Edge7 issue 50

P 15.00 • 20 PAGESwww.edgedavao.netVOL. 7 ISSUE 50 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, MAY 25-26, 2014

EDGE Serving a seamless society

DAVAO

BEYONDBEAUTYUnilever names 30 ‘Beyond Beauty’ women of Mindanao

VOL. 7 ISSUE 50 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, MAY 25-26, 20142 EDGEDAVAO

ON THE COVER

“There is nothing more beau-tiful than someone who goes out of their way to make life beautiful for others.” - Mandy Hale

For 30 years of being of service in giving beauti-ful hair to every Filipino

woman, Cream Silk honored 30 women from Mindanao who contributed in the island’s de-velopment in a ceremony last Friday at The Peak of Gaisano Mall.

Candy M. Hernandez, major accounts executive for South-ern Mindanao of Unilever Phil-ippines, said that aside from possessing good character, the women of different ages suc-ceeded in their own different fields of interest or profession and made significant contribu-tions to society.

The women who were rec-ognized for their exemplary role in influencing every Filipina in the country are:

1. Ann Tiukihoy PA-minTuAn

A native of Surigao, the now Davao-based artist is con-sidered one of the pillars of the country’s design industry. This world renowned metal artist, jewelry maker, home accesso-ries and furniture designer be-longs to a new wave of Filipino designers gaining worldwide recognition from Manila to New York, Milan, Frankfurt, Paris, To-kyo, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan.

2. irene SAnTiAgo Irene Morada Santiago,

chair emerita of the Mindanao Commission on Women and convenor of the Mothers for Peace movement, has been se-lected as the N-Peace Awardee 2013, role Model for Peace from the Philippines, a prestigious prize which recognizes the lead-ership role of women and peace advocates from six conflict-af-fected countries in Asia. She is one of six women awardees chosen for their leadership and contribution towards building peace.

3. ZohAymA monTAnerInternational award-win-

ning modern Islamic typogra-pher and visual artist, Zohayma Montañer, Al-Haj, has become one of the most eminent names in the scope of Islamic art. Her main goal is to give dawa’ah through her art and pleasing Allah. At 17, she got her first international award in Valencia, Spain. She is now actively work-ing to spread the message of Is-lam through her works and art exhibitions world wide

4. ShAmcey gurreA SupSup-Lee

Shamcey Gurrea Sup-sup-Lee was crowned Miss Universe-Philippines 2011 and represented her country at the Miss Universe 2011 pageant in São Paulo, Brazil, where she fin-ished as 3rd runner-Up. Sup-sup obtained her Architecture degree from the University of the Philippines Diliman, grad-

uating with magna cum laude. She was also a valedictorian in grade school and salutatorian in high school. She now hosts a lifestyle show on ANC.

5. AgneS LocSin Born in Davao City, Agnes

Dakudao Locsin is a dancer, teacher and is considered one of the most progressive contem-porary choreographers in the Philippines. Her dances focus on Philippine beliefs and rituals, and ethnic and urban life. Her early dance lessons were under the training of her mother at the Locsin Dance Workshop in Davao where she later became artistic director to the Locsin Dance Ensemble. She was dance director of the Terpsichoreans in Ateneo de Davao and taught at the CCP Dance School, the University of the Philippines College of Music and the Jazz Tap Center. She was also dance consultant to the Philippine Ed-ucational Theater Association and Tanghalang Pilipino. She was artistic director of Ballet Philippines

6. MAgS Lopez cALpito cue

A former commercial mod-el, Cue is the brains behind MAGS, one of the country’s most successful clothing brands. originally from Cagayan de oro, MAGS now boasts of twenty-one branches nationwide and has dressed countless of celebrities and influential ladies in the soci-ety. She was one of 2013’s Best Dressed Women of the Philip-pines, which is made up of a ros-ter of women who have “accom-plished in their chosen passion yet remain humble; driven yet compassionate.

7. mArgAriTA MorAn FLoirendo Margarita Morán Floirendo

is a multi-awarded peace advo-cate for her efforts in Mindanao and currently the President of Ballet Philippines. She gained prominence when she won the Miss Universe in 1973 at Ath-ens, Greece. Two years after her reign, she married and managed to finish her Business Adminis-tration degree in Boston Uni-versity and took her masters in University of London. She once hosted ABS-CBN’s “Margie on Mindanao” and produced a multi-awarded movie, “Bagong Buwan”. Moran is also notable for her social and civic works especially for promoting peace and livelihood as part of the Min-danao Commission on Women organization and recently as an ambassador-trustee of Habitat for Humanity Philippines.

8. AngeL Aquino originally from Barobo,

Surigao del Sur, Angelita Velas-quez-Aquino is a fashion model and an award-wining film and television actress. She gradu-ated from the University of the Philippines Baguio, with a Bach-elor of Arts in Journalism course. She has won Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress awards from PMPC Star Awards, Gawad

Tanglaw, CineFilipino Film Festi-val and Balanghai. She was also nominated in various Gawad Urian and FAMAS awards.

9. Yvette MArie ceLi punzALAn

Yvette’s Bags and Beads started as a hobby of owner/designer Yvette Marie Celi-Pun-zalan, who made these cro-cheted straw bags for herself before it eventually grew into a business, thanks to the positive feedback from her family and friends. Today, she employs and trains women, mostly house-wives, to help crochet the bags based on her designs.

10. JoJi iLAgAn BiAn Joji Ilagan Bian is a well-re-

spected business leader and ed-ucator in Mindanao. She is the Founding Chairman of Council of Hotel and restaurant Educa-tors of the Philippines and Coun-try representative – Philippines to the Asia Pacific Council of Ho-tel and restaurant Institution Education. She is the Chairman of the Joji Ilagan Career Center Foundation which operates the Joji Ilagan College of Business and Tourism; Institute of Inter-national Culinary and Hospi-tality Entrepreneurship; JIB In-ternational School of Hotel and Tourism Management (General Santos City); Tumble Tots Phil. Franchise; JIB E- Academy and Six Eleven Global Solution.

11. BAYAng BArrioS Bayang Barrios, who hails

from Bunawan, Agusan del Sur, and is best known for her use of indigenous instruments and styles. She has released 5 al-bums, the latest of which was “Malaya” released in 2013. Bar-rios has won various awards, such as the Manila MetroPop Music Festival, Anvil Awards, Catholic Mass Media Awards, Katha Awards, and the Hanoi Music Festival.

12. JuriS FernAndez Multi-awarded Dabawenya

singer and songwriter Julie Iris Fernandez-Lim was the lead singer of acoustic group MYMP from 2003 to 2009. Since 2009, she became a regular performer on ABS-CBN’s ASAP as part of the group called the Sessionis-tas. Since she went solo in 2009, her solo albums has reached Gold and Platinum status. She has also released albums in Sin-gapore and Korea.

13. chAriTA PuenTeSPinA

Charita Puentespina is the founder of the Puentespina or-chids and Tropical Plants Inc based in Davao City. It was the result of her passion for horti-culture with her efforts to im-prove her own flowers through hybridization becoming the industry standard of quality. In 2013, awarded Filipina En-trepreneur of 2013 along with eleven awardees. She was also honored as one of the 50 In-spiring Stories of Agri-Entrepre-neurs, and credited for saving the Waling-waling, now one of the country’s national flowers,

from extinction. 14. mAry Ann monTemAyor

Mary Ann “Baby” Mon-temayor is one of Davao and Mindanao’s staunch tourism ad-vocates - and it shows in her re-sume. Currently and in the past years, she has led various tour-ism organizations, such as the Davao region Tourism Council, Southern Philippines Tourism Council, Southern Philippines Tourism Council, BIMP-EAGA, aside from managing her own hotel, Villa Margarita.

15. Sitti dJALiA turABin-HAtAMAn Sitti Djalia Turabin-Hat-

aman is the Anak Mindanao Party List representative in Con-gress and a committed advocate of women’s rights in Mindanao. She currently serves as the Ex-ecutive Director of the National Commission on Muslim Filipi-nos. She also served as direc-tor of the Moro Human rights Center and as president of Pinay Kilos since at least 2007. She has also focused her advocacy on the plight of families in conflict areas of Sulu and Basilan.

16. dadai Joaquin Dabawenya artist Dadai

Joaquin has been painting and drawing for many years and has been part of several exhibits in Davao and Cagayan de oro. She is noted for her works in soil, using the often unseen but very rich colors of common earth to create dramatic paintings.17. mimi VergArA TuPAS

Dedicated wife, loving mother and entrepreneur, Mimi Vergara Tupas is Davao’s fashion retail queen, the force behind hip clothing brands, SoUL and Pickled & Peppered. recently, she has extended her business acumen to producing SoUL Kitchen and Co., a home-based kitchen concoction enter-prise that is currently earning raves, with her line of cold-pressed fruit, vegetable juices and healthy salads.

18. dr. MAe doLendo Dr. Mae Dolendo is pediatric

oncologist. She is also the head of the Southern Philippines Medical Center’s Children’s Can-cer and Blood Diseases Unit. She is also the program director of House of Hope, a transient cen-ter for children with cancer with ongoing treatment at SPMC. The center aims to give hope, and provide care and cure to chil-dren with cancer.

19. ArLene cunAnAnDavao-born Arlene Cu-

nanan is a wife, a mother of four boys, pianist, entrepreneur and actress based in Singapore. She completed her Bachelor’s De-gree in Music major in Piano Instrument, minor in Marimba and organ instruments at Cole-gio de la Imaculada Concepcion in Cebu City with a Master’s Pro-gram at the Conservatory of Mu-sic, University of the Philippines. In Singapore, she has appeared in TV documentaries and dra-mas at MediaCorp Channel, var-

ious print ads, TV commercials, live skits, short films, corporate videos, glossy magazines and newspapers.

20. dr. AnnABeLLe LAo-reYeS

Dr. Annabelle Lao-reyes is a wife, mother, teacher, research-er and a stroke advocate. She is the only female neurologist–psychiatrist in Mindanao and the only stroke specialist and neurosonologist in Mindanao. Aside from the University of Sto. Tomas in Manila, she also trained at the Singapore General Hospital and Barrow Neurologi-cal Institute in Arizona, USA. Her works and research on stroke and cerebrovascular ultrasound has been published over 25 in-ternational papers.

21. MeLAi cAntiveroS-FrAnciSco

Comedienne Melai Canti-veros-Francisco of General San-tos City is the fifth Big Winner of the hit reality show, Pinoy Big Brother. She, along with her real life partner, Jason Francisco, starred in a reality show spin-off entitled “Melason In Love”. Can-tiveros also played one of the leading characters in the day-time drama “Impostor”, which bagged a nomination under Best Telenovela Category in the International Emmy Awards.

22. FrAnceS MArgArette SAguLiLi

eSquiveLBorn in Davao City, but

raised in Los Angeles, Marga Esquivel has a beauty that is the perfect mix of Asian exoticism and California cool. Fluent in English and Tagalog, she

has graced the pages of French Elle, Zooey, Phoenix In-ternational, Foam, Audrey Mag-azine, Wad, Nasty Gal, Thomas Wylde, among others, endors-ing global brands. Currently do-ing her rounds in Europe, Marga is serving up Pinay power in the world of fashion.

23. MicHeLLe SoLonAlthough an Ilonggo, Mi-

chelle Solon is a staunch sup-porter of Sarangani tourism. She is currently the chair of the regional Tourism Council of the province. Along with the coun-cil, she has initiated various tourism campaigns in promot-ing various tourism products and services in within and be-yond the province.

24. ciArA iSABeL uYYoung entrepreneur Ciara

Isabel Uy is the executive vice president of Davao Metro Shut-tle, a major transport service provider in Southern Mindan-ao. In their desire to promote Mindanao destinations to more tourists and visitors, they initi-ated the Destination Mindanaw, a tour program that takes guests to Lake Sebu in South Cotabato, Mati in Davao oriental, Saran-gani and General Santos in SoCKSArGEN and Surigao del Sur.

25. SArA ZimmermAn

duterte-cArpio

Sara Zimmerman Dute-rte-Carpio, lovingly called as Inday Sara by Dabawenyos, is Davao City’s first woman mayor and the youngest to have been elected to the post. Before she was elected as Mayor, she first served the city as its Vice Mayor. Today, she is practicing lawyer and hosts a segment in a local TV news program. She is also a Governor of the Philippine Na-tional red Cross.

26. eLeAnor JoSeEleanor Jose is the wom-

an behind the famous Vjandep Pastel of Camiguin, a favorite pasalubong delicacy of those who visit the island. Twenty four years ago, she started the business from what was left of her husband Virgilio’s PhP120 Christmas bonus using the tra-ditional half-drum make-shift oven and produced three boxes of pastel. Today, she runs she has around 200 employees from all over Mindanao, all treated like family members with free board and lodging. Vjandep, which stands for Virgilio Jose and Elena Popera, Pastel is now sold nationwide.

27. JoJie ALcAntArA Jojie Alcantara is an artist,

traveler, writer, photographer, TV host, product endorser, and mother. Her personal advocacy of promoting her country never fails to fill her with adrenalin. As a photojournalist, she has bagged awards locally and in-ternationally. She is also Getty Image contributor. She writes a column in two newspapers, and contributes to travel and airline magazines. She is also a 3-time Pacific Asia Travel Association Gold Awards nominee.

28. SAmerAh guToc Noted as one of 500 Most

Influential Muslims (The royal Islamic Strategic Studies Cen-tre, Jordan), Samira Gutoc, is a journalist, manager, consultant, environmentalist, trainor, activ-ist, organizer and now a legis-lator. She obtained her degrees in Communication and Master in International Studies at the University of the Philippines, law degree from the Arellano School of Law and a fellowship at the oxford Center for Islamic Studies. She was nominated to The Ten outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service and award-ed by Junior Chamber Interna-tional as one of the country’s outstanding Young Men for Leadership. She was former Ex-ecutive Vice President of the 1st National Youth Parliament and reform ArMM Now spokesper-son. She is now an oIC sectoral representative for women and chairs the Committee on Edu-cation, Arts, Culture and Sports Development. She also sits as regent in the Mindanao State University System.

29. BArBArA gAiSAno 30. kriSTine gAiSAno

The two entrepreneurs are honored for their contribution in the field of business in Min-danao.

BEYOND BEAUTYBy ArMAndo B. Fenequito Jr.

[email protected]

Unilever names 30 ‘Beyond Beauty’ women of Mindanao

VOL. 7 ISSUE 50 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, MAY 25-26, 2014

SENATE President Pro-Tempore ralph rec-to said the tourism sector

will benefit from his proposed bill that seeks providing free public internet access in Na-tional Capital region (NCr) or Metro Manila.

”Tourists will be sur-prised that we have free Wi-Fi connection in the airport, na-tional roads -- they will really find out that it’s more fun in the Philippines and more of them will come here,” he said.

recto’s SB 2232 proposes installation of free internet connection not only in the airport, national roads like EDSA (Epifanio de los Santos Avenue) and expressways but in public buildings, hospitals, schools and parks as well.

”Allowing free wireless internet access in key public places in NCr means provid-

ing access to the underserved in our society, including get-ting low-income people on-line,” recto said.

He said the bill, also known Free Metro Manila Wi-Fi Act of 2014, aims to enhance business growth op-portunities and assure NCr residents “ease of sourcing timely information at the click of a button.”

”For the Philippines to further establish itself as an emerging economy, a public broadband internet infra-structure must be in place beginning with NCr,” he said.

He also said providing free internet access to public buildings and facilities in the national capital “will ensure that our growing labor force will be updated with employ-

THE country has lagged behind its ASEAN neigh-bors in terms of quality

education despite the Filipino students’ competitive English communication skills, officials of private schools said Friday.

“We have so much to catch up with ASEAN, especially in higher education,” rey Castro, assistant vice president for

business development of the University of Mindanao, said in a press conference.

He cited that unlike the Philippines, other ASEAN coun-tries have established a system for the quality of education, en-abling many of their universi-ties to land in the world ranking list.

Malaysia, for example, has

less than 100 schools but over 10 of these made it to the world university rankings, Castro said.

But the Philippines, which has nearly 1,900 private and public colleges and universi-ties, usually had only four or five schools included the list, he said.

“It is so because other ASE-AN countries are conscious of

the global requirements,” he explained.

Castro added the Com-mission on Higher Education has been doing reforms, which he hoped the new chairperson who will assume by August will continue.

Jimmie-Loe Dela Vega, ex-ecutive director of the Davao

3EDGEDAVAO

THE BIG NEWS

THE regional Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP)

will conduct a probe on the tragic ring incident in Ba-rangay Sawata, San Isidro in Davao del Norte after a teen-aged boxer died in a fiesta boxing tournament.

Johnrey Amar, 14, died after collapsing in the ring in the second round of the amateur slugfest organized by Barangay Sawata. reports said he was brought to the Kapalong District Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival. The same reports said the cause of death is head injury.

Gene rose Teccson, head of the region 11 ABAP, box-ing’s national sports associa-tion, said that she has sent a letter to the barangay officials

to submit an official report of the incident. Tecson revealed that the tournament was not sanctioned by ABAP 11 and no referees and judges from the ranks of the ABAP or the official ABAP referees orga-nization were requested to officiate the tournament.

“We are not involved in that tournament. No re-quests were made. We do not know sino ang nag-officiate diyan. Kaya gusto naming malaman,” Tecson said in an interview during the Let’s Get It on!” sports talk show at 105.9 Balita FM on Saturday.

“May problema diyan kasi hindi naming alam na may tournament. Hindi po sanctioned ng ABAP yan,” bared Tecson, who is also the program director of Baran-

ABAP 11 to conduct probe on boxer’s death

[email protected]

By neiLWin JoSepH L. BrAvo

DEATH IN BOXING. Gene Rose Tecson of the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) 11 answers questions from the writer during the “Let’s Get It On!” radio sports talk show on 105.9 Balita FM. Tecson reavealed that they have not sanctioned the tournament where a 14-year old boxer died in a fiesta boxing tournament in Barangay Sawata, San Isidro, Davao del Norte. FABAP, 10

FPHL, 10 FTOURISM, 10

FHOLCIM, 10

Holcim Philippines chief executive officer Eduardo Sahagun greets the family members of one of the beneficiaries of “Tabang ta Kabalayan” during the turnover ceremony of 100 new houses for typhoon Pablo victims in New Bataan, Compostela Valley Province Friday afternoon. “Tabang ta Kabalayan” is a shelter and livelihood program of Holcim Philippines in partnership with the local government of Compostella Valley Province and the municipality of New Bataan. Lean Daval Jr.

MorE than a structure, homes build hope es-pecially to the home-

less victims of typhoon Pablo.Holcim- Philippines, in

partnership with the provin-cial government of Compostel-la Valley and the municipality of New Bataan assist in the construction of the P14 mil-lion-sustainable village with 100 new houses for families who lost everything during the typhoon.

“Bilang Pilipino, hindi nya matitiis na nakikita nyang

naghihirap ang kanyang kapwa Pilipino,” Holcim-Philippinea CEo Eduardo Sahagun said, while recalling the December 4 tragedy during the turn-over ceremony last Friday.

It has been exactly one year and six months that residents of New Bataan, Compostella Valley were doomed by Pablo.

once a vibrant community, villages became ghost towns as residents were trying to cope up with the huge loss of lives and their properties.

IN EDUCATION FRONT

PHL needs to catch up with ASEAN neighbors

Tourism to gain from free Wi-Fi access bill

Holcim provides houses, livelihood to Pablo victims

[email protected]

By cheneen r. cAPon

VOL. 7 ISSUE 50 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, MAY 25-26, 20144 NEWS

AUTHorITIES of the Department of Health in region 11 have

started to use subdermal contraceptive implants to prevent women from getting pregnant for as long as three years.

This was bared by Dr. Abdullah B. Dumama, DoH 11 director, in a speech he delivered before members of the rotary Club of Davao led by architect Pablito “Sonny” Labao.

Dumamadiscussed fam-ily planning’s role in mater-nal and child health, one of the rotary International’s six areas of focus. The other areas of focus are disease prevention and treatment, water and sanitation, basic education and literacy, peace and conflict prevention and resolution, and economic and community development.

Dumama said that more than 600 women enrolled in the DoH 11’s family planning

program have already availed themselves ofsubdermal con-traceptive implants.

The multi-awarded DoH official said the implant is administered free by the gov-ernment, but this is now also available in private clinics at the cost of around P8,000.

Implants reportedly “in-volve the delivery of a steroid progestin from polymer cap-sules or rods placed under the skin. The hormone dif-

fuses out slowly at a stable rate, providing contraceptive effectiveness for 1-5 years.”

He said DoH is using Im-planon 68 mg Etonogestrel implant distributed by orga-non oSS Holland donated by the UNFPA (United Nations Fund for Population Activi-ties).

Dumamasaid DoH au-thorities do not expect a controversy to arise from the use of implants, although DoH isclosely monitoring the users’ reactions to their use.

The DoH official also explained to rotarians the importance of breastfeeding to maternal and child health, saying that the hospitals are requiredto help in the cam-paign for breastfeeding. He said permits to operate of hospitals caught not coop-erating with the government program are not renewed.

rC Davao has launched a number of health programs,

including those designed to check the spread of dengue and rabies diseases, two maladies identified by the rotary clubs in the Davao City area.

Incoming rI 3860 Dis-trict Governor remegio “Boy” Salanatin earlier urged rotary clubs in the Visayas and Mindanao ar-eas to launch their own health projects, aside from their support to the world-wide Polio-Plus program to The rotary Foundation. Polio-Plus launched in the mid-eighties decade, is de-signed to eradicate polio from the face of the earth through massive immuniza-tion in majority countries of the world.

The program has so im-pressed the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation supported by the owners of Microsoft that it has contributed more than$300 million to the fund.

MA L A C A N A N G on Saturday ex-pressed confi-

dence that Justice Secre-tary Leila De Lima would be able to breeze through her first confirmation hear-ing before the Commission on Appointments (CA) on June 4.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte in an interview over state-

run dzrB radyo ng Bayan said Sec. De Lima was bound to be able to confirm before the CA “clearly” and “systematically.”

“We are confident that Sec. De Lima will be able to answer all the issues that will be asked of her (during the confirmation hearing),” Valte said.

“We all know she has long been preparing for it,”

she added. De Lima’s confirmation

hearing will come amid the ongoing pork barrel scam investigation, which her of-fice is investigating.

Earlier, the CA point-ed out that De Lima has not completed sets of doc-uments required by the commission since she was appointed by President Be-nigno S. Aquino III.

De Lima would be con-sidered bypassed if she is not confirmed by the CA when it adjourns on June 14 since she was never scheduled for her confir-mation hearing by the CA in the previous Congress.

The confirmation hear-ing determines a cabinet officials’ fitness to head a department or a constitu-tional post. [PNA]

IN the midst of debates on the effectively and efficiency of the Electric Power Indus-

try reform Act (EPIrA) law, a top executive of Aboitiz Power Company declared that the law has been beneficial to power consumers since its implemen-tation in 2001.

Bobby orig, first vice pres-ident of Aboitiz said that EPIrA law has encouraged competition among private power providers and lowered the cost of power delivered to end-consumers.

The result of their study which was based from the im-plementation of EPIrA law in Luzon grid showed that the law substantially helps in alleviating

the power crisis in the area.Before the implementation

of the law, orig said that pow-er in Luzon is “poor, unreliable and unsustainable” because it is “highly politicized” and only subsidized by the government.

The EPIrA law, according to him, lowered the debt of the government from 2001 to 2004.

“The government was able to divert it budget and use its big saving to much needed infrastructure and social ser-vices,” he said, adding that the sales of assets of National Pow-er Corporation (NPC) made the government earned as much as USD21.8 billion.

A ToTAL of P37.8 million was allotted for various local poverty reduction

programs that will be imple-mented by Davao City local gov-ernment in partnership with national agencies.

The Davao City council has passed two ordinances autho-rizing Davao City Mayor rodrigo r. Duterte to enter a memoran-dum of agreement between the city and two national agencies for the implementation of lo-cal poverty reduction program. The city council approved during the special session last Friday afternoon the “ordinance Authorizing the City Mayor to sign for and in behalf of the City Government of Davao the Mem-orandum of Agreement (MoA) to be entered by and between the City Government of Davao and Department of Agriculture (DA), relative to the implemen-

tation of the local poverty re-duction action plan (LPrAP) 2014 as stipulated in the DBM-DILG-DSWD-NAPC joint mem-orandum circular no. 03 series of 2012.”

Under the MoA, the DA will allocate P24.8 million for the ‘Bottom-up Budgeting’ (BuB) for the identified beneficiaries of the city. The city will also give P11 million as counterpart fund-ing for the projects stipulated in the MoA.

“This BuB initiative will also make the planning and budgeting process of both local and national government more participatory and empowering through the genuine involve-ment of grassroots organiza-tions and communities and strengthening of convergence mechanism in the delivery of national services in the com-

P37.8 million funds for localpoverty reduction programs

[email protected]

By cheneen r. cAPon

By ArMAndo B. Fenequito [email protected]

Epira Law beneficial to consumers--exec

De Lima expected to breeze through CA

DOH now use implantsto prevent pregnancies

[email protected]

By AnTonio m. Ajero

PHOTO PLAYERS. Executives of Canon Philippines Mindanao Regional office and Premier Photo, Inc. pose with the participants of Colours’ Cosplay Photography Workshop at Abreeza Mall yesterday. They are (R-L) Kelly Uy, Premier Photo, Inc. (PPI)president and chief executive officer;Gloria B. Sommer,Colours Digital Foto marketing officer; Martin Uy of PPI; Canon Philippines Mindanao Regional office marketing officer Monique P. Libo-on,branch manager Karen J. Cabonce and photographer Chiaw Yap. Lean Daval Jr.

Department of Health (DOH) 11 director Dr. Dumama FEPIRA, 10

FP37.8, 10

VOL. 7 ISSUE 50 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, MAY 25-26, 2014 5EDGEDAVAO

THE ECONOMY

HoW does owning a new smartphone sound? With Smart

Postpaid, timely settle-ment of your phone bills may come with a FrEE premium gadget via the recently launched Pay Early, Get Lucky raffle promo of wireless ser-vices leader, Smart Com-munications, Inc.

Paying for one’s out-standing postpaid balance in full and on time quali-fies every Smart subscrib-er to earn a raffle entry for a chance to win the latest and hottest smart phones currently available in the market: the Sony Xperia L for the third prize winner, the LG Nexus 5 for the sec-ond prize, and the 16 GB iPhone 5s for the grand prize.

“There are many perks for staying connected through Smart. We don’t want the connection to be limited only to calling,

texting, internet and so-cial media services,” said Kathy Carag, Marketing Head for Smart Postpaid.

“The Pay Early, Get Lucky is one of the many ways we connect with our valued clients and express appreciation for their con-tinued patronage. So from May to August this year, subscribers who will pay their bills in full and on time will have a chance to bring home a new phone,” she added.

Winners for the month of May will be drawn on June 6, 2014, June win-ners on July 7, 2014, while July lucky subscribers will be drawn on August 6, 2014.

To guide subscribers, there are eight payment channels or ways to settle postpaid bills: via Smart Money, My Smart por-tal, Smart Centers, ATMs, over-the-counter (Asia United Bank, Banco de

oro, Bank of Commerce, Bank of Philippine Is-lands, Development Bank of the Philippines, East West Bank, among oth-ers) credit card (check out my.Smart or PLDT online for details), online bank-ing, and mobile banking services (call 888-1-888 for customer service).

Also, there are over 27,000 Smart authorized payment channels all over the country like Ce-buana Lhuillier, 7-Eleven branches, SM, Save More, and selected Bayad Cen-ter outlets among others. Payments made through credit cards online are posted on real time.

The Pay Early, Get Lucky promo started May 1, 2014 and is set to conclude on August 6, 2014 (per DTI Permit No. 3364, series of 2014). Vis-it www.smart.com.ph/postpaid/promos/get-lucky to learn more.

Smart launches pay-early promo, rewards timely postpaid patrons

VOL. 7 ISSUE 50 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, MAY 25-26, 20146 THE ECONOMY

SUSTAINABILITY of growth in the 600-bill-lion strong ASEAN

region will be assured if governments ensure that they invest in education of their people and on entre-preneurship.

In his speech during the opening plenary of the World Economic Forum on East Asia at the Makati Shangri-La Thursday, In-donesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said ASEAN’s goal of equitable progress “is within our reach.”

He said the issue of in-equity will be addressed by making sure that people from all social classes ben-efit from socioeconomic mobility.

”The best way to ob-tain a society which en-sures mobility for all is through education: the best anti-poverty weapon,” he said.

Yudhoyono explained that they addressed the disparity issue on Indo-nesia’s education system by calibrating tuition fees based on the capacity of students to pay.

He said they also gave the poor students “modest

living expenses.” Another factor that

would ensure mobility is fi-nancial inclusion, thus, the Indonesian government released 150-trillion rupi-ah (about USD 13 billion) to be lent to the poor, most of which were without col-lateral requirements.

The Indonesian presi-dent said some 11 million Indonesians benefited from the microcredit and most of them were able to alleviate themselves from poverty.

Entrepreneurship is also a potent solution to ensure mobility, he said.

”I particularly like the concepts of entrepreneur-ship because you really do not need a university graduate to become one,” he said.

He cited a study which found out that only 14 per-cent of Indonesian entre-preneurs have university degrees, 17 percent have only elementary degrees, and four percent have no formal education.

”This means anybody could be entrepreneur,” he added.

As ASEAN govern-ments continue to address

the problem of poverty, Yudhoyono said the fruits of these are slowly being seen a proven by the in-crease in the number of

middle class. ”It has changed the

face of many cities and countryside. It has sown productivity and creativi-

ty, creating and spreading wealth on a scale never before seen in history, and it has changed the way Asians look at themselves,

and in turn, the way the world looks at Asia,” he said dubbing Asians as “the agents of global economic growth.” [PNA]

Education, entrepreneurship key to sustainable growth for ASEAN

PrESIDENT Benigno S. Aquino III on Thursday said the government is

continuously investing in hu-man capital to better prepare its future workforce when the Philippines sits on a “de-mographic sweet spot” next year.

At the opening plenary of the 23rd World Econom-ic Forum on East Asia being held here, President Aquino cited the United Nations pop-ulation projections indicating that the Philippines will be hitting a “demographic sweet spot” in 2015 that will last for the next 35 years.

“Countries in such con-ditions post an average year-ly growth of 7.3 percent over the next ten years. We are incredibly poised to take full advantage of the situation, having made strategic invest-ments in education and skills training, which will equip our future workforce with the correct skills to fill the jobs that are and will be created,” he added.

The President said the Technical Education and Skills Development Au-thority (TESDA) has been equipped with the resources necessary to help the people acquire the skills they need to be truly competitive in the job market.

He said the agency’s budget has been raised by a total of 77 percent. This re-sulted to an increase in the number of TESDA graduates

who found employment to 62.4 percent in 2012 from only 28.5 percent from 2006 to 2008.

“The improvement is even more stark when you look at specific industries: For instance, when it comes to the IT-BPo (information technology-business pro-cess outsourcing) industry, TESDA graduates have an employment rate of 70.9 percent, while the electron-ics and semiconductor pro-gram has recorded an 85 percent employment rate,” he said.

The Chief Executive not-ed that these numbers are still improving, citing a TES-DA report showing the most recent batch of trainees for the semiconductor industry posting a 91-percent place-ment ratio.

“It is evident: our coun-try is in the midst of a dra-matic turnaround in every sector, and we are intent on continuing this trend and making certain that each and every Filipino enjoys the full dividends of progress,” he said.

Further, President Aqui-no said the country is mak-ing strides in most economic sectors, particularly tourism and agriculture, as it aims to bring inclusive growth to ev-ery sector of society.

He said it is actively finding ways to create more jobs and livelihood opportu-nities for the people. [PNA]

PHL preparing workforce for ‘demographic sweet spot’ 

ORGANICALLY-GROWN. A trader counts the fingers on each bunch of bananas before loading them into a truck in a remote village of Lake Sebu, South Cotabato on Friday, May 23. Traders buy these organically-grown bananas at P1 each finger. [MindaNews photo Keith Bacongco]

THE ASEAN Econom-ic Community (AEC) that will take place

in 2015 will hasten the harmonization of rules, process, standard in the region, said Department of Finance (DoF) Secre-tary Cesar V. Purisima in a dialogue during the World Economic Forum (WEF) on East Asia here Friday.

Purisima mentioned that each ASEAN mem-ber-state should acceler-ate the integration of stan-

dard, rules, and process and commit to implement it in order to ease flow of goods, services, capital, and labor force in the re-gion.

He urged that ASEAN should have common cus-toms order that will fur-ther permit freer trade.

Moreover, the DoF chief cited challenges that the ASEAN should address in line with the AEC such as infrastructure, deeper financial market, and ed-

ucation.“If we are to (go into)

one market, we need to connect our countries,” Purisima noted.

He mentioned that deepening the financial market will support in-vestment in infrastruc-ture.

He echoed ASEAN should “recycle” its money to finance the upgrading of infrastructure in the region instead of sending the money in Western cap-

ital market.Further, Purisima said

education will play a cru-cial role in the integration which will make ASEAN citizens more participat-ing and productive for the economic growth of the region.

“ASEAN must be aware of the challenges. These challenges should be un-derstand also by civil so-ciety and not only by the government,” he noted. [PNA]

AEC to hasten harmonization of rules in ASEAN -- Purisima

EN V I r o N M E N TA L group BAN Toxics on Friday said it aims

to convince 5,000 small-scale miners in Mt. Diwata in Monkayo, Compostela Valley province, to use mer-cury-free gold processing facility.

The number represents close to 30 percent of about 18,000 small miners in the area.

The facility, which was launched Friday for the first time in Mindanao, will apply

the Benguet Method that has been popularized by BAN Toxics.

Evelyn Cubelo, the group’s artisanal and small-scale mining program man-ager, said in a press confer-ence here that such method is a traditional technique developed and widely used by indigenous tribes in Ben-guet.

The facility utilizes grav-ity and borax, instead of mercury. She said borax is a chemical compound that is

less toxic compared to mer-cury when handled properly.

“We continue to look for the best alternative technology that is most ef-fective in doing away with toxic chemicals in the fu-ture,” Cubelo said.

She mentioned that at the national level, groups have been studying on the permanent storage of mer-cury as it is a persistent chemical.

All of Benguet’s 2,500 small-scale miners are al-

ready using such mercu-ry-free facility, she noted.

The project will be a series of “miners-train-ing-miners” in which BAN Toxics will bring in min-ers from other parts of the country who have aban-doned mercury use to train their counterparts in Mt. Diwata. The pioneering group of trainees is expect-ed to share their knowledge to other miners in the area. [Lorie Ann Cascaro/Min-daNews]

Group eyes 5,000 miners to use mercury-free facility

VOL. 7 ISSUE 50 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, MAY 25-26, 2014 7EDGEDAVAO

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SAN PEDRO COLLEGEDavao City

FISH provides more than half of the protein re-quirement of almost

all Filipinos. At this rate, this makes the Filipinos one of the world’s biggest fish consum-ers. This must be the reason why the current dwindling fish catch alarms experts. “Unless we look for other sources of protein, the food intake of Fil-ipinos will be greatly affected,” a government official said.

To solve the problem, some fishery experts are bat-ting for aquaculture. It is the raising of fish and other aquat-ic life in protected enclosure or in controlled, natural environ-ments. one of its key benefits is its potential for reducing pressure on marine fisheries.

In the Philippines, tilapia is now the second most im-portant fish – after bangus. Ti-lapia fish pens are a common sight in almost all the major rivers and lakes in the coun-try, including Laguna de Bay, Taal Lake, and Lake Sebu. It is very popular among Fil-ipinos who cooked the fish in different ways, including fried, grilled, sinigang (a sour soup using tamarind, santol, guava or calamansi as a base) and paksiw(similar to sin-

igang only it uses vinegar). Dr. rafael D. Guerrero III,

the man who popularized ti-lapia in the Philippines, touted tilapia as the “country’s wave of the future.” As he puts it, “We are now one of the world’s leading producers of tilapia.”

The fishery expert found out that tilapias are among the easiest and most profit-able fish to farm. “The tilapia has good attributes that make it suitable for aquaculture,” he says. “It matures early, breeds readily and is a hardy fish.”

Most of the tilapia raised in the Philippines are con-sumed locally. However, there is a growing international market demand for tilapia as a foodfish. In the United States and Europe, tilapia is getting a lot of attention.

Tilapia can be raised in cages, tanks or in ponds in monoculture or in polyculture with other fishes. Integrated farming with other agriculture crops has also been done. Cul-ture technique may be exten-sive, semi-intensive, or inten-sive.

The Iloilo-based Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) shares the following information on the

culture of tilapia: Cage culture: Cages are

installed in lakes, dams, riv-ers, raceways, canals, and im-

poundments or even in the open sea. The use of cages has many advantages over ponds and tanks: Cages are less ex-pensive, stocking density can be increased, and manage-ment is relatively easy.

Fish cages can either be fixed or stationary or floating, depending on the depth of the water. In fixed or stationary cages, the cages are attached to a staked bamboo (30 centime-ters deep). Its basic framework consists of nylon net sewn similar to an inverted mosqui-to net. The net flooring which may or may not touch the bot-tom is kept at least 0.5 meter above the water level. A brace strengthens the posts while a cover protects the stocks from floods and poaches.

In floating cages (recom-mended for 5 meters deep), the net cages are attached to bamboo rafts. Lead sinkers at-tached to the flooring holds the structure in place. A freeboard of one meter is left above the waterline. Bamboo rafts, oil drums, or Styrofoam may be used as floats.

Ponds: Tilapia ponds vary from 0.25 to two hectares. The enclosing dikes are about 1.5 to 2 meters high. Water depth of one to 1.5 meters is main-tained (freeboard is about 0.5 meter). The pond bottom should be well compacted to minimize seepage.

Tanks: The intensive culture of tila-pia in tanks requires artificial feeds, thus water manage-ment is critical. rectangular concrete tanks are suitable in limited areas. A tank of size 20 to 500 square meters and 1.2 to 1.5 meters deep may vary in shape: rectangular, square, octagonal, or circular.

The amount and kind of feeds depend on the culture method used. “Feed is re-quired in tank culture systems or in waters with low pri-mary production,” SEAFDEC said. “Feeding rate can be ad-justed depending on the aver-age weight of the fish.”

Tilapia in cages used to enjoy the plankton-rich lakes and needed only minimal sup-plement feeding. Such is not the case anymore today – what with the congestion of cages in lakes.

“The use of supplemental feeds is necessary in intensive or semi-intensive culture,” SEAFDEC stated. “organic or inorganic fertilizer is needed for natural food production in the first two months of culture. In the third or four month, however, natural food becomes limiting, hence feed-ing is necessary.”

The Bureau of Fisher-ies and Aquatic resources in Cagayan province, has found that that small floating plants

in fishponds, called azolla or duckweeds, can effectively substitute for half of the com-mercial feeds for tilapia pro-duction. The study also found out that a 50-50 combination of fresh azolla and commercial feeds recorded a higher tilapia growth rate than pure com-mercial feeds.

At the MBrLC, research has shown that you can make your tilapia pond more pro-ductive and profitable by rais-ing a pig at the site of the pond. Pig wastes go directly to the pond and help to fertilize the tiny plants that serve as the tilapia’s main food. Tests have proven that tilapia cultured in this kind of pond can be eaten without any harmful effect.

“Tilapia is here to stay in the country,” said Dr. Guerre-ro. “Its farming should be fur-ther promoted in upland and coastal areas of the country where fisheries production will be adversely affected by climate change.”

To make tilapia available to all Filipinos, certain prob-lems like the lack of quality fingerlings in areas like the Visayas and Mindanao and the need for extension services to fish farmers must be solved first. “The establishment of more private hatcheries and the pushing of a national ex-tension program will definitely help,” he says.

Tilapia: Answer to fish needs of FilipinosTexT and PhoToS By gerry T. eSTrerA

VOL. 7 ISSUE 50 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, MAY 25-26, 20148 EDGEDAVAO

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EDITORIAL

FoUrTEEN-YEAr old Johnrey Amar’s dreams of becoming a box-ing champion ended with a second round knockout in a baran-gay fiesta boxing tournament in Barangay Sawata, San Isidro

in Davao del Norte. He never recovered from the knockout and the teenaged boxer was declared dead on arrival at the Kapalong District Hospital moments later.

Johnrey’s death in the ring could spark a lot of questions especial-ly from those responsible in organizing the tournament.

We searched for the details of Johnrey’s death by beginning with the query on whether the tournament was sanctioned by the nation-al sports association (NSA) of amateur boxing which is the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) represented in the Davao region by Gene rose Tecson. We learned from Tecson that there were no requests coming from the organizers to sanction the tournament or request for boxing referees and judges. With that, it can only be surmised that the tournament was not officially sanc-tioned and officiated by ABAP.

According to news reports, the boxing tournament had the per-mit of the barangay council and the municipal government. However, that is not the critical factor there. Any tournament sanctioned and officiated by the ABAP undergoes strict safety standards which in-cludes medical check-ups prior to fights, use of appropriate boxing gears and equipment, and accredited referees and judges.

In the tragic tournament in Sawata, news reports only mentioned there was a doctor and the fight had the permit of the LGU and ba-

rangay. It further narrated that Johnrey collapsed in the ring and he was brought to the hospital where he was declared DoA secondary to head injury.

The question is, did the attending doctor conduct medical exam-ination of Johnrey to declare the cause of death as head injury? Nor-mally, deaths in the ring necessitate the conduct of an autopsy to determine the cause of death. In Johnrey’s case, would someone just declare it head injury without examining him? remember he was immediately declared dead on arrival. Amateur boxing today uses a protective armor or head gear. other than that, the referee is trained to halt the exchange where there is a clear hit to the head and to give the boxer a standing count for him to recover from the hit. Excessive hit to the head also necessitates a stoppage. It’s not like professional boxing where a boxer could get beaten up.

Judging from the nature of amateur fights, there is enough safety measures set forth by the rules itself and unless the people handling the competition are inept and inexperienced, there is no way that the boxers will have to go through a beating in the ring.

Tecson said an investigation will be made even if the national ABAP has also surprisingly not given any instructions to conduct a probe on the tragic death of the young boxer from Davao del Norte.

In the same breath, the provincial government of Davao del Norte (which hopes to bring the Palarong Pambansa to the province next year) must show its regard for safety in sports by ensuring that such a sorry incident will not happen again in the future.

VOL. 7 ISSUE 50 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, MAY 25-26, 2014

AQUILES Z. ZONIOCorrespondent

VANTAGE POINTS 9EDGEDAVAO

State of decline

The denial game

By H. MarcoS c. Mordeno

SOMEONE ELSE’S WINDOWS

DAMPENING THE WATEr CoNSUM-ErS’ EXPECTATIoN oF BETTEr SErVICE – For the past months,

much of Mindanao including Davao City have been suffering from massive brown-outs lasting 4 to 6 hours while other areas experienced 10 to 12 hours power inter-ruptions. Surprisingly, the situation grad-ually improved probably due to the inter-mittent rains that raised the water level of Lake Lanao, which make the hydroelectric power plants produce additional load to augment the power deficiency situation.

Consumers, Dabawenyos in particular heave a collective sigh of relief because they have been ease from the nightmarish situation – sweating for hours and going back to candle power. Now the power sup-ply situation is almost back to normal, but then again they’re being confronted with another problem – water interruption. Water consumers are fuming at how once the city’s proud water facility and provider allowed its services to decline.

Badly affected by the unbearable daily water supply situation are people living in elevated areas. There is no water in the faucet from 6:00 a.m. or even earlier until 12:00 noon especially during the hot sum-mer months. Water in higher areas flows after noontime and if does flow, it would only make one’s blood pressure rise. The deplorable condition has been going on for quite some time – good or bad weather.

The situation does not sit comfortably well in a city where water is abundant and its quality considered as second best worldwide. City residents could not hide their frustrations over the poor distribu-tion of water that eventually led to reduc-ing their expectation of better service. In explaining to the consumers, officials of the water facility put some blamed on the burgeoning population and property de-velopment boom following the logic that

the more peo-ple and infra-structure, the more water is needed.

Indeed, in-dustry woes are expected to worsen as the local wa-ter firm faces other press-ing problems. Among the travails: lack of bigger reser-voirs and generator sets to run the booster pumps that provide air pressure because these would require huge capital outlay amounting to several millions, and project backlogs. More than that, militant groups, conservationists and environmentalists of-ten opposed any planned expansion proj-ect for the reason that it would affect the ecosystem and harm flora and fauna.

The biggest problem – this has existed for many, many years – is that squatter col-onies are blocking the upgrading of infra-structures. The problem is real and it has been addressed firmly according to offi-cials of the water firm. But so far we have no idea how true that the water service provider is on track with regard to its pri-ority projects like solving the poor water distribution system and upgrading exist-ing and building new infrastructures.

officials therefore should not meet queries about the water supply situation and its quality with the usual “why-are-you-so-concerned” response that the “situ-ation is all right today.” But what about to-morrow? With that kind of responsibility, water firm officials should mount excep-tional effort utilizing whatever resources are available – and continuously work on improving the water supply system.

CITY’S TroUBLED ECoSYSTEM – The

major concern of environmentalist groups right now is the challenges facing Davao City arising from urban growth: conges-tion, low water supply and deforestation. They are urging city officials to formulate a “realistic land-use plan” for the city. The formula will designate specific areas for housing and allow greater conservation measures for the remaining hectares.

Not only are environmentalist groups who want to preserve the city’s ecological balance but residents as well. They know full well that the city’s water supply is a key indicator of its troubled ecosystem. As more people settle in the city, more trees are felled to give way to the housing boom – resulting in the low water reten-tion of the soil as the demand for water heightens.

Thus, environmentalists and residents alike are concerned with the protection of the city’s remaining watershed and for-est reservation areas, and protect it from being parceled out by dubious claimants. The strategic location and good weather of Davao City is a boon to tourists, mi-grants, retirees and real-estate develop-ers. But sad to say, housing developers have allegedly ravaged the environment with their earth-moving and tree-cutting activities.

The city’s watershed, a vast forested area in the 3rd district was being ruined slowly but steadily by unscrupulous cap-italists and the possible disastrous effect of their undertakings had to be stamp out permanently. To forestall the destruction of the environment, city residents must support environmentalist groups and conservationist citizens in adding their little voice to protect the ecosystem. our support is crucial because the devasta-tion of the environment will create havoc in our water system, agriculture and all means of livelihood.

ALL those alleged to have received dirty PDAF money chorused one common refrain: I deny having

met Janet Napoles, and I have never had any transaction with her. I vehemently deny the allegation.

Their emphatic message to the public is: We are clean, honest and uncorrupt.

Question: Are they?As for me, I’m inclided to side with

Benhur Luy & Co. . They have docu-ments, and they gave credible, believable testimonies before the Senate.

The lawmakers have only their self-serving, self-righteous indignation.

our porky lawmakers are creative ge-nius. They converted their PDAF into an ATM with an annual maintaining balance of P200-M (for senators) and P70-M (for congressmen).

And they are honorable men.ooooo

Top media personalities from the country’s top media groups were al-leged to have received cash gifts and Pr money from Napoles.

Again, denials came fast and furious from Korina Sanchez, Mike Enriquez, Luchi Cruz-Valdez.

We never received Na-poles money, they declared.

I think it is best for these media bigwigs to remain calm. They don’t have to prove their inno-cence. It’s Benhur Luy’s burden to prove the impu-tations.

The big three of ABS-CBN, GMA and TV5 have nothing to gain by parroting their innocence. They have everything to lose if they talk unwittingly out of turn. Silence is golden should be their battlecry.

oooooSenators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy

Estrada, Bong revilla Jr. have expressed readiness to face arrest.

Brave guys. But don’t be surprised if later, their lawyers would petition that they be placed under hospital arrest for reasons like hypertension, diabetes and

heart failure.ooooo

About two dozen Italian women were reported to have fallen in love with Catholic priests, and have asked Pope Francis to make celibacy (chastity vow) optional so they could marry their priest-boyfriends.

I think women are getting bolder ev-eryday. I’m afraid they are carrying the women’s rights too far.

But let me pose this question: What do priests have that non-priests do not have?

Well, priestly charms are simply irre-sistible to women. They are true gentle-man in many ways. They are well-man-nered, gentle, respectful, soft-spoken. They are devoid of false air, bravura, pretense. They are extremely likeable fellows. They have refined language, demeanor. They are not “loud”. – These are charms that easily sweep women off their feet.

I’m talking of good priests, not the bad ones.

Those Italian women must have told their priest-boyfriends: “Bless me Fa-ther, for I have fallen in love with you.”

SoMETIME last year, a colleague showed a photo of hundreds of empty bottles of what we com-

monly call “mineral water” littered on a street in the metropolis. Ironically, those bottles were thrown there by people who joined an Earth Day fun run. Not funny, really.

Such awful sight should make us reexamine the habit of patronizing bot-tled water. We think it’s trendy, cool. We are deceived by ads claiming that bottled water is safer and “healthier” compared to tap water, and the use of healthy, attractive endorsers by com-panies that sell this stuff. In other words, patronizing it is nothing more than wanting to be “in”. Companies know their psychology; consumers wish to partake of a product endorser’s identity.

But seldom do we realize that buy-ing it only produces more and more trash and gives no actual health ben-efits. In the US alone, the number of empty plastic bottles each year can cir-cle the equator at least 19 times. How many of these bottles, most of which are thrown away and not recycled, find their way into rivers and seas where they can endanger marine life?

I don’t have figures for the Philip-pines. Yet, judging by the number of stores that are selling bottled water it can be presumed that this industry must be reaping windfalls here. Even hotels have now imbibed the habit of labeling bottled water with the names of their establishments.

The net effect of a thriving bottled water business – and the so-called pu-rified water business too – is that peo-ple have come to suspect the quality (read safety) of tap water supplied by the local water utilities. Perhaps you may not like the taste of your tap wa-ter compared to that of its bottled, nay, overpriced cousin. However, a taste which is not to your liking doesn’t nec-essarily mean that tap water is unsafe.

Think again. Local water systems are regulated by government. When we say regulations, we’re not just refer-ring to the amount we pay per unit vol-ume of consumption but also quality standards that make tap water safe for humans. on the other hand, how sure are we that bottled water business in general undergoes rigorous govern-ment safety regulations?

And there’s another downside to getting hooked to bottled or “purified” water: it cuts us off from the issue of obliging government to ensure access to safe and affordable water, potable water to be exact. By joining the band-wagon created by the commodification of water we are unknowingly handing over the control of this basic life-giving resource to the corporations.

In Bukidnon, for instance, planta-tions have diverted huge volumes of water from rivers away from tradition-al farms compounding the difficulties of ordinary farmers during the dry season. Let’s not add to the problem by allowing corporations to further hoard what should be part of the com-mons. [MindaViews is the opinion sec-tion of MindaNews. H. Marcos C. Mor-deno can be reached at [email protected]]

Stop buying bottled water

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1. Male, 28 – 40 years old2. At least high school graduate3. With 5 years driving experience (bus, trucks)

requirements:1. Driver’s License with official receipt2. 2 x 2 I.D. picture (2 pcs.)3. Certificate of Employment or clearance from

May apply in person at Human resource Department, YBLI office, General Santos Drive, Koronadal City.

LegAL noticenotice is hereby given that the

estate of the late roniLo B. pALMA has been the subject of an eXtrA-JudiciAL SettLeMent with the special power of Attorney executed by his heirs per doc. no.268; page no. 54; Book no. Xiv; Series of 2014 of the notArY puBLic iSrAeLito P. Torreon

5/12/19/26

notice oF LoSSnotice is hereby given by LoYoLA pLAnS conSoLidAted inc.

that certiFicAte oF FuLL pAYMent no.(s) 21081580 under Loyola contract no(s). 193839-3 issued to eveLYn JAMpAc

1002451 under Loyola contract no(s). 30787-4 issued to roMeo KeitH c. LLAguno1003377 under Loyola contract no(s).1120357-7 issued to eLizABetH c. gonzAgA

were lost. Any transaction entered into shall be null and void.5/12,19,26

notice oF LoSSnotice is hereby given by LoYoLA pLAnS

conSoLidAted inc. that certiFicAte oF FuLL pAYMent no.(s) 1005513 under LoYoLA pLAn contract no.(s) 294508-8/nnn707234560 issued to eSperAnzA c. cASiAno was lost. Any transaction entered into shall be null and void.

5/19/26/6/2

gay Una Boxing Program of former congressman Tony-boy Floirendo. “I have asked who are the persons respon-sible here because this is a very sad event, a big setback for boxing.”

Tecson said she was also surprised that the national ABAP office is silent on the issue.

“Matagal na silang hindi nagcommunicate sa amin. Ngayon wala rin silang imik. I am saddened by these turn of events,” said Tecson under whose stewardship the likes of olympian boxers Michael Anthony Barriga and rey Saludar were produced in Panabo City.

Tecson said there must be an inquiry on the ill-fat-ed tournament and those responsible should be held accountable. She suggested that an autopsy be conduct-

ed on Amar to determine exactly the reason for his death.

“It’s not enough that he was declared dead by reason of head injury. Ang tanong diyan, paano nila nasabi na head injury nga ito unless they did an autopsy?” Tecson asked.

Amar’s death is the sec-ond tragic ring incident in the amateur ranks in the country in a span of five months. Last December, Jonas Garcia, a fourth year high school student from Bu-lacan, died after blacking out at a boxing match serving as eliminations for the 2014 Palarong Pambansa.

Garcia’s death prompted the Department of Educa-tion (Deped) to cancel the elementary boxing event in the Palarong Pambansa this year.

The situation now, how-ever, changes. Today, young children find time to play again while their parents become productive again courtesy of the assistance from kind-heart-ed individuals and well-mean-ing institutions and private cor-porations.

“Wala mi nagdahum na magkabalay mi nga ing-ani kanindot,” said 73-year old Patricio P. Planteras, in describ-ing the structure he still man-aged to appreciate even as he is already losing his sight because of eye cataract.

Architect Michael “Mike” Guerrero, chairman and found-er of Green Architecture Ad-

vocacy of the Philippines who designed the structures said the houses were built based on the technology adopted from Indonesia.

“Less resources, less energy and more environment friend-ly,” he said.

Guerrero said that every detail of the house is intricate and suitable to the area.

He said that houses were capable of withstanding an-other Pablo because materials used were reliable and planned.

Holcim did not just give homes but skills and knowl-edge to homeowners who are recipients of the “Tabang ta kabalayan- a shelter and liveli-

hood program”.As part of the sustainable

program, about 177 men and women of the village were trained of carpentry, masonry, plumbing, roof tile making, hol-low blocks making and electri-cal wire installation.

Sahagun said that families in the area can now start their own business and lift their own feet from the stones and mud of the past.

“Some of our trainees will work for the LGU and private companies,” he said.

Differently-able Jerry C. Po-linar, 36 years old and a shoe-maker, said the trainings they gained can be use in looking for

a source of additional income especially that demands for in-come now increase as their two children are growing. His also wife attended the training for roof tile making.

Villagers can start their livelihood because Holcim is leaving the equipment and tools to the community.

Aside from houses, the first model community built by Hol-cim and the beneficiaries has a recreation area, chapel, com-munity garden, livelihood cen-ter and training center.

Sahagun said that the vil-lage will be replicated to Taclo-ban which was struck by Yolan-da more than six months ago.

Association of Colleges and Schools, said the areas that the Philippine educational system needs to enhance include skills or “what the students can really do” and “not just their knowl-edge”.

He said this is why the Enhanced Basic Education Program or K2+12 offers other areas of learning such as music and technical-vocational skills.

“our youth will become employable when they reach 18 years old with K2+12,” he said, adding it prepares the youth for the global economy.

republic Act No. 10533 or the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 has increased the number of years for basic edu-cation. Aside from undergoing two years of kindergarten, stu-dents have to finish a total of 12

years of elementary and high school education.

Various sectors have op-posed the K2+12 program even before it became a law and implemented starting June 2013. Progressive groups said it aims to produce skilled work-ers for the global market, while some parents viewed it as an added economic burden.

Youth and student orga-

nizations have repeatedly pro-tested against what they call the commercialization of education as shown by the annual tuition hikes.

In the Davao region, a total of 107 private elementary and high schools were allowed to increase their tuition and mis-cellaneous fees for school year 2014-2015. [Lorie Ann Cascaro/MindaNews]

ment opportunities.”“Free wireless internet

connection will ensure that the populace -- beginning with those in the capital -- will be equipped with and honed to using key faculties needed to build an innovative, pro-

gressive and rapidly digitizing economy,” he noted.

recto said free Wi-Fi con-nection can be extended in other major cities of the coun-try like Cebu and Davao.

”of course, we’ll do that in other urban areas but we have

to start somewhere and that’s here in Metro Manila,” he said.

He said the Information and Communications Tech-nology office under Depart-ment of Science and Technol-ogy will be the lead agency for implementation of the bill

once it is enacted into law.on the other hand, recto

said the amount necessary for the implementation will be charged against “any avail-able funds” of National Tele-communication Commission. [PNA]

“The privatization of NPC assets generated an amount of USD7.7 billion for the sales of transmission assets , USD 10.8 billion from the appointment of independent power plant administrators , USD 3.3 billion from the sale of generating as-sets, and USD .004 billion from the sale of commission power plants,” orig said.

“Epira is suppose to create an environment that will lead the government exiting the pow-er industry and its assets is sup-pose to be privatized,” he said

The gradual turnover of power assets to the private sec-tor has improved the generating capacity of power plants.

In year 2000, the generating capacity of power plants owned by NPC is 90 percent the private sector holds 10 percent but during the EPIrA regime, from 2001 to 2012 generating capac-ity of the private sector increase to 74 percent while the gener-ating capacity of power plants NPC got to 26 percent, he said.

Contrary to the claims that there were only a few compa-

nies who were able to benefit and participate in the privatiza-tion of NPC assets, orig said that, in fact, there were 14 companies who were able to acquire gen-erating assets from NPC with generating capacity of 50 MW and above.

“It is not true that big giant players in the industry were able to benefit and participate from the privatization of NPC assets,” he said.

Among the players that were able to participate are the Alcantara-owned and Aboitiz-owned companies.

He said that EPIrA also cre-ated an environment conducive for more investments to come in thus increasing the power supply. It also guides the lower-ing of power rates.

Based on his report pre-sented during the Mindanao Power Stakeholders Meeting at The Marco Polo Davao last Wednesday, it bared that Phil-ippines has the second lowest power rate with P32 per kilo-watt.

It is lower than in other

countries that implement the Wholesale Electric Spot Market like New Zealand, Europe but

“The highest peak of power rate is observe when there are power outages,” he said, not-ing that in January 2010 and November 2013 there were a sudden increase in power rate because there was a decrease in the power supply that hap-pened because of the shutting down of Malampaya power plant in 2010.

The record increase in 2013 that cause outrage in con-sumers was caused by a conflu-ence of events that was created by plant maintenance, forced outage and typhoon Yolanda that lead to the utilization of ex-pensive reserves in the WESM market, orig explained

“The total generation ca-pacity that was lost during time is 3,701MW; 1,170 MW, was lost from plant outages; 1,491 MW was lost due to force outages and 140 MW lost be-cause of the shutdown of Leyte powe plant because of typhoon Yolanda,” he said.

Given with the demand 5, 141MW of the Luzon and Vi-sayas grid, 68 percent cannot be supplied from the genera-tion capacity that was lost.

one of the most debated in the WESM is s the price.

“one way is to compare the reasonability of WESM price during 2007 to 2013 which is P4.32 per kilowatt hour and Meralco whose rate is P5.13kWh. This is 14 percent lower,” he said.

The WESM price is also 5 percent lower that the special discounted rate offered by NPC which is P4.66kWH.

“This is a very clear indi-cator that the Epira has driven down the generation charges,” he said.

But Mindanao Business Council (MinBC) chair and an entrepreneur Vicente T. Lao is firm that the law should be amended, or otherwise it should be abolished. He said that it provides the government an avenue not to provide the basic services that people de-serve.

munity,” the MoA stipulates. The MoA states that out the P24. 8 million allocated by the DA, P9.8 million will go to high val-ue crops development programs such as sustainable agroforestry development project and vege-table enhancement.

The P3.5 million will go to rice production enhancement program, P1.68 million for corn production enhancement, and P4.49 will be allocated for Mu-nicipal Fishery Development Project. Then, P3.25 million will be for goat restocking project, P600,000 for free range restock-

ing project, P50,000 for piglet restocking project and P1.5 mil-lion for biogas digester project.

The council also approved “ordinance Authorizing the City Mayor to sign for and in behalf of the City Government of Davao the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to be entered by and between the City Gov-ernment of Davao and Tech-nical Education Skills and De-velopment Authority (TESDA) relative to the implementation of the local poverty reduction action plan (LPrAP) 2014 as stipulated in the DBM-DILG-

DSWD-NAPC joint memoran-dum circular no. 03 series of 2012.”

Under the MoA between the city and TESDA, the city will be given P3 million budget for the Technology-Based Com-munity Training and Entrepre-neurship program.

The MoA states that the city will also provide counterpart assistance such as training ven-ue and office supplies during the conduct of the trainings.

Among the programs that will be offered are beauty care, food processing, bread and pas-

try, welding, bag making and entrepreneurship appreciation course.

The target beneficiaries of this program will the out of school youth, parents of chil-dren in conflict with law, per-sons with disability, women and urban poor.

The City Social Services and Development office (CSS-Do) had already identified the Barangay Cabantian, Baran-gay Sasa, Barangay Calinan Poblcaion, Barangay Crossing Bayabas, Barangay Centro Agd-ao and Barangay Ilang.

VOL. 7 ISSUE 50 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, MAY 25-26, 2014

THrEE students of the Ateneo de Davao Univer-sity who collaborated for

the video entitled “My friends who ran” romped away with the grand prize in the Pioneer Insurance ‘Stories of Friend-ship’ video competition.

The video, pegged by multi-awarded young director Anju De Vera, was awarded the grand prize winner during the awards ceremonies last May 20, 2014.

‘My friends who ran’ was one of the chosen 8 who garnered about 2,530 votes, shares and support in the social media. The story was about a teenage boy whose friends went to school far away but later on decided not to run alone in his journey.

The cast in this video in-cludes Maura Mae Vigilia, Mike Cedric Espino and Dennis Ja-billes III. The three actors and De Vera are students of the Hu-

manities and Letters Depart-ment of ADDU.

Pioneer launched this competition as part of their 60th anniversary. The coun-try’s leading insurance firm launched the project to call on the youth to show what real

friendship is all about which is also the guiding principle of the insurance firm.

Pioneer has been serving the Filipino people for de-cades as an insurance com-pany and a “friend” who is always ready to back you up

when the unexpected hap-pens.

De Vera said that every-thing would not be possible if it wasn’t for the production team’s friendship. “We have portrayed how important friends are not just through

the video but also with our teamwork and hardwork when we created this entry,” De Vera said.

De Vera’s team plans to use the P120,000 top prize to buy film equipment they could use in the future.

11

rEPUBLIC oF THE PHILIPPINESrEGIoNAL TrIAL CoUrT

11TH JUDICIAL rEGIoNoFFice oF tHe cLerK oF court-SHeriFF

DAVAo CITY

nAtionAL HoMe MortgAgeFinAnce corporAtion (nHMFc) Mortgagee, -versus- eJF-reM cASe no. 14, 613-14roMeo B. BiBAt Mortgagor/s.

x- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -x

notice oF eXtrA-JudiciAL SALe

Upon extra-judicial petition for sale under Act 3135, as amended, filed by Act 4118 , filed the above-mentioned mortgagee against roMeo B. BiBAt a resident of Green Meadows 4 Lot 13, Blk 42 Sto Niño, Mintal , Davao City at to satisfy the mortgage indebtedness which as of March 31, 2014, the outstanding balance of debtor-mortgagor is p 837,380.82 Philippine Currency, inclusive of interest and penalty charges and other charges, plus daily inter-est and expenses thereafter, plus 10% interest of the total amount of the indebtedness as attorneys’s fees and other necessary expenses in the enforcement of the extra-judi-cial forclosure, the undersigned Sheriff IV of regional Trial Court, Davao City; the undersigned will sell at public auc-tion on June 27, 2014 at 10:00 o’clock in the morning, or soon thereafter, at the main en-trance of Hall of Justice, Ecoland ,Davao City to the highest bidder for Cash or MANAGEr’S CHECK and in Philippine Currency, the following real property together with all the improvements thereon, to wit:

transfer certificate of title no. t-217390

“ A parcel of land x x x x situated in the Barangay of Mintal, city of davao xxx. containing an area of 135 SquAre MeterS, more or less xxx.”

All sealed bids must be submitted to the undersigned on the above-stated time and date.

That in the event the public auction should not take place on the said date, it shall be held on August 1, 2014 without further notice.

Prospective buyers are hereby enjoined to investigate for themselves the titles herein described real property/ies and the encumbrances thereon , if any there be.

Davao City, Philippines, May 21, 2014.

For THE EX-oFFICIo ProV’L SHErIFF:

(Sgd) divinAgrAciA B. BArceLonA Sheriff iv

5/26/6/2,9

EDGEDAVAO

COMPETITIVE EDGE

Ateneo De Davao entry wins Pioneer video-making contestBy AtHenA JiLLiAn BrAvo

TRUE STORY OF FRIENDSHIP. Pioneer Inc President and CEO Lorenzo Chan with grand winners Anju de Vera, Dennis Jabilles and Mike Cedric Espino. Photo by Juan Manila.

TWo years after the first “Gawad Geny Lopez Jr. Global Bayaning Pilipino

Awards” was staged, both tri-umphs and tragedies have be-fallen the Philippines but ABS-CBN Japan, Inc. (ABS-CBN TFC) and UGAT Foundation continue to remember individuals and organizations in the Asia Pacific who have turned these into op-portunities to help through the “Gawad Geny Lopez Jr. Global Bayaning Pilipino Awards sa Gawing Japan” which will be held on June 8 in Chiba.

This year, ABS-CBN TFC and UGAT Foundation, in partnership with Stimula Pro-ductions, will honor the three finalists in the event “Saludo sa Bayaning Pilipino sa Ja-pan:” rachel rakahashi, Chari-to Itoh and Jepie Dato ramma-da.

Takahashi and Itoh are two distinguished ladies who helped Filipinos in Japan during the March 11 Tohoku great earthquake and tsunami. The third finalist, Jeppie Dato ra-mada, the founder of United Filipinos in Gifu (UNIFIL-GIFU), is the brains behind the “Let’s Walk Together,” a fun run or-ganized to gather funds for the victims of typhoon Yolanda (in-

ternational name Haiyan). Meantime, special cita-

tion will be given to Bayanihan Kessennuma Filipino Commu-nity, a group of Filipinos who were themselves victims of the earthquake and tsunami but were challenged to help other victims as well.

Chit Guerrero, head of ABS-CBN Special Projects and one of the moving forces behind the awards said: “When we were going through their entries, we were moved by the fact that these ordinary Filipinos actual-ly suffered from the very reason why they were brought togeth-er – the calamities. They are worthy of being called heroes because they overcame the big-gest challenge of their lives and overturned these to become opportunities to help.”

The four finalists will be honored on June 8 at “Saludo Sa Bayaning Pilipino sa Ja-pan,” a free concert in honor of the Filipino modern day he-roes. Showcasing the Filipino talent and paying tribute to the awardees are Angel Locsinand “The Voice” 2013 grand win-ner Mitoy Yonting. The event will be hosted by DZMM Tel-eradyo’s Maresciel Yao, anchor of “Usapang de Campanilla.”

Ailene Averion, ABS-CBN Global Ltd. managing direc-tor for Asia-Pacific shared, “’Gawad Geny Lopez Jr. Glob-al Bayaning Pilipino Awards’ has been honoring Filipinos in Japan since 1997 but this is the third time we are for-mally staging the ‘Gawad Geny Lopez Jr. Global Bayaning Pil-ipino Awards sa Gawing Ja-pan’ which includes winners from the country.” It is truly fitting for the network to rec-ognize the exemplary acts be-cause TFC is also celebrating its 20th anniversary by way of honoring the “galing” or “greatness of Filipinos,” includ-ing for service to fellowmen.

“Gawad Geny Lopez Jr. Global Bayaning Pilipino Awards sa Gawing Japan” within the event “Saludo Sa Bayaning Pilipino sa Japan” will be held in the Matsudo Citizen Hall at the Chiba Pre-fecture. The free event will be mounted in partnership with the Philippine Embassy in Ja-pan, Philippine overseas La-bor Employment office under the Department of Labor and Employment, Hawak Kamay sa Mahal Na Ina (HAKMI),” “Filipino Communities in Ja-pan,” and Matsui Japan. For

more information, visit http://www.facebook.com/TFCJapan Connect with fellow global Fil-ipinos and visit twitter.com/KapamilyaTFC and instra-gram.com/KapamilyaTFC

Gawad Geny Lopez Jr. Glob-al Bayaning Pilipino Awards ABS-CBN Chairman Emeri-tus Eugenio Lopez Jr. fondly called Kapitan, was inspired to mount the Gawad Geny Lopez Jr. Bayaning Pilipino Awards when he learnt of a domestic helper who saved his ward from an oncoming vehicle in Hong Kong. Kapi-tan tapped Ugat Foundation Inc. headed by Project Direc-tor Fr. Nilo Tanalega to create a recognition for more out-standing Filipinos performing extraordinary works. The Gawad Geny Lopez Jr. Bayan-ing Pilipino Awards started its National Awards for outstand-ing Filipinos in the Philippines in 1995 and extended it inter-nationally, beginning in Japan in 1999. Succeeding versions ensued until the first formal Gawad Geny Lopez Jr. Global Bayaning Pilipino Awards was finally staged in 2012. All win-ners go through a screening, validation and final section process before the awarding.

ABS-CBN TFC honors Filipinos’ excellence in Japan

VOL. 7 ISSUE 50 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, MAY 25-26, 201412CLASSIFIED

INdulge! VOL. 7 ISSUE 50 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, MAY 25-26, 2014

EDGEDAVAOEVENT

EvEry sEcond, minute and hour counts in today’s fast-paced lifestyle and although ev-eryone who owns a mobile phone would have ways to tell the time, noth-ing beats the style and function of a watch on one’s wrist. recognising this, fashion brand To-mato launched their watch line in 2011 and called it Tomato Time, offering high-ly stylish yet afford-able timepieces that suit the fashionable set. Fast forward to 2014 and Tomato Time is fi-nally hitting davao city’s shores with the opening of their Tomato Time ki-osk at the Gaisano Mall of davao last May 18 which was graced by the arrival of Tomato Time’s brand ambassador Jc de vera. At an exclusive press meeting, the Moon of

By Kenneth Irving Ong

Desire and Legal Wife ac-tor revealed his love for watches. “Happy talaga ako with Tomato Time, kasi very particular ako

sa watch. I like wearing watches, lalo na sa work.” beamed Jc. “The designs of Tomato Time match my many moods from sporty to casual, to corpo-rate or party.” celebrity stylist Pam Quiñones also loved To-mato Time. “A lot of To-mato Time watches are very classic. If you wear it now, and then you keep it, you can still wear it after 10 years or so.” says Pam. Although the watches may look stylish and ex-pensive, the watches of To-mato Time are available at an affordable price range from P800 to P1200. The watches also come with a 1-year warranty service on mechanism and battery, giving its customers wal-let-friendly watches with-out sacrificing its quality.

Time out with JC de Vera

JC shows off Tomato Time’s Swap Watch which allow one to mix and match different watch faces with different straps creating infinite combination posibilities.A light moment during the Q&A.

Tomato Time Taylor watch with leather strap.Tomato Time Trooper watch.

JC de Vera for Tomato Time.

CuT to ideal proportions with superior optical symmetry and a specific faceting pattern, Hearts and Arrows is a vi-sual phenomenon that appears in the finest round of dia-monds when viewed thru a special gemscope. Diamonds cut with precisely aligned and carefully shaped facets with exact proportions produce this incred-ibly scintillating sight. A Hearts & Arrows diamond is the ul-timate and the most brilliant diamond in the world. For centuries, diamonds have remained the ultimate symbol of love and affluence. To some girls, it has become an icon of independence and achievement. Hearts and Arrows are for the individuals who seek the best in every-thing and will not settle for second best. No ordinary diamond can match the fire it will light in a woman’s heart. Gift your loved one a rare piece of precious stone or reward yourself with a perfectly cut sparkling gem. Visit Hearts and Arrows at the ground floor, main mall of SM City Davao.

ASuS announced the New Fonepad 7 FE170CG, the latest version of the 7-inch Android device with full 3G telephony functionality. The latest Fonepad 7 comes in a range of colors (black, red, white, and blue), and is powered by an Intel® Atom™ Dual-Core Processor 1.2GHz with Intel Hyper-Threading Technology. It is more handy than its predeces-sor the Fonepad 7 Dual SIM ME175CG, with an 11cm width, you can easily hold it with one hand. A narrower bezel de-sign provides users with a larger viewing area on which to experience the brand new ZenuI interface.

Intel performance in your palmThe ASuS Fonepad 7 features an Intel Atom Multi-Core Processor 1.2GHz with Intel Hyper-Threading Technology that combines powerful performance with energy efficiency, giving this An-droid 4.3 Jelly Bean (4.4 KitKat upgradable) tablet smooth multi-tasking performance and an incredible 10-hour bat-tery life. The 1020 x 600 display provides vivid, clear visuals while high quality audio is provided by a front speaker with ASuS SonicMaster technology. Built-in 3G with HSPA+ mobile data with download speeds up to 42Mbit/s and uploads of 5.76Mbit/s meaning Fonepad 7 is an always-connected device for seamless web browsing. With full 3G telephony support across GSM and WCDMA bands, Fonepad 7 can also be used for voice calls using the built-in noise-cancelling digital microphone or an optional Bluetooth headset. Fonepad 7 has a rear-facing 2-megapixel camera ca-pable of taking 1600 x 1200 resolution images and 720p video recording at up to 30 frames per second. The front facing 0.3-megapixel camera allows for video chats and VGA video recording at 30fps. Both cameras feature f/2.8 aperture lenses. Improved camera software features a Self-ie Mode that automatically starts a countdown and takes a shot once it detects a preset number of faces in the frame, as well as Time Rewind mode which takes a series of burst shots so the user can choose the best images from the set. Weighing just 290g and measuring 192 x 110 x 10.7mm, Fonepad 7 is light enough to comfortably fit in a user’s palm. Its narrow bezel design increases available display area despite its smaller dimensions, the display also has a smudge-resistant coat that helps repel fingerprint smudg-es.

Be amazed by ASUS ZenUI Fonepad 7 features the exclusive ASuS ZenuI mobile de-vice interface. It features more than 200 software tweaks over previous ASuS interfaces and sports a new visual design with modern ‘flat’ icons, customizable vivid color themes that match the device color, animations, new ring-tones and notification sounds, and a clean layout to clearly present information. ASuS ZenuI also includes two fea-tures — What’s Next and Do It Later — designed to free users from actively having to manage the multitude of information they are confronted with daily, thus enabling them to be more productive.

A2 INdulge! VOL. 7 ISSUE 50 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, MAY 25-26, 2014EDGEDAVAOuP AND ABOuT MOVIE REVIEW

Hearts and Arrows opens at SM City Davao

ASUS announces redesigned Fonepad 7

As a young kid growing in pre-development boom davao, one of my fondest childhood memories was going to the now-abandoned theaters located in the city’s oldest streets. A couple of movie-going experiences really stuck with me: one of them was watching a Godzilla movie. I guess I was about 7 or younger because what exact Godzilla movie (maybe it was the one versus destroyah be-cause it was the one before roland Emm-erich’s criminally overblown 1998 version). Later on, I had a Godzilla toy that stayed with me for as long as I can remember.

Of monsters and menGareth Edwards’ Godzilla

By Jay Rosas

I brought this memory with me when I went to see the new Godzilla, this time in the hands of British di-rector Gareth Edwards. I’m not strictly a part of the fanbase but I share this personal account with the thousands who know the Godzilla mythos and hold the giant monster close to their hearts. Those who were disappointed coming out of the IMAX with the “I told you not all movie look good in IMAX” cri-terion didn’t have what I or Godzilla fans have, but they also obviously miss (not their fault) what makes movies good apart from being the usual edge-of-your-seat entertainment that summer blockbust-ers are always expected to deliver to the mass of pop-corn-munching, escapist audience. Bringing to life a clas-sic source material, just like your standard-issue Marvel superhero movie, is always a sticky situation for filmmakers where fan-base demands messes up the vision. vision is what the unknowing and un-initiated always miss. And thankfully, Edwards has honored the material and mythology with a vision and affection for the genre,

which he exhibited in his 2010 debut low-budget sci-fi film Monsters. It’s easy to name Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific rim, re-leased last year, as a direct comparison but both are visionary directors who know their kaiju stuff that both films actually work as companion pieces – bet-ter modern examples, not only of the genre, but the entire oeuvre of action-fantasy flicks. By allowing just enough background his-tory – Godzilla’s Japanese roots – Edwards was able to showcase what he can bring to elevate the film’s genre, and its cultural rel-evance to modern times. His Godzilla is a master-class exercise in juggling tension and grace. This is evident in his handling of key scenes, the san Franci-so railroad sequence being an instant favorite, and his overall visual treatment of the creature, which he does in slow reveals. Godzilla’s pointy backside when it slides through the surface of the water is perhaps a visual reference to steven spielberg’s Jaws, even the mood and tone by which the tension develops. Al-exandre desplat’s score is also reminiscent of that

tension. The tease is played so well that its craftsmanship far exceeds the gimmickry, and shames the bratty au-dience’s need for instant gratification in the form of the flashy and boisterous (here’s looking at you Mi-chael Bay and your clunky robots). Even his versions of Godzilla’s new enemies, the two MUTos (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial object) waiting to pro-create, evoke his monster aliens in Monsters. Ed-wards is not interested in giving us the mayhem we want – this is not a disas-ter movie, though it’s obvi-ously what is left after. But in showing us its aftermath – Honolulu washed out, Las vegas and san Fran-cisco reduced to cinders – it echoes the destruction of the Hiroshima bomb-ing, history repeating it-self, a necessary reminder of humanity’s inhumanity when it teeters in the brink of destructive power. despite the talent watt-age of the cast, from Breaking Bad’s Bryan cranston to French actress Juliette Binoche, playing the parents of Ford Brody (who grew up to become Aaron Taylor-Johnson) to Ken Watanabe and Brit-ish actress sally Hawkins, playing scientists expert on the monsters’ nature, human drama and char-acter development is kept to a minimum. We spend an hour enmeshed in the Brody family dynamics, from the 1999 disaster in a small Japanese town that tore them apart to Brody’s separation from his son and wife Elle (Elizabeth olsen) in the present time. Most of the criticism

was directed towards character development, which I strongly believe was intentionally kept to a minimum. The humdrum human drama, though pushed by cranston’s char-acter, was easily dispensed as we wait for the reunion of Brody and Elle, John-son looking terribly bored and uninspired most of the time. There is however a moving moment when Brody faces Godzilla after blowing up the MUTos nest, Godzilla protecting a crowd which includes Elle from being pulverized by a fallen building. It shows the helpless husband and the unlikely protector in a moment of connection that escapes human com-prehension and that ulti-mately exposes our limita-tions and follies. It’s funny that though Godzilla, with the ob-vious fattening up, has been slowed down by his weight, there is a clarity and awareness to his mis-sion that even humans fail to grasp with our supposed advanced tactical intelli-gence. our own ignorance is the very punishment of our failure to grasp this seemingly cosmic sense of order from disorder. When Godzilla wakes from his brief, post-smackdown sleep, he leaves the stunned humans almost with a sneer, as if saying, “you never learn anything.” If indeed Edwards’ Godzilla is this generation’s Jaws, then the modern “mon-ster” we’re facing but are either too cool to care or just plain stupid to give a damn about, is climate change. can’t get any sub-tler than “nature will find a way to restore its balance.”

STAR RECORDS releases Xian Lim’s sophomore al-bum titled “XL2” that fea-tures three of his original compositions. “My second album is ex-tra special and literally too personal because it carries three of my original songs,” said Xian, who launched his singing career on 2012 via his certified gold record, “So It’s You.” “Recording them really made the process more ex-citing and emotional at the same time. Because it gave me the chance to set the standards and put my full emotion in my renditions,” he explained. Among Xian’s original songs are “Alay Ko Sa ‘Yo,” “Iibigin,” and “Kung ‘Di Sa Iyo” which was one of the

official theme songs of the hit ABS-CBN drama series “Ina Kapatid Anak,” where

he and Teleserye Princess Kim Chiu paired up. Aside from Xian’s com-

position “XL2” also features other original tracks “Di Bale,” “Keep In Mind,” “Ikaw Na,” “Bakit Hindi Ka Crush ng Crush Mo,” and the car-rier single “Pag May Time.” Xian also covered the OPM classic, “Si Aida, si Lor-na o si Fe” that was popu-larized by 80’s music icon Marco Sison. “XL2” album is now avail-able in record bars nation-wide for only P250. The tracks can also be down-loaded via iTunes, www.amazon.com, www.mymu-sicstore.com.ph and www.starmusic.ph. For more information about Xian’s “XL2” album, visit Star Records’ Facebook fanpage at Facebook.com/starrecordsphil or follow @starrecordsph on Twitter.

IN its tradition of providing hit Asianovelas in the his-tory of Philippine television, GMA Network once again airs the well-loved Kore-anovela, Jewel in the Palace, on the Afternoon Prime block starting Monday (May 26). Considered as one of the highest-rating Asianovelas in the Philippines, Jewel in the Palace is set to bring back memories to the Filipi-no viewers’ weekday after-noons with its moving sto-ryline, intense scenes, and impeccable performances of the cast. Because of Jewel in the Palace’s success in the Phil-ippines, two of its stars, Yang Mi Kyung who played Lady Han and Jo Jung Eun who portrayed young Jang Geum even visited their Fili-pino fans.

Jewel in the Palace will definitely capture the in-terest of Kapuso viewers once more as it showcases the timeless story of Seo

Jang Geum (Lee Young Ae), a court lady in the Royal Kitchen who bravely faces conspiracies and intrigues to rise and become the first

ever female physician in the Royal Palace. With her pure heart, Jang Geum will eventually win the hearts of Min Jung Ho (Ji Jin Hee), an admired military man who serves as a guard in the Royal Palace and King Jungjong (Im Ho), the 11th king of the Chosun Dynasty. Conflict arises when Choi Geum Yong (Hong Ri Na), the long-time rival of Jang Geum in the Royal Kitchen, finds out that her first love, Jung Ho actually has special feelings for Jang Geum. This gives Geum Yong another reason to compete with Jang Geum. Catch the rerun of the phenomenal Koreanovela Jewel in the Palace that will touch the Filipino viewers’ hearts starting Monday at 5:00 PM only on GMA After-noon Prime.

Lee Min Ho marks his return on Philippine television via the much-awaited Korean drama “The Heirs” premier-ing this Monday (May 26) on ABS-CBN. Dubbed as “The Best in Asia,” “The Heirs” stars Phil-ippines’ King of Asinove-las Min Ho, who was loved by Filipinos in “Boys Over Flowers” and “City Hunter,” together with one of Ko-rea’s hottest leading ladies, Park Shin-Hye, who also endeared viewers for her portrayals in “He’s Beauti-ful” and “Heartstrings.” It became the talk-of-

the-town especially among netizens when they learned about the airing and hashtags such as #KingMin-Ho and other related top-ics trended nationwide on micro-blogging site Twitter. Watch the story of Ryan (Min Ho), a high school stu-dent and heir to a large Ko-rean conglomerate, who is sent to study in the u.S. He may already have it all, but deep inside, he yearns for a complete family as he was born as an illegitimate child to his father. Ryan then bumps into Julia (Shin Hye), who has ar-

rived from Korea in search of her older sister. Due to unfortunate turnout of events, Julia finds herself penniless in a foreign coun-try with no one to run to. This is where Ryan comes for her rescue. Julia temporarily lives with Ryan in his mansion that will pave way for the two to get to know each other and fall in love. Their whirlwind romance gets cut short when Ryan’s fian-cée Rachel arrives and kicks Julia out of the house. Time passes by and the two see each other again in

Korea. In his return, Ryan’s heart is torn between love and duty. Will Ryan’s fam-ily accept Ryan’s decision to call off the wedding to be with their househelp’s daughter? Which crown will he choose to wear--- love or power? Don’t miss the premier of “The Heirs” this Monday (May 26), 4:30 PM, on ABS-CBN’s Kapamilya Gold. For more updates, follow @Kapamilanovela on Twitter or like the official Kapami-lyanovela Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/ABSCBNKapamilyanovelas.

INdulge! A3VOL. 7 ISSUE 50 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, MAY 25-26, 2014EDGEDAVAOENTERTAINMENT

Xian Lim gets emotional with new album

Hit Koreanovela Jewel in the Palace airs anew on GMA Network

King of Asianovelas returns in ‘The Heirs’

PG 13

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R 1312:25 | 2:20 | 4:15 | 6:10 | 8:05 | 10:00 LFS

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THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2 2D

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A4 INdulge! VOL. 7 ISSUE 50 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, MAY 25-26, 2014EDGEDAVAOEVENT

Musikademy’s celebration of OPM

MUsIcAL productions in durianburg are oftentimes hard to come by. no thanks to the costs involved plus the sheer number of man hours needed practicing the lines and internalising each song. That is why I consider myself lucky to have been able to catch Musikad-emy’s latest production titled Minsan Pang Minahal at the sM cen-terstage at sM Lanang Premier last April 5.

An original musical play based on the classical songs of master composer and songwriter ryan cay-abyab, the play featured Musikademy students and faculty including the Musikademy 16 Teens and scholars as well as guest performers, Hong Kong based pianist, Michael Lo-pez, well-known thespian Michael dakudao, and songspell alumnae rina Angeles and Gemma Her-radura. Minsan Pang Minahal is the quintessential love story about the power of love and forgiveness be-tween the protagonists Ann and Marco with the timeless songs of ryan cayabyab providing the energy and direction of the emotions. I admit that at times during the play, I could not help but hum along to familiar songs such as Kay Ganda Ng Ating Musika, Kailan, Tuwing Umuu-lan At Kapiling Ka, Araw Gabi, and many more

songs that were part of me growing up. This is proof of Mr. cayabyab’s ge-nius in penning his tunes which weave through var-ious emotions and levels of energy with an honest

and unpretentious vibe. Minsan Pang Minahal was written and directed by March de ramos, cho-reography by cecile Hi-dalgo and Edison Bimbo Morales with music di-

rection by Musikademy’s Bong Aviola. Follow me on Instagram or on Twitter for more trav-el stories, foodie finds, and happenings in, around, and beyond Durianburg.

Maestro Ryan Cayabyab joined the cast for the final song number.

Vicky Villarino as Bebang and Cecile Hidalgo as Bechay charmed the audience with their antics.

EDGEDavao Davao Partners

VOL. 7 ISSUE 50 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, MAY 25-26, 2014 CLASSIFIED 13edge davao

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VOL. 7 ISSUE 50 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, MAY 25-26, 201414 SPORTS

For once, not everything seems so obvious head-ing into the French open.

Yes, rafael Nadal will still be favored by most to win the clay-court Grand Slam tourna-ment yet again. He is, after all, 59-1 for his career at roland Garros, winner of a record eight championships, includ-ing the last four.

Still, if the 2014 tennis sea-son to date is any indication, there could be some surprises in store when play begins in Paris on Sunday. So far, there already was one new major champion, Stanislas Wawrin-ka at the Australian open. And there has been a rather egal-itarian feel to the spring clay circuit, with nine winners at nine tournaments.

The three top men in the ATP rankings - No. 1 Nadal,

No. 2 Novak Djokovic and No. 3 Wawrinka - each claimed a Masters title on the slow red surface, including Djokovic’s victory over Nadal in the rome final last weekend. That gave Nadal three clay losses in a season for the first time since 2004, when he was all of 17 and yet to make his French open debut.

“It’s more normal this year than the last 10 years have been because the last years have been strange and we’ve gotten used to having these great finals between the No. 1 and No. 2 players in the world and one player dominating the whole year - and we started to think that’s normal. really, that’s the exception,” said Mats Wilander, who won the French open three times in the 1980s.

“Heading into the French

open, it’s more exciting. The regular tour probably bene-fits from having one superstar that’s cleaning up everything, or maybe a rivalry,” Wilander added. “But the French open and the other Slams benefit from having no clear-cut fa-vorite. That’s the way it used to be, and I think it’s better. I don’t think we want to go there and ask ourselves: Is Nadal go-ing to win a ninth time? That just doesn’t excite me at all. It’s much more exciting to think that Djokovic is the favorite or that (roger) Federer has a chance.”

Not surprisingly, Nadal does not exactly agree.

He’ll be seeded No. 1 for only the third time at roland Garros - one of those years, 2009, was when his lone loss came, against robin Soderling

in the fourth round - but he could relinquish the top rank-ing to Djokovic over the course of the 15-day tournament.

Asked about the idea of this year’s French open being a little less predictable, Nadal replied: “I don’t care. I don’t know. I think about myself. What I have to do.”

In addition to dropping a fourth consecutive head-to-head match against Djokovic, Nadal’s defeat at the Italian open followed a series of dif-ficult three-setters in rome, as well as losses in the - gasp! - quarterfinals of Monte Carlo and Barcelona.

His 41-match winning streak at Barcelona ended against Nicolas Almagro, who had been 0-10 against Nadal.

That came after being beaten at Monte Carlo by Da-

vid Ferrer, whom Nadal easily beat in last year’s French open final and hadn’t lost to any-where on clay in a decade.

Then again, as Wilander points out, these earli-er-than-usual exits mean Na-dal arrives in Paris with less wear and tear. Plus those loss-es were all in best-of-three-set matches, while the French open is best-of-five. And Nadal did earn the title at the Madrid open, so he knows he’s not completely out of sorts.

“There’s all this scar tis-sue he can reason with and say, `Hold on, I won Madrid, this is the French open, I’m fresher than ever.’ He’s going to put a little less pressure on himself but still go in with a sense of confidence knowing it’s five sets,” Wilander said. “And he can think, `What are

they going to do? How are they going to beat me in two hours? That’s never going to happen. I have four hours to solve this problem.’ That gives him confidence right away.”

Djokovic, for his part, is trying to complete a career Grand Slam with his first French open title, after losing to Nadal in the semifinals last year and the final in 2012. He was sidelined recently with an injured right wrist but sure looked absolutely fine in rome.

The Serb called his victory there “definitely a confidence booster” because beating Na-dal on clay is the “ultimate challenge.”

“I’m very happy with my game so far,” Djokovic said, “and hopefully I can carry that into roland Garros.”

PArIS (reuters) - Pain and pleasure go hand-in-hand for Serena Wil-

liams when it comes to the French open and the Amer-ican hopes she will get an overdose of happiness in one of her favorite cities as she targets a third roland Garros title.

Two years ago, Williams hit the lowest of the low when she slumped to a first-round exit in Paris, her first and only opening round defeat in a stel-lar grand slam career that has earned her 17 major singles titles.

The pain and anguish of that defeat melted away just 12 months later when she lift-ed the Suzanne Lenglen Cup for a second time.

But in a career littered with triumphs, it was surpris-ingly only her second win at the home of claycourt tennis and she is on a mission to rec-tify that anomaly over the next

fortnight.“For me, the French open

is extremely important be-cause it’s a grand slam I won only twice and I want to win more and more,” the world number one said following the draw which pitted her against local hope Alize Lim in the first round.

“I won five times Wimble-don, Australian, the U.S. open, so for me it’s important.

“I have the capability of playing on clay, so I don’t know why I wasn’t more con-sistent on clay before.

“But, hey, I guess better late than never, right?”

For her rivals, Williams doing well on clay spells doom and gloom as it was the only surface where they felt they had a strong possibility of stopping her charge towards more silverware.

over the last three years, she has won at least one title on European dirt every sea-

son and, if anything, appears hungry for more success on what is largely conceived to be her least favorite surface.

“I don’t know what clicked or didn’t click (on clay). I grew up on hard courts, and then when I turned 10 I played only clay until I turned pro,” added the 32-year-old, who will draw level with Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert’s haul of 18 majors if she wins in Paris.

“I’m really good now. I’m great. I feel like this is the only place I want to be.

“I don’t remember the last time I was defending champ (in Paris), so it feels really good that I’m here as defend-ing champion.

“I’m really excited. I think I have had a really long, great career. It just feels really good to be at this point in my ca-reer and playing as defending champion.”

MORE PLEASURE PLEASE. Serena Williams, world no. 1, hopes to get much fun in Paris.

BEATABLE? Many experts say Rafael Nadal is beatable this year in clay.

With Rafa not in his best form, will his title run come to an end this year?

END OF REIGN?

Serena: More pleasure, less pain

VOL. 7 ISSUE 50 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, MAY 25-26, 2014

MIAMI (AP) -- Indiana’s Paul George will play in Game 3 of the East-

ern Conference finals, which comes as no surprise to the Miami Heat.

They were expecting him there all along.

The Pacers announced Friday night that George has been cleared ‘’to return to normal basketball activity,’’ a decision made three days after he was concussed in Game 2 of the Indiana-Miami series.

‘’Barring any unforeseen complications, he will play’’ on Saturday in Miami, the Pacers said.

So that settled one lineup issue.

The Heat now have a line-up decision to make.

Greg oden - whose last postseason appearance was April 30, 2009 - may be in-serted into the Heat rotation after showing Miami’s coach-es in recent days that back issues that slowed him down for weeks may finally be a thing of the past. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra suggested that oden ‘’could’’ get some min-utes, which would almost certainly come against Indi-ana center roy Hibbert.

‘’If coach needs me, I’m ready to play,’’ oden said. ‘’I’m definitely ready whenever he needs me.’’

The series is tied at a game apiece, with Miami grabbing the home-court edge away by rallying for an 87-83 win at Indianapolis in Game 2. The teams have been off since, which figures to be a blessing of sorts for the Pac-ers - who had several players limping and ailing late in that game, with George’s concus-sion the most notable malady.

The back of George’s head was struck by Dwyane

Wade’s knee as both were trying to get control of a loose ball during the fourth quarter of that game. George remained in the game but

was basically a non-factor the rest of the way, and Miami owned the final minutes. The concussion came to light only after George revealed post-

game that he briefly ‘’blacked out.’’

‘’I probably should have kept that to myself,’’ George said. ‘’It just made a mess.

That’s something that, going forward, just keep that be-tween myself and the train-ing staff.’’

The Heat never even

considered the possibility that George wouldn’t play in Game 3.

‘’Why wouldn’t he?’’ Heat star LeBron James asked.

15SPORTS

oKLAHoMA CITY (AP) -- The San Antonio Spurs never believed Serge

Ibaka was out for the Western Conference finals, even after the Thunder said they expect-ed him to miss the rest of the playoffs with a calf injury.

Looks like the Spurs might have been on to something. The Thunder said Friday that their defensive standout now is day-to-day after his strained left calf showed improved movement and stability and a significant decrease in swell-ing. The Thunder have missed Ibaka badly as San Antonio has raced to a 2-0 lead in the series, and his possible return gives the Thunder hope as they pre-pare for Game 3 on Sunday in oklahoma City.

‘’His progress in the last several days has been surpris-ing,’’ Thunder general man-ager Sam Presti said. ‘’I don’t think any of us thought we’d

be standing here talking about this. We’re grateful that we are.’’

Well, maybe no one with the Thunder expected it. The Spurs certainly did.

‘’We knew he would be back, and that’s good,’’ Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. ‘’Nobody would wish that on anybody to miss a playoff. We’ve had guys miss playoffs before. It’s obviously a downer. If he gets back in - and I’m sure he will, as I’ve said from the be-ginning - I think it’s great.’’

Ibaka was injured in Game 6 against the Los Angeles Clip-pers, a Western Conference semifinals series-clinching win on May 15. He is averaging 12.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in the playoffs while shooting 62 percent from the field.

Presti did not say if Ibaka would be available for Game 3, just that he could not be ruled

out. Presti said he felt it best to be forthcoming with the change in the situation.

‘’It would be convenient to not provide the information, and if he were ever healthy enough to play in a game, to release that an hour before the game,’’ he said. ‘’But in this case, we don’t think that was the way to handle it, because previously, we had deemed him out. And we can’t deem him out.’’

Ibaka, a 6-foot-10 forward, led the league in blocked shots during the regular season and erased many of oklaho-ma City’s defensive mistakes. Without having to deal with oklahoma City’s primary rim protector, San Antonio scored 66 points in the paint on 67 percent shooting in a 122-105 win in Game 1. The Spurs fol-lowed up with 54 points in the paint on 66 percent shooting in a 112-77 blowout in Game 2.

BACK TO THE LINE-UP. OKC center Serge Ibaka could be back in uniform in Game 3.

REVENGE. Paul George of Indiana (24) matches up with Lebron James (6) of Miami in Game 2.

George cleared to play

Ibaka could return in West series

VOL. 7 ISSUE 50 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, MAY 25-26, 2014

BATTLE FOR THE REBOUND. Francis Gabriel Escandor (18) and Vande Alagao (88) of Ateneo de Davao University battle for the rebound against Chong Hoa players in the Final Four of the St. Stephen’s Basketball Invitational Tournament. Ateneo won in overtime 88-85 to reach the finals.

Blue Knights in finals of Manila [email protected]

By neiLWin JoSepH L. BrAvo

16 EDGEDAVAOSports

WHEN the going got tough, the tougher nerves got going.

Ateneo de Davao Universi-ty’s main man Dariel Manliguez twice displayed nerves of steel taking his heroic act to two im-portant chapters.

First sequence: Manliguez stole a crucial inbound pass with time down to 7 seconds and the Davao champion Blue Knights down by a basket, 79-80, against a tough Chong Hoa squad of Manila. The shifty forward got tagged with a flagrant foul in the process and went to the line with three ticks on the clock. He sank the first but missed the second for an 80-all count and Ateneo got the final possession enough to draw the final play.

Manliguez took a triple try that missed but who needs a three when there’s five minutes to play in overtime, anyway?

Second sequence: Manli-guez had almost the same play reprised with 13 seconds left.

He stole the ball off the Chong Hoa inbound with Ateneo pro-tecting a precarious 86-85 lead. Manliguez got fouled again and he split his freebies for a 87-85 lead. The Manilans missed in the ensuing play and Ateneo coach Miggy Solitaria sued for time to cool down his players nerves.

Ateneo ‘s Ayon Angeles was fouled and he too had a split and you know what? Big game play-ers come down with the big re-bound and Maliguez did just that to seal the win.

The Blue Knights, on train-ing camp in Manila for the entire summer, now advance to the fi-nals of the St. Stephen’s Basket-ball Tournament against Chiang Kai Shek College which they beat in their first game with the Blaz-ing Dragons parading a severely depleted line-up.

CKSC defeated University of the Philippines IS in the other Final Four match.

“They will be playing with a complete line-up na so it’s

going t be tougher. For us, this is already an achievement but we will try to make it,” said Sol-itaria.

Manliguez and Paul Coquil-la shone for Ateneo in the scor-ing end but it was Ateneo’s team effort that put them in the thick of the fight through all quar-

ters. The Blue Knights’ frontline manned by Josh Barrientos and Francis Gabriel Escandor also fought tooth and nail and held their ground against the heftier Chong Hoa side.

The Blue Knights advanced to the Final Four with a 3-2 win-loss record.

INJURED. Indiana’s Paul George has been cleared to play in Game 3. Story on page 15.

IDOL. Dariel Manliguez, who sone for Ateneo in the semis, poses with his PBA idol Larrye Fonacier who also plays for SMART Gilas National Team. FB Photo