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STOCK MARKET PERFORMANCE

PHILIPPINE STOCK INDEX

US DOLLAR = PHILIPPINE PESO

As of January 20, 2012

VOL. 4 NO. 47JANUARY 23 - 29, 2012

T h e B u s i n e s s P A P E R

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EDGEDAVAOTHE BUSINESS PAPER

2 JANUARY 23- 29, 2012VOL. 4 NO. 47

ON THE COVERIT FIGURES

Businessmen score gov’t failure to stop illegal logging, mining

P25 billionCAPITAL Digitel Telecom-

munications Philippines, op-erator of Sun Cellular, wants to have by increasing it from the current P9 billion to make way for the conversion of its li-abilities into common shares. The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the increase.

10 percentINCREASE in water rates

of the Davao City Water Dis-trict to take effect in February. The raise is actually part of the 30-percent water rate increase sought by the DCWD and ap-proved by the Local Water Utilities Administration.

P244.5 millionMONEY of the Philippine

Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), so-called intelligence-confidential funds, allegedly misused during the admin-istration of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. For this reason, the Senate blue ribbon committee has recom-mended that Mrs. Arroyo and

Former PCSO chair Rosa-rio Uriarte be charged with plunder.

59TOTAL number of sites

in the Calabarzon (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Que-zon) prone to landslides, as 57 more areas in the region prone to flooding, according to an official of the Depart-ment of Environment and Natural Resources. The areas were identified in geohaz-ard assessment made by the DENR-Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB).

P200 millionAMOUNT to be raised by

Rep. Anthony “AGR” G. del Rosario (1st District, Davao del Norte) in additional fund-ing for the newly established cancer center in Tagum City as part of the Davao Regional Hospital complex in Apokon. The center is the first big can-cer institution of its kind in Mindanao.

P7.15 billionAMOUNT lent out by

198 banks to close to a mil-lion micro-finance borrow-ers. According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the 198 banks are either micro finance-oriented or micro finance-engaged lenders.

513 millionTOTAL number of Internet

users in China in China as of December 2011, as new Web surfers go online using mobile phones and tablet computers, an industry group reported last week. The popularity of the Internet in China has driven the explosive growth of profitable Web companies and made fortunes for some Chinese entrepreneurs de-spite government controls on what the public can see online.

12.3 percentEXPECTED rate of growth

of Philippine coconut oil (CNO) exports in 2012, accord-ing to the United Coconut As-sociations of the Philippines Inc. (UCAP). Philippine coco-nut production in copra terms may reach 2.487 million met-ric tons this year from 2.062 million metric tons in 2011

nMinda businessmen to boycott Ateneo mining conferencen Franco Tito suggests mining be allowed where people want it

THE government came under fire for its failure to stop rampant illegal

small-scale mining and illegal logging activities in Mindan-ao due to lack of political will and decisiveness.

Vicente T. Lao, chairman of the Mindanao Business Council, said the govern-ment under President Benig-no Aquino III is just being re-active, instead of coming up with a decisive step to make the mining industry a leading industry in the country.

On the other hand, Lao said the Aquino administra-tion has failed to show politi-cal will to stop illegal mining and illegal logging activities.

“It is now time for Presi-dent Aquino to show deci-siveness in addressing these illegal activities,” Lao said, adding that the President’s executive order to stop ille-gal logging is clearly being ignored because these activi-ties have continued to exist in the countrysides.

Lao also announced that businessmen, particularly members of the Mindanao business council, have de-cided to boycott the so-called international conference on mining to be hosted by the Ateneo de Davao University next week.

The international con-ference on mining in Min-danao to be held next week at the Finster Hall of the Ateneo de Davao University in cooperation with Catho-lic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP)

which are calling for the na-tional government to impose a moratorium on all mining activities pending the reviw of the Philippine Mining Law.

The conference’s format is not right, Lao claimed.

“If they really want to have an honest to goodness opinion from the stakehold-ers, they should give both sides equal opportunity to explain and defend their po-sition,” he said.

Lao charged that the forum is “so one-sided in fa-vor of the anti-mining senti-ments.”

“We can not support a forum that has a precon-ceived bias because it will not be fair to the public,” he said.

Earlier, government of-ficials said they were still fi-nalizing a clearer policy on mining.

Last year, President Aquino issued Executive

Order 23 to implement a moratorium on logging, but some local government chief executives, like Mayor Rey T. Uy, claimed that based on the seizure of illegal logs, there were still illegal activi-ties happening in some parts of Mindanao.

On illegal mining, Mr. Lao said the national govern-ment should

institute policies to stop illegal mining activities which have caused environmental destruction that resulted in disaster like the one in Pantu-kan, Compostela Valley that killed about 40 people.

Another business leader, Joji Ilagan-Bian, Mindanao representative to the Export Development Council, said that the government was re-actionary that “it took anoth-er accident for government to look at closely the matter by which laws are implement-

ed,” Ms. Bian, herself the former chair of the business council, lamented.

“It seems that govern-ment knew of the prevailing issues in the (mining) indus-try but had to set it aside to attend to other so-called pri-orities,” she added, pointing out that illegal mining activi-ties have continued to exist because they were protected.

“Government must look at all of its actions carefully as well as put teeth in the full implementation of the laws,” she added.

Meanwhile, Franco Tito, controversial former village chief of the gold-rich baran-gay Diwalwal in Monkayo, Compostela Valley, said the government should now de-cide what to do with mining.

He told Edge Davao ear-lier that government should first harmonize all laws about mining which are con-flicting and then craft a final policy and implement the same without fear or favor.

Tito suggested that an easier formula is for govern-ment to “ban mining only in areas where the people are against it, like Palawan and South Cotabato, but allow the activity in places where people want and need it like Diwalwal and other gold-rich areas in Comval.”

“Unless government can give small scale miners alter-native means of livelihood in our place, it will be unjust to stop them from making a liv-ing,” Tito said.

About the issue of

regulating small scale min-ing activities, Tito said the stakeholders are very willing to cooperate but it is govern-ment so far which has been showing indecision and lack of political will.

Lao said the govern-ment should focus on insti-tutionalizing its policies for responsible mining to pro-tect those that have risked their money in exploring possible mining areas.

Among those that he mentioned was the mining project of the

Sagittarius Mines Inc. in Tampakan, South Cotabato. Earlier, the environment department junked the envi-ronment compliance certifi-cate of the company on the basis that there is a need to settle the issue on the ordi-nance of the province that bans open-pit mining first.

Expressing dismay, the company said it will ask for the reconsideration of the government action.

Another company, TVI Resources Development, was able to secure a court injunction on a similar or-dinance implemented by Zamboanga Sibugay on its project.

The two provincial gov-ernments enacted their ordi-nances even when the posi-tion of the national govern-ment, through Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse M. Robredo who said these ordinances contradict-ed the government position of “responsible mining.”

Lao Tito

Dabawenyos trained in GHG accountingSOME 50 personnel

of the Davao City govern-ment, national agencies and private industries who completed last Friday a two-day training in green-house gas (GHG) account-ing are expected to cascade their learning to other con-cerned Dabawenyos to ca-pacitate more people who can later develop a GHG inventory management plan and recommend poli-

cies and actions to the city.This bared by Council-

or Marissa S. Abella, chair of the Davao City Council committee of environment and natural resources who requested the train-ing from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through its CErnergy US-AID program as an initial step to confront the chal-lenges of climate change.

It was the committee of Councilor Abella which requested the assistance of Climate Change on Clean Energy Project of the US-AID to hold the training.

Once they know where their emissions, they can develop policies, do some projects on how to reduce the emissions of of the LGU and the whole city.

“While the city’s air quality has not yet deterio-

rated to levels that would qualify it to become an air shed like Manila and other polluted areas of the coun-try, we now need to be pro-active and be prepared to respond to environmental challenges in the future,” Abella said.

While the air quality of Davao City is still okay, Cristeta Gallano, consul-tant of Councilor Abella, said there is now need to

establish the GHG invento-ry to serve as baseline data for monitoring changes in emission levels in the fu-ture.

“We have initially agreed is to echo this semi-nar to other offices, so that ideally there will be some-body in every office to be in charge of gathering data,” Gallano said.

According to Ms Ma-rina Mallare, a trainor from the Ateneo Univer-sity College of Governance involved in the CEnergy Project, functionaries in local government units (LGUs) should be taught how to develop GHG in-ventory that could pass the test of accuracy.

Mallare said the LGUs, non-government organiza-tions and the private sec-tor were well-represented in last week’s training.

After developing GHG inventory, the participants are expected to recom-mend policies and pro-grams to their respected principals.

She said the two-day workshop is designed to empower local govern-ment unit (LGU) function-aries and those in the part-ner institutions to properly respond to environmental challenges through cli-mate change mitigation. COUNCILOR MARISSA S. ABELLA,

EDGEDAVAO THE BUSINESS PAPER

3JANUARY 23- 29, 2012 VOL. 4 NO. 47

Camella launches model housesto celebrate Chinese New YearPartner

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PROPERTY FORUM

CAMELLA Cerritos, the landmark Italian-Med-iterranean subdivision

development of Camella in Mintal, opened its model houses in a grand launch last Saturday, January 21, 2012.

Homebuyers will now get to see their future homes in the new model houses fea-turing the Lessandra starter homes named Rina at 40 sq. m. and Marga at 46 sq.m. Model homes for Camella’s affordable series will also be launched, such as Carmela at 64 sq.m., Drina at 81 sq.m., and Elaisa at 96 sq.m.

“Now it’s easier for those selecting their home of choice to visualize their dream home, as our model houses are showcased in functional layouts and styl-ish designs,” said Stephanie Palanca, Marketing staff for Camella Cerritos.

In sync with the com-ing Chinese New Year, Ca-mella Cerritos’ grand launch for its model houses carried the theme ‘Spring Festival’,

and was held at 10:30 in the morning of Saturday on site at Camella Cerritos along the national highway of Mintal, Davao City. Dovetailing the launch was a Buyers Day un-til 5 in the afternoon, where buyers and guests were en-tertained by a lion dance to bring them good luck this year of the Water Dragon.

“To make the event more exciting, we also gave homebuyers a special promo, such as outright discounts, stretched down payment terms, low down payment and reservation fee as low as P7,500,” said Palanca. On top of that, there were also huge discounts for spot pay-ments and freebies such as the popular Chinese New Year giveaway, tikoy, which is known to bring good luck to those who receive it.

Camella Cerritos’ de-velopment is now well under way, with land development and road network already about 80% completed and perimeter fencing at 90%.

Construction of the houses has already started, with around 200 units identified for completion within the year, allowing homeowners to move into their homes to-wards the last quarter.

Plans for the much-an-ticipated commercial center right across Camella Cerritos are in the final stages and development is projected to commence this 2012. Ca-mella will be building this commercial project to com-plement the subdivision and will feature a mall as its cen-terpiece.

The commercial proj-ect is expected to stimulate growth in this part of Mintal, turning it into a self-con-tained area ideal for good liv-ing. It will also allow Camella Cerritos to become a self-sus-taining community, where its homeowners can enjoy its world-class facilities and amenities, and the conve-nience of getting everything they need from the commer-cial center a few steps away.

Camella Cerritos is sprawled over nine hectares of prime land along Mintal Highway. Although pack-aged within the affordable range, it is designed to have an upscale appeal, with its deluxe clubhouse, a swim-ming pool, open parks, tree-lined pathways, lush pocket gardens, a playground, multi-purpose court, shuttle service, and 24/7 security system.

Camella Cerritos is an-other landmark develop-ment of Camella Davao, a subsidiary of Vista Land & Lifescapes, the country’s largest homebuilder with over 250,000 homes built in 35 years all over the nation.

All inquiries are wel-come at the Camella offices at 2/F Delgar Building, JP Laurel Ave., Bajada, Davao City, (082) 222-0963, (082) 222-5221, (082) 222-5223 (telefax), 0917-8576572, email vismin@camella.com.ph, and www.camella.com.ph.

EDGEDAVAOTHE BUSINESS PAPER

4 JANUARY 23- 29, 2012VOL. 4 NO. 47

THE ECONOMY

MONTHLY AVERAGE EXCHANGE RATE (January 2009 - January 2011)

Month 2011 2010 2009Average 45.11 47.637December 43.95 46.421November 43.49 47.032October 43.45 43.44 46.851

September 43.02 44.31 48.139August 42.42 45.18 48.161

July 42.81 46.32 48.146June 43.37 46.30 47.905May 43.13 45.60 47.524April 43.24 44.63 48.217

March 43.52 45.74 48.458February 43.70 46.31 47.585January 44.17 46.03 47.207

1. GNP Growth Rate(At Constant 1985 Prices) 2. GDP Growth Rate(At Constant 1985 Prices)

3. Exports 1/

4. Imports 1/

5. Trade Balance

6. Balance of Payments 2/

7. Broad Money Liabilities

8. Interest Rate 4/

9. National Government Revenues

10. National government outstanding debt

11. Peso per US $ 5/

12. Stocks Composite Index 6/

13. Consumer Price Index 2006=100

14. Headline Inflation Rate 2000=100

15. Core Inflation Rate 2000=100

16. Visitor Arrivals

17. Underemployment Rate /7

18. Unemployment Rate /7

INDICATIOR LATEST1.9 %

2nd Qtr 2011

3.4 %2nd Qtr 2011

USD 4,128 million

Jun 2011

USD 4,503 millionJun 2011

USD -376 millionJun 2011

USD 222 millionJun 2011

P4,423,849 millionJun 2011

4.48%Apr 2011

P100,139 million Jun 2011

P 4,777 billion May 2010

P 42.81Jul 2011

4,503.6Jul 2011

126.4

Jul 2011

4.6Jul 2011

3.7Jul 2011

317,443Apr 2011

19.4%Apr 2011

7.2 %Apr 2011

STAT WATCH

Cebu Pacific Daily 5J961 / 5J962 5:45 Manila-Davao-Manila 6:15Zest Air Daily Z2390 / Z2390 5:45 Manila-Davao-Manila 6:25Cebu Pacific Daily 5J593 / 5J348 6:00 Cebu-Davao-Iloilo 6:30Philippine Airlines Daily PR809 / PR810 6:10 Manila-Davao-Manila 7:00Philippine Airlines Daily PR819 / PR820 7:50 Manila-Davao-Manila 8:50Cebu Pacific Daily 5J394 / 5J393 7:50 Zamboanga-Davao-Zamboanga 8:10Cebu Pacific Daily 5J599 / 5J594 8:00 Cebu-Davao-Cebu 8:30Cebu Pacific Daily 5J347 / 5J596 9:10 Iloilo-Davao-Cebu 9:40Cebu Pacific Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri/Sun 5J963 / 5J964 9:40 Manila-Davao-Manila 10:10Philippine Airlines Daily PR811 / PR812 11:30 Manila-Davao-Manila 12:20Cebu Pacific Daily 5J595 / 5J966 12:00 Cebu-Davao-Manila 12:30Silk Air Mon/Wed/Sat MI588 / MI588 18:55 Davao-Cebu-Singapore 13:35Cebu Pacific Thu 5J965 / 5J968 12:55 Manila-Davao-Manila 13:25Cebu Pacific Tue/Wed//Sat 5J965 / 5J968 13:35 Manila-Davao-Manila 14:05

Silk Air Thu/Sun MI566 / MI566 18:55 Davao-Singapore 15:20Cebu Pacific Mon/Tue/Wed/Fri 5J507 / 5J598 15:00 Cebu-Davao-Cebu 15:30Philippine Airlines August 15:55 Mani2Mani 16:50Zest Air Daily Z2524 / Z2525 16:05 Cebu-Davao-Cebu 16:45Cebu Pacific Daily 5J967 / 5J600 16:35 Manila-Davao-Cebu 17:05Philippines Airlines Daily PR813 / PR814 16:55 Manila-Davao-Manila 17:45Cebu Pacific Mon/Tue/Thu/Sat 5J215 / 5J216 18:00 Cagayan de Oro-Davao-Cagayan de Oro 18:20Cebu Pacific Daily 5971 / 5J970 18:40 Manila-Davao-Manila 19:10Cebu Pacific Tue/Sat/Sun 5J973 / 5J974 20:00 Manila-Davao-Manila 20:30Cebu Pacific Daily 5J969 / 5J972 20:30 Manila-Davao-Manila 21:00Airphil Express Daily 2P987 / 2P988 20:30 Manila-Davao-Manila 21:00Philippine Airlines Daily except Sunday PR821 / PR822 21:20 Manila-Davao-Manila 21:50Philippine Airlines Sunday PR821 / PR822 22:20 Manila-Davao-Manila 22:50

as of august 2010

PHL economy to grow 4.8% in 2012----ADB

BSP cuts policy rates

INVESTMENTS worth P1.2 billion were poured into Davao del

Sur last year. The investments in-

flow came in the form of various kinds of business, according to

Provincial Director Edwin Banquerigo of the Department of Trade and Industry.

PD Banquerigo re-ported that investments in 2011 exceeded DTI’s tar-gets by 10 percent.

In last week’s Kapi-han sa PIA forum, Ban-querigo attributed the success to the “innovative projects and strategies focusing on generating bottomline outcomes” un-dertaken by the DTI pro-vincial office.

“Big ticket invest-ments within the Sta. Cruz and Digos City area were considered invest-ment and job generators for the province,” he said.

From the invest-ments last year, he said, a total of 3,466 jobs were provided to residents of Davao del Sur compared to only 1,108 in 2010.

Banquerigo also reported the perfor-mance of the export industry that earned a total of US$16.542 mil-lion compared to 2010’s US$11.372 million.

Export sales largely came from earnings of co-conut coir products which met high demands abroad for textile production.

Aside from coco coir,

Davao del Sur also exports other agricultural prod-ucts like banana chips and mangoes.

The xylose product, a sweetener extracted from coconut shells and gener-ated from the CJ-Toyota

Tsusho Xylose Plant in Sta. Cruz, has also begun earning from the export of the product.

DTI’s accomplish-ment report of 2011 stat-ed that the xylose plant operation generated more than US$24 mil-lion in export sales since 2010.

The company has also provided US$1.5 million in workers com-pensation that covers 200 employees, the report said.

In domestic sales, DTI-Davao del Sur re-ported earnings of over P242 million from both new and existing busi-nesses.

Banquerigo said DTI has provided various in-

terventions and special projects to develop and increase business confi-dence of micro, small and medium entrepreneurs in the province.

He said his office assisted a total of 1,794 MSMEs last year com-pared to the 414 assisted MSMEs in 2010.

The DTI official also mentioned a100 percent compliance to the fair trade and industry laws (FTL) among business operators in Davao del Sur attributed to DTI-Davao del Sur’s massive consumer education cam-paign, which resulted to consumer empowerment, with traders now more vigilant of the FTL. [PIA-11/

CARINA L. CAYON]

DavSur earned P1.2 B of investments in 2011

THE Asian Devel-opment Bank (ADB) on Thurs-

day projected that the Philippine economy would grow nearly at the lower-end target of the government this year.

“At this stage, we believe the 2012 eco-nomic growth rate can reach 4.8 percent,” Stephen Groff, ADB vice president said in his speech before the Foreign Correspon-dents Association of the Philippines (FO-CAP).

Groff said that the strong private consumption backed by robust remittance inflows, increasing public investment, and gradual export recovery, would sup-port the Philippines’ economic recovery in 2012.

The government expects a gross do-mestic product (GDP) of between 5 percent and 6 percent this year.

For 2011, Groff said that after hit-ting a record high of 7.6 percent in 2010,

GDP growth in the Philippines may have dropped to below 4 percent last year.

In the first three quarters of last year , the economy grew by only 3.6 percent.

The ADB offi-cial blamed the weak GDP last year to the double-digit decline in exports and the de-creased public infra-structure spending.

“It is tempting to think of the Philip-pines as somewhat insulated from the global environment because about 2/3 of its trade stays within the region. However, its export products are too highly con-centrated in elec-tronics, particularly semi-conductors. This lack of diversification makes the Philippines quite vulnerable com-pared to its neighbors, where exports contin-ued to grow despite the global slowdown,” he said.

Groff also said that the ADB was com-mitted an assistance of US$ 3.8 billion for the Philippines over

the next six years. “In the social sec-

tor, for example, we have provided 0 mil-lion to support the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino conditional cash transfer program to help extremely poor households improve their health, nutrition and education status,” Groff said.

In its pilot phase, Groff said school completion rates rose from 67.5 percent to 73 percent and health indicators improved substantially.

He also said that ADB also supported efforts to improve the country’s physical en-vironment.

“To give one re-cent and innovative example, after last year’s successful e-trike pilot project, we are looking at options to scale up this in-vestment. Given that tricycles produce dou-ble the carbon emis-sions and triple the particulate matter of jeepneys, this project could have significant benefits into the fu-ture,” Groff said. [PNA]

MONETARY officials on Thursday cut by 25 basis points the Bangko

Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) poli-cy rates, a first since July 2009, to boost economic growth.

The rate cut, made during the first Monetary Board (MB) meeting for the year, was done after the Board maintained the rates in the past six consecutive policy meetings.

“The Monetary Board has concluded that the benign in-flation outlook allowed some scope for a reduction in policy rates to help boost economic ac-tivity and support market confi-dence,” BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said in a briefing.

The cut reduced central banks overnight borrowing rate to 4.25 percent and the overnight lending rate to 6.25 percent.

The last time monetary of-ficials implemented a rate cut was in July 2009 when it de-creased by 25 basis points the policy rates to spur growth on back of within target inflation outlook until 2010 and weaker global economic activity.

That time, the overnight borrowing rate was lowered to four percent and the overnight lending rate to 6.25 percent.

Tetangco said monetary officials’ latest inflation outlook “remains comfortably within the target range” and the in-flation expectations remains “well-anchored.”

Inflation target for this

year until 2013 is a range be-tween three to five percent.

The central bank chief said “pressures on global com-modity prices are seen to con-tinue to abate amid weaker global growth prospects.”

“However, the impact of strong capital inflows on do-mestic liquidity and the effect of geopolitical tensions in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region on global oil sup-plies will continue to pose up-side risks to inflation,” he said.

He said that the Board believed that global economic growth would continue to slow in part due to the debt crisis in the Euro zone .

He cited that “although the US economy has been showing signs of improve-ment, it remains vulnerable to financial market volatility amid continued concerns about long-term fiscal sustainability,” he said.

“Amidst these develop-ments, the Philippine economy is likely to face external head-winds in 2012. While the Phil-ippine economy continues to expand, sustained domestic spending is expected to com-pensate for weaker external demand,” he said.

“The BSP shall continue to monitor emerging demand and price developments to ensure that monetary policy settings remain supportive of non-infla-tionary economic growth,” he said. [PNA]

Banquerigo

EDGEDAVAO THE BUSINESS PAPER

5JANUARY 23- 29, 2012 VOL. 4 NO. 47

The economy

Net hot money expands 112.45% in 2012

Mindanao ‘eyes’ pork shipment to DubaiCUT pork meat products

from Mindanao may soon become an export

commodity to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to serve the palates of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) there, a re-gional Department of Agricul-ture official said.

Evelyn Jaruda, feeds and veterinary drugs control officer of the DA in Region 12, said Dubai City was initially identi-fied as the shipment destination of “pork-in-a-box” products.

“There is a huge demand for pork products, not only from OFWs but also from other

nationalities like Indians,” she said.

Dubai is an open city and it could be used as a distribu-tion center for other neigh-boring states in the UAE, she added.

A hog raisers industry dia-logue was conducted early this month in South Cotabato prov-ince with an official from the Philippine embassy in Dubai in attendance, Jaruda said.

The embassy official was not named.

If the pork export in Dubai pushes through, she says this will be a very breakthrough for

the livestock industry in Region 12, also called SOCCSKSAR-GEN.

Jaruda said sampling of pork meat products coming from the region is expected to commence this month to deter-mine if it could pass the food safety requirements of Dubai.

She said they have already accredited hog farms in Region 12 that would supply the for-eign shipment.

These are located in the cities of General Santos and Ko-ronadal and in South Cotabato province, one of them identi-fied as the Progressive Farms,

Inc., one of the piggeries under the Lucio Tan Group of Com-panies.

If export to Dubai pushes, this could be the first foreign pork shipment of the country.

The Matutum Meat Pack-ing Corp, which is based in Polomolok, South Cotabato, was cleared by Singapore’s Ag-ri-Food and Veterinary Author-ity to ship pork meat products to the island-state.

It is the only Triple A slaughterhouse in the area that is also expected to process pork meat products should Dubai al-low their entry. [PNA]

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STRONG investors’ confi-dence in the Philippine economy continues to

hike foreign portfolio invest-ments net inflow, rising by 112.45 percent year-on-year at the end of the first week of 2012.

Data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipi-

nas (BSP) Friday showed that foreign portfolio invest-ments, otherwise known as hot money due to the speed it comes in and out of the economy, registered a net of US$ 165.18 million, up from year-ago’s US$ 77.75 million.

On the other hand, total inflows and total outflows

posted lower figures this year.

Total inflows from Janu-ary 2-6 this year reached US$ 229.21 million, US$ 28.15 million lower than year-ago’s US$ 257.36 million.

While outflows in the first week of this year totaled to US$ 64.03 million, lower

than year-ago’s US$ 179.60 million.

Monetary officials ex-pect strong inflows to con-tinue since Asian economies continue to show better growth and fundamentals compared to their counter-parts in Europe as well as the US. [PNA]

EDGEDAVAOTHE BUSINESS PAPER

6 JANUARY 23- 29, 2012VOL. 4 NO. 47

AGRITRENDS

DA eyes more biological pest control for crops

PhilRice producing scents from grains

Davao to open botanical garden and agri-product display center

Firm needs more coco shells

BPI to pursue sustainable farmingValue adding coco products in DavOr

DEPARTMENT of Agricul-ture Secretary Proceso Alcala has directed the

Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) to increasingly promote produc-tion of biological control agents so more of these can be available year-round for farmers to use in addressing crop infestation with-out compromising food safety and environmental protection.

”Let’s further produce such agents in biocontrol facilities,” he told BPI officials this week when the agency celebrated its 82nd anniversary.

His directive supports DA’s bid for more sustainable and or-ganic farming nationwide as well as for increased local production of safe food.

DA earlier announced plans to spend its P61.73 billion 2012 budget mainly on the Food Staples Sufficiency Program which is among the administra-tion’s priorities.

The agency also targets commencing soon the exporta-tion of organically grown veg-etables.

Experts describe biological control as the measure to reduce pest populations using natural means carried out by micro-organisms, insects and other ele-ments of nature.

For agriculture, they said natural means of controlling in-festation include predation and parasitism.

Alcala lauded BPI, an agen-

THE Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) has added

more value to rice by cre-ating its line of scents that are environment-friendly and non-allergenic.

Available in 20 femi-nine, masculine, and uni-sex fragrances, the rice perfumes are produced us-ing semi-organic materials that include glutinous rice – the type of rice used as raw material for rice wine, from which the perfume’s alcohol is extracted.

“Our rice perfume is made from 70 percent semi-organic materials. No chemicals and other synthetic additives were added to the alcohol. Thus, [the “naked” scents] are environment-friendly and do not cause allergies,” mi-crobiologist Jeremiah Joy Quilang said.

Meanwhile, marketing officer Chona Suner-Nar-vadez said that the scents, identified through colors, are considered “naked” as they are yet to be branded and labeled. Bottled in 4, 8, 12, and 35 ml, perfumes

are priced from P40 to P145 and could be bought in dab on, roll on, and spray forms.

“The availability of the scents in various sizes and packaging types are appreciated by customers because they visit our of-fice to buy, sometimes, in bulk,” she said.

Narvadez said that the rice scents are perfect to give and receive as they come with individual boxes and are produced every cycle, ensuring that “there’s always something new for everyone.”

“This wide range of scents captures the interest of spontaneous and on-the-go men and women as our perfume could be used for everyday casual wear or for more formal occasions requiring richer, bolder scents,” she said.

Blended and bottled at the PhilRice Central Ex-periment Station here, the rice perfumes can be made to order, depending on the requirement of the custom-ers. Refills are also avail-able for P3 per ml. [PNA]

Biological pest control

‘IF the national and local governments will continue to be inconsistent in interpreting laws that affect investments, investors will just turn to other countries.’

--Sarangani Gov. Miguel Dominguez

BizQUIPS

cy under DA, for helping pro-mote biological control to protect crops.

”BPI is known in propagat-ing Trichogramma, our friend that attacks corn borers in corn, stem borers in palay as well as fruit and shoot borers in egg-plants,” he said.

He also cited the fungi metarhizium as a natural agent

against rice black bugs and coco-nut’s enemy brontispa.

A soil-based fungi called Trichoderma as well as other in-sects are also helpful particularly for organic farming, he added.

In its 2011 year-end report to Malacanang earlier, DA said 357,772 Trichogramma cards and 181,208 earwigs were dis-tributed to farmers as part of the

agency’s biological control mea-sures against infestation in corn, one of the country’s staple crops.

DA also reported monitor-ing 3,895 hectares of local corn land.

Such interventions helped the country achieve a total corn production of 4.73 metric tons during 2011’s third quarter, DA noted. [PNA]

THE City Agricultur-ist Office here would soon lead the opening

of a botanical garden and agricultural product display center in a countryside vil-lage of the city.

CAO chief Leonardo Avila said that the Davao City Botanical Garden and Agri-Products Display Cen-ter will have its launching as soon as land development is completed within the quar-ter.

Avila said the garden and agri-product display center located in a two-hectare area in Barangay Baganihan, Marilog District, will cater to small-scale farmers of ornamental

plants, flowers, vegetables and other agricultural prod-ucts such as coffee and high-value crops.

He said the City Coun-cil has approved last year for the City Government of Davao to enter into a mem-orandum of agreement with the Department of Agricul-ture (DA) and Department of Natural Environment and Resources (DENR) for the realization of the project.

He disclosed that an initial fund of P3 million will be allocated for the project under DA’s “Agrikul-turang Pinoy” that seeks to promote sustainable agri-culture, food security and self-sufficiency.

Of the funding, P2 mil-lion will be spent for the construction of infrastruc-tures while the remaining P1 million is meant for the operations, he said.

Beautiful sites within the premises of the garden and display center in Brgy. Baganihan such as its water-falls will also be featured.

Avila said that some indigenous peoples in the area are trained to serve as tour guides.

He stated that the proj-ect is part of the city govern-ment’s goal of developing sustainable agriculture, ag-ri-forestry and agri-business programs in Davao City. [PIA

11/CARINA L. CAYON]

THE Bureau of Plant Indus-try (BPI) will focus increas-ingly on undertaking initia-

tives for better promoting sus-tainable farming nationwide to help further boost the Philippine agriculture’s competitiveness.

”We have to think seri-ously on making sure we not only produce food but make our farming activities sustainable,” said BPI Assistant Director Dr. Henry Carpiso.

He raised urgency for sus-tainable farming, noting most of the country’s natural resources are non-renewable.

”We need to change some parameters that we are so used to and engage in new method-ologies that’ll make us more friendly with the environment,” he said.

Carpiso assured of BPI’s efforts to continue helping pro-mote organic farming, noting this sustainable agricultural practice is among the most ef-fective tools in producing safe food.

”Before, our main concern was to make food readily avail-able to the market – now, we

put more emphasis on produc-ing food that’s safe for human consumption,” he said.

This week, BPI marked its 82nd anniversary with the theme “Halaman ay Pagyama-nin, Sapat na Pangunahing Pag-kain ay Kamtin.”

”Such calls us to work to-gether as one team as we move towards attaining food sufficien-cy and security in the very near future,” said Carpiso.

BPI aims to help Philippine crop farming communities and the local crop industry produce quality, accessible and globally competitive agricultural crops that are profitable for Filipinos.

The agency is also tasked with conserving and developing Philippine plant genetic resourc-es as well as ensuring protection and development of the coun-try’s plant industry.

In line with its mandate, BPI commits meeting clients’ needs in plant quarantine, seed quality control, crop production and protection, technology de-velopment, agricultural mecha-nization and laboratory analyti-cal services.

For 2011, BPI reported producing over 154,000 plant breeds, conducting field tests and holding several technical training events.

Earlier, Department of Ag-riculture (DA) Secretary Proceso Alcala lauded BPI for its dedica-tion and accomplishments over the decades.

”Our farmers truly regard BPI highly – this institution’s strength stems from the dedica-tion and capability of its person-nel,” he said.

He and Carpiso also recog-nized BPI’s retired personnel for helping the agency carry out its mandate.

”We’ll always remember those who came before us and their work which greatly con-tributed to where we are now,” Carpiso said.

BPI “will keep the flame burning” and will not rest on its laurels, he added.

On January 1, 1930 and by virtue of the Philippine Leg-islature’s Act 3639, the Bureau of Agriculture was split into Bu-reau of Animal Industry (BAI) and BPI. [PNA]

COCONUT shells will be in high demand in the province of Davao

del Sur as soon as an export company of a sugar product extracted from coco shells be-gins full operations this year.

The CJ-Toyota Tsusho Xylose Plant located in Sta. Cruz town of Davao del Sur will increase its need for coco shells from 350 metric tons a day to 450MT or 85,000MT a year.

The required supply of coco shells is to meet the demand of producing 12,000MT annually of the D-xylose product or a sugar product derived from coco shells, said provincial direc-tor Engr. Edwin Banquerigo

of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Banquerigo said the CJ-Toyota Tsusho has been op-erating in the province since 2010, and is exporting the D-xylose product to China, Japan and Korea.

D-xylose is used as sweetener for industrial and confectionery products such as toothpaste and gums.

Banquerigo told the me-dia in last week’s Kapihan sa PIA that the high demand for coco shells will be beneficial to coco farmers, saying that this would increase their in-come.

However, he said that coco shell supplies in the prov-ince would not be enough to

meet the demand of D-xylose production, noting the cor-responding need for coco shells in the production of activated carbon or charcoal. This is why, he added that CJ-Toyota Tsusho is getting coco shells from other areas in Mindanao.

The D-xylose plant operation has generated approximately more than US$24 million in export sales since 2010, according to DTI’s accomplishment re-port of 2011.

The report stated that the company has also pro-vided US$1.5 million in workers compensation cov-ering 200 employees. [PIA-11/

CARINA L. CAYON]

THE coconut capital of Mindanao , Davao Oriental, cannot just

forever stay as a copra capi-tal. Industry leaders and even farmers feel that there is more to coconut rather it being where copra comes from.

Farmers were pushed to the wall and thought of alternatives after copra pric-es dropped to a record low of P5.00 per kilo in 2006.

Coco by-product pro-cessing plants then started to crop up in the province. Farmers researched on coco coir and peat products as these had high demand in the export market.

Resulting from the 1st National Coco Coir Summit in March 2011, coir process-ing plants started to operate all over the province where baled coir fibers are being produced and sold to insti-tutional buyers and export-ers in Davao and Manila.

Davao Oriental Trade and Industry head Belen-da Ambi said many fam-ily members of the coco-nut farmers have benefited from the value adding of

the crop. Processed coco coir fibers are made into twine and geo-nets that find a market in China and other countries.

One of the initiatives of DYI Davao Oriental was the Coco Coir Twining Project which served as a conver-gence of various services needs to complete the entire process of coir processing.

Acting as the consoli-dator of twine hanks is the

Mati Cocofiber Technology (MCT). It provides coir fiber to two twining communities in Maitom and Calamansi. These coco fibers or twine hanks are then bought by Regwill Industries Inc.

Through the facilita-tion of DTI, Regwill Indus-tries provide the needed training on hanks twining and weaving to farmers and their family members.[PIA 11/

MAI GEVERA-MACAPAGAT]

7

EDGEDAVAO THE BUSINESS PAPER

JANUARY 23- 29, 2012 VOL. 4 NO. 47

DTI warns anew againstscams using SMS, email

POEA 11 beefs up drivevs illegal recruitment

House to probe WBank fundanomaly in Supreme CourtDOE launches e-trike design contest

E-Passport processing back to normal

DTI, other agencies sign deal on Green Public Procurement

GOVERNANCE

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) 11 warns consumers anew

against scams using messages sent through cellular phones and by-email.

The latest e-mail scam attempt uses the name of Art Boncato, regional director of the Department of Tourism in the Davao Region.

Although the office rarely receives reports and inquiries on text scams, DTI 11 regional di-rector Marizon S. Loreto said the information campaign relative to this must be made regularly to further empower consumers.

Based on the report of the Consumer Welfare and Trade Regulation Division (CWTRD) of DTI 11, the office only got an average of four reports/inquiries per month on text scam during the last quarter of 2011, whereas in previous months, the office recorded more than 10 a month.

“This shows that consum-ers today are more vigilant. They already have the discernment to recognize which text mes-sages are true and which are just scams,” she said.

The office released the fol-lowing tips to detect a text scam:

*The text message was sent through an 11-digit mobile num-ber instead of a special three or four-digit number. A legitimate raffle or promo sponsors have a special three or four-digit code from the mobile network provid-ers that are used to register and notify participants through short messaging service (SMS);

*A subscriber has won a brand new car or a big amount from a raffle or contest when in fact, he didn’t join any;

*A subscriber is asked to send load or deposit a certain amount of cash as processing fee or tax payment prior to claiming the prize;

*A subscriber is rushed to claim the prize. Legitimate sales promotions are required to give winners 60-day period from the date of notification or announce-ment to claim the prize/s. More importantly, winners of promos with prizes exceeding P500 are required to be notified through registered mail, and not through text messages alone, per the Con-sumer Act of the Philippines.

Text scams use bogus DTI permit number. Promo activities are required to have a permit from DTI, however, dubious text promos use bogus permit numbers to deceive subscribers. Consumers can verify the legiti-macy of the promo with DTI.

Loreto said the public may reach the nearest DTI office any-time during office hours should they have consumer-related concerns. DTI 11 can be reached at (082) 224-0511. [DTI 11/JENMEN-

DOZA]

VALIDATION OF IPs. DSWD worker Girlie L. Dormitorio conducts validation in the household of Mabilao and Mayuna Singkianon in Sitio Namnam, Marilog District, Davao City to ascertain the tribe and occupation of indigenous peoples and informal

sector. More than 60 Matigsalog families in Namnam participate in the survey through the DSWD National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction that identifies who and where the poor are nationwide. [DSWD/CARMELA CADIGAL-DURON]

‘OUR efforts at anti-corruption would certainly lead to good governance and would lead to a situation where the Philippines has been perceived as an attractive area for investment.’

--Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda

BizQUIPS

THE Philippine Overseas Employment Administra-tion in the region is beefing

up its campaign against illegal recruitment in a bid to further prevent Filipinos from being vic-timized by such act.

POEA Regional Center for Mindanao chief Maria Carolina Agdamag said the information campaign on anti-illegal recruit-ment will be intensified this year down to the grassroots level.

“We will keep on cam-paigning and giving-out informa-tion,” Agdamag said during last week’s (Jan. 17) Davao Talking Points forum over Radyo ng Bayan.

She said the information drive will be in coordination with national government agencies, local government units and the academe.

Agdamag raised the need of collaborating with other agen-cies, especially LGUs, which could help POEA reach out to the vulnerable sectors.

“Mahirap mag reach-out sa grassroots because these are

people who are willing to go out kahit alam nilang illegal ang pagka recruit sa kanila,” she said.

Agdamag said the cam-paign is part of the agency’s pro-gram anchored on the mandate to implement Republic Act No. 8042 or the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995.

The Act provides for the institution of “policies of over-seas employment and establish a higher standard of protection and promotion of the welfare of migrant workers, their families and overseas Filipinos in dis-tress, and for other purposes.”

Provisions on illegal re-cruitment fall under Section 6 of RA 8042, which defines illegal recruitment as an “act of can-vassing any act of canvassing, enlisting, contracting, transport-ing, utilizing, hiring, procuring workers and includes refer-ring, contact services, promis-ing or advertising for employ-ment abroad, whether for profit or not, when undertaken by a non-license or non-holder of au-

thority..” To avoid illegal recruit-

ment, Agdamag advised aspir-ing migrant workers not to ap-ply at recruitment agencies not licensed by POEA. “They must check with POEA as to the ve-racity of the agency,” she said.

In POEA’s website, among the pointers given to prevent illegal recruitment are: not to deal with licensed agencies without job orders; and not to deal with any person who is not an authorized representative of a licensed agency.

It is also advised not to pay more than the allowed placement fee which should be equivalent to one month salary, exclusive of documen-tation and processing costs. A valid employment con-tract and an official re-ceipt must also be present when paying placement fee. Agdamag also bared POEA’s program in providing Pre-Em-ployment Orientation Seminar for would-be Overseas Filipino Workers. [PIA 11/CARINA L. CAYON]

BAYAN Muna Reps. Teddy Casiño and Neri Col-menares have filed House

Resolution 2049 to probe the supposed World Bank fund anomaly in the Supreme Court.

The resolution directs the Committee on Good Gov-ernment and Public Account-ability to conduct an inquiry, on the irregularities involving the Judicial Reform Support Project (JRSP) funded by the World Bank as implemented by the Supreme Court.

The project, which the World Bank partly funded with $21.9 million (or about P931 million), was started in October 2, 2003. The loan should have lasted up to De-cember 31, 2009 but it was ex-tended by 18 months to June

30, 2011 and then for another 12 months to June 30, 2012.

“The odd thing here is that since Corona became the Chief Justice, the WB reported that progress in attaining the project development objec-tive and implementation have been rated ‘Unsatisfactory’ by the WB,” said Casiño.

“Also, disbursements as of November 30, 2011 stand at US$16.3 or 76% of the re-vised loan amount of US$21.4 million,” he added.

“We definitely have to get to the bottom of this consider-ing that the JRSP funds may be one of the sources of ill gotten wealth not only of Justice Co-rona, as mentioned in the im-peachment complaint, but of other Supreme Court officials as well,” said Casiño.

THE Department of Energy 11launched last week a nationwide design contest

on electronic tricycle that will choose from amongst talented and artistic Filipinos the best 2D or 3D computer-aided drawings to be used as the official design of the three-wheeled electric vehicle of DOE’s E-Trike Project.

The design must show-case a modern tricycle inno-vation with a maximum of six passengers excluding the driver.

Electronic vehicles will be deployed in selected local gov-ernment units and are expected to ply streets starting this year.

The use of e-trikes is being pushed by the national govern-ment to serve as environment-

friendly alternatives to gaso-line-powered vehicles.

Experts attest that an e-trike has zero emission because it emits no pollutants.

Before DOE signals a go to its E-Trike Project which is scheduled this year until 2017, the office found it necessary that the vehicle design be con-tributed by the public.

It has opened the design competition to all Filipino citi-zens of legal age (18 years old and above), whether individual or group residing in the Philip-pines.

The design must be in 2D and 3D CAD drawings using AutoCAD software with cor-responding design description. It must be submitted in both

CD and hardcopy (A3) and en-closed in a sealed envelope.

DOE guidelines state that the entry must be original, new, and has not been used for commercial or demonstra-tion purposes. It must not also contain the name or logo of the participating individual, school, or establishment.

The entry must be person-ally submitted or sent by couri-er accompanied by completely filled up official registration form which they can download from the DOE website www.doe.gov.ph or at PIA website www.pia.gov.ph.

Entries must be sent to Nationwide E-Trike Design Contest, c/o Energy Utilization Management Bureau, Depart-

ment of Energy, Merritt Road, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City 1631.

Deadline for submission is February 17, at 4pm, while the final judging is on February 24 at the DOE head office.

The official entries will be adjudged based on the follow-ing criteria: aesthetics/creativ-ity (50%), originality (20%), safety and functionality (20%), and ergonomics or ease of pas-senger entry-accessibility, space requirements, and total passen-ger comfort (10%).

The top three winning en-tries will each receive P200,000 and their designs will auto-matically become the exclusive property of DOE. [PIA 11/MAI GEVERA-

MACAPAGAT]

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), to-gether with other gov-

ernment agencies, and the Philippine Center for Envi-ronmental Protection and Sustainable Development (PCEPSDI), signed a memo-randum of understanding for the Implementation of Green Public Procurement.

This project aims to de-velop the knowledge and skills of government offices on Green Procurement, inte-grate the green public pro-curement policy model to existing government procure-ment programs, and develop guidelines among procure-ment entities in the establish-ment of their green procure-ment programs.

As head of the Na-tional Ecolabelling Program (NELP), DTI was included in the pilot batch of agencies which will undergo institu-tional capacity-building and preparation for the Green Procurement Program.

Other government agen-cies which signed the MOU to join the pilot batch of the

Green Procurement Program are: Department of Environ-ment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of En-ergy (DOE), Department of Budget and Manage-ment (DBM), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Philippine Econom-ic Zone Authority (PEZA), and Quezon City Govern-ment.

The project is a joint effort by the PCEPSDI, the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) and the International Green Pur-chasing Network (IGPN) based in Tokyo, Japan. These agencies will provide the capacity-building and technical assistance in the implementation of the proj-ect.

DTI Undersecretary Ze-naida Maglaya urged her fel-low government officials to support green procurement.

“Let’s create a demand to encourage manufacturers to produce more green prod-ucts,” she said.

Presidential Adviser for Environmental Protection

Neric Acosta asked other government offices to come up with ways to reduce en-vironmental impact of its op-erations.

“It’s our way of life. We need to green our practices so we can have a better fu-ture. We must break away from consuming too much,” Acosta said.

The training for the pilot batch will run for five months and the techni-cal meetings on the project started this month. Accord-ing to PCEPSDI executive director June Alvarez, once the pilot project is success-fully implemented, it will be replicated in other agencies by batch.

The Green Procurement Program (GPP) was estab-lished through Executive Order 301 in March 2004, which mandates the execu-tive branch of government to create an eco-friendly supply chain. The implementation of GPP is expected to jump start the demand for green products, at least for govern-ment procuring entities. [PNA]

AFTER experiencing de-lays in the processing of the electronic passport

last year, the Department of Foreign Affairs here an-nounced that it has resumed its normal processing pace starting this month.

“The e-passport process-ing is back to normal this year,” DFA regional consular officer-in-charge Erlinda B. Albay said during the Davao

Talking Points forum yester-day (Jan. 18) over Radyo ng Bayan.

Albay explained that the system in the DFA central of-fice bogged down last year which caused delay in the e-passport processing of up to two months per application.

Currently, she said regular processing is back to 20-working days before an applicant could get his/her e-

passport for a fee of P950.The express processing,

she added, is for ten working days for a fee of P1,200.

Albay said personal ap-pearance is strictly required of all applicants who have to un-dergo biometric technology in capturing the needed informa-tion for the passport.

The DFA began issuing e-passports in the country in March 2010 following a re-

quirement from the Interna-tional Civil Aviation Organiza-tion (ICAO), she said.

The e-passport contains biometric information of the passport holder, in which data is enclosed in a chip embedded at the back cover of the pass-port.

The maroon-colored e-passport has enhanced secu-rity features by being tamper-proof. [PIA 11/CARINA L. CAYON]

EDGEDAVAOTHE BUSINESS PAPER

8 JANUARY 23- 29, 2012VOL. 4 NO. 47

EDITORIAL

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Another front

IT is said that there are two trials going on against Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona.

The first goes on in the Senate impeachment court where the niceties of the law and the rules of court are supposed to be observed. The second one is waged outside the Senate and it is called trial by publicity where there seems to be no rules at all.

The testimonies being revealed in the Senate anf the final verdict of the senator-judges could be devastating to his person and his future, as Chief Justice Corona said. The trial by publicity which has not stopped even after the Senate trial had started will continue to demonize the Chief Justice and members of his family long after judgment shall have been rendered in the impeachment trial.

Now, in the middle of the two “trials,” comes the damning

report of the World Bank on the questionable handling by the Supreme Court under Coloma of the Judicial Reform Support Project (JRSP) involving a World Bank loan of $21.9 million to the Supreme Court.

In a report dated Dec. 28, 2011, the World Bank asks a refund of $199,900 spent in some 70 “ineligible expenditures.”

The JRSP loan mess is not just a sideshow in the impeachment telenovela. It is an entirely different episode in the travails of Renato Corona as Chief Justice. This is not a matter where the Supreme Court can invoke its financial independence. Indeed, Mr. Corona, and his staunchest defender, Court Administrator Midas Marquez, owe the Filipino people a lot of explanation, since this involves a loan that all Filipinos are bound to pay as taxpayers.

When fun is no fun!

BizQUIPS‘TOGETHER with our efforts

to correct the wrongdoing of the past is our recognition that economic data are worthless if they only look good on paper but do not provide relief to our countrymen at the bottom of society.’

--President Aquino

LAST week, the Depart-ment of Tourism (DOT) unveiled its slogan “It’s

more fun in the Philippines.” I agree with the DOT Secretary that the line connotes compe-tition; its intention is to attract tourists to come to the coun-try rather than for them to go somewhere else. The main attraction, as the DOT Secre-tary said, is the Filipino people to which I initially had some doubts before finally agreeing.

People cannot be the main object of tourism – that was my first thought. If there’s anything that comes to mind when talking about tourism, people would be the last in my list. In fact, in my recent travels abroad, there were only three things in my list – accommoda-tion, transportation and places to visit. To go with these three items, I should have two things – money to spend and a map of direction. If and when sched-ules allow, “friends and rela-tives” are also on my list and I consider them as “companions” rather than mere “people” - as the main object of tourism in those countries. In short, what I am saying is that tourists are no longer directly dependent on “people” (note: I am not saying “relatives and friends”) to make pleasure trips truly memorable.

On second thought, peo-ple could make or break tour-ism. It becomes a very impor-tant ingredient – not the main object – in making tourism something to enjoy, something that makes the taste buds of the mind salivate and crave for more.

The Philippines can offer a menu of places and activities which will surely make tour-istswant to come to the coun-try. Name it and we have it – from Pagudpud in the north to Island Garden City of Samal in the south. From historical landmarks to natural landscape formations, from museums, old churches and cultural heritage areas to sophisticated high rise modern buildings, from ukay-ukay to branded or signature items, from Italian to orien-tal cuisines, from musicals to stage plays to theater shows, and from whatever-you-call-it to whatever-others-may-call-it. We have almost everything to satisfy the different tastes of the most exploring and adventur-ous tourists on earth. In fact, it would take at least a couple of weeks to explore and exploit the unique and exotic beauty of the Philippines.

For a long time now, we have had all these, yet the tour-ism industry of the country

has not really flourished as it should. While there were in-creases in tourist arrivals over the years (thanks to “Wow Phil-ippines!”), the industry’s share of the total gross domestic product of the country remains low (no thanks to “Pilipinas kay Ganda”!) compared to what it could potentially contribute.

To further develop the tourism sector, it is not enough that we have exciting activi-ties and festivities, the beauti-ful and majestic sceneries, and the ever-loving and hospitable Filipino people. Likewise, it ne-cessitates not just international promotion and marketing. For me, it requires us to see our tourism industry with “FUN” so that at the end of the day, we could see that there certainly is more fun in the Philippines. The acronym FUN (according to my own dictionary) stands for:

F – for facilities and ame-nities. Clean, safe, convenient and comfortable facilities and amenities are essential to the industry. These include provi-sions for board and lodging, parking, convenience stores, health and wellness centers and emergency services acces-sibly located where tourists are expected to go.

U – for utilities and sup-port services. Tourists that come to the country either on business or mere pleasure are mobile – they want to go places, and they would like their con-tact back home unrestrained. A must in the development of the industry are reliable, safe, convenient, comfortable, acces-sible and affordable transport and communication networks, and a reliable and safe power supply.

N – for nearby tourist at-tractions. Whether on business or pleasure trip, tourists always want to see something unique, awesome and extraordinary when they travel to a different place. They would like to have a good taste and a firsthand experience of what they hear about the country and every-thing that the country can offer them.

The challenge for the DOT now is to be able to lead, mobi-lize and engage the right people, not just the generic “us” in en-joining everybody to cooperate, to make everything possible. When I say the right people, I am referring to the private sector - the business people – who can help provide at the right place and at the right time the F, the U and the N to make the country a true destination where there is certainly more fun. Fun without the FUN is no fun.

EDGEDAVAO THE BUSINESS PAPER

9JANUARY 23- 29, 2012 VOL. 4 NO. 47

“It’s more fun in the Philip-pines!”

That’s the latest brainchild of the Department of Tourism. The DOT appar-ently believes the slogan will trigger a global rush of tour-ists to this country.

What for? I can’t imag-ine how a six-word slogan like that would make people across the seven seas want to shell out good money for the opportunity to spend a few days in a strange country they don’t know much about.

They may want to know what kind of “fun” the slogan hints at. Sports tourism, for one, could be it. Or whatever provokes amusement , enjoy-ment or arouses laughter, per-haps.

But we who live in these seven thousand plus islands and islets do know what fun is. We as a people, in a sense, probably don’t have any equal on this planet when it comes to having fun. We are quick to laugh or find enjoyment in situations that other nationali-

ties, especially of the western world, don’t.

We see this Filipino trait everyday on national or local television.

The current impeach-ment trial of Chief Justice Renato C. Corona is an exam-ple. Everyone knows that this is no ordinary trial. Note the protagonists themselves—the prosecuting panel made up of certain Honorable members of the House of Representatives, the defense panel composed of some of the best legal minds in the country, including the chief defense counsel (he who has more face to wash and less

hair to comb) who was once upon a time no less than an associate justice of the Su-preme Court. And there is the panel of senators sitting as ju-rors tasked with the unenvi-able responsibility of finding Corona innocent or guilty of the charges filed against him based on one, two or more of the the eight articles of im-peachment.

One would expect that such a high profile case in-volving the Chief of the Su-preme Court as respondent would be held in a hushed courtroom of the Senate marked with decorum.

Not really so. It takes

all kinds of people to fill a courtroom. This one in par-ticular. As the protagonists go through their paces, we notice a well-dressed pros-ecutor asking a witness ques-tions like he was declaiming or orating, punctuating jis query with a sweeping glance at the gallery--for effect. Grandstanding, what else?

Occasionally, a sharp exchange between protago-nists elicits laughter or angry retorts as the case may be. Sometimes, the exchanges between lawyers become heated, so much so that one or the other stammers or stutters and the rules of grammar suffer a brief set-back. During breaks, protag-onists are seen exchanging banter and even high fives. The irrespressible Pinoy mentality always manages to find levity amid serious business.

Yes, it’s more fun in the Philippines. For Filipinos, that is. I don’t know about the tourists.

AMONG the many chal-lenges of women, time management is one. For

the working mother, they have to balance work life versus family life.

In the workplace, we are expected to be tough, not eas-ily affected, while subject to personal hazards. It’s like short of saying, forget that we are women or at least, not think, act, react like women do. We want to achieve, to excel but so afraid of the consequences. There is this book that I’m reading, it’s written by Dr. Lin-da Austin, a professor of Psy-chiatry. The title of the book is “What’s Holding You Back?”

She tells us of the Psy-chological Glass Ceiling. This is the ceiling that we have unconsciously erected in our minds…to stop us from fur-ther advancing in our careers. For me, I was conflicted. At 23, I married and a year after, I had my first child. I thanked God about this. It was also the same time my career was just about to flourish. I was given a managerial position which took much of me. I knew that

it was critical for me to mas-ter time management but at that age, it was so difficult. Whenever I had a promotion, I would stop and ask myself, is this all worth it?

For my second child, I was already managing a thrift bank. When I leave the house, he would still be sleeping and upon my arrival, he would al-ready be asleep… This went on for more than a year before it dawned on me… What have I compromised? I would be at work when my younger sister would call me to say that my eldest son hurt his head or had to be rushed to the emergency

room. I was running an entire office effectively but not my own household. I know, deep in my heart, my children simply just wanted me to be… home.

I do not have that luxury of basking in the glory of my achievements at work because there would always be that question… What was the trade-off? I’ve seen this big billboard in CDO one time, it said, ” No amount of success can compen-sate for the failure at home”. That statement rang so true!

I was already having prob-lems with my own marriage. I knew that somewhere, some-how, I had a hand in it.

I just had too much on my plate.

Maintaining a good and healthy relationship between husband and wife, boyfriend/ girlfriend, is an important mat-ter that needed attending to.

Now I see clearly how tra-ditional works. My mom was a housewife. It was my father who decided that. That deci-sion was probably one of the best ones he has made for us, their children. Life wasn’t so complicated then. My mother had her ways to make her day active and productive. Later, she was able to convince my fa-ther to start a business. A book-store. I believe it was one of the first book shops Davao had in the late 70’s. I remember grow-ing up in that bookstore. My parents would bring us their every day . It was a joyous time for me and my siblings!

Women face countless challenges, struggling to re-define their roles, striking a bal-ance in their home and work life. We have come far and should be proud not only for what we have achieved but of what we are still capable of.

vantage POINTS

FACE OFF

A slogan for Pinoys only

‘TRUE! I am hindrance to those who want to stop the distribution of land to the farmers of Hacienda Luisita.

‘I am also a hindrance to the one who is in a hurry to become Vice President although (he) was defeated in 2010. And let us not go farther. I am also a big hindrance to someone who has long ambitioned to become Chief Justice.

‘Those three are conspiring to oust me from my post. And most of all, I am a big hindrance to the establishment of a dictatorship.’

--Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona

HIS other allegations, concerning the President’s running mate and an associate justice of the Supreme Court, go beyond being merely undignified – they are slanderous attacks for the purpose of deflecting attention. No Chief Justice has ever demeaned himself by the gutter language he used this morning.’

--Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda

‘THE trial is about the very serious offenses against our people for betrayal of public trust. He should not write comic stories and fairy tales of alleged conspiracies. He should face the truth and his conscience. He should not drag anyone.’

--Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas

Challenges of a woman (Part 2 of 2)

WITH credulity and unrestrained amusement rather

than alarm, one cannot help but notice the proliferation of small fried chicken outlets or eateries all over the city.

Surreptitiously, they sprouted like wild mush-rooms in a little over a year’s time. You can see them along the city’s main thoroughfares and even minor streets, some just a few feet or meters from the sidewalks. Undoubtedly, their ubiquitous presence mirrors the Pinoy gaya-gaya mentality – when one busi-ness venture proves success-ful, others quickly follow.

It’s quite easy to set-up these outlets. All that are needed are gas stove, kitch-enware, a few tables and chairs evenly spaced in an open space and presto!, you are in business and ready to welcome two-legged hungry detergents with a keen eye for reasonably priced value meal.

Some outlets are simple L-shaped counters where cus-tomers sit on wooden or steel stools. And without much come-on gimmickry, custom-ers appear out of nowhere at lunchtime.

Now, what’s the secret of success? The price, of course. A piece of crispy, golden brown fried chicken, a cup of warm rice, a cup of hot soup plus a spoonful of catsup easily command 25-30 pesos. If one is a naturally light eater, this meal package can keep sustain one till the 3-oclock afternoon break.

Fried chicken regular customers are students with meager food allowances as well as office workers who have AIDS (Acute Income Deficiency Syndrome).

Interestingly, all the fried chicken in these out-lets are virtually of the same size and taste. On the whole, however, they taste really good, are crispy, fresh and well-done.

By the way, some outlets are obviously poor copycats of the vastly popular Ameri-can KFC food chain. There is a CFC, a JFC and an RFC. One outlet calls itself Tsuna-mi Chicken. Other signs sim-ply say Chicken Corner.

Speaking further of fried chicken, let me share with you its origin as told

tome by a good friend, Rog-er Penaloza, who once was into the food business. He is a retired businessman, a for-mer Rotarian and Kiwanian who had a taste of the good life during the 70s, 80s and 90s.

Roger’s version of the origin of fried chicken takes us back to the days of the black slaves in America in the 18th century and ear-lier when only the slaves ate chicken which their masters call “slave’s meat”. (Inciden-tally, chicken was discovered in India about 2000 B.C.)

The slaves cooked the chicken the primitive way – heating it over a burn-ing fire. But tired of eating roasted chicken day in and day out, they devised a new way of cooking by chopping the chicken into small piec-es, mixed these with herbs, spices, salt before being deep fried it. The result was a crispy, tasty and aromatic chicken dish.

Eventually, the new dish became a familiar item on the white man’s dining table. And the “slave’s meat” had become the master’s de-light.

Going back to Roger. He’s now a key member of an exclusive group that calls itself Four Kings made up of senior citizens past 70. Each claims to be king in his line of expertise justified by decades of experience and unique talent. He is the cu-linary king. A Bicolano, he can prepare Bicol Express faster than you can say bon apetit.

The second king, Joe Pasumbal, for years super-vised dangerous under-ground activities retiring as mining superintendent of a major mining corporation.

The third king is an au-thority on leadership train-ing and youth character development who retired as the top honcho of the Boy Scouts movement in 2000. He is the training king – Charlie Escudero.

The fourth king is tagged communications guru having been a print and broadcast mediaman since the Sixties. He did ghost speech-writing for politicians and civic leaders for over 10 years. He writes this corner.

BizQUIPS“This obsession of the

defense lawyers with the rules of court is meant to allow CJ Corona to confuse the issue and delay the proceedings.”

---Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares, a member of the House panel of prosecutors

Slave’s meat, master’s delight

EDGEDAVAOTHE BUSINESS PAPER

10 JANUARY 23- 29, 2012VOL. 4 NO. 47

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SSS offers raffle promo for OFWs

PAL’s pre-Valentine’s Day promo

PLDT to delist Digitel from PSE

Major companies to supportDavao Sports Tourism Forum

THE New Year gave An-atalia Rillera-Ma-cauba, Tattoo Res-

tie Terania, and Mary Grace Vendicacion more reason to visit the SM Food Court. As the first set of winners of the Dine and Drive promotion, all three drove home a brand new Chevrolet Sparks car.

During the recent awarding ceremonies at the SM Southmall Event Cen-ter, all three - who are Food Court regulars - expressed their joy in winning. Ana-talia, who comes from La Union, recalls how her three

year old daughter’s wish-ful thinking buoyed up her spirits. “When she saw the poster at the SM Food Court in Baguio, she said that the car was ours, even announc-ing this to her classmates,” she recalls. And when this became a reality, she was overwhelmed.

Tattoo, a technical support representative from Taytay thinks of the car as SM’s special Christmas gift – his winning stub came from a December 24 visit. Mary Grace, on the other hand, literally went a long way to win. She comes from Bu-

lacan but works as a recep-tionist in Las Pinas, and was SM Southmall’s winner.

Like Anatalia, Tattoo, and Mary Grace, you too can Dine and Drive and get a chance to win the second set of three Chevrolet Sparks cars at the SM Food Court. Every P200 food and bever-age purchase from any of 38 Food Courts nationwide until January 31, 2012 en-titles one to a raffle stub and a chance to win one of three Chevrolet Sparks cars. The raffle draw will take place on February 6, 2012 at SM City North EDSA.

New year, new Chevy carsto SM Food Court winners

BizQUIPS‘IN fact, we should encourage

public discourse and discussion of the issues relating to this historic event as long as it complies with the impeachment rules.’

--Senator Antonio Trillanes V on who are not allowed to discuss developments in the impeachment trial.

The three winners, Anatalia Rillera-Macauba, Tattoo Restie Terania, and Mary Grace Vendicacion, receive the symbolic key to the Chevrolet Sparks car from SM Southmall’s

Assistant Mall Manager John Brian Tarnate and SM’s Vice President for Advertising, Ms. Grace Magno)

OVERSEAS Filipino workers can win a trip back home and

cash prizes for active So-cial Security System (SSS) membership and motivating fellow OFWs to become SSS members under a special raffle promo starting this month, a top official said.

SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Emilio de Quiros, Jr. said the «Member-Get-Member» (MGM) promo aims to en-courage overseas workers to urge fellow Filipinos in their communities abroad to be-come active SSS members.

«It is SSS’ priority to reach out to OFWs. We learnt that despite their hard work, they are often excluded from social secu-rity programs of their host countries,» he said. «Thus, ensuring their SSS cover-age is a way of giving them

social protection wherever they are.»

To be eligible as «nomi-nators,» interested OFWs must have a minimum of one posted contribution during the last three months from the time of registration for the MGM promo.

The promo carries the slogan «Sa SSS: Kasama-hang OFW ay Protektado, Meron Pang Pa-Premyo.» Nominators can refer new or existing members to SSS as «nominees,» who must have no posted contribu-tions for 2011.

«Nominators automati-cally earn one entry to the monthly raffle for every posted contribution of each nominee, provided they also pay their own SSS premium for the same month,» De Quiros said. «More referrals mean more chances of win-ning.»

A total of nine winners of P10, 000 each will be chosen via electronic raffle every month from Janu-ary to June 2012. Monthly raffle draws will be held on the last working day of the succeeding month.

«OFW nominators and nominees with six posted contributions for January to June 2012 will qualify for the Grand Raffle, which will be held in September as part of the 55th SSS an-niversary celebration,» De Quiros said.

The SSS offers as Grand Prize a vacation package that includes round-trip economy-class airfare to Manila from the winning OFW’s country of work; round-trip airfare, airport transfers and hotel accom-modation for a four-day stay for two in Boracay; and P45,000 pocket money. [PR]

PHILIPPINE Airlines (PAL) on Wednesday is launch-ing another special treat for

travelers in time for Valentine’s Day: purchase a business class ticket and get another one.

PAL latest promo dubbed as “Let your Love Fly Free,” of-fers limited seats, which give passengers who buy regional and international tickets a chance to join and win in the “Love NYC Tour Raffle.”

Those who purchase do-mestic tickets earn one entry to the “Love Asian Tour Raffle.”

Promo period is from Jan-uary 17 to February 13, 2012. Tickets are valid for travel from January 23 to March 31, 2012.

Highlight of the “Love NYC Tour Raffle” is PAL’s Valentine Broadway Experience package which includes two-roundtrip Manila-New York class tickets, accommodation at the Peninsu-la New York plus a pair of tickets

to Phantom of the Opera and Wicked on Broadway.

PAL said those interested to join the “Love NYC Tour,” just send the following details via SMS: PAL LOVENYC

Example: PAL LOVENYC 0791234567890 JOSA FLORES 1234 PAG-IBIG STREET MA-NILA

Meanwhile, two roundtrip business class tickets to Hong Kong await winners of the Asian tour raffle. To qualify, entries must register via SMS by send-ing the following information: PAL LOVEASIA

Example: PAL LOVEA-SIA 0791234567890 JOSE FLORES 1234 PAG-IBIG STREET MANILA, and send to 2327 (Globe subscribers) or 09178902327 (non-Globe sub-scribers).

Included in the promo are PAL-operated flights between Manila and Taipei, Hong Kong,

Macau, Xiamen, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh, Singapore, Jakarta, Guam, Shanghai, Beijing, To-kyo, Nagoya, Fukouka, Osaka, Cebu-Tokyo, Honolulu, Delhi, Sydney, Melbourne, Los Ange-les, San Francisco, Las Vegas.

All promo fares are subject to government taxes, fees and surcharges. Tickets must be issued together. Minimum of two passengers is required who must travel together both ways. Tickets must be issued 48 hours after confirmed reservations on or before February 13, 2012.

Rebooking is allowed at US$ 100 per ticket for interna-tional/regional and at P400 per sector for domestic. Under the promo, mileage accrual applies.

For ticket prices, bookings and inquiries, visit www.phil-ippineairlines.com or call PAL Reservations at (02) 855-8888 in Manila or accredited travel agents. [PNA]

GUESTS. Ateneo de Davao University President Fr. Joel Tabora, S.J. stresses a point during the weekly ISPEAK Media Forum at the City Information Office at City Hall the other day. Listening is Atty. Manuel Quibod, Dean of the

Ateneo de Davao University College of Law. Ateneo and the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) will be holding an International Conference on Mining in Mindanao this week. [JLPGARCIA/CITY INFORMATION OFFICE]

PHILIPPINE Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) on Thursday said it will delist

newly acquired Digital Telecom-munications Philippines Inc. (Digitel) from the local bourse after it purchased 94 percent of the shares held by the public.

“With Digitel’s public ownership falling below the minimum 10 percent required by the PSE [Philippine Stock Exchange], PLDT expects to file a petition for the voluntary del-isting of Digitel with the PSE,” PLDT said in a statement.

A total of 2.888 billion shares were tendered by Digitel minority shareholders, repre-senting about 94 percent of the shares held by the public.

The minority sharehold-

ers were given the option of re-ceiving the payment in cash at P1.6033 per share, or in the form of PLDT common shares valued at P2,500 per share or one PLDT share for every 1,559.28 Digitel shares, except for shareholders residing outside the Philippines who will only be paid in cash.

Of the total shares ten-dered, 13 percent or 374 million Digitel shares are to be paid in cash, and 87 percent or 2.514 bil-lion Digitel shares are to be paid in PLDT common shares.

This translates to the pay-ment by PLDT of about P600 million in cash and issuance of about 1.6 million PLDT common shares.

The tendered shares are to be crossed in the Philippine Stock

Exchange (PSE) on Jan. 24 and settlement of both cash and share transactions will be on 27 January 2012.

“Following the completion of the tender offer and with the previously disclosed partial con-version of the convertible bonds held by PLDT into 4 billion Digi-tel shares, PLDT will own 10.165 billion common shares or 98 per-cent of the enlarged capital base of Digitel,” PLDT said.

PLDT undertook a tender offer to Digitel minority share-holders following its acquisition of a combined equity stake of 51.55 percent of Digitel from JG Summit Holdings, Inc. (JGS), Ex-press Holdings, Inc., and certain other individuals and corporate stockholders of Digitel. [PNA]

TWO major firms in the country are supporting the upcoming Sports Tourism

Forum on January 31, 2012 at the Waterfront Insular Hotel in Davao City. The Tourism Infra-structure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) along with Cebu Pacific Air are lending their support to the forum which pro-motes tourism through sports.

The forum has slated high-caliber sports industry personali-ties to share their expertise in the field. Lectures in staging, plan-ning and management, sports marketing and sports promotion are some of the things to expect in the forum. It is open to anyone who has the heart to promote tourism through sports.

The forum will be graced by Secretary Ramon Jimenez, Jr of the Department of Tourism as keynote speaker with Davao

City Mayor Sara Duterte giving the welcoming remarks. Other speakers include Ms Princess Ga-lura of IMG, former Chair of the Philippine Sports Commission William “Butch” Ramirez, Nim-

rod NL Quiñones, managing edi-tor of the Freeman and Matthew Cullen of the Philippine Rugby Union (of the Philippine Volca-noes. Charlie Manio of Cebu Pa-cific will be there as well.

EDGEDAVAO THE BUSINESS PAPER

11JANUARY 23- 29, 2012 VOL. 4 NO. 47

competitive edge

CALL FOR PROPOSALACDI/VOCA Philippines a non-profit, US based agricultural enterprise development organiza-tion is seeking for proposals from qualified orga-nizations/Individuals as Training Service Provider (TSP).

The work will primarily focus on the administra-tion of trainings conducted by ACDI/VOCA in vari-ous areas in Western and Southern Mindanao.

To get a complete copy of the Scope of Work and application forms, kindly send request through email at this address: jlaquihon@acdivoca.org.ph or at telephone number (082) 298-6250 kind-ly look for Janoz Laquihon. Deadline for submis-sion of proposals will be on January 25, 2012 at 5 o’clock in the afternoon.

BizQUIPS‘PERSONALLY, for me, GMA

is for sale for the right price. I don’t solely own GMA but for me that’s what I can say.’

--GMA Network Inc. Chairman Felipe Gozon, answering rumors that Philippine Long Distance Telephone and Smart chairman Manuel Pangilinan have offered to buy GMA at P500 billion.

Phoenix Petroleum namedtop importer in Year 2011

Media urged to improve disasterreporting, adopt new technology

Abreeza Mall welcomes the Year of the Water Dragon

PHOENIX Petroleum Philippines, Inc. was recently named Top

Importer by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) in Davao for paying P1.69 billion in duties and taxes for 2011, “thereby contributing im-mensely to the attainment of the District Collection Target of the Port of Davao.”

BOC Commissioner Rozzano Rufino Biazon awarded the certificate of appreciation to Phoenix

Petroleum on January 13 at the Port of Sasa Wharf, Davao City.

Other awardees were Filpride and Dole Philip-pines as the second and third top importers, respec-tively. The top exporter was Stanfilco, followed by Agri Development Corporation and Sumifru.

The award is Phoenix Petroleum’s second recogni-tion from the Bureau of Cus-toms Collection District 12.

In 2010, BOC awarded Phoenix for being the ‘Top 3 Importer’ for year 2009.

Phoenix Petroleum Philippines is the fastest growing independent oil company today with an expanding network of op-erations nationwide. It is engaged in the business of trading refined petroleum products and lubricants, operation of oil depots and storage facilities, and allied services.

APPRECIATION. Receiving the certificate of appreciation from BOC Commissioner Rozzano Rufino Biazon is Phoenix AVP for HR, Brand, and External Affairs Atty. Raymond Zorrilla. With them (L-R) are deputy lawyer Aniceto Sanchez,

BOC district collector lawyer Martiniano Bang-coy, and Phoenix Corporate Affairs managers Ben Sur. The awarding was held at the Port of Sasa Wharf, Davao City on January 13, 2012.

MAYOR Sara Duterte gleefully shows-off her Chinese character henna tattoo before the rib-bon cutting ceremony during the opening of the

Chinese New Year celebration held at Davao Central High School, Friday late afternoon.

VETERAN community journalist Antonio M. Ajero urged members

of the mainstream media to improve reportage on disaster risk reduction and prepared-ness, and adopt technology changes.

Amid the recurrence of disasters brought about by climate change, Ajero empha-sized the need of the media to hone their skills in reporting catastrophes, disaster-pre-paredness, risk reduction and related topics.

With improved skills, he said that media “could better inform their audiences and help reduce if not prevent damage to life and property.”

“It is the duty of media to help the authorities convince people to stay away from flood and landslide areas to save lives,” he said.

Ajero also raised the ne-cessity for the media to pay close attention to and adopt the latest trends in communi-cation technology citing the social media.

“Mainstream media should not ignore the phe-nomenal growth of blogging and social networking like Facebook and similar plat-forms that constitute the so-called new media,” he stated.

Ajero said that environ-mental disasters and rapid transformations in commu-nication technology are two big challenges that members of the traditional media like newspapers, radio and televi-sion are facing this year and beyond. Ajero has served as editor and publisher of some of the local dailies, has man-aged broadcast stations, and has written for international publications.

He raised the challenges in his SWOT (strengths, weak-nesses, opportunities and threats) analysis of the local media during the annual me-dia party that the Philippine

KUNG Hei Fat Choi! Janu-ary 23, 2012 marks the start of the Year of the

Water Dragon. In Chinese mythology, the Dragon is a creature commonly associated with happiness and good for-tune. This makes 2012 a great time for businesses, love and family, and what better way to celebrate great new begin-nings but at Abreeza Mall!

Celebrating Chinese New Year for the first time, Abreeza has prepared a spectacular week-long celebration to wel-come the Year of the Water Dragon. The celebration kicks off with the loud and excit-ing Dancing with Lions and Dragons to usher prosperity to 2012. See dancers in color-ful lion and dragon costumes move to heart-pumping drum-beats that are believed to drive away bad spirits and welcome

good luck. Catch them parad-ing through the hallways on January 23 at 1:30 PM. Short-ly after, watch the Wushu Exhibition and be amazed by the graceful movements and acrobatic jumps of this ancient form of Chinese martial arts. The Wushu Exhibition will be staged at the Activity Center on January 23 at 4:00 PM.

Since the Water Dragon is a year of empowerment and change, why not start it with a little kindness that can effect a big change? Share your blessings to The Charity Tree’s beneficiary, Children’s Hour, a non-profit, fund-rais-ing organization that aims to provide marginalized Filipino children with a better life. Your P100-donation will en-title you to pick a prize from The Charity Tree. What’s more is you will also be en-

titled to a free fortune telling session that will give you a sneak peek of what’s in store for you this year. Will your fortunes pick up, or will you have to be extra cautious this year? Find out at The Charity Tree located at the mall’s 3rd Floor Exhibit Area from Janu-ary 23 to 29.

Of course no celebration would be complete without food. As one of the world’s oldest civilizations, China is home to food that has evolved and been perfected for thou-sands of years. Appreciate the history and deliciousness of Chinese cuisine at the Orien-tal Food Festival. Savor sticky sweets for friendship, round savory snacks for wealth, and more at this food fest located at the mall’s Ground Floor Supermarket Hallway from January 23 to 29.

Information Agency Region XI organized in December last year.

The 18th media party held at the conference room of the National Economic De-velopment Authority XI, was attended by more than a hun-dred local media members from the print, radio stations and TV networks in Davao Re-gion.

PIA-XI regional director Efren F. Elbanbuena was elat-ed by the response and partici-pation of the media practitio-ners.

Elbanbuena was also grateful to the steadfast sup-port and contribution of the different national and local government agencies and some private entities who shared their resources for the realization of the event.

The Lapanday Foods Corporation, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Region XI headed by regional director Jim Sam-pulna, and the Philippine Air Lines were the major sponsors of the media party.

The following govern-ment agencies also made con-tributions to the occasion: Of-fice of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), University of Southeastern Philippines (USEP), Technical Education and Skills Develop-ment Authority (Tesda), Home Development Mutual Fund

(HDMF), and the Social Secu-rity System (SSS).

The other sponsoring agencies were: Department of Public Works and High-ways (DPWH), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and Department of Health (DOH), Davao City Water District (DCWD), Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), Na-tional Food Authority (NFA), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), and the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).

Senators Allan Cayetano and Chiz Escudero, Compos-tela Valley Governor Arthur Uy and Davao City Councilor Edgar Ibuyan also shared their contributions.

The private companies that sponsored the media party were: National Grid Corpora-tion of the Philippines, Inc., Davao Light and Power Com-pany/Aboitiz Company, San Miguel Corporation, NCCC Mall, Globe, and Coca-Cola Bottlers, Inc.

Villa Margarita, Water-front Insular Hotel, Phoenix, Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association, SM Mall of Davao, and the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. also provided sponsorship. NEDA-11 provid-ed for the venue of the media party. [PIA 11/CARINA L. CAYON]

Make way for luck and prosperity!

EDGEDAVAOTHE BUSINESS PAPER

12 JANUARY 23- 29, 2012VOL. 4 NO. 47

NOKIA announced fri-day the availability of the Nokia Asha 200 in

the Philippines – a colorful Dual SIM phone with a full QWERTY keypad for fast messaging.

The Nokia Asha 200 of-fers Nokia’s Easy Swap fea-ture for convenient chang-ing of SIM cards without the need to turn off the phone or remove the battery. The phone allows up to five SIM cards to be personalized and managed, so that calls, texts or web browsing can be enjoyed with minimized costs and maximum net-work coverage.

Available in a wide range of vibrant colours – including Graphite, Pink, Aqua and Pearl White – the Nokia Asha 200 is the per-fect phone for staying con-nected. It includes a dedi-cated key for immediate access to favorite email and chat services through Nokia Messaging, and features an SMS view that shows an entire text message chain

on the screen, to make chat-ting with friends easier than ever.

The pre-installed Nokia’s Communities appli-cation allows one-click sign-in to multiple social net-works, letting users view, post, comment and update their status as well as share photos from networks such as Facebook and Twitter di-rectly from the homescreen.

With support for up to

32 GB of additional mem-ory, music lovers can take their entire collections with them, enjoying favorite tunes through high-perfor-mance 106 phon loudspeak-ers and enhanced stereo FM radio, as well as an FM re-cording feature that allows users to record songs direct-ly off the radio.

“Consumers are calling out for the right mix of style and substance – phones that look great, but also give the richest possible experience in calling, texting or browsing the web,” said Mike Smith, Device Portfolio Manager, Nokia Philippines. “The new Nokia Asha 200 with Easy Swap Dual SIM helps people enjoy more affordable and connected chat, while new features like Nokia Messag-ing and Communities place social right on the phone’s homesecreen.”

Pricing and availabilityThe Nokia Asha 200

is available in Nokia Stores nationwide with a suggested retail price of PhP3,500.

ICTHUB

BizQUIPS‘WE just import, that’s

why we cannot regulate local market pricing. The only way to regulate is through subsidy like Indonesia, which, in 2011, must have spent some $15 billion for oil subsidy.’

--Energy Secretary Jose Rene D. Almendras

Photo industry mourns Kodak

Number of internet users worldwide tops 2 billion

Global radio experts suggest new mobile phone standard

All chat with Globe BlackBerry

Nokia ushers in the New Year with Dual SIM Nokia Asha 200

PHOTOGRAPHERS, pro-fessionals and amateurs alike, are mourning the

end of an era after Eastman Kodak, which produced the cameras and film many started hobbies and careers with, filed for bankruptcy.

While Kodak could still recover after court-supervised restructuring and selling off assets, the company that did more to popularize photogra-phy in the 20th century than any other is unlikely to claw back the ground taken over by digital cameras and memory sticks.

From the simplicity of its Brownie cameras to the bril-liant colors of its Kodachrome film, Kodak was a constant presence in the lives of three generations of amateur and professional photographers around the world.

That will be sorely missed,

said Henry Posner, corporate communications director at B&H Photo, New York’s Mecca for camera shoppers.

“Everybody in the pho-tography industry is impact-ed,” he said. “You can’t be a professional photographer or an avid amateur and not feel the ripple of it.”

“When I started photog-raphy ... Kodak was what you put in your camera. From an emotional point of view, this is a serious situation.... I hope Kodak comes out healthy and strong and keeps making available every product our customer can buy.”

Kodak founder George Eastman began experimenting with film rolled around a spool in the 1880s, and launched Eastman Kodak in 1892 in Rochester, New York.

To sell the film, the company developed a simple

low-priced camera, the Kodak Brownie, that introduced mil-lions to photography.

“You push the button and we do the rest,” Kodak’s adver-tisements told consumers, and millions took up the challenge.

Eventually, the compa-ny’s cameras, film, slide pro-jectors and home videos came to preserve the memories of generations of Americans and others around the world.

In 1932, the year a de-pressed Eastman killed him-self, the company began selling the first filmstock for amateur movie makers. It also developed home 8 millimeter movie projectors, all of which gave way to the Super 8 movie technology of the 1960s.

And “Kodak Moment” -- the company’s advertising catchphrase for its film -- be-came embedded deep in the US vernacular.

ABOUT 2.1 billion in-ternet users were reg-istered worldwide in

2011, almost half of them in Asia, the Royal Pingdom said in its annual survey.

About 44 percent of all internet users live in Asia, with China being the global leader with 485 million in-ternet users.

Only 36 percent of the world’s most populous coun-try residents have internet access.

Europe accounts for about 23 percent of all in-ternet users, 13 percent are from North America and 10 percent from Latin America.

Africa, Middle East and Australia account for six, three and one percent, re-spectively.

About half of all people online are younger than 25.

The Web is made up by more than 555 million web-sites, with almost 300 mil-lion of them appearing last

year. There are a total of

3.15 billion of registered e-mail accounts, which is 1.5 times more than the total number of users.

More than 70 percent of all e-mails are spam let-ters.

Facebook retains lead-ership among social net-working sites with more than 800 million accounts, a quarter of which were cre-ated in 2011. [PNA/RIA NOBVOSTI]

GLOBAL radio experts have approved radio standards that are to ush-

er in a new mobile phone op-erating system to replace third generation or 3G technology, the International Telecommu-nication Union announced on Friday.

The newly-adopted “IMT Advanced Spectrum” would re-sult in faster and better quality mobile services, said Francois Rancy, director of the ITU’s Ra-diocommunication bureau.

Rancy addressed media on the closing day of the organ-isation’s Radiocommunication Assembly in Geneva.

“Many of the (current) global standards are (previous) recommendations adopted at the Radiocommunication As-sembly,” noted Rancy, citing one adapted about 10 years ago for what is known as “3G” spectrum.

“Many of the smart phones you have in your pock-ets now are an important re-sult,” of recommendations such as those regarding 3G, Rancy

said.“The IMT Advanced spec-

trum adopted this week pro-vides a step forward in terms of quality and speed for mobile services,” he added.

Alan Jamieson, chairman of the Radiocommunication Assembly, said many of its recommendations will now be discussed at the ITU’s World Radiocommunication Confer-ence, which opens here on Monday.

“It is very important to the ITU and the member states and even more important to users,” he said referring to the new standard.

“It won’t occur overnight, but it will occur. It will take time to make its way through,” to manufacturers and users, Ja-mieson said.

He said they expected to provide a “substantial level of improvement” in performance and the bandwidth needed to provide fast services.

Some phone providers have dubbed the new standard “4G”.

“The term 4G remains un-defined, but it is being applied by operators to the forerunners of IMT-Advanced technologies” and to others evolving from 3G systems, the ITU said in a state-ment.

The World Meteorological Organization warned however that increased pressure on the use of radio spectrum could hamper its observation work.

“Weather forecasts, di-saster warnings and climate monitoring are all critically dependent on radio frequency bands which are used around the clock by meteorological services,” the WMO said in a statement.

“Increasing pressure on the use of radio spectrum from wireless technology and other applications could hamper earth observations and efforts to understand and predict cli-mate change.”

ITU officials are expect-ing 150 countries and 3,300 delegates at the WRC, which runs from January 23 to Febru-ary 17.

THE BlackBerry has defi-nitely evolved from being a handset for top execu-

tives and business honchos to being a device enjoyed by young professionals and stu-dents alike, thanks to its in-novative features that take the smartphone experience to a whole new level.

Case in point: the Black-Berry Messenger. BBM, as it is more popularly known, has been quite the talk of the town with the new experi-ence it gives to instant mes-saging (IM): From chatting all you want with your friends on BlackBerry, wherever they may be in the world, creating BBM groups among friends, fam-ily, schoolmates or officemates to chat just about anything, non-stop, expressing yourself beyond words by sharing pic-tures, videos and even files, to personalizing your BBM profile by displaying your photo, status message, location, all the way to your favorite music.

This new year, BBM fa-natics have one more reason to show their devices some love with the launch of Globe BlackBerry Chat, the newest data plan from Globe that gives

Globe Postpaid subscribers un-limited access to BBM plus 200 free text messages to Globe/TM for P99 a month and Globe Prepaid subscribers unlimited access to BBM plus 100 free text messages to Globe/TM for P15 a day.

With Globe BlackBerry Chat, it’s now easier to organize get-togethers, reunions, and dates by sending as many BBMs as you can at a price that’s unde-niably easy on the pocket.

To register to Globe

BB Chat, text BB CHAT ON for postpaid subscribers or BBCHAT15 to 8888 for prepaid users.

Globe BlackBerry Chat joins the suite of Globe Black-Berry plans: BlackBerry MAX for unlimited Surfing, Social Networking, Email, BBM, IM and Streaming. BlackBerry Social for unlimited Facebook, Twitter, BBM and IM. BB Mes-saging for unlimited Email, BBM and IM. For more info, text BB INFO to 8888.

13

EDGEDAVAO THE BUSINESS PAPER

JANUARY 23- 29, 2012 VOL. 4 NO. 47

COMMUNITYSENSE

BizQUIPSIF there is anything we

could learn from the first impeachment trial, it is that we should not repeat any of its mistakes.

--Vice President Jejomar Binay

Davao Light gifts traditional music champion school with instruments

PAGCOR givesaid to ComVal’sdisaster victims

New Corella and Asuncion schools get brand new chairs

THE school that produced the champion in tradi-tional music for two suc-

cessive years, the second one won on November 27, 2011, got what could be its dream Christmas gift -- sets of indig-enous music instruments.

Recipient of the instru-ments is the Bolton Elemen-tary School of Barangay 1-A, at Bolton St., Davao City. The gift giver is Davao Light and Power Co. The gift consists of one (1) large agong, one (1) medium agong, one (1) small agong, one (1) set Kulintang with stand, two (2) large Dabakans, and two (2) brass gandangs. The indigenous musical instruments were turned over to the school last December 15, 2011.

Bolton Elementary School through its “Sa Tabok Cultural Dance Ensembles” under conductor Agnes F.

Republic of the PhilippinesDepartment of Transportation and

CommunicationsLAND TRANSPORTATION

FRANCHISING AND REGULATORY BOARDRegional Office No. XI

Davao city

Petition for Approval of Sale and Transfer of a

Certificate of Public Convenience with Equipment

With Dropping and Substitution of Unit to operate

An AIRCONDITIONED TAXI service.

ELIZABETH D. CARCUEVA, Case No.2012-XI-00031 Petitioner-Vendor (2003-XI-00756)ERICSON CHUA SABANDAL,Petitioner-Vendee

x- - - - - - - - - - - - -- - -- - xNOTICE HEARING

Petitioner request authority for the Approval of Sale and Transfer executed by ELIZABETH D. CARCUEVA in favor of ERICSON CHUA SABANDAL of a certificate of Public Convenience with Equipment issued in this case authorizing the operation of an AIRCONDITIONED TAXI service on the route: WITHIN DAVAO CITY to any point in Region XI with the use of ONE (1) unit, which Certificate is still valid and subsisting up to December 31, 2014.In the same petition filed on January 11, 2012, petitioners likewise request to DROP its authorized unit and to SUBSTITUTE the same with another unit bearing Chassis No. NCP929042787 to operate along the same route. NOTICE, is hereby given that this petition will be heard by this Board on February 13, 2012 at 09:50 a. m. at this office at the above address.

At least, TEN (10) days prior to the above date petitioner shall publish this Notice once in a one (1) daily newspaper of general circulation in Mindanao

Parties opposed to the granting of the petition must file their written opposition supported by documentary evidence on or before the above date furnishing a copy of the same to the petitioner, and may if they so, desire appear on said date and time.

This petition will be acted upon by this Board on the basis of its records and the documentary evidence submitted by the parties, unless the Board deems it necessary to receive additional documentary and/or oral evidence.

WITNESS the Honorable BENJAMIN A. GO, CESO V, Regional Director, this 16th day of January 2012 at Davao City.

TERESITA DELA PEÑA-YÑIGUEZChief Transport Development Officer

/hocCopy furnished:Petitioner-Vendor, Elizabeth D. Carcueva, #83-B, Nazareth St., Saint Anthony Vill., Lanang, Davao CityPetitioner-Vendee, Ericson Chua Sabandal, Panganiban St., corner Surveyor St., Doña Vicenta Village, Davao CityCounsel, Atty. Napoleon F. Sango, Rm 204, Caritas Bldg., CM. Recto St., Davao City NOTE: Affidavit of Publication and newspaper where notice was published must be submitted three (3) day before the scheduled hearing.

Notice is hereby given that the INTESTATE ESTATE OF EU-FRACIO A. DE JESUS with waiv-er, deed of donation and special power of attorney has been the subject of extra judicial settle-ment by his heirs per Doc. No.91, Page No. 19, Book No. VIII, Se-ries of 2011.

EXTRA JUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF ESTATE WITH WAIVER, DONATION AND SPECIAL POWER OF ATTORNEY

AGONGS. Davao Light Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Manager Vic Sumalinog turns over one of three agongs to Bolton Elementary School principal Zosimo G.

Pana with the presence of DepEd and other school of-ficials.

EDUCATION FIRST. CJ Roselan C. Clenista, 12, a first honor sixth grader at Sta. Ana Central Elementary School in Davao City, reports on her and her family’s victory through the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program during the Pakiglambigit Alang Sa Kalamboan convergence caravan held at the UIC Au-ditorium. CJ’s family and 1,600 other government program beneficiaries were invited to the caravan to convey their experiences and concerns to officials of government agencies for a more effective and efficient public service delivery. With CJ is her father Alan. [DSWD/CARMELA CADIGAL-DURON]

DANCE ENSEMBLE. The members of the Bolton El-ementary School “Sa Tabok Cultural Dance Ensemble” dance to the tune played from their newly received indig-

enous musical instruments. The same piece won for them the championship in the National Music Competitions for Young Artists or NAMCYA in Manila last year.

Tatoy, bagged the finals plum of the National Music Com-petitions for Young Artists or NAMCYA, held in Manila. The same school also won the fi-nals the year earlier.

Ironically, the ensembles got its feat using indigenous musical instruments bor-rowed from generous individ-uals in Davao City. The school did not own any of the gad-gets they brought with them to the competition.

Shortly before the finals though, the school through the initiative of conductor teacher Tatoy and its principal Zosimo G. Pana, approached Davao Light requesting for a donation of such instruments. They were hoping then that their request would be posi-tively responded and the in-struments reach their hands before departure to Manila for

the national finals. But large ticket donation cannot come in handy.

Again, using borrowed instruments the ensemble from Bolton Elementary School left Davao to partici-pate in the NAMCYA finals. And still, they proved superior to the rest under the Tradi-tional Music Ensembles Cat-egory.

With such honor tucked on their belt the ensemble did not know that they were to come home with the gift of their passion waiting - their long-dreamed of indigenous musical instruments.

During the turnover at-tended by Department of Ed-ucation Davao City Division officials led by Central District Supervisor dr. Jima A. Gelmo, the winning ensemble played and danced their winning

THE Philippine Amuse-ment and Gaming Cor-poration (PAGCOR) has

extended assistance to victims of recent calamities in the prov-ince of Compostela Valley.

PAGCOR turned over re-lief assistance of water, biscuits, noodles and sardines to Gov-ernor Arturo T. Uy earlier this month.

Under its medical mis-sion, PAGCOR also provided the province hundreds of boxes of medicines and vitamins last year, eliciting comment from the governor who said “they (agencies) are true to their mis-sion, vision and commitment.”

PAGCOR, one of the gov-

ernment-owned and controlled corporations, has a mission to be a responsible and responsive partner of the Philippine gov-ernment in its nation-building program.

Through its outreach pro-gram, it aims to bring govern-ment closer to its constituents by providing basic health ser-vices and assistance, especially in depressed areas and those battered by calamities.

Victims of disasters such as fires, typhoons and floods and other natural and or man-made calamities are provided with relief goods, medicines and other needed items. [IDS-COM-

VAL/RODIELYN A. MANUGAS]

WITH the intensified move to beef up the delivery of brand new

school furniture borne out of the “Care for School Chairs Program” of the Local Government of Tagum, three different schools in the Municipality of New Corella and Asuncion town receive brand new school chairs this week.

Students of Mesaoy El-ementary School in Municipal-ity of New Corella jubilated when they received two hun-dred eighty eight (288) pieces of school furniture consisting of armchairs, desks and kiddie chairs last January 17, 2012 with Mayor Rey T. Uy leading in the delivery, along with his wife, Mrs. Alma L. Uy, his daughter, Ciara Isabelle and Municipal Mayor Nestor Alcoran.

Eugenio Bermoy, school principal of the said school, ex-pressed that these chairs will re-ally help a lot in achieving quality education. He then shared that those old chairs will be repaired and will be painted with yellow come summer break, during the National Schools Maintenance Week more known as Brigada Eskwela.

On January 18, 2012 at the Municipality of Asuncion, Gover-

NEW CHAIRS. Kindergarten students of Mesaoy Elementary School in New Corella, Davao del Norte carried eagerly their brand new kiddie chairs donated by the City Government of Tagum last January 17, 2012.

piece in the national competi-tion.

According to Principal Pana, the school is looking forward to winning its third and Hall of Fame award when the next national competition comes. What with instru-ments they can use for prac-tice anytime they want.

nor Rodolfo P. del Rosario joined Mayor Rey Uy in the delivery of three hundred thirty eight (338) pieces of school furniture con-sisting again of armchairs, desks and kiddie chairs from the local government of Tagum. Asuncion Mayor Joseph Nilo Pareñas was also present during the delivery.

Both Cabaywa and Upper Cabaywa Elementary Schools in Asuncion benefited in the latest edition of school furniture de-livery, with its principal saying it was the most opportune time that these were given in their school.

“Mahapsay ga gyud ang paglingkod sa among mga es-tudyante nga nag-antos sa nag-tuya-tuya nga bangko,” principal

Grace A. Deconio expressed in an interview, describing the condi-tion of the replaced armchairs as a “hindrance to continuous learn-ing.”

These brand new school furniture were produced out from confiscated logs seized by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Office’s Anti-Illegal Logging Task Force and were later given to Local Government Unit of Tagum which had the fabrication facil-ity at the Tagum City Motorpool. Volunteers from different organi-zations in Davao Region helped in painting these chairs and with paints donated by private organi-zations and individuals. [CIO/TAGUM

CITY]

EDGEDAVAOTHE BUSINESS PAPER

14 JANUARY 23- 29, 2012VOL. 4 NO. 47SUBURBIA

Davao Norte expands convergence program

NorthCot province distributes vehicles

South Cotabato eyes P30-M mining revenue

Sarangani steps up campaign vs filariasis

P3 B worth of projects eyed in DavNor

ComVal MSMEs create niche in the local market

BizQUIPS‘IF opened to mining

operations, deforestation and the risk attributed to mining will unnecessarily endanger our world-class city.’

--Rep. Isidro T. Ungab, explaining his bill which seeks to ban mining in Davao City

BUOYED up by the great success of the conver-gence initiative, Governor

Rodolfo P. del Rosario directed all frontline offices of the Capi-tol to allot a big chunk of their budget to expand the program throughout Davao del Norte.

The Provincial Govern-ment launched the flagship Davao del Norte Convergence for Peace and Development program last year, together with the armed forces and the police, in order to bring basic government services to de-pressed villages of the province.

A flurry of community health and social services, among other interventions, benefitted over 10,000 indi-gents in eight far-flung, under-served barangays on the sec-ond semester of 2011.

The barangays include Gupitan in Kapalong town; New Cortez, New Corella; Bi-nancian, Asuncion; Cabadian-gan, Talaingod; Datu Balong, San Isidro; Patrocenio, New Corella; Sitio Igang, Palma Gil, Talaingod; and Mamangan, San Isidro.

Aside from health servic-es, the outreach activities also include programs and proj-ects on food-based nutrition intervention, food sufficiency, program, livestock dispersal, inland fishpond development, bio-diversity and agro-forestry development, as well as semi-nars on youth leadership and peace and development.

In pursuit of his human-centered strategy, known as the P.E.O.P.L.E. agenda, Gov. del Rosario has required the frontline offices of the province to take a consolidated approach in implementing their regular programs this year through the convergence initiative.

“In this way, we are put-ting a clearer face to our hu-man development efforts,” he said.

The innovative peace-building program replaced the Capitol Caravan of Services implemented during the pre-vious term of the governor, which also brought basic ser-vices only at the doorstep of all the cities and municipalities of the province. [NOEL BAGUIO]

Gov. Rodolfo del Rosario presides over the Provincial Development Council (PDC) meeting cum local consultation on the CY 2013 Annual Investment Program (AIP), where agency regional offices (AROs)

proposed over P3-billion worth of programs and projects for Davao del Norte. Noel Baguio/DavNor PIO

IN a bid to improve delivery of basic health services in re-mote barangays and increase

police visibility along the na-tional highway, the provincial government of North Cotabato recently distributed six vehicles and twelve refurbished motor-cycles to several recipients.

The vehicles, all multi-cabs, were given on January 9 to barangays in the second dis-trict of the province, primarily for use in transport of indigent patients to nearest rural health unit or hospitals.

Among the recipients were of Barangay Kadingilan in Pigcawayan, Poblacion in Libungan and Simbuhay in Kabacan. These were received by their respective chairmen, namely: Kasamad Kamid, Cres-encio Yu, and Abdullah Macai-bel.

“This is part of our one barangay, one project policy where each far-flung barangay in the province will be given one multicab to facilitate medi-cal needs especially of the indi-gent patients,” Cotabato Gov-ernor Emmylou “Lala” Taliño-Mendoza said.

The other three vehicles were turned over to fisheries section of the Office of the Pro-vincial Agriculturist, the Civil Security Unit of the province, and the Cotabato Task Force for use in line with their respec-tive objectives and responsibili-

ties. On the other hand, the

motorcycles were handed over to the Provincial Police Office through P/SSupt Cornelio Sali-nas for the purpose of intensify-ing highway patrol operations and prevent street crimes in the entire province.

During the turnover cer-emony, Governor Taliño-Men-doza also disclosed that the Partylist Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) has added P 15M to the provincial government’s existing budget of P10M for its multicab proj-ect.

“The assistance from the TUCP will enable us to pur-chase 75 units of multicabs. This means 75 more barangays will be assured of a more acces-sible health service,” she said.

On the same occasion, Taliño-Mendoza expressed her gratitude to the partners of the provincial government includ-ing the department heads and employees who helped ensure that funds of the provincial government will be used judi-ciously.

“This project is the result of our efforts of spending pub-lic funds prudently, I hope that we will all have the same com-mitment in the coming years for this will mean more projects and programs for the people of Cotabato,” she said. [PIA 12/OZG/

IDCD-PGO NORTH COTABATO] THE provincial govern-ment of South Cotabato is targeting to generate

some P30 million this year from the small-scale mining industry players in the area, officials said.

Gov. Arthur Y. Pingoy Jr. said they are confident of reaching the target as the pro-vincial government has been “enforcing its political will” to flush out illegal small-scale mining activities in the area.

In a statement, he noted that because of the intensified drive against illegal mining activities, the province’s col-lection from the industry rose to P9.2 million last year from P6.6 million in 2010.

Of the 2011 industry revenues, P3.5 million came from mining fees and P5.8 million from quarry fees, the Provincial Information Office reported.

Last year, Pingoy issued crackdown orders against small-scale tunnel miners and gold processors in T’boli town operating without permits, which he noted had denied the provincial government the rightful income from these sectors.

The crackdown was pur-suant to provincial Ordinance No. 7, Series of 2003, known as “An ordinance levying taxes, fees, charges and other impositions on small-scale mining, mineral processing operations, and transporting of mineral ores within the province of South Cotabato and providing the rules and regulations thereof.”

Late last year, Pingoy es-timated the illegal small-scale miners operating in T’boli town to reach 300 and 200 for the ball mill or gold pro-cessors.

THE provincial govern-ment of Sarangani through its Provincial

Health Office (PHO) is step-ping up its campaign on the elimination of filariasis (lym-phatic filariasis) in the entire province.

Last January 16, the province launched its cam-paign at Nomoh Integrated School in Maasim town.

Funded by the Sagit-tarius Mines, Incorporated (SMI), the P1-million cam-paign will be implemented throughout the province, said the Provincial Informa-tion Office.

Governor Migs Domin-guez said the province will continue to fight filariasis and other debilitating diseases stressing on the importance of partnership with other stakeholders—the national government agencies, non-governmental organizations and even the private sectors.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), lymphatic filariasis, common-ly known as elephantiasis, is a painful and profoundly dis-figuring disease.

The disease is caused by three species of worms, known as filariae. The three species are Wuchereria ban-crofti, Brugia malayi and Brugia timori. The infection is usually manifested later in life, even if it was acquired during childhood.

Filariae are transmitted by mosquitoes with infec-tive larvae. When a mosquito bites a human host, the para-sites are deposited on the person’s skin which later en-ter the body and migrate to the lymphatic vessels, caus-ing damage, swelling of the vessels and suffering.

WHO said the “disfigur-ing swelling of the legs and genital organs is a classic sign of late-stage disease” cause

temporary or permanent dis-ability of a person.

The lymphatic system contains immune cells called lymphocytes, which protect the body against harmful vi-ruses and bacteria.

PHO said the infection can be treated with drugs un-less such condition is already chronic and requires other types of treatment.

Drugs to combat filaria-sis include the combination of “either diethylcarbam-azine citrate (DEC) and al-bendazole, or ivermectin and albendazole or the regular use of DEC fortified salt can prevent occurrence of new infection and disease.”

Health officials said an-nual mass administration of the drug combination given for five years is the preferred course of treatment. The drugs are recommended to be given to “individuals at risk” such as those residing

in filariasis-prone community whether they manifest symp-toms or not.

In its report, the Depart-ment of Health said Filariasis is endemic in the provinces of Sarangani, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, North Cota-bato, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao Oriental, Compostela Valley, Surigao del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Agusan del Norte, Sulu, Basilan, Ma-guindanao, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, Bukid-non, Misamis Occidental and Misamis Oriental.

Global statistics also show that “more than 1.3 bil-lion people in 81 countries worldwide are threatened by lymphatic filariasis while over 120 million people are currently infected, with about 40 million disfigured and incapacitated by the dis-ease.” [PIA GENERAL SANTOS CITY]

VARIOUS agencies of the national government in-tend to implement more

than P3 billion worth of pro-grams, projects and activities (PPAs) in Davao del Norte in 2013.

The proposed funding was raised at the recent local consultation on the CY 2013 Annual Investment Program (AIP), where agency regional offices (AROs), state universi-ties and colleges (SUCs) and other stakeholders presented their PPAs for the province for 2013.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) topped the list of AROs as it plans to do P1.3 billion worth of public infrastructures in the

province. On the other hand, the

Department of Education (DepEd) will pursue over P1.1 billion worth of projects for the education sector next year.

Gov. Rodolfo del Rosa-rio, who presided over the consultation meeting held at the Bulwagan ng Lalawigan in Mankilam, Tagum City, said the budget will greatly con-tribute to the fulfillment of his human-centered development agenda, known as P.E.O.P.L.E.

As Davao del Norte, along with other LGUs, is beginning to feel the impact of the 4.8 per-cent reduction in the internal revenue allotment (IRA) this year, the governor is optimistic that the province will be able to

overcome the fiscal challenges.He said Capitol finan-

cial managers have devised measures to combat the IRA cut, ranging from austerity measures, to enforcing strict accountability, strengthening revenue generation, as well as, tapping national and overseas development assistance (ODA) funding opportunities.

The provincial leadership has since adopted the mantra of “maximum effectiveness at the least cost”, according to del Rosario.

National Economic Devel-opment Authority (NEDA)-11 director Maria Lourdes Lim said the consultation of the AROs with the provincial gov-ernment was done in order to

reconcile and confirm program thrusts and priorities of the na-tional agencies in the Davao region with the thrusts and pro-grams of the province.

Lim, who is also vice-chair of the Regional Development Council (RDC)-11, cited the importance of achieving stron-ger alignment in planning, in-vestment programming, and budgeting, and the active in-volvement of the local govern-ment units in aligning the PPAs with their respective Provincial Development and Investment Programs (PDIPs).

She said the activity was necessary for the Davao region to achieve its desired vision of becoming the country’s Rising Global Frontier. [NOEL BAGUIO]

MICRO, small and me-dium entrepreneurs (MSMEs) in Compos-

tela Valley province created a niche in the domestic mar-ket last year when they par-ticipated in various trade fairs, exhibits and market matching sessions.

In a report, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Compostela Valley Project Management Office said the DTI-assisted MSMEs were able to generate substantial sales as they ventured in various busi-ness activities during which they clinched deals.

Some of the trade fairs, in which DTI made arrangements for local MSMEs to participate,

were the Musikahan Festival, Bulawan Festival, National Trade Fair, IFEX, Regional Trade and Tourism Fair, Na-tional OTOP Fair, Mindanao Culinary Festival, Presyo Disk-wento and National Coco-Coir Fair.

From trade fairs at the local, regional and national levels, MSMEs in Compostela Valley raked in P9.72 million worth of sales.

The biggest sale they made was during the three-day 4th Bulawan Festival in which participating MSMEs generated a total of P963,676 in sales out of their jewelry displays, food and beverages and handicraft exhibits. [PIA 11/JEAN DURON-ABANGAN]

In October, the provin-cial government shut down 300 gold tunnels in the gold-rich municipality for lack of permits.

For his part, Siegfred Flaviano, chief of the Provin-cial Environment Manage-ment Office, said the cam-

paign against illegal mining and ball mill operators will be the key to reach the P30 million mining industry tar-get for 2012.

Flaviano said they have also set up checkpoints to monitor illegal quarrying ac-tivities in the province. [PNA]

EDGEDAVAO THE BUSINESS PAPER

15JANUARY 23- 29, 2012 VOL. 4 NO. 47

THE CHINESE New Year is here, and cele-brations are in

abundance. Whether we choose to cel-ebrate the Chinese New Year in the tra-ditional way, or cel-ebrate it with a little more creativity; the fact that celebrations and merry-making seems to attract good luck remains true. And since we are a people with a love for Chinese food, throwing a Chinese-themed New Year Party should not be a problem. We all have our Chinese food rec-ipes stored in some old cook book or in the inner recesses of our minds. Howev-er, Chinese-inspired cocktails are not that common. So to help you celebrate the Chi-nese New Year with good taste, and a lit-tle alcohol, here are some cocktail recipes for your enjoyment.

1The Red Lotus is one tasty cocktail that is also easy to make. To make the

cocktail, simply grab a cock-tail shaker filled halfway with ice and pour into it one ounce

each of Lychee Liqueur (or Lychee Syrup from Lychees that come in a can), Vodka, and Cranberry Juice. Shake it until all the ingredients are combined and then strain it over an Old-Fashioned Glass with Ice. You may garnish it with a piece of Lychee.

2What is a Chinese Banquet without some tea? This inge-nious cocktail com-

bines citrus flavours with the beloved Tea to create a refreshing cocktail that hits the spot. To make the Royal Tea Cocktail, simply com-bine two shots of Gin, two shots of brewed and chilled Earl Greay Tea, a squeeze of lemon, and some sugar to

taste. Stir the cocktail and then transfer it into an Old-Fashioned Glass with Ice and top it off with Lemon or Lime rounds.

3According to Feng Shui, Mandarin Or-anges bring in good luck when served

and enjoyed during the Chi-nese New Year. Attract good fortune by enjoying the fruit in this tangy and tasty drink. To make the Mandarin Or-ange Cocktail you would need at least three days to prepare, but it is soo worth it. On the first day prepare about sixteen ounces of Dark Rum and put it in a pitcher. Then, add to it half a cup of Mandarin Orange Peels and let it steep for three days in the refrigerator. When you are ready to serve the drink, simply strain the Rum over some Old-Fashioned Glasses filled with Ice and add some simple syrup (make simple syrup by heating up equal parts sugar and water until the sugar is completely dis-solved and the mixture has slightly thickened) and add some Mandarin Orange seg-ments.

4Tsingtao Beer is one of the most popular Chinese Lagers in the world. Enjoy the

golden drink in a different way with this Asian take on the Bloody Mary. To create the Shandong Mary, simply fill a highball glass or any tall glass with ice cubes and then add half a cup of Tsingtao Beer, half a cup of canned tomato juice, and two table-spoons of Vodka. Then, finish the drink off with a couple dashes of Hot Sauce. Serve with a wedge of Lemon.

5This Asian take on the traditional Bellini was actually created in honor of the Bei-

jing Olympics and is gaining popularity in that part of the world. Celebrate the Chinese New Year with one of the most beloved Chinese fruits, the Lychee, in this recipe for the Beijing Bellini. To make it, combine three ounces of chilled Champagne (or Spar-kling White Wine) and one part Lychee Wine (or Lychee Liquor or Lychee Syrup) in a Champagne Flute. Then drop one piece of Lychee Nut into the bottom of the glass.

Chinese New Year cocktails

E-mail: edgedavao_editorial@yahoo.com.ph

UP AND ABOUT YOUTH TRENDS

KUNG HEI FAT CHOI! January 23, 2012 marks the start of the Year of the Water Dragon. In Chinese mythology, the Dragon is a creature commonly associated with hap-piness and good fortune. This makes 2012 a great time for businesses, love and family, and what better way to celebrate great new beginnings but at Abreeza Mall! Celebrating Chinese New Year for the first time, Abreeza has prepared a spectacular week-long celebration to welcome the Year of the Water Dragon. The celebration kicks off with the loud and exciting Dancing

with Lions and Dragons to usher prosper-ity to 2012. See dancers in colorful lion and dragon costumes move to heart-pumping drumbeats that are believed to drive away bad spirits and welcome good luck. Catch them parading through the hallways on January 23 at 1:30 PM. Shortly after, watch the Wushu Exhibition and be amazed by the graceful movements and acrobatic jumps of this ancient form of Chinese martial arts. The Wushu Exhibition will be staged at the Activity Center on January 23 at 4:00 PM. Since the Water Dragon is a year of em-

powerment and change, why not start it with a little kindness that can effect a big change? Share your blessings to The Char-ity Tree’s beneficiary, Children’s Hour, a non-profit, fund-raising organization that aims to provide marginalized Filipino children with a better life. Your P100-donation will entitle you to pick a prize from The Charity Tree. What’s more is you will also be en-titled to a free fortune telling session that will give you a sneak peek of what’s in store for you this year. Will your fortunes pick up, or will you have to be extra cautious this

year? Find out at The Charity Tree located at the mall’s 3rd Floor Exhibit Area from January 23 to 29. Of course no celebration would be com-plete without food. As one of the world’s oldest civilizations, China is home to food that has evolved and been perfected for thousands of years. Appreciate the history and deliciousness of Chinese cuisine at the Oriental Food Festival. Savor sticky sweets for friendship, round savory snacks for wealth, and more at this food fest located at the mall’s Ground Floor Supermarket

Hallway from January 23 to 29. Finally, make merry in true Chinese fash-ion as Abreeza takes you on a festive night of cultural performances and activities for the whole family to enjoy. Bring your friends along and immerse in Journeys of the East: A Cultural Night happening at the Roof Garden on January 28 at 6:00 PM. Take this chance to celebrate the Chi-nese New Year with friends and family in a special way. Welcome good luck, health, prosperity and the Year of the Water Drag-on only at Abreeza Mall!

THERE IS SOMETHING MAGICAl about dragons – they are, after all creatures of myth and legend. Described as having the head of an ox, the muzzle of a donkey, the eyes of a shrimp, horns of a deer, the body of a serpent covered with fish scales, and the feet of a phoenix, dragons are the stuff storybooks are made of.

That’s why as we celebrate the Year of the Dragon this January, it’s the perfect time to give your child a plush dragon toy from SM. Color-ful, huggable, and lovable, kids will be spellbound with their magical wings, charmed by dragon toys with flowers, and have fun with versions with scarves. And who knows, these may just sprinkle some lucky dragon dust for the little ones. The collection is avail-able at the Children’s Acces-sories Department of all SM stores.

PIZZA PEDRICO’S vision paved way to providing consumers a choice of their own flavors in every pizza box of 4. For every box, everyone will surely find your favourite!Chorizo and Cheez A mouth-watering pizza topped with freshly baked chorizo and choice cheese melted in perfection for delightful treatHam and Cheez An all-time favourite packed with the best sliced ham in town and aged cheese perfectly baked to sat-isfy pizza cravings.Sausage and Cheez Loaded with the finest classic Ital-ian sausage bits and choice cheeseCheez and Cheez A rich layer of multiple cheese varieties blended carefully to bring out its color and lavish taste. Perfect for all cheese lovers! Visit Pizza Pedrico’s at the 2nd Floor of SM City Davao and experience this won-derful treats for pizza lovers.

Make way for luck and prosperity at Abreeza Mall!

Lucky dragon toys at SM

Pizza Pedrico’s pizza creations

BEIJING BELLINI

SHANDONG MARY

ROYAL TEA

Foodie finds in Chinatown P18

MANDARIN ORANGE PUNCH

EDGEDAVAOTHE BUSINESS PAPER

16 JANUARY 23- 29, 2012VOL. 4 NO. 47

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You can now buy your weekly paper fill of in-depth business news and features from any of these

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Chinatown romp There is always much to im-part about a city’s Chinatown and its open secrets. Stepping into Uyanguren immediately led me to think of how a host of things and people have given it its character today. The bottom line however is the commerce that fuels Chinese-Filipinos and how it has created a side of town that is teeming with people who are heavily invested in the business of buy and sell. There is a common look about the salespeople here. The com-bination of slight indifference, efficiency and memory of sale and last prices spell a no-non-sense attitude that must come

from days of repeated haggling and the training from hawk-eyed owners. I would like to go as far to say that those who work in retail stores in malls can learn a lot from their Chi-natown counterparts. I don’t spend a lot of time in this part of town. Oftentimes, it is just a quick in and out for something I need. Looking around months after my last visit, I notice that Chinatown evolves in whatever way the law of demand requires of it. Right now, it looks like a nesting ground for the Angry Birds. But it is also a lot of other things. It is where you will find a lot of cheap thrills but also tons of good finds. DCLA Plaza and 168 Mall are requisite stops and where you find refuge from the sticky heat that usually ac-companies your walk around the streets outside. In these air-conditioned hubs, the wide selection of goods is enough to boggle the mind. Here, you feel your pockets are deeper than they may actually be. It is recommended though that you don’t limit your scouring to just these places. Between shops selling glass and plastic ware outside, you will find shops like Tomliz Butingtings and Big V’s that sell covetable fashion ac-cessories and trendy dresses at a steal. The thing I love about be-ing in Chinatown is that you can go into different modes of shopping and get a unique ex-perience every time. You may be there for something specific like giveaways or cleaning sup-plies for your business or just be looking around and there is enough to satisfy you in ways that a mall cannot. Being in the middle of the organized chaos and disappearing into

the crowd is part of the charm of shopping here. So are the pitstops like buying a cold bot-tle of milk tea from a grocery stall or grabbing a snack from a sidewalk vendor. Though there is something to be had for ev-eryone, I would recommend walking around with someone who can speak fluent Fukien as it will grant you access to much, much more. Going to Chinatown the week leading onto Chinese New Year, you don’t really find a lot of noise being made about activities to celebrate it or the setting up of special displays of delicacies and trinkets. The stores selling joss sticks and statues also seem to be too few for one’s liking consider-ing the territory. There is an undeniable pull to this part of

town that has been cultivated but a further nudge would not hurt. The fact that Chinatown is thriving with goods being sold is already an established fact. The opportunity to not get let the unique Chinese culture drown amidst this sea is some-thing I will light a joss stick for today.

I AM quite proud of my Chinese heritage. I grew up in a pretty traditional Chinese-Filipi-no family and was lucky to be privy to a lot of nuances about the Chinese culture that has

strongly shaped my person besides the fact that I speak a very sorry form of Fukien. My editor Kenneth is also Chinese-Filipino (our family names are dead giveaways) and it always excites us to compare notes and talk about where to get certain dishes and even how our families are. So in light of the im-portance of Chinese New Year to us, we agreed to walk through Davao’s Chinatown to pay homage to our heritage and immerse ourselves for a day in its buzzing energy.

STYLE

A wall of cocktail rings at Tomliz.

Discount is a universally loved word.

Polish ripe for the picking at DCLA.

Purchase a tael for luck this New Year.

Up and coming colors for summer accessories.

EDGEDAVAO THE BUSINESS PAPER

17JANUARY 23- 29, 2012 VOL. 4 NO. 47

ACCOR DING TO the Chi-nese Zodiac, the Year of

2012 is the Year of the Dragon, which begins on January 23, 2012 and ends on February 9, 2013.  The Dragon is the fifth sign of the Chinese Zodiac, which consists of 12 Animal signs.  The Dragon is a creature of myth and legend.  In ancient China, the celestial Dragon  rep-resents an emperor and  power.  Today, it is the ultimate aus-picious symbol sig-nifying success and happiness.     May the celestial Dragon bring great good luck to ev-eryone. Good luck and success does not only happen in business. In the Year of the Dragon, we should also eat for success … that is, eating the right amount of the right foods and exercising. Let me share with you information from fitness coach Bill Phillips on eating for success.FALSE: Once you reach a certain age, you can’t get in shape.TRUTH: You can improve your health and energy at any age. You can improve your physical fitness, boost your energy and even improve your mental performance at any age when you start feed-ing your body the right way.FALSE: To be healthy, just stop eating bad foods.TRUTH: Your health is en-hanced by eating the right foods. There is so much emphasis in diet books on what not to eat and so much misinforma-tion in the media about how

“bad” food is for us. What overlooked is the truth that health is enhanced and our energy enriched by eating the right foods. Your body needs essential nutrients every day, and it’s vitally important to understand that food is the ally, not the enemy.FALSE: You should not eat for “emotional reasons.”TRUTH: You should enjoy eating, and it should be a pure pleasure! The idea that you should not enjoy eating, that you should somehow find a way to eat that doesn’t feel good, is absolutely ridiculous. You should enjoy food, and it should be a pure pleasure. There’s absolutely no reason you shouldn’t look forward to your meals and count on them to help you feel good. A delicious dinner can settle your nerves after a hectic day. A great breakfast can lift your mood and help you get ready to take on the day ahead. And a sweet, satisfying dessert can put a smile on your face. There’s really no reason not to honor the tradition of mak-ing food a part of the process of celebrating holidays, birth-days and special occasions as well. I think it’s perfectly fine to reach for a bowl of chicken soup when your body’s aching and you’re feeling under the weather too.FALSE: To stabilize blood sugar, you have to stop eating carbohydrates.TRUTH: Eating protein and carbohydrates balanc-es blood sugar. Today’s carbohydrate confusion began years ago when we fell for the low-fat

fad. When food manufactur-ers began removing fat from foods and replacing it with highly processed carbohy-drates, our collective blood sugar went through the roof, and the problems began.As it turns out, dietary fat wasn’t really the problem af-ter all. However, the food fad now is to cut carbs in an effort to bring blood sugar levels back into balance. Ten years from now, we’ll be probably looking back at this current craze and seeing some very serious side effects. The truth is, cutting carbs is not the healthiest way to

stabilize blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates are essential to eating right. The solution is to eat meals balanced with protein, quality carbohydrates and the essential fats your body needs.FALSE: In order to be satis-fied, you need to eat large portions.TRUTH: Quality, not just quantity, produces healthy satisfaction. Our bodies crave quality nutrition, not merely massive quantities of food. So many people today have it com-pletely backward, though. They believe the more they eat, the better they’ll feel. Supersized portions at res-taurants, fast-food chains and packaged goods at the grocery stores are obviously all playing into the falsehood that more is better. Yet so many people are stuffed but still “starving” for nutrition. The truth is, our bodies are satisfied by high-quality meals, not just big quantities of empty calories.FALSE: To make a change, you need to wait until you’re all ready.TRUTH: Don’t wait until you’re “ready.” Please, do it now. You need not wait until you are “all ready” to make a change in your style of living. Don’t fool yourself into be-lieving now is just “too soon.” If you wait until everything is perfect in your life before you make a change for the better, you’ll be waiting for-ever! Truth is, the time to do it is now. The longer you wait before you take action, the more you delay the rich rewards that are rightfully yours. Energy, strength, re-newed health and decreased body fat… please begin feed-ing these benefits now. Wishing everyone success in life and health in the Year of the Dragon! Cheers!

HEALTH

Dragonian success

The idea that you should not enjoy eating, that you should somehow find a way to eat that doesn’t feel good, is absolutely ridiculous. You should enjoy food, and it should be a pure pleasure.

EDGEDAVAOTHE BUSINESS PAPER

18 JANUARY 23- 29, 2012VOL. 4 NO. 47

DAVAO’S CHINA-TOWN is well-known as a heaven for bargain shop-

pers and cheap find, but within the hustle and bustle of its frantic streets are foodie finds that are sure to delight every-one’s palate.Rong Fa Haus Chinese Cui-sine First stop in my Chinatown food trek is Rong Fa Haus Chi-nese Cuisine. Tucked neatly besides DCLA along Quirino Boulevard is this quaint eatery that reminds me of the eater-ies of Singapore and Binondo. With bright cheerful walls and a simple canteen setup, the food really speaks for itself.

I would suggest ordering their Kiampung, a melange of sticky rice with pork, egg, salted mustard leaves (where the dish actually gets its name from) and topped off with fried and salted peanuts. Similar to fried rice but with more ingre-dients, kiampung is what one may call a one dish meal. Another dish Rong Fa Haus is famous for is its oyster cake or Ohwa Tsien which is basical-ly an omelette with oysters and bean sprouts. You can either have it with ketchup or with

Chinese chili sauce. Also at Rong Fa Haus, can one order either steamed of fried dumplings. Different from the typical siomai, dump-lings are ravioli that are stuffed with pork and chives and then either steamed or done pot-sticker style, having one side of the ravioli fried and then adding water and covering it to steam. Take it with their soy, garlic and vinegar sauce to complete the experience.Kong Ai Vegetarian Cen-trum

Those wanting to lay off meats for a while might want to try the vegetarian offerings of Kong Ai Vegetarian Cen-trum located along Gempesaw Street. Not your usual stir fried veggies, Kong Ai serves veg-etarian alternatives to meat dishes such as vegetarian fried chicken, vegetarian sweet and sour pork, and even vegetarian steamed buns. Those who are in a rush may want to try Kong Ai’s vegetar-ian lumpia or spring roll that is finished with ground peanuts, sugar and their own special sauce. The lumpia is also made fresh every day and rolled by hand right in front of you.Chef Lu’s Roast and Rice Shop For those who need their meat, I would suggest a side trip to Lapu-lapu street for a bite of Chef Lu’s traditional roast pork. Using a traditional drum oven, Chef Lu roasts up Chinese style pork barbecue and chicken legs and serves it with peanuts and a sweet glaze sauce. Not only does Chef Lu have take-out but you can choose to have the roasts as a rice topping with unlimited rice of course. For dessert, you might want to step over next door to the egg tart shop and try the many different Chinese pastries in

stock. For the Chinese New Year, I would suggest trying Chef Lu’s many variants of sticky rice cake, Nian Gao, or tikoy. My favorite would be the coffee flavored tikoy with adds a slight coffee aroma to an al-ready sinful treat. Although Davao’s China-

town is still young, one can see that its culinary roots are starting to take hold and with the support of foodies and the opening of new dining con-cepts, I hope Davao’s China-town will eventually become the center of good eats in Du-rianburg.

FOOD

Foodie finds in Chinatown

CHEF LU’S ROAST PORK

STEAMED DUMPLINGS KIAM PUNG OHWAH TSIEN

LEFT: Kong Ai Vegetarian Centrum is a discreet eatery but only serves vegetarian fare with alternative meat choices. TOP: Preparing Kong Ai’s famous vegetarian lumpia.

COFFEE TIKOY

HELPING YOU MAKE INFORMED BUSINESS DECISIONS.

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19

EDGEDAVAO THE BUSINESS PAPER

JANUARY 23- 29, 2012 VOL. 4 NO. 47

GAMESGolfer of the week

Mintal%20United%20FC[1]

TCC Invit’l marks 10thyear with P4.5M purse

Talk ‘N Text and Powerade face off in PBA-Phoenix On Tour in Digos City

Brangay Mintal United FC wins Woods to make ‘12 PGA Tour debut at Pebble Beach

Michelle Wie

MICHELLE Wie (born October 11, 1989) is an American professional

golfer on the LPGA Tour and a student at Stanford University. Since an early age Michelle has commanded international attention for her prodigious golfing ability and her cha-risma, making her one of the most influential athletes in women’s sports. While expect-ing to graduate from Stanford in March 2012, Michelle has already won two events on the LPGA tour, has had seven top-ten finishes in Major competi-tion, as well as having shot the lowest round ever recorded by a woman golfer in a men’s PGA tour event.

Michelle was born in Ho-nolulu, Hawaii, USA on Octo-ber 11, 1989 to Byung-Wook “B.J.” Wie and Bo Wie, both of whom had immigrated to the USA from South Korea (Re-public of Korea). B.J. had been a professor of transportation management at the Univer-sity of Hawaii and coached the young Michelle, often serving as her caddy. Michelle began playing golf at four years of age and was soon able to drive the ball 100 yards. By the time she reached age 12 Michelle could power the ball more than 300 yards. B.J. explained to Golf World, “Michelle has

always liked to hit the ball hard. Sometimes it would go right, sometimes l e f t , but it didn’t matter. She just wanted to hit it hard.” Michelle grew up in Honolulu and gradu-ated from Punahou School. She decided to attend Stanford University where her grand-father, Dr. Sang Kyu Wie had been a visiting professor. Also, Michelle’s uncle earned a pH in Aerospace Engineering from Stanford and her aunt earned a Masters in Industrial Engineer-ing at Stanford.

In 2000, at the age of 10, Michelle became the young-est qualifier ever at the USGA Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship. The milestones began to pile up quickly. Mi-chelle won the Honolulu May-or’s Open and was low amateur in the Hawaii State Women’s Open. Over the next three years she electrified Hawaiian golf with victories and shattered re-cords for youngest ever in virtu-ally every category.

By the age of 13, Michelle took her prowess to a whole new level by becoming the youngest golfer ever to make the cut at an LPGA tour event, the Kraft Nabisco Champion-ship, a major no less, where she finished in the top 10. PGA golf champion Fred Couples witnessed the 13-year old Michelle’s swing first-hand and was amazed, exclaim-ing, “When you see her hit a golf ball, there’s nothing that prepares you for it. It’s just the scariest thing you’ve ever seen.”

At age 14, Michelle fin-ished in the top 20 in six of the seven LPGA events she en-tered that year including a 4th place at the Kraft Nabisco. In early 2004, Michelle competed in the men’s PGA Sony Open at Waialae. She shot 72/68, missing the cut by just one shot, yet finishing ahead of

THE Country Club Invi-tational, already con-sidered as the coun-

try’s golfing major champi-onship, celebrates its 10th year with a total prize fund of P4.5million with a se-lect 36-player field battling it out for the crown at the challenging TCC layout in Laguna.

Angelo Que nipped Da-bawenyo Marvin Duman-dan by one to nail last year’s crown and record the first back-to-back victory in the four-day championship that has become the most keenly awaited tournament among the pros and amateurs alike for its prestige and magni-tude.

Que will be seeking to set another mark, but a host of others are out to foil his three-peat bid, including the other winners of the event which also serves as the kick-off of the new golf-ing season.

There is 2006 and 2008 champion Juvic Pagunsan, who will be hard-pressed to validate his status as Asia’s No. 1 after copping the Or-der of Merit crown in last year’s Asian Tour with a runner-up finish in the rich Singapore Open.

The smooth-swinging

Pagunsan also won the Player of the Year award in the region’s premier circuit and topped the OOM derby in the ICTSI-Philippine Golf Tour on the strength of four-leg victories.

Artemio Murakami, winner in 2009, is also gear-ing up for a big comeback for a crack at a second crown along with inaugural cham-pion Cassius Casas of Davao (2003) and fellow former winners Tony Lascuna of Davao (2004) and Jerome Delariarte (2005).

The top 36 players in last year’s OOM of the ICT-SI-PGT are vying for the top P1.4 million purse in the event put up by golf patron Ricky Razon, chairman and CEO of ICTSI, the global leader in port management, in honor of his late father and ICTSI founder, Enrique “Don Pocholo” Razon, Sr., himself an avid golfer.

The list includes Davao’s Elmer Salvador, winner of the OOM title in the inaugu-ral staging of the ICTSI-PGT who finished second to Pag-unsan last year, Dabawenyos Jhonnel Ababa, a three-leg winner last season, 2010 OOM champion Jay Bay-ron, Rufino Bayron, Elmer Saban, Richard Sinfuego,

Robert Pactolerin, Mhark Fernando, Orlan Sumcad, Ferdie Aunzo, Arnold Vil-lacencio, Jerson Balasabas, Gene Bondoc, Michael Bibat, Gerald Rosales, Mars Pucay, Randy Garalde, Ebarra Quia-chon, Charles Hong, Jun Ber-nis, Dante Becierra, Joenard Rates, Carl Santos-Ocampo, Ramil Bisera, Ruben Sasutil and Albin Engino.

Frankie Minoza, a mul-tiple winner in Asia and one of the region’s living leg-ends, fell short of his title bid in 2006, losing to Pag-unsan in a playoff. But the ace Filipino shotmaker and two-time Philippine Open champion hopes to finally nail the elusive crown this year.

Teener Miguel Tabue-na is also in the fold, con-fident of contending for the crown against the veteran campaigners with a confi-dence boosted by his stint in the Sony Open of the PGA Tour in Hawaii recently.

Meanwhile, the tra-ditional 18-hole pro-am event, featuring the lead-ings pros and ICTSI’s guests from various sectors and event’s sponsors, will be held on Jan. 25 as a prelude to the 10th staging of the TCC Invitational. [PR]

PHILIPPINE Cup de-fending champion Talk N Text Tropang

Texters and team Powerade Tigers faced off at the excit-ing PBA-Phoenix On Tour last Friday at the Davao del Sur Coliseum, Matti, Digos City.

Phoenix Petroleum Philippines is a sponsor of the PBA-Phoenix On Tour. The company has spon-sored PBA out-of-town games for four years now.

Preliminary game was also played by star players of the first two seasons of

the “Trip Ko Phoenix Fu-els Basketball Cup.” The tournament was the first and only non-school based tournament for the youth in Davao City.

Phoenix Petroleum Philippines is the fastest growing independent oil

company today with an expanding network of op-erations nationwide. It is engaged in the business of trading refined petroleum products and lubricants, operation of oil depots and storage facilities, and allied services.[PR]

CENTRAl Mindanao University in Musu-an, Bukidnon host-

ed the CMU – Mindanao Champions Tour 9th Edi-tion on 14 – 15 January 2012. Bgy. Mintal United FC, representing Davao FA, fielded teams in the 12 Under (born 2000 and later) and 14 Under (born 1998 and later) categories.

Bgy. Mintal beat Gi-noog KFC (3 – 0) in the finals to win the 12 Under category. The members of the team are Julius Pon-

pon, Venice Jules Luma-pac, Chris John Namo-catcat, Cloyd Dela Cruz, Gerald Cordero, Ashley Lucero, Noel Capuyan, Rachy Sobrepeña, Joshua Belmonte, and Mark Lloyd Ando. Third place is Musu-an Elementary School. Ju-lius Ponpon was named MVP for this group (5th from left – 2nd row stand-ing #9).

Bgy. Mintal’s 14 Un-der team placed third. They lost to CMU A Kidz in the semi-finals via “sudden

death” shoot out. Mintal had an early 2 – 0 lead but CMU managed to tie the game. The score was set-tled by a 3 kicker penalty shoot out which resulted to a 2 – 2 deadlock. CMU was able to convert the next kick while Mintal missed on this attempt.

The team members are Ace Joaquin, Raymund Casona, Robert Namo-cot, Joven Amihan, Jedric Calamba, John Mark Nalla, Caezar Ian Adan, Charles Yumi Cabansag, Charles

Kiddo Cabansag, and John Mitch Lavador . The coach-es are Danny BoyFernan-dez and Kgwd. Benedict Adan. Team referees are Michael Jay Fernandez and Daryl Bantayan.

The sponsors and supporters of the team are Cong. Isidro T. Ung-ab, Mayor Inday Sara Z. Duterte, Brgy.Capt. Ramon M. Bargamento, Coun. Ra-chel Zozobrado, Coun. Vic-torio Advincula, Jr. Coun. Tomas Monteverde IV, and Mr. Nemesio Ponpon.[PR]

Tiger Woods will make his 2012 PGA Tour debut at the Pebble Beach Na-tional Pro-Am next month, the former world number one said on Monday.

For Woods, who is kickstarting his 2012 cam-paign at the January 26-29 Abu Dhabi Championship, it will be his first appear-ance in the February 9-12 tournament since 2002.

“It will be fun going back,” Woods said in a statement on his website. “It’s always been one of my favourite spots.”

The winner of 71 PGA Tour titles and 14 major

championships last played at Pebble Beach in the 2010 U.S. Open, where he tied for fourth.

Woods ended the 2011 season by winning the Chevron World Chal-lenge, an unofficial 18-man event the he hosted, to snap a two-year winless drought while he strug-gled for fitness and form with his private life in tat-ters.

“It was great to finish 2011 strong,” said Woods. “More importantly, it’s good to be healthy again, and I’m hoping to get off to a fast start.”

BizQUIPS“You are men and

women of courage, heroism and dedication.”

--Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert Del Rosario in commending the Filipino crewmembers of doomed Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia.

future US Open winner Lucas Glover, PGA Champion Shaun Micheel, and future Sony Open winner Ryan Palmer.

At only 14 years of age, she became the first woman to shoot a sub-par round in a sanctioned Men’s PGA event.

The next year, 2005, saw Michelle finish second in three of seven LPGA events includ-ing the LPGA Championship, to go with a 3rd place in the British Open. Michelle turned professional later that year just before her 16th birthday.

The Rolex World Rank-ings were formulated in February 2006 and ranked Michelle number three in the world behind full-time golfers Annika Sorenstam and Paula Creamer. As the LPGA Tour minimum age re-quirement is 18 years old, Mi-chelle was able to compete in only a limited number of events through the next three years until becoming eligible to earn her Tour Card. She spent this period focusing on school life, friends, art, music and working on her game while playing seven LPGA events each season and various other forays into women’s and men’s golf around the globe. In Decem-ber 2008 Michelle earned her Tour Card for 2009 at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tour-nament in Daytona Beach, Florida.

EDGEDAVAOTHE BUSINESS PAPER

20 JANUARY 23- 29, 2012VOL. 4 NO. 47