Edge Davao 6 Issue 232

P 15.00 • 20 PAGESwww.edgedavao.netVOL. 8 ISSUE 232 • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2016

HIGH ALERT

EDGE Serving a seamless society

DAVAO

Davao City on orange alert status due to Mindanao bomb incidentsBy ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

[email protected]

ALL IN A ROW. Some of the 30 young Dabawenyas vying for this year’s Mutya ng Davao crown take to the ramp during the candidates’ presentation to the media in a press conference held at Seda Abreeza Hotel yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

ALL security forces in Davao City are on orange or high alert status after

a number of bombing incidents in some parts of Central Mind-anao.

Task Force Davao com-mander Colonel Crisotbal N. Zaragoza had written a letter to Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte on February 13 saying raising the alert level is due to the operation plan “Laban sa Terrorismo.”

Zaragoza said the recom-mendation was based on a se-ries of incidents in Mindanao.

He told EDGE Davao that the city had previously been on “white alert” or normal opera-tions.

First was an explosion in Tacurong City, Sultan Kuda-rat on February 2, followed by the recovery of unexploded im-provised explosive device (IED) a few meters from the public transport terminal in the same city.

On the evening of February 10, there was an explosion at Police Station 1 in Cotabato City.

Last Saturday, an unexplod-ed IED was found in the office

of the Maguindanao Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Man-agement Council.

Zaragoza said based on the intelligence reports, test bomb-ing mission will take place in Bukidnon and the cities of Cagayan de Oro, Cotabato, and Davao by a suspected terrorist group.

Davao City Police Office (DCPO) spokesperson Chief In-spector Milgrace C. Driz, for her part, advised the public to be alert and vigilant.

“Kita mismo magbinan-tayon og mohatag ta og mga

impormasyon sa atong kapu-lisan (We should be vigilant and give information to our police ) because public safety is not only the concern of AFP (Armed Forces of the Philip-pines) and PNP (Philippine National Polce) but of the entire community,” she said.

“If you notice someone who is acting suspiciously or see a person with bomb para-phernalia and components of IEDs, report it immediately to the nearest police station or to Task Force Davao for immedi-ate action,” she said.

EDGEDAVAOSportsWest routs East P15

VOL. 8 ISSUE 232 • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 20162 EDGEDAVAO

NEWS

By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO [email protected]

Duterte threatens to skipdebate over media furorPRESIDENTIAL candidate

Rodrigo Duterte yester-day said he might not

appear at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) debate scheduled on February 21 in Cagayan de Oro City if the lo-cal media are not given a fair share in the coverage.

“I will not go there also. Pagka ganun (If it’s like that) you limit the (press cov-erage). Why?” Duterte told reporters after his appearance at the thanksgiving prayer of close friend Rev. Apollo Qui-boloy in Buhangin, Davao City late Sunday night.

But he also said he will dis-cuss the matter further with PDP-Laban president Senator Aquilino ‘Koko’ Pimentel III.

The Cagayan de Oro Press Club had said it will boycott the first of three rounds of Comelec debates after the poll body limited the participation of the local media in the cover-age of the event.

“There have been many instances in the past when Manila-based media organi-zations have condescended on the provincial press. The Pres-idential Debate in the city is no (exception),” the Cagayan de

Oro Press Club said in a state-ment issued Sunday night.

The debates are spon-sored by media giants GMA-7, Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP), and the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

The statement, Mindan-ews reported, noted that only five slots will be alloted for Cagayan de Oro-based media — five for editors/ publishers as audience in the venue that can accommodate only 500 – and only five newspaper re-porters will be allowed access to the event’s media center, a separate venue where a video

monitor will broadcast feeds of the debate.

The rest of the audience will be ushered to the bigger venue at the Capitol University gym which can accommodate 5,000 people and will have gi-ant LCD screens.

“We are making a dis-tinction between those who are invited as members of the debate audience basically a studio audience, from the general audience which will be… inside the auditorium but not within the debate hall, meaning the stage area and

Rody, Alan regainedmomentum: LaviñaTHE latest ratings of the

tandem of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duter-

te and Senator Alan Peter Cay-etano proved that both pres-idential and vice-presidential candidates have regained mo-mentum as the election cam-paign enters its second week.

This was the statement of Duterte-Cayetano tandem spokesperson Peter Laviña yesterday regarding the lat-est Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey which showed Duterte increasing his rating by 4 percentage points from 20 percent to 24 percent.

In a statement, Laviña said the latest SWS ratings are “proof of the rising clam-or for genuine change (Tunay Na Pagbabago). Our country is mired in increasing drugs,

crime, corruption and pover-ty.”

“We are hopeful that as the campaign progresses, we would be able to continue this upward trend and gain more supporters,” Laviña said.

The recent SWS survey was taken from February 5 to 7. Duterte is now tied with Senator Grace Poe who also has 24 percent.

Vice President Jejomar Binay is still ahead with 29 percent, although this was a 3 percent drop from his previ-ous rating.

Duterte’s vice presidential running mate Senator Alan Peter Cayetano also improved by 2 percent, up from 14 to 16 percent.

The SWS survey has a mar-

PLAN YOUR FAMILIES. Presidential aspirant Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte tells his supporters in Tagum City last Saturday that if he is elected president, every family should undergo family planning. Armando B. Fenequito Jr.

DPWH finishes 209 projects worthP1.2 billion in 3rd District : RD AlquizaALL but few of the 209

different infrastructure projects programmed

for 2015 in the Third Congres-sional District of Davao City have been completed, officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) have reported.

DPWH Regional Director Mariano R. Alquiza and Sec-ond Engineering District head Gene Lozano discussed the agency’s accomplishments in the year just ended during a recent media briefing.

The Third Congressio-nal District represented by Rep. Isidro T. Ungab is under the jurisdiction of the DPWH Davao City 2nd Engineering District. Ungab, who heads the House Committee on Appropriations, took up the infrastructure budgets of the district and all other parts of the country.

Alquiza said that the 2015 infra program of the 2nd engi-neering district consisted of 183 local infra projects costing a total of P841.7 million; 10

construction and maintenance of flood mitigation structures and drainage systems, P165 million; four construction and improvement of access roads leading to tourist destinations, P150 million; two rehabilita-tion, reconstruction, upgrad-ing of damaged paved national roads, P11.665 million, among many other projects like bridges, water supply systems, septage, sewerage and rain collection systems.

Lozano was quoted to have that the engineering dis-

trict office is also ready with its infra accomplishment

report in the years 2013 and 2014 corresponding to the third term of outgoing Rep. Ungab.

On the other hand, Region-al Director Alquiza is expected to report out the overall infra picture of Region 11 during his next regular regional staff meeting before the end of Feb-ruary. By Armando Fenequito Jr. with a report from Dean Ortiz, DPWH regional public information section

Second Engineering District head Gene Lozano discusses his accomplishments with DPWH Regional Director Mariano R. Alquiza

FDUTERTE, 10FRODY, 10

VOL. 8 ISSUE 232 • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2016 3EDGEDAVAO

Malacañang deniesusing BuB for Roxas

By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO [email protected]

NEWS

RONDA SERYE. Sebastian, youngest son of presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte, joins his father’s running mate Senator Alan Peter Cayetano as they conduct a dialogue with members of Trading Bucana Operators and Drivers Association (TRABUCODA), fisherfolk, and

women’s groups from Barangay 76-A Bucana in Davao City during the launch of “Ronda Serye” at the barangay’s covered court over the weekend. Lean Daval Jr.

4Ps ‘not subjectto election ban’

[email protected] CHENEEN R. CAPON

NO EFFECT. Newly-installed Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 11 director Mercedita Jabagat (center) says the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) will not be affected by the election ban. Jabagat was joined by social welfare officer

3 Sheryll Anne R. Dumalogdog (right) and adoptive mother Mary Dorothy Abrina during yesterday’s Kapehan sa Dabaw at the Annex of SM City Davao where they promoted Adoption Consciousness Month and the agency’s 65th founding anniversary. Lean Daval Jr.

THE Department of So-cial Welfare and De-velopment (DSWD) 11

assured beneficiaries that the government’s cash transfer program will not be affected by the election ban.

“The DSWD has already requested the Comelec (Com-mission on Election) for ex-emption from the election ban,” newly transferred DSWD 11 regional director Mercidita

P. Jabagat said during yester-day’s Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Davao Annex.

Jabagat said government programs funded by interna-tional foreign agencies like the conditional and modified cash transfer programs of DSWD for indigenous people and poor families in Davao region will be exempted from the ban.

“The 4Ps (Pantawid Pam-

ilyang Pilipino Program) is funded by World Bank and the Asian Development Bank,” she said.

The DSWD is only funding the operation and salary of its employees working for the program.

Jabagat said since the im-plementation of the program in 2008, a total of 234,213 poor families have been covered, a large portion of which are resi-

dents in areas in Davao del Sur totaling to 63,890.

The province of Compos-tela Valley has 57,404 4Ps beneficiaries; Davao del Norte has 49,390; Davao Oriental has 41,249; and Davao City has only 22,280 4Ps benefi-ciaries.

DSWD records also showed that a total of 29,966 IP households are covered by

MALACAÑANG on Mon-day denied allegations by Vice President Je-

jomar Binay that ruling Liberal Party (LP) is using about P100 billion of the government’s bottom-up budgeting (BuB) fund for Mar Roxas’ presiden-tial bid.

Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda, in a state-ment, said Binay, who is run-ning for President in the May 2016 polls, ” is atrociously ig-norant of the concept of BuB.”

“Where has he been for the last five and a half years? BuB does not go directly to the per-son. The people on the ground directly determines what proj-ect will benefit the communi-ty and the budget goes to the project,” he said.

“Maybe VP should be told that BuB is participatory governance, and not a mon-ey-making, corruption un-dertaking which by the way, the VP has not explained the

corruption allegations against him,” he added.

BuB is a budgeting system wherein projects are deter-mined with the participation of local governments and civic societies.

The Department of Bud-get and Management (DBM) earlier said about 1,590 local governments have joined the BuB program since 2013.

About 42,221 projects are included in the Open BuB Por-tal and 13,712 of these have been completed as of Decem-ber 1, 2015.

For 2016, the program has been allocated a budget amounting to Php 24.7 billion, to be used for 14,325 poverty reduction projects.

DBM has announced that for 2017, the program will be expanded to help 42,036 villages nationwide and each will be provided Php 1 million to fund one to two projects. (PNA)

Cayetano worried on effectof power crisis on election

VICE presidential aspirant and Senator Alan Peter Cayetano said he is hop-

ing the power crisis in Mind-anao will be resolved before the national and local elections this May.

Cayetano made the state-ment in an interview last Sat-urday after their campaign ral-ly in Tagum City.

“Will we have power in Mindanao? Ipokrito kami (It would be hypocritical of us) if we say that we are not con-cerned,” he said.

Cayetano said the team is worried that the power situa-tion in Mindanao might affect the conduct of election.

“It’s not a matter of what

we believe. Right now were hoping but we are monitoring the situation,” he said.

Cayetano said based on the report of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), the 17 toppled trans-mission towers in Mindanao have not yet been fixed as of the moment.

Earlier, Kontra Daya-Southern Mindanao con-venor Sheena Duazo said the power situation in Mindanao is alarming because it could lead to a failure of election in the island.

Duazo said based on the report of the Department of Energy (DOE), around 18

Aquino expected to tackle WPSissue in US-ASEAN SummitMALACAÑANG said

on Sunday President Benigno Aquino is ex-

pected to tackle political and security concerns, particularly the West Philippine Sea (WPS) issue, in the United States-As-sociation of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Sum-mit in Sunnylands, California this week.

President Aquino left yes-terday to attend the two-day special summit between the leaders of the ASEAN and the US to be hosted by President Barack Obama.

”Expected to be discussed are the political and securi-ty issues such as the mari-time security, transnational challenges and effective fight against the threat of violent extremism,” Presidential Com-munications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a state-run Radyo ng Bayan interview.

Coloma said the US-ASE-AN Summit will be informal where the leaders of the ASE-AN member nations can ex-press their opinions regarding issues that they feel need to be addressed.

”Based on the discussion during the last ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur last Novem-ber, it is most likely that Presi-dent Obama will hold dialogue with ASEAN member states regarding the maritime secu-rity,” Coloma said.

The Palace Communica-tions chief said maritime se-curity has emerged as a vital concern to ASEAN.

”The goal of achieving ASEAN economic integration through the ASEAN econom-ic community, as well as the US initiative on establishing a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to promote free trade in the Asia-Pacific region may

F4PS, 10

FAQUINO, 10

FCAYETANO, 10


SUBURBIA

Koronadal prepared for student pressconPARTICIPANTS to the Na-

tional Schools Press Con-ference here next week

are assured of decent, respect-ful, neatly dressed, and honest tricycle drivers, officials said Monday.

Koronadal City, regional center of Central Mindanao re-gion, will host this year’s NDPC on February 22, with students from across the country to participate.

Edgard Tabago, Koronadal City traffic supervisor, said he has already directed to enforce a directive from Koronadal City Mayor Peter Miguel that tricycle drivers must be polite, honest, and neatly dressed. They must that ensure stu-dents from other parts of the country “would feel at home.”

“Follow proper dress code and be honest at all times,” Tabago told drivers of public transport here.

He said drivers should be

professional in dealing with their passengers and must show highest form of disci-pline.

Among them is the ban on wearing of sleeveless shirts and slippers.

He advised all passengers to report any suspicious, not courteous and conduct unbe-coming of a public transport driver so appropriate action can be applied.

“Display the fare matrix so your passengers know how much to pay,” he said.

Traffic enforcers will have their hands full in maintain-ing smooth flow of vehicles in major city streets so as not to inconvenience passengers and visitors, Tabago said.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro is expected to attend the opening ceremo-nies on Feb. 22 in front of the Koronadal City Hall grounds. (PNA)

SOLDIERS who could not celebrate Valentine’s Day with their loved ones back

home found other ways to cel-ebrate last Sunday.

On heart’s day, men and women soldiers proceeded to the Cotabato Cathedral and offered flowers, bouquets, to-kens, and smiles to persons they do not know personally.

Captain Joan Petinglay, 6th Infantry Division spokes-person, said on orders of Major General Edmundo Pan-gilinan, 6th ID chief, the sol-diers “spread love in simple but meaningful way” while still performing their duties as peacekeepers.

The soldiers, armed with

red roses, tokens in a form of hearts, and sporting smiles, greeted churchgoers at the Immaculate Conception Ca-thedral in downtown Cotabato City.

“Give love and gets love in return,” Petinglay said, explain-ing why the soldiers chose this kind of celebration.

With the theme “Pusong Handog ng Kampilan para sa Mamamayan,” soldiers in complete uniform braved the scorching sun to give flow-ers, balloons, and candies to churchgoers as they emerged from the Catholic Church.

The 6th ID, in a statement, said the activity simply aimed

BADJAO WEDDING. A Sama Badjao groom wraps his arm around his bride. Fourteen Badjao couples were wed in traditional rites along the beach in Barangay Kauswagan, Cagayan de Oro City on February 13, 2016. MindaNews photo by FROILAN GALLARDO

Sarangani adopts GPS techto enhance disaster responseTHE provincial govern-

ment of Sarangani is set to install Global Position-

ing System (GPS) devices on its vehicles to ensure immediate mobilization during disasters and related emergencies.

Robert Lubonting, oper-ations head of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said they are currently finalizing the ar-rangements for the installation of the GPS tracking systems on 40 vehicles owned by the local government.

“This will equip our vehi-cles with real-time GPS track-ing capability,” he said.

Lubonting said the track-ing devices will specifically be installed in 29 heavy equip-ment and 11 light vehicles.

The provincial govern-ment has commissioned Cebu City-based firm Galileo Satel-lite Control Systems to install the GPS devices, he said.

He said around P500,000 has been set aside for the proj-ect that will be sourced from the unexpended Local Disaster Risk Reduction Management Trust Fund for 2014.

Lubonting said project will mainly enhance the ongoing rollout in the province of the national emergency hotline Patrol 117.

The local government launched the rollout of the ho-tline for all its seven municipal-ities in November 2015.

Lubonting said the oper-ationalization of the tracking devices will be handled by the provincial government’s emer-gency operations center at the provincial capitol in Alabel town.

An operator will be tasked to handle the tracking software to pinpoint the exact location of the vehicle, he said.

“Through the system, we

Soldiers give flowers,gifts to churchgoers

Art for Bats exhibitextended to Feb. 29

DURIAN FLOWERS. This is just one of the paintings displayed in the ongoing Art for Bats painting exhibit at the Abreeza Corporate Activity Center. It depicts durian flowers which could only be induced by pollinating bats. Contributed

3-HECTARE DONATION. Ms Norma “Nomi” I. Monfort, also known as “Bat Mama,” donates three hectares of the Inigo-Monfort property within the vicinity of the world-renowned Bat Colony Cave in the Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCoS), Davao del Norte to the Philippine Bats for Peace Foundation. Foundation trustees Leoncio “Nonoy” P. Villa-Abrille and Jose B. Custodio receive the donation “so conservation, protection and respect for the natural treasure continues long after I’m gone,” according to Ms Monfort. Contributed

THE Art for Bats painting exhibit which had its world premiere at the

Abreeza Corporate Activity Center in cooperation with Ayala Malls last February 5 is extended up to February 29. This is to allow more time for schools to see the paintings and watch the educational videos, according to Ms Ruby Ochoa, Abreeza marketing manager.

Nomi Monfort, also known as “Bat Mama,” owner of the world-famous Monfort Bat Cave in the Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCoS), said the exhibit “was very well received and the visitors were all praises for the YAPis” (YAP stands for Youth AmBATsador Program). Ms Monfort also organized the BAT NINANG, Davao chapter,

who act as mentors to the youth ambassadors.

The painting exhibit’s opening was part of the celebration of the 2016 Chinese New Year on February 8 and considered an unprecedented show of solidarity of Davao Chinese and Filipino communities supporting a common cause, bats and peace, Ms Monfort said.

Hosting the event together with former city councilor Susabel Reta of the Davao City Chinatown Development Council were leaders of the Rotary clubs of South Davao, North Davao, East Davao, West Davao and Central Davao, the Davao Jaycee Senate, the Ambassador Club Davao and the newly-organized Bat

Ninangs, Davao chapter.

3-hectare donation Another historic

event during the exhibit opening was the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Ms Monfort, donating 3 hectares of the Inigo-Monfort property where the Guinness World Record Holder bat colony is located to the Philippine Bats for Peace Foundation, Inc. represented by civic leaders Leoncio Villa-Abrille and Jose B. Custodio, Foundation trustees.

Former congressman Vincent J. Garcia, current president of Hijos de Davao, symbolically receive the donation, coupled with the responsibility “to conserve, protect and respect for all

children of the world,” Ms Monfort said.

She said the painting exhibit “provides the encouragement to keep the Davao community artistically inclined,” aside from caring for the environment.

“Students are also encouraged to visit and claim a birthright as co-owners of this natural treasure by watching short educational videos that help endear bats, especially those who only start to unlearn about myths and misconceptions about the unappreciated bats,” she said.

For additional information about the exhibit and a series of events organized by the Bat foundation, interested persons are requested to call 09177054295, Ms Monfort said.

FSOLDIERS, 10

FSARANGANI, 10


ECONOMY


More visitors expected inVDFS 2016THE Department of Tour-

ism (DOT) 11 is target-ing to increase tourist

arrival in the region by more than 40 percent in this year’s Visit Davao Fun Sale (VDFS) this summer.

Speaking in yesterday’s Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Davao Annex, regional tour-ism director Roberto P. Alaba-do said the 10-week long ac-tivity is scheduled on March 25 to May 31, in time for the Holy Week and summer pe-riod during which Davao City has no major event.

“We want to attract more visitors even after the Araw ng Dabaw” which is held on March 16, he said.

Alabado said more pri-vate players in the tourism industry will offer discounts and fun tour packages to showcase destinations in Davao City, the Island Garden City of Samal in Davao del Norte, and Davao del Sur.

He said the 40-percent in-crease is based on last year’s figure. “We recorded a 42 per-cent increase in tourist arriv-als mostly domestic travelers in last year’s fun sale,” he said.

Earlier, Alabado said the VDFS 2015, held on April 3 to May 17, was participated in by more than 250 estab-lishments. The event posted a 38 percent increase in oc-cupancy rate for hotels from April to May as well as an ad-ditional 41 percent increase in domestic travelers and 10 percent increase in foreign visitors.

The VDFS is the country’s first ever city-wide sale that features discounts and pro-mos in all section of tourism, including tours, accommoda-

tions, shopping, dining, relax-ation, and adventure.

Cynthia Ruano, vice president of the VDFS Tours Consortium, said the VDFS Fun Tours will feature 10 discounted tour packages, in-cluding Samal beaches, agri-cultural destinations, and Mt. Apo. trekking adventure.

Ruano said the usual city, countryside and highlands tours will be offered with up to 50 percent off during the VDFS period.

According to DOT 11, ac-tivities during the period are categorized into three themes.

“The Adventure and Sports them will feature Samal Half Marathon on April 3, Mt Apo Boulderface Challenge on April 23 to 24, and DurianMan Triathlon on May 1. The Cul-tural and Arts theme, on the other hand, will feature Davao Art exhibitions by various art-ist groups starting April 15, 26, and 17 Davao Grand Indie Film Festival which will run from May 7 and a wek-long Cinematheque that will run from May 7 to 14. The Party, Fun and Leisure category fea-tures two wvents which are Ethnica Music Fusion on April 16 and EDM Rave Volt on May 28,” a DOT 11 statement said.

Tourists can also look for-ward to other activities scat-tered throughout the VDFS duration which include Pub Crawl, VDFS Food Trips and Heritage Walk, and dive fest tours.

Meanwhile, spa associ-ation vice president Fides Bernabe said more than 60 spa establishments in Davao, Kidapawan, and Digos will be offering discounts during the VDFS period.

Oil firms to implementprice rollback TuesdayPILIPINAS Shell Petroleum

Corp. (PSPC) and PTT Philippines Corp. will

slash pump prices today, Tues-day.

In an advisory, the two oil firms said they will cut gas pric-es by P1.40 per liter and diesel prices by 70 centavos per liter.

Both companies will im-plement the price slash at 6:00 a.m. February 16.

Shell will also reduce kero-sene prices by 90 centavos per liter.

Other oil firms are expect-ed to announce similar cuts for pump prices later.

According to the De-partment of Energy’s (DOE) Oil Monitor as of February 9, diesel prices range from P18.85-P22.20 per liter in Met-

ro Manila, with a common price of P21.55 per liter.

Gasoline, on the other hand, has a price range of P 31.30-39.10 per liter. It has a common price of P36.25 per liter.

For the year, diesel had a net decrease of P1.20 per liter and gasoline 45 centavos per liter.

Last week, the markets also shown positive reaction from a statement from the energy minister of the United Arab Emirates, baring the Organi-zation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is prepared to cooperate with other export-ers for production cuts.

The oil prices bounced from its 13-year low, still due to the oil glut in the world market. (PNA)

COMMITMENT WALL. City Tourism Operations Office (CTO) head Lisette Marques signs on the Visit Davao Fun Sale (VDFS) 2016 commitment wall with Department of Tourism (DOT) 11 director Robby P. Alabado (leftmost), VDFS execom vice chair Fides Castañeda Bernabe (second from right),

TBDFS Retailers Association vice president Russel Alaba (third from right), and VDFS execom chair Benjie Lizada (fourth from right) during Kapehan sa Dabaw at the Annex of SM City Davao yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 232 • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 20166 EDGEDAVAOTHE ECONOMY

P&A Grant Thornton updates Japanese firms on Phl accounting, tax rules

Sea dispute causes declinein banana export to China


PILIPINO Banana Grow-ers and Exporters Asso-ciation (PBGEA) exec-

utive director Stephen Antig suspects that the dispute over the West Philippine Sea/South China Sea is causing the con-tinuing contraction in the vol-ume of bananas being import-ed by China.

In a recent interview, An-tig said the Chinese govern-ment’s suspension of four lo-cal exporters in 2012 has not been lifted up to now.

He said he believes the territorial dispute and not the phytosanitary issue over the presence of mealy bugs in ba-nanas is causing the problem.

The Philippines is expect-ing the decision of the Perma-nent Court of Arbitration on its pending case against China in May.

“A total of four local ex-porters were suspended from exporting banana to China, one of which is a member of PBGEA,” Antig told reporters.

The other suspended firms are either members of the Mindanao Banana Farm-ers and Exporters Association (MBFEA) or are independent banana growers and export-ers from Mindanao.

Antig said about 20 to 25 percent of total banana ex-ported by the PBGEA member firm, which he did not name, was slashed four years ago when China gave its suspen-sion order.

“About six to seven million boxes of banana were then di-verted to other markets by the suspended firm,” he said.

To regain its grasp on the Chinese market, PBGEA and

the suspended firm plan to write a request letter ad-dressed to the Philippine gov-ernment asking the Chinese government to lift the ban.

Antig said the firm tar-gets to have a face-to-face negotiation with the Chinese government,which he said earlier threatened the whole Philippine banana industry. Antig referred it as “economic pressure.”

He said the PBGEA wrote a request letter last year but did not get a response from the Chinese authorities

“China is one of the most promising export destinations of Philippine banana because of the huge population,” he said.

Banana is still among the top commodities of the coun-try exported to China, aside

from semiconductors and electronics, and minerals, he added.

Antig said banana exports to China had been projected to grow by 20 percent to 30 percent per annum given the large population and afford-ability of the fruit.

The Philippines started exporting to China 10 years ago.

At present, the Philippines is only exporting about 1.6 to 1.8 million boxes of bananas, lower than highest recorded exported volume of 268 mil-lion boxes in 2010.

The growing number of banana exporters and growers from other Asean countries like Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and Cambodia also threatens the multi-billion banana industry of the country, Antig said.

From left: Japan Desk Director Shoichi Fushimi is joined by Japan Desk Managers Asami Remedio and Shuhei Matsushita, Saeki Mayumi from Grant Thornton Japan, and Hiroshi Yoshioka after the seminar on accounting and tax updates in the Philippines.

P&A Grant Thornton’s Japan Desk recently conducted a seminar

on accounting, tax, and business procedures in the Philippines. The seminar targeted Japanese expats in the country and aimed to aid them in understand-ing business management in the Philippines.

Japan Desk Director Shoichi Fushimi discussed how to minimize business risk procedure by ex-pounding on the prepara-tion financial statements, tax treaty relief applica-tion, accumulated retained earnings, import license requirements, and income tax returns for expats.

Hiroshi Yoshioka, on the other hand, tackled how better business man-agement brings in more profit. He explained that there are three factors to consider in generating profit. First is the human factor which focuses on people and talent as essen-

tial resources in the busi-ness. Second is the strate-gic factor where marketing

a product or a service is taken into consideration. Lastly, is the management

factor, in which the focus is on the management of accounts receivable (AR),

inventory management, fixed assets management, costs management, and

funds management.This event is to be held

every quarter.

Hired jobseekersrise to 59% in 2015

OWWA organizes OFW org in Agusan Norte townTHE Overseas Workers

Welfare Administration (OWWA) in partnership

with the local government unit of Buenavista, Agusan del Norte held a one-day commu-nity organizing to the 30 Over-seas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and dependents on February 10, 2016.

The participants were pro-vided with Financial Literacy Training and Values Reorien-tation Seminar, which is an-chored on the aspiration of the agency to prepare the OFWs and their beneficiaries in be-coming self-sustaining individ-

uals especially upon return of the OFWs in the country.

“Understanding the value of money, knowing how we could make the most out of it and being taught on how to make it grow is very helpful for us OFW families, we know that working abroad wouldn’t last forever,” shared Rebecca M. Naïve during the discussion in financial literacy.

They were also given workshops on revisiting their values through interacting with their co-participants.

Meanwhile, a campaign on the programs and services of

the agency was also delivered. Enthusiastic with the many benefits that the agency offers, the participants inquired more about the services they may avail of especially the schol-arships and training benefits. They were likewise enjoined to help in disseminating the agency’s services to their neighbors who were not able to attend in the campaign.

Family Welfare Officer Lorie Ann G. Hilongos then fa-cilitated the community orga-nizing and election of officers of the Buenavista OFWs Orga-nization.

Moreover, Auralyn San-chez, the elected president of the organization, afterwards held a meeting with the offi-cers to discuss the IT Training they wish to be provided with by the month of March.

The agency will be assist-ing the organization for their registration with the Depart-ment of Labor and Employ-ment. The group will also be given Techno-Transfer Skills Training and Entrepreneur-ship Development Training apart from their scheduled In-formation Technology. (JPIM, OWWA-Caraga/PIA-Caraga)

NOT so many job appli-cants visited the 1,661 job fairs throughout

the country in 2015 com-pared to those who visited the job fairs in 2014, but the number of jobseekers who were hired-on-the-spot (H.O.T.S.) rose to 59.07 per-cent of the total job fair reg-istrants, or 135,590 out of the 487,640 registered appli-cants.

Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapi-lis-Baldoz said this yesterday after receiving the 2015 job fair accomplishment report consolidated by the Bureau of Local Employment (BLE).

“In 2014, a total of 798,433 job applicants reg-istered in 2,025 job fairs, but the HOTS were only 31.9 per-cent. In 2015, the HOTS were up and we are very pleased about it,” said Baldoz.

Baldoz also said a total of 229,538 of the 487,640 reg-istered applicants qualified for the job fair vacancies in 2015.

“The figure represents the number of applicants having the basic education and skills requirement and who meet the qualifications of the job vacancies posted by the employers,” she ex-plained.

In 2015, the number of job vacancies posted in the 1,661 job fairs reached 4,239,392, which were solic-ited from 26,794 employers and recruitment agencies who have participated in the year-round job fairs.

An overwhelming num-ber of these vacancies, 2,273,818, were for local em-ployment, while the rest are for abroad.

“These only show that job fairs are really effective in bringing together employers and job applicants,” said Bal-doz.

“As an employment facil-itation strategy, job fairs pro-vide decent employment for our kababayans through the support of other government agencies and stakeholders, specifically the PESOs, which act as job placement facili-tating offices in the regions,” Baldoz added.

To facilitate an increase in the number of job fair par-ticipants every year, the De-partment through its offices encourages all participating employers to post their job vacancies with the PESOs’ assistance in giving job in-formation to the various job-seekers and clients.

To improve job fair per-formance this year, Baldoz directed the Bureau of Local Employment to encourage all participating employers to register and post early their job vacancies in the PhilJob-Net system, which has been enhanced to already capture relevant information about participating employers.

The enhanced PhilJOb-Net is also now able to clas-sify specific clients, whether they are high school gradu-ates, women, senior citizens, PWDs, displaced workers, or OFW returnees. (DOLE)


HEALTHVitamin C galoreSOME animals can make

this vitamin on their own, but people must get it

from food and other sources. Good sources of this vitamin are fresh fruits and vegetables. It can also be also be made in a laboratory.

The vitamin being re-ferred to is Vitamin C. Histor-ically, vitamin C was used for preventing and treating scur-vy. Scurvy is now relatively rare, but it was once common among sailors, pirates, and others who spent long periods of time onboard ships. When the voyages lasted longer than the supply of fruits and vege-tables, the sailors began to suf-fer from vitamin C deficiency, which led to scurvy.

“These days, vitamin C is used most often for prevent-ing and treating the common cold,” the webMd.com says. “Some people use it for oth-er infections including gum disease, acne and other skin infections, bronchitis, hu-man immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease, stomach ulcers caused by bacteria called He-licobacter pylori, tuberculosis, dysentery (an infection of the lower intestine), and skin in-fections that produce boils. It is also used for infections of the bladder and prostate.”

In some people, the use vitamin can help fight depres-sion, solve thinking problems, subdue dementia and Alzhei-mer’s disease, ease physical and mental stress, lessen fa-tigue, and slow attention defi-cit-hyperactivity disorder.

There is some thought that vitamin C might help the heart and blood vessels. It is used for hardening of the arteries, preventing clots in veins and arteries, heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.

WebMd.com further states: “Vitamin C is also used for glaucoma, preventing cat-aracts, preventing gallblad-der disease, dental cavities

(caries), constipation, Lyme disease, boosting the immune system, heat stroke, hay fe-ver, asthma, bronchitis, cystic fibrosis, infertility, diabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome, autism, collagen disorders, ar-thritis and bursitis, back pain and disc swelling, cancer, and osteoporosis.”

Additional uses include improving physical endurance and slowing aging, as well as counteracting the side effects of cortisone and related drugs, and aiding drug withdrawal in addiction.

Sometimes, people put vi-tamin C on their skin to protect it against the sun, pollutants, and other environmental haz-ards. Vitamin C is also applied to the skin to help with dam-age from radiation therapy.

Worried about taking too much vitamin C? “High doses (up to the safe upper limit) of vitamin C are usually not tox-ic,” assures The Merck Man-ual of Medical Information, “although they occasionally cause nausea or diarrhea and interfere with the interpre-tation of some blood test re-sults.”

Here is a list of foods that contain lots and lots of vitamin C.

Mango: A ripe super mango emanates a sweet fra-grance, reminding you of trop-ical summer breezes which sweep across warm, blue seas. No other mango has ever looked like this – bright yellow as the blazing afternoon sun, smooth to the tongue, and leaves a persistent craving for a next one. These are the imag-es that only Philippine super mangoes can evoke.

“Mango has three times the vitamin C of a single or-ange or apple and important minerals essential to prevent cancer and other diseases,” hails Dr. Martin Hirte, a Ger-man health food researcher and pediatrician.

The German physician

Text and Photos by HENRYLITO D. TACIO

also found that mango con-tains minerals that are vital for pregnant mothers and stressed-out people. “The calcium and magnesium of mango relaxes the muscles, relieves stress and prevents miscar-riage,” Dr. Hirte wrote in his research paper enti-tled, The Benefits of Mango for Human Health.

Strawberry: “Strawber-ries are an excellent source of vitamin C,” says Toron-to-based registered dietitian Madeleine Edwards. Most mammals – except for human beings – have the ability to produce vitamin C naturally, which is why it’s so important to get your daily requirement. “One serving of strawberries contains 51.5 mg of vitamin C – about half of your daily requirement,” Edwards says. “Double a serving to one cup and get 100 percent.”

Vitamin C is a well-known immunity booster, as well as a powerful, fast-working antioxidant. A 2010 study of University of California at Los Angeles discovered that the antioxidant power in straw-berries becomes “bioavail-able” or “ready to work in the blood” after eating the fruit for just a few weeks.

Guava: “It has more vita-min C than citrus; the edible rind alone has five times the vitamin C of an orange.” That is how Bill Daley describes guava in an article which ap-peared in Chicago Tribune.

Nutrition experts claim that vitamin C – mainly in the skin, secondly in the firm flesh, and little in the central pulp – varies from 56 to 600 milligrams. It may range up to 350-450 milligrams in nearly ripe fruit. When it is fully ripe and soft, the vitamin C content may decline to 50-100 milli-grams.

Pineapple: In addition to 78.9 milligrams of vitamin C, pineapple contains bromelain, a digestive enzyme that helps break down food and reduce bloating. B r o m e l a i n

also

acts as a natural an-ti-inflammatory that can help you recover faster after a tough workout. It can also break down blood clots-proteins are what hold blood platelets to-gether to form clots -- and clean away the dead tissue left by burns, abscesses, ul-cers, and various kinds of surgery. Bromelain also has proved effective in killing parasites such as worms.

Studies have shown that bromelain in pineapples can interfere with the preparation of some foods, such as jelly or other gelatin-based desserts. The bromelain breaks down in the canning process, thus canned pineapple can gener-ally be used with gelatin.

Papaya: A one-cup serv-ing delivers 88.3 milligrams of vitamin C. Its pulp is basically very sweet in taste, fiberless

and refreshing. Some liken the flavor to melon and

apricot. It is used in salads, pies, sherbets, juices, jam, jelly and confectionery.

“Low in calo-ries and full of nu-trition, papaya has

more vitamin C than an orange,” says Amy

Tousman, a registered dietitian based in Hawaii.

“It’s loaded with vitamin A, potassium, folate and fiber. It

also contains lutein and zea-xanthin, substances which help protect our eyes from age-related blindness.”

Likewise, papaya helps in the prevention of athero-sclerosis, diabetes and heart disease. Folic acid found in papaya is needed for the con-version of a substance called homocysteine, an amino acid. If unconverted, homocysteine can directly damage blood vessel walls and if levels get too high, it is considered a significant risk factor to heart attack and strokes.

Watermelon: “Despite popular belief that watermel-on is made up of only water and sugar, watermelon is actually considered a nutri-ent dense food, a food that provides a high amount of vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants for a low amount of calories,” wrote Megan Ware, a registered dietitian and nu-

tritionist, in an article published byMedical News Today.

One cup of watermelon will provide 17% of vitamin A, 21% of vitamin C, 2% of iron and 1% of calcium needs for the day. Wa-termelon also contains thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B-6, fo-late, pantothenic acid, magnesium,

phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, manganese, selenium, choline, lycopene and betaine. According to the National Wa-termelon Promotion Board, watermelon contains more lycopene than any other fruit or vegetable.

Tomato: It does not come in various shapes but also in colors. You can find them red, yellow or orange.

Tomatoes are not as high in nutrients as other vegeta-bles but they are the leader where vitamin C is concerned. A medium tomato (120 grams) contains about 23 milligrams of vitamin C. Veg-etarians will not forget to add tomatoes to their salad. Its vi-tamin C will enhance the iron absorption.

Vitamin C of tomatoes is not destroyed by heat and therefore they are practically valuable for all sorts of stom-ach and liver troubles.

Mango

GuavaPapaya

TomatoWatermelon


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EDITORIALPremature campaigning a misnomer?

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has spoken: local candidates can still put up propaganda materials without being sanctioned for premature campaigning.

If we take the statement of Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez on its merits, it will tell us that local candidates are not covered by regulations since the campaign period for the local elections has yet to start.

This means that local candidates can still put up propaganda materials without regulation or legal consequences. So if you see a poster, tarp, or advertisement of a local candidate, there is no violation of election laws following the Comelec pronounce-ment that the campaign period has not started and that can-didates for local elective positions, even if they have filed their COCs, are not considered candidates yet. Hence, no premature campaigning.

According to the Comelec, under the law, any person who files his certificate of candidacy (COC) shall only be considered

a candidate at the start of the campaign period.Jimenez, in a report by the Philippine Star, said that unlawful

acts applicable to a candidate shall take effect only upon that start of the campaign period.

Based on the Comelec’s calendar of activities for the May 9 elections, the campaign period for local candidates will only start on March 25.

The Comelec, however, urged voters to take note of the names of local candidates engaged in premature campaigning.

Despite that pronouncement, it seems ironic that the poll body still expects that the voting public would be aware that the spirit of the law is being circumvented.

Which brings us back to the question: If there is no prema-ture campaigning before the start of the campaign period, is there such a thing as premature campaigning at all?

Judging from the Comelec’s pronouncements, there is no such animal as premature campaigning. So why bother?

CITING BOI (Board of Investment) Southern Mindanao chief Engr. Gil Dureza during a forum in Davao City on February 11, Min-

daNews on the same date reported that “15 companies … have so far expressed their inten-tion to invest in the Davao Region and SOCCSK-SARGEN areas.”

The two areas compose BOI-Southern Min-danao. Davao Region is Region XI (Southeastern Mindanao) composed of Davao City, Davao del Sur, Davao Occidental, Davao del Norte, and Compostela Valley; and SOCCSKSARGEN is Re-gion XII (Southwestern Mindanao) composed of the provinces of (North) Cotabato, Sarangani, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and the cities of Cotabato and General Santos.

Most of the investors, local and foreign com-panies, are engaged in “manufacturing, real es-tate, and agriculture”. Twelve of the 15 compa-nies have made inquiries in the Davao Region.

How does Southern Mindanao stand na-tionwide in terms of investment in 2015?

Total investments in the Philippines: In 2015, the BOI registered 358 projects approved worth P366.742 billion in investments, or an in-crease by 3.38 percent as compared P354.557 billion for 295 projects in the Philippines in 2014. Of the approved 2015 investments, 83.8 percent were projects registered by local com-panies valued at P307.235 billion while the 16.2 percent were by foreign companies at P59.507 billion.

In Southern Mindanao: Of the P366.742 billion national total, only P13 billion was from BOI-Southern Mindanao – a mere 3.55 per-cent.

The good news elicits serious questions. If Regions XI and XII only got a 3.55 percent trickle of investments nationwide in 2015, how much of the P366.742 billion spilled to the other regions outside of the Metro Ma-nila-Subic-Clark-Calabarzon (Cavite-Lagu-na-Batagas-Rizal Zone) industrial belt? Like

political power, is it not time to disperse invest-ment away from the Capital Region?

Now here’s what’s amusing. It is not about investment but crazy acronym.

What is acronym? As defined by Webster: Acro-

nym is a word (as NATO, radar, or snafu) formed from the initial letters of letters of each of the successive or major parts of a compound term; or, an abbreviation formed from initial letters. [NATO –NorthAtlantic Treaty Organiz-tion; radar – radio detecting and ranging; sna-fu –situation normal all fucked up (fouled up)].

Acronyms are commonly used today; they make present day writing and speech cryptic and unwieldy by compacting long compound terms. For instance, instead ofAutonomous Re-gion in Muslim Mindanao, ARMM saves space, time and breath; so do BaSulTa for Basilan-Su-lu-Tawi-Tawi; GMA for Gloria Macapagal-Ar-royo;FDR for Franklin Delano Roosevelt; or Mi-MaRoPa for Mindoro-Masbate-Romblon-Pala-wan (Region IV-B), etc.

Many business names are better known by their acronyms like banks (PNB, DBP, BPI), elec-tric cooperatives (Socoteco, Magelco, Cotelco), etc. Some geographical names are acronyms like Aleosan in Cotabato, derived from Alimodi-an, Leon andSan Miguel – three towns in Iloi-lo from where most of the settlers there came from. Some Christians named with acronyms may not be admitted by St. Peter into Heaven.

Acronyms so commonly and regularly used and accepted by standard dictionaries are read-ily understood without reference to their moth-er compound terms; but, when new and unfa-miliar, they have first to be introduced or they

would be unintelligible.What is the crazy acronym in the Min-

daNews report above? SOCCSKSARGEN!This is a regional name derived from “South Cotabato, (North) Cotabato, Cotabato City, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos City”.

Here’s the history of the acronym. Origi-nally, it was SOCSARGEN (or, Socsargenas used in some business names like Socsargen County Hospital in General Santos City) — for South Co-tabato, Sarangani and General Santos City. It was not a regional acronym but that of a busi-ness organization; the three were still under Region XI. When Sultan Kudarat joined Region XI, the acronym became SOCSKSARGEN. That was crazy. The insertion of “SK” made it hard to be pronounced.

When Region XII was reorganized after the establishment of the ARMM, Lanao Norte was attached to Region X (Northern Mindanao). Only Cotabato and Cotabato City were left in Region XII (then Central Mindanao) with Ma-guidnao and Lanao Sur having been removed earlier. South Cotabato, Sarangani, General San-tos City and Sultan Kudarat were detached from Region XI to reconstitute Region XII — South-western Mindanao as geographically situated; Region XI, the Southeastern Mindanao.

The reconstituted Region XII made the acronym crazier. One “C” was inserted be-tween “SOC” and “SK” for Cotabato and Cotaba-to City. SOCCSKSARGEN is more difficult to pro-nounce than SOCSKSARGEN, very much more indistinct thanSOCSARGEN?

Whose idea was it to make SOCCSKSAR-GEN the official the regional identity of Region XII we don’t know. But it makes no sense.

First, SOCSARGEN, a perfect acronym, was for a business organization. Businessmen from Sultan Kudarat could have joined the organi-zation without inserting “SK”. When Muslims were admitted into the Young Men’s Christian Association in Cotabato City, “M” was not insert-

ed to make the acronym“YMCMA”.Second, Region XII is a political unit. When

it was reconstituted, SOCSARGEN, the business organization was on its way out if not defunct. Why twice-corrupt the original business name to perpetuate it as Region XII’s identity?

Third, “Southwestern Mindanao” is a very appropriate identity of Region XII. As Region XI is also called “Davao Region” being the original un-divided Davao, Region XII can be named “Co-tabato Region”, as the undivided Empire Prov-ince of Cotabato minus Maguindanao.

How can an acronym be formed out of “South Cotabato, Sarangani, General Santos City, Sultan Kudarat, Cotabato and Cotabato City”– one more sensible and easier to pro-nounce than the present?

How about this? To the original “SocSar-Gen” add “SukCoCoc” or just “SuCoCo”. Hence, “SocSarGenSukCoCoc” or “SocSarGen-SuCoCo”. Either has all the initial syllables of the names in series and is easier to pronounce. But it is too long; typical acronyms don’t exceed four syllables. We are amused but not selling it.

We are not aware of an acronym for “Davao del Sur, Davao City, Davao Oriental, Davao del Norte and Compostela”. Are people in Region XI less bright than those in Region XII? Or, have they more sense? But how about this:“DasDac-DoDanCom”? We are amused but not propos-ing it.

It will not be a surprise if some would call us “crazy” instead of SOCCSKSARGENwhich is widely used in the national and online media. Why not just go with the tide? However, we pre-fer Region XII or Cotabato Region or Southwest-ern Mindanao.

(MindaViews is the opinion section of Min-daNews. Patricio P. Diaz was former editor of the Mindanao Cross in Cotabato City and later the Mindanao Kris. The Titus Brandsma Media Center honored Mr. Diaz with a Lifetime Achieve-ment Award)

“Food is literally the most important thing in the world. It is not even next to life, because it is life itself. Deprived of the right to food, man knows no other. For the hungry, there is no dig-nity, no human rights, no rule of law, no liberty, no celebration of the spirit… the most crucial task before world community today is to assure that enough food is available at the right place, at the right time, and at the right price.” — Artu-ro R. Tanco, Jr., president of World Food Council

***

AS population continues to grow, more and more Filipinos will experience hun-ger. In 1980, the Philippines was home

to 48 million Filipinos. In 2000, the number swelled to 78 million. By 2045, the Philippine population is expected to increase to about 142 million, according to the National Statis-tics Office.

As pointed out by the United Nations, “population growth remains as the single most important driver of food demand.” In simpler terms, the more people, the more demand for food.

When it comes to food, time is of essence. As such, the time to think about food security is now — not in the future. The population is expected to increase, so we must increase our food production, too.

But the question is: how? The 1996 World Food Summit defines food security “when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life.”

People are said to experience lack food se-curity when “either they cannot grow enough food themselves, or they cannot afford to pur-

chase enough in the domestic marketplace.” As a result, “they suffer from mi-cronutrient and protein energy deficiencies in their diets.”

Some years back, the Philip-pines was listed by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as one of the 13 low-income food-deficit countries in Asia (“those that do not have enough food to feed their populations and for the most part lack the financial resources to pay for im-ports”).

The 2014 Global Hunger Index, which was based on three indicators (undernourishment, child underweight and child mortality), ranked the Philippines on the 29th spot.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer, in its Febru-ary 11, 2016 issue, has identified food security as one of the agenda of the next president.

“While the incidence of hunger is at its lowest level in the last quarter of 2015, it re-mains a pervasive problem in the Philippines,” the national paper said. “During the period, 2.6 million Filipino families reported experiencing hunger at least once, according to a recent So-cial Weather Stations survey.”

The paper also cited a survey conducted by the Pulse Asia last December, which “found that 40 percent of Filipinos considered ‘having

enough to eat’ every day among their biggest problems.”

There are five contenders for the highest post: Vice-President Jejomar Binay, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, Senator Grace Poe, Secretary Mar Roxas, and Senator Miriam De-fensor-Santiago.

Each candidate shared his or her action ac-tions in meeting food security in the country. Here’s what Duterte will do should he be elect-ed the next president:

• “At the outset, we must inventory our nat-ural assets, such as land and marine re-sources, and come up with a plan where topography, soil quality and marine assets can best suit the needs of the market, for our food consumption, raw materials, manufacturing and processing industries, as well as for export markets.

• “Identify which regions or provinces of the country would be suitable in the produc-tion of the needed food items. This would entail a nationwide study to produce an ag-riculture guide map which would indicate soil suitability, climatic conditions and rain-fall patterns so that farmers would be know what to plant or raise.

• “Once the key production areas are identi-fied based on crop suitability, the govern-ment will come in with the needed inter-ventions to support the farmers in their production.

• “Irrigation services must be considered a vital government obligation to support the growth of Philippine economy, just like the network of roads being used for free. The country’s rice farmers should be supported by providing them free irrigation water and

should be allowed to manage their own ir-rigation systems for themselves without being obliged to pay for the irrigation fees.

• “Basic infrastructures to facilitate the trans-port of food and agricultural products from the key production areas shall be priori-tized. The use of railway transport rather than mere reliance on roads and highways shall be initiated. A Mindanao Railway De-velopment plan that will lower the costs of food transport in largely typhoon-free Min-danao will be a major priority.

• “Food terminals complete with cold storage facilities will be established in key produc-tion areas to serve as the delivery point for the farmers’ produce. From there, the food items will be distributed to other areas where these are needed in a concept called “Food Positioning.”

• “We will create a Department of Fisheries and Marine Resource Management sepa-rate from the Department of Agriculture. For a nation surrounded by seas, with rivers and inland lakes as well, the single-minded development of these resources will not only de-marginalize our fishermen, but also ensure affordable food for our population.”

To end this piece, allow me to quote the words Katherine Mackenzie, a journalist who writes for Inter Press Service: “Today, in our interconnected 21st century world, the per-sistence of hunger and malnutrition is both un-acceptable, and complex to tackle. Root causes are many, they are interlinked, and they will only be addressed successfully if all actors in-volved… come together and agree on the policy and actions that are necessary.”

VOL. 8 ISSUE 232 • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2016 VANTAGE POINTS 9EDGEDAVAO

The hunger games

A crazy acronym

BY PATRICIO P. DIAZCOMMENT

Henrylito D. [email protected]

THINK ON THESE!

VOL. 8 ISSUE 232 • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 201610 EDGEDAVAONEWS

Digital tech... FROM 11

Digital... FROM 11Soldiers... FROM 4

Duterte... FROM 2

Rody... FROM 2

Sarangani... FROM 4

Cayetano... FROM 3

Aquino... FROM 3

4Ps... FROM 3

and report information; and the back-end keeps it simple for management to make good decisions and communicate these quickly. This balance makes Squadzip a powerful tool in business development in today’s fast-paced environ-ment,” she added.

With the funding we’ve re-ceived from Kickstart and Plug and Play, Mercado expressed confidence that they are in an even better position to help more businesses serve their customers better and faster while saving them time and money.

one which is seamless and inte-grated inevitably becomes the challenge. Just think about how social networks have changed day to day behaviour for indi-viduals. Now take that concept, and apply it to the way busi-nesses work together to deliver their products and services.

Digital Business Networks will become a new gateway to the global consumer, and the collaboration between govern-ment agencies, multinationals, startups and entrepreneurs will determine the pace and success of its adoption. Here are three tips for businesses to successfully foray into their digital transformation:• Define a digital transforma-

tion roadmap that clearly outlines the business out-comes and benefits to all C-Suite stakeholders, and gets their buy in.

• Use agile methods to rapidly test the actual outcome ver-sus the desired outcome and improve fast.

• Ensure an effective collab-oration method is in place, and is accessible so the or-ganisation can learn and adopt from their successes and failures.

3. Security becomes priorityThe Global State of Infor-

mation Security Survey 2016 revealed that companies are becoming increasingly alert to cyber threats. 10 years ago, in-formation security was largely seen as an IT topic. However, with digital becoming part of our everyday lives and implica-tions of data losses critical, con-cerns have been elevated to the boardroom. In the future, when

virtually everything can be con-nected to the Internet, we have to recognize the security state-ment: Everything that can be connected to the Internet can potentially be hacked. With Big Data – ranging from customer information, financial trans-actions, employee records to social media feedback, compa-nies need to look at more effec-tive ways to secure, store, and track the vast amounts of data that will be generated.

The future of cyber securi-ty lies in combining solutions for pattern-based recognition of security breaches and ability to correlate large volumes of current runtime data, includ-ing network activity. For ex-ample, there are solutions that focus on identifying external attacks as they are happening. The solution’s pattern recog-nition functionality filters out anomalies such as suspicious discrepancies between a user’s past and current behavior — perhaps as the result of a hack-ing attack.

What is promising is that the same global security sur-vey showed that enterprises are becoming increasingly con-vinced of the value of data-driv-en analysis to protect their businesses.

The key is picking a com-prehensive suite of products and services which allow busi-nesses to embark on a success-ful digital journey that brings all the participants solutions aimed at delivering a profit-able, seamless and integrated experience. It is intelligent strategy, not solely technology that drives digital transforma-tion.

to spread the spirit of love to the community they are serv-ing.

Surprised to see soldiers in complete uniform milling around the Church entrance, Aling Solima Vergara was re-luctant at first, thinking some-thing was wrong.

She was surprised when a male soldier approached and offered her flowers then kissed her hands.

Residents and churchgo-ers initially expressed surprise to see men in uniform just

outside the cathedral on Valen-tine’s Day.

“It was an act of giving im-portance and appreciation to the mothers, the wives and the daughters who inspired and nurtured love in our families,” a soldier who asked not to be named said.

About 200 men and women, children and elderly (including men) were given the simple gifts and flowers, including Monsignor Antonio Pueyo, the mass celebrator on Sunday. (PNA)

could easily track down vehi-cles nearest to incident loca-tions and tap them for verifica-tion and mobilization,” he said.

He said the tracking sys-tem would specifically provide a link for vehicle movement during emergency situations and in providing special ser-vices along evacuation routes.

Using the GPS, he said, introduces “a new level of flexibility for operational com-mand structures.”

Unlike the usual GPS, he said the units that will be used

by the local government in-clude a fuel gauge to monitor fuel consumption.

They are also equipped with SIM cards and micro-phones for easier communi-cation.

Lubonting said the pres-ence of tracking systems in vehicles is common in large private companies.

“Sarangani is so far among the first local government units in the country that will adopt this technology,” he said.(PNA)

audience area fronting it,” Rey Hulog of the KBP said of the media set-up.

“We just want to make sure that we are inviting legit-imate press members,” Hulog was quoted by Mindanews.

But COPC president Msgr. Elmer Abacahin said it is not for the debate organizers or the Philippine Press Institute (PPI) to choose who to allow inside the debate area to en-sure that participating jour-nalists are “legit local press” because the media community in the city “would know better.”

Duterte, who along with running mate Senator Alan Peter Cayetano are strong-ly advocating the passage of the Freedom of Information bill, said the local media should be given equal treatment and be spared from discrimination.

“Kaya nga ako tumatak-bong president because I want people from the provinces to

be given equal treatment. Kaya ako ay for federalism,” Duterte said.

The mayor, however, said he is confident the Comelec will find time to dialogue with the press clubs of the host cit-ies of the debates and strike a win-win solution.

It would be unfortunate, he said, if the local media will feel they are being treated as second class citizens in the me-dia community.

The other venues for the debate will be in Cebu (March 20) for Visayas and Manila for Luzon (April 24).

Duterte had earlier de-clined to participate in the de-bate while the disqualification cases against him were still pending.

When the Comelec dis-missed all 4 cases filed against him, the presidential aspirant said he is raring to go to the debate.

gin of error of plus or minus 3 points, indicating a still wild and take you pick presidential race.

The survey was conduct-ed when Duterte was facing three disqualification cases, all of which were dismissed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

The Duterte team is cam-paigning heavily on the plat-form of anti-crime and an-ti-corruption and is offering itself as the last chance for a genuine change in the country.

For his part, Davao City first district Rep. Karlo Alex-ei Nograles said the latest SWS survey result showed

that Duterte “has recovered lost ground.”

“Just as we predicted, as soon as Comelec throws out the DQ cases against Mayor Duterte for President you will see a surge in his ratings,” he said.

Nograles said now that there are no more obstacles to Duterte’s candidacy, the peo-ple are once again supporting him.

“If you remember, he hit 38 percent before the disqual-ification issue arose. Now we expect that more than 50 per-cent of the people will vote for him on election day,” he said. ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

the modified conditional cash transfer program.

Majority of these IP family beneficiaries resides in Davao City with 10,828, followed by

Davao del Norte with 10,088.The province of Compos-

tela Valley has 6, 336; Davao del Sur with 2,461; and Davao Oriental 253.

transmission towers have been bombed since last month.

She said it seems that someone is creating a sce-nario for a failure of elections here in Mindanao.

Duazo said the people should pressure the govern-ment to fix the power crisis in

Mindanao as soon as possible.NGCP spokesperson law-

yer Cynthia Alabanza said President Benigno Aquino gave a deadline to all con-cerned agencies especially in the power sector to solve the problem on or before the elec-tion in May.

be enhanced through more vigorous trades that, in turn, must be assured by freedom of navigation in the main navi-gational routes of global trade and commerce, including the South China Sea,” Coloma said.

”President Aquino has al-ways represented the Philip-pines’ position on the impor-tance of ensuring freedom of navigation and overflight, as well as adherence to UNCLOS and international law,” he add-ed.

Coloma said President Aquino has also been a leading advocate for a legally binding Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, as well as on the im-portance of seeking peaceful avenues for dispute resolution

that underpins the Philippines’ petition before the UN Arbitral Tribunal at The Hague, a move that is being followed closely by other states with maritime entitlement claims.

After the ASEAN-US Sum-mit, Coloma said President Aquino is scheduled to meet the Filipino community and some groups of investors and businessmen in Los Angeles.

President Aquino will be presented with an honorary degree in Humane Letters by the Loyola Marymount Uni-versity in recognition of his achievements as President of the Philippines, “for his integ-rity and for embodying the spirit of the Jesuit education.” (PNA)

SUPPORT. Vice presidential candidate Senator Alan Peter Cayetano talks to supporters during a campaign rally at the new Tagum City Hall arena last Saturday. Armando B. Fenequito Jr.

Aquino vows to keep Phl’s stand on peace process during US tripPRESIDENT Benigno Aquino

has vowed to further solidify the Philippines’ stand for the

peace process during his atten-dance in the two-day ASEAN-US Leaders’ Summit in the United States this week.

The Summit, to be held in Sunnylands, California, aims to strengthen the cooperation among the members of the Asso-ciation of Southeast Asian Nations and the US.

In his departure speech on Monday, the Chief Executive said that in his last attendance in the

Summit as President, he will be sharing again his resolve for the peace process, which is the coun-try’s contribution on the issue of extremism and lack of stability.

“Naudlot man ang panu-kalang Bangsamoro Basic Law sa ating Kongreso, di nagbabago ang ating posisyon ukol sa BBL: Ito pa rin ang pinakatamang landas tun-go sa kapayapaan at kaunlaran para sa Mindanao,” he said.

Approval of the proposed BBL has faced difficulties in both houses of Congress. The Senate cannot move for its approval with-

out the House of Representatives’ prior thumbs up.

The 16th Congress has until June 30 to approve the measure but with sessions currently on re-cess and will resume only on May 23, some lawmakers have cast doubts on the BBL’s success with-in the current administration.

Meanwhile, President Aquino is also scheduled to speak before the Los Angeles World Affairs Council (LAWAC), which he said is an honor since his father, former Senator Benigno S. Aquino Jr., also served as its speaker in 1981.

He is also set to meet with representatives of Disney, and with this the Chief Executive is very optimistic on its impact on the country’s economy in the fu-ture.

“Ang mensahe nga natin sa lahat ng negosyanteng nakakau-sap natin: Sulit na sulit na ngayong tumaya sa Pilipino; sama-sama nating itulak pa ang malaking pagbabago sa ekonomiya at ka-lakhang bansa,” he said.

The President is scheduled to return to the country on Friday. (PNA)


ICT HUBDigital tech startup Squadzipcloses successful seed funding

Digital enterprise transformationin 2016: Accelerating the accelerated

SQUADZIP, a mobile-first software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform for pro-

ductivity and collaboration that applies the ease of use and familiarity of popular so-cial media platforms to a sales and project management con-text, received an undisclosed amount of funding from cor-porate venture capital firm Kickstart Ventures and Silicon Valley-based seed-stage inves-tor and innovation platform Plug and Play Tech Center.

Squadzip is the first co-in-vestment between Kickstart Ventures and Plug and Play Tech Center. This also marks the first investment of Plug and Play Tech Center in the Philippines.

Squadzip was inspired by CEO and co-founder Roman Mercado’s own frustrations in using productivity solu-tions while he was working in enterprise sales for medical, banking, and digital media in-dustries.

In his corporate life, Mer-cado saw many corporations sink huge amounts of mon-ey into enterprise solutions, the implementation of which meant high upfront fees, hard-ware cost, complex user train-ings, and time delays. These

solutions ranged from the free to typically expensive legacy enterprise platforms. The sit-uation prompted Mercado to tap colleague and now CTO and co-founder Joaquin Baran-dino to help build Squadzip, a productivity tool for busi-nesses that allows teams to communicate in real-time and share data without having to endure lengthy forms.

“For our enterprise cus-tomers, Squadzip is like their own private company social media platform and wiki. Activities are posted in real time on a live feed which are time- and location-stamped, while business intelligence is captured from each post to be classified and organized easily and in real time into Intel Pag-es. Also, sales teams involved in specific deals can collab-orate and access data from anywhere in the world,” said Mercado.

Mercado and Barandino capitalized on the Filipinos’ proclivity for social media apps in a bid to ensure easy adoption by those assigned to use Squadzip. Instead the tra-ditional task- and form-based paradigm commonly seen in other solutions, they created a hashtagging system called

“ziptags” based on natural reporting behavior which al-lows users to quickly catego-rize, search, and retrieve data on customer histories, com-petitors, and service issues as well as added powerful geolo-cation and timestamp features that allow businesses to know what is going on and where it is happening.

“We make it a point to work closely with each client to make sure we remain re-sponsive to actual needs and pain points they go through in their day-to-day operations. Our customers today use Squadzip to locate, monitor, and track sales teams remote-ly; capture and organize valu-able customer data, service issues, and leads seamlessly; and analyze sales funnels, monitor ongoing projects, and track performance,” Mercado said.

Since July 2014 when Squadzip was adopted by their first paying enterprise client, it is now in smartphones carried by teams traveling to different parts of the world. Squadzip is being applied in various use cases including sales, custom-er relationship management, and project management.

Kickstart Ventures, Plug

and Play Tech Center co-in-vest

In just 18 months since they started, Squadzip has already gained a portfolio of enterprise users across mul-tiple industries. The funding from Kickstart Ventures and Plug and Play will enable the founders to further improve their product and scale distri-bution here and abroad.

“CRM remains to be an interesting space for Plug and Play. Particularly those with very creative solutions in en-hancing the user experience and interphase, like Squadzip. Its approach to ease of use and intuitive tagging of infor-mation I believe is key to its success. Squadzip is the first investment of Plug and Play in the Philippines so we’re ex-cited to work with Roman and his team and we hope to accel-erate Squadzip’s potential glo-balization, possibly to become the next Salesforce or Sug-ar,” said Jojo Flores, Co-Found-er and Vice-President. Plug and Play engages over 300 corporations in Silicon Valley.

Minette Navarrete, pres-ident of Kickstart Ventures, a wholly-owned venture capital subsidiary of Globe Telecom, also welcomed the addition of Squadzip in their invest-ment portfolio. “Squadzip is an enterprise solution designed to be frontline-fo-cused, and architected to be enterprise-grade. Frontliners and head office management share the goal of growing their business, delivering great quality service to customers, and sharing information in re-al-time, frequently over multi-ple locations,” she said.

“Squadzip’s intuitive user interface makes it easy for dis-tributed teams to collaborate

The Batangas State University team, winner of the 12th SWEEP Awards, receive their trophy from Smart SVP for Network Mar Tamayo (far left), DOST Asec. Mon Liboro (second from left), Smart public affairs head Mon Isberto (second from right), and event host Miriam Quiambao

Batangas State U bags 2016 SWEEP innovation awards grand prizeA GROUP of engineering

students from Batangas State University won

the grand prize at Smart Com-munications’ 12th SWEEP Innovation and Excellence Awards for Pinoy X-tra, an app connecting workers like plumbers, carpenters, and tutors with people who need their services.

The team received a P300,000 prize while the school received a P150,000 grant from Smart. The school also bagged the Ericsson Net-worked Society Award.

For over a decade, Smart has been recognizing innova-tive projects of information technology (IT) and engi-neering students under its in-dustry-academe partnership called the Smart Wireless En-gineering Education Program (SWEEP).

This year, 10 teams made the cut as finalists out of 304 groups that submitted entries from all over the country. A

team from Asia Pacific College that developed a pocket-sized electrocardiogram device was named second placer and re-ceived a P200,000 prize and a P100,000 grant for their school.

Placing third were rep-resentatives of University of San Jose Recoletos with their travel game app Quests. The students received P100,000, while their school got P50,000.

Other special citations during the ceremony were the Smart Innovation Award, given to De La Salle University Science and Technology Com-plex, and the Huawei Innova-tion Award given to Gordon College. The rest of the short-listed teams and their respec-tive schools received merit prizes.

The other finalists were students from Angeles Uni-versity Foundation, De La Salle University—Science and Technology Complex, Gordon College, Holy Cross of Davao

College, University of Ce-bu-Banilad, University of the Philippines Los Baños, and Wesleyan University Philip-

pines.SWEEP Awards is part

of Smart’s SWEEP program, under which the company

partners with colleges and universities to improve engi-neering and IT education in the country.

SWEEP also aims to help schools produce indus-try-ready graduates or future technology entrepreneurs.

ASIA Pacific is swiftly becoming the “front-line for the Internet of

Things (IoT)” with 8.6 billion connected devices and a ro-bust digital infrastructure. Most countries in the region are actively implementing digital initiatives so as to transform their nations into smart economies. While this presents innumerable oppor-tunities for businesses to tap on, it is vital for companies to leverage technology and inno-vate faster, in order to keep up with the rapid adoption of all things digital.

IDC predicted that by 2017, 60 percent of the APAC top 1000 enterprises will have digital transformation at the centre of their corporate strategy.[2] Manik Narayan Saha, Chief Information Officer (CIO), Asia Pacific and Japan for SAP shares three must-haves to enable businesses on their digital transformation journey in 2016:

1. Live Enterprise: Flexibil-ity is the name of the game

At the very core of busi-nesses, today’s digital era lies the opportunity to evolve into what we call a ‘live enterprise’. From enhanced seamless and personalised customer expe-riences, to a more engaged workforce and supply chain, a ‘live enterprise’ essentially predicts and acts with the fu-ture in mind, rather than solely reporting the past. This means incorporating agile business processes and possessing the ability to mass customise everything for every single consumer. It also is the ability to connect each colleague and asset to a single, intelligent and digital core system — one that can anticipate, simulate and innovate new opportunities on the fly.

2. Digital Business Networks as the new marketplace

Digital Business Networks will become the platform of choice for transactions and commerce. In this market-place, the responsibility to orchestrate the process into

FDIGITAL TECH, 10 FDIGITAL, 10

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an energetic Lion Dance performed by the Davao Lion Dancers Association. Guests later proceeded to the Marco Polo Davao’s Cantonese restaurant, The Lotus Court , to dine on the special Chinese New Year Buffet which

featured Peking Duck, Steamed Pompano, Pre-mium Seafood, as well as Chinese Sweet Cake lo-cally called Tikoy. Students from Colegio de San Ignacio also en-tertained the guests with Chinese cultural perfor-

mances at Lotus Court ,adding a festive air to the celebration. The Chinese New Year Celebration is also widely celebrated by Marco Polo Hotels in all its 14 proper-ties in China, Hong Kong, and the Philippines.

EVERY YEAR, the Lunar New Year cel-ebrations in Davao City seem to become bigger and bigger, with gatherings and parties being held all around Durianburg. An institution when it comes to celebrat-ing the Lunar New Year, The Marco Polo Davao’s festivi-ties are what I always look out for and this year was no excep-tion. The celebration at the Marco Polo Davao was held last February 7 with many of the hotel’s regu-lar guests from the Chi-nese-Filipino community, the hotel’s heads-of-de-partment, media friends and associates filling up the lobby. “This Chinese New Year Celebration holds a lot of meaning for Marco Polo Davao, as we are also celebrating our 18th year of existence as the first and only premier hotel in Mindanao. We are also very pleased to see our be-loved friends and guests from the Fil-Chinese Community here in the city, as they have long sup-ported Lotus Court from the very beginning” says GM Dottie V. Würgler-Cronin. The event was formally kicked off with the tradi-tional dotting of the lion’s eye at the hotel’s entrance, led by GM Dottie V. Wür-gler-Cronin, which was immediately followed by

A celebration of traditionEVENT

EDGEDAVAOINdulge! VOL. 8 ISSUE 232 • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2016

A2 INdulge! EDGEDAVAOUP AND ABOUT

THIS FEBRUARY, Abreeza Mall celebrates both the Valentine’s sea-son and the National Arts Month with a series of activities designed to make customers feel the sweetness of romance and appreciate the beauty of different art forms. On February 9, Abreeza Mall launched an exhibit dubbed Secret Feels: A Collection of Reflections on Love, Loss, and Longing at the Ground Floor Supermarket Hallway. Ongo-ing until February 26, the ex-hibit gathers heartfelt quotes rendered in brush lettering that cover the wide spectrum of ro-mantic love, from attraction to bliss to heartache. From February 11 to 13, Abreeza Mall lets shoppers fall in love with the world of art at heArt Weekend at the Activity Center. An art exhibit with per-formance and interactive com-ponents, heArt weekend gath-ers the works of artists Kublai Millan and Bong Perez, pho-tographer Aidx Paredes, and portraitist Macky Bongabong, and invites shoppers to flex their creative muscles by tak-ing part in coloring and inter-active stations. heArt Weekend also showcases the diverse art-istry of Davaoeño talents with performances scheduled every evening at 6:30pm: musicians Maan Chua and Thea Pitogo took the stage on February 11, members of the Young Davao Writers deliver spoken word poetry set to music by Kevin Becira on February 12, and the UP Mindanao Dance Ensemble represents the art form of con-temporary dance on February 13. Abreeza Mall also brings the charming concept of “love

locks”—found in popular lo-cations in countries such as France, Germany, Russia, and South Korea—to Davao City for the Valentine’s season. From February 12 to 29 at the Ground Floor Fashion Hallway, shop-pers will get the chance to de-clare their love and strengthen their bond using padlocks of promise. On February 14, Valentine’s Day, music will fill the air at Abreeza Mall. Local choral

groups are set to sing sweet ser-enades at the annual Harana sa Abreeza competition from 1pm to 4pm at the Activity

Center. Meanwhile, Wander in Love will see community mu-sicians giving surprise live per-formances to customers from

4pm to 6pm at secret locations around the mall. Finally, Abreeza Mall makes Valentine’s Day even sweeter for couples with a promo that promises romantic prizes to three lucky winners. All cus-tomers have to do is share a photo of their favorite date spot at Abreeza Mall along with a romantic caption on Instagram from February 12 to 14, tag @iloveabreezamall, and include the hashtag #LovEmHeart. The customers with the three best entries get to win an overnight stay for two at Seda Abreeza Hotel as the first prize, a roman-tic dinner for two at Italianni’s as the second prize, and movie passes plus snacks for two from The MovieSnackbar as the third prize. For inquiries and updates on Abreeza Mall news and events, please visit the Main Concierge at the ground floor or call (082) 321-9332. Stay updated by liking www.facebook.com/Abreeza-Mall and following @abreeza-tweets on Twitter and @ilove-abreezamall on Instagram.

Arts and hearts rule at Abreeza Mall this February

VOL. 8 ISSUE 232 • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2016

INdulge! A3EDGEDAVAOENTERTAINMENT

Metro Society opens entertainment issue with a bang

Solenn Heussaff to launch her own perfume line

Miguel Tanfelix featured by online fashion hub

THE THREE PILLARS of leadership of ABS-CBN in their first magazine cover together. Gabby Lopez, Charo Santos-Concio, and Carlo Katigbak come together for a historical feature commemorating the succession from one passionate leader to another, and what it takes to be at the helm of a company that is truly in the service of the Filipino.

THE LONG WAIT IS OVER as Solenn Heussaff confirmed the date of her perfume launch. Solenn announced that she will be launching her perfume line last November 2015 and based on her Instagram post last February 12, it will be coming out in just a few days. According to the Taste Buddies host, S.O.S or Scents Of Solenn was crafted for two years. She said, “Woohoo!! This is finally happening after almost 2 years in the making!!! My very own Scent. Will post details soon!” Solenn divulged that experts from France helped her create the products. For a personal touch, she drew the design for S.O.S. “Created 3 scents with experts from my hometown France, I drew the floral design and concept. Can’t wait to share a bit of ne with all of you! #SosSunrise #SOSsunshine #SOSsunset I present to you S.O.S (Scents Of Solenn)” S.O.S. pocket perfume and perfumed body cream will be launched on February 26.

WITH HIS BOYISH GOOD LOOKS, dance floor swag, and burgeoning acting chops, Miguel Tanfelix is certainly one to look out for this year and we are not the only ones who think so. Recently, Miguel collaborated with StyleMNL—an online spot for fashion, style, lifestyle buzz, and celebrity features to take part in promoting the new website for it’s opening salvo. According to StyleMNL, they wanted to work with Miguel because he shows great promise. Aside from that, they, at StyleMNL, have seen the growth of Miguel through the years. “As part of the new site’s opening salvo, we thought of featuring a talent who’s very promising, a young talent that you must definitely watch out for this 2016; we couldn’t think of anyone else but Miguel. We have seen

him in StarStruck as a kid, a Mulawin star as Pagaspas and now a teen star able to claim his own spot in the industry. We see that Miguel has the right attitude and potential to be the next lead,” Edryan Lorenzo, Creative Director and PR Manager of StyleMNL said. The StyleMNL team also admitted that they enjoyed working with the young actor because Miguel’s professionalism goes far beyond his young age of 17. Despite that, he still hasn’t managed to lose his fun and goofy side. “Miguel is very easy to work with. He’s funny, singing One Direction’s “History” in between layouts and Zayn’s “Pillowtalk” then candidly admitting that he really doesn’t understand the lyrics because of Zayn’s accent. [He even performed] magic card tricks right after the shoot. The kid is very professional and you can see that he’s passionate with what he’s doing,” added Edryan.

CALLING ALL PHILHEALTH EMPLOYEES AND MEMBERS IN DAVAO AND GENERAL SANTOS CITIES! Come and shop at The SM Store Davao, Lanang Premier and General Santos On February 11 to 17! Enjoy an exclusive 10% discount upon presentation of your SM Advantage Card and PhilHealth ID with your P1,500 minimum purchase!

In other special features, join us as we celebrate local entertainment. We delve into the world of film and what makes these pieces of fiction so moving that audiences are transported through time, into different worlds of drama and

action and romance and comedy. We look into the past with a story of film restoration and take a peek into the future of the industry as we introduce you to the young producers, directors and actors that have made names outside the norms

of pop culture, truly focusing on talent and hard work rather than relevancy and a fan base in our On The Verge Section. This month has many interesting reads on what is new around the metro. Our Dining section features Bondi and Bourke, a restaurant featuring elevated comfort food, which is the brainchild of Australian Chef and owner Wade Watson. Delicious steaks, fresh oysters, and scrumptious meat pies all await in this Legaspi village gem. In the mood

for something a little more relaxed? Make sure to leaf through our Entertaining with Flair section featuring the Chi Spa at the Edsa Shangri La hotel, perfect to cap off the relaxing day. Of course no issue would be complete without the many socials that hit the city and allow me to paint the town red. Head on over to our party hopper section and get an all access pass to Tommy Hilfiger’s launch of tennis star Rafael Nadal as their new face as well as a big surprise for Presy Lopez.

PG/*R13

G

R1612:40 | 3:00 | 5:20 | 7:40 | 10:00 LFS

HOW TO BE SINGLE

Dakota Johnson, Alison Brie, Leslie Mann

R16 12:40 | 3:00 | 5:20 | 7:40 | 10:00 LFS

GIRLFRIEND FOR HIRE/*ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME

12:00 | 2:00 | 4:00 | 6:00 | 8:00 | 10:00 LFS

LOVE IS BLIND

Solenn Heussaff, Derek Ramsey, Kiray Celis

11:50 | 2:00 | 4:10 LFS / * 6:20 | 8:10 | 10:00 LFS

Andre Paras, Yassi Pressman /*Sarah Jessica Parker, Rosie Day

DEADPOOL

Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin

February 11-16, 2016

VOL. 8 ISSUE 232 • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2016

A4 INdulge!EVENT

MX3 shares good health at the Dinagyang FestivalAS A TRIBUTE TO THE BIRTH OF CHRISTIANITY IN THE PHILIP-PINES, the Dinag-yang Festival is cel-ebrated every third week of January in Iloilo. The city is known for its histor-ical structures that can be seen through the architectural landmarks, old churches, and muse-ums. Panay Island is famous as the home of well loved Filipino delicacies. Apart from being a re-ligious festival, the Dina-gyang Festival also show-cases Philippine culture at its finest. “Dinagyang” is an Ilonggo term to mean “Merry Making”. This is a way to show gratefulness for the bountiful harvest of the many tribes all over the island. The city streets are lined with people ea-

ger to see the burst of col-ors in the parade. Togeth-er with the thunderous beat of the drums, people are one and united say-ing “Hala Bira.” Millions flock to watch the popu-

lar Iloilo Dinagyang Ati Tribe competition which is performed out on the streets. The vibe of the “Dinag-yang Festival” echoes the life in the island where

people are proud of their roots and culture. In part-nership with GMA, Team MX3 joined the revelry of this annual celebration. Kapuso stars Bianca Um-ali and Miguel Tanfelix

performed and showcased their talents and skills much to the delight of the crowd. The MX3 Team distributed game prizes and shared its health ben-efits through free coffee sampling for all. MX3 believes that health is a primary com-ponent that allows us to enjoy and live life to the fullest. DMI – MX3 wants

to mirror the zest for life that Philippine Festivals have. In order for us these, we must always be at the top shape of our health. A good balanced diet, exer-cise and investing in nat-ural substances that can boost the immune system to protect our bodies is an unbeatable formula to make sure that we can be Extraordinarily Fit.

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 8 ISSUE 232 • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2016

VOL. 8 ISSUE 232 • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2016 13EDGEDAVAO NEWS

NOTICE OF LOSSNotice is hereby given by LOYOLA PLANS

CONSOLIDATED INC. that CERTIFICATE OF FULL PAYMENT No.(s) under LOYOLA PLAN issued to the following planholders, to wit;

PH NAME CPF NO. CONTRACT NO.1. ERLINDA L. 45783 455978-7 GUYO 2. GLORIA P. 21022525 NNN 130004955 FAUSTINO

were lost. Any transaction entered into shall be null and void.2/2,9,16

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4. Must be willing to travel within the island of Mindanao.

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seven other regions face up to an entire

month of dry days in March amidst continuing onslaught of the drought-driving strong El Nino phenomenon.

In its latest outlook, State weather agency Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said between 25 and 31 dry days are possible this March in each of Metro Manila, Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) as well as Re-gions I,II, III, IV-A and IV-B, all in Luzon.

PAGASA forecast the same number of dry days in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

“Dry day is a day with 1.0 mm of rainfall or less,” noted

PAGASA.For Luzon, PAGASA

forecasts this March way below-normal rainfall with precipitation reaching only almost 19 percent of this ar-ea’s normal level.

According to PAGASA, way below-normal rainfall is less than 40 percent of nor-mal precipitation in an area.

Way below-normal rain-fall is likely next month in Luzon’s Metro Manila, CAR as well as Regions I, II, III, IV-A and IV-B.

PAGASA forecasts rain-fall in such areas to be mere-ly 8.6 percent, 25.2 percent, 24.7 percent, 19.3 percent, 12.6 percent, 22.8 percent and 11.7 percent of their respective normal levels, PA-GASA said.

In ARMM, PAGASA said

rainfall this March will likely be way below-normal as well with precipitation hitting only 27.5 percent of normal level there.

Weather systems that may affect the country this March are the northeast monsoon or ‘amihan,’ tail-end of a cold front, easterly wave, inter-tropical conver-gence zone, low-pressure areas, ridge of high-pressure area and tropical cyclones (TCs), PAGASA said further.

The northeast mon-soon will possibly terminate during the late February to early March period, noted PAGASA.

Between zero to one TC is possible in the country this March, PAGASA also said.

PAGASA data show that during previous strong El Nino events, the country mainly had zero TC occur-rence in the month of March except in the 2009-2010 period (one TC) and 1982-1983 period (two TCs).

Earlier this month, PA-GASA said the prevailing strong El Nino might gradu-ally weaken through March-April-May 2016.

The transition to neutral condition is possible during the May-June-July period this year, PAGASA added. (PNA)


MOTORING

TOYOTA Motor Phil-ippines gave a sneak peek of its all-new

2016 Fortuner at its annual media thanksgiving par-ty last January. And now, they’ve revealed even more tidbits including one, inter-estingly enough, that has to do where the Philippines will source Toyota’s PPV or Pickup-based Passenger Vehicle.

The third of the IMV or Innovative Multipurpose Vehicle range, the Fortuner was first launched in the Philippine market in 2005. It soon became one of the country’s most sought-af-ter vehicles and has been a strong seller for Toyota.

Having such a legacy on its shoulders, the all-new Fortuner remains an important vehicle for Toy-ota Motor Philippines. With retail sales starting by the middle of March, TMP set a lofty target of moving some 2,000 units of the Fortuner on a monthly basis. To ac-complish this, the all-new model must have a sleek and eye-catching design that emphasizes stylishness and presence. According to chief designer Hiroki Na-kajima, the main challenge is to make a modern SUV without the outdated boxi-ness of the previous model.

The all-new Fortuner is longer and wider than the outgoing model and features bi-beam LED head-lights with daytime run-ning lights on higher trim models. It’s set apart by the three “iconic” lines found on the side as well as avail-able 18-inch alloy wheels. At the back, it also has LED tail lamps as well as a shark fin type antenna.

Inside, the Fortuner has a Hazel Brown interior for all V grade models and lighter Chamois colored interior for the G grades. It

boasts of increased head-room for the front pas-sengers as well as a more spacious second and third row. Though the third row seats still fold sideways, it’s easier to flip up thanks to a spring-loaded mechanism as well as hooks located within reach of the luggage compartment (aft of the D-pillar, actually). The inte-rior has 12 cup holders.

In terms of perfor-mance, the all-new Fortuner features Toyota’s next-gen-eration D-4D and VVT-i equipped engines. The 2.8-liter engine in the 2.8 V 4x4 has 174 horsepower at 3,400 rpm and 450 Nm at 1,600 to 2,400 rpm while the 2.4-liter engine in the V 4x2 and G Diesel variants have 147 horsepower at 3,400 rpm and 400 Nm of torque from 1,600 to 2,400 rpm. The 2.7-liter G variant boasts 163 horsepower at 5,200 rpm and 245 Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm thanks to Dual VVT-i.

The 2.8-liter V Diesel 4x4 boasts of a part-time four-wheel drive system (eliminating the outgoing model’s full-time system), Active Traction Control, and Hill Start Assist. It also has Vehicle Stability Control and Trailer Sway Control. Seven airbags are also standard on the V 4x4.

The most interesting part of the all-new 2016 Toyota Fortuner is where the Philippines will source its units. While the outgoing model was imported as a CBU from Thailand, the all-new model is a CBU from, surprisingly, Toyota’s Indo-nesia assembly plant.

Whether or not this move will have any discern-able effect on build quality remains to be seen. Whatev-er the case, this is one move that everyone didn’t see coming.

WHEN Ford announced their “One Ford” global strategy, some pundits

denounced that it wasn’t going to work. They thought: how can you build a single vehicle and expect it to be successful in almost ev-ery market it competes in? These critics clearly have a myopic view since they’ve set their goals far too low. They’re convinced that for as long as you’ve nailed a particular country’s market requirements, it’s okay to compromise.

Ford doesn’t look at it that way.

The Ranger is a runaway suc-cess for Ford for a very simple rea-son: it doesn’t compromise. From the get-go, Ford understood that pickup customers will demand a range of qualities far greater than the differences in operating condition from country to coun-try. During its development, Ford didn’t simply benchmark the competition with the goal of being better in terms of specifications or technology. Although that’s always going to play a part in the vehicle development process, Ford instead focused on what cus-tomers needed and wanted.

Ford didn’t simply build a truck that satisfies the Asia-Pacific market or the European market. They engineered one that satis-fies customers everywhere. In short, they challenged themselves to build a Ranger that’s tough yet comfortable, rugged yet stylish, safe, technologically advanced and powerful, yet remaining af-fordable. Drawing on resources,

facilities, and expertise on a glob-al scale, Ford headquartered the Ranger’s development in Austra-lia and understanding this market a bit more as well as One Ford can help you understand why the Ranger has become as competi-tive as it is.

In the Philippines, the Rang-er is the best-selling pickup, but Down Under, not only is it the best-selling pickup (or ute as they call it), but it’s the fourth best-sell-ing nameplate. It does even bet-ter in neighboring New Zealand, where it’s the best-selling vehi-cle overall (in both cases, it has managed to dethrone the Toyota Hilux). That shouldn’t come as a surprise given that Australians and New Zealanders have come to love the Ranger given how they use their pickups.

A walk around Queenstown, New Zealand’s adventure capital, as well as neighboring Wanaka, reveals some local peculiarities here: almost every car’s got a hitch or tow hook installed. Whether it’s a wagon, crossover, pickup, or SUV—they’ve got to be haul-ready on the go. Come to think of it, once the weekend hit, it’s normal to see a beat-up 20-year wagon drag-ging a trailer loaded with bikes or jet skis. And it’s not just for recreational use, either. In Mina-ret Station for instance, it’s used as the main workhorse—making sure the entire farm with its 370 kilometers of fencing and 15,000 resident livestock remain in tip-top shape. Such is the demands put on the Ranger and one where

it performs beautifully.Remember the key figures

the Ranger is known for such as the 3.5-metric ton towing capac-ity and one-metric ton payload capacity? It’s hard to imagine, but those figures found in all new-generation pickup trucks are there because of the Ranger. And in turn, those are partially be-cause of customer requirements in markets like Australia and New Zealand. Surefooted towing and hauling is an integral part to a Ki-wi’s way of life that Ford doesn’t even offer the smaller engine there. All Rangers come standard with the larger 200-horsepower motor.

Being able to tweak the spec-ifications to meet certain market requirements is another advan-tage afforded by One Ford. Instead of a having a “take-it-or-leave-it” approach, Ford is able to work with suppliers to develop parts that can be made in the same factory, but look and perform de-pending on market requirements. And all this is done without fun-damentally affecting the design or engineering of a particular vehicle. In short, the Ranger will always be a Ranger wherever it’s sold.

When Then-president and CEO Alan Mulally laid down that vision in 2006, he summed up Ford as a global company, but not acting like one. Since then, the company fine-tuned its operations to wring efficiency and economies of scale. From 27 different plat-forms, the company has reduced this to just eight. And 99 percent of

their products are now produced on those eight common platforms.

Of course the drivetrain forms only a part of that equation; every-thing else—from the frame, the suspension, brakes, and chassis must all work cohesively. And it does.

The development of a one global Ranger meant Ford lever-aged its teams to work around the clock. More than 30,000 comput-er-aided assessments were done even before the first prototype was built. After that, it was ex-tensively tested and evaluated in 15 countries under the harshest environments from the Austra-lian Outback to the German Auto-bahn to the Argentinean Pampa. By the time Job One rolled out of Thailand, Ford collectively logged more than a million kilometers of testing on the road.

The Ford Ranger isn’t just the culmination of hard work by almost 500 engineers around the world. It’s the quintessential proof that the One Ford works. It’s sold in more than 180 markets, mak-ing it one of the farthest reaching Ford products in the world. And along the way, it has successfully become the leader in its segment. It successfully puts together Ford’s global capabilities, testing facili-ties, and pickup truck knowledge. It’s capable, comfortable, pow-erful, fuel-efficient, and safe. It’s a pickup that has captivated the world, but more than anything, it’s a pickup that anyone will be proud to own and confident to drive any-where and everywhere.

Toyota reveals moreFortuner tidbits

Ford Ranger: The importance of being global

VOL. 8 ISSUE 232 • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2016 15

THERE wasn’t much dra-ma in the 2016 NBA All-Star Game from To-

ronto but there was a lot of scoring. In fact it was a record level of scoring for the two teams as both the East and the West teams each bested the previous team-high re-cord of 163 points, and they set the combined record with 369 points, which bested the

previous mark of 321 total points.

For such a prolific scorer in the history of the game, Kobe Bryant got to see a layup drill and a fireworks display in his 15th (18th se-lection overall) and final All-Star Game. Bryant, who said earlier in the weekend he planned on capping out at 10 minutes, played 26 minutes

and finished with 10 points (4-of-11 shooting), seven as-sists, and six rebounds. His one steal moved him ahead of Michael Jordan all-time for All-Star Game steals.

Paul George led all scor-ers with 41 points and set the All-Star Game record for 3-pointers with nine. He broke the record held by Car-melo Anthony, who hit eight

of them in the 2014 All-Star Game in New Orleans. But it was Russell Westbrook winning his second straight All-Star Game MVP by finish-ing with 31 points, eight re-bounds, five assists and five steals. He is the first back-to-back All-Star Game MVP since Bob Pettit in 1958 and 1959.

Nine players from the West scored in double figures

with five getting at least 23 in the game. Stephen Curry scored 26, Anthony Davis had 24 and James Harden tied Kevin Durant with 23 each. Chris Paul’s 16 assists tied for the fourth-most in an All-Star Game, and was six behind Magic Johnson’s record of 22.

In the East, John Wall scored 22 points to support George’s scoring, while sev-

en players scored in double digits. Every player who par-ticipated in the game scored, which seems perfect consid-ering the records set Sunday night. LeBron James finished with 13 points to move ahead of Kobe for the all-time All-Star scoring leader.

The 2017 All-Star Game will be hosted by the Char-lotte Hornets.

Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Western Conference dunks in the first quarter against the

Eastern Conference during the NBA All-Star Game 2016 at the Air Canada Centre

on Sunday in Toronto, Ontario.

KOBE Bryant made the biggest stop of his farewell tour on

Sunday as he played the last NBA All-Star Game of a remarkable career in which he established him-self as arguably the best player of his generation.

Bryant, who said all week he did not want his fellow players to go easy on him in his final All-Star Game, was a shadow of the player who dominated the NBA’s midseason show-case many times before, but was still the man of the hour.

Prior to the game’s opening tip, NBA great Magic Johnson lauded the 37-year-old in between a pair of tribute videos fea-turing some career high-lights interspersed with messages of thanks from a handful of fellow NBA play-ers.

Bryant announced last November that this would be his final season and was made the leading vote-get-ter for his 18th and final All-Star appearance by fans.

“I just want to thank you guys for all of your support for all these years,” Bryant told the Toronto crowd and a global televi-sion audience.

“I’ve been extremely

fortunate to be able to play the game that I love and be in the NBA for more than half my life.

“It’s a thrill to be here in this All-Star Game so thank you for voting me in. I get a chance to be around these young players here, who when I first started playing most of them were my kids’ age now.

“It feels so good to be able to speak to them about the game and to be able to share some of the knowl-edge that I have learned throughout my career to them so that they can carry on the tradition of the NBA

and hopefully play 20 years themselves.”

When the first NBA All-Star Game to be held out-side of the United States finally got underway, it was Bryant who went up against LeBron James for the opening tip. James won the tip but appeared to send it over to Bryant’s Western Conference team.

Bryant played nearly 15 minutes in the first half and scored 10 points, including a patented fadeaway late in the opening quarter that drew loud cheers from a celebrity-dotted crowd that included director

Spike Lee and supermodel Kate Upton.

The 20-year NBA vet-eran, who by his own ad-mission this week is “old as hell,” was held without a point the rest of the way.

When Bryant, a five-time NBA champion, two-time NBA Finals MVP, one-time league MVP and four-time All-Star Game MVP during a career spent en-tirely with the Los Angeles Lakers, checked out of the game with 66 seconds left, he received a standing ova-tion from both team bench-es while the crowd chanted “Kobe, Kobe.”

DRAKE would say West-brook went back-to-back like Jordan in 1996-

97.Oklahoma City Thunder

guard Russell Westbrook won his second straight All-Star MVP on Sunday, scoring 31 points to go with eight re-bounds, five assists, five steals (which is incredible in a game in which absolutely no defense was played) in just 22 minutes.

Westbrook threw down a dazzling array of dunks throughout the night -- the real reason the All-Star game exists

-- and brought his usual swag-ger and killer instinct, scoring right off the bat to set the tone. Westbrook has no chill and does not know how to fail to compete, it seems. Westbrook is the first player to go back-to-back in All-Star MVPs since Bob Petit in 1958-59, when it’s safe to say the game was quite a bit different.

Paul George came one shy of the All-Star record of 42 points set by Wilt Chamber-lain, finishing with 41 points in a losing effort. I’m sure he’s all broken up over it, too.

NONITO “The Filipino Flash” Donaire consid-ers his next opponent,

Hungarian boxer Zsolt Bedák, to be a tough, capable fighter but remains confident that his team can come up with the right game plan to neutralize his foe.

The 32-year-old Bedák holds a 25-1 win-loss record, and will head into the April 23 fight at the Araneta Colise-um with a 10-match winning streak. He is not well known for his power, registering only eight knockout victories, al-though Donaire considers the Hungarian an “overall fighter.”

“He’s got speed and pretty decent power if he wants to, but he’s more of a technical fighter than anything,” Donaire told Ronnie Nathanielsz, as re-ported in Boxing Scene.

“He wants to beat you by

points, but we won’t allow this,” he stressed. “We know what we have to do.”

Donaire said Bedák is “a tough guy, a capable guy,” but believes he and his father and trainer, Nonito Donaire Sr., will “come up with the best game plan.”

“Power is sometimes not enough to beat a guy who moves around,” he observed. “It’s a matter of having the best, most intelligent game plan. When we follow that game plan, we can beat anybody.”

Donaire is set to leave for Las Vegas this week, and al-ready has at least one sparring partner lined up.

“We are coming out with all the weapons,” he said. “We are going to bring it.”

Donaire will defend his WBO super bantamweight title in the bout.

EDGEDAVAOSports

WEST ROUTS EASTNBA All-Star Game 2016 sets scoring record

Kobe’s farewell tour makes biggest stop in ASGWestbrook wins MVP

Donaire confident against ‘tough, capable’ opponent


Edge Davao 6 Issue 232

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