Edge Davao 6 Issue 241

THE Department of Trade and Industry will piloting the climate change adaptation program for SMEs in the Davao region starting the second quarter this

year, an official said.DTI 11 officer-in-charge Ma. Belinda Q. Ambi, in an

interview at the DTI-civil society organizations and stake-

holders consultation at The Pinnacle Hotel and Suites Tuesday, said that the program is a series of trainings and seminars that will enable SMEs to be disaster resilient.

Romeo Castañaga, head of Management Support and Special Concerns Division (MSSCD), said earlier that the

P 15.00 • 20 PAGESwww.edgedavao.netVOL. 6 ISSUE 241 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21-22, 2014

[email protected]

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO [email protected]

EDGE Serving a seamless society

DAVAO

FDTI, 10

FNUMBER, 10

NUMBER ONE KILLERLTO urged: Be strict on motorcycle drivers licenses

DESCRIBING the motorcycles as “number one killer” in road accidents, the chief of

the Davao City Public Safety and Security Command Center (PSSCC) is urging the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to implement strict issuance of licenses to motorcycle drivers.

Ret. Gen. Francisco Villaro-man told reporters in yesterday’s I-speak media forum that most ve-hicles involved in road mishaps are

motorcycles.“Dapat dumaan sila sa proper

training at saka actual. Kasi yung ibang motor (motorcycle driver) dito, lalo kung maka-inom wala ng brake – nakalimutan ng mag brake. Puro accelerator ang nalala-man kaya pati (other) sasakyan binabangga nila,” said Villaroman.

He added that it is shown on close circuit television (CCTV) of the PSSCC how victims got hurt brought by reckless driving and

over- speeding motorcycles.“Based on statistics, number

one killer and motorcycles,” Vil-laroman said.

“I have to remind our LTO re-gional office or city na higpitan and issuance ng motorcycle licens-es dito sa Davao City and also the whole region kasi ang nakamotor dito na nakakabangga hindi lang taga-Davao, may taga-Maguindan-ao – taga ibang probinsya,” he said.

DTI to pilot climate change adaptationFOR SMEs

FRESH. Newly-slaughtered pigs are being delivered at various meat stalls in Bankerohan Public Market few hours before the prospective clients arrive for an afternoon purchase. Lean Daval Jr.

OUTDATED. No one seems to care of a hanging dilapidated public telephone as majority of people nowadays own cellular phones. Lean Daval Jr.

VOL. 6 ISSUE 241 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21-22, 20142 EDGEDAVAO

THE BIG NEWS

COR Jesus College of Law and the Integrat-ed Bar of the Philip-

pines- Davao del Sur chap-ter will conduct a forum on the impact of the estab-lishment of coal-powered plants on climate change today at Pearl Center, Rizal Avenue, Digos City.

Lawyer Israelito Torre-on, dean of the college of law, said during a media forum at the Club 888, The Marco Polo Davao Wednes-day that the forum aims to enlighten participants on the impact of coal power plants given that the region is experiencing the effects of climate change.

He said that the right to development and the re-sponsibility to protect the environment despite the Mindanao power crisis will be discussed.

“It will provide an ave-nue for all stakeholders to express their opinion on the matter,” he said, add-ing that a coal-fired power plant owned by the San Miguel Corp. (SMC) with a capacity of 600 megawatt is being constructed in Malita, Davao del Sur.

Aside from the one in Malita, there are also three other coal-fired power plants that are close to the province of Davao del Sur, namely Therma South Inc. (TSI) (with a capacity of 300MW), the Aboitiz Pow-er in Toril District, Davao City, and 210 MW coal-fired power plant of Alsons in Sa-rangani province.

The construction of the three power plants is aimed at alleviating the power crisis in Mindanao where

THE Davao City Quick Response Team for Children’s

Concerns of the City So-cial Service and Develop-ment (QRTCC-CSSDO) has

to keep in its custody the seven children who were rescued last Saturday from an alleged cyber sex den for a long period be-fore they can be returned to their relatives.

Minda A. Silvano, QRTCC-CSSDO head, told reporters in yesterday’s ‘I-speak media forum’ that they would first need to be assured that the vic-tims will be returned to “a very safe and peaceful environment with family or relatives.”

“Dahil yung mga perpetrators are family members,” said Silvano, adding that there are rel-atives who want to claim the children but were ad-vised to wait.

She said that five of the seven children are re-covering fast from their trauma because of the

support system they have inside the CSSDO shelter.

“The two hindi masyadong affected – me-dyo walang trauma kay parang sanay sila na hindi with the mother or with the parents,” she said.

Davao Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte has warned operators of cybersex dens that if they would be arrested and prosecuted.

“Pag nasa kulungan ka na ngayon I’d rather that you stay there… lalo na yung nag exploit ng child abuse and everything ginagawa mong capital – buti na lang di kita patay-in,” he said.

Last Saturday, the seven were rescued by CIDG’s Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) in Room 3, No. 499, Purok 26, ba-rangay Bucana, Ecoland,

THE Department of Agriculture will part-ner with Davao City

local government for its highland cacao farming projects in response to a ris-ing interest in the crop, an official of the DA revealed last Tuesday.

Speaking in Tuesday’s privilege hour at the city council’s regular session, DA Regional Executive Di-rector Remelyn Recoter said the agency would work with the city in providing facilities, post-harvest and processing equipment,

research and develop-ment, and pest and disease eradication measures for high-value crops.

Recoter said the DA has already turned over similar assistance to the Subasta Multipurpose Co-operative, which received a processing plant and other post-harvest facilities not only for cacao but also for other high value crops.

She said the city’s ca-cao industry could access funding and other kinds of assistance from the Philip-

DA teams up with Davao for cacao production

CLIMATE CHANGE

Forum slated todayat Cor Jesus College

[email protected]

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

CYBER SEXRescued kids won’t be home yetBy ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

[email protected]

FCYBER, 10 FDA, 10

FCLIMATE, 10

NOT SO SOON. Davao City Quick Response Team for Children’s Concerns of City Social Service and Development (QRTCC-CSSDO) head Minda A. Silvano says during yesterday’s I-Speak media forum at City Hall that the seven children rescued in an alleged cyber sex den in Bucana, Davao City will be in their custody for a long period before they will return to the relatives. Lean Daval Jr.

FOR A CAUSE. Andi Baldonado of the Philippine Eagle Foundation, Inc. shows the jersey of the Ride for the Eagle Fun Ride during Club 888 media forum at the Marco Polo Davao on Wednesday. Lean Daval Jr.

VOL. 6 ISSUE 241 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21-22, 2014

MALACANANG on Thursday said that the new

policy of the Philippine National Police (PNP) on releasing information to media was not an effort to hide the truth but for accuracy.

The PNP issued the policy because of re-ported infractions in the

past. In the new policy,

media are only allowed to seek information from a designated spokesper-son in police stations for consistency.

Presidential spokes-person Edwin Lacierda in a Palace briefing reit-erated the PNP’s earlier statement saying that

they only wanted to be “very clear” with the info they relayed.

“There is no effort to hide the truth from pub-lic,” he told media. “It’s just that we want to be sure that whatever we release to the public is accurate.”

Lacierda further said

BUREAU of Customs (BOC) Commis-sioner John Sevilla

on Thursday disclosed at the Department of Jus-tice (DOJ) that almost 200,000 metric tons (MT) of imported rice were smuggled into the Philip-pines without the neces-sary import permits last

year.According to Sevilla,

based on the information they gathered from the National Food Authority (NFA), only 50,000 metric tons of rice were issued the required import per-mits in 2013.

Likewise, Sevilla said that they are now investi-

gating into how and why such volume of rice were smuggled into the Philip-pines, particularly those which were not issued import permits.

He added that, among others, they are deter-mining whether there were fake import permits

3NEWS

MEDICINES AND VITAMINS. RCC Bucana Chair Nanette Macapundag (extreme left) dispenses and vitamins to the young patients while School Principal Emerita Mapila (4th from right) and Dominga Dumat-ol (2nd right) assist. Photo by Michael Alinsud. F200,000, 10

FPNP, 10

FSTUDY, 10

THE Davao City council has passed an ordinance to regulate the operation

and maintenance of the city‘s Pasalubong Center.

In its regular session last Tuesday, the 17th city coun-cil approved on final reading “An Ordinance Establishing Policies, Guidelines, Rules and Regulations for the Opera-tion and Maintenance of the Pasalubong Center, A Tour-ism-Oriented Project of the City Government of Davao.” .

The legislation is designed to help promote tourism and locally made products or del-icacies that tourists can buy while the facility serves as a

marketing outlet for local small and marginal entrepreneurs.

With the approval of the ordinance, a management board for the Pasalubong Center will be constituted to formulate and adopt policy guidelines and standards in the management and admin-istration; promulgate rules and regulations governing the operation, a administration and maintenance; conduct pe-riodic reviews of the center; conduct raffles or drawing of lots for the allocation of stalls or booths, and certify to the ap-proval by the mayor; decide on the revocation or cancellation of lease contracts, closure of

PERFECTO A. Alibin, an educator who heads the University of

Southeastern Philippines, is a recipient of the Datu Bago Award 2014.

The Datu Bago award is the most prestigious and highest award that the Davao City government be-stows on its constituents. It is a form of recognition of an individual’s competence and exemplary contribu-tion to the growth and de-velopment of Davao City.

Under the leadership of Alibin, USeP has received international recognition that placed Davao City on the map. For three consec-utive years, Quacquarelli

Symonds, a trusted career and education network, listed USeP as one of the top universities in Asia, from 2011-2013. According to QS University Rankings: Asia, which is on its fifth

A STUDY has 15 sites in Mindanao that are viable for 10 mega-

watt (MW) biomass plants, and 11 sites for 20MW hy-dro-power plants.

The study was conduct-ed by the First Bukidnon Electric Cooperative (FI-BECO) and Energias Ren-ovables, Inc. in partnership with the Mindanao Devel-opment Authority, Depart-ment of Energy and USAid.

The study, which began

in February last year, bared that biomass and hydro power are among the most viable energy sources in Mindanao which can help in addressing the power crisis in the region.

Based on Mindanao Re-newable Energy Resource Assessment Projects, the top 15 potential sites for biomass projects are Bukidnon, South Cotabato, Davao del Sur, North Co-tabato, Misamis Oriental,

Misamis Occidental, Zam-boanga del Norte, Davao del Norte, Davao Oriental, Sultan Kudarat, Maguind-anao, Zamboanga del Sur, Lanao del Norte, Davao City, and Sarangani.

Bern Tadeo of Fibico said that there is 263.9 MW of planned and exist-ing biomass as of October, 2013, adding that based on the study, Mindanao has a net potential of 795 MW on top of planned and existing

biomass projects.Meanwhile, MinDA’s in-

vestment promotions and public affairs director Ro-meo Montenegro said that it is viable for Mindanao because the island is agri-culture based.

“Being the food bas-ket, and having large agri-cultural lands, we have a substantial amount of ag-ricultural wastes that can serve as stocks for biomass

200,000 MT of imported rice smuggled into PHL in 2013

PNP’s new media policy justified

Study shows potentialsites as energy sources IN MINDANAO

[email protected]

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

City Council OK’s ruleson Pasalubong CenterBy ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

[email protected]

USeP prexy recipient of Datu Bago award

Perfecto A. Alibin, president of the University of Southeastern Philip-pines, is one of the 2014 Datu Bago awardees.

FUSEP, 10

FCITY, 10 ANNUAL EVENT. Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte graces the 81st Annual Convention and Seminar Workshop of the Philippine Association of Local Trea-surers and Assessors (PHALTRA), Inc. held at SM Lanang Premier’s SMX Convention Center Wednesday afternoon. Lean Daval Jr.


IN Mountain Hardwear’s quest for the ultimate per-formance and Columbia’s

motivation to “Try Stuff”, they teamed up with Ciudades of Lapanday Properties to bring to Davao the Ciudades Tierra Series.

Slated on March 29 in the Ciudades property in Mandug, this will integrate the natural terrain of the area and distinc-tive man-made obstacles and challenges that make it more exciting for runners looking for a fun experience. It is the first trail run in Davao that will be powered by a time chip.

Don’t worry about not be-ing able to keep up with some of your more athletic friends. There are 3k, 6k and 12k dis-tances you can join, depending on your preference and phys-ical capabilities. On March 30, an adrenaline pumping bicy-cling event sponsored awaits those who love the thrill of off-road bike trips.

Interested runners can reg-ister in this much anticipated event at Mountain Hardwear SM Lanang, Columbia Abreeza and Bratpack SM Davao. There is also 85K worth of cash prizes to be given to the top finishers, as well as 50K worth of raffle prizes to those who want to be part of the Ciudades Tier-ra Series. If that’s not enough, registered participants can also avail of a 20% discount on all Columbia Sportswear, Moun-tain Hardwear and Teva regular priced products.

Registration is now open in Mountain Hardwear SM La-nang, Columbia Abreeza and Bratpack SM City Ecoland.

Ciudades, a realty develop-ment of Lapanday, is Davao’s first integrated, mixed-used master planned communi-ty. A mere 15 minutes away from Metro Davao, Ciudades prides itself to be a first rate eco city where communities rise harmoniously with the commercial. Exclusive housing communities with excellent amenities make it a prime in-vestment among businessmen and venture capitalists alike.

There is no lack of open spaces, bike/run trails and na-ture escapes in this lush envi-ronment. It was here that the

outdoor clinic was held, spon-sored by premier international brands- Columbia Sportswear, Mountain Hardware and Teva. These brands are committed to partnering with people in experiencing a healthy life, as nature intended.

Going alfresco need not be relegated to one’s dining option. Breathe in the fresh air, savor nature’s sights and sounds, enjoy a good old fash-ioned sweat outdoors—there is no app for this, you need to jump in and experience it for yourself.

Mountain Hardwear Co-lumbia are exclusively distrib-uted by The Primer Group of Companies, Asia’s next retail giant.

About Primer Group of Companies

The Primer Group of Com-panies is a consortium mainly engaged in the retail and dis-tribution of the world’s top consumer brands and prod-ucts. We are also proud to have expanded our business port-folio in the area of industrial products and services through the production and distribu-tion of chemical printing prod-ucts, retail and maintenance of ACMV and HVAC units with af-ter-sales services and creative graphic design and services. Most recently, the company also opened its first profes-sional retail and merchandis-ing academy.

The Primer Group’s net-work of companies is multi-plying in a pace never achieved before. The company is now realizing its vision to become the LEADER in the global dis-tribution and innovation of premium goods and services across the Asian region. Af-ter 25 years of continuous and steady growth, its retail authority has grown to over 80 premium brands, 100 free-standing concept stores and over 600 consignment doors in the Asian region. The company is set to reach great-er heights through its numer-ous milestones and marketing commendations locally and abroad.

For more information, please contact:

Arian Zaragoza

Brand AssociateT: +632 567.0611 local

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M: +63 917.644.1571E: arian.zaragoza@prim-

ergrp.com

Macel AbejeroPR and Events ManagerT: +632 567.0611 loc. 512

M: +63 922.843.4708E: macel.abejero@prim-

ergrp.com

4 EDGEDAVAO

PROPERTYMountain Hardwear, Columbia back Ciudades Tierra Series

VOL. 6 ISSUE 241 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21-22, 2014 5EDGEDAVAO

THE ECONOMY

GENERAL SANTOS CITY(18 February 2014) – City Mayor

Ronnel Rivera is in partner-ship with the Mindanao State University-General Santos City (MSU-GSC) and the local fishing industry in trying to get an additional P200 mil-lion from Senate Committee Head on Agriculture and Food Senator Cynthia Villar.

During a meeting Mon-day (February 17), the city mayor disclosed to MSU-GSC Chancellor Abdurrahman Canacan and GenSan’s fish-ing magnates that he is inter-ested on utilizing the P200 million to develop further the city’s fishing industry in its bid to become “more than just the Tuna capital of the Philippines.”

Rivera asked everyone’s cooperation in coming up with sustainable project pro-posals that would specify the advancement of the fishing industry of the city.

“We need to justify to the higher ups that we need the auxiliary budget for GenSan to improve its fishing sales in the global market which in

turn, will provide sustainable economy in the country,” Ri-vera said.

Mayor Rivera said that this move will also help ad-dress the challenges that the fishing industry has been fac-ing for years, especially in the presence of the South Pacific Tuna Treaty.

During the Economic Summit last October 2013, Rivera expressed that he wanted to diversify GenSan’s economy and move away from its heavy reliance on the fishing sector, but the mayor clarified that development aid for the industry must still be advanced as an anchor to the city’s growth.

Chancellor Canacan of MSU-GSC suggested that revolutionizing a new cur-riculum for the marine and fishing courses will be a good threshold for the said project.

Canacan said that only a few undergraduates are taking interest in enrolling in fishing related courses, and may have been the reason why the industry is still suf-fering.

According to Canacan,

MSU-GSC has the highest turn out of enrollees in ma-rine courses in the Philip-pines, but the number is still very low because it nev-er became a trend venue.

Marfin Tan, president of the SocSKSarGen Fish-

ing Federation and Allied Industries Inc., agreed with Canacan’s suggestions and added that the new curric-ulum should be equipped with comprehensive sub-jects regarding the modern technicalities of fishing.

Tan said that a part of the P200 million could be used to buy modern fishing equipment such as under-water sonars and radars to expose the students in “ac-tual fishing” methods.

The rest of the fishing

magnates in the city ex-pressed their willingness to open their companies for those who are willing undergo as On-The-Job-Trainees (OJTs). (GENSAN INFO OFFICE/Ian John M. Lagare)

Rivera bats for P200M to develop fishing industry

BITCOIN. Some of Bitcoin enthusiast Mike Caldwell’s coins and paper vouchers, often called “paper wallets”, are pictured at his office in this photo illustra-tion in Sandy, Utah. Caldwell recommended their use as a way to store Bitcoins offline. (REUTERS/Jim Urquhart)


Stat Watch

MONTHLY AVERAGE EXCHANGE RATE (January 2011-September 2013)

Month 2013 2012 2011

Average 42.23 43.31December 41.01 43.64November 41.12 43.27October 41.45 43.45

September 43.83 41.75 43.02August 43.86 42.04 42.42

July 43.35 41.91 42.81June 42.91 42.78 43.37May 41.30 42.85 43.13April 41.14 42.70 43.24

March 40.71 42.86 43.52February 40.67 42.66 43.70January 40.73 43.62 44.17

7.1 1st Qtr 2013

7.8 1st Qtr 2013

USD 3,741 million

Feb 2013USD 4,708

million Feb 2013USD -967

million Feb 2013USD -640

millionDec 2012

P 4,964,560 million

Feb 2013

2.4 % Mar 2013P113,609

million Mar 2013

P 5,281 billion

Mar 2013

P 41.14 Apr 2013

6,847.5 Mar 2013

132.8 Apr 2013

2.6 Apr 2013

3.1 Apr 2013

418,108 Feb 2013

20.9% Jan 2013

7.1% Jan 2013

1. Gross National IncomeGrowth Rate(At Constant 2000 Prices)

2. Gross Domestic ProductGrowth Rate(At Constant 2000 Prices)

3. Exports 1/

4. Imports 1/

5. Trade Balance

6. Balance of Payments 2/

7. Broad Money Liabilities

8. Interest Rates 4/

9. National Government Revenues

10. National government outstanding debt

11. Peso per US $ 5/

12. Stocks Composite Index 6/

13. Consumer Price Index 2006=100

14. Headline Inflation Rate 2006=100

15. Core Inflation Rate 2006=100

16. Visitor Arrivals

17. Underemployment Rate 7/

18. Unemployment Rate 7/

Cebu Pacific Daily 5J961 / 5J962 5:45 Manila-Davao-Manila 6:15Zest Air Daily Z2390 / Z2390 5:45 Manila-Davao-Manila 6:25Cebu Pacific Daily 5J593 / 5J348 6:00 Cebu-Davao-Iloilo 6:30Philippine Airlines Daily PR809 / PR810 6:10 Manila-Davao-Manila 7:00Philippine Airlines Daily PR819 / PR820 7:50 Manila-Davao-Manila 8:50Cebu Pacific Daily 5J394 / 5J393 7:50 Zamboanga-Davao-Zamboanga 8:10Cebu Pacific Daily 5J599 / 5J594 8:00 Cebu-Davao-Cebu 8:30Cebu Pacific Daily 5J347 / 5J596 9:10 Iloilo-Davao-Cebu 9:40Cebu Pacific Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri/Sun 5J963 / 5J964 9:40 Manila-Davao-Manila 10:10Philippine Airlines Daily PR811 / PR812 11:30 Manila-Davao-Manila 12:20Cebu Pacific Daily 5J595 / 5J966 12:00 Cebu-Davao-Manila 12:30Cebu Pacific Thu 5J965 / 5J968 12:55 Manila-Davao-Manila 13:25

Cebu Pacific Tue/Wed//Sat 5J965 / 5J968 13:35 Manila-Davao-Manila 14:05Silk Air Mon/Sat MI588 / MI588 13:35 Davao-Singapore 18:55 Silk Air Wed/Sun MI566 / MI566 15:20 Davao-Singapore 18:55Silk Air Thurs MI551 / MI551 12:05 Davao-Singapore 15:45Cebu Pacific Mon/Tue/Wed/Fri 5J507 / 5J598 15:00 Cebu-Davao-Cebu 15:30Philippine Airlines August 15:55 Mani2Mani 16:50Zest Air Daily Z2524 / Z2525 16:05 Cebu-Davao-Cebu 16:45

as of May 2013

Indicator Latest

1. Gross National Income Growth Rate (At Constant 2000 Prices)

6.8 2nd Qtr 2013

2. Gross Domestic Product Growth Rate (At Constant 2000 Prices)

7.5 2nd Qtr 2013

3. Exports USD 5,045 million

Sep 2013

4. Imports USD 5,711 million

Sep 2013

5. Trade BalanceUSD -665

million Sep 2013

6. Balance of Payments USD 692

million Jun 2013

7. Broad Money LiabilitiesP 5,980,938 million

Aug 2013

8. Interest Rate 2.0 % Sep 2013

9. National Government Revenues

P 127,336 million

Sep 2013

10. National government outstanding debt

P 5,609 billion

Sep 2013

11. Peso per US $

P 43.83 Sep 2013

12. Stocks Composite Index

6,191.8 Sep 2013

13. Consumer Price Index 2006=100

135.2 Oct 2013

14. Headline Inflation Rate 2006=100

2.9 Oct 2013

15. Core Inflation Rate 2006=100

2.5 Oct 2013

16. Visitor Arrivals 382,022 Aug 2013

17. Underemploymen Rate

19.2% Jul 2013

18. Unemployment Rate 7.3% Jul 2013

6 THE ECONOMY

PRESIDENT Benig-no S. Aquino III has cited connectivity,

productivity and comple-mentarity as driving forc-es in enhancing the coun-try’s competitiveness and readiness for the integration of economies among the 10-member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Na-tions (ASEAN) by 2015, Presidential Communi-cations Operations Office Secretary Herminio Colo-ma Jr. said on Wednesday.

In his keynote speech during the Financial Ex-ecutives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX) 2nd General Membership Meeting held at the In-terContinental Manila in Makati City, the Com-munications Secretary said the Chief Execu-tive has discussed with concerned government agencies the policy agen-da in ensuring that the Philippines is ready for ASEAN integration.

“On the sidelines of the Mindanao Business Forum held in Davao

City last August 8, the President cited the im-portance of connectivity in terms of airports and seaports considering that the Philippines is an archipelago and, un-like other ASEAN mem-ber-countries, it does not have land boundar-ies with its neighboring countries,” Coloma said.

The President also said the government has crafted measures to alle-viate the country’s pover-ty, he said.

“He also talked about addressing poverty among millions of Filipi-nos in the agriculture and fisheries sector,” he said.

“Product diversifi-cation is another option that is actively pursued. According to the Presi-dent, a Bicol University college of agriculture re-search team headed by its dean, Dr. Justino Arbo-leda, is presently draw-ing up a blueprint on the production of coconut by-products such as coco

coir, cocopeat, coco water and charcoal briquette in factories that may be run by coconut farmers themselves. Initial stud-ies show that payback period on initial invest-ment can be as quick as one year,” Coloma said.

President Aquino said the country’s par-ticipation in ASEAN inte-gration aims at providing greater access to new markets.

“President Aquino himself is upbeat and optimistic about the country’s participation in ASEAN integration as it should send strong sig-nals to a business com-munity that seems to be skeptical about the coun-try’s prospects,” he said.

“For those who share our President’s view that current efforts are con-verging towards comple-mentarity both within the country and in the re-gion, then there is cogent reason to believe that, indeed, the Philippines is well-poised to take its place among the region’s

competitive economies in an integrated econom-ic regime,” Coloma said.

“We need to con-solidate and fortify the gains we have achieved in terms of breaking out of the vicious cycle that made our country the ‘sick man of Asia’,” he said.

Financial executives gathered on Wednesday to discuss the challeng-es and opportunities of ASEAN integration.

The ASEAN is pur-suing the integration of economies among the 10-member states with the establishment of an ASEAN Economic Com-munity by December 2015. ASEAN is com-posed of Singapore, Ma-laysia, Indonesia, Cam-bodia, Brunei, Laos, Thai-land, Vietnam, Myanmar and the Philippines.

The integration will allow companies based in ASEAN member-na-tions to enter each other’s markets, with lowered tariffs and cap-ital market integration. [PNA]

Aquino cites 3 drivers to ensure readiness for ASEAN integration

THE Bureau of In-ternal Revenue (BIR) exceeded its

December 2013 revenue goal of P90.79 billion af-ter collecting P96.63 bil-lion.

In a statement Wednesday, the agency said it also surpassed by 9.1 percent its December 2012 collection amount-ing to P88.57 billion.

For the whole of 2013, the agency’s reve-nue grew by 15 percent year-on-year to P1.22 trillion but it was below the agency’s full-year goal of P1.25 trillion.

For last December alone, the agency’s col-lection from BIR oper-ations reached P94.07 billion, 9.62 percent up from year-ago’s P85.82 billion.

It was also higher than the BIR operations’ December 2013 goal of P88.09 billion.

On the other hand, revenues from non-BIR operations failed to meet the P2.69 billion target after it only totalled to P2.56 billion. It was also lower than year-ago’s P2.75 billion collection.

For the whole of last year, revenues from BIR operations amounted to P1.18 trillion, up by 15.9 percent over year-ago’s P1.02 trillion.

It was, on the other hand, lower than the full-year goal of P1.21 trillion.

Also, revenue from non-BIR collections was below the target of P48.15 billion after it only amounted to P37.99 billion. [PNA]

BIR falls short of full-year targetTHE Department of

Agrarian Reform (DAR) and Kenne-

mer Foods Internation-al Inc. (KFI) embarked on a P14-million cacao production to provide farmers in Zamboanga Del Sur access to global markets for cocoa and arm them with new technology to boost their income and devel-op sustainable agribusi-ness enterprise.

Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer II (PARPO) Arturo N. Soria said the business venture will initially cov-er 200 hectares of lands in Midsalip, Zamboan-ga del Sur for a period of 10 years to assist the private sector to have a steady supply of cacao beans. “The lands to be used are managed by agrarian reform benefi-ciaries (ARBs), who are members of Midsalip

Farmers Multi-Purpose Cooperative (MIFAM-CO), the proponent co-operative in the said project,” he added.

“The KFI will market all the harvested cocoa beans they purchased from the ARBs, who will be provided, by the same organization, with technology as well as high quality planting materials, farm inputs, trainings and technical consultancy,” Soria said.

Soria added that the KFI will fund MIFAMCO to extend cocoa produc-tion loan to potential producers for the pur-chase of cocoa seedlings.

KFI is an interna-tional organization, producer and marketer of food and agricultural products. The company specializes in growing and trading high quality fermented cacao beans.

It is committed to rural development as their products encompass complete agricultural value-chain from plant-ing materials, training and agri-technology.

Beneficiaries Devel-opment Coordination Division Chief Josephine Sisican said this endeav-or will capacitate the involved stakeholders, especially the ARBs’ eco-nomic activities. “The DAR will continue to provide agricultural fa-cilities in the area to em-power the farmer bene-ficiaries and oversee the implementation of the project,” she added.

MIFAMCO Chair-man Andres Rondrique said he is positive that this partnership would launch the growth of ca-cao industry in Region IX starting in Midsalip. [PNA]

Php14-M cocoa production to improve economic condition of Zambo farmers


SUBURBIA

Kidapawan public high school wins anti-drug campaign award

GENERAL SANTOS CITY

GenSan eyed as dairy industry hub“THE Tuna Capi-

tal of the Phil-ippines is cho-

sen to be host city for this year’s Dairy Congress this coming May,” bared Dairy Confederation of the Phil-ippines national chairman Juan Lozano to City Mayor Ronnel Rivera in a meet-ing Tuesday (February 18) at the City Mayor’s Office.

The statement was

made shortly after Lozano disclosed to Mayor Rivera that GenSan is also being eyed by the National Dairy Agency (NDA), a govern-ment owned and con-trolled corporation, and the umbrella office of the Dairy Confederation of the Philippines to become a “substrate” to grow a dairy industry.

According to Lozano,

aside from GenSan, the en-tire SOCSKSARGEN Region itself is described by NDA as a possible budding zone for milk production with Gen. Santos leading the pack.

Lozano said that, during the term of Sa-rangani Governor Miguel Dominguez, a P2 million worth milk plantation in Malungon, Sarangani Prov-

ince was already placed in by the NDA, which current-ly produces dairy products such as fresh milk and milk bars.

Now, both the NDA and Dairy Confederation of the Philippines want to expand the dairy industry in the Phil-ippines more, starting first here in GenSan and SOCK-SARGEN. (GENSAN INFO OF-FICE/Ian John M. Lagare)

THE provincial govern-ment of South Cotaba-to is planning to reha-

bilitate some 40 hectares of a denuded timberland area in T’boli town as it continues to build up the province’s forest reserves.

Mary Jane Manlisis, chief forester of the Provincial Environment Management Office (PEMO), said Wednes-day the local government

has approved an initial budget of P1 million for the project, which is part of the province’s continuing com-munity-based upland and natural resources manage-ment program

She said the initiative had been endorsed by Gov. Daisy Avance-Fuentes as among the province’s prior-ity reforestation initiatives for this year.

Manlisis, who heads PE-MO’s forest and inland water division, said the project will be implemented in portions of Barangay Talcon in T’boli, which is part of the declared Allah Valley Watershed For-est Reserve.

“We’re now preparing for the procurement of the planting materials and the organic inputs that will be used for the project,” she

said in a statement. Based on its develop-

ment plan, she said the re-forestation project will be implemented from June to September this year.

She said they earlier conducted a series of stud-ies within the project area to identify the tree species that had thrived there.

“We will utilize the in-digenous tree or timber

species to help restore the area back to its original state,” she said.

Manlisis said they the reforestation project will mainly be implemented by their office in close coordi-nation with the area’s resi-dents.

She said they initially drafted a memorandum of agreement that will be signed by PEMO and the

intended beneficiaries to ensure the sustainability of the project.

Meantime, Manlisis said they are pushing for the adoption by the provincial government this year of an incentive and reward sys-tem for informants on ille-gal logging, poaching and related activities in any part of the province. [MindaN-ews]

South Cotabato to restoredenuded forests in T’boli

SOUTH COTABATO KIDAPAWAN CITY

A PUBLIC high school here made its pres-ence felt when it was

adjudged as Region 12’s “Outstanding Barkada Kon-tra Droga Awardee,” officials on Thursday said.

As such, the Kidapawan City National High School will represent Central Min-danao region in the nation-al contest, according to Dr. Allan Farnazo, Department of Education (DepEd-12)

regional director said in a statement.

Region 12, also known as SOCCSKSARGEN region is composed of the provinces of North and South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Saranggani and the cities of Cotabato, Kidapawan, Koronadal, Ta-curong and Gen. Santos City.

KNHS has implemented various programs making it drug-free and student “very friendly school.” [PNA]


VANTAGE

This online law is killjoy

OLIVIA D. VELASCOGeneral Manager

Columnists: MA. TERESA L. UNGSON • EDCER C. ESCUDERO • AURELIO A. PEÑA • ZHAUN ORTEGA • BERNADETTE “ADDIE” B. BORBON • MARY ANN “ADI” C. QUISIDO • LEANDRO B. DAVAL SR., • NIKKI GOTIANSE-TAN • NICASIO ANGELO AGUSTIN • EMILY ZEN CHUA • CARLOS MUNDA Economic Analyst: ENRICO “GICO” G. DAYANGIRANG • JONALLIER M. PEREZ

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PHILIPPINE PRESS INSTITUTEthe national association of newspapers

EDITORIAL

THE Supreme Court’s recent decision favoring expanded coverage of the Libel Law is an antithesis to the clamor to decriminalize it.

The High Court adopted provisions of online libel in the Cy-bercrime Law not yet included in the Revised Penal Code. Still, this means, the fundamental right of every Filipino to freely ex-press his opinion is further limited.

As if the chilling effect of RPC’s libel provision is not yet enough, here comes another limitation to a very basic demo-cratic freedom. Now, online libel makes one really think before he tweets, ponder before he posts, and check before he clicks.

There are some clarifications in the SC decision worthy to take notice, though. Section 4 (c) (4) of the Anti-Cybercime Act, or the provision penalizing libel – is constitutional with respect to the original author of the post. That means no penalty for those who simply receive, post, react to the message.

Another important part of the decision is the one that de-clares the unconstitutionality of the all-encompassing power of the Department of Justice to block access or take down data from the internet posted by an individual or group. This means, the DOJ cannot just block or take down what you post arbitrari-ly, reminiscent of the Martial Law days where the government

can plug what you speak or publish.Online libel is actually not a new crime as it falls within the

province of Article 353 of the RPC. Section 4(c)(4) (or online libel) merely establishes the use of a computer as another means of publication. For this reason, charging the offender under both laws would be a violation of the guarantee against double jeopardy pursuant to Article III Section 27 of the 1987 Constitution.

Be that as it may, do we really have to charge criminally de-famatory statements posted on the internet which is a rather personal and comparatively loose medium than traditional media platforms like print, radio and broadcast?

The internet is invented to enhance communication and provide a new medium for people around the world to be in touch with each other. It creates an atmosphere of free expres-sion in a society made seamless by technology. It’s called social media. Admittedly, it’s very loose. No grammatical rules. No language barriers. In the online world, people chat, tweet, post, comment, like or dislike. It’s like a whiff of fresh air in an open, wide world.

However, taking down this spoiler of a law is not as easy as ABC. One can’t just unfriend or delete it.


Part 2 of 4

BY PATRICIO P. DIAZ

COMMENTARY

AQUILES Z. ZONIOCorrespondent

VANTAGE POINTS 9EDGEDAVAO

Spirit of EDSA people power is gone

‘Senator Suspicious’

Complicating Implications

torate, would change. Yet, the “how” is the biggest question mark? That is where proper transition will make the difference.

Interim or Transition StageUpon the ratification of the BBL, the

ARMM is deemed abolished, the elective regional officials resign and the BTA (Bang-samoro Transition Authority) takes over. We presume that the BBL will provide in its Arti-cle on Transitory Provisions the mandate and powers of the BTA – to be reiterated in the Ex-ecutive Order creating the BTA. We presume, too, that such mandate and powers will be ex-ercised over the regional government and the local government units. The local government units are components of the Bangsamoro.

We don’t know how the BTA will be con-stituted. But it can be discerned from the pertinent provisions of the FAB and related Agreements that the BTA will be the Interim Legislative Assembly which will create the ministries according to the BBL and elect the prime minister who, in turn, will appoint the ministers and staff the cabinets.

To give Bangsamoro genuine autonomy, the Department of Interior and Local Gov-ernment must – and is expected to -- fully de-volve to the BTA its jurisdiction over the LGUs which the BTA will assume according to the BBL, applying the relevant provisions of the Local Government Code until the Regional Legislative Assembly can enact the Bang-samoro Local Government Code. The juris-diction over the LGUs must not be divided between the Bangsamoro and the DILG – the DILG not interfering in whatever way in the affairs of the Bangsamoro LGUs.

The creation and staffing of the minis-tries will take time. Orientation to the min-isterial system may take longer. Overhauling the old system to the new will be as compli-cated or difficult as teaching old dogs new tricks. What ARMM will turn over to the Bangsamoro are not just the inventories of property, financial and other records but of-fice workers oriented to the old system – to be re-oriented by the staffs of the ministries still orienting themselves to the new system.

Can all these be done effectively in nine months?

Changing ValuesThe BTA must be starting on a new code

of values – written or unwritten and, most probably ad hoc and evolving. The interim Bangsamoro regional government is ex-pected to model these new values and ef-fect change down to the LGUs. The change should be manifested in the evolving gover-nance both at the regional and local levels.

Governor Hataman might have institut-ed effective change in the regional level of the ARMM government but as seen from the 2011 and 2012 SGH awards, there had been insignificant change, if any, in the local level. What does this mean? Two years were short a time for change of values.

Moral, social and political re-orientation must include the entire Moro, IDP and other classes of people in the Bangsamoro. But as this will take time to evolve, the change that they will see during the transition period should trigger the evolution. If they see and feel the effects of the new governance, they will appreciate the officials running the gov-ernment; they will want to elect the same kind of officials into office. Once done in the first Bangsamoro election and the people are happy with good governance, it will soon be-come an electoral habit.

The transition proper is for a good start in changing values. Will nine months be enough?

ElectionThe transition proper also means pre-

paring the Bangsamoro people to elect their officials suited for good governance. We be-lieve the first election is very important.

The first element of change is in values. That we discussed above. Change must start through proper examples during the tran-sition proper and evolve into a habit in due time.

MEMORIES VANISH LIKE DUST AND DIE EASILY – It’s been twenty-eight years since the

world-famous EDSA bloodless people power revolt and the passage of the years have not erased the hostile mem-ory most especially for those who really suffered during the dictatorial Marcos regime. They are quite bitter about it until now. Throughout the years I have always thought that the life stretch no-tably of bad memories cannot be more than ten years.

Now I know I am wrong, for even those who never writhed during the dark days of martial law still remember the consequences endured by the Fili-pino people. In retrospect, twenty-eight years ago, the Philippines top Catholic leader Jaime Cardinal Sin called on the people and urged his compatriot to stand up against the autocratic rule of then President Ferdinand Marcos. The country’s highest prelate called on the people to dissociate themselves from supporting an administration that has lost their trust and respect.

The fearless prelate charged that the Marcos regime was leading the peo-ple into the dark days of political dy-nasties, warlordism, corruption, sham democracy and debilitating poverty. It was therefore right for the people from all walks of life including children, different religious groups and politi-cians of all colors and stripes to flock in hordes to EDSA to support groups of disenchanted soldiers who staged a revolt against the Marcos rule. And the rest is history.

But that was in the yesteryears, this is now. Memories whether good or bad easily die in a country wherein the pri-ority concern of the people is survival from social ills. They dry up like fallen leaves and vanish like dust in the air. Year after year the excitement, eager-ness and grandiosity in celebrating

the peaceful EDSA revo-lution have gradually fad-ed away and the presence of partakers is declin-ing – slow-ly without doubt. The large num-ber of people especially the key figures who ignited the EDSA revolt and countless political opportunists are nowhere to be found and undermined the real essence of the annual celebration.

Many of them have since come and gone as president, senators, congress-men and the others are still active in politics, business or retired. Some of them we thought to be particularly despicable for being such sanctimo-nious asses. We had always wondered why the preceding leaderships tolerat-ed them, but probably they must have had their veiled reasons. Then again, it is expected that there are still motley groups of Cory-inspired crowds called “Yellow Movement,” the symbol of ‘People Power’ who would still flock in hordes to the EDSA Shrine to join this year’s 28th celebration.

Not only does the main characters lost interest in joining the exceptional annual event, but perhaps due to the changes of our political landscape. For some time now, people have been ag-onizing over the supreme irony; that almost three decades after they have overthrown the dictatorship so many of the important personalities per-haps due to political and vested inter-est dissociated themselves from the EDSA movement. Even so, I think that it must be even tougher for those who were born after the authoritarian rule

to understand the past events when people want to be awakened from the nightmare of strongman tactics to the full light of freedom.

This year’s celebration will pro-ceed as usual, good or bad weather, but many have also been disturbed by widespread speculations that, despite repeated denials, some political oppor-tunists will take advantage of the event and appear before the crowd suppos-edly to discuss ways on how to make life better for the Filipinos. In short, it’s plain and simple politicking since politics is the lifeblood of our officials. However, people must be extra cautious and avoid being hoodwinked by flatter-ing speeches. They should thoroughly examine the backgrounds of the speak-ers if their real clamor really is for the benefit of the marginal sector.

But then there are also these self-styled reformists who are so eager to get their hands on the levers of power that they are stumbling over each other in the mad rush to wrist political control. And yet what are their credentials? Any politicians notably the exploited local pols, political operators and the elec-torate who have associated themselves with the self-proclaimed reformists out of some unhappiness with the current administration must be either blind-ed by promises or offered considerable deals – political or otherwise.

These political pretenders claimed they want drastic change and the trans-formation they have proposed are sup-posedly to take place after the May 2013 midterm elections – a prelude to the 2016 presidential polls. Sad to note, as some political experts would aptly put it, these people do not possess any credi-ble credentials as social reformers. Their real motivation actually is “Pababago, Ngayon Na! (We Want Change Now!); Tama Na, Kami Naman! “(Enough, It’s Our Turn!), or variations thereof.

BELEAGUERED Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile knows what he is talking about vis-a-vis the legal impli-

cations of the planned plunder case against him for his involvement, as a re-cepient of kickbacks, in the pork barrel scam allegedly masterminded by Janet Lim-Napoles, who is now in the custody of the police.

The battle-scarred Senate Minority Leader, who served in the Marcos re-gime as commissioner of customs, jus-tice secretary, defense secretary, and much earlier as congressman, knows fully well that he has the right to remain silent because anything he says can be used against him in court.

So his silence is quite understand-able and absolutely proper from the le-gal standpoint. It will not be surprising, or even strange, if he keeps a tight lip regarding Ruby Tuason’s testimony im-plicating him in the PDAF scandal.

In contrast, Jinggoy Estrada has been raising hell declaring his inno-cence in the PDAF scam.

Not being a lawyer, and totally un-aware or ignorant of the legal dangers of his self-serving utterances on the Senate floor and to the media, Estrada

is unwitting-ly jeopardiz-ing his future defense. He should heed Miriam Santi-ago’s lecture on the Senate hearing last week about denial being the weakest defense in court.

Estrada must be told that evidence, not braggadocio, is the best defense. He should keep his mouth shut and pre-pare all needed evidence when he is put to trial.

Dramatic posturings and booming el-oquence on the Senate floor will do him no good, except reveal his inner and si-lent fear of being imprisoned for life, and lose the honor, the prestige and perks of a senator of the Republic.

For the moment, and under our democratic system of justice, he is pre-sumed innocent. That should be comfort enough. “Silence is golden” is a fitting motto for him.

------------ 000 --------------Now comes Antonio Trillanes IV, who

expressed objection to Ruby Tuason’s becoming a state witness, Trillanes sus-pects that Tuason held back her testi-mony and did not tell all that she knows about the scam in order to protect Enrile.

Trillanes, although twice elected to the Senate, is an intellectual dwarf. Everytime he opens his mouth either on the Senate floor or to the media, he exposes his utter lack of knowledge or ignorance of the subject or issue being debated upon.

This guy is totally unfit to hold such a high position in government. He is po-litically dumb. He has to hone his knowl-edge of politics, government and parlia-mentary fundamentals. He should listen more and talk less. His penchant for sus-pecting people should easily earn him the monicker “Senator Suspicious”

-------------- 000 --------------CHOICE QUOTES:

“Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise.” - Old Testa-ment, Proverbs.

“Silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves”. – Car-lyle

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The PSSCC chief said that there are laws but the implementation must be strictly implemented because of the high num-ber of applications for motorcycle licenses, giv-en that lives are involved.

“Meron ng namatay

diyan,” he said, adding that it prompted the is-suance of Executive Or-der 39 implementing the speed limits in the city because of the high num-ber of casualties in road mishaps caused by mo-torcycles.

program will also enable small and medium entre-preneurs in the region to re-cover even after disasters.

Ambi said implementa-tion will be under the SME Roving Academy (SRA), a program of DTI which gives trainings, workshops and seminars to SMEs of differ-ent industries in the region.

“Ang napasnin kasi naming during disasters helpless ang mga SMEs, since they are not prepared for what will happen,” she said, adding that the region experienced various disas-ters the past three years. In 2012, typhoon Pablo caused heavy damage not just in the agricultural sec-tor but also in the whole business sector of Davao.

Among the provinces that were heavily damaged were Compostella Valley, Davao Oriental and Davao del Norte.

“It’s about time na tu-

lungan natin ang SMEs to be ready sa mga disasters and for them to be pre-pared,” Ambi said.

She said that the mod-ule for the program is being finalized by the agency and targeting to finish it be-fore the start of the second quarter.

The resource speaker for the climate change ad-aptation program was past director of DTI 11, Marizon Loreto, who is now a private consultant of the agency.

“She is the most fit for the position since she was able to attend seminars on business continuity plan-ning last year.”

The presence of Loreto in the region also made the agency decide to spearhead the program here.

The SME Roving Acade-my was launched June last year which offers seminars to over 1,127 participants throughout the region.

there are rotating brown-outs because of the short-age in the power supply.

The three power plants have a combined capacity of 1,100MW and are ex-pected to become opera-tional starting 2016 and 2017.

Philippine Climate Change commissioner Na-

derev Saño and Aboitiz Power first vice president of TSI Manuel Orig will be on hand today to relay in-formation on the impact, benefits, consequences, and challenges confronting society.

Davao del Sur governor Claude P. Baustista will also join the forum.

Davao City.The children were

rescued while in the act of performing a live lewd show, including a two-year-old girl whose pri-vate part was shown in the webcam to their cli-ents.

The two suspects ar-rested who also happen to be relatives of some of the children rescued, ad-mitted the crime saying

their family is in dire need of money and that they found the illegal business to be lucrative because they are being paid in dollars via on-line trans-actions.

The suspects are fac-ing charges of violation of R.A 9775 (Anti-Child Por-nography Act) , R.A 9208 (Anti – Human Traffick-ing Act of 2003), and R.A 7610 (Anti- Child Abuse)

or whether the import permits issued by the NFA were “recycled”.

Sevilla elucidated that the imported rice were smuggled into the country even before “in-junction orders” were is-sued in December 2013 by the courts in Manila and Davao City which restrained the BOC and NFA from seizing the rice shipments with no import permits.

He expounded that 75

percent of the smuggled rice were imported by five consignees, namely: Bold Bidder Marketing and General Merchandise; Starcraft Trading Corpo-ration; Intercontinental Grains; Medaglia De Oro Trading; and Silent Royal-ty Marketing.

The remaining 50,000 metric tons, Sevilla said, arrived in the ports of Cebu, Davao, Cagayan De Oro, and Misamis Orien-tal. [PNA]

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pine Rural Development Program (PRDP) such as strategic agricultural infrastructure, research and development, and training.

“The objective is to re-spond to the constraints that low-income rural farmers face as they prac-tice cacao farming,” she said.

She added the PRDP is an inclusive program catering to agriculture and fisheries, and targets marginal and sustenance

farmers. “The cacao industry

has a high accessibility to the program,” Recoter said.

She said the City Ag-riculture Office (CAO) has already attended a value chain analysis seminar given by the DA last week, where they learned to an-alyze constraints to the city’s cacao industry.

Councilor Marissa Salvador Abella, chair of the committee on agricul-ture and food, said they

are pushing for the cre-ation of satellite agricul-tural areas in Paquibato and Marilog districts, and the promotion of cacao production.

Abella said the de-crease in the produc-tion by Western African countries of cacao beans and the production of “proudly Davao” askino-si chocolates presents an opportunity for Davao farmers to make it in the industry.

Davao City is second

to Davao del Norte in ca-cao production, the coun-cilor said during the priv-ilege hour.

She added a shortfall is expected to reach one million metric tons by 2020 because of lower production in Western Africa.

City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said two weeks ago he would order the CAO to provide facilities and trainings to cacao farmers in the upland ar-eas. [MindaNews]

that the media was al-ready skilled when it came to acquiring infor-mation and saw no prob-

lem with the PNP setup. “Media is not without

its resource and ability to get scoops,” Lacierda

said. “You know how it works.”

He also stressed the importance of accurate

information on certain crimes to facilitate the smooth investigation of the cases. [PNA]

energy sources,” Montene-gro said.

Feed stocks of agri-culture that can be used for biomass, according to the study, are wastes from rice, sugarcane, coconut husk, and corn. Tadeo said during a press briefing at the Waterfront Insular Hotel last Tuesday that to produce a 10 MW capaci-ty, they will be needing to use 110 metric tons of feed stocks annually.

It would take 18 months to build a single biomass plant and would cost P1.1 billion each.

On the other hand, the 12 potential sites for hy-dro-power projects based on the study are in the Davao region, Caraga, and Socsksargen.

Potential sites for mini-hydropower plants in the Davao region are Mangkangay river and Dumago-ok river in Davao Oriental, and Miral Reser-voir Site and Kapatagan in Davao del Sur.

Potential sites for mi-cro-hydropower plants for the region are Aloop Falls and Kidadan Falls, Davao del Sur.

Mangkamay river has an estimated potential capacity of 300 kilowatts (kW), Dumago-ok river has 3,000 kW, Miral reser-voir site has 300 kW, Kapa-tagan has 300 kW, Aloop falls has 12 kW while Ki-dakan falls has 60 kW.

For the Caraga region are Bega, Misli, Maug and Gibong rivers identified as potential sites for run-of-river hydropowert plants.

The study showed that Bega river can be capable of producing 1.4 MW, Misli 800 kilowatts (kW), and Maug river and Gibong

river have a combined po-tential capacity of 8.5 MW.

In Soccsksargen, the potential sites for mini-hy-dro power plants are Bad-tasan River in Sarangani with 8,000 kW and Tran river in South Upi, Magu-indanao and Lebak, Sultan Kudarat with estimated potential of 350 kW.

The study was con-ducted to ensure that there will be a balance in the usage of renewable and non-renewable en-ergy sources by 2020 de-spite the surging power demand.

edition, USeP occupies the 251-300 bracket in 2013. This was the same bracket occupied by the University in 2012, while it was rated as top 201+ in 2011. USeP has consistently ranked fifth among the Philippine universities for three years.

It is noteworthy that USeP is the only school outside Luzon that was cit-ed as best schools in Asia. This recognition improved the academic landscape of Davao City, and placed the City map in a salient posi-tion in the Asia continent by having an academic institu-

tion that is able to compete with other schools in Asia.

During the term of Al-ibin, the Commission on Higher Education recog-nized the University as Cen-ter of Excellence in Teacher Education; Center of De-velopment in Agriculture; Center of Development in Agricultural Engineering; Center of Development in English program; Na-tional University for Agri-culture in Region XI; and Provincial Institute for Agriculture. As a Center of Excellence in Teacher Ed-ucation, USeP has become

national training hub for school administrators and special education teachers in upgrading their compe-tencies and skills. Recent-ly, USeP started providing educational management and other trainings to for-eign organizations like the Bangladesh Rural Advance-ment Committee, Pakistani teacher-educators and oth-er foreign nationals. Some schools in South Korea have also chosen USeP as venue of global English study.

Through the initiative of Alibin, Davao City citi-zens can now watch con-

certs, boxing, and other entertainment and sporting events through the new-ly-constructed USeP Gym-nasium and Cultural Center that has recently become the PBA home.

Alibin also pushed for the establishment of In-novations and Technology Support Office (ITSO) at USeP. With ITSO in USeP Obrero, Davao City, safe-guarding of the Davao City peoples’ own innovations, inventions, and technology as an output of research and development can now be done in the University.

stalls or eviction of lessees for breach of contract or violation of existing laws and ordinanc-es.

The board will recom-mend action on the resolution of problems in connection with the use and occupancy of stalls. Recommend, as the need aris-es, for the creation of similar centers in the three districts of the city as well as adopt a bud-get for the administration and operation of the center that will come from the budget of the City Economic Enterprise (CEE) and perform any and all acts, necessary, proper, or incidental to the attainment of the purpose of the center.

The center should be op-erated and managed by CEE under the supervision of the board. They will be responsi-ble for providing overall ad-ministrative and secretariat services to the board.

The budgetary require-ments of the center, including compensation of its personnel that may be assigned shall be taken from the existing bud-get of the CEE.

The board should publish an invitation for prospective qualified tenants to lease available stalls in the center, at least once a week for two consecutive weeks in local newspapers or posted in two conspicuous places.

In the section 8 of the or-dinance, any person or entity residing in the city engaged in producing locally made deli-cacies or food products, goods or souvenir items using local and indigenous raw materi-als may apply as tenant of the center.

The CEE should evaluate the products of all interesting lessee-applicants based on criteria, as prescribed under

the implementing rules and regulations to be adopted by the board and submit a list of qualified applicants and their products for the approval of the board.

In section 10, the prod-ucts that will be presented in the center should adhere to categories or groupings such as;

Souvenir and gift items but not limited to handicrafts, handmade paper products, fashion accessories, shirts, home decorations, indigenous costumes and other native ac-cessories.

Preserved or processed foods but not limited to snack foods, bottled jams and can-dies.

Healthy, beauty and well-ness products

Musical instruments, gui-tars, flutes

Fresh fruits and deriva-

tives or preservativesShell craft, wood craft and

coconut coirOther city locally made

delicacies and food products, goods or other souvenir items using local and indigenous materials.

The stalls in the center have a rental fee of P450 per square meter which will be paid to the City Treasurer’s Office on or before the 10th day of the following month. The rental fee does not in-clude the cost of utilities, such as water and electric bills, the actual cost shall be to the ac-count of the lessees.

Failure to pay the rental within the period shall be sub-jected to 25 percent surcharge of the rental fee plus an inter-est of 14 percent per annum on the unpaid amount from the due date until the rental fee is fully paid.


ENVIRONMENT

IF you love eating “lapu-lapu,” “ma-meng” and other reef

fishes, you better watch out. Those fish may be tasty but they may not be healthy to eat all. The reason: they may be loaded with cyanide.

“Cyanide fishing may not be as rampant as in the 1970s and 1980s, it is still being done in the Philippines,” said Dr. Alan White, who used to be the chief of party of the Coastal Resource Management Project in Central Visayas. He now serves as senior scientist based in Hawaii of the Asia-Pacific Program of the Nature Conservancy.

“I believe that most cyanide used present-ly is for food fish and it is difficult to know how wide spread its use is,” Dr. White pointed out. “It is still a major problem in Palawan and other areas where the live food fish trade is important.”

Cyanide fishing is not a Filipino discovery but an American ingenuity. A certain Bridges first used sodium cyanide to stun and capture tropical fish in 1958 in Illinois. A Filipino aquarium fish collector picked up the practice.

The practice spread throughout the country in no time. At that time, reef fish were collected for the fish aquarium trade and exported to the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and France.

The Philippines is home to 70 percent of

the world’s ornamental fish. According to a study done in 1981, some 200 of the 2,177 tropical fish species found in the country are exported.

Today, cyanide fishing is no longer confined to gathering aquarium fish. The demand for live fish from the reefs in restau-rants in Beijing, southern China, Hong Kong, and other countries where Chinese abound has made the practice preva-lent not only in the Phil-ippines but other Asian countries as well.

The reason for its popularity among pov-erty-stricken fishermen: money. Michael Fabinyi, a researcher with Aus-tralia’s James Cook Uni-versity who studied the live reef fish trade in Pal-awan province for sever-al years, cites the case of leopard coral grouper.

“From approximately 50 cents per kilo in the late ’80s when the trade began,” he explained, “the price of leopard coral grouper has risen gradually and consistent-ly. In 2011, a good-sized leopard coral grouper in good condition fetches a price of between 700 pe-sos and 1,000 pesos per kilo for fishermen.”

“The total retail value of the live reef food fish was around $350 mil-lion per year from 1997 to 2001,” notes Andrew Bruckner, an American coral reef ecologist who works closely with gov-ernment and nongov-ernment groups in the United States. “By 2002,

it increased to about $486 million for Hong Kong and $810 million for the entire trade. In-dividual fish can sell for up to $180 per kilogram, depending on species, taste, texture, availability and time of year.”

It may be easier to catch reef fishes using cyanide but it has a price. “Cyanide is a deadly poi-son not only to people and fish, but also to oth-er marine animals like corals,” says Dr. Rafael D. Guerrero, a national sci-entist who used to head the Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Re-search and Development.

Corals are fragile creatures that host mi-croscopic organisms on which larger creatures feed and provide shelter for a variety of marine life like fish, lobsters, oc-topi, eels, and turtles.

To catch elusive fish hiding in coral reefs, fishermen use cyanide, which is illegal. A study commissioned by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in 1982 established that two applications of cya-nide on coral reefs four months apart caused high coral polyp mor-tality. “Unlike blast fishing, which reduces corals into rubble,” de-plores marine scientist Vaughan R. Pratt, “cya-nide keeps coral struc-tures intact, but dead.”

The Philippines has around 26,000 square kilometers of coral reef area, the second largest in Southeast Asia. Some 500 species of stony cor-als are known to occur, 12 of which are consid-ered endemic.

Today, poor cor-al cover is found in 40

percent of the country’s reefs, while areas with excellent cover have steadily declined to less than 5 percent from 2000 to 2004. “Despite considerable improve-ments in coral reef man-agement, the country’s coral reefs remain under threat,” said Dr. Theresa Mundita S. Lim, the di-rector of the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bu-reau.

Fifty percent of the fish exposed to sodium cyanide die in the reef. The ones caught and later recover are trans-ferred to clean water, but they are doomed to die within weeks or months because of the damage caused by the poison to their internal organs.

Researchers estimate that more than a million kilograms of cyanide have been squirted onto

Philippine reefs alone over the last half century.

“(Cyanide fishing) is illegal, so people should just stop doing it,” says Dr. Arnel “AA” Yaptin-chay, director of the Ma-rine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines. “There may be short term gains now but we have to really think the serious reper-cussions for the future generation. Remember this: no reef, no fish.”

Some believe that banning the export of live reef fish is one pos-sible solution to the problem. Davao City Councilor Leonardo Avi-la III thinks otherwise. “As long as there are Chinese/Filipino restau-rants willing to buy at a good price for live fish, and customers willing to pay for it, there will al-ways be cyanide fishing,” he says.

Contributor

By GERRY T. ESTRERA

Some Pinoy fishers still practice cyanide fishing



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A rousing success, Style Paradigms was a celebra-tion of Davao talent and arts excellence. It was a coming-together of artists who created spatial, tan-gible and moving works to invite people to delve further into the arts as a vehicle for reflection and hopefully change. Exhibits from Juxta(positions): The Col-location of Art and Design can be viewed around Abreeza Mall from Febru-ary 14 to March 5.

the coming months. The show’s style quo-tient then escalated some more when it came time for creations from Davao’s very own group of de-signers Egay Ayag, Aztec Barba, Popoy Barba, Dod-jie Batu, Edgar Buyan and Emi Englis to take center-stage on the show’s ramp. Fashion accessories were also duly represented by local multi-awarded ar-tisans such as Yvette Celi Punzalan and Fumiko Kuroda.

INdulge! VOL. 6 ISSUE 241 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21-22,

EDGEDAVAOSTYLE

Abreeza unveils Style Paradigms

IT WAS to pulsating music and a prestigious lineup of Davao’s art and design icons that Abreeza Mall unveiled its Style Paradigms show and exhibit last February 14.

The two-pronged style proposition was com-posed of an event dubbed ‘juxta:pose’ wherein select apparel brands and an elite group of designers show-cased their takes on the latest and upcoming fash-ion trends and the launch of ‘juxta:positions’, a series of constellation sites situ-ated around the mall that exhibit artistic insights on global warming through thematic photographs and creations by a chosen set of Davao artists and de-signers. This collaborative effort by Abreeza Mall, the Philippine Women’s College Helena Z. Benitez School of Fine Arts & De- Colorful plumes

from Egay Ayag.A look from Soul Lifestyle.

Menswear look from Dodjie Batu.

Risque in black by Popoy Barba.

Full length cut-out gown with lace appliques by Aztec Barba.

Among the 10 recognized Davao icons for design and the arts.

Edgar Buyan Dodjie Batu Aztec BarbaChef Ed Tuazon (right) and his staff putting the finishing touches on the buffet.

sign and the artists them-selves was done in cel-ebration of National Arts Month this February. Abreeza’s Marketing Manager Ruby Ochoa kicked off the show by in-troducing the event’s ten arts honoraries, namely

Alfonso Boy Guino-o (Fashion Design), Tita Lacambra-Ayala (Liter-ary Arts), Agnes Locsin (Dance), Brenda Zafra-Barba (Visual Arts & Art Education), Aida Rivera-Ford (Literary Arts), Ann Tiukinhoy Pamintuan (Jewelry & Furniture De-sign), Dr. Macario Tiu (Literary Arts), Chef Ed Tuazon (Culinary Arts), Kublai Millan (Visual Arts), Arnel Marduquio (Film) and Joey Ayala (Music). This was followed by cocktails served by Marco Polo Hotel Davao which is helmed by Chef Ed Tua-zon and Italianni’s. After the guests were able to set-tle down, the fashion show commenced straight after. Apparel brands Marks & Spencer, Freeway, Plains & Prints, RRJ, Bayo, Pen-guin, Cocoon, Bauhaus, Artwork, Mags, Petrol and Soul sent models sa-shaying down the runway garbed in what they fore-cast to be sartorial hits in

BEING on a postpaid plan has its perks and privileges. There are attractive plan bundles tailor-fit for every kind of user, and the security it offers you is unbeatable. In cases of theft or robbery, you can easily have your mobile phone replaced and number retained. With a postpaid plan, your number is not just a string of digits which people can dial to reach you, it becomes part of your identity. Your postpaid plan indeed becomes who you are, espe-cially with how Globe Telecom made postpaid plans more customizable with mySUPERPLAN, allowing subscribers to create and design a postpaid plan that fits their communica-tion needs. Taking personalization to the next level, Globe recently unveiled its latest roster of devices packed with features that let users enjoy an upgraded mobile experience beyond calls and texts, while catering to varied interests and lifestyles. Check out the latest device offerings from Globe and see what fits you and what you do:

For the con-summate surf-er on a budgetSurfing the ‘net in breakneck speeds while on-the-go shouldn’t break the bank. Enjoy the most affordable Long Term Evolution (LTE) device together with the lowest LTE plan available in the market today exclusive from Globe. The Huawei Ascend G526 LTE is a dual-core Android smart-phone equipped with a unique power-saving technology, allowing you to surf at speeds of up to 42 Mbps without quickly draining your battery. The best part? You can get this handset free at Plan 499 complete with consumable surfing and free calls and texts.

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A2 INdulge!UP AND ABOUT

VOL. 6 ISSUE 241 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21-22, 2014EDGEDAVAO

Skin Station now open at SM Lanang PremierON February 11, 2014, a multi-branch clinic chain opened its newest outlet at the Lower Ground Level of SM Lanang Premier in Davao City. Skin Station, a leading skin care company, aims to provide high-end derma-tological services, the best value in skin solutions and pampering experiences at affordable prices. Backed by its founder and CEO, 2011 PRC Chemist of the Year Fred Reyes, it utilizes science to craft products and treatments, solidifying the company’s expertise and unique philosophy on skin care. The launch of Skin Station’s 16th branch at SM Lanang Premier was graced by the company’s CEO Fred Reyes, his wife Carleen Reyes and Skin Station’s official celebrity endorser, Chin Chin Guti-errez. SM Lanang Premier Assistant Mall Manager Jerome Yeo was on hand to welcome the guests. Skin Station makes use of state-of-the-art equip-ment to offer clients qual-ity services such as laser hair removal treatments, facials, and slimming ser-

vices, among many others. It also has its own exclusive professional skin care line, Dermax, with products for anti-aging, under eye repair, skin whitening, lip plumping, anti-acne, skin moisturizing and other skin needs. For inquiries, visit Skin Station at SM Lanang Pre-mier’s Lower Ground Level or call 0917-576-8172.

Skin Station CEO Fred Reyes (right), his wife Carleen (left) and Skin Station celebrity endorser Chin Gutierrez (center) lead the ribbon-cutting ceremony at SM Lanang Premier. The opening team of Skin Station.

Skin Station’s endorser, Chin Chin Gutierrez graces the launch of Skin Station at SM Lanang Premier.

Skin Station branch at SM Lanang Premier.

breakfast, complimentary entrance to the Swimming Pool and Fishing Village

and a complimentary access to Skycycle or Skyrider or Guided shuttle tour for two persons! The “It’s More Fun at Eden” package is available until March 31, 2014 only. For inquiries and reserva-tions, please call 299.1020 or 299.0313 or visit our Sales & Reservations Office at Door 3, Matina Town Square, Davao City. Like us on Facebook, Eden Nature Park & Resort.

THE British awards season is in high gear with the 2014 Brit Awards giving viewers plenty of memorable mo-ments! The British music indus-try honored some of the world’s hottest artists in London, but it wasn’t just about handing out awards. There were also some awe-some performances and funny show moments, thanks to host James Cor-den. For example, at one point Corden took the stage and jokingly turned up with a blazing sleeve which was put out by security staff af-ter Arctic Monkeys opened the show with a perfor-mance of their track “R U Mine?” with flaming letters spelling out the name of their fifth album AM. But one of his most-shin-ing moments of the night was, of course, his mini makeout session with Nick Grimshaw. The two men en-gaged in a little peck during last year’s award show, but they decided to turn things up a notch this year, and we appreciate that. Aside from Corden’s an-tics, a number of superstar singers took the stage to give blowout performanc-es. Beyoncé gave the de-but TV performance of her single “XO” while looking

absolutely stunning in a Vrettos Vrettakos gown that contained—wait for it—140,000 blue zircon crys-tals! Bruno Mars also hit the stage with a high-energy performance of his hit “Trea-sure,” giving fans flashbacks of his amazing Super Bowl halftime show. Katy Perry traded in her broomstick from the 2014 Grammy Awards for an Egyptian-themed per-formance of “Dark Horse,” while Pharrell closed out the show by singing “Happy.” Then, of course, there were the big winners of the night! 1D walked away with the awards for Global Suc-cess and Best British Video

for “Best Song Ever.” Joining the hunky boy band in the winner’s circle was Lorde,

who also performed “Roy-als,” was named Interna-tional Female winner.

DIAMOND STAR Ms. Mari-cel Soriano is now a Kapuso as she signed a contract for a primetime soap opera with GMA Network, Inc. The contract signing was held today at the GMA Net-work Center and attended by the top officers of the Network. Present in the contract signing were GMA Chair-man and Chief Executive Officer Atty. Felipe L. Gozon, GMA Entertainment TV’s Se-nior Vice President Lilybeth G. Rasonable, GMA Vice President for Entertainment TV Marivin T. Arayata, GMA Vice President for Drama Productions Redgie Acuña-Magno, GMA Assistant Vice President for Corporate Communications Angela Javier-Cruz, GMA Assistant Vice President for Drama Cheryl Ching-Sy, Program Manager for ETV Redgynn Alba and Ms. Maricel’s man-ager Shirley Kuan. Ms. Maricel, one of the country’s most respected and multi-awarded televi-sion actresses, is part of the network’s upcoming pri-metime drama series with a working title Ang Dalawang

Mrs. Real. The Diamond Star says her role in Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real is very challenging and she looks forward to work with Primetime King Dingdong Dantes and Ka-puso Premier Actress Lovi

Poe, “Excited na excited ako kasi maganda yung story. Ibang set ng mga kabataan naman yung mga makaka-trabaho ko ngayon. Alam ko ito ay magiging masaya.” As she officially becomes part of the Kapuso Network,

Ms. Maricel wants to start anew and be an inspiration to her fans and support-ers. She feels very honored and excited about this new chapter in her life as a Ka-puso, “Lahat tayo pwedeng mag-move on. Positive na lahat. Gusto ko maging hap-py ako. At gusto ko silang lahat makatrabaho ko. Ma-sarap maging masaya.” Rasonable says she is very happy that Ms. Mari-cel is joining GMA’s stable of stars because she is an excellent dramatic ac-tress, “We’re very happy na pumayag siya sa project na ito. We’re looking forward sa tagisan ng acting ng show na ito na dapat aban-gan ng mga manonood. She is a precious actress na makakadagdag sa drama ng GMA. At sana maging pleasant na experience sa kanya ang maging isang Kapuso. We look forward na mapanood natin siya sa telebisyon sa mga susunod na buwan.” Among the Kapuso stars, Ms. Maricel also wishes to work with Dennis Trillo, Tom Rodriguez and Carla Abel-lana.

INdulge! A3

Diamond Star Maricel Soriano signs with GMA

Shining moments at the 2014 Brit AwardsHere is the full list of winners from the 2014 Brit Awards:

ENTERTAINMENT

VOL. 6 ISSUE 241 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21-22, 2014EDGEDAVAO

British Female: Ellie GouldingInternational Female: LordeBritish Male: David BowieInternational Male: Bruno MarsBritish Group: Arctic MonkeysBritish Breakthrough Act: BastilleCritics’ Choice: Sam SmithGlobal Success: One DirectionBritish Single: Rudimental, “Waiting All Night”International Group: Daft PunkBritish Album: Arctic Monkeys, AMBritish Video: One Direction, “Best Song Ever”British Producer Of The Year: Flood & Alan Moulder

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A4 INdulge! VOL. 6 ISSUE 241 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21-22, 2014EDGEDAVAOEVENT

A whole lot of rocking with Urbandub

SHOWING that love is not all about sweet nothings, SM Lanang Premier recently held a show called “Love Rocks” featuring Ur-bandub, one of the most critically-acclaimed bands of this generation, at its The Fountain Court grounds.

By Kenneth Irving Ong

An indie rock act from Cebu City, Urbandub con-sists of Gabby Alipe (vo-cals, guitar), John Dinopol (guitar, vocals), Lalay Lim (bass, vocals) and Janjan Mendoza (drummer). It is known for its notable

hits laden with heavy, raw emotions such as “A New Tatoo,” “First of Sum-mer,” “Guillotine,” “Soul Searching” and “The Fight is Over,” among many oth-ers. The band won numer-ous NU 107 Rock Awards

and in 2008 bagged the “Best Group” at the Junk Magazine Regional Music Awards in Malaysia. Its recent tour of Singapore has allowed them to gar-ner more fans throughout

Southeast Asia. Before the show, a meet and greet session with Urbandub happened in-side JB Music Store where fans can get to have their photos taken as well as well as have their copies of Urbandub’s latest album signed. The show at the mall’s Fountain Court grounds was front-lined by various local indie bands show-casing their own compo-sitions as well as covers of famous rock songs. The seats quickly filled to ca-pacity as Urbandub finally came out on stage after their meet and greet ses-sion rocking their popular hits making the evening a night to remember and a Valentines celebration like no other. The Love Rocks Urban-dub concert was staged in partnership with JB Music Store at the 2nd Level of SM Lanang Premier.

EDGEDavao Davao Partners


GENERAL SANTOS CITY – For more than a year, an eight-year old boy

Christian Mark Era of Fatima village here has been suffer-ing from hernia.

May Era, mother of the patient, claimed they could not afford to pay P70,000 for his surgical operation.

“Our income could hard-ly make both ends meet. But we were so grateful for the surgical mission sponsored by Sarangani Congressman Manny Pacquiao,” Era said.

She added that “God re-ally works in a mysterious ways. He helped us through Congressman Pacquiao.”

Pacquiao digged from his own pocket to shoulder the air fare, food and accom-modation of volunteer nurs-es, doctors and surgeons who joined in the surgical mission.

The 45-man team, led by Dr. Domingo Alvear, pres-ident and founder of World Surgical Foundation (WSF), arrived here on Sunday to start the screening of pa-tients.

Alvear claimed they are targeting to serve 250 indi-gent patients from Sarangani and Gensan.

The actual medical and surgical mission started on Monday and will end up on Saturday.

“Tutulong lang din tayo, lubos-lubusin na natin. We have been doing this for two consecutive years already,” Pacquiao said.

Screening of patients and surgical operations were done in eight different op-erating rooms of a govern-ment-owned General Santos

City Hospital. Among the cases served

include hernia, bowel is-sues, anorectal repair, penile malformations, cleft lip and

cleft palate, goiter (non-tox-ic), thyroid, bladder repair, TURPS (prostate/ kidney), hydroceles (prostate), tumor, cysts and hysterectomies.

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COMMUNITY SENSE

SSS DONATES TO GAWAD KALINGA FOR YOLANDA REHAB EFFORTS. The Social Security System (SSS) turned over a total of P2.52 million as donation to Gawad Kalinga (GK) in support of rehabilitation projects for families affected by Super Typhoon Yolanda during ceremonies held at the SSS Main Office in Diliman, Quezon City on February 10. SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Emilio S. de Quiros, Jr. (4th from left) led the presentation of the two checks---which represent SSS employees’ voluntary contributions of P1.26 million that was matched with an equal donation from SSS management during the annual SSS Christmas Fund Drive---to GK Executive Director Jose Luis Oquiñena (center). Photo also shows (from left) SSS Vice President (VP) for Public Affairs and Special Events Marissu G. Bugante, Alert and Concerned Employees for Better SSS (ACCESS) VP for Main Office Nilo V. Natividad, GK Partnership Group Head Reynaldo M. Cajulis, SSS Assistant Vice President for Performance Management and Employee Relations Daisy S. Real, SSS Executive Vice Pres-ident for Investments Edgar B. Solilapsi, SSS VP for Human Resource Management Jesse J. Caberoy and SSS VP for Management Services and Planning May Catherine C. Ciriaco.

Boy who needed surgery gets help from PacmanContributor

By AQUILES ZONIO

VOL. 6 ISSUE 241 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21-22, 201414 EDGEDAVAOSPORTS

GENERAL SANTOS CITY – “Kalilangan is not only for the

celebration of heritage, but also a venue to promote sports activities here in GenSan,” this are the words of City Mayor Ronnel Rive-ra during the opening of the 1st Cong. Manny Pac-man Pacquiao and Mayor Ronnel C. Rivera Kalilan-

gan Basketball Invitation-al Monday (February 17) at the Oval Gymnasium.

Mayor Rivera empha-sized that the current lo-cal government of GenSan is open for any athletic competitions such the basketball competitions to test the city’s potential as a “breeding ground” for sports champions.

Rivera also said that he timed the opening of the basketball competi-tion during the Kalilangan 2014 so that the partici-pants may also enjoy the city festivity as well.

The city mayor also thanked Cong. Manny Pac-quiao for making GenSan as the host city for the event.

IN the midst of a recent grooming session — which means it’s time for me to

shave, too, I suppose — Min-nesota Timberwolves All-Star power forward Kevin Love briefly and colorfully ad-dressed the widespread spec-ulation that he’s more than likely going to return to South-ern California, where he was born and where he played his college ball, to don the purple and gold of the Los Angeles Lakers.

From GQ’s Steve Marsh:Now that he looks like a

leading man — and with free agency looming as an option at the end of next season, and the Wolves not exactly killing it on the court — everyone as-sumes that his next big move is to Los Angeles. He’s dating actress Cody Horn, a Califor-nia girl, and his Beach Boy un-cle, Mike, co-wrote “California Girls.” So fess up, Kev: You’re gone, right? “People think it’s so far-fetched that I would stay in Minnesota,” he says. “And I’m not s******g on the

Lakers, but we have the better team, the better foundation.

I’m having fun.” Note the pres-ent tense.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- The Golden State Warriors are

making another move in hopes of finding a suitable backup to point guard Ste-phen Curry.

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mic The SportsXchangeNash, Blake back for

Lakers vs. Timberwolves The Associated Press

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Mike D'Antoni: Lakers' Steve Nash, Steve Blake, Jor-dan Farmar could all play Tuesday SB Nation

Stephen Curry's 34 pushes Warriors past Bulls Automated Insights

The Warriors have agreed to acquire Steve Blake from the Los Angeles Lakers for reserve guards Kent Bazemore and Mar-Shon Brooks, a person fa-miliar with the deal said Wednesday night.

The person spoke to

The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade was still pending NBA approval. The Los Angeles Times first re-ported Blake had been trad-ed.

Word of the deal start-ed to spread just before the Warriors played in Sacra-mento and the Lakers host-ed Houston. Blake report-edly told his teammates and coaches goodbye in the locker room before the game in Los Angeles.

Lakers deal Blake to Warriors

RAIN or Shine sharp-shooter Jeff Chan had a chance to win

the game for the Elasto Painters in the dying sec-onds of Game Three of the PLDT Home DSL Philip-pine Cup finals.

Unfortunately for him, he was forced into a tough look — a long three-point-er with San Mig Super Cof-fee Mixers defensive ace Marc Pingris draped all over him.

Chan rued the missed opportunity and chalked it up to wrong timing on the part of himself and his teammates.

The Rain or Shine star explained that the play was drawn up for Paul Lee to create with the ball in his hands but the guard took a chance on a pass with Chan finding a little bit of daylight off a screen.

“Well dapat mag-create si Paul dun. Pero parang nakita niya na na-open ako ng konti. Medyo napaaga lang kasi matagal pa eh,” Chan said of the play.

“Yung timing nung screen lang dun sa amin ni Beau (Belga). Siguro kung nag-drive (si Lee), yung timing mas maganda, sig-uro mas na-open pa ‘ko

nun.”But the Elasto Painters

don’t feel like the game was lost on that last possession.

“Yung dalawang straight na basket ni Joe. Yun yung pumatay sa amin. I think we were up by three. Tapos dalawang basket siya sunod eh,” Chan said.

“Siguro ‘di nag-usap yung dalawang tao namin kung mag-si-switch or what. Kailangan naming mag-adjust dun. Kasi yun yung pumapatay sa amin ngayon eh. Yung paikot-ikot lang sila sa loob, naghahanap ng mismatch.”

Rivera, Pacquiao Basketball Cup highlights Kalilangan 2014 sports

Not the best shot: ChanGAME 3 MISS

Love not itching for LakersNO LOVE FOR LA. Kevin Love shoots over noted Lakers foundational piece Robert Sacre. (Jordan Johnson/NBAE)

MISSED THREE. Jeff Chan (16) of Rain Or Shine is guard-ed by PJ Simon (8) of San Mig Coffe in Game 3 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals. Nuki Sabio

DARING DRIVE. PJ Simon of San Mig Coffee barrels through Jeff Chan of ROS.

VOL. 6 ISSUE 241 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21-22, 2014 15SPORTSEDGEDAVAO

FILIPINO-Norwegian Anne Line Gjersem barely qualified for

the long program posting a score of 48.56 to make the Top 24 on a night reigning world and Olympic Cham-pion Kim Yuna moved one step closer to defending her title with a win in the ladies short program on Wednesday (February 20 in Manila) but not as con-vincingly as she would have wanted.

Yuna scored 74.92, just over a quarter of a point ahead of her closest rival Russia’s Adelina Sotniko-va (74.64) and less than a point over Carolina Kost-ner of Italy (74.12).

The South Korean fig-ure skater landed all her jumps cleanly including a triple lutz-triple toe, triple flip and a double axel but lacked transitions with-in elements keeping her

almost 4 points off her world record 78.50 set at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. She also only received a level 3 (out of a the highest level 4) on her layback spin.

Yuna took her start-ing position with nerves written all over her face. She struggled through her warm-up popping her first attempt a triple lutz. Speaking to journalists after her performance, the skater many refer to as “Queen Yuna” said, “I couldn’t jump at all in the warmup. I was more ner-vous than I expected. I tried to trust in myself. I didn’t feel any pressure.”

Following her victory at the 2013 World Champi-onships Kim Yuna missed the rest of the competitive season due to a leg injury. If she wins gold in Sochi she will be only the 3rd

woman in history to win back-to-back ladies figure skating Olympic titles. The last woman to do it was Katerina Witt of Germany in 1984 and 1988.

2014 European silver medalist Sotnikova was the surprise of the event. While her triple toe-triple toe combination was not as difficult as the other ladies in the top 3, she received higher technical element marks than Yuna courtesy of her level 4 spins.

Costner the 2012 World Champion was in rare form when it mat-tered most. The Italian changed a planned triple toe-triple toe combina-tion to a more difficult triple flip-triple toe. The risk paid of, her flawless rendition of Ave Maria also earned her marks almost enough to beat Yuna.15-year-old Lipnits-

kaya already a gold medal winner in the team figure skating competition, and favored to chase Kim Yuna for the gold buckled under pressure falling on her tri-ple flip jump to finish 5th with a score of 65.23.

American skaters Gra-cie Gold, Ashley Wagner and Paulina Edmonds finished 4th, 6th and 7th respectively. Gold the cur-rent US champion fought to finish her triple lutz-tri-ple toe combination de-spite a wonky landing on her lutz.

Two-time world champion Mao Asada of Japan, also expected to be a contenter for gold, fell apart falling on her open-ing triple axel and dou-bled a planned triple loop not managing to perform the required combination jump after it. She ended up 16th overall.

ANNE ADVANCESSOCHI, Russia – Gracie

Gold put herself in medal contention with

a fighting short program performance on Wednes-day, after shrugging off the distraction of her coach Frank Carroll suffering a huge noseblood just before she competed.

Gold scored 68.63 at the Iceberg Skating Palace, landing several jumps that she feared may end in falls, giving herself a shot at the podium on Thursday.

If she appeared tight, it would be understandable. During preparation for her

program, Carroll disap-peared to receive treatment on his severely bleeding nose. He returned just in time to give Gold final in-structions before she took to the ice.

“Frank wasn’t there for 30 minutes of my warm-up because he had the most horrible nosebleed that I have ever seen,” Gold said. “We were in the lounge and then he disappeared. They had to replace the tissue three different times and they were asking if he should get it cauterized.

NORWEGIAN half-Fil-ipino figure skater Anne Line Gjersem

was following in the foot-steps of illustrious country-woman Sonja Henie when she took to the ice in Sochi on Wednesday night.

The 20-year-old from Malmo, the first Norwegian to qualify for figure skating in the Olympics since 1964, advanced to the free skat-ing final after the short pro-gramme.

Norway were a figure skating superpower in the early Olympics with figure skating legend Henie win-ning gold three times -- in 1928, 1932, and 1936.

Henie was also a 10-time world champion before find-ing success in Hollywood where she was one of the

highest paid stars during the height of her career.

“I’m very happy that Norway has a spot here. I’m very proud to represent my country and I’m very excited,” said Gjersem after taking the 24th and final qualifying spot in the short programme.

“I’m quite satisfied with my programme. It could be a little bit better, the first jump, and I could have had more speed. I could feel it in my body that I was a bit tense. I enjoyed skating and was trying to do my best.”

She scored 48.56 points and it was enough to claim the final qualifying spot for Thursday’s free skate final.

She became the first Norwegian figure skater to compete at the Olympic

Winter Games in 50 years after qualifying at the Nebel-

horn Trophy in September 2013.

Half-Pinay skater barely makes next round Yuna takes short program

Gjersem: In the footsteps of Norway’s great skater

Gold in the hunt for figure skating medal

Gracie Gold of the USA performs in the ladies short program during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games at Iceberg Skating Palace. (Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)

Julia Lipnitskaia of Russia competes in the Figure Skating Ladies’ Short Program on day 12 of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at Iceberg Skating Palace on February 19, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

SHE FLIES. Half-Pinay Anne Line Gjersem of Norway competes in the women’s short program figure skating competition at the Iceberg Skating Palace during the 2014 Winter Olympics, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2014, in Sochi, Russia. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)

GJERSEM. Next generation star of Norway.

VOL. 6 ISSUE 241 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21-22, 201416 EDGEDAVAOSports

BACOLOD CITY – Rancho Palos Verdes carried the

fight for the three Davao City squads seeing action in the Founders Division at the start of the Philip-pine Airlines Seniors In-terclub golf team champi-onships Thursday.

The Cabantian swing-ers scored an aggregate 125 points on the Molave system of scoring to find itself at 5th spot only four points behind first round frontrunner Wack Wack with 129 points.

That set the tone for a six-horse race in the Founders division with Wack Wack finding tough competition from the rest of the top six standings: Alta Vista 128, Villamor 127, Marapara 126, Eagle Ridge 125 and Rancho Palos Verdes 125.

WW’s scorers were Buddy Velayo 46, Takano-bu Taira 43 and Isaac Go 40.

The four-to-play, three-to-count event uses the Molave scoring system which awards 3 points for par, 2 for bogey, 1 for dou-ble bogey and 4 for birdie.

Apo Golf and Country

Club is mired at 9th place with 116 points while Davao City Golf Club is at 15th place with 104.

Luisita Golf Club rode on the heroics of new re-cruit Eddie Bagtas to take a one-point lead over de-fending champion Can-lubang in the premier Championship division.

Bagtas, the 58-year-old former pro, shot a two-over par 74 or 52 points under the Molave scoring system. He had four bird-ies against four bogeys and a double bogey.

Pepot Inigo provid-ed solid support with 49 points while Seve Roxas Chua added 43 as Luisita finished with 144 points. Failing to count was Lino Magpantay who limped home with 37.

Bagtas, who had a number of pro titles under his belt, reverted to am-ateur to help Luisita, the team he played for during his young amateur days.

Canlubang kept Lu-isita within arm’s length despite a so-so perfor-mance from top gun Dave Hernandez who struggled with 46 points.

Rolly Viray took the

cudgels for the Sugar Barons with 51 points. Rounding out team scor-ing was Tony Olives who had 46.

Orchard settled for third place after one of its players was disquali-fied for signing the wrong scorecard.

Jun Bailee submitted 48 points – the team’s second best score – but was found to have made a wrong score on the 15th hole, resulting in his dis-qualification.

Luis Miguel Gar-cia matched Bagtas’ 52 points to lead Orchard which trails Luisita by seven points. Also scoring for the team were Nestor Sevilla 44 and Lee Jim Gon 41.

This year’s Interclub is being co-sponsored by CrossOver with Boeing, Philippines Graphic, Star-gate Media (People Asia) and Rogue as corporate backers. Also lending sup-port are Airbus, Business Mirror, One Mega Group (Travel Now), Philippine Broadcasting Corpora-tion, Manila Broadcasting Corporation and Manila Bulletin.

Strong start by Palos swingersLuisita leads PAL Seniors, Apo 9th, DCGC 15th

TRUE TO FORM. Ex-pro Eddie Bagtas watches his putt.


Edge Davao 6 Issue 241

Documents

davao region

davao city public safety

issuance ng motorcycle

motorcycle drivers

effects of climate change

media forum

digos city

city na higpitan