the province of
Antique for a forum on fed-eralism, Duterte expressed alarm at the reference to the Tripoli Agreement, a treaty signed between the Philippine government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) under Nur Misuari in Tripoli, Libya during the Mar-cos years.
“We are now faced with a convoluted situation where
the reference to the Tripoli Agreement in the BBL could lead to the question: Which would prevail, the BBL or the treaty which is the Tripoli Agreement?” Duterte asked.
In the Tripoli Agreement of 1976, a total of 13 provinc-es were included in the areas of Moro Autonomy. These are Basilan, Sultan Kudarat, Sulu, Lanao del Norte, Tawi-tawi,
Lanao del Sur, Zamboanga del Sur, Davao del Sur, Zamboan-ga del Norte, South Cotabato, North Cotabato, Palawan and Maguindanao.
However, in the succeed-ing plebiscites, eight of the provinces--Sultan Kudarat, Lanao del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Davao del Sur, Zambo-anga del Norte, South Cotaba-
THE controversial P17 billion Sasa Port mod-ernization project has
already reached the Senate for possible investigation.
Speaking in yesterday’s regular City Council session, councilor Danilo C. Dayang-hirang said Senator Serge Os-meña III is interested in mak-ing inquiry on the allegedly overpriced project, which is being undertaken by the De-partment of Transportation and Communication (DOTC)
as a Public-Private Partner-ship (PPP) project.
“I was informed that Sen-ator Osmeña invited some individuals from Davao to go to Manila, including Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII), to share information in aid of legislation,” Dayanghirang said.
He said Osmeña was prompted to call people from the city after learning of the
SENATOR Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. today said he is willing to
talk to anyone, including with President Benigno Aquino III, for a genuine discussion on how to iron out the kinks in the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law to ensure it would lead to lasting peace in Muslim Mind-anao.
But count him out if it is merely meant to muscle the
Senate into passing Mala-canang’s version of BBL, Mar-cos stressed.
Malacanang earlier said the President is willing to meet with the senators to discuss BBL with them, as he had done before with members of the House of Representatives ad hoc committee.
“As I said before, it we are going to discuss with the
THE LIST. Mayor Rodrigo Duterte listens to his Executive Assistant Christopher “Bong” Go as the trusted-aid shows the list of security troops who rendered extraordinary service in the recent Palarong Pambansa held in Davao del Norte as Gov. Rodolfo Del Rosario looks on at the Davao del Norte GSP Conference Hall on Saturday (Photo by Kiwi Bulaclac/CMO)
Rotating blackoutsnow 1.5-hour long
Rody to Palace: Don’t railroad BBLBy CHARLES RAYMOND A. MAXEY
Sasa Port issuereaches SenateBy ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.
DAVAO City Councilor Edgar R. Ibuyan Sr. yesterday said the fi-
nancial assistance program for students in the city initi-ated by his office will be con-tinued even after his third and last term ends next year.
In an interview, Ibuyan told reporters that more than 15,000 recipients of his Rody Sagop Bata Para sa Kaugmaon Program will still receive assistance even when he leaves office.
He said the project will be implemented by the City Social Service and Develop-ment Office (CSSDO) using
his Annual Development Fund (ADF) which he has not used up.
Ibuyan, however, said there would be a greater chance of the financial assis-tance being continued if his son Edgar Ibuyan Jr., who is now barangay captain of Ba-rangay 5-A, becomes coun-cilor.
His program gives P500 for elementary students and P700 for high school stu-dents for their PTA and mis-cellaneous contributions in public schools.
Ibuyan said the program also give P2,500 cash assis-
tance to college students in both private and public schools.
“This program is our way to encourage all chil-dren to go to school,” he said.
He said there is no main-taining grade under this pro-gram as long as the students show interest to finish its studies.
Ibuyan said he received P3 million per year in ADF during his first term, for a total of P9 million which he used for educational assis-tance.
Starting his second term,
however, he received only P2 million each year which he also earmarked for edu-cation.
He said the program is also supported by Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte as part of the social service program of the city.
Ibuyan said in 2014 the program supported a total of 14,218 students in 281 schools in the city. Of these, 18,432 were elementary pupils in 138 schools, 3,855 were high school students in 86 schools, and 1,931 were college students in 57 col-leges and universities.
THE Sangguniang Pan-glungsod ng Dabaw has approved an ordinance
for the installation of a rain-water collection system in the market places in Tibungco and Bunawan.
The ordinance grants Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to en-ter into and to sign for in be-half of the city government a contract with the Department of Public Works and Highways in putting up the rainwater collection system.
Councilor Leonardo Avi-la III, chair of the committee on the environment who au-thors the ordinance said the measure is anchored on the Republic Act 6616 which pro-vides the construction of wa-ter wells, rainwater collectors, development of springs and rehabilitation of the existing water wells in all barangays in the country and authorizes the DPWH for the construc-tion of the aforementioned facilities.
He said the office of the Mayor has identified the Ti-bungco Public Market and the Bunawan Public Market as the first recipients of the project.
Avila said as cited by the DPWH on the memorandum of agreement, these projects must be installed in public buildings with no existing water supply or where the source of water is limited.
He said the operation and maintenance of the rain wa-ter collection system will be shouldered by the recipient public building.
“The memorandum of agreement will be signed by the DPWH district engineer and the city government through Mayor Duterte for the construction of a rainwater collection system for two ba-rangay public markets which have no water supply,” Avila.
He also explained that the DPWH will provide funding requirements for the con-struction of the project while the city government will en-sure that the rainwater collec-tion system will be properly used and protected from all types of destructive agents.
Avila said the project is timely since the city already has its own rainwater collec-tion ordinance. (PIA 11-Joey Sem G. Dalumpines)
TAGUM City Mayor Al-lan Rellon conveyed recently the city gov-
ernment’s intention to host the Boy Scouts of the Philip-pines (BSP) National Jambo-ree on October this year.
During the BSP National Council Convention on May 20-22 at Big 8 Corporate Ho-tel, Tagum City, Mayor Rellon declared that the City Gov-ernment of Tagum is 100% ready to host the national scouting jamboree and to
welcome its around 10,000 participants.
In a video presented by Mayor Rellon, the jam-boree will take place in the 31-hectare Energy Park in Brgy. Apokon, which was also the venue of the BSP One Mindanao Jamboree last year.
According to the video, the energy park features a challenge valley for endur-ance activity, huge arena for
DAVAO City Water Dis-trict will soon start operating its twin res-
ervoirs with a total capacity of 1,360 cubic meters at Baran-gay Cuchon in Tugbok District to expand water service and improve water supply of exist-ing water connections in River-side Water Supply System.
DCWD general manager Edwin V. Regalado said that the reservoir will be the first of DCWD’s facilities to oper-ate using solar power. Since it is the first of its kind, it is still subject to further observa-tions.
However, upon initial as-sessment, DCWD’s investment on solar panel in this project is considerably much cheap-er as compared to applying for pole installation from the
Davao Light and Power Com-pany (DLPC) and clearing of obstructions. DCWD opted to use alternative source of ener-gy because of unavailability of DLPC lines in the area.
In addition, DCWD also es-timates to save on electric cost based on computed return of investment for said facility compared to six years comput-ed bill which would amount to P47,520 every year.
The four 250-watts solar panels are attached to the roof of the reservoir’s guard house and generate one kilowatt of direct current power. The generated power will then be delivered to the 3KVA invert-er / charger which will charge the four 200AHr battery and invert the direct current pro-
Rainwater collection system of marts ok’d
Aid to 15,000 studesto continue: IbuyanBy ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER. 2014 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee Randy H. Halasan (third from left) receives a plaque of recognition following the delivery of his keynote address in the opening ceremony of the 64th Philippine Regional Convention of the Y’s Men International held on May 8 to 10, 2015 at the
Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao. Presenting the award are (from left) Asia Area President Yaz Okano of Japan, Regional Director Jun Rosalem, and host club President Joval Valenzuela Jr. BERT NIÑAL SR.
First solar powered DCWD facility. Installed four 250-watts solar panels are enough to supply the needed energy requirement of the new twin reservoirs for Riverside Water Supply System.
FTAGUM, 10
FDCWD, 10
VOL. 8 ISSUE 39 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015
A GERMAN company will conduct the feasibility study of the proposed
Mindanao-wide Railway Sys-tem by next year, an official of Mindanao Development Au-thority (MinDA) said.
“We’re just waiting for the board resolution from the German firm, which has given a grant by an interna-tional donor agency,” MinDA Undersecretary Janet Lopoz told Edge Davao on Saturday.
The Mindanao Railway System (MRS) is a project consisting of six segments that will span the entire Min-danao, providing a dramatic bid to boost the economic de-velopment of a research-rich region, Lopoz said.
The railway is also cir-cumferential in length tra-versing a series of cities and provinces from one point to another.
The German firm will be tapping local and interna-tional consultants, who will assist it in conducting seg-mented feasibility studies in different proposed area where the railways system will be established.
Lopoz said the railway system will be running from Cagayan de Oro, Iligan, Di-polog City, Zamboanga del Norte, Bukidnon, Butuan, Davao, General Santos, Cota-bato and looped in Pagadi-an, Zamboanga del Sur and Osamiz, Misamis Occidental
and back to Zamboanga.“There have been fea-
sibility studies conducted but this is the first study on the feasibility of a Mindan-ao-wide railway system,” Lopoz said. “The FS is import-ant to be conducted because this will show proof to possi-ble investors who wanted to implement the project, which I believed that will be in seg-mented form (of implemen-tation).”
It is necessary to develop a railway system for Mindan-ao to improve its logistic and infrastructure sector which is contributing to the compet-itiveness of industries here, according to Lopoz.
“We see the importance of this railway system espe-cially with the Asean integra-tion where there will be a lot of consolidation of commod-ities. From different part of Mindanao,” she said.
Lopoz went on to explain that the railway system may not be relevant years ago be-cause of low cargo traffic but it now went up to more than a hundred percent.
“We need to review the studies,” she said.
The costing and the time-line of the completion of this project will be determined once the feasibility study for this proposed project, which has been a dream for Mind-anao since the early 1990s, is done.
THE third phase of the laying over of the 5,092 kilometer Brunei, Indo-
nesia, Malaysia, Philippines- East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Submarine Ter-restrial (Best) Cable System will start next year.
The laying over of cable by land started two months ago in Brunei, which was the jump point of the interconnection project across BIMP-EAGA re-gions, Mindanao Development Authority executive director Janet Lopoz told Edge Davao.
The Best Cable System, initiated by Best Cable Cor-poration Pte. Ltd. (BCC), “is a regional high bandwidth fiber optics cable system that allows telecommunication connectiv-ity in the BIMP-EAGA region with the rest of the ASEAN and Asian countries, particularly
Singapore, Hong Kong and US.”Lopoz said the 5,092 ki-
lometer high bandwidth ca-ble system links BIMP-EAGA region specifically Brunei, Sabah, Malaysia, Southern Philippines and Kalimantan of Indonesia, with extension to Guam, and to connect with the US and the rest of Asean countries.
The cable system will be constructed by the China Na-tional Technical Import and Export Corporation (CNTIC) in partnership with the NMV Development Corporation of Canada, which entered into a Memorandum of Understand-ing in May 2014, in Davao.
The project is expected to be operational by next year and has an initial capacity of 2.4 terabytes per second.
“This will be a very big
boost to the internet con-nection of at least Mindanao because we have a source of redundancy of high speed internet connectivity. At pres-ent, our internet connection is dependent on Hawaii so if something happens there at least we have a back-up,” Lopoz said.
She said the stronger internet connection, aside from boosting the ICT sector of Mindanao, will also bring down the internet connection rate because internet provider companies here will have an-other competitor.
“What we heard is our lo-cal cable network operators are talking to the group al-ready. I think Globe (Telecom) is talking with them already,” Lopoz said. CHENEEN R. CA-PON
BIMP-Eaga cable system third phaselaying over starts next year--MinDA
THE country’s imports of goods in first quarter of this year has reached
USD 15.68 billion, Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Tuesday.
Imports bill in January to March period declined by 4.1 percent from USD 16.35 billion worth of imports in the same period in 2014.
Imports of goods slowed down in Q1 2015 after its val-ue decreased by 13.1 percent in January and another 6.8 percent decline in March.
Only in February the coun-try’s imports increased by 10.2
percent.In Q1 2015, electronic
products remained the top imported goods accounting for USD 4.38 billion of the total im-ports bill. Electronics imports in Q1 2015 had an increment of 14.1 percent from USD 3.84 billion in Q1 2014.
Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials imports in Q1 this year was the second largest amounting to USD 2.08 billion. It dropped by 39.1 per-cent from Q1 2014’s imports value of USD 3.41 billion.
Also, imports of transport equipment decreased by 17.5
percent to USD 1.46 billion in Q1 this year from USD 1.77 bil-lion in Q1 last year.
On the other hand, the country’s fourth and fifth larg-est imports in the said period posted a positive growth.
Imports of industrial ma-chinery and equipment in-creased by 7.4 percent to USD 817.68 million while imports value of other food and live an-imals jumped by 10.2 percent to USD 543.4 million.
Meanwhile, top imports source for the Philippines in Q1 2015 remains China which
Phl imports reach $15.7B in Q1
UNIFORM SHOPPING. A mother buys a school necktie from a makeshift store outside the Davao City National High School yesterday for her daughter who is an incoming Grade 7 student. Lean Daval Jr.
THE Department of Ag-riculture (DA) 11 has listed five subprojects
in the pipeline and to be funded under the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) for the Davao Re-gion.
“All of these subprojects are farm to market roads (FMR) with a total cost of P289.66 million,” DA 11 as-sistant regional director for operations Maria Febe T.
Orbe said during the Davao Business Forum at Derm Path in SM City Davao yes-terday.
Under the six-year pro-gram which has a P27.5 bil-lion fund source from World Bank, national government and local government units, the LGUs will be the propo-nent of projects which will be approved by National Project Coordination Office.
For Davao del Norte,
Orbe said the FMR project in Panabo City with a total cost of 56.93 million for the rehabilitation of Little Pan-ay-Katipunan- KasilakFMR was the only subproject bid-ded out by the LGU but not yet awarded.
“We expect the construc-tion to start by next month,” Orbe said.
Meanwhile, the second and third subprojects for Davao del Norte for the mu-
nicipality of Asuncion enti-tled rehabilitation of Sitio-Visayas- Binancian FMR and costing P78.85 million, and the FMR project in San Isidro entitled rehabilitation of Po-blacion Datu Balong- Park Mamalian worth P31.125 are already up for bidding to interested contractors since May 21.
The province of Davao Oriental has two of the five projects which consisted of
the rehabilitation of Mikit FMR, with bridge in the mu-nicipality of Baganga worth P52.28 million and the con-struction of the Lamiawan-PSCG bridge worth P64.47 million were still both com-pleting the requirement of the NPCO.
Orbe said a total of 21 subprojects are being re-viewed by the NPCO for funding that will be imple-mented by the partner and
proponent LGU.The PRDP, an offshoot
of the Mindanao Rural De-velopment Project, is a six-year national government platform that is designed to establish a modern, climate resilient, market-oriented agri-fisheries sector.
The project’s purpose is to provide provision of infra-structure, facilities, and tech-nologies to raise productivi-ty and competitiveness.
APEC trade ministers endorse action agenda on MSME firmsTRADE ministers from
the 21 Asia-Pacific Eco-nomic Cooperation
(APEC) members agreed to endorse to their leaders the adoption of an action agenda that will foster the participa-tion of micro, small and me-dium enterprises (MSMEs) in the regional and global econ-omy.
APEC trade ministers considered the ‘Boracay Ac-tion Agenda’ an action-ori-ented initiative that supports the forum’s ongoing work to address the barriers face by MSMEs in international trade and facilitate their access to regional and global markets with a strengthened focus on micro and small enterprises.
“We will complement APEC’s initiatives on pro-moting SMEs’ participation in GVCs (global value chains) with an agenda that will sup-port micro and small enter-prises as direct exporters,”
they said in a statement is-sued here after the two-day APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) Meeting.
To advance APEC’s efforts on MSME internationalization, they agreed to recommend in-novative actions on trade facil-itation, e-commerce, financing and institutional support.
APEC trade ministers support initiatives to facilitate access of these companies to free trade agreements (FTA) or regional trade agreement (RTA) by simplifying and streamlining rules of origin procedural and documentary requirements.
They said actions to streamline customs-related rules and regulations and as-sist in the compliance of MS-MEs; and measures to widen financing options and devel-op infrastructure to facilitate lending to them are also im-perative.
Trade ministers also un-
derscored the important role of the information communi-cations technology (ICT) and e-commerce in expanding internationalization opportu-nities for micro and small en-terprises providing goods and services.
“We welcome strength-ened information sharing and stronger coordination across relevant APEC fora to enhance complementary of projects and initiatives and promote efficient use of resources in implementing the Boracay Ac-tion Agenda,” they added.
SMEs are considered engines of growth and em-ployment in the APEC region. Over 97 percent of businesses in APEC are SMEs, providing jobs to more than half of the workers in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Philippines has been strongly advocating for the in-terests of MSMEs in global and regional trade.
In a press briefing, Trade and Industry Secretary Greg-ory Domingo noted that dis-mantling trade barriers is a continuing effort for APEC economies.
“But I think the significant thing that was achieved in this MRT is that they put a little more focus in terms of assist-ing micro and small enterpris-es. We will continue the work in terms of pursuing more activities in strengthening the participation of MSMEs in global value chains,” said Do-mingo, also APEC 2015 MRT Chair.
During the two-day MRT held here, the 21 APEC trade ministers also discussed mat-ters that seek to enhance the regional economic integration agenda such as efforts in line with the achievement of the Bogor Goals and APEC’s work on the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific. (PNA/PCOO News Release)
THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) through Philip-
pine Overseas Construction Board (POCB) conducted a consultation meeting with the stakeholders from the con-struction industry to formu-late requests and offers lists particularly in the construc-tion sector.
This is for the on-going negotiations on the free trade agreement (FTA) between the Philippines and the European Free Trade Association (PH-EFTA).
Speakers from the Na-tional Economic and Devel-opment Authority (NEDA), Foreign Trade Service Corps (FTSC), and the Department of Energy (DOE) were invited to give background on the PH-EFTA FTA, areas of expertise of the EFTA, construction op-portunities in the EFTA Mem-ber States, updates on the ex-isting laws and regulations on renewable energy.
Undersecretary Pru-dencio M. Reyes, Jr., the Su-pervising Undersecretary for Construction Industry Authority of the Philippines (CIAP), expressed support to the endeavors of POCB and NEDA, FTSC and DOE to link with EFTA member states and seize business opportunities in construction and energy in-frastructure development.
The following initial re-quest list to the EFTA Member States was formulated at the end of the meeting: General Construction Work for Build-ings; General Construction Work for Civil Engineering; Installation and Assembly Work; Building Completion and Finishing Work; Pre-Erec-tion Work at Construction Site; Foundation Work, con-crete work, steel bending and erection; Special Trade Construction Work; Architec-tural, Engineering, Integrated Engineering, Urban Planning and Landscape Architectural Services.
Engr. Sonia T. Valdeavilla, Officer-in-Charge of the Con-struction Industry Authority of the Philippines (CIAP), an attached agency of the DTI, proposed to include also in the request list for the con-struction sector the following: consultancy, management, design, engineering services, and skilled workers.
POCB requested for the removal of restrictions and improved commitment in general construction work for buildings, general construc-tion works for civil engineer-ing installation and assembly work, building completion and finishing work, and site investigation and demolition works in the initial request
THE country’s largest business organization, Philippine Chamber
of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), supports the explo-ration of the Philippines and Chile to enter into a free trade agreement (FTA) to boost economic ties between the two countries.
PCCI said it hopes that the FTA will be formally ne-gotiated on the sideline of the Asia-Pacific Economic Coop-eration Economic Leaders’ Meeting (AELM) in Novem-ber this year in which Chile’s President Michelle Bachelet-Jeria, along with other Asia Pacific leaders, is expected to visit the Philippines as it hosts APEC 2015.
PCCI President Alfredo
M. Yao has met Chile’s Vice Minister Andres Rebolledo Tuesday and had an exchange of views in the bilateral agree-ment.
Both parties expressed their optimism for the bi-lateral trade deal between the Philippines and Chile to move forward developments in investments, standards on labor and environment, and competition rules, among others.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and its counterpart in Chile already initiated consultations for the FTA.
According to DTI, two-way trade of the Philippines and Chile was only at USD73 million in 2014. (PNA)
Phl to boost constructionties with European group
PCCI backs Phl-Chile FTA
GOING TRADITIONAL. It may be a digital world, but this shirt trader proves that traditional silkscreen printing of school monograms can still be effective. His stall is just outside the Kapitan Tomas Monteverde Sr. Central Elementary School along Ponciano Reyes Street in Davao City. Lean Daval Jr.
FPHL, 10
VOL. 8 ISSUE 39 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015
EDGEDAVAOINdulge! WOMEN
HUMANS have always found a connection with pets. Like family, they reciprocate your care and affection and keep you company no matter the time of day.
Next time you consider getting a new pet, instead of buying, why not adopt a cat and open your home to one that needs it? Twenty-seven year old Katrina Kae Carriedo hails from a family of pet lovers. All her life, she has always been surrounded by ani-mals of different breed and kind. When she hit her twenties, she took inter-est in caring for homeless cats after she rescued one from the streets. Driven by her love for felines, Kat put together The Kats Closet --- a non-profit initiative which aims to give stray cats a second in life. Kat started by borrow-ing a Php10,000 from her sister to sustain her new found calling. She also designed shirts and sold them to fund health and medical care for her res-cued cats. With whatever she made, she used them to get the cats spayed or neuterd and given ini-tial shots ---- all ready for a responsible adoption. “I don’t charge a huge
amount for adoption fees,” explains Kat. “The fee is actually very minimal, just enough to fuel my projects and next set of rescues. What matters to us is the quality of life and atten-tion that families can give our cats. I’m very selective. I want to be sure the cats will be with responsible families.” Before the cats are set out for adoption, they are restored back to top health condition. With the help of some interns and vet-erinarians, Kat was able to mount a health and care project that catered to some 80 felines. “With the successful turnout, I became even more con-
Kat (in white shirt) together with Doc Bayani and other vet volunteers during the Feline The Heat Of Summer event. Rescued cats are treated and readied for adoption.
Kat designed these shirts to raise funds.
Kat takes time out with one of her cats.
Kat with a purr-pose
vinced to pursue this ad-vocacy and organize other events to help raise aware-ness in the community.” “We gladly welcome volunteers. We believe in collaborative effort, how it can move mountains and shake the world to its core. Stray pets are indica-tive of society’s problems in responsible pet care and sanitation. We need to realize that stray cats deserve better treatment. Acceptance and commit-ment are important. They go hand in hand in mak-ing a purr-fect life for our cats.” Anyone can take part of this meaningful cause by donating cash or buy-ing The Kats Closet shirts at Doc Bayani’s Animal Wellness Clinic. For more information and inquiries, follow @thekatcloset on Instagram and Facebook.
CREATING timely cultural events that had never been done in the metro, SM Lanang Premier organized an event inspired by the world’s largest food congress, the Madrid Fusión Manila, on April 24 to 26, 2015.
Sangria-toasting ceremony (from left): host Marissa Tionko of Hijos de Davao, Monica Asuncion of Archipelago 7107 by Barrio Fiesta, SM Lanang Premier Mall Manager Mary Therese Lapeña-Manalo, SM Supermalls AVP for Marketing (Mindanao) Russel Alaba, Vince and Tricie Arcenas of Cellar de Boca, Miggy Laurel of Bistro Selera, DOT-XI Regional Director Roberto Alabado and Honorary Consul Francisco Genaro Lon of the Spanish Consulate.
The said event – Tapas Y Sangria – was a gastro-nomic feast that celebrat-ed elements of Spanish cuisine. Held at the 2nd Level of The Fountain Court, it paid tribute to the Madrid Fusión, which brought together the most innovative chefs from around the world to share their talents and expertise for the very first time in Manila at the SMX Con-vention Center. Tapas Y Sangria, as the name suggests, puts the spotlight on the Tapas, a wide variety of appetizers and snacks, and Sangria, a fruit-based wine with its heritage well rooted in Spain. The event offered a venue where Spanish cuisine is accentuated and made accessible to mall-goers, Davaoeños and tourists alike. No less than Honorary Consul to Spain Francisco Genaro Lon and wife Ge-nette Lon, and the De-partment of Tourism-XI
Regional Director Rober-to Alabado III graced the Tapas Y Sangria launch together with Malaysian Consul General Abdullah Zawawi Tahir and Japa-nese Consul and Director Tomoko Dodo. Hijos de Davao led by its driving force and former secretary, Atty. Rose Ca-baguio and current Vice President Amy Diano and the Ikebana International Davao Chapter 133 head-ed by its President Piedad Reina-Roman and former President Danney Bar-nett, both Latinas, were present to show support for the said event. SM officials led by SM Supermalls AVP for Op-erations (Mindanao) Deb-by Go, AVP for Marketing (Mindanao) Russel Alaba, SM Lanang Premier Mall Manager Mary Therese Lapeña-Manalo and SM Lanang Premier Assistant Mall Manager Jerome Yeo gave the guests a warm welcome.
A feast of Spanish cuisine at SM Lanang Premier
Guests enjoyed the pro-gram, which was hosted by Hijos de Davao’s Public Relations Officer Marissa Salonga-Tionko and in-cluded acoustic Spanish repertoire performances by Anna Cortes and paso
doble dances. The highlight of the event was the spread of tapas dishes and sangria concoctions by Cellar de Boca, Bistro Selera and Archipelago 7107 by Bar-rio Fiesta. Bistro Selera
owner Googie Sanga, Cel-lar de Boca owner Vince Arcenas and Archipelago 7107 by Barrio Fiesta manager Monica Asun-cion described the respec-tive offerings of each res-taurant before these were
served to the guests. The Tapas Y Sangria at SM Lanang Premier was conducted in support for the Department of Tour-ism’s Visit Davao Fun Sale and Flavors of the Philip-pines campaign.
Sangria was served generously at the launch held at The Fountain Court of SM Lanang Premier.
Mindanao SM Supermalls AVP for Marketing Russel Alaba welcomes the guests at the Tapas Y Sangria launch.Restaurateur Miggy Laurel presents the unique tapas dishes of Bistro Selera.
Mindanao SM Supermalls AVP for Operations Debby Go (2nd from left) and AVP for Marketing Russel Alaba share a moment with friends.
Atty. Rose Cabaguio, Bong Alba, and Marie Tionko of Hijos de Davao at the Tapas Y Sangria launch.
Consul and Director Tomoko Dodo and Alona Seguera of the Consulate of Japan in Davao City.
President Piedad Reina-Roman, Amelia Valle and Genette Lon of Ikebana International Davao Chapter.
Guests enjoy a night of Spanish culinary and musical feast at SM Lanang Premier’s Tapas Y Sangria.
Anticipation rises as countdown to Kapusong Pinoy Vancouver and Anaheim begins
Lyca: I’m happy to be able to help my family
WITH only a few days left before the Kapusong Pinoy fe-ver hits Canada and the US, Philippine Comedy Queen Ai-Ai delas Alas to-gether with Chris-tian Bautista, Alden Richards, Jonalyn Viray and Betong Sumaya is busy pre-paring for GMA Pi-noy TV’s Kapusong Pinoy Vancouver and Kapusong Pi-noy Anaheim hap-pening next week-end. “Mga Kapuso sa Los Angeles at Vancouver, malapit na malapit na po tayong magsama-sama para i-celebrate ang 10th anniversary ng GMA Pi-noy TV! Ngayon pa lang po ay mag-tweet na tayo at mag-post using the hashtag #Sampuso,” says Ai-Ai, who currently stars in the romantic-comedy series Let the Love Begin. The returning Ka-puso is looking forward to bringing the Kapuso experience to her kaba-bayan abroad as they commemorate GMA Pinoy TV’s ten years of touching hearts across the globe. “Wag kayong mawawala diyan da-hil sabay-sabay nating mae-experience ang saya bilang proud Pinoy at proud Kapuso!” she adds. Rehearsals are under-way for the two shows that both promise to be as memorable as they
are entertaining. Christian Bautista, who stars in the upcom-ing Kapuso drama se-ries My Mother’s Secret and regularly appears in GMA’s variety program Sunday All Stars, is also filled with excitement for the upcoming show. “After the long wait it’s fi-nally here! We’re excited to finally go to Canada and the US for the GMA Pinoy TV shows. I’m also very excited to perform with Ms. Ai-Ai again. So get ready! It’s gonna be fun!” he exclaims. Meanwhile, Kapuso leading man Alden Rich-ards is equally pumped up to perform before his fellow Filipinos. “Ilang tu-log na lang at makakasa-ma na namin ang ating mga Kapuso sa Vancou-ver at Anaheim. We’ve been preparing for the shows and are very ex-cited to give them a fun-
filled Kapuso concert ex-perience!” shares Alden, who recently joined the country’s longest-run-ning noon time show Eat Bulaga as one of its hosts. As GMA Pinoy TV pays tribute to its loyal sub-scribers over the past de-cade, audiences will be treated to a night of non-stop fun, laughter and music. There will also be games and surprises, as
well as a meet and greet session, where fans can have their photos taken with the Kapuso artists, following each show. In association with Unit Blue Design & Me-dia Production Services, GMA Pinoy TV’s Kapu-song Pinoy Vancouver will be held on May 29 at The Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver, Canada. Gates open at 7:00 PM. For tickets, please call (604) 365-6068 in Van-couver, (778) 713-0376 in New Westminster, (778) 829-4489 in Tri-cities, (604) 588-6397 in Surrey, and (604) 504-5991 in Fraser Valley. Meanwhile, GMA Pi-noy TV in association with Polaris Media & Marketing will stage Ka-pusong Pinoy Anaheim on May 31 at the City Na-
A year after being named the grand winner of “The Voice Kids,” Lyca Gairanod is still living her dream. Now a grade 3 student, she is busy juggling her studies and performing in gigs. Early this month, she per-formed as a special guest in the concert of her former coach Sar-ah Geronimo in Canada, one of the many places she has been to to sing for people. “I have gained a lot of friends and my family’s life has gotten better. I’m happy to be able to help my family. All my dreams came true, and I’m thankful to God that He helped me all the way,” said Lyca, who started mak-ing a living by scavenging junk before joining “The Voice Kids.” Aside from the house and lot she got for winning “The Voice Kids,” she has also provided her
family with a car. Besides singing, Lyca also has her eyes on acting. In fact, her performance in her “MMK” life story was well received, and even convinced her to try it again. “I really want to act, but my schedule can’t accommodate it. But I will accept whatever proj-ects they give me,” she shared.
Aside from gigs and TV guest-ings, she is also busy with school. Lyca is also excited for the sec-ond season of “The Voice Kids” that will start airing this June. As the country waits for the next grand winner, Lyca offers some advice to those who want to pur-sue a career in music: “It’s free to dream, so just dream on. Whether you win or lose, congratulations still. The Lord will still be there for you.” She added, “Always be kind. Never forget your family. Pray before singing. And remain hum-ble.” Don’t miss the premiere of “The Voice Kids” Season 2 this June on ABS-CBN. For updates on the program, visit thevoice.abs-cbn.com, like www.facebook.com/thevoiceabscbn, or follow @thevoiceabscbn on Twitter and @abscbnthevoice on Instagram.
tional Grove of Anaheim in California. City Nation-al Grove of Anaheim is located on 2200 East Ka-tella Avenue, Anaheim, CA. Gates open at 6:30 PM. For tickets, please call 310-989-4523 or 310-986-1665. For updates on GMA Network’s artists, pro-grams, international channels and events,
visit the website www.g m a n e t w o r k . co m / i n -ternational, Facebook pages www.facebook.com/GMAPinoyTV, www.facebook.com/gmalifetv, and www.facebook.com/gmanewsinternational, Twitter pages @gmapi-noytv, @gma_lifetv, and @gmanewstvintl and Ins-tagram account @gmapi-noytv.
PG
R13
R16 12:00 | 2:30 | 5:00 | 7:30 | 10:00 LFS
R-16
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult
PG 12:00 | 2:30 | 5:00 | 7:30 | 10:00 LFS
TOMORROWLAND
12:00 | 2:30 | 5:00 | 7:30 | 10:00 LFS
SPY
Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham
1:00 | 4:00 | 7:00 | 10:00 LFS
George Clooney, Britt Robertson
PITCH PERFECT 2
Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson
May 22-26, 2015
A4 INdulge!STYLE
FOR Spring/Summer 2015, Original Penguin takes its inspiration from the energetic and glamor-ous Magic City itself: late 1950s Miami Beach. Driving down iconic Ocean Drive in South Beach, a bright motel sign flashing neon pink alongside a lone palm tree is emblematic of this season’s col-lection. The color palette blends chromatic reds and vibrant greens with a splash of aqua and soft pinks, providing a contrast reminiscent of the saturated colors of beachfront homes, set against the soft pastel colors of Miami Beach’s art-deco streets. Foliage prints taken straight from the rows of breezy palms round out this springtime escape.
As the heat begins to build, the collection moves poolside and takes on a tone of modern preppi-ness, mixing chambrays with seersucker and vin-tage-floral prints. Lounge-chair stripes are reflected on short-sleeved wovens with bold lines of coral, molten lava and elm green. Iconic polos are refreshed this season with playful stripes, while geo-printed knits deliver graphical el-ements, with both styles
paying homage to the ac-tive lifestyle embodied by this season’s mix. For the guy who embraces more refined style cues, a seer-sucker suit in sky blue and a vintage-floral printed suit keeps him sophisticat-ed, yet cool, before retiring for an evening of casual rooftop games. Photographed by Street Style photographer Jus-tin Chung and styled by Grant Woolhead, the new advertising campaign was
captured in Miami Beach on Ocean Drive and at the Betsy Hotel, allowing Original Penguin to pres-ent a modernized take on 1950s glamor. The ad cam-paign also features models Josiah Hawley, Romain Julien and two new faces from Ford Models - Ster-ling Petersen and Ryan Allan. The Original Penguin store in Davao is located at the second level of the Abreeza Mall.
Sunny in Miami with Original Penguin SS15
VOL. 8 ISSUE 39 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015EDGEDAVAO
VOL. 8 ISSUE 39 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 7EDGEDAVAO
PROPERTYSotoGrandepioneers condotelinvestment in Davao
An artist’s illustration shows the SotoGrande façade – Davao’s first condotel development that
combines the best of comfort, business and leisure.
An artist’s illustrations of SotoGrande’s elegant unit and lobby are reminiscent of five-star hotels – only combined with the benefits of condominium investment.
MORE and more people are discovering the prolific investment op-
portunities in the nature-rich and progressive Davao City. Listed by the Finance Direct In-vestment (FDI) magazine of the Financial Times Group as one of the Top 10 Asian Cities of the Future, Davao has become one of the Philippines’ major centers of trade, commerce and industry.
Moreover, the metropolis’ leisurely vibe, affordable cost of living, and safe and secure at-mosphere make it an attractive
living proposition both for sin-gle professionals and for fam-ilies. One choosing a place to call home in Davao City should be able to take advantage of all these benefits.
Sta. Lucia Land, Inc., one of the leading real estate develop-ers in the country, combines the best of comfort, business and leisure with the pioneering So-toGrande located at the heart of Davao Riverfront Corporate City – a premier residential commu-nity also developed by Sta. Lucia.
SotoGrande, the first con-
dominium-hotel (condotel) in Davao, has more to offer home-owners than fine homes. The condotel’s elegant 20 floors, 360-unit residence will bring end-users comfort and conve-nience, and property investors with income earning assets.
Investment benefits SotoGrande takes property
investment to the next level in Davao City with its offering of a condotel leasing or rental. A So-toGrande unit has the potential to give good quarterly returns
when leased or rented out because of the influx of both foreign and domestic tourists in Davao throughout the year. There is also a big demand for housing for executives whose factories or businesses are lo-cated in the industrial estates of the metropolis.
Guaranteeing a “worry free” investment for unit own-ers, Sta. Lucia Hotel Manage-ment Group will take care of the leasing of the hotel rooms, their maintenance, refurbish-ment and improvement as well as their operating expens-
es, real property taxes, asso-ciation dues, common area charges, utilities, insurance and other related expenses, for a property management fee of as low as 30%.
But even if particular unit is not leased or used, owners still get quarterly dividends in Net Room Revenue generated from all hotel units.
Aside from quarterly divi-dends, unit owners can enjoy 30 room nights free every year with an option to use 3 nights per year at any other Sta. Lucia hotel.
Near SotoGrande are renowned tourist attractions such as the Davao Crocodile Park that showcases a state-of-the-art crocodile farming system in the Philippines.
Actual photos of the spacious Ranchos Palos Verdes show how the sports and country club is the ideal place for families who want to bask in the leisurely spirit and vibe of Davao City.
At the centre of quality living SotoGrande is at the heart of Davao
Riverfront Corporate City – Sta. Lucia’s 60-hectare, premier residential community at Ma-a, Davao.
The condotel’s prime location puts it at the centre where relaxation, accessibil-ity and convenience meet. SotoGrande is only ten minutes away from the Davao In-ternational Airport. Within the vicinity are renowned tourist attractions such as the Crocodile Park, Davao Butterfly House, and Tribu K’ Mindanawan Cultural Village.
Homeseekers who uphold traditional family values will appreciate the conve-nience of a prestigious academic institution, St. Paul’s College, integrated within River-front. Residents can also limitlessly enjoy the amenities and facilities at the exclusive Rancho Palos Verdes Sports and Country Club—the pioneering one-stop sports and recreation centre in Davao, also developed by Sta. Lucia.
SotoGrande boasts of the finest ameni-ties and world-class hospitality service that are the hallmarks of Sta. Lucia’s residential developments. In keeping with the laidback, leisure countryside lifestyle of Davao being a famed tourist destination, facilities such as swimming pools, poolside bar, piano bar, coffee lounge and restaurant, among other relaxation facilities, are available for the en-joyment of hotel unit owners and guests.
To know more about SotoGrande, call (82) 282-4441, +63918-925-13-55, +63917-309-1725, or visit the SotoGrande Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/SGDavaoCity.
VOL. 8 ISSUE 39 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 20158 EDGEDAVAO
VANTAGE
Clear our roadsEDITORIAL
IT’S not often that we cite the same person in this space two days in a row, but we make an exception in the case of Sen-ator Miriam Defensor-Santiago. First it was about the coun-
try’s educational system, which she said needs to be overhauled in order to cater to the poor who need it the most; next up is the transport system, which she said is “worsening” and needs some drastic measures if we are to have some relief on the road. She trained her sights on jeepney drivers whose lack of discipline she squarely blamed for the traffic jams that hit not just Metro Manila but other key cities in the country as well. Even Davao City gets its share of traffic problems, and residents agree that they are mostly caused by jeepney and other public utility driv-ers who show little regard for traffic rules in their quest to earn an income.
Perhaps it is understandable that public utility drivers habit-ually flout the law because earning a living through driving can be a slow and arduous process. This prompts them to stop any-where to load passengers, even in areas that are designated as no loading and unloading zones, and often even while the rest
of traffic is moving along. Their weaving in and out of the roads causes a slowdown behind them that grows exponentially, caus-ing traffic jams that frustrate other motorists and passengers who are in a hurry to get somewhere.
As the joke goes, public utility drivers are not in a hurry be-cause they are already at work, but what they do not realize is that slow-moving traffic adversely affects them also. A slow turn-around means less income for them, and moving slowly uses up more fuel. More than that, traffic jams cause a slowdown in over-all economic activity as goods and people take their time getting to where they need to be. If productivity is low, the economy also suffers -- which is bad news for everyone, including the drivers.
Senator Santiago has proposed stiff punishment for drivers who disobey road rules, and we seriously hope the authorities are ready to impose them. The problem has never actually been the laws because God knows we have enough of them; it is in their implementation that government is always found wanting. Let us hope the good senator’s proposal would spur both drivers and traffic enforcers to clear our roads.
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
Printed by Zion Accuprint Publishing Inc. Door 14 ALCREJ Building,
Quirino Avenue, 8000, Davao City, PhilippinesTel: (082) 301-6235
The An-t i - M o n e y L a u n d e r -ing Council (AMLC) has revealed that VP Binay aides Gerardo Lim-lingan and Ediviges Baloloy had individual and joint bank accounts amounting to bil-lions of pesos from 2004-2014.
The two were allegedly known Binay aides during his long tenure as Makati City Mayor. They are suspected “bagmen” of Binay. They had repeatedly ignored Senate summons. The Senate had issued arrest or-ders for them.
The government must rein them in be-fore they commit “hara-kiri” and effective-ly save Binay’s neck.
Limlingan’s and Baloloy’s lawyer claims that the two are legitimate highly successful businessmen, and that the bil-lions they have in the backs are legitimate, legal earnings.
AMLC believes otherwise.
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A MERE RUBBER STAMPMr. Benigno Aquino III wants Congress
to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law by June 11. He urged the Senate to follow the Low-er House’s overwhelming pro-BBL voting.
Why the rush? What’s so urgent about the BBL’s passage? Why hurry as if voting on it is a matter of life and death for the Fil-ipino people and nation?
If the June 11 deadline is not met, what will happen to Mindanao, to Visayas, to Lu-zon, to Metro Manila?
What will happen to the MILF, to the Muslims in the proposed autonomous re-gion? Will the MILF resume their terror-istic activities – bombing public markets, burning towns, ambushing government troops?
These are questions that only time can provide credible answers.
Meanwhile, there are talks that a final peace pact with the MILF would earn Mr. Aquino a nomination for the Nobel Prize for peace.
Expectedly, Malacanan simply dis-missed such talks as mischievous canard.
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President Noynoy’s choice lapdogs in the Lower House have given the BBL a rousing 50-17 majority victory.
But here’s an alarming information that came out of the social media.
Jose Romero, a former Philippine am-bassador to Rome, had disclosed in his social media post that the BBL is the hand-iwork of top Malaysian legal brains.
If true, then the MILF played a dirty trick on the Philippine negotiating panel by insisting that the BBL be approved in toto. Our legislature is being reduced to a rubber stamp.
If the BBL is a total Malaysian legal piece of legislation which the MILF wants our lawmakers to swallow, then not a sin-gle word of it came from the unsuspecting stupid minds of our legislators.
I tell you, it’s not only anomalous, but a grand shame, and a slap on the faces of those 50 P-noy puppets.
THINK ON THESE!STARTING June 1, the regional office of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) – a line agency of the Department
of Agriculture – will again implement the fishing ban in Davao Gulf. The 3-month ban and will end on August 31.
According to a news report, the fishing ban is being implemented “to increase fish production by five percent.” BFAR 11 Director Fatma Idris was quoted as saying that the “5% target fish yield would be around 78.442 metric tons.”
The fishing ban started last year after the signing of a joint administrative order between the BFAR 11 and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the maritime group of the Phil-ippine National Police (PNP).
Studies have shown that the spawning sea-son of the Davao Gulf’s pelagic fishes starts from June until September.
Davao Gulf, with an area of 308,000 hectares, cuts into the island of Mindanao from Philippine Sea. The World Wildlife Fund considers Davao Gulf as one of the most diverse marine ecosys-tems in the world. Diverse coral reefs, different mangrove species, cetaceans and a host of inver-tebrates contribute to the natural diversity of the gulf.
Davao Gulf is Southern Mindanao’s fish-ing ground. In fact, it is the 10th major fishing ground in the country. As such, “Davao Gulf is a critical resource supporting the economies of six coastal cities and 18 coastal municipalities,” says the Davao Gulf Management Council (DGMC), composed of all the local government units sur-rounding the gulf.
The fishing ban was implemented when it was found Davao Gulf to have already reached and exceeded the so-called maximum sustain-able yield (MSY). In addition, there was also a de-cline in the catch of small pelagic fishes.
In this year’s fishing ban, BFAR 11 “aims to in-crease production of small pelagic fishes.” Among those identified species are bullet tuna (locally known as pirit), frigate tuna (tulingan), big-eyed scad (matambaka), round scad (galunggong),
and sardines.Aside from
not catching those fishes, the order also bans the usage of fish-ing gears. These include bagnets, fine mesh nets and ring nets in fishing “because these tools can catch even the small growing fishes,” according to an Edge Davao dispatch.
Fish provides more than half of the protein requirement of almost all Filipinos. But in recent years, the average annual consumption has de-clined from 37 kilos to just 30 kilos. “Unless we look for other sources of protein, the food intake of Filipinos will be greatly affected,” said a gov-ernment official.
And so it came to pass that the wealth of oceans, once considered boundless, has proven finite. Touted as “the poor man’s protein,” fish is now a resource coveted -- and fought over by countries.
“We are running out of fish and running out of time. For a country known for marine biodi-versity, there are very few fish left to catch,” Vince Cinches, Oceans Campaigner for Greenpeace Southeast Asia, was quoted as saying.
“Like the other vital resources such as forests, Philippine fisheries are about to collapse,” de-plored Roy C. Alimoane, the director of Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center (MBRLC), a non-govern-ment organization based in Davao del Sur.
The collapse of major fishing grounds in the country would mean uprooting 38,000 fisher-men each year. “The fish is getting scarcer,” said a father of six. “We all have children, grandchildren. We have to think of the future!”
The condition of open sea access -- that exists both for international vessels on the high seas and for domestic fleets within their own coun-
tries’ exclusive economic zones -- is generally regarded as the major reason for the sad state of the ocean.
In the Philippines, an estimated 10-15 per cent of the total fisheries come from coral reefs. About 80-90 per cent of the income of small is-land communities comes from fisheries. “Coral reef fish yields range from 20 to 25 metric tons per square kilometer per year for healthy reefs,” says Dr. Angel C. Alcala, former environment sec-retary.
Mangroves are not spared from destruction. “All over the country, whatever coastal prov-ince you visit, you see the same plight - desolate stretches of shoreline completely stripped of mangrove cover and now totally exposed to the pounding of the ocean’s waves,” a marine envi-ronmentalist deplored.
Experts are very worried at this prospect as mangroves are home to 68 species of fish (in-cluding bangus, kitan, tilapia, eel, and mullet, to name a few), 54 species of crustaceans (shrimps, prawns, and crabs), and 56 species of gastropods.
“Overfishing is the primary cause of dwin-dling fish population,” notes Peter Weber in his book, Net Loss: Fish, Jobs and the Marine Envi-ronment.
Along with fishing pressure, general degra-dation of coastal environments has influenced the steep decline of fishstock. Population growth and urbanization along shorelines lead to great-er municipal, industrial and agricultural waste discharge and pollution.
Marine experts claim that all fishing activ-ities depend on a fragile resource base which, if mismanaged and overexploited, can easily collapse. “Overfishing is the primary cause of dwindling fish population,” notes Peter Weber in his book, Net Loss: Fish, Jobs and the Marine Environment.
Fishing ban is one possible solution to the problem. “Given the decline of fishery resources, there has to be a closed season in Davao Gulf,” Councilor Leo Avila III pointed out. “Expect that by the end of this year, we will be able to replen-ish the stock of small pelagic fishes.”
A closed season
What the heck is peace and why are some people willing to go to war for it? (Part 2)
Phl, rubber stamp of Malaysia?
WHICH is why there are many who are for peace.
Not “at all cost,” but if the price is reasonable then why not? The questions is, what price are we willing to pay for peace? What exactly is “reasonable” and for whom? Is there really a common ground from where we can deal fairly, equally, and equitably with all parties?
Personally, I am still on the fence on this one. Recalling what I mentioned earlier, the problem is just too complex and the issues too diverse for any one solution to work. There is “right” on both sides, and also much that is wrong in either to make this a simple choice between black-or-white. The complete context of the problem still escapes me, and so mean-ing and the ultimate solution is likewise hard to come by.
But even with my lack of complete under-standing, one thing that is abundantly clear to me is that living in willful or malicious igno-rance is an even worse situation to be in. Not knowing should be a cause to search, not to attack blindly. And yet this is precisely what many of our countrymen stand on, an aggres-sively contrarian view based on nothing more than an incomplete picture – or worse a delib-erate distortion – of the Mindanao landscape.
Since Mamasapano, a place that 99.99 per-
cent of Filipinos would not have been able to lo-cate on a map if their lives de-pended on it, ev-eryone and his uncle is now an expert on Min-danao. People who otherwise would be happi-ly preoccupied with the latest twists and turns in the love life of Agnes and that guy with the blond hair now suddenly feel the urge to flood the comments section with such gems as “Philippines for the Filipinos. Do not give Mindanao to the Mus-lims,” and “BBL is create biggest problem.”
On its own these demonstrations of “wit and wisdom” aren’t really a problem, in fact for those who believe in the infallibility of the dem-ocratic process these should even be a cause for celebration. A triumph for the amateur pundits and their digital soapbox, dispensing insult and approbation with equal disregard to the facts.
No, the real bad guys here are those who deliberately play on the fears of others – fears based on an ignorance and misunderstanding – in order to pursue a political agenda that has
nothing to do with a genuine desire to have peace. People like Sen. Alan Cayetano, whose ambition-fueled tirades against the BBL would otherwise be acceptable if only it wasn’t so transparently self-serving.
And while this deliberate politicization of the BBL by Cayetano and his team is a mere ex-ercise in campaign propaganda, there are real costs on the ground – on the people who have to dodge the bombs and bullets to eke out a marginal living from an already miserable life.
Just to be clear, on the question of whether or not the BBL is the silver bullet that will end all the conflicts, I don’t believe it is. And anyone who argues that it will is just as deluded as Cay-etano. The BBL is just one more in the millions steps we have taken, and the million more that we may have to take to keep this journey to-wards peace going. We have to have faith in the process, even if we don’t in the personalities involved.
In the end the BBL or any other measure we take in the name of peace is only worth as much as the effort we put into making it work. We each hold a piece of the puzzle that com-pletes the picture. And it is only when we are able to come together and share our hopes and dreams that the jumbled images of peace, of war, of Mindanao, becomes clear and under-standable.
VOL. 8 ISSUE 39 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 201510 NEWS
Phl imports... FROM 5
Sasa... FROM 2
Rody... FROM 2
Marcos... FROM 2TOUGH... FROM 1 DCWD... FROM 4
Tagum... FROM 4
Phl... FROM 6
EDGEDAVAO
accounted for 15.1 percent or USD 2.38 billion of the coun-try’s total imports bill. Imports from China increased by 3.0 percent from USD 2.31 billion last year.
Imports from United States of America shared 10.6 percent in the country’s total imports. The Philippines im-ported USD 1.67 billion worth of goods from the USA in Q1 2015 which is 4.4 percent
higher than its imports bill in Q1 2014 of USD 1.59 billion.
Other top imports part-ners of the Philippines in Q1 this year include Japan (USD 1.3 billion), South Korea (USD 1.03 billion), Singapore (USD 1.21 billion), Taiwan (USD 1.14 billion), Thailand (USD 941.1 million), Germany (USD 886 million), Malaysia (USD 707.6 million), and Indonesia (USD 702.4 million). (PNA)
list.“The aim of the consulta-
tion/workshop is to improve the deals that the Philippines could request and offer in its trade agreement with EFTA member states as well as to the possibility of conducting construction outbound mis-sions,” said DTI Undersecre-
tary Prudencio Reyes, Jr.The consultation meeting
was participated by owners, officers, representatives from the construction industry, consultancy, management, design, contractors, materi-als, suppliers industry and professional organizations. (PNA)
congregation venue, and ga-zebos for lectures, including three building for comfort rooms, aviary section and city nursery.
The video added that the some of the rooms of the Tagum City National Trade School, which was just adja-cent to the energy park, can be used as billeting quarters.
The city government also offered the 31-hectare Botanical Garden in Brgy. Magdum, Hijo Forest in Brgy. Madaum and Liboganon Riv-er for trekking and other fun activities.
As to security and safety, Rellon said that the systems were in place as being attest-ed by the different national activities held in Tagum City
like the Palarong Pambansa.“The security and contin-
gency plans used during the recently held Palarong Pam-bansa will be still be in place for the scouting jamboree,” he said.
Rellon added that the jamboree will make Tagum known to the Philippine and to the world in the field of scouting.
“Of course, Tagum will be known to comply with national and international standard on holding scout-ing jamboree,” he stated.
Rellon bared that he will make a follow-up on the next national council meeting, since he will sit as the region-al head by that time, on their bid. (PIA11, Michael Uy)
duced to alternating current which is the requirement of the electrical system at the site. Said generated energy is enough to power the operation of the reservoirs.
The solar panel project
which costs PhP 262,925 was completed by Araw Power Sys-tems Philippines January this year while site development done by DCWD was completed first quarter this year. (Jovana Cresta T. Duhaylungsod)
DCCCII resolution issued last week calling for an investiga-tion on the matter.
The DCCCII had expressed its outright rejection of the project in a strongly-word-ed position and demanded that the national government place the bidding process on hold and revisit the study and recommendation made by the Development Bank of the Philippines-International Fi-nance Corporation (DBP-IFC).
“We urge everyone, the local government, the City Council of Davao to continue its probe and the Congress to look into this matter with sincere consideration to the well-being of the people of Davao City and the whole Davao Region,” read part of the draft of the position pa-per of the DCCCII headed by Board chair John Y. Gaisano and president Antonio T. dela Cruz.
Dayanghirang said he was “very grateful that Senator Osmeña will be bringing this out in the Senate.”
He also said according to Gaisano, the Sasa Port modernization will be detri-mental to the business sec-tor because the cost of using it would increase since the project will be built from a loan.
“The (loan) will be paid
by the stakeholders who will be using the port,” he said.
Dayanghirang also said the DOTC, without coordi-nation with the city govern-ment, purchased a relocation site in Barangay Mahayag in Bunawan District for those who will be affected by the project.
“The area is not suitable for residential use since it is in an industrial zone, which is a violation to our zoning ordi-nance” he said.
Dayanghirang said the question is why the DOTC is in a hurry to do the project and why it did not coordinate properly with the city gov-ernment.
Last week in Davao City, DOTC Undersecretary Rene K. Limcaoco defended the project by saying that the P17 billion bid price is just the “estimated cost of the con-ceptual design.”
He said the winning bid-der is not required to im-plement the modernization project at the P17 billion bid price. It could be lower de-pending on the bidder and its respective design, he added.
Limcaoco said three com-panies have already bought bid documents for P300,000. One of them is San Miguel Corporation (SMC). With a report of Cheneen R. Capon
President the various issues directly related to BBL and if he has suggestions for us we would certainly listen because his inputs are important,” said Marcos, Chairman of the Sen-ate Committee on Local Gov-ernment, in a radio interview.
“But it’s another matter entirely if it’s only for politi-cal maneuvering, as what was done with the House of Repre-sentatives. Then, I don’t think I should be part of that; I don’t want to be involved in any-thing like that,” he added.
Marcos noted that before meeting with the President, the House ad hoc committee had agreed to line up amend-ments to address flaws in BBL. But after the meeting the com-mittee swiftly approved the passage of a new version of BBL, discarding changes the panel agreed upon earlier.
He said the reason why many people believe the pas-sage of BBL was railroaded in the House ad hoc committee was spurred by reports that an LP (Liberal Party) version was given to the panel and lawmak-ers were told to take it or leave it.
As far as he is concerned, Marcos said his committee will do its best to address the issues raised against BBL, including constitutional issues, practical administrative concerns, and power sharing, and the issue of inclusivity among others.
Marcos said it is inevita-ble that any version of BBL Congress approves and signed by the President will be chal-lenged before the Supreme Court so his panel is doing it’s best to ensure the BBL version they will recommend will stand any constitutional challenge.
“That’s what we are doing and it’s not an easy process.
So, why are we being rushed? There is no deadline in the law, there is no deadline in the Framework Agreement, there was no deadline anywhere but suddenly there was this June 11 deadline,” Marcos said.
Marcos said BBL is im-portant and complicated as it involves the lives of the peo-ple of Muslim Mindanao and the threat of war hanging over them so it is the duty of law-makers to ensure they would pass the best version possible.
Marcos earlier said his panel would also seek to ad-dress the “shocking revelation” that BBL was drafted without consultation with major stake-holders, including the Moro National Liberation Front, the Sultanates, the indigenous people, and the chief execu-tives in core areas of Bang-samoro territory and adjacent localities.
In Monday’s hearing, for example, Marcos said the tes-timonies from representatives of the sultanates showed there was no consultation with them and that the proceedings af-forded them for the first time to put their views forward on the proposed BBL.
Marcos said none of the sultanates authorized the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to represent them. Likewise, Marcos said the draft BBL do not contain specific provisions allowing the sultan-ates to continue their gover-nance in accordance with their ancient ways.
The Sultanates have asked the committee to include pro-visions in BBL creating a body to help preserve their unique history, culture and tradition, as well as guaranteed seats in the Bangsamoro parliament, appointed similar to sectoral representatives.
book page.In a statement released
to media yesterday, Duterte’s camp said that “as a presiden-tial hopeful, Mayor Duterte knows fully well the conse-quences of his public pro-nouncements. And gauging by his hair-raising statements, it seems he is ready to face the issue squarely when chal-lenged by anyone.”
“It is a calculated risk on the part of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to admit that he is behind the Davao Death Squad (DDS) and his state-ment that if ever he wins the presidency, he would kill all criminals which he claimed make the lives of Filipinos miserable,” the statement said.
Duterte’s statement re-opened talks of his involve-ment with the DDS--an issue which Secretary De Lima as former CHR chair failed to substantially prove when they conducted a probe on Duterte during the administration of former President Gloria Ma-capagal-Arroyo.
According to De Lima, Duterte may be held liable for confessing he has links to the Davao Death Squad. Duterte’s camp said this could be De Li-ma’s “revenge” after she failed to substantiate the alleged “killing fields” in Davao. De Lima is saying it is “simply un-acceptable” because it would
send a wrong signal to the international human rights community.
“She never shuts her mouth,” a post on ANC 24-7 read in reaction to De Lima’s statement.
According to Duterte’s camp, while the Mayor’s bold statement was annoying to the CHR and De Lima, pub-lic reaction seemed to favor Duterte.
“Public reaction was not surprising. A big majority of radio listeners are apparent-ly scared and disturbed with the deteriorating peace and order situation in the country whether in the urban areas or country sides. They want drastic action against crime and corruption and this is per-haps the reason they still sup-port Mayor Duterte’s tough stance though his statement sounds scary and alarming to human rights groups. This is the result when hapless and hopeless citizens see the government’s weakness in addressing the issue of crim-inality and peace and order,” the statement read.
Duterte’s camp believed that the public looked up to somebody like Duterte “to change the situation, the status quo, where heinous crimes like rape, murder, drug trafficking, unabated smug-gling are the normal occur-rence in our midst.”
to, North Cotabato and Pala-wan--refused to join the Moro Autonomous region.
“Does this mean that these eight provinces which earlier rejected their inclu-sion in the Moro autonomous region would now have to go through another plebiscite again to determine wheth-er they would like to join the Bangsamoro Autonomous Re-gion?” Duterte again asked in a statement sent to the media Tuesday afternoon.
The local chief executive warned Malacañang not to rush the approval of the BBL and in the process create a chaotic situation in the future.
“This early, we are already seeing signs that the peace which we have promised that Filipino people, espe-cially those from Mindanao, may not come that easy,” said Duterte who has always been supportive of the peace talks with rebel groups, including the New People’s Army (NPA).
He cited the position of the Sultanate of Sulu whose representatives have opposed the inclusion of the Sultanate in the Bangsamoro Auton-omous Region and even ac-cused the MILF of betraying
the Sultanate by working closely with Malaysia.
The Sultanate of Sulu is claiming ownership of Sabah, a portion of the island of Bor-neo, which the Sultanate said was awarded to the Sulu of Sulu following the latter’s help to the Sultan of Brunei to quell an uprising.
“Let me repeat my warn-ing that what is good for the Muslims of Central Mindanao, primarily the Maguindanaos, Maranaos, Iranuns and Ka-gans, may not be acceptable to the Tausugs, Yakans, and Samals. These are entirely two different Moro nations,” Duterte said.
The BBL, he said, should be thoroughly reviewed by the Senate so that the mea-sure would ultimately result in peace and not another round of conflict in the South-ern Philippines.
Duterte, who is advocat-ing a shift to Federalism from the current Unitary Presiden-tial form, has proposed the creation instead of two Fed-eral Moro States, one for the Muslims of the main island of Mindanao and the other for the Muslims in the islands southwest of the Philippines.
EXTRA-JUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF ESTATE
Notice is hereby given that the estate of the late SPS. ANICETO QUIÑONES and NENA GORRES QUIÑONES has been the subject of an EXTRA-JUDICIAL SETTLEMENT executed among their heirs per Doc. No.334; Page No.68; Book No. XIII; Series of 2014, of the NOTARY PUBLIC IRA R.CALATRAVA-VALENZUELA
5/27/6/3/10
VOL. 8 ISSUE 39 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 11EDGEDAVAO
AGRITRENDS
There’s more to coconut than just copra
Text and Photos By HENRYLITO D. TACIO
ALTHOUGH not a native of the Philippines, co-conut is considered
God’s gift to Filipinos. One historian wrote: “A man sleeps in the shade of the tree. He is awakened when a nut falls, drinks the water, and eats some of the meat. He then feeds the rest of the meat to the chickens, which produce eggs, milk, and meat. The leaves provide thatch for the roof and walls of his coconut hut, and are also woven into hats, bas-kets, and mats.”
From the air, the Philip-pines looks like a country filled with coconut trees. After all, some 3,562 million hectares of coconut trees are planted all over the country. “Coconut provides vital eco-nomic support to the rural communities, with over 3.4 million farmers directly ben-efiting from the industry,” reports the Laguna-based Philippine Council for Agri-culture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and De-velopment (PCAARRD).
The Philippines is the world’s second largest pro-ducer of coconut products after Indonesia. But the Phil-ippines is the top exporter of coconut products (about 64 percent of the world’s copra and coconut oil comes from the country).
Copra or dried coconut meat is the main product of coconuts. It has high oil content, as much as 64 per-cent. Coconut oil, which is the most readily digested
among all fats of general use in the entire world, furnishes about 9,500 calories of ener-gy per kilo.
But there’s more to co-conut than just copra and coconut oil. In the past, there was the nata de coco (which became a craze in Japan a few years back). Another one that became a global phenomenon is virgin coco-nut oil, which the New York Times described as having a “haunting, nutty, vanilla fla-vour” that also has a touch of sweetness that works well with baked goods, pastries, and sautés.
In recent years, there’s buko juice, which in the United States is called coco water. “Because of its nutri-ents, because it is natural and environment friendly, it is becoming the new natu-ral sports drink in America and is now a hundred-mil-lion-dollar industry,” Pres-ident Benigno Aquino III once reported.
“The coconut water has lots of health nutrients and uses,” the PCAARRD said. “It is among the purest of all wa-ters. It has no cholesterol but contains more electrolytes than any fruit or vegetable juice or sports drink current-ly available in the market. It contains trace amounts of copper, phosphorus, and sul-fur which help correct elec-trolyte imbalances.”
In Davao, some farmers are also rediscovering the health benefits of coconut -- plus knowing these can be
Benjamin Lao
Processing coco sugar
Health coco products from Lao Integrated Farm
Coconuts to be made into copra
a good source of income for them. In the town of Ban-salan, about 85 kilometers away from Davao City, there is a farmer who makes mon-ey out of his coconuts.
Benjamin R. Lao, pres-ident and chief executive officer of the Lao Integrated Farms, Inc., uses coconut to produce coco sugar. He does not only sell his coco prod-ucts in his hometown and nearby areas but also export them to other countries.
According to him, the profit of using a coconut tree for coco sugar is almost three times than when the same tree is used for making copra.
In a period of three months, one coconut tree can produce 25 nuts, he said. Only one kilo of copra can be produced from 5 nuts. At P35 per kilo, the gross sales amounts to P175. The net income you get is only P95 from one coconut trees af-ter deducting the expenses amounting to P80.
In comparison, one coco-nut tree can be rented at P90 for three months. If a tree is tapped for toddy and make it into coco sugar, the net in-come is P270. “See the differ-ence?” Lao asked.
“It is not enough that we plant the most number of coconut trees or produce the highest number of nuts,” commented Dr. Patricio S. Faylon, the PCAARRD execu-tive director. “It is getting the highest value and benefits from this crop that matters most. The best way to do
this is to transform the nuts and other coconut parts into high-value products.”
Coco sugar is considered a safe and healthy sweetener due to its low glycemic index (GI) of 35. It is rich in phos-phorus, potassium, calcium, and chlorine. As an “invert sugar,” it can be a valuable sweetener in food and phar-maceutical preparations and can be used as substitute for honey and sweetener for in-fant foods.
“Its health benefits have been recognized by highly discriminating and health-conscious market,” PCAARRD said. “Demand for the product is continuously increasing and is expected to further increase due to the number of health-conscious individuals within and out-side the country.”
“Coconut sap sugar is not only sweet but even more nutritious than cane sugar,” pointed out Lao, whose prod-uct lines also include coconut sap honey, coconut syrup, and coconut sap drink. His coco sugar is also being sold in the United States, Japan, Australia, and Canada.
On value adding, Lao shared these words: “(It) is an important component in a farming system. For in-stance, if you have goats, you must know how to produce fresh milk and having other saleable products from the animals. In the case of coco-nut, don’t think only of copra because when it is cheaper, you can always have another
product to sell.”Aside from coconut, the
Lao Integrated Farm is also teeming with various fruits like lanzones (more than a thousand trees), durian (700 trees), mangosteen, and ram-butan. “I bought them one at a time from my salary as a government employee,” said Lao, who used to work as im-migration officer.
In his farm, you won’t see his farm workers using chemical pesticides. “I had a tragic experience with chem-ical pesticides when I was still a teenager while cultivat-ing rice in our farm located at the neighboring barangay,” he revealed.
Instead, he recommends using Eman (the name of the barangay where his farm is located), which stands for “epektibo, mura, at natural” (effective, cheap, and nat-ural). “This is a concoction composed of fresh goats’
manure, kakawate, maka-buhay, and hot pepper,” he informed. “These are soaked together for 48 hours and after that the concoction is ready for application.”
Lao said Eman is effec-tive in repelling plant pests and diseases. In addition, it is also a good course of foliar fertilizer. “We are committed to help preserve our environ-ment. We want to teach Fili-pino farmers the right way of farming through natural method and that is by not us-ing commercial fertilizer or pesticides,” he said.
People who have been to his farm described it as a haven. You don’t see only livestock and crops but or-namentals as well. “It’s nice to see beautiful flowers un-derneath the trees,” he ex-plained. “Also, the flowers serve as breeding areas for beneficial insects like spiders and dragonflies.”
VOL. 8 ISSUE 39 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 201512 EDGEDAVAO
ICT HUB
LEADING mobile money service GCash has part-nered with IT solutions
and services firm iXBASE to enable the company with reliable payroll solutions for funds disbursement.
GCash is powered by G-Xchange, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Globe Telecom.
With GCash, iXBASE can now effectually release funds to its over 20,000 customers using an easy, secure, and hassle-free platform. “With our growing solutions port-folio that now includes pay-roll disbursement, we are privileged to be helping our partners grow their footprint and benefit their employees and stakeholders,” shares G-Xchange, Inc. President & CEO Xavier Marzan.
GCash remains to play an important role in nation-al socio-economic develop-
ment with a 60% increase in customer base for its GCash Payroll segment, providing partner companies with a modern payroll solution that allows employers to easily disburse salaries, loans, al-lowances, and commissions. Employees also get access to the rest of the GCash mobile money suite of services such as buying load, sending mon-ey to others, and paying bills, among others.
iXBASE Inc. CEO, Leo Marquez, enthuses, “Our company remains steadfast in its commitment to provide lasting linkages and advance-ments to benefit customers we serve. Our partnership with GCash helps us provide reliable funds disbursement facility and payment solu-tions and we look forward to extending this service to more companies nation-wide.”
iXBase Incorporated is a company that has consistent-ly providing quality IT solu-tions and services, equipped with a team of professional and highly skilled program-mers and engineers. The com-pany develops, innovates and customize system specifically to cooperatives, rural banks and other financial institu-tions integrating the latest available technologies appli-cable to banking solutions. It has developed a platform that uses the industry standard messaging format, iX360, and MTM financial gateway. It has also evolve four main products, i.e. Web Based Core Banking Solution named as iX360CBS; Mobile Banking In-tegrations; and Social Perfor-mance Management Solution (SPMS). Web Based Point Of Sale named as iXSIMS.
Customers can access GCash in 3 ways – using their
GCash Payroll Card for with-drawal and purchases from local sites, via the Globe Menu *143#, or via GCash Mobile App for mobile money ser-vices. The app is available for iOS, Android and Blackberry devices.
To know more about GCash and their latest port-folio of products and services visit http://www.globe.com.ph/gcash, or visit a Globe store nearest you.
For more information, please contact:Yoly C. CrisantoHead, Corporate Communi-cationsGlobe Telecom, Inc.Email Address: [email protected] Press Room: www.globe.com.ph/press-roomTwitter: @talk2GLOBE │ Facebook: www.facebook.com/globeph
IT Solutions and services company iXBASE will now be able to utilize GCash’s reliable payroll disbursement solution to better serve their partners and customers. In this photo are (from left) iXBASE COO Adonnis Jañala, iXBASE CEO Leo Marquez, together with GXI Sales Issuance Director Albert Antig and GXI Regional Sales Manager King Katalbas.
DESIGN guru Jony Ive, who has been responsible for the
minimalist characteristics of several Apple products over the years, has been promoted by the company.
Ive, who has served as Apple’s senior vice presi-dent of design for sever-al years, has been named to the newly creat-ed position of chief de-sign officer, a c c o r d -ing to a m e m o sent to company employ-ees by Apple CEO Tim Cook.
In his new position, Ive will still be in charge of the company’s hardware and software design teams, but some of his day-to-day managerial respon-sibilities will be handed off to two new leaders of each department on July 1, according to the memo, which was published by 9to5mac.
While Ive focuses on other tasks such as the design of Apple’s retail stores and the company’s new campus in Cupertino, California, his managerial duties will be delegated to Richard Howarth, the new VP of Industrial Design and focus on hardware, and Alan Dye, Apple’s new VP of User Interface Design.
Apple confirmed the memo’s authenticity, say-ing it was thrilled to an-nounce Ive’s appointment to the newly created post.
“In this new role, he will focus entirely on cur-
rent design projects, new ideas and future initia-tives,” Apple said in a state-ment.
Ive, 48, joined Apple as a full-time employee in 1992 and became its chief of industrial design after Apple co-founder Steve Jobs returned to the com-pany in 1997. Under Ive’s direction, Apple’s put out a list of iconic products in-cluding the iMac, iPod, and iPad.
Considered close friends, Jobs and Ive of-ten ate lunch together and collaborated on different Apple products. Jobs also held the design wizard in high esteem, and Ive was considered to be on a short list of candidates to replace Jobs when he retired be-fore his death in 2011.
Ive’s design responsi-bilities were expanded in 2012 to include software when he was put in charge of a new department called Human Interface. The word “industrial” was trimmed from his title in 2013.
have been discussed at meet-ings involving the intelligence services in 2011 and 2012, according to the classified document.
The project called “Irri-tant Horn” would allow the agencies to hijack data con-nections to app stores and surreptitiously implant ma-licious software on smart-phones that would allow for data to be harvested.
The intelligence agencies could also use the spyware to send misinformation to targets to confuse potential adversaries, according to the report.
The Intercept said the plan was motivated in part by concerns about the possibility of “another Arab Spring,” or the spread of popular move-ments.
The agencies were partic-ularly interested in the Africa region, especially Senegal, Su-
dan, and the Congo but also targeted app store servers in France, Cuba, Morocco, Swit-zerland, Bahamas, the Nether-lands, and Russia.
At the time, the Google app store was called Android Market. It is now known as Google Play.
In developing the plan, the agencies found weaknesses in UC Browser, an app owned by Alibaba Group which is popular in China and India to browse the Internet and is used by some 500 million people worldwide.
The document was also published in Canada by CBC News, which said the aim of the plan was to collect data on suspected terrorists and other intelligence targets, including their online search queries, SIM card numbers, device IDs and the location of the smart-phone.
In one case, according
to the CBC, analysts found a foreign military using the UC Browser app to communicate covertly about its operations in Western countries.
There was no immedi-ate comment on the report following AFP queries to the NSA. Google and Samsung both declined comment. Ear-lier this year, a Google securi-ty report said fewer than one percent of Android devices had a potentially harmful app installed, with the number even lower for those using of-ficial Google channels.
The report is the latest based on leaked documents from Snowden describing vast programs by NSA and other services to scoop up data in the search for terrorists.
The leaks starting in 2013 shocked many Americans and US allies and have led to calls for reform of laws governing US data collection.
Apple promotes Iveto chief design officer
GCash payroll systempowers IT company
NSA ‘planned to hack Google’s app store to implant malware on phones’
Jony Ive (Photo from apple.com)
THE US National Security Agency developed plans to hack into data links to
app stores operated by Google and Samsung to plant spy-ware on smartphones, a me-dia report said Thursday.
The online news site The Intercept said US intelligence developed the plan with allies in Britain, Canada, New Zea-land and Australia, a group known as the “Five Eyes” alli-ance.
The report, based on a document leaked by for-mer NSA contractor Edward Snowden, said the plan aimed to step up surveillance efforts on smartphones.
SEDA Abreeza offers a new taste as Seda Nuva-li’s Executive Sous Chef
Danny Gallardo shares his Japanese cuisine expertise to Davaoenos. Chef Danny comes over to Seda Abreeza on May 25 to 30, 2015 for the Japanese Food Festival. This event is part of the urban life-style hotel chain’s Seda Chef Exchange Program which en-ables the Head Chef of each Seda Hotel to visit another of its own and share their ex-pertise in the food industry.
For the last week of May, Seda Abreeza’s Misto will have a specialJapanese
lunch and dinner menu for its guests. The Japanese set menu serveschoicesamong pork, beef, chicken,seafood, or vegetables along with tuna or salmon sashimi, miso soup, Japanese rice and fruit platter for Php 780 nett. Ala carte meals are also available starting at Php 300 nett.
By May 29, Japanese food lovers may indulge in a Jap-anese Dinner Buffet at Php 980 nett for adults and Php 680 nett for kids. Thebuffet-showcasesJapanesefavor-itesfromappetizersdown-todesserts.The event aims to give guests a complete Jap-
anese dining experience as Seda Abreeza incorporates a Japanese-themed vibe, from decorations to costumes and service quality.
Chef Danny has spent about 26 splendid years of his life creating numerous dishes for countless 5-star hotels and restaurants.He associates his expertise in the Japanese cuisine back on his first stint in a Japanese restaurant. He was wide-ly surrounded by Japanese chefs, which stirred his in-terest. His skills in Japanese cuisine and buffet took him places as Saipan, Dubai,
Ukraine, and India. The week-long festivity
also includes the Seda Re-wards Members Japanese Dinner Party on May 28th. Members will know easy but fun ways of creating Japa-nese food favorites through a cooking demo by Chef Danny Gallardo. This is Seda Abree-za’s way of giving back to its loyal bookers.
Neil Llanes, Talentadong-Pinoy defending champion whose Asia’s Got Talent au-dition video hit a million in YouTube, will grace both the Seda Rewards event and the Japanese Dinner Buffet.
Seda features Japanese food and buffet
JAPANESE FAIR. Seda Abreeza manager Kennedy Kapulong introduces Seda Nuvali’s Executive Sous Chef Danny Gallardo who shared his Japanese cuisine expertise to Davao media. Neil Bravo
VOL. 8 ISSUE 39 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 201514
GENERAL SANTOS CITY MARKETING OFFICEEDMUND P. RENDONMarketing SpecialistGeneral Santos CityMobile: (Sun) 0925-357-3460 (Smart) 0907-202-3844
DAVAO CITY MAIN OFFICEJOCELYN S. PANESDirector of SalesDoor 14 ALCREJ Bldg.,Quirino Ave., Davao CityTel: (082) 224-1413Telefax: (082) 221-3601
MANILA MARKETINGOFFICEANGELICA R. GARCIA Marketing Manager97-1 Bayanbayanan Ave.,Marikina Heights, Marikina City Tel: (02) 654-3509
GO BOLD GO COLOUR• All text
• Telephone Number (bigger point size)
• Bold Header
• Background• Text
Price: 100.00 Price: 175.00 Price: 230.00
ADD-ON
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CLASSIFIED EDGEDAVAO
VOL. 8 ISSUE 39 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2015 15EDGEDAVAOSports
MINDANAO’S finest gamefowl breeders will battle it out for
the Thunderbird Mindanao All-Star 5-Cock Derby during the much-anticipated Thun-derbird Davao Challenge set on June 6 at the New Davao Matina Gallera in Davao City.
The Mindanao All-Stars will feature topnotch breed-ers Gov. Eddiebong Plaza, Gov. Claude Baustista, Alex Macariola, Dorie Du, Balong Espinosa, Tata Sala, Kap. Ro-meo Baquirel, Mario Bantilan,
Christian Saldivar, Lyndon Tabuada, Bryan Blanco, Her-man Cantuba, Maning Eva, James Fuentes, Jojie Tiu, Jun Bacolod, Isidoro “B1” Uy, Larry Rubinos/Greg de Carlos, Boy Oncada and Sammy Uy.
The Thunderbird Davao Challenge will be the first-ev-er “double derby” with two 5-cock derbies to be held with-in each other -- the Thunder-bird National All-Star 5-Cock Derby and the Thunderbird Mindanao All-Star 5-Cock Der-by.
“These two derbies will be matched separately, will have two separate fight programs and two separate scoreboards. The derby will start with Fight#1 of the Thunderbird National All-Star Derby, fol-lowed by Fight#1 of the Thun-derbird Mindanao All-Star 5-Cock Derby, then Fight#2 of the National All-Star followed by Fight#2 of the Mindan-ao All-Star, and so on and so forth,” said Mark Anthony Lag-may, Thunderbird Southern Mindanao team leader, during
yesterday’s SCOOP Forum at the Royal Mandaya Hotel.
“It’s history in the making when this big event is held in Davao City from June 4 - 7,” said Lagmay.
First staged in 2010, the Thunderbird Challenge is a yearly-held 4-cock derby among Thunderbird Power Feeds & Thunderbird Power-vet’s elite endorsers aimed to promote cockfighting and local tourism, thus it has been held in the country’s most popular travel destinations : Boracay in
2010, Palawan in 2011, Dakak, Dapitan in 2012, Bohol in 2013 and Ilocos Region in 2014.
In the Thunderbird Na-tional All-Star 5-Cock Derby, the impressive line-up of en-tries include cocking greats Engr. Sonny Lagon, Nene Abello, Lancey dela Torre, Pol Estrellado, Rey Briones, Nestor Vendivil, Mayor Bob-by Clemente, Cong. Lawrence Wacnang, Joey Sy, Pao Malvar, Mayor Jesry Palmares, Bebot Monsanto, Bernie Tacoy, Win-nie Codilla, Mayor Baba Yap,
former Gov. Baham Mitra, Joe Laureno, Engr. Sonnie Magti-bay, Tol Mariano, Lino Maria-no, Tan Brothers (Jun, Bobot & Bong), Bugsky Ngsuy, Bentoy Sy, Manny Dalipe and Bebot Uy.
A sidelight to this year’s Thunderbird Davao Challenge is the staging of several med-ical missions, as Thunderbird Cares, in cooperation with Mr. Jun Bacolod conduct medical, dental and optical services in Panabo, in Bgy. Mattina Aplaya, Davao City and in Bgy. Makato, Makilala, North Cotabato.
Top breeders in Thunderbird Davao Challenge
STAYING ALIVEWHEN Golden
State’s Stephen Curry crashed
into Trevor Ariza’s shoul-der, was upended and sent flying toward the court on Monday night against Houston, it felt like forever before he landed.
“That was the worst (fall ever) because you’re in the air for a long time,” Curry said. “And not knowing how you’re going to hit the floor, knowing that it’s going to happen, it’s inevitable, but you’re up there just trying to brace yourself.”
The MVP was able to return to Game 4 of the Western Conference finals after the spill but the Warriors couldn’t overcome a big deficit, as James Harden scored 45 points in the Rockets’ 128-115 victory.
Curry said he went through the concussion protocol before return-ing.
“It was all minor stuff compared to how it
looked,” Curry said. “But I’ll get some good rest (Monday night) and be ready to go ... since it hap-pened to now, nothing has gotten worse.”
The collision came when Curry jumped in the air as Ariza was about to go up for a shot midway through the second quar-ter. Ariza saw him and stopped abruptly, causing the spill. Curry’s head hit the court and it propelled him up and back onto the floor, where he remained for several minutes.
Curry looked dazed as he was attended to be-fore slowly getting up and walking off the court.
“In the seconds af-terward, it’s just a scary feeling, hearing all those voices saying: ‘Take your time,’” Curry said. “You just want to gather your-self, regroup and trust the process.”
It wasn’t only fright-ening for him. His coaches and teammates were all worried when they saw the hard fall.
Harden torches 45 as Rockets win Game 4
MARIA Sharapova got back in the groove at her happiest hunting
ground while Andy Murray’s growing love of clay blos-somed as both posted easy first-round wins at the French Open on Monday.
Defending champion Sharapova was nursing a cold but opened her bid for a third Roland Garros title in four years with a 6-2 6-4 victory over Estonian Kaia Kanepi on a breezy Court Phillipe Chatrier.
Men’s third seed Murray then took his winning streak on the red dust to 11 matches by overpowering Argentine
lucky loser Facundo Arguello 6-3 6-3 6-1, maintaining his unbeaten run since marrying long-term partner Kim Sears.
Sharapova, who was also champion in 2012 and run-ner-up in 2013 despite an intense dislike for the surface earlier in her illustrious career, produced her usual power ten-nis to ease through to the sec-ond round.
It was not a perfect per-formance, perhaps due to the cough that was troubling her, but she never looked in danger as she set up a meeting with fellow Russian Vitalia Diatch-enko.
DAVAO CHALLENGE. Mark Anthony Lagmay shows the poster of the forthcoming Thunderbird Davao Challenge during yesterday’s SCOOP Forum at the Royal Mandaya Hotel. Boy Lim
SPORTS AMBASSADOR. Alex Tan, former PBA player, announces the com-ing of the Sports Ambassadors basketball team during yesterday’s SCOOP Forum at the Royal Mandaya Hotel. The Ambassadorsd will play here from June 7-15, 2015. Boy Lim
EVERBALL Columbia Computer Center finally tasted its first win with
a rousing 84 – 77 decision against City Mayors Office in Game No. 19 of their Bas-ketball Friendly Series at the Davao City Recreation Center Almendras Gym on May 12.
De Guzman led five dou-ble-digit scorers with 17 as the Everball ended its 18-game losing streak.
Balisalisa and Chavez chipped in 13 baskets apiece as Suarez and Francisco add-ed 10 each for the Everball Columbia that at length got
its act together.Christopher “Bong” Go
put up his usual numbers coming through with 30 points, including six triples.
But the supporting casts were miserably missing as the City Hall dribblers dropped its first game in 19 outings.
It was only JR De Guzman managed to deliver and back-stop Go with 14.
Everball Columbia was superb in both ends of the floor as they showed efficien-cy in their offense on top of excellent defensive plays.
Everball snaps CMO run
Sharapova, Murray post first round wins
THE DIFFERENCE. James Harden of the Houston Rockets torched the hoops with 45 points in Game 4.
VOL. 8 ISSUE 39 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 201516 EDGEDAVAO
