Edge Davao 7 Issue 260

P 15.00 • 20 PAGESwww.edgedavao.netVOL. 7 ISSUE 260 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, MARCH 20 - 21, 2015

EDGE Serving a seamless society

DAVAO

After jumping to no. 3 in latest survey, mayor is making heads turn

LOCAL officials in Davao City have expressed ela-tion over the latest Pulse

Asia survey result showing Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte grabbing the third spot in the list of preferred presidential prospects.

Now, comes this repeated question: Will Duterte really run or not?

The mayor says he won’t, but these officials and the peo-ple of Davao are waiting with bated bread on the day the

colorful local chief executive finally makes his declaration to join the presidential derby in 2016.

“The Mayor is fast catch-ing up. This is impressive considering that he has not declared his intention to run,” IBAP Party List Rep. Silvestre H. Bello III said.

“Abangan ang susunod na kabanata (Let’s wait for the next chapter),” added Bello as excitement for a possible Duterte entry into the presi-

dential race builds up.Councilor Danilo Dayang-

hirang said Duterte’s showing in the Pulse Asia survey means that he is just peaking up at the right time.

“It means he is in the right place and right time for presi-dency,” Dayanghirang said.

To Davao City 3rd District Rep. Isidro T. Ungab, Duterte is a leader whom the country can count on.

The survey, he said, only shows the kind of support

Duterte enjoys from among the people.

“Very impressive survey results for somebody included in the list of presidentiables for the first time. We know Mayor Rody, he is a man the nation can depend on,” Rep. Ungab said.

“He will definitely make difference if he becomes presi-dent,” he added.

Ungab said the federal form of government the may-

EYES ON RODYBy CHARLES RAYMOND A. MAXEYand ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

FEYES, 10

FOR THE ENVIRONMENT. A worker from the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) waters the plants at the center island along E. Quirino Avenue in Davao City. The local government of Davao is sustaining its environmental programs by planting ornamental flowers around the city. Lean Daval Jr.

INSIDE EDGE

Indulge A4

NEIL REY LLANES: ULTIMATELY TALENTED

VOL. 7 ISSUE 260 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, MARCH 20 - 21, 20152 EDGEDAVAO

THE BIG NEWS

THE Social Security Sys-tem signed a Memo-randum of Agreement

(MOA) with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resourc-es that will pave the way for the enrollment of BFAR 11’s Job Order employees to the SSS Alkansssya program.

BFAR 11 Director Fatma Idris signed the MOA together with SSS vice president for Vis-Min Group Eddie Jara Thurs-day morning, formalizing the agreement between the two government agencies.

Under the MOA, BFAR 11 JOs will be covered by SSS with their monthly contribution through salary deduction.

BFAR 11, in turn, will also assist the SSS in the implemen-

tation of the program.With the signing of the

MOA, a total of 180 JOs under the BFAR are now officially en-rolled for the SSS program.

Idris said that she had been requiring her JO employ-ees to register themselves to the SSS even before the MOA signing.

“Naghanap talaga kami ng mga insurance para sa mga JO namin tapos nakita namin tong Alkansssya program ng SSS (We have been looking for in-surance for our JO employees and then we saw this Alkans-ssya program of the SSS),” she said.

Most of JO employees are working with the office for qui-

THE Davao City Po-lice Office (DCPO) remains on full alert

level as the Holy week is fast approaching.

According to the spokes-person of the DCPO, Police Senior Inspector Milgrace Driz, all police units are still on full alert level until the end of the Holy week.

“Nasa full alert level pa rin po yung mga tropa natin kahit tapos na ang Araw ng Dabaw celebration. Para ito sa paparating na Holy Week (The troops are still in full

alert level even though the Aarw ng Davao celebration is already over. This is for the coming Holy Week), “ Driz said.

Driz said the authorities will make use of their full police officers to ensure the safety of the Davaoenyos during the Holy week .

“Naging successful naman po yung celebration natin ng Araw ng Dabaw, kaya sisiguraduhin natin na safe din yung mahal na araw (Our Araw ng Davao celebration was very suc-

cessful, so we will also make sure people will also be safe during the Lenten season),” she added.

Task Force Davao Com-mander Colonel Macairog Alberto also said that theirs parallel preparation with the DCPO for the Holy week will continue.

Alberto said Task Force Davao had been closely monitoring different areas inside and outside the city to ensure the safety of the people.

“We still continues our

preperations in all activities in Davao City to make sure that the Holy week celebra-tion will be safe,” he said.

Alberto also said that the all out offensive war in Cen-tral Mindanao will not affect the Holy Week celebration of the Davaoenos.

“Lahat naman ng area outside Davao City consid-ered as our area of intetrest so we continue our strict im-plementation of our check-points and foot patrols,” the commander said. Funny Pearl A. Gajunera

THE power situation in the Davao Light & Pow-er Co. franchise area has

improved after the 100 MW unit of the STEAG State Power, Inc. resumed operations yes-terday, March 18, at around 5:46 p.m..

At 2:09 p.m. on the same day, the National Grid Corpora-tion of the Philippines (NGCP) advised Davao Light that the one-unit of STEAG’s coal-fired power plant in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental has under-gone an emergency shutdown. This resulted to a much lower

power supply coming from the Mindanao grid.

As part of its contingency measures, the electric utility immediately ran its standby Bajada Power Plant and acti-vated its Interruptible Load Program to mitigate the im-pact of the power supply situ-ation.

“The power situation with-in our franchise is now back to normal. However, with low re-serves based on NGCP’s Power Situation Outlook published daily in the national broad-

SSS coverage to includeBFAR job order workers

PRIDE OF DAVAO. Davao City’s John Vincent Moralde is commented by Councilor April Marie Dayap and other Davao City councilors for his recent success during his courtesy visit at the City Council yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

By FUNNY PEARL A. GAJUNERA

City’s power situationimproves: Davao Light DCPO remains on full alert during Holy Week

FSSS, 10

FCITY’S, 10

A BUSINESS LEADER has denied allegations that he is the conduit

of billions of pesos coming from Malaysia to bribe Phil-ippine senators and con-gressmen in approving the proposed Bangsamoro Ba-sic Law now pending before both Houses of Congress.

In a text message, con-tractor Vicente T. Lao, who heads the Mindanao Busi-ness Council (MBC), said the text message spreading around that he is acting as bagman of Malaysia of huge sum of money to be distrib-uted to Philippine lawmak-ers for the passage of the

controversial BBL is not true. Lao said the claim that

he was acting as “bagman of Malaysia” “is not only false, but incredible to believe on its face” as text messages were circulating that he was dangling P200 million for each senator and P50 mil-lion for each member of the House so that the proposal would be approved.

“I am taking steps to trace the source of this scurrilous text message especially in the business circles where I operate as a businessman,” said the MBC chair.

The allegation, which

even mislabeled Lao as vice chair of the Mindanao Devel-opment Council, was circu-lating through text messages and sent to key Mindanao leaders. Some media practi-tioners were able to receive the same message early this week.

Lao suspected he was dragged into the controver-sy as he has been expressing support of the proposal as he maintained that solving the peace problem will re-move the obstacle to Mind-anao’s development.

“Unless we will have peace in these areas, it will never be developed to pro-

vide a better life for our brother Muslims in Mindan-ao,” he said.

Both Houses of Congress have slowed down in dis-cussing the proposal after the January 25 incident that saw the killing of members of the elite police unit, mem-bers of the Moro Islamic Lib-eration Front and civilians.

The proposal was a product of the 17-year peace negotiations between the Moro rebel group and the government. Last year, the two sides signed the comprehensive framework agreement which became the basis for BBL. AMA

Lao belies bagman tagin rumored BBL bribe

VOL. 7 ISSUE 260 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, MARCH 20 - 21, 2015 3EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 7 ISSUE 260 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, MARCH 20 - 21, 2015NEWS4 EDGEDAVAO

BAYAN Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate today accused the US govern-

ment of brazenly covering up its role in the bloody comman-do operation that resulted to the death of at least 67 Filipi-nos, including 44 members of the elite police special action force ( SAF) in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last January 25.

“The American govern-ment is now brazenly cover-ing its bloody track, especially with the findings of both the Board of Inquiry and the Sen-ate pointing to the participa-tion of US personnel in the Mamasapano debacle,” Rep. Zarate said.

“Just like Pres. Aquino, the lies being peddled by the US are very apparent,” the pro-gressive solon from Mindanao said. He noted that earlier, US embassy spokesman in Manila claimed that personnel of the secretive Joint Special Opera-tions Task Force-Philippines of

the US Pacific Command based in Zamboanga City assisted only in the medical evacuation of the wounded and survi-vors of the bloody encounter. Yet, on Tuesday a Pentagon spokesman claimed that those involved were ‘contracted per-sonnel’ of the US Defense de-partment and not regular US troops.

“Ito ay tahasang palusot lang ng US because as early as June 2014, it already an-nounced that it has already disbanded JSOTF-P. It turned out that this secretive Ameri-can commando unit was still very much active even during the bloody Mamasapano inci-dent. In fact, the JSOTF-P was only ‘officially’ closed last Feb-ruary 24, or nearly a month af-ter the bloodbath,” Rep. Zarate pointed out.

“Mamasapano is not only an operation that gone horri-bly bloody wrong but it is also

A WEEK after the Repub-lic Act (RA) No. 10586 or the Anti-Drunk and

Drugged Driving Act took ef-fect, law enforcement agents in Davao City have yet to im-plement the new law.

The Davao City Traffic Management Center (TMC) admitted that their personnel have not undergone training on how to carry out the new law while the Land Transpor-tation Office (LTO) 11earlier said they have no capabilities as of yet pending formal train-ing and availability of equip-ment like breath analyzers.

In yesterday’s I-Speak Me-

dia Forum, TMC chief Rhodeli-oPoliquit told reporters that the implementation of the law is still pending since the en-forcers have not been briefed by LTO 11 on the guidelines and the use of gadgets.

“Hopefully, the LTO will complete all the gadgets and the implementing guidelines so that we will have a uniform guidelines in implementing the law,” Poliquit said.

Poliquit said the enforcers may find themselves in a com-promising situation if they could not properly carry out the law. He cited that Davao motorists are smart and often

question the propriety of ap-prehensions.

“They will immediately question the apprehension and invoked their rights,” he said.

He said if there are mo-torists driving under the in-fluence of alcohol or drugs, will collide with other vehi-cle, some of them refused to undergo liquor test and the police cannot impose it since there is no exact guideline to be followed.

Poliquit said although the prohibition of drunk driving is already stipulated in RA 4136 or the Land Transportation

and Traffic Code, the latter has no specific implementing guidelines on apprehension of violators.

He said once the RA 10586 will be fully implemented, the motorists will somehow avoid driving while under the influ-ence of liquor since the law has a stiffer penalty.

“With this law, if we see probable cause on the driver for example the car is swerv-ing in the road, we can ap-prehend them and subject for breath analyzer test,”he said.

Poliquit said if a driver hits another vehicle or property

FTMC, 10

TMC, LTO still not readyto implement new lawBy ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

[email protected]

BAYAN Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares and Carlos Zarate today said that

the P15 wage hike is insulting-ly little and would not even be enough for the various hikes that hit consumers this year like the MRT fare hike, the power rate hike and the im-pending water rate hike par-ticularly in Maynilad areas.

“Sa average increase pa lang ng MRT na P8 per trip kada pasahero ay kulang pa itong P15 wage hike dahil P16 ang kailangan para sa round trip, idagdag pa dito na tataas daw ng .46 sentimo per kilowatt hour ang singil sa kuryente ngayong Abril na ang ibig sabihin ay dagdag na P46 sa mga kumukunsumo ng 100 kwh kada buwan o P92 sa mga kumukunsumo ng 200 kwh. Isama pa dito ang sinasa-bing dagdag singil pa sa tubig sa mga customer ng Maynilad ay lalo ng walang nangyari sa

sinasabing kakarampot na umento sa sahod na ito,” said Senior Deputy Minority Lead-er Colmenares.

“Based on the computa-tions of independent think-tank Ibon Foundation, the Family Living Wage in the country, or the amount need-ed daily by an average Filipino family to live decently, stood at P1,086 last August 2014, now this would mean a P23,892 monthly wage if you do not work on Saturdays and Sun-days. But with the P15 wage hike this would just make the daily wage at P481 or just P10,582 per month. This is not even half of what is need-ed by workers,” said the pro-gressive solon

As for his part Rep. Car-los Zarate said that “KMU, together with workers’ for-mations from both the private

THE Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers in Davao City (PICE-Davao City) passed a

strongly worded resolution this week against 2 Congress bills, lamenting what it called “injus-tice” to engineering profession and its practitioners.

In its March 16, 2015 reso-lution, PICE-Davao City vowed to launch mass actions against House Bill 5127 and the coun-terpart Senate Bill 2623. The two bills, both entitled “An Act to Strengthen the Architecture Pro-fession, amending for the purpose certain provisions of Republic Act No. 9266,” weakened and emascu-lated the engineering profession.

“HB 5127 and SB 2623 will divest engineers their rights in the exercise of their profession and will deprive them of their bread and butter,” PICE-Davao City said in its resolution that adopted a separate resolution by the nation-al PICE organization passed last January.

PICE, as a national group, is one of the most organized in the country with chapters in all parts of the Philippines.

The civil engineers’ group de-cried that HB 5127 was approved in the committee level without the presence and participation of en-gineering representatives that in-clude PICE, the only professional organization of licensed and reg-istered civil engineers accredited by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) or the Profes-sional Regulatory Board for Civil Engineers (PRB-CE).

PICE, in its national resolu-tion, emphasized that the House Committee on Civil Service and Professional Regulation did not invite engineer-representatives when it heard and approved HB 5127. PICE-Davao City said lack of proper consultations would make the prospective law unconstitu-tional.

“We are not against the strengthening of architecture or any other sector of Philippine society,” said PICE-Davao City president Angel Torrejon. “Just do not do it at the expense of several thousands of engineers and their families because that becomes grave injustice.”

GOOD NEWS. Social Security System (SSS) represented by Davao City branch head Rizalito Alberto De Leon (left), VisMin Group vice president lawyer Ed-die Jara (second from left), South Mindanao assistant vice president lawyer Emmanuel Palma (second from right) and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) 11 represented by regional director Fatma Idris (center)and

Human Resources Management section officer in charge Flordeliza Esto flash a thumbs up sign after inking a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the two agencies which ensures to register to SSS the 180 contractual and job order employees of BFAR 11. The MOA signing was held at BFAR 11 regional office yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

Davao engineers vowto stop 2 House bills

SUPPORT. Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang manifests his support to the planned crafting of an ordinance banning mining in Davao City during yesterday’s regular session at Sangguniang Panlungsod. Lean Daval Jr.

Zarate: US covering up role in Mamasapano operation

Militants scoff at P15-wage hikeFZARATE, 10

FMILITANTS, 10

FDAVAO, 10

VOL. 7 ISSUE 260 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, MARCH 20 - 21, 2015

OVERSEAS Filipino Workers (OFWs) plan-ning to secure their fi-

nancial future can turn to AXA Philippines for help though its AXA Insurance Online or AXA ION.

AXA ION is the country’s first online life insurance store that aims to provide an ave-nue for the OFWs to prepare for their future while they are abroad.

With AXA ION, Filipinos abroad can now access the most basic financial products that will help them in securing their financial future though a transparent, easy and afford-able way.

Maya del Rosario, AXA Philippines segment market-ing director, said although many good stories have been told about the OFWs being strong contributor to the

country’s economy, there are sad tales involving them that have not been narrated.

Del Rosario said there are OFWs who, after going abroad and earning money, end up with no pennies in their pock-ets and financially distress.

“The conditions in the country are still driving people to just find work abroad. But, when they already have mon-

5EDGEDAVAO

ECONOMY

THE entire Davao City, including the 2nd Dis-trict, will enjoy an unin-

terrupted water supply once the P10 billion bulk water facility of the Apo Agua Infra-structura Inc. (APO Agua) will be put in place.

The Davao City Water District gave this assurance yesterday following the sign-

ing of agreement among the DCWD and private com-panies Aboitiz Equity Ven-tures (AEV) and J.V. Angeles Construction Corporation (JVACC) for the establishment of the facility.

The agreement will pave the way for the Apo Agua In-frastructura Inc. (APO Agua)--a joint venture agreement

between AEV and JVACC—to set up the bulk water facility.

DCWD spokesperson Bernardo Delima said the fa-cility that will be built in Ta-mugan can provide the water requirements of the whole city for the next 30 years.

“The second district will have a 24-hour water avail-ability,” Delima said.

He said that in the con-tract provisions, the develop-ment of the source, which in-cludes the construction of the infiltration gallery, raw water transmission pipelines and the water treatment plant will, be owned by APO Agua.

“The water will be then be brought to reservoirs to be constructed and owned by

DCWD,” Delima said.The DCWD will build

eight reservoirs in the area where the bulk water facility will be located.

Delima said there will be no take-over provision for APO Agua in any case and only the DCWD can take-over the facility once the owner fails to meet the contracted

supply volume.“If the DCWD will not take

over, it has a final say on who will temporarily take over,” he said.

The DCWD can opt to buy the facility in case the APO Agua fails to comply with its obligations, according to De-lima.

DCWD: Bulk water facilityenough for next 30 yearsBy ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

[email protected]

First PH online life insurance store helps OFWs secure financial futureBy CHARLES RAYMOND A. MAXEY

FDCWD, 10

FFIRST, 10FOR THE OFWS. AXA Philippines Segment Marketing director Maya V. del Rosario walks local media through the company’s newest products during the AXA Ion launching at Seda Abreeza Hotel in Davao City yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.


VANTAGE

Wasted road sections

SEVERAL months after we made our first observation of our “wasted road sections,” the problem still per-sists.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) implemented extensive road widening construction projects since last year in just about every vital road artery in Davao City. We surmise these projects are worth millions of tax-payers’ money. While we welcome this development amidst the problematic traffic situation in the city, the expanded roads appear to not serve the purpose they are intended for.

Let us count the ways.First, these new lanes do not reflect the masterful work

of professional engineers. In most of these expanded lanes, there stood electric posts or other man-made obstructions which, with proper coordination, planning and execution,

could be eased out of the road thereby creating no impedi-ment for a smooth flow of traffic.

Second, the elevated sidewalk criss-cross through prop-erties varying from standard width to constricted.

Third, these new road sections end up as convenient con-crete parking bays for residents and establishments alike. There are even some sections along Diversion Road where restaurants use the road section as kitchen extension with huge cauldrons sitting on open flame stoves.

The DPWH must do something with the road obstruc-tions and not just elude or ignore light posts and other ob-structions which are movable in nature. Likewise, the Traf-fic Management Center of the city government can also do something about the road obstructions like the illegally parked cars and the so-called kitchen extensions.

EDITORIAL

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

OLIVIA D. VELASCOGeneral Manager

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FUNNY PEARL GAJUNERACHA MONFORTE

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PHILIPPINE PRESS INSTITUTEthe national association of newspapers

CLIMATE change, which has been in the news lately as it has been cited as one possible cause of the super typhoon Yolanda, is touted

to be “a major challenge for agriculture and food security.” That’s according to Dr. Randy A. Hautea, global coordinator and Southeast Asia Center Di-rector of the International Service for the Acquisi-tion of Agribiotech Applications (ISAAA).

In his presentation during the regional work-shop on biotechnology and biosafety for food secu-rity and sustainable agriculture in Bogor, Indonesia, Dr. Hautea cited the following:

• It has the potential to undermine advances in poverty reduction and sustainable development

• It will greatly affect the health and productiv-ity of crops, livestock, fish and forests, and depen-dent rural livelihoods

• It will increase hunger and malnutrition; by 2080, an additional 5 to 170 million people at risk of hunger.

Hunger is the physical sensation of desiring food. When politicians, relief workers and social scientists talk about people suffering from hunger, they usually refer to those who are unable to eat sufficient food to meet their basic nutritional needs for sustained periods of time.

More and more Filipinos will experience hun-ger as population continues to grow. In 1980, the Philippines was home to 48 million Filipinos. In 2000, the number swelled to 78 million. By 2012, the population reached 93 million. Today, the popu-lation has reached to more than 100 million. Given that the population of the Philippines is increasing at a rapid rate of 2.36 percent per year, it can be translated as an increase of more than 5,000 peo-ple daily.

It’s not only in the Philippines but throughout the world. “Population growth is going crazy,” de-plored Dr. Frank A. Shotkoski, the director of Agri-cultural Biotechnology Support Project II. “From 2 billion in 1935, it doubled to 4 billion in 1975. By 2000, the world was home to 6 billion. In 2030, there will be about 8 billion people inhabiting this planet.”

Is there a likely solution in sight for hunger? There is now one possible solution. “I now say that the world has the technology – either available or well advance in the research pipeline – to feed on a sustainable basis a population of 10 billion people,” Nobel Peace Prize winner Norman Borlaug pointed out. “The more pertinent question today is whether farmers and ranchers will be permitted to use this new technology?”

Dr. Borlaug, touted to be the “Man Who Saved A Billion Lives,” was referring to biotechnology. “Biotechnology is a modern technology that makes use of organisms (or parts thereof) to: make or modify products; improve and develop microor-ganisms, plants or animals; or develop organisms

for specific pur-poses in a more precise manner,” explains a fact sheet circulated by the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Gradu-ate Study and Re-search in Agricul-ture (SEARCA).

The tools used in biotech-nology include gene cloning, tissue culture, microbial culture, DNA-marker technology, and genetic engineer-ing. The latter is the most controversial as it is the method used in developing genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

A GM/biotech or transgenic crop is a plant that has a novel combination of genetic material obtained through the use of modern biotechnology, according to the SEARCA fact sheet.

“GM technology can address problems that cannot be solved through conventional crop im-provement methods,” the fact sheet informs. “It enables plant breeders to bring together in one plant useful genes from a wide range of sources, not just from within the crop species or closely related plants.

“This powerful tool allows plant breeders to at-tain a desired trait combination faster and address urgent concerns like the development of crops that are resistant to biotic (diseases and pests) or abi-otic stresses (drought and waterlogging), and with increased yield and improved food and nutrient quality,” the fact sheet adds.

In 1994, Calgene’s delayed-ripening toma-to became the first GM food crop to be produced and consumed in an industrialized country. In 1995, GM cotton and GM corn were subsequently commercialized. Also soon to be introduced in the country are the following: GM eggplant and the vi-tamin A-rich golden rice.

The SEARCA fact sheet assured that GM crops will not replace varieties from traditional breeding “because genetic modification is only conducted to introduce important major genes to the already es-tablished and bred varieties.”

Genetic modification is conducted to fur-ther improve the already existing popular and high-yielding varieties. The transgenic variety can also be used in crop improvement and breeding programs, the fact sheet said.

But the big question is: Are GM-crops safe to eat? Although health risk of eating transgenic food is yet unknown, there are signs that it could cause

allergies, resistance to certain medicines and possi-bly even affect internal organs.

In Europe, researchers at the York Nutritional Laboratory reported health complains caused by soya – the ingredient most associated with genet-ically modified food – increased from 10 to 15 in 100 patients over the past year.

A consumer advocacy group in United King-dom said that genetically modified soya can be found in bread, biscuits, baby milk, baby foods, breakfast cereals, margarine, soups, pasta, pizza instant meals, meat products, flours, sweets, ice creams, crisps, chocolate, soy sauce, veggie-burg-ers, tofu, soya milk, and pet foods.

Recent scientific data, according to Dr. Romeo Quijano, of the Department of Pharmacology at the UP College of Medicine, indicated “the emergence of new diseases, the rapid evolution of virulence and the widespread occurrence of drug and antibi-otic resistance are associated with the rise of genet-ic engineering.”

An estimated 60 percent of all processed foods contain at least one genetically engineered compo-nent, writes Jon Luoma inMother Jones magazine. In the Philippines, Filipinos may be eating trans-genic foods, such as potato chips, corn cereals, or soya milk. “Love it or loath it, transgenic food is set to become a bigger part of what we eat,” someone noted.

And consumers need not worry. Tantono Sub-agyo, the seed regulatory director of CropLife Asia, said that biotech crops are rigorously tested for safety prior to commercialization.

“Biotech crops are tested to ensure they are as safe as conventional crops, and have similar nutri-tional and compositional content,” Subagyo said. “Biotech crops are among the most extensively tested foods in the history of food safety.”

In fact, there is widespread agreement from scientists and international health organizations, including the World Health Organization, that bio-tech crops, foods, and feeds are as safe as conven-tionally-bred crops, foods, and feeds.

In addition, over 3,200 renowned scientists worldwide have signed a declaration in support of agricultural biotechnology and its safety to hu-mans, animals, and the environment.

The 2010 report of the European Commission Directorate-General for Research and Innovation on GMOs noted: “The main conclusion to be drawn from the efforts of more than 130 research projects, covering a period of more than 25 years of research, and involving more than 500 independent research groups, is that biotechnology, and in particular GMOs, are not per se more risky than conventional plant breeding technologies.”

“Two to three trillion meals have been eaten by human in North America and wherever containing GMOs. There’s nothing to substantiate the (nega-

tive) health impact (accusations) against any GMO products – not one, even headache or stomach-ache,” said Mark Lynas, a former anti-GMO activist and author of Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet.

According to ISAAA, “biotech crops can serve as engine of rural economic growth for the alleviation of poverty for the world’s small and resource-poor farmers.” In the Philippines, for instance, Joseph Benemerito of Cagayan won a national award for his quality GM corn. He admitted that 22 hectares of land can be easily managed with biotech corn.

“GM (technology) is cheaper. If the biology of the crop can protect crops from pests, that’s more beneficial to farmers, cheaper than spraying,” said Lynas in a press statement. “Everywhere, when farmers are given a choice, they adopt it quickly. They can have high yield even if they pay a little more for seeds.”

While writing the book God Species in 2011, in which he attempted to become consistent in his position on the science of climate change, en-vironment, and food production, Lynas came to a realization that GM is the answer to food shortage problems.

Like how GM crops are highly regulated, organic crops should be regulated. Regulation should be imposed on organic crops because one can die from natural causes “very easily from bacteria, from water, or contamination of manure during harvest.”

It must be recalled that it was organic crops that caused the death in 2011 of 51 people in Germany from ingesting E.coli-contaminated beansprouts from an organic farm as confirmed by Lower Saxony’s Agriculture Ministry.

“Organic has killed a few hundred people. GM has killed no one. Imagine headlines if 50 people would have died in Germany because of some GM. It would have been worldwide fear – like nuclear power. It would have been worldwide hysteria,” Lynas said.

Here’s another advantage of planting bio-tech crops. Globally, they can help reduce green-house gas emissions from agriculture. Studies have shown that adopting biotechnology reduces the use of 475 millions of gallons of fuel by farm equipment – not mentioning the additional “soil carbon sequestration” due to reduced plowing or improved conservation tillage. “This is equivalent to removing five million cars from the road for one year,” said Graham Brookes, director of PGEconom-ics, a British research firm.

Meanwhile, the battle continues between GM activists and GM advocates. Who will emerge the winner? No one knows but there are always losers – the hungry. One sage puts it in this perspective: “A man who has enough food has several problems. A man without food has only one problem.”

VOL. 7 ISSUE 260 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, MARCH 20 - 21, 2015 VANTAGE POINTS 7EDGEDAVAO

MAYOR Rody’s on a roll, jumping in at third in the recent Pulse Asia Survey. While his possible presidential bid

has been discussed often over the past year, it is only now that the mega Manila survey out-fits have taken notice. Truly, a lot of noise has been made by Duterte supporters through signature campaigns and other efforts. This only shows a difficult reality in Philippine pol-itics- that every speck of dust that falls in the Philippines needs to be noticed by Manila to be considered important. To have grown up polit-ically outside of Manila’s political corridors re-quires that something extra special to deserve inclusion in a presidential preference survey.

Thus, those who want Duterte to win have to campaign doubly hard for every vote. His opponent will likely be a controversial noto-rious figure, or a showbiz-like personality fa-miliar to a majority of voters especially in the concentrated Mega manila area between the

cities of Da-gupan and Lu-cena. Other op-ponents have the limelight in this region for even the most unimportant and innocuous things- with their only right to run for the p r e s i d e n c y being their popularity in surveys, and their ability to hog and fight for their place in the limelight. This is what Manila politics is like. Manila politicos have summoned unto themselves the right to exclusively face the nations problems, yet are unable to cast the

right stones to build their resolution. Under the watch of Manila, problems like insurgen-cy, power shortages, environmental concerns, gender issues, all are fodder for press confer-ences, privilege speeches and committee hear-ings, yet little is actually done to work for their resolution. Manila politicos are often asked about their take on these things, and can only manage a good answer that seemingly satis-fies the audience. For that is what we all are- an audience worth wowing and pleasing with the right soundbites, gestures and statements. “Magaling sumagot at magsalita,” (speaks well ) bears heavily, no matter what the substance or sense. Take a good look at the roster of oth-er presidentiables under consideration in the surveys and you will see all except one Manila born and raised, and all others have pursued their political careers in mega Manila. Duterte is the exception.

So far, only Duterte has provided us a plat-

form and program of government- a real advo-cacy that speaks to the chronic neglect of Fili-pinos at the peripheries, a federal form of gov-ernment that may not create miracles in the first year, but will surely change the game in favor of the least, and perhaps give Mega Ma-nila the breathing space it needs to decongest while other regions grow. The curious thing is that federalism is doable within the powers of government, an enabling environment for the country to thrive. Its no lofty promise of salva-tion, just a better way for us to do our thing for the benefit of a greater number.

We in Mindanao would like to believe that 2016 ought to be about electing a President with the right experience and capabilities that will help us resolve the festering problems that many Manila politicians will probably use a means to show face, but just don’t have the werewithal, the experience, or the guts to solve.

The fight against hunger

Jumping to third shows what Manila politics is like

Henrylito D. [email protected]

THINK ON THESE!

John [email protected]

MY TWO CENTS’




Eyes... FROM 1 Militants... FROM 4

Davao... FROM 4

TMC... FROM 4

Zarate... FROM 4

SSS... FROM 2

City’s... FROM 2

DCWD... FROM 5

First... FROM 5

NEWS

He added that developer cannot sell the water sourced from Tamugan outside the city, and that the DCWD also cannot buy water from out-side Tamugan.

The contract signing took place at the Marco Polo Davao Tuesday night, with Davao

City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duter-te presiding over the activity.

The APO Agua will supply up to 300 million liters per day (MLD) of potable bulk water from the Tamugan Riv-er to DCWD, which will ben-efit the more than 1 million people of the city.

APO-Agua has a 70-30 ownership structure, with AEV owning 70 percent of the company and the remaining 30 percent JVACC.

The JVACC will be the en-gineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contrac-tor for the entire project.

ey to save or to invest, they have limited options abroad,” Del Rosario said in a press briefing at the Seda Hotel yes-terday.

“They leave poor and sometimes they will come back poor. We think that over

the last few years there has been a dearth of support com-ing from the financial services industry, to really be able to help our OFW in a way that is relevant and tangible,” she added.

AXA ION offers four ful-

ly guaranteed products that make the AXA eXentials line which are designed to be af-fordable with premiums start-ing at only P1,000 per month. These are Health eXentials, Saving eXentials, Academic eXentials and Life eXentials.

or is strongly advocating is also the right solution to the many problems besetting the country today.

“It’s an ideal long term solution to the country’s pressing problems. It may achieve equitable distribution

of the fruits of development,” Ungab said.

In the Pulse Asia survey conducted from March 1 to 7, 2015, Duterte cornered 12 percent in a tie for third place with former President and now Manila Mayor Joseph Es-

trada.Both Duterte and Estrada

are just two percent behind Grace Poe, who had 14 points.

Vice President Jejomar Binay, who is hounded by alle-gations of corruption, is lead-ing the way with 29 percent.

et sometime already, according to Idis.

“Some of them are five years already in the office. May mga 17 years pa nga kaya ma-ganda talaga na may SSS sila. Total para sa kanila din naman yun) (Some of them are in the office for 17 years now, and it’s really important to include

them in the SSS program. Any-way, this is for them),” Idris added.

On the other hand, Jara said that even if the contract of the JO expires he or she can still continue with the contribution through voluntary member.

Jara also said their agency is looking at the Department

of Social Welfares and Devel-opment (DSWD) as their next government agency to partner with their program.

“Maraming mga JO sa DSWD. So sana sila na ang next na partner namin (There are so many job order employees in theDSWD. We hope they will be our next partner),” he said.

sheets, the scenario seems to be still precarious. A possible shutdown of any generating power plant in Mindanao may result in supply deficien-cy.” said Rossano Luga, Davao Light’s AVP for Reputation En-hancement.

Currently, power supply within the entire island re-mains to be critical with the decreasing water elevation of

Agus and Pulangi hydropower plants as advised by the NGCP.

Meanwhile, last month, Davao Light has announced the implementation of rotating power interruptions within its franchise from Feb 19 until March 2 when the two-units of STEAG coal-fired plant overlapped its scheduled Pre-ventive Maintenance Service (PMS). The said PMS of STEAG

was already completed as scheduled. Hence, Davao Light is no longer implementing the rotating power interruptions within its franchise.

Davao Light will continue to make the necessary an-nouncements and updates to its customers relating to the power supply situation through its website, facebook page and twitter account.

another proof of brazen assault on our sovereignty as a nation. The Mamasapano debacle was clearly a US -instigated opera-

tion being part of its so-called “global war on terror”. It is not our war as a people, but, our government blindly embraced

it, thus, making us, Filipinos, their dispensable pawns, even cannon-fodders,” Zarate end-ed.

and public sectors under the umbrella of broad campaign network All Workers’ Unity, is calling for the implementation of a National Minimum Wage in the amount of P16,000 and we support this call. It is high time that wages are increased as demanded by workers be-

cause it is they who propel our economy, without them noth-ing will move,”

“Aside from increasing the minimum wage to P16,000 per month, I think that it would be best for the Aqui-no administration to stop its anti-people policies like the

MRT fare hikes and entering into sweetheart deals but the cost is passed on to the peo-ple like the LRT1 extension. Government should always think and act for the welfare of the majority and not for the profit of businesses,” ended Zarate.

causing injury, the violator will be slapped with up to P80,000 fine and three months impris-onment. In case the accident causes death, the driver will be fined up to P500,000 and a penalty of reclusion perpetua.

Poliquit said it is stipulat-ed in the law that the law en-forcer can compel the violator to a test once death is caused by the drunk driving accident.

Last week, the LTO 11 regional director Gomer Dy admitted that it cannot im-plement the Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act right away because it lacks trained personnel and breathe ana-lyzers.

Dy said the office targeting

to start the training of the LTO enforcers between March 23 and March 31.

The initial two teams of LTO 11 that will be trained by the end of March will then train other deputized LTO en-forcers in seven district offices in the region. These are locat-ed in the cities of Mati, Tagum, and Digos and the provinces of Davao Oriental, Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte, and Compos-tela Valley.

Aside from LTO enforcers, officials of the Philippine Na-tional Police (PNP) are also deputized to enforce the law.

Dy said the region also lacks breath analyzers and drug testing kits.

There are some 33,000 ar-chitects in the country compared to about 137,000 Filipino civil engineers, not counting the other engineering disciplines.

“We will fight for what is right,” said PICE-Davao City in passing the resolution. “We will fight for justice.”

This coming Saturday, March 21, PICE-Davao City will launch its mass actions against HB 5127 and SB 2623 through a protest motorcade around the city. Other PICE chapters elsewhere in the country will conduct similar pro-test actions.

Banners and streamers man-

ifesting opposition to HB 5127 and SB 2623 are also scheduled to be unfurled by PICE-Davao City beginning March 21. In addition, stickers demanding “justice for engineers” and campaigning for the rejection of the two Congress bills will be pasted all over PICE-Davao City’s area of influence.

EDGEDAVAO

OUR TURN. Pacificab and other taxis are parked at the waiting area outside a mall along J.P. Laurel Avenue in Davao City which was regularly occupied by Maligaya taxis whose drivers are currently holding a strike demanding a P200 rental reduction. Lean Daval Jr.


ICT HUB

FOR the organizations that give standardized tests, it’s a common — and

common-sense — security measure.

But to the growing num-ber of critics of the exams, the practice of monitoring stu-dents’ social media accounts against leaks of test questions is evidence that the tests and the companies that create them are too invasive.

The debate exploded last week in New Jersey when a school administrator emailed some colleagues about her district’s experience. In the email, Watchung Hills Region-al High School District Super-intendent Elizabeth Jewett said the state Education De-partment contacted her dis-trict at a testing company’s re-quest at 10 p.m. one night last week with news of a possible test breach. A student appar-ently had posted a photo of a question from the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers test, or PARCC, on Twitter.

The state Education De-partment, she said in her note, was informed of the issue by Pearson, the London-based company that oversees the test developed by PARCC. It is being given in a dozen states this month.

“The DOE wanted us to is-sue discipline to the student,” she wrote.

But, Jewett said in the March 10 email to leaders of other schools that was ob-tained by education blogger Bob Braun, it turned out that the student was merely com-plaining about a test question;

COMPUTER users in many countries are increasingly falling vic-

tim to so-called encryption malware – programs that encrypt important data on infected computers and then demand a ransom to decrypt it.

In 2014, over 7 million attempts to carry out such attacks were made against Kaspersky Lab users alone.

Kaspersky Lab experts have prepared an overview of the evolution of encryp-tion malware, as well as ad-vice on how to avoid being affected by this threat.

Encryption malware gets special attention because cybercriminals are continu-ally changing the tools they use, including cryptograph-ic schemes, code confusion techniques, executable file formats, and infection vec-tors.

This type of malware is usually distributed via spam or attacks against remote ad-ministration systems.

The persistence of this form of extortion is easily explained: unlike banking Trojans, which generate an

‘income’ only if the victim uses online banking, a piece of encryption malware, hav-ing once infected a computer, will always find something to encrypt and hold to ransom.

Cybercriminals prefer to be paid in the Bitcoin crypto-currency, which offers them a sufficiently high level of an-onymity.

At the same time, it is common for attackers to specify their rates in re-al-world currencies, such as US dollars, euros or rubles.

The cost of decrypting data for home users starts at 1000 rubles (about $15 or P660*) but can be as high as several hundred dollars.

If a corporate comput-er is infected, the attackers’ demands increase five-fold. Cybercriminals are known to have demanded ransoms as high as 5000 euros to de-crypt files.

Sadly, companies that have lost their data often prefer to pay up rather than lose important information.

It comes as no surprise, therefore, that businesses are a prime target for cy-bercriminals who use en-

Security also means checkingsocial media for cheaters

Saving Private Files: what extortionists demand for decrypting user data

there was no photo of the item itself. She said the student’s tweet was removed.

Jewett released a state-ment confirming that the email was hers and asserting it was accurate, but she did not return an email seeking more details. The district also said she would not comment further.

PARCC, intended to mea-sure how well students are learning what’s required by the national Common Core curriculum standards, has many critics. Some students scattered across the coun-try are protesting the exam and some parents organized through social media net-works are boycotting it.

Their objections include

that the exam itself is inappro-priate, that it’s part of a culture of testing that is taking away from real learning at school and that it’s generally dehu-manizing. They say the testing is more about consequences — as factors in determining which teachers could be fired; which schools may be closed for performing badly — than it is about learning. They also say they worry about the pri-vacy of students’ data.

A New Jersey legislative committee is planning to hold a hearing on the issue Thurs-day.

In the testing world, there’s nothing ominous about the monitoring. Pearson referred a reporter to a state-ment on its website that the

company notifies education departments to any possible breaches.

“Copyright and test se-curity are not new issues in testing. What’s different is the social media aspect,” said Luci Willits, deputy executive di-rector of Smarter Balanced As-sessment Consortium, which is giving Common Core-mea-suring exams in 18 states this spring. “You wouldn’t approve of a student taking copies of the test and handing it out to friends or posting it on the locker.”

Willits said her group uses student workers to do hashtag searches online to see if any-one is posting the test itself. Last year, when 4 million stu-dents took a trial run version

of that test, she said about 75 breaches were discovered.

But the New Jersey inci-dent gave opponents more not to like.

Save Our Schools NJ is calling for an investigation. “Posting a snarky comment about a stu-pid question hardly warrants the

Department of Ed. calling a superintendent,” said Susan Cauldwell, an organizer of the parents group.

Randi Weingarten, nation-al president of the American Federation for Teachers union, started a petition drive this week calling for Pearson to stop monitoring students’ so-cial media accounts.

In an interview, Weing-arten compared the alleged snooping to tactics in the So-viet Union. “It’s creepy for par-ents, creepy for students and creepy for teachers,” she said.

New Jersey Assistant Education Commissioner Bari Erlichson said monitor-ing should be expected. “We should work to ensure that students and parents under-stand that statements that are posted publicly online are not private,” she said.

Melissa Tomlinson, a mid-dle school math specialist in New Jersey’s Buena Township, said her objection was what the test company asked the state to follow up on.

“It was not a test ques-tion,” she said. “It was not the

big security breach that Pearson im-plied it to be.”

cryption malware to make money.

“If files have been suc-cessfully encrypted and there is no backup copy, the user has little chance of getting their data back. It would take a mistake by the attacker in terms of the design or imple-

mentation of the encryption scheme for a user to be able to decrypt the files - and this rarely happens now,” said Ar-tem Semenchenko, malware analyst at Kaspersky Lab.

“This is why it is import-ant to regularly back up im-portant data and store the

backup copies separately from the computer system. We also recommend using the latest versions of secu-rity solutions for protection. The System Watcher module included in all our current products not only scans the processes launched in the

system and identifies any malicious activity, but also backs up user files if a sus-picious program attempts to access them. If the anal-ysis of a program indicates it is malicious, user data is automatically recovered,” Se-menchenko advised.

VOL. 7 ISSUE 260 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, MARCH 20 - 21, 201512 CLASSIFIED EDGEDAVAO

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EDGEDAVAOINdulge! PEOPLE

U L T I M A T E L YTALENTED

“ON paper, Neil Rey G. Llanes did not look like a con-testant who would make it very far in a talent competi-tion show like TV5’s ‘Talentadong Pinoy’ where only the most uniquely talented usually shine,” wrote Edwin P. Sallan in a feature which ap-peared in Inter-Aksyon.com. That was my reaction, too, when I met him in person recently. We were together on our way to Nabunturan, Compostela Valley. I was invited as one of the judges of a talent contest while Neil was one of the two invited guests. During our long trip, I had the opportunity of talking with him. I learned that he is actually from Davao City. “What will you be doing,” I in-quired since I really didn’t know the youngster. “I’m going to sing,” he replied, which made his brother to smile. It was not until Neil went to the stage and per-formed that I realized his talent. He was a livewire; he connected with the audience, who went gaga when he was doing his number. Every time he changed his voice, the au-dience seemed to go wild. This boy is something, I told myself. After all, he was declared the Ultimate Talentado at the grand fi-nals of Talentadong Pinoy held at the Newport Per-forming Arts Theater in Resorts World Manila. I did some research and this was what I found out, based on what Isah V. Red has written: “Neil’s awe-some performance that night earned not just a standing ovation from the crowd but, most impor-tantly, the vital votes from the panel of distinguished talent scouts -- Pilita Cor-rales, Jaya, Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Richard Gutierrez, Cherie Gil, Gelli de Belen and Charice.” Sallan wrote: “Cherie

Text and Photos by Henrylito D. Tacio

Yung talent ko po hindi tu-lad nung sa iba, basta ang nasa isip ko lang mapagh-alo-halo yung iba-ibang boses. Dapat nga sana 10 sounds ang gagawin ko pero hindi ko na kaya so 8 sounds para symbol din ng infinity,” Neil said after he won the cool P1 million cash prize. To think of, there was no one who cajoled him to

join “Talentadong Pinoy 2014.” Although he ad-mits there were some peo-ple who serve as his inspi-ration to join. He cites his family as the main reason. It is said that when Neil auditioned, he impressed the judges by playing with five sounds. “I felt very nervous at that time be-cause it was my first time to join in a TV Talent

show,” he says in an exclu-sive interview. “It was a dream comes true because it was one of my dreams to join in Talentadong Pi-noy.” Neil was not expecting to be qualified in the semi-finals. “I was speechless by that time,” he recalls. “I was very happy because I was chosen as one of the semi-finalists; it was one The Ultimate A4

Gil in particular, wished that her children were in the venue to personally see Neil’s stunning per-formance while the visibly wowed Jasmine Curtis-Smith and Charice both could not find the right words to express their ela-tion over the same num-ber.” “Hindi ko po talaga ini-expect na mananalo ako.

step closer to reach the Grand Finals of the ‘Battle of the Champions.’” During the showdown presentation, Neil was not thinking about the com-petition. He was focusing more on the audience. “I always bear in mind that I need to do my mission and that is to make them happy and be satisfied in my performance,” he dis-closes. Indeed, Neil has a long, long way since he discov-ered his talent while tak-ing a bath. “I was in our bathroom and there was their neighbor who was playing the song of Mi-chael Jackson’s Billie Jean,” he says. “It was very loud and I was thinking, “What if I matched the song with my mouth.’” Neil was 12 at that time. He was second year high school and tried to develop the talent. “There are a lot of beatboxers that I idol-ize. Their beatbox skills, especially those from Eu-rope, are very technical,” he says. He considers beatbox as a very unique talent “because it can entertain more people in all ages and be impressed.” He adds, “For me, human Beatbox is a medicine that can cure loneliness and sadness; it can also make people for-get their problems.” Until now, Neil still couldn’t believe he won the “Talentadong Pinoy 2014.” But he thinks that hard work and sacrifices have really paid off. Right now, he wants to build a house for his family (Ed-uard Anthony S. Llanes and Rodena G. Llanes). His has an older brother named Senen. “I also want to finish college so that when the time comes, I can help other people who need help,” says Neil, who is taking Bachelor of Science in Business Administra-tion on marketing man-agement at the Holy Cross College of Davao. “I will graduate next year.” “Gusto ko nga maka-human ug college para naa pud ko maipagmalaki

Neil Rey Llanes:

A2 INdulge! VOL. 7 ISSUE 260 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, MARCH 20 - 21, 2015EDGEDAVAOFOOD

WEEKENDS are always a blast and after a week of work, it just feels so good to be able to unwind especially with good company and a glass or two of good wine. Last week was extra special thanks to Swiss Deli Lanang which held an Italian wine tasting event at their wine cellar.

Park Inn Davao upsizes supersize meals for graduatesPARK INN by Radis-son Davao salutes all graduates of 2015! “In this season of merry making, we pay honor and tribute to all learners who have worked hard to reach this significant point in life. We feel the love and joy this moment gives every member of the family, how milestones like this bring everyone together,” shares the ho-tel’s General Manager, Mr. Pavan Kakar. “As our way of celebrating with you, we are treating one graduate in every family

availing of the Supersize set menu.” From March 15 to April 15, RBG’s Supersize Fam-ily Meal gets upsized by two notches with bigger servings and extended discounts that’s perfect for your gatherings. “We are actually ex-panding our Super-size family meal to ac-commodate a bigger group of 6 guests and 1 graduate, instead of the regular serving for 5 diners. And no, we’re not changing the price. We’re keeping it at a to-tal of Php1,699.00 net.” Mr. Kakar explains fur-

ther. “You still get to choose your preferred salad, soup, starter, rice, main course, desserts and drink, all packaged with a family sized pizza. We’re also giving away

another complimentary pitcher of drink and 10% discount for additional beverage orders.” “Big in size, big on taste. This special offer is sure to stuff everyone

up, while, at the same time, you get great value for money. When you divide the package price of Supersize by the number of diners, you’ll realize that each one is actually getting more value in that package instead of ordering by the dish. It’s easy on the pocket, especially for the parents.” “Come and celebrate with us,” invites Mr. Ka-kar. “We’re all excited to share in your happiness and delight. On behalf of my team, we’d like to extend our well wishes and congratulations to

all the parents and their graduates!” To enjoy this season’s deal, graduates need to present their valid ID upon dining. Call 272 7600 and book your table now. You may also request a copy of the menu and send in your advance or-ders thru [email protected]. For reservations and inquiries, call +63 82 272 7600. Follow @parkinndavao on Face-book, Instagram and Twitter to get updates on new offers and spe-cial promotions.

In love with Italian wine Wine connoisseurs, restau-ranteurs, foodies, as well as some curious Joes and Janes arrived to have a swig of the beautiful line-up of old world wines which were hard to find. Not until the wine tast-ing event. I admit I was more of a new world wine fancier as these tend to be more fruit forward with bolder flavours and punchier with a wee bit more alcohol. But these Ital-ian wines were a league of their own. My favourite during the tasting was the Castelveder

Franciacorta Brut and the Castelveder Franciacorta Brut Rose. Both were light and refreshing with the Brut offering a nose of white flow-ers and hints of vanilla. The

Rose on-the-other-hand car-ried notes of berries and cur-rants. I could imagine spend-ing a whole day at the beach with this pair of wines while enjoying the sea breeze. Another stand out wine during the tasting was the Torre del Falasco Corvina. Intense ruby red in colour, the Torre del Falasco Corvina had a nose of dried cherries and cranberry with delicious berry notes on the palate. The wine was bell balanced with well-rounded tannins and a nice finish. It was one of the evenings most loved wines as bottles of the Torre del Falas-co literally flew off the shelf. I never really got to appre-ciate Italian wines before but after this experience, I was glad I was able to broaden my wine horizon a little more. Follow me on Instagram or on Twitter for more travel sto-ries, foodie finds, and happen-ings in, around, and beyond Durianburg.

INdulge! A3VOL. 7 ISSUE 260 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, MARCH 20 - 21, 2015 EDGEDAVAO

HOPING to provide decent and convenient life for their families, hundreds of Filipinos flocked to Japan. Evidently, many Filipino migrants in the Land of the Ris-ing Sun have provided better fu-ture for their loved ones. Today, more than 200,000 Filipinos re-siding in this country are working in various fields including enter-tainment, sports, and even trans-portation. But in a land where ev-erything is new and foreign, how do Filipinos survive and strive to become successful? This Saturday, GMA Network answers these questions as it takes viewers to the world of Filipinos abroad with the special travel documentary Mundo ni Juan…sa Japan! Together with Kapuso actress Iya Villania-Arellano, gear up as Mundo ni Juan travels around famous landmarks in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya while getting to know some Filipinos who are making a difference today in Ja-pan. Mundo ni Juan kicks off with a quick tour of Japan’s center of commerce and technology – To-kyo. The special visits Tokyo’s Shibuya District where tourists can find the famous statue of the loyal dog Hachiko as well as the biggest and busiest pedestrian crossing in the world. Despite Tokyo’s modern tech-nology and fast-paced life, view-ers will be surprised to find the serene place of Yanaka where some temples, shrines, old wood-en homes and food strips are sit-uated. The special also visits the Ei-

ffel Tower-inspired Tokyo Tower, the Pokemon Center and the so-called land of the cosplays - Haru-juku Station. Filipinos abound in Tokyo. One of them is is Abby Watabe, for-mer Filipina entertainer turned entrepreneur. Tagged as the Pinay Cinderella, Abby, who hails from Tarlac, now owns more than a hundred karaoke branches in Japan. Pinay jazz singer Marlene dela Peña, meanwhile, has been a resident of Tokyo for more than three decades. Despite the suc-cess of her numerous albums and concerts, Marlene keeps her feet grounded. She remains active in charity and community projects for the less fortunate children in the Philippines. Mundo ni Juan also visits Sur-vivor castaway Suzuki Sadatsugu. Discover the reasons behind Su-zuki’s return to Japan after his short showbiz stint. And get to know Filipino Japanese Maryjun Takahashi who played the role of Yumi Komogata in the film Rurouni Kenshin.

In Osaka, Mundo ni Juan takes viewers to the Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum, which was built in 1994 as a tribute to the leg-endary Japanese Manga artist Osamu Tezuka, the man behind the legendary Japanese charac-ters loved by Filipinos including Astroboy. Among the cities in Japan, Na-goya seems to be closer to the hearts of many Filipinos because it houses The Filipino Migrants Center led by Filipina Virgie Ishi-hara. The center started after Virgie met a woman seeking for help after she was abused by her Japanese husband. Today, the Filipino Migrants Center has helped resolve hundreds of do-mestic violence and other cases faced by Filipino migrants in Ja-pan. Produced by GMA News and Public Affairs and in partnership with Japan FM Network (JFN), dis-cover the famous landmarks and Filipinos in the Land of the Rising Sun in Mundo ni Juan…sa Japan! this Saturday, March 21 right after Celebrity Bluff on GMA7.

OTUS Formula 1 ju-nior driver Marlon Stockinger is set to race in the 2015 GP2 Series season as Sta-tus Grand Prix’s first driver in the series, as the Globe Tele-com ambassador rises a notch higher to fulfilling his career aspirations. The 23-year-old Fili-pino-Swiss raced for the team in GP3 in 2012 and achieved two podium finishes and a race win at the Monaco GP. He moved on to Formula Renault 3.5 for two sea-sons and joined the Lo-tus F1 Junior Team in 2013. He finished 18th overall in the first sea-

son and moved to 9th overall in 2014. Team Principal Ted-dy Yip Jr says, “We are delighted to welcome Marlon back to the team following a suc-cessful GP3 campaign in 2012. Marlon is a hard-working and dedicated driver and we know he will apply a high level of professionalism to his maiden GP2 season.” Stockinger shares his excitement about returning to Status. “It is really good to come back to Status and I have a lot of happy memories from our time in GP3, es-pecially winning in Mo-naco. I feel very excited to be back with the team

in my first GP2 season. My fans are already so excited about what I am doing this season and

guessing which team I am with. It is pretty cool that motorsport is grow-ing more popular in the

ENTERTAINMENT

‘Mundo Ni Juan sa Japan’ airs this Saturday on GMA Network

Globe Telecom ambassador inches closer to his racing dreams

Philippines and I am re-ally thankful to have so much support.” One of Stockinger’s staunch supporters in the Philippines is lead-ing telecommunications company Globe Tele-com, his telecommu-nication partner in the country. In August last year, Globe ambassa-dor Stockinger starred in Slipstream, a full-day affair which celebrated the telco’s brand new network with a race car driving exhibition, inter-active booths, and an outdoor music festival.

Stockinger showed off his track skills driving his Lotus-Gravity Charouz Formula Renault 3.5 race car around Bonifa-cio Global City. “We are very happy and excited for Mar-lon as he gets close to his racing dreams. We look forward to more of his achievements as he continues to bring honor and pride to the country,” quips Globe President and CEO Er-nest Cu. The 2015 GP2 officially begins on April 17-19 in Bahrain.

G

R16/*R16

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

R-16

INSURGENT

Shailene Woodley, Theo James

G 12:00 | 2:30 | 5:00 | 7:30 | 10:00 LFS

DRAGON NEST: WARRIOR'S DAWN

12:10 | 2:40 | 5:10 LFS / * 7:40 | 10:00 LFS

RUN ALL NIGHT/ * THE GUNMAN

Liam Neeson, Joel Kinnaman/

* Sean Penn, Idris Elba

12:25 | 2:20 | 4:15 | 6:10 | 8:05 | 10:00 LFS

Jiao Xu, Guanlin Ji, Ying Huang

CINDERELLA

Lily James, Hayley Atwell, Richard Madden

March 19-24, 2015

A4 INdulge!PEOPLE

sa akong sarili ug para maipagmalaki ko sa akong mama ug papa,” Neil says, adding that he wants his parents to know that he is not only good in human beatbox. “If the time comes when I am no longer good in hu-man beatboxing, I can still be proud of myself since I finish college,” he points out. “My college diploma is also my best gift to my parents.” Neil, who will turn 20 this coming October 7, also wants to glorify God through his talent. “I may not be the best beatboxer in the world, but I believe through this God-given talent I can reach more people for His glory. My mission here in life is to share this talent to people. I want them to feel and happiness that beatboxing brings,” he says. Another reason: to help today’s young people who are lost. “What motivates me to do beatboxing also is to guide the Filipino youth. Instead of allowing themselves to be engulfed by vices, they can focus more on the talent they have -- even if it not on human beatbox. Each of us is given a talent and it’s up to us to harness these talents. God loves us and

through our talent, He has shown that He is a loving God. We need to believe in ourselves and have faith in Him.” This must be the reason why he sees himself of be-ing a successful person ten years from now and still serving God. “If God is not with me in this jour-ney, I won’t be able to do everything,” he says. “Ten years from now, I am hop-ing that millions if not billions of people would have been inspired by my

talent.” Of course, Neil also sees himself of having his own family. His final thought: “Ev-eryone dreams. If you have some doubts in yourself, having negative thoughts and afraid of trying, then forget those negative things since they won’t bring you to realize your dream. Don’t give up; pursue what you want to achieve in life, especial-ly if your dream can help your parents and those

you loved. “You won’t loss any-thing by trying. Don’t be easily discouraged and just ask guidance from the Lord in all that we do. If your dream is for the good of everyone, then go for it. This is Neil telling you that while we are still alive, we don’t need to give up. It’s not the end yet to change ourselves and our think-ing. Never exit in life,” he concluded, referring the last line as an acronym for his name.

The Ultimate A1

VOL. 7 ISSUE 260 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, MARCH 20 - 21, 2015EDGEDAVAO


THE International Standards Organi-zation (ISO) certifi-

cation received by TESDA (Technical Education Skills Development Authority) will play a key role in the ongoing Asean integration.

The world is recogniz-ing the skills of our tech-voc graduates. “ TESDA Director-General Sec. Joel Villanueva said during a press conference in Davao City held last March 17.

He said that before the ISO certification tech voc graduates would need five years work experience, with the ISO certification the 5-year work experi-ence is being waived.

TESDA was given an ISO 9001:2008 certifica-tion in 2012 by TUV SUD PSB Philippines, for its two major programs, Technical Vocational Education and Training Program Regis-tration and Competency Assessment and Certifica-tion.

Based in Munich, Ger-many TUV SUD PSB is the country’s leading multi-national certification and inspection body which provides inspection, certi-fication, valuation, valida-tion, training and testing services.

“Region XI was one

of the first regions in the country to be ISO certified.” Sec. Villanueva said citing the region’s support to the ISO accreditation efforts.

Today TESDA is the only education agency to be given an ISO certifica-tion status.

Because of the certifi-cation the tech-voc sector will gain a lot from the ASE-AN integration. According to Villanueva.

“In the MRA or mutual recognition arrangements we are leading in the sec-tors of tourism and con-struction, these are the sectors where I think we will flourish.” The TESDA Director-General said.

The IT-BPO sector is also giving us good signs. Villanueva added.

Asean Integration seeks a common market among Asean nations with free movement of capital and services among the member countries.

Meanwhile according to Villanueva the challenge is the capacity building not just for Asean Integration but also for K to 12 where more teachers and asses-sors are needed.

In K to 12 the assess-ment and certification will remain with TESDA. (PIA/RG Alama)

TESDA ISO certification willplay role in ASEAN integration


COMMUNITY SENSE

11 UPMin students in youth leaders gab

MT. Tipolog-Tamugan located in Baguio District, Davao City

and adjacent to Mt. Apo is one of the three vital water-sheds that Davao City Water District is rehabilitating for water sustainability. In doing so, DCWD built a strong sym-biotic community partnership with the local community, the Obu-Manuvu tribe, since 2004.

The DCWD and Obu-Manuvu partnership has successfully rehabilitated 88 hectares inside the Mt. Tipo-log-Tamugan project area and 25 kilometers of theriver-bank. In the process, DCWD has been providing the tribe with medical / dental mis-sions and agro-forest liveli-hood that enabled them to earn incomes from tiger grass, abaca and grafted fruit trees since 2007 and recently, from rubber trees. Potential gross income from rubber trees alone in a year could reach up to P500,000.00 for the Obu-Manuvus. Soon, they will also start harvesting cacao. In return, the tribe effectively participates and oversees the rehabilitation efforts of DCWD and thwarts environmental threats.

As DCWD cares for the Obu-Manuvu tribe, the latter committed to be the stewards of sustainable adequate sup-

ply of fresh, clean and potable water for the Davaoeños.

Foresight planning in se-curing Mt. Tipolog-Tamugan watershed, DCWD will ad-dress the inevitable water crisis in Davao City within the next few years caused by fast-paced urbanization and rapid-ly-growing population. Pres-ently serving close to 200,000 water connections within the 108 of the City’s 182 baran-gays, DCWD is sourcing water supply mainly from under-ground through 55 production wells and one spring source thus making it highly depen-dent on power supply for its delivery.

DCWD then explored the possibility of developing a new and sustainable water source – surface water, thus the Ta-mugan Surface Water Devel-opment Project (TSWDP) as an additional source.

The project will be under-taken through a joint venture agreement between DCWD and Apo AguaInfrastructura, Inc. (AAII) with two compo-nents: (1) Part A: Treated Bulk Water Supply Facilities to be implemented by AAII, and (2) Part B: Primary Distribution Pipe Mains, Storage Facilities, and Pipeline Appurtenances to be administered by DCWD. Project milestones are the Pre-liminary Period and theCon-struction Period, which are

DCWD rehabilitates watershed

THE city government of Tagum recognized on March 07 Tagum

Cooperative Chairperson of the Board of Director (BOD) Norma “Normskie” Pereyras as Tagumpay Ex-cellence awardee for Gen-der Equality and Women Empowerment.

She was among the six individuals carefully chosen by the Search and Awards Committee tasked by the city government of Tagum to identify the outstanding individuals and organiza-tions which exceptionally made substantial contribu-tion to Tagum City’s growth and development, bring-ing honor and pride to the Tagumenyos.

In his opening remarks during the Tagum Excel-lence Awards and Recog-nition Night, City of Tagum Mayor Allan L. Rellon gave his salute to Perey-ras “whose unparalleled leadership in the country’s foremost cooperative has empowered the women sector.”

The sustained Gender Equality and Women Em-powerment Program of Tagum Cooperative (TC) sets it apart from other co-operatives which are now

learning from the pioneer-ing ventures of the TC to empower women as part-ners in cooperative move-ment.

Pereyras looked backed at the period 1990 to 2000 when NATCCO (National Confederation of Cooper-atives and AWCF (Asian Women in Cooperative De-velopment Forum) started the Gender Advocacy. It was then that Tagum Coop-erative joined the bandwag-on to promote the rights of women and has sustained it for about 25 years now.

“We pushed forward the rights of women amidst male chauvinism at that time. We made headway in our advocacy to empower women in decision-making, not only about household affairs but also on financial matters,” she said.

She remembered how she faced male tyranny in 1995 when she was elected as the first woman chair-person for three consecu-tive years, of the male-dom-inated Board of Directors of Tagum Cooperative.

“Grabe! Grabe talaga ang pag-underestimate sa kakayahan ng mga Kababai-han. Meron pa kaming male board of director na nagsabi

na ‘Kayong mga babae, hi-nugot lang kayo sa tadyang naming mga lalaki!. Kayo ay inferior sa mga lalaki!’, she said in sharing her experi-ences during the Philippine Cooperative Centennial Year kick-off celebration on February 05, 2015 at Que-zon City Memorial Circle.

But with the sustained drive of Tagum Cooperative to empower women and see men as their equal, Perey-ras felt confident that she could answer Pope Francis when he asked “where are the women?”.

“Here we are, in Tagum Cooperative actively and intelligently participating in major decisions espe-

cially in the boardroom as policy-makers who have helped strengthen our sys-tems to make a difference,” she said.

Pereyras has believed since then, that women should have a rightful and fair share of benefits and privileges “because 75 per-cent of the general mem-bership of Tagum Cooper-ative are women”.

Noting the long-time advocacy of Tagum Cooper-ative to empower women, Pereyras believes that the Cooperative has substan-tially contributed to the re-alization of the Millennium Development Goal. (Tagum Cooperative)

ELEVEN students of the University of the Philip-pines-Mindanao campus

in Mintal, Davao City will attend the one-day International Youth Leaders Conference (IYLC) in the Skydome, SM North EDSA, Quezon City on March 30.

The IYLC is supported by the AIESEC ( Association Internatio-nale des etudiats en Sciences Economiques et Commerciales) which aims to create a commu-nity of world class leaders. IYLC is part of the Asian Pacific Con-gress, AIESEC’s largest regional conference with hundreds of delegates from all over the globe.

The participants from Davao City, who are members of

either the Communicators’ Guild of UP Mindanao or the Omega Alpha Franternity and Sorority, are John Winston Anthony C. Ajero II, Gabriel Ba-ang, Melissa Barrera, Camille Cagbabanua, Kris Shelley Marie Tiu, James Del Fierro, Angela Funtillon, Sizzle Ledres, Patricia Nengasca, Lyka Picardal and Hyacinth Registos.

The theme of this year’s IYLC gathering is “One Pur-pose, Brave Actions,” according to Winston Ajero. Key topics include youth initiative, clear vision and purpose and val-ues-based leadership, he said.

The first IYLC event was held in March 2014 at the Sam-sung Hall in Taguig City.

Pereyras cited for gender advocacyAt Skydome, SM North EDSA, March 30

YOUTH LEADERS GAB. Eleven student leaders of the University of the Philip-pines-Mindanao campus (UP-Min) will attend the International Youth Leaders Con-ference in Manila on March 30 to tackle the theme “One Purpose, Brave Actions”. Five of the 11 are (from left) John Winston Anthony Ajero II, Sizzle Mari Ledres, Angela Kate Funtillon, Kris Shelley Marie Tiu and Camille Cagbabanua.

both envisioned to be com-pleted within four years, and the Delivery Period, which is a 30-year contract to start upon operation of facilities.

With the large service area coverage of DCWD, 10 water supply systems (WSS) operateindependently from each other, namely: Caban-

tian, Calinan, Dumoy, Lubogan, Malagos, Panacan, Riverside, Tibungco, Toril, and Tugbok. However, due to order of pri-oritization in terms of service coverage, transmission line route and impending water quality issues, only Cabantian, Calinan, Dumoy, Panacan and Tugbok WSS will compose the

TSWDP. The remaining five will continue to operate uti-lizing groundwater. Moreover, with TSWDP, DCWD intends to expand its service coverage to additional eight barangays in the northern side of the city which will be then served by three new WSS, namely: Man-dug, Indangan and Talandang.

Indeed, the symbiotic partnership of DCWD with the Obu-Manuvus for the lat-ter’s economic benefit and the consequent assurance of sus-tainable healthy water supply with the best quality in the world in the three Districts of Davao City underline DCWD’s humble thrust of water for life.

VOL. 7 ISSUE 260 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, MARCH 20 - 21, 2015 15

The sports apparel business

Neil Bravo

LET’S GET IT ON

SPORTS

THESE days, sports uni-forms have evolved from the classic varsi-

ty-type designs of old to the insanely printed kits of today.

In the ongoing 78th Araw ng Davao basketball tourna-ment, the kits worn by The Royal Mandaya Hotel-CMO are out of this world. With a military camouflage pattern embedded on the very fabric itself matched high-visibility colors, the TRMH-CMO kits look spankingly outrageous.

This style is the latest trend in sports apparel. The embedded patterns are pop-ularized by Nike and Under Armour -- two of the world’s top sports apparel brands.

While Nike continues to lord it over the sports appar-el industry, the self-declared underdog Under Armour has climbed up to no. 2 dislodging long-time no. 1 adidas.

The tri-stripes of adidas might soon be gone on NBA uniforms after its decline in the market. The battle for the NBA uniforms is now down to Nike and Under Armour.

A quick review with the sports apparel industry would show that competition is fierce. Nike has experienced remarkable growth in rev-enues and returns over the years. In 2014, there was an increase of 22.47% in stock value which has bumped up the share price to the $94 mark.

The Financial Buzz web-site reported that it doesn’t stop here for the Nike brand with the popular swoosh logo. Nike was awarded a US pat-ent on an “Augmented Reality Design System” on February 3. With this they have taken designing to the next level using holographic technology

to create sneaker templates. This is possible with the use of “a head-mounted display” and being able to view a vir-tual sneaker in front of them. The template will be created using a digital pen which is then transferred to the com-puter for the actual printing.

Given this Nike’s new technology, there is certainly room for growth and poten-tial to bring out something

similar to the popular NikeID, an innovative technology which allows customers to design your “dream shoe.”

For those into running and other sports, NikeID is a platform that allows con-sumers to customize a cer-tain sneaker design such as the color, materials, and even text. The sneaker is on a 3D display within the platform with access to rotation for us-ers to view the shoes in many angles and positioning.

According to The Finan-cial Buzz, NikeID was very successful and brought in over $100 million in revenue in 2009 when it launched the concept. Some of the many reasons why NikeID was so effective were due to the fun and easy customization, good product visualization and the flexibility of using the web to create your dream shoe.

While Nike is currently on top of the industry, the fast-rising Under Armour is right behind them. In 2014, UA increased its stock value by 37.15%. UA’s enterprise value may not be anywhere near Nike, but the brand now worn by Steph Curry and Andy Murray (former adidas endorser) recently surpassed adidas and secured the num-ber two spot on the list.

Under Armour’s new en-dorsement deals with super-stars Muhammad Ali, Murray and Curry also enabled it to increase sales by 32% with $3.08 billion dollar revenue. Also, UA is into purchasing fit-ness apps such as MyFitness-Pal and Endomondo to boost their membership users to 120 million--a surefire way to widen reach.

This year, Nike started out with a drop in their stock

value. With the anticipated release of the holograph-ic technology, things could change dramatically as soon as it is released.

The Under Armour brand is clearly focusing now on growth. Nike, the more estab-lished of all brands, is training its sights towards innovation.

That leaves the other brands looking for ways to keep in stride with the blis-tering pace the leaders are making.

The bottomline is, we in the sports industry are happy to see new products come out in the market and change the look of the sport-ing world.

Notes: Listen to “Let’s Get It On with Neil Bravo” at 105.9 Balita FM every Saturday 8 am to 10 am. You may write the author at [email protected].

UNFAZED. TRMH-CMO forward Lancelot Mikhail Abude defies the defense of Ronald Lamocha of Montaña Pawnshop during the third quarter of the TRMH-CMO and Montaña match. The Pawnbrokers came back from eight points down to oust the defending champions 70-61 in the 78th Araw ng Davao cagefest. Lean Daval Jr.

FIVE division world champion Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire

who has problems making the weight for his North American Boxing Federation super ban-tamweight title fight against Brazil’s William Prado is re-portedly getting tired as a re-sult of his rigorous efforts to trim down from around 132 pounds.

Donaire’s father/trainer “Dodong” Donaire told the News Standard/Viva Sports that Nonito was “getting tired making the weight” although he worked out at the ALA Gym and ran around the oval in the complex.

“Dodong” said Nonito also

worked on then punch-mitts and the heavy bag and both he and Donaire studied tapes of Prado.

He said Prado “keeps coming forward like a bull and throws a lot of punches. When he fights Nonito he Prado will want to make a statement but we won’t let that happen.”

The father/trainer said his son would spar one more time on Friday before leaving for Manila to join the other headliners of ALA Promotions “Pinoy Pride 30” presented in cooperation with the giant broadcast network ABS-CBN at the Smart Araneta Colise-um which is the Philippines center of sports and enter-

tainment. The pre-fight press con-

ference will be held at the plush Solaire Hotel and Casino on Thursday, March 26.

American trainer Rick Staheli who has long been an admirer of Donaire because of his remarkable skills, speed and punching power said he had received reports that No-nito was looking extremely good in his preparation for the Prado fight and he ex-pects another impressive per-formance by Donaire in his comeback fight after the bat-tering at the hands of Nicholas “The Axe Man” Walters “s long as he can make the weight without it hurting him.”

HARRISON Barnes had 25 points, Andre Iguodala added 21 points and six

assists, and the Golden State Warriors cruised past the Atlan-ta Hawks 114-95 on Wednesday night in a matchup of the NBA’s top two teams.

Stephen Curry had 16 points and 12 assists, Draymond Green contributed 18 points and Andrew Bogut grabbed 14 re-bounds as balanced Golden State maintained the best record in the league (54-13) with its 10th straight win at home.

The Hawks, looking fatigued and trailing big by the fourth quarter, were denied again in a chance to clinch their first divi-sion title since the 1993-94 sea-

son as Washington won at Utah.Paul Millsap and DeMarre

Carroll each scored 16 points and Carroll had 12 boards for cold-shooting Atlanta (53-15), which had won 10 of 12 and three in a row but shot 35.6 per-cent from the floor.

The Warriors certainly look ready for a long postseason run, showing off snazzy passing and unselfish play while winning their third straight and 10th in 12 games, in front of a rocking sellout crowd of 19,596 at Oracle Arena.

Two days after Golden State clinched a playoff berth for the third consecutive season, the Warriors scored 44 baskets on 39 assists. It was the 25th time

this season Golden State had 30 or more assists.

Both teams played short-handed. The Warriors were without All-Star guard Klay Thompson, who sprained his right ankle Monday against the Lakers and will be re-evaluated in seven to 10 days.

Justin Holiday started in Thompson’s place, something Kerr said Holiday earned after a career-best, 23-point perfor-mance at Denver last Friday night.

Hawks star Kyle Korver is likely out at least another game after breaking his nose in a win against the Lakers on Sunday. Ex-Warrior Kent Bazemore moved into Atlanta’s starting line-up.

CAVALIERS coach David Blatt had seen enough, more than enough.

After his team’s sixth turn-over in the game’s first min-utes, a disgusted Blatt called timeout and gave his players some very specific instruc-tions.

“Stop turning the ball over,” he told them.

The Cavs listened and then lit up the Nets.

J.R. Smith and Timofey Mozgov scored 17 points apiece, Kyrie Irving had 10 as-sists and the Cavaliers shook off the sluggish, sloppy start to win their 14th straight home game, 117-92 over Brooklyn on Wednesday night.

LeBron James added 16 points for the Cavs, who had seven players score in dou-ble figures. Just back from a four-game road trip, Cleveland trailed by 13 in the first quar-ter before going on a 30-8 run and didn’t look back.

“The first game after a road trip is always kind of tough,” James said. “We just found our rhythm.”

The Cavs are 25-6 since Jan. 15, when they were 19-20 and being questioned about

whether they were NBA title contenders. Well, Cleveland is an entirely different team these days with balance, inside muscle and a healthy James, who battled knee and back is-sues earlier this season.

Kevin Love returned af-ter a two-game break to rest his back and finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds. The Cavs recorded 32 assists on 45 field goals, a testament to their unselfishness.

“We moved the ball to-night,” James said. “Mozzy was unbelievable in the paint. Kyrie was great getting guys involved and J.R. was shooting the ball well. Everyone worked well together tonight.”

Deron Williams scored 20 to lead the Nets, who are run-ning out of games as they claw to get into the playoffs.

Brooklyn led 22-9 in the first quarter before the Cavs stopped throwing the ball away and started making shots. Smith dropped four 3-pointers — each on an assist by James — and scored 14 in the second quarter, when the Cavs’ bench sparked the rally and Cleveland outscored the Nets 36-21.

“LeBron went in the post,” Nets coach Lionel Hollins said. “We tried to help a few times and he threw it out and they made 3s, and he was in the pick-and-roll and he made plays for people and they made shots. He wasn’t the man. It was the guys making the shots. He set them up. He was the or-chestrator.”

Leading by 12 at the half, the Cavs looked underneath in the third quarter and the 7-foot-1 Mozgov took over, scoring 12 points in the period to help Cleveland extend its ad-vantage to 23.

The large lead allowed Blatt to rest his starters, includ-ing James, who sat out the final 5:04. Blatt intends to closely monitor his players’ minutes down the stretch as the Cavs prepare for the playoffs.

Blatt said the balanced scoring attack is vital for James.

“You can’t expect him to have huge games that he’s had fairly regularly and you can’t expect that all the time,” he said. “The second thing is that it takes a lot of pressure off him going forward knowing that other guys can pick up the slack and carry it well.”

Weight woes for DonaireEDGEDAVAO

Cavs escape with a win over Nets

Warriors beat Hawks in battle of NBA leaders

VOL. 7 ISSUE 260 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, MARCH 20 - 21, 201516 EDGEDAVAOSports

THE title is gone but the fight is not over. That’s the heart of a champion.

Defending champion The Royal Mandaya Hotel-City May-or’s Office kissed its title-reten-tion bid goodbye on Wednesday night after bowing to unbeaten Montaña Pawnshop 70-61 in the Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte Cup 78th Araw ng Davao Basketball Tournament.

Former PBA gunner Jojo Tangkay, who helped give TRMH-CMO win the title last year, played the villain’s role as far as the champions are con-cerned but every bit the hero with his new team Montaña which swept the eliminations with its third win in a row.

Playing his fireman’s role when needed, Tangkay was dis-patched by the Pawnbrokers’ coach Nick Serafica with a little over three minutes left in the match and the San Beda-pow-ered Hoteliers ahead by five 61-56. Obviously, Tangkay knows what Serafica wanted and he came through with a delivery that once made him the tour-nament most valuable player here.

The 36-year old Tangkay spun and baited Franz Jonathan Abuda for a three-point play to put the Pawnbrokers close 59-61. Burly import Landry Sanjo also had another and-1 in the ensuing play to shove Montaña up for good 62-61, 2:47 remain-ing. Tangkay then sank the dag-ger three over two defenders for a 65-61 Montaña cushion.

TRMH-CMO riflemen Van Adam Abatayo, Jose Mari Pres-bitero and Abuda missfired from the rainbow country to seal the fate for the deposed titleholders in this four-team tournament sanctioned by the Samahang Basketball ng Pili-pinas (SBP) 11 under Regino “Boy” Cua.

For a while it looked like TRMH-CMO, playing excellent teamwork and stingy defense to the delight of the capacity crowd at the Almendras Gym, would pull off a man-sized upset taking a 48-40 lead throough three quarters. The lead ballooned to 11, 50-41, and all of a sudden the tourna-ment complexion changed as that is the magic number the defending champs needed to advance to the finals. Howev-

er, the scrambling youngsters failed to sustain their heads-up play in the endgame and the veteran Tangkay, who finished with a game-high 25 points, simply pulled the rug from un-der the young guns of San Beda.

Big Boy Clavel and 6-foot-7 Landry Sanjo conspired to push Montaña to a 21-10 uprising in the final quarter to clinch the victory and advance to the fi-nals against eliminations victim Goldstar Hardware.

Sanjo, an immovable force inside the paint, finished with 17 points. Francis Abancar had 15 points to pace TRMH-CMO.

In the second game, Gold-star relied on another ex-PBA cager Leo Najorda, who made 9 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter to drub MP Zamboanga 83-71.

Cameroonian import Charles Mammie fired 18 pointsand three other Hard-waremen scored in double digits -- Alvin Pasaol 14, Jay Cabañog 12, and Leomer Losentes 11.

Louie Medalla led MP with 15 points while Jay Collado and Ping Masaglang both chipped in 11.

FIGHT TO THE FINISHHard-fighting TRMH-CMO bows out in style

UNFAZED. TRMH-CMO guard Jose Mari Presbitero slices the lane undaunted by the hulking presence of Landry Sanjo of Montaña Pawnshop during the fourth quarter of the TRMH-CMO and Montaña match. The Pawnbrokers came back from eight points down to oust the defending champions 70-61 in the 78th Araw ng Davao cagefest. Lean Daval Jr.

By NEILWIN JOSEPH BRAVO

Edge Davao 7 Issue 260

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