By Jade C. Zaldivar

AN outstanding balance of more than P2.3 billion remains of the city’s debt to

Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP),

said Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio yesterday.The mayor released to media updated

data on the city’s debt to LBP which showed

that as of April 2012, the city has an out-standing balance of P2,323,171,937.74.

According to the data, the city is sched-uled to pay P309,981,025.43 from May to December this year.

From January to April this year, the city

n P309 M payment scheduled for May-Dec 2012

n P145 M in Jan-Apr 2012; P461 M paid in 2011

City gov’t still owes P2.3 billion

By Lorie A. Cascaro

IRREGULARITIES of the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) in providing technical and financial assistance to water districts have

caused the delay of infrastructure development of

the Davao City Water District (DCWD), lawyer Elis-eo R. Braganza, Jr., vice chair of the DCWD Board of Directors (BOD), said Monday.

Admitting being a witness to LWUA’s irregu-larities, Braganza said privatizing the water district is not the way to address the issue of inefficiency

but by providing funds.He bared that the LWUA failed to provide the

necessary technical and financial support, adding that there was one fund that was not actually re-leased to DCWD.

Four years ago, the LWUA released loans

EDGEP 15.00 • 20 PAGES

www.edgedavao.netVOL.5 ISSUE 66 • JUNE 05, 2012

SportsPage 15

People warned vswater monopoly

MOTORINGPage 7

Serving a seamless society

FPEOPLE, 13

FCITY, 13

Follow Us On

DAVAO

AGAINST WATER PRIVATIZATION. Rudy Aranjuez, chairman of the Nagkahiusang Mamumuo sa Davao City Water District, (right) said on Monday that they are opposing the privatization of the water facilities in the city because this would cause an unbridled water rate increases and an uncertainty on the condition of the workers in the facility. [KARLOS MANLUPIG]

Groups reject Angara billIndulgePage A1

VOL.5 ISSUE 66 • JUNE 05, 2012

KIDNEY disease con-tinues to be among the deadliest among

Filipinos victims, said a member of the Department of Health (DOH) 11’s Renal Disease Control Program (Redcop) last June 1.

Redcop spokesperson Dr. Maria Theresa Lorenzo Bad-ang said the disease re-mains in the top ten diseases causing mortality.

“Although napabiliang siya sa top ten, it’s ranking is not really so definite since kidney disease leads to oth-er health complications such as hypertension, diabetes, or affect other organs,” Bad-ang said said during the me-dia forum at the Philippine

Information Agency 11.“There is at least an in-

crease of 10 percent of peo-ple diagnosed with kidney disease every year in the Philippines,” she added.

In 2010, Region 11 com-prised 5.9 % of the 9,716 new cases in the country. Other high-placing regions when it comes to kidney dis-ease are the National Captial Region (12.5%), Northern Luzon (11.7 %), and West-ern Visayas (5.6 %).

Statistics for 2011 are yet to be released by the DOH, Bad-ang said.

June being the National Kidney Month Celebration, Bad-ang emphasized that early prevention is early

cure.“Live a healthy lifestyle

because kidney disease is at-tributed to the lifestyle of a person. Kung mahilig ka sa masyadong maalat, masaya-dong matamis, hindi naman kaya ng katawan, kaya it’s better na to take just enough nga kung anong nararapat para sa ating katawan,” she said.

“Remember na ang symptons ng kidney disease at most times only show up pag-seryoso na ang condi-tion that’s why it’s advisable to have regular check-up and of course to keep a healthy lifestyle,” she added.

Transplant vs. dialysisThe Redcop spokesper-

son said it is much more ad-visable for patients of End Stage Renal Disease (ERDS) to undergo kidney trans-plant.

Bad-ang said in the Phil-ippines a kidney transplant could cost from P500,000 to P1 million while maintain-ing a dialysis, the process of

cleansing the blood by pass-ing it through a special ma-chine, could cost P30,000 to P40,000 per month.

“Although dito sa Davao ang swerte natin dahil a session of dialysis would only cost P1,800, or P800 to P1,000 if you are a Philhealth member. In other parts of the country, especially in Luzon, it is P3,500 per session,” Bad-ang said.

“But we really recom-mend that if you find a kidney donor, and you can afford a transplant please do undergo the latter since it’s a lot more beneficial. With a transplant you are guaranteed to live a healthy, normal lifestyle,” she said.

Rose Zo-zobrado, 32, married, a kid-ney patient, said she’s still waiting for a kidney donor. Unfortunately, none in her family could become a donor.

Her dialysis treat-ment started September last year.

“I cannot go to work

since I need to go through di-alysis twice a week. I cannot eat oily or fatty foods and I cannot stay long under the sun since the condition of my kidneys does not allow me to drink a lot of water. But I re-main happy,” she said.

“I am thankful that my husband is very support-ive. I do not allow myself to get stressed about this sick-ness because I know it would only worsen my condition. I remain hoping that I will sur-vive this sickness,” she added.

Meanwhile, kidney transplant survivor Vanessa Javier gave advice that people should drink plenty of water.

“Drink at least one liter a day. For me it really was a lesson. Since I was too lazy to drink water, not want-ing to wake up in the middle of the night, it then led to kid-ney failure,” she said.

Javier was diag-nosed with kidney disease when she was 31 years old. She’s now 39 and is in healthy condition.

“When we knew about it was already in grave condition. I had to undergo dialysis after that but luckily after four months our fam-ily was ready to finance my operation. My younger sister donated to me one of her kid-neys,” she said.

Javier added that it was beneficial that she had a big family who were qualified to become donors.

“After I had a trans-plant I felt so much better. I felt healthier than in my twenties. Three years after my transplant, I gave birth to my daughter who’s now eight years old. She’s really a God-given gift to me and my hus-band. I never had a problem while I was bearing her,” she said.

Last year, a total of 140 successful transplants were conducted in the city at the Davao Regional Hos-pital, Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC), and Davao Doctors Hospital, Bad-ang said.[JADE C. ZALDIVAR]

THE BIG NEWS2 EDGEDAVAO

‘IN THE CASE of the Chief Jus-tice’s SALN, the undeclared assets as so huge, 50 times more than what we declared in cash—2.4 million in

US dollar deposits, 80 million in peso deposits –that they cannot be

brushed aside as innocent ex-cuses.’

--Sen. Ralph Recto (Guilty ver-dict on CJ Corona)

Quips

By Jade C. Zaldivar

DAVAO City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio yes-terday said she con-

siders it a good idea to have “new names” elected into public office in Davao City.

During the media brief-ing at the city hall, she said she’d want to see a city coun-cil which is a mixture of new and old names.

The mayor gave her an-swer to this reporter’s query on whether she would want Hugpong sa Tawong Lung-sod (Hugpong), the aggru-pation of supporters of Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, to support new names in the city council.

“Kung ako pabut-on, it’s a good idea. Maayo kung naay mga bag-ong leaders,” she said.

“Ang consideration [para ang tao mahimong kandidato is ang iyang] track record and winnability,” she added.

Duterte-Carpio also ad-mitted that the task would have some difficulties as it involves politics.

“Pero lahi ang idea, lahi ang politics. Kabalo na man mo ana. Lahi ang idea lahi ang realidad,” she said.

Meanwhile, Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said the mayor would decide as to who should be supported by Hugpong, which has filed an application with the Com-mission on Elections to offi-cially become a partylist.

In previous statements, the elder Duterte told Edge

Davao that he too does not know what position daugh-ter Sara Duterte would be running for, whether for mayor, vice mayor, or 1st dis-trict representative.

Mum on candidacySara remains non-com-

mitant as to what position she would want to run for.

“Mudagan ko pero kung unsa nga posisiyon dili sa nako isulti,” she said, adding, “ Mahibaw-an ra na sa adlaw nga mag-file ug certificate of candidacy.”

Duterte-Carpio them blurted out: “Wait, I’m ly-ing. Kadali lang ha. Namakak diay ko noh. Na-realize nako na namakak ko. Mudagan ko sa posisyon nga gusto nako. Ang problema kay dili nako masulti ang posisyon be-cause as I said walay plano walay discussion nothing,” she said.

She was referring to Hugpong.

She did say she consid-ers all elective positions be-ing the same.

“Pareha ra na sila. It’s a job as any other as an elec-tive officer. All positions con-tribute to society. Ang lisod lang kay naga-agi ug elec-tion,” she said.

Duterte Carpio said she is also not closing her mind on practicing her profession as a lawyer.

“I was thinking nga kung dili ko mudagan I will still work as a lawyer. Gina-consider nako na musulod [sa government] in an ap-pointive position as a law-yer,” she said.

In local governance

Sara wants ‘new names’

By Lorie A. Cascaro

UNLIKE in Cebu and Manila, where infor-mation technology

(IT) parks are concentrated in one area, Davao City will be projected as the world’s largest IT park as it will be the hub itself, Bert Barriga, president of ICT Davao said last Monday.

Guesting at the Kapehan sa Dabaw, SM City Davao, he said IT areas can be spread out in the city such that a business process outsourc-ing (BPO) locator can put up its business in Toril District or Buhangin where there are

good infrastructures.Aside from the viabil-

ity of infrastructure and reli-ability of broadband connec-tion, he added that the city has a viable pool of talents, considering the number of college graduates every year.

“Telecommunicat ion companies will come in place, but the most impor-tant thing for locators is the security of the city. This is because despite being the safest city in the country, po-tential investors are wary as it is still part of Mindanao,” he said.

ICT Davao is promot-ing four IT areas in the city-

--Damosa IT Park, Matina IT Park, SM City Davao and Abreeza Mall.

Some BPOs, two of which are the biggest in the world, have shown interest to put up call centers at SM Davao at its 11,000-square meter floor, and the Abreeza, Bar-riga said.

On June 15, one locator will have engagements with universities in the city, after which another set of BPO locators will visit to look at potential investments.

Should locators decide to put up call centers here, they will initially need more than 2,000 call center agents on

top of the need for 3,000 to 4,000 agents in two months for the existing BPOs.

The city today has 16-18 call centers, including small- and medium-sized ones, em-ploying some 14,000 agents.

Noting that ICT Davao is positive about reaching its target of 30,000 IT jobs by 2015 with new twists hap-pening in the industry, he said, “The challenge now is to build on the availability of areas in the city.”

Additional services pro-vided by BPOs in the city include health, agriculture, creative services, finance and accounting.

Davao primed to be world’s largest IT park

HAPPY ZOMBIES. Grade 1 pupils of Sta. Ana Elementary School appear like happy zombies as they raise their arms forward while walking in an orderly manner towards their classroom. [KARLOS MANLUPIG]

DOH 11 says

Kidney disease is one of region’s top 10 deadliest

VOL.5 ISSUE 66 • JUNE 05, 2012

ORDINARY people who have nothing directly to benefit

from large-scale mining ventures say the miner-als extraction industry is a necessary part of mod-ern life.

Strong protests from the Catholic Church and other organizations have doused cold water on an industry struggling to be acknowledged as an important economic driver. Investments in the mining industry report-edly fell 35 percent last year, partly because of the sustained opposition and high-level dilly-dally-ing over policy issues.

But while some claim that mining is bad for the

community, others are not as convinced.

Businessman V.E Al-cantara says “mining, especially in our coun-try, has generated thou-sands of jobs. Mining starts from prospecting, to actual extraction of minerals, to marketing. It involves the work and labor of semi-skilled to skilled manpower, to the blue collar market-ing people. As the metals change hands, so does the opportunity to earn money.”

He added to say that mining and mined mat-ters have generated “tre-mendous revenue for the government. In its totali-ty it has greatly improved

the quality of life of the people.”

Indeed, miners noted for their track records in responsible governance have observed high stan-dards in promoting de-velopment. For example, not yet in its commercial phase, Sagittarius Mines, Inc. in South Cotabato has spent P121 million for community develop-ment programs for last

year alone. According to its 2011 Sustainability Report, the investment was aimed at “providing real and long-term ben-efits for local communi-ties.”

Indigenous people living within mining ar-eas’ host communities now enjoy the amenities that mining has brought them. Big mining com-

A multi-billion peso company, Canon Marketing (Philip-

pines), finds Davao City a tough market due to the presence of a “gray market”.

Bong F. Serevo, Jr., vice president, director or imaging communica-tions production, said gray importation of par-allel products makes it difficult for the company to market their prod-ucts.

He cited that prices of products from the gray market are cheaper by 20-30% than those that are sold by the company in the Philippines.

Noting that some of these gray products are not supposed to be sold in Asia, he said Canon products have specific features for a specific market.

“The advantage of

buying Canon products from us is the three-year warranty that other countries don’t offer,” he said.

The company treats loyal customers differ-ently such that those who bought from gray markets will pay three times higher for repair services.

“That’s how we treat our loyal customers who abide by the laws, pay the right taxes,” he said.

Only loyal custom-ers are accepted to the Canon Photo Eskwela, a tutorial on photography using Canon cameras, provided by the compa-ny regularly.

“This will give justice to consumers who have no ability to buy abroad. Buyers should be careful to know the right source of the right products,” he

3THE BIG NEWSEDGEDAVAO

‘..THE RESPONDENT has consist-ently misinterpret all the laws as re-leasing him from his constitutional duty to disclose his entire assets in his SALN… Ang batas para kay Juan ay batas din para kay Renato.’

--Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III (Guilty verdict on CJ Corona)

Quips

FDOWNTOWN, 13

FBUY, 13

By Lorie A. Cascaro

SCHOOLS in Davao City’s central dis-trict, particularly

Kapitan Tomas Mon-teverde Sr. Elementary School and Magallanes Elementary School, have more students than oth-er schools, a school prin-cipal told Edge Davao last Friday.

Kapitan Tomas Monteverde’s princi-pal, Milagros O. Supera, said it’s classrooms are crowded because parents prefer their children to attend schools near their places of work.

“We can’t say no to parents who are not resi-dents of the district, but I always advise them that it is much better if their kids enroll in schools near where they live,” she said.

She pointed out that schools in other districts have fewer students than those in the central dis-trict, thus have extra chairs, classrooms and books.

Having been the principal of Kapitan To-mas for almost two years, Supera said every year, the number of Grade 1 students increase by about two percent.

Kapitan Tomas has a total of 5,315 students from Kindergarten to Grade 6, adding that one percent of the total or about 53 students are residents of other dis-tricts.

Ace Morandante, a resident of Lanang, en-rolled his son in Grade 1 at the Kapitan Tomas be-

cause it is near his work-place and he can easily check on him anytime.

Aware of a crowded classroom scenario, he said the quality of educa-tion should not be over-looked amid the situa-tion.

Although admitting that a crowded class-room affects the quality of education of a child, Supera said there’s noth-ing to worry about Kapi-tan Tomas Monteverde because it has enough classrooms, teachers and books and there will be one teacher per 48 stu-dents in a class for all grade levels.

Last year, the ratio was one teacher per 52 students, which, accord-ing to her, was still man-ageable without sacrific-ing teaching efficiencies.

The school has 112 teachers, including one under the local school board.

The availability of half day sessions is an-other factor behind the increasing number of students at the Ma-gallanes Elementary School.

Supera, a former principal of Magallanes Elem. School, said, “Par-ents should think of the convenience of their children inside the class-room, and not their own convenience.”

She pointed out that transferring the student from one school to an-other is not a solution to academic problems of a child. Instead, parents should follow through the child’s learning prog-

Compared to far areas

Downtown schools are more crowded

SECURITY CHECK. Philippine National Police Region-11 Director Jaime Morente (left) and Davao City Police Office Chief Ronald Dela Rosa (right)

inspect various schools in the city to check the security situation during the first day of classes. [KARLOS MANLUPIG]

Canon says

‘Buy red, not gray’

FMINING, 13

Mining is part of life, say local traders

THE Regional Devel-opment Council 11 firmed up its for

2011-2016 of conduct-ing its sub-regional plan roadshow starting this month of June. The first leg of the roadshow will be in Davao del Norte. The other provinces and Davao City will follow in July to October this year.

According to NEDA 11 regional director Maria

Lourdes Lim, the road-show shall also feature the initiative on Public-Private Partnership, the manuals of which has just been published, to en-courage local government units (LGUs) in the region to submit proposals for possible funding under the scheme. The plans and priorities of the LGUs shall also be highlighted during the Roadshow for

the harmonization and synchronization of devel-opment effortswithin the region.

The roadshow is a col-laborative effort between the RDC 11 and Davao re-gion’s LGUs and is viewed as a means of strengthen-ing partnership among national, regional and local planners and imple-menters and the private sector. It shall be done in

a setting of an expanded Provincial/City Develop-ment Council meeting which shall include the participation of, among others, municipal may-ors, heads of local depart-ments, non-governmental organizations, business, academe, media, and oth-er private groups. Lao has enjoined the support of all concerned in the con-duct of the roadshow.

RDC 11 to bring region‘s dev’t plan to provinces

VOL.5 ISSUE 66 • JUNE 05, 20124 EDGEDAVAOSCIENCE/ENVIRONMENT

JAPAN may look to generating 15 percent of its elec-

tricity needs fromnuclear power, a minister said Friday, as the country seeks to rebalance its en-ergy supply after the Fu-kushima disaster.

A government pan-el studying future ener-gy policy has presented several options, from one that sees a nuclear free future by 2030 to one that seeks to increase de-pendence on the technol-ogy to 35 percent by that date.

“Fifteen percent can be one base,” environ-ment minister Goshi Hosono told reporters, noting that government limits on the operation of nuclear power stations to a maximum 40 years would be in line with this

figure.Hosono and other

ministers will discuss the government’s new ener-gy policy next month.

Prior to tsunami-sparked meltdowns at Fukushima, resource-poor but energy-hungry Japan relied on nuclear for about a third of its electricity needs, a figure policymakers intended to boost to 50 percent.

But since the accident, increasing public distrust has meant reactors shut-tered for routine safety checks have not been al-lowed to restart, such that the country’s entire stable is now offline.

Imported fossil fuels have been used to plug the gap, much to the det-riment of Japan’s balance of trade, amid calls for a re-think of energy policy.Japanese Environment Minister Goshi Hosono is pictured in 2011. Japan may look to generating 15 percent of its electricity needs from nuclear power as the

country seeks to rebalance its energy supply after the Fukushima disaster.

Japan eyeing 15% nuclear in energy mix: minister

THE total value of the carbon market increased 11 per-

cent to US$ 176 billion in 2011, which indicates the rising interest and chal-lenge to the global carbon market.

“Despite the major economic countries fac-ing difficulties on car-bon market, we see the increasing interest and support for new-market-based mechanisms to mitigate climate change in the long run,” the World Bank Unit Manager Car-bon Finance, Joelle Chas-sard, said in a press re-lease on Sunday.

According to World Bank reports, the volume of carbon market transac-tions in 2011 also reached the highest amount of 10.3 billion tons of carbon diox-ide equivalent (CO2e).

The report issued by multilateral financial insti-tutions at the Carbon Expo in Cologne in May 2012 illustrates how despite de-clining prices, the global carbon market increased in 2011.

The biggest carbon market is US$ 148 bil-lion of EU Allowances (carbon credits used in the EU Emissions Trad-ing Scheme issued by the European Union member states).

There is also an in-crease in the volume of

compensation under the Kyoto Protocol (an in-crease of 43 percent to 1.8 billion tons of CO2e, worth 23 billion U.S. dol-lars) which is driven by liquidity increasing in the Certified Emissions Re-ductions (CER) and Emis-sion Reduction Unit (ERU) market.

Compensation and mitigation of emissions under the Kyoto Protocol can be performed in any developing countries that have ratified the protocol and the treaty or national legislation to validation carbon projects in accor-dance with the approved mechanism UNFCCC Unit-ed Nations.

The report also said some domestic carbon market initiative and the new regional increasingly gaining a place in both the developed and developing countries in 2011.

Among other things, it can be indicated by the emergence of new regulations related rules adopted by several coun-tries like Australia which passed the Clean Energy Act.

In addition, both Mex-ico and South Korea also have spawned a compre-hensive climate legislation that underlies the market-based mechanism of car-bon in the future. [PNA/AN-

TARA]

Carbon market increases 11%

WARMER water and reduced river flows will

cause more power dis-ruptions for nuclear and coal-fired power plants in the United States and Europe in future, scien-tists say, and lead to a rethink on how best to cool power stations in a hotter world.

In a study published on Monday, a team of Eu-ropean and U.S. scientists focused on projections of rising temperatures and lower river levels in sum-mer and how these im-pacts would affect power plants dependent on riv-er water for cooling.

The authors predict that coal and nuclear power generating capac-ity between 2031 and 2060 will decrease by be-tween 4 and 16 percent in the United States and a 6 to 19 percent decline in Europe due to lack of cooling water.

The likelihood of ex-treme drops in power generation, either com-plete or almost-total shutdowns, was project-ed to almost triple.

“This study suggests that our reliance on ther-mal cooling is something that we’re going to have to revisit,” co-author Dennis Lettenmaier, a professor of civil and environmental engineer-ing at the University of Washington in Seattle, said in a statement.

Thermoelectric pow-er plants supply more than 90 percent of elec-tricity in the United

States and account for 40 percent of the nation’s freshwater usage, says the study published in the journal Nature Cli-mate Change.

In Europe, such plants supply three-quarters of the electricity and ac-count for about half of the freshwater use.

Coal, nuclear and gas plants turn large amounts of water into steam to spin a turbine. They also rely on water at consistent tempera-tures to cool the turbines and any spike in river water temperatures can affect a plant’s operation.

Disruptions to power supplies were already occurring, the authors noted.

During warm, dry summers in 2003, 2006 and 2009 several pow-

er plants in Europe cut production because of restricted availability of cooling water, driving up power prices.

A similar event in 2007-2008 in the United States caused several power plants to reduce production, or shut down for several days because of a lack of water for cool-ing and environmental restrictions on warm wa-ter discharges back into rivers, the study said.

In the past few months, large parts of the United States have suf-fered record heat, with March being the warmest on record for the contigu-ous 48 states, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin-istration.

The study projects the most significant U.S.

impacts at power plants inland along major rivers in the Southeast.

“Considering the in-crease in future electric-ity demand, there is a strong need for improved climate adaptation strat-egies in the thermoelec-tric power sector to as-sure future energy secu-rity,” the authors say in the study.

They also point to U.S and European laws en-shrining strict environ-mental standards for the volume of water with-drawn by plants and the temperature of the water discharged.

Adaptation strate-gies include placing new plants near the sea or building more gas-fired power plants, which are more efficient and use less water. [REUTERS]

The sun shines through power lines leading towards the EnBW nuclear power plant in Philippsburg, southwest Germany. [ REUTERS]

Nuclear, coal power face climate change risk: study

VOL.5 ISSUE 66 • JUNE 05, 2012 THE ECONOMY 5EDGEDAVAOStat Watch

MONTHLY AVERAGE EXCHANGE RATE (January 2009 - December 2011)

Month 2011 2010 2009

Average 43.31 45.11 47.637December 43.64 43.95 46.421November 43.27 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

3.5%4th Qtr 2011

3.7%4th Qtr 2011

USD 3,342Million

Nov 2011USD 4,985

MillionNov 2011

USD -1,643Million

Nov 2011USD -114

MillionDec 2011

P4,442,355Million

Nov 2011

4.71%Oct 2011P128,745

MillionNov 2011

P 4,898Billion

Oct 2011

P 43.65Dec 2011

3,999.7Sept 2011

128.1Jan 2012

3.9Jan 2012

3.4Dec 2011

284,040Sept 2011

19.1%Oct 2011

6.4%Oct 2011

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

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

3. Exports 1/

4. Imports 1/

5. Trade Balance

6. Balance of Payments 2/

7. Broad Money Liabilities

8. Interest Rates 4/

9. National Government Revenues

10. National government outstanding debt

11. Peso per US $ 5/

12. Stocks Composite Index 6/

13. Consumer Price Index 2006=100

14. Headline Inflation Rate 2006=100

15. Core Inflation Rate 2006=100

16. Visitor Arrivals

17. Underemployment Rate 7/

18. Unemployment Rate 7/

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

THE government is on track to meeting its revenue and deficit targets for the year,

as more resources are collected to support a growing economy and contain the budget deficit, official data show.

Data from the Department of Finance show that revenues ac-counted for 14.9 percent of eco-nomic output in the first three months of 2012, an increase from last year’s 14.4 percent, which also happened to be the target for this year.

Tax collections, meanwhile, accounted for 12.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter, jumping from 11.8 percent year-on-year. Full-year target is 13.2 percent.

More revenues helped con-tain the budget deficit as of March, accounting only to 0.8 percent of GDP as against last year’s 1.2 percent. The govern-ment has a 2.6 percent goal for the year.

Last year, the national gov-

ernment posted a budget deficit of P197.754 billion, equivalent to 2 percent of GDP. Revenues surged to P1.359 trillion or 14 percent of GDP, while tax collec-tions of P1.202 trillion accounted for 12.34 percent.

Comparison of deficit, rev-enue and tax collections against GDP growth provides a clearer view of how much the govern-ment is collecting to support a growing economy and lessen its necessity to borrow. The ratio-nale is as the economy expands, more revenues are collected by the government.

For the first quarter of 2012, the economy expanded by 7.7 percent in nominal terms, while collections from revenue agen-cies were up 11.4 percent.

In constant 2000 prices, the Philippine economy posted a stellar 6.4 percent growth in the January to March period— the strongest in almost two years and among South East Asian na-tions —driven mainly by domes-

tic demand and higher exports.“Our sustained focus on im-

proving tax administration effi-ciency continues to bear fruit. We believe that as we move toward the latter part of the year, we will continue to see better results on the part of revenue agencies as reforms are continued to be undertaken,” Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima said over the weekend.

The Bureau of Internal Rev-enue (BIR), which accounts for about 70 percent of tax revenues, improved collections to 9.5 per-cent of GDP from 8.9 percent in the first quarter comparable pe-riods. It aims to hit 9.8 percent revenue effort by the end of this year, an increase from 9.5 per-cent recorded last year.

The Bureau of Customs, meanwhile, notched a 2.9 per-cent revenue-to-GDP ratio, inch-ing up from 2.8 percent during the same period. It has a full-year target of 3.4 percent, higher than its last year’s performance of 2.8

percent.“Double-digit collection

growths posted by BIR and Cus-toms are way faster than how the economy expanded in the first quarter, leading to better rev-enue efforts for both bureaus,” Purisima said.

As of March, BIR collections rose 14.8 percent to P229.044 billion as against P199.549 bil-lion hauled last year. Customs, for its part, nudged an 11 percent uptick during the same period, raising a total of P69.529 billion, up from P62.618 billion.

Deficit, as a result, is well-contained at P33.909 billion, well below the P82.808-billion first quarter cap.

“During the first quarter, the economy expanded by more than expected despite a nar-rower deficit. We are committed to continuously pursue a faster, sustainable and inclusive growth while being mindful of our fiscal consolidation process,” Purisima said. (PNA)

Government deficit down in Q1

THE Filipino community and the consular office in the United Kingdom have

been active partners of Presi-dent Benigno S. Aquino III’s ef-forts to push the Philippines as an alternative investment site to foreign investors by working hand-in-hand with each other to promote the Filipino culture to the world, an embassy official said.

An estimated one mil-lion overseas Filipino work-ers (OFWs) in the professional (nurses, accountants and engi-neers), highly skilled (electri-cians) and service (waiters and domestic helpers) sectors reside in the United Kingdom.

In an interview, Enrique Manalo, Philippine Ambassador to the UK, said this “very vibrant and active community” has been a key ingredient in the strength-ening of bilateral relations be-tween the two countries.

“They (OFWs) are working together with the embassy to see how we can promote Philippine culture here in the UK because ultimately the strength of our bilateral relationship is the fact that many UK citizens live and work in the Philippines while a number of Filipinos also work and reside in the UK,” Manalo said.

He added that part of their plans to promote Philippine culture is to expose our friends in the UK to our time honored festivals and significant events in Philippine history such as our Independence Day on June 12.

“It is in this interaction be-tween the embassy and the Fili-pino communities that we are together ultimately to promote the Philippines and the Filipino culture,” Manalo said.

Filipino community, embassy are PHL endorsers in LondonCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. Davao City Water District employees plant trees inside Mt. Tipolog-Tamugan watershed. Arvin S. Medina and Jerika Evan F. Rasuman of the Production Department are among the first batch of volunteers of the 3rd DCWD employees tree planting who planted 300 Malobago seedlings held May 18. Another batch will be planting at the same site on June 8. These activities are part of the water utility’s efforts to restore and protect the major watersheds in Davao City to help ensure water resource sustainability for the future generations.

VOL.5 ISSUE 66 • JUNE 05, 2012

THIS week is crucial for House Bill 5727, the measure which

seeks to reform the excise tax imposed on tobacco and alcohol products, or the so-called “sin tax”.

The bill is being de-fended on the Hose ple-nary hall by Rep. Isidro T. Ungab of Davao City and Cavite’s Rep. Emilio Abaya, co-sponsors of the mea-sure, which seeks to re-form the sin tax system in order to increase revenue of the government by P60 billion a year.

The expected annual revenue however has been reduced to only P33 billion after Ungab and Abaya ac-ceded to some changes introduced by fellow law-makers when the bill was still being deliberated upon in the House Committee on Ways and Means, headed by Ungab.

In an interpellation of Ungab ast week, Rep. Ru-fus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro City said a 700-per-cent hike in the excise tax for tobacco products will result in lower revenues

and lower production of lo-cal manufacturers. If these will happen, he said there will be lesser need or de-mand for raw materials for tobacco.

“This bill will like them (tobacco farmers) to shift to palay, corn or tomato. They will lose a lot of mon-ey if they will shift to these crops because tobacco is 400 percent more profit-able than palay, corn and tobacco. That is the per-centage,” he said.

He cited that in 2011, the price of tobacco was P66.89 per kilo. On the oth-er hand, the price of palay last year was P15.24 per kilo, corn P12 per kilo, and tomato P13.57 per kilo.

However, Ungab said HB 5727 provides safety nets for farmers. He cited the bill provides it will give back 15% of the proceeds to the tobacco farmers. As-suming that the measure would raise P26.8 billion revenue for the govern-

ment, P4.03 billion will go back to the farmers as safety net according to him.

“The manner of distri-bution or the procedure we have to approve or the implementing rules will provide that. However, let me emphasize that the farmers here will be taken into consideration. Aside from the 15%, we also again cite the benefits they will receive,” he said.

Ungab said the 2012 General Appropriations Act provides for an alloca-tion to tobacco farmers of P4.731 billion as their share in the excise tax pur-suant to Republic Act 7171 (Virginia Tobacco) while their allocation pursuant to RA 8240 (Burley and Native Tobacco) is P1.117 billion.

“These amounts are intended for farmers and among the plans that this 15% will be allocated to are: Programs that will provide inputs, training and other support for to-bacco farmers who shifted to production of agricul-tural products other than

tobacco; Programs that will provide financial sup-port for tobacco farmers who will be displaced or who will voluntarily cease to produce tobacco; and Cooperative programs to assist tobacco farmers in planting alternative crops or implementing other livelihood projects,” said Ungab.

He explained that the first and foremost objec-tive of the bill concerns the health of Filipinos. “We all know that the Philippines is one of the top smokers in the world. The figures will show that 30 percent of the Philippine population are smokers and even started to smoke at the age of 10 years old. We want to have a healthy nation, we want to have a healthy Philip-pines. That is precisely the reason for passing this measure, the sanctuary objective, which is to curb the habit of smoking,” he said.

Ungab also said that prices of cigarettes are very low in the Philippines, in fact they are among the lowest in the world. “For example, a leading brand costing here about P30 to P35 per pack is priced P300 in Hong Kong and P364 in Singapore when converted to peso.”

He cited for 2011, the Philippines was able to collect excise taxes from cigarettes in the amount of P25 billion but figures from the DOH indicate the expenditures for smoking-related expenses is P177 billion. “We are practically spending a lot for smok-ing-related expenditures, whereas ung bumabalik sa atin maliit masyado.”

Over the years, Ungab noted that the excise tax as a percentage of GDP has been falling year after year. “For the past 10 years, for the past 15 years, it has been going down and that’s very clear. In other words, the present system of taxation is not effective in addressing or curb-ing the habit of smoking, which we all know is bad to the health of our people. We all know that this can kill our young Filipinos. We all know that batang-bata pa sinusunog na ang kanilang mga baga.”

6 THE ECONOMY EDGEDAVAO

It figures

EXPENSE of the Philippine Sen-ate on the 44-day impeachment trial of former Chief Justice Renato C. Corona, way below the P5-million budget that the Senate had earlier set aside for the trial of the country’s top judge.

NUMBER of public school class-rooms that the Department of Education lacks nationwide.

NUMBER of police officers be-longing to the Davao City Police Office who have been deputized by the Philip-pine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to assist in the fight against dru8g abuse in the city.

MONEY the Lopez-led First Gen Corp. is planning to invest on the expan-sion of its two natural gas-fired facilities in Batangas through the 500-megawatt San Gabriel power project.

NUMBER of people accused of smuggling and related offenses filed by the Bureau of Customs under the watch of President Noynoy Aquino. The accused include Bureau of Customs personnel in cahoots with suspects. However, no one has been jailed so far.

SHORTFALL in collection target of the Bureau of Customs for the month of May, the 14th-straight month the BOC has been unable to reach its monthly col-lection target.

60,000P3.59 billion$1 billion

P3.5 million 13044

Ungab defends sin tax reform billTHE unexpected 6.4

percent increase in the Philippines’

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first quarter of the year was the high-est growth rate in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), according to President Benigno Aquino III.

Aquino’s announce-ment was substantiated by the reports from Na-tional Statistical Coor-dination Board (NSCB) which showed that the country’s first quarter GDP growth rate was higher than Indonesia’s 6.3 percent; Vietnam’s 4 percent; Singapore’s 1.6 percent; and Thailand’s 0.3 percent.

It was also higher than those of non-ASEAN countries such as Hong Kong (0.4 percent), South Korea (2.8 percent) and Japan (2.8 percent).

During his recent visit here, Aquino also happily informed the Ilonggos that the increase was the second highest growth rate in all of Asia and the highest in a non-election year since 2006.

“As you know, inclu-sive economic growth is one of the foremost pri-orities of our administra-tion — this means that no one and no sector is left behind,” assured Aquino.

According to Secre-tary Herminio Coloma Jr. of the Presidential Com-munications Operations Office, the growth was attributed to the govern-ment’s strong infrastruc-ture spending and its conditional cash transfer (CCT) program.

Coloma said Malaca-ñang remained optimis-tic that it could sustain the growth or even su-persede the target in the following quarters.

The country’s devel-opment plan aims to sus-tain a GDP growth of 7-8 percent every year until 2016 when Aquino’s six-

year term ends.“Sana ma-maintain

natin at kung maaari pa sana mas mataas pa,” Co-loma said in an interview over the weekend.

Coloma said the coun-try’s growing economy will enormously benefit all sectors in the society including the poorest of the poor.

“With the growing economy, we can create more jobs -– the number is the economic priority of our government. If we can create more jobs, we create opportunities...we reduce poverty...and [consequently] give our people better quality of life,” Coloma said.

In significantly reduc-ing the poverty incidence nationwide, Coloma cited the importance of Panta-wid Pamilyang Pilipino (4Ps), a conditional cash transfer program.

“We are purposive about this because we have a National House-hold Targeting System to make sure that we are able to reach the poorest of the poor,” he said.

So far, Coloma said Department of Social Welfare and Develop-ment, the agency that is in the forefront of the campaign, already cov-ered 3 million out of 4.6 million extremely poor households.

4Ps grants P6,000 yearly cash to the poor provided they comply with the conditions set by the program.

These conditions in-clude mandatory par-ticipation in family de-velopment sessions, pre-natal care for pregnant women, de-worming and enrollment of children in public schools, among others.

Since its implementa-tion in 2008, 4Ps is able to help the poor help themselves by keeping their children in school and keep them healthy.

PHL econ grows fastest in ASEAN

‘AS A LAWYER and an officer of the court, it pains and saddens me to say that clearly the Chief Justice displayed a disturbing pattern of dishonesty, willful concealment, and evasion and a blatant and wan-ton disregard of the provisions of the Constitution on the SALN.’

--Sen. Francis Pangilinan (Guilty verdict on CJ Corona)

Quips

n Bares safety nets for farmers

Ungab

VOL.5 ISSUE 66 • JUNE 05, 2012

THE Suzuki Kizashi is one of the best com-pact sedans on the

market. But as it is, many shoppers might not even think to put it on their list of prospective models. That’s because Suzuki—and Su-zuki dealerships—simply haven’t made much of a name for themselves in the U.S. market. If you can see past that lack of brand ca-chet, the Kizashi shines as a premium, sport-flavored alternative to the likes of the Volkswagen Jetta or Chevro-let Cruze.

Even a couple of years after its debut, the Kizashi remains one of the better-looking sedans. It’s more than a foot shorter than most mid-size sedans, but on the upper edge of what would be considered a compact, and the Kizashi strikes some great propor-tions, combining a rather traditional sedan profile with a dressed-up look and sportier stance. Inside, the Kizashi is feels a class above most other value-conscious four-cylinder compact or mid-size models, with a little bit of sports-car swoopi-ness in the two-tier instru-ment panel design, a large, hooded gauge cluster, and just a tiny touch of chrome to punctuate the look but not overwhelm. The sporty, upscale look and feel is en-hanced by well-bolstered sport seats and quality coarse cloth or ventilated-leather upholstery.

A gutsy 185-horsepow-er, 2.4-liter four-cylinder en-gine moves the Kizashi plen-ty quick, and provides spirit-ed performance either with

the available continuously variable automatic trans-mission (CVT) or standard six-speed manual. With the CVT, the Kizashi comes ei-ther with front-wheel drive or the new i-AWD system, which is configured for en-hanced cornering and man-aged via the stability control system; but of the combina-tions, our favorite remains the front-wheel-drive Sport model with the manual gearbox. Overall, though the Kizashi feels athletic, and excellent suspension tuning, body control, and grip give it a nimble, tossable feel. Brakes employ Akebono performance calipers, and they feel strong but a little touchy.

Gas mileage for this powertrain is one weak-ness; EPA ratings aren’t that impressive, though ranging from 20 to 23 mpg in the city and 29 to 31 mpg on the highway.

Those who think of some compact models as a little too small but don’t want the sacrifice in maneu-verability that comes with a mid-size car will appreciate the Kizashi’s ‘just-right’ size. Suzuki hasn’t accomplished any magic with interior space here, though; the Ki-zashi is more of a compact sedan than a mid-size one on the outside, and the same rings true inside. But nice, supportive bucket seats provide a great driving po-sition and plenty of support for taller folks. The Kizashi doesn’t have a lot of space In the back seat, but you’ll definitely be able to accom-modate a couple of adults back there for a drive out for

7MOTORINGEDGEDAVAO

ONE of those on top of my wish list for the year is a compact car.

I have grown tired and often weary even with a mid-sized vehicle for years.

Add to that the woes of the times—squeezing your way in heavy traffic finding parking space—are just too much of a stress to add to the

already stressful workplace.Like most of you, I wish

to have a small compact car that’s easy to steer clear of the logjam and wiggle out of the cramped highways.

And you know what? To-day’s small cars usually get the big attention.

Car reviews say that as the steady stream of fuel price hikes continues to hit both lo-cal and global consumers, car buyers are starting to take a second look at leaner and meaner machines that are both easy on the pocket and

easy on the tank.Not surprisingly, car

hunters are on the watch for the latest compact brands in the market, among them new hatchback models that respond to the demand for smaller, fuel-efficient vehicles.

Question: Does small real-ly mean thrifty when it comes to fuel consumption?

According to Enrico Bong-go of Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. (HARI), “hatchbacks have started to pick up, especially as fuel price hikes began peak-ing last June and July. Vehicles

such as SUVs are becoming a lot more and more of a luxury nowadays. We can say that it’s really the time of small, fuel-efficient cars.”

HARI recently launched the first two in its I series – the i30 with a 1.6-liter power plant and the i10 with a 1.10 fuel engine. The i30 and i10 models — following the ear-lier Hyundai Getz minicar — target young professionals and small families with four to five members.

Mr. Bonggo says Hyun-dai’s compact cars also boast

diesel engines that are fuel-efficient but “do not compro-mise power.”

Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) likewise unveiled the new Honda Jazz to stay active in the compact cars market. “The Honda Jazz has revolutionized the concept behind small cars,” according to HCPI president and general manager Hiroshi Shimizu.

Positioned as a Fun Utility Vehicle or FUV, the Japanese carmaker’s second-genera-tion Honda Jazz has already sold 2.5 million units in around 115 countries world-wide. Mr. Shimizu attributed the new Jazz’s success to “fuel

economy, utility, and (its) fun-to-drive performance.”

And then there is Scandi-navian Motors Corp., local dis-tributor of Volvo cars, which also heeded the trend towards small and diesel-powered ve-hicles.

Volvo has come up with its own small car in Volvo C30.

The rest of the small pack are Ford Fiesta, Chevrolet’s Spark, Kia Picanto, Mazda 3, and Toyota Yaris.

So, which one rates high on my list?

Ford Fiesta and the Hyun-dai Eon (if it’s already in the market) should sit right there on top. The Jazz 2012 too.

Small cars are getting big attention

Car Review of the Week:

lunch. The Kizashi really shines

in the details. Throughout the interior, materials feel a bit different than most other models in this class, with nicely grained plastics plus soft-touch and padded sur-faces in most of the places you’d brush against. Ride quality is on the firm side,

but you’ll never feel rattled; it also damps out road noise surprisingly well consider-ing that it favors sportiness over outright comfort.

Federal crash-test scores still haven’t been given to the Kizashi, but the IIHS rates it ‘good’ in all but its roof-strength test (‘accept-able’ there). Eight airbags are standard, including rear side bags, which still aren’t common in this class.

The 2012 Suzuki Kiza-shi continues to put its best

foot forward in terms of fea-tures for the money. Even when optioned with that, a loaded Kizashi SLS Sport still totals well under $30k. Suzuki typically offers few if any options on its U.S. ve-hicles, instead including a strong list of standard fea-tures, and the Kizashi takes that to a new level with all Kizashi’s including keyless entry and dual-zone climate control. GTS Sport and SLS Sport step up to a lowered suspension that rides 10

mm lower (but not really any harsher) than the base setup; a bolder, lightweight wheel design; a trunk spoil-er; body sill extensions; a more aggressive front fas-cia; and a bolder, ‘aero’ look. Sport models also get snug, leather-trimmed sport seats with contrast stitching, plus a number of other extras. A navigation system is avail-able as a relatively low-cost option and includes a rear camera system, real-time traffic, and iPod controls.

Suzuki Kizashi

HONDA Cars Philip-pines Inc. (HCPI) has announced

that it is voluntarily re-calling thousands of CR-V units to replace the wiring to the headlight switch that could heat up because it is too short.

A total of 20,587 units of Honda CR-V covering the model years from 2002 to 2004, all assem-

bled and sold in the Phil-ippines, are affected.

HCPI said that be-cause it is too short, the electric wire connected to the headlight switch wire is stretched during operation. With the re-sulting tension, the ter-minal wire joint moves and contacts with a metal part and may generate enough heat to melt the

wire connecting coupler. This, it said, eventually leads to headlight switch malfunction, causing the low beam to become nonoperational.

Xavier Eyadan, HCPI marketing head, said the company is replacing the part for free start-ing April 4. Replacement should take only about 40 minutes, he said.

Honda recalls 2002-2004 CR-Vs

2012 Suzuki Kizashi Sport with 4WD System smart system can be trans-formed into 2WD (4x2) if you want it. You can just select it via a button on

the dashboard. Under conditions of all-wheel-drive (i-AWD), the torque will be divided up to 50:50 front / rear, depending on needs.

He looks muscular, with chrome accents on the front fascia, side skirts and chrome accents on the bottom 4 side door. Alloy wheels 18 “adds to this impression of masculine midsize sedan. Inside the cabin, sporty shades obtained from the new design stitching on the steering wheel and leather seats, gearshift lever and parking brake cover.

Kizashi Sport armed with 2.4-liter engine, 4-cylinder inline, DOHC, coded J24B, which releases power 178 hp at 6000 rpm with torque of 230 Nm at 4000 rpm. This machine was first used by the Suzuki Grand Vitara in 2008.With the help of a CVT transmission, with gas consumption of 12.04 km / liter. While emissions of CO-2 Kizashi Sport claimed 191 g /km.

VOL.5 ISSUE 66 • JUNE 05, 20128 VANTAGE POINTS

Inspired enforcersEDITORIAL

EDGEDAVAOProviding solutions to a seamless global village.

ANTONIO M. AJEROEditor in Chief

OLIVIA D. VELASCOGeneral Manager

LORIE ANN A. CASCARO • JADE C. ZALDIVAR • MOSES C. BILLACURAStaff Writers

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

KARLOS C. MANLUPIG • JOSEPH LAWRENCE P. GARCIALEANDRO S. DAVAL JR.,

PhotographyARLENE D. PASAJE

Cartoons

KENNETH IRVING K. ONGCreative Solutions

NEILWIN L. BRAVOSports and Motoring

Printed by Zion Accuprint Publishing Inc. Door 14 ALCREJ Building,

Quirino Avenue, 8000, Davao City, PhilippinesTel: (082) 301-6235

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CARLO P. MALLOFeatures and Lifestyle

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Advertising SpecialistsAGUSTIN V. MIAGAN JR

Circulation

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EDGEDAVAO

Fear of the unknown

“DO YOUR job. I would rather see a dead criminal than a dead policeman. Do not

hesitate to shoot them down if they try to escape. I will back you up.”

The statement comes from Vice May-or Rodrigo R. Duterte, whose style of leadership in the fight against crime and criminals, especially of the heinous type, has raised quizzical eyebrows in certain quarters.

The occasion was the seminar held to launch the deputation of 130 police officers of Davao City into the local unit of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Administration (PDEA).

To be sure, the deputation raises the expectation of the citizenry on the abil-ity of lawmen to check the prolifera-tion of illegal drugs in the city. It simply means more warm bodies, brains and resources focused on the problem.

The heightened campaign is well-timed in that it comes during the open-ing of classes, a period when drug push-

ers ply their nefarious trade in school campuses, especially among students from the more affluent families.

The campaign’s chances of success are enhanced with the all-out support of the vice mayor whose desideratum is to preside over a city that is drug and crime-free, even going to the extent of warning criminals to stay out of Davao—OR ELSE!

The emphasis on the drug menace is well-placed simply because a big chunk of criminal acts are drug-relat-ed.

Duterte’s unequivocal support of law enforcers has been a source of in-spiration in their ranks which has in turn translated into heightened alert on their part in the continuing fight against all sorts of criminality. Peace-loving Dabawenyos appreciate the fact that the city’s leadership is con-cerned about their collective security and doing what needs to be done to achieve that goal.

ARE GENET-I C A L L Y -A L T E R E D

STAPLES SAFE TO EAT? – Are we now ready to adopt the cultivation of genet-ically-modified (GM) crops, which has al-ready been expand-ed with more farm-ers in many coun-tries espousing new varieties of disease-resistance crops, according to reports from biotechnology experts? These experts cited that rapid expansion of farmlands devoted to GM crops confirms the acceptance of such crops in many regions of the world.

Biotechnology, the science of manipulat-ing genetic traits and substances, is the origin of it all and looks set to revolutionize medicine, agriculture and even the environment. But is it really wise to improve on nature? No wonder some governments are wary of foreign corpo-rations seeking to patent any genetic materials they find. The Philippines, for one, has voided five years ago all deals giving multinationals the right to isolate and patent genetic material from the country’s flora and fauna.

Right after that, no bio-prospecting can be done without a government permit and the consent of affected communities, particularly the tribal people in whose lands abound speci-mens for research. The government wanted to prevent bio-piracy. There are similar concerns in neighboring countries notably Indonesia be-cause despite tight and strict regulations, poor enforcement may allow firms to illegally export genetic materials.

However, foreign agro-biotech experts noted that in 2011 alone, a record 16.7 mil-lion farmers grew biotech crops – notably over 90 percent or 15 million, were small resource poor farmers in developing countries. Re-searchers likewise stressed that biotech crops are now planted in more than 148 million hect-ares of farms all over the world. Many of which are maintained by smallholder farmers and subsistence food producers.

Other nations have set aggressive goals to biotech, especially in agriculture, giving top priority because biotech is being embraced as a means to feed an exploding populous world. Altered crops for large-scale field tests include potato, tomato, rice, corn, wheat, peanut, sweet pepper and many more. Biotech engineers and researchers from well-developed countries aim to have several bio-engineered crops on the commercial market over the next year or so.

Potatoes free of blemishes, vegetables that can stand up better to shipping, disease-resistance rice and corn varieties and fish that grows 11 times faster than normal. These are some of the wonders food engineers are creat-ing in their laboratories. But not all consum-ers are eager to dig into this cornucopia. They query: are genetically-engineered food staple really safe to eat? Are they being foisted on unsuspecting customers without proper warn-ing?

While some well-developed countries have approved genetically-altered farm products for consumption, consumer groups on the other hand, say they are not sure about the ecologi-cal impact of these products, therefore people don’t need genetically-combined food and con-sumers should have a right to know and the right to choose to buy them or not. As might be expected, efforts are directed at increasing nutrition, like adding more protein or vitamins, and the pursuit can lead to unexpected twists.

Nonetheless, biotech also carries seeds of conflict. Many question the wisdom and the need to alter nature. For ordinary consumer, biotech makes its impact felt most directly in food – that’s where the strongest opposition is coming from. Meanwhile other food experts acknowledge that a series of studies show that genetically-engineered staples pose a number of problems and there are some causes for concern. For example, some years ago sci-entists in America ran into allergy problems when they tried to create a new protein by splicing a gene from a Brazil nut into a soy-bean plant.

But bio-food producers and the people who regulate them maintain that these are minor bump on the road to producing perfect food. What is really behind the resistance to biologically-altered food products is the fear of the unknown. The know-how holds both promise and peril: the potential of dramati-cally improved quality of life and the danger of tampering with Mother Nature. Biotechnolo-gy could change life and humanity as we know it – and the revolution is already happening in Asia. Are we going to follow the trend?

Many staples such as milk, baby food, wheat-based products, flour and food that contain soybeans have already been altered or contain altered ingredients. All this contrib-utes to a growing sense of wariness among Filipino consumers. Genetically-modified food is something definitely different from natural processes we’re used to and may seem hard to swallow now, and government must be keenly sensible of public anxieties.

VOL.5 ISSUE 66 • JUNE 05, 2012 9VANTAGE POINTS

Monkey Business

EDGEDAVAOChina not into

making enemies?

Replicating Davao’s success nationwide

BY GLORIA JANE BAYLONSPECIAL FEATURE

Corona’s out, Manny’s in (again)NORMAL-CY is re t u r n -

ing to the Phil-ippine media a week after Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona became the first to be oust-ed from office via the impeachment process.

With many aching to move on and consider Corona another footnote in Philippine politics, attention is again fo-cused and centered on Rep. Manny Pac-quiao who will defend his welterweight title around noontime Sunday in the Philippines.

Pacquiao took a backseat as Filipinos occupied themselves with the climactic ending of Corona’s dishonorable exit. They were also caught in the flush of Fil-Am Jessica Sanchez’ incredible run in American Idol. Both media events became global Twitter ‘trendings,’ two contrasting journeys that eclipsed Pac-quiao’s traditional dominance in the Philippine press in the weeks leading to his fight.

With both media events now in the

distant memories of Filipino boxing fans and with perennial nemesis Floyd May-weather Jr momentarily silenced in pris-on and unavailable for soundbytes and quotable quotes, Pacquiao once again become the center attention. Never mind Pacquiao’s new found religiosity and biblical proselytizing.

Those aside and until Pacquiao again fights later in the year and Mayweather serves his sentence, boxing promises to be bland again after the Filipino boxing champion takes care of American chal-lenger Timothy Bradley.

Pacquiao has been carrying the in-terest of boxing fans over the last four years ever since he crashed into Amer-ica’s mainstream sports consciousness when he took Oscar de la Hoya, pep-pered him from all angles, forced him into submission and subsequently sent him into retirement.

That fateful night in December 2008, he served the American media notice he was taking over the de la Hoya’s mantle as boxing’s biggest draw and most popular attraction. Except that Mayweather cannot stomach somebody else other than him being proclaimed as America’s best boxer.

Pacquiao’s last four fights however did not end up the way his fans were used at enjoying, especially the last two fights that were either frustrating (against Shane Mosely) or even too di-viding to comfort (against Juan Manuel Marquez in their third fight). Boxing fans were always looking for a savage stoppage wins that even with the griz-zly sight of Antonio Margarito’s face was not enough to satisfy their lusts for blood.

With plenty of things changing and happening around Pacquiao’s profes-sional camp and inside his personal life, many are looking forward to a new Fili-pino boxing icon yet a return to his old dominant and devastating ways.

This may tear Pacquiao in different ways as his religious beliefs and official day job are the anti-thesis of his chosen professional career.

Whatever, Pacquiao will again be out there over the weekend to entertain us. After all, boxing is a sport and sports are all about entertainment. That’s why there are people who are paid, hand-somely like Pacquiao, to make us forget all the troubles around us.

Welcome back Pacman.

IT’S NOT easy to see just how

successful the industry clus-tering project called Davao Industry Clus-ter Capacity Enhancement Project (DIC-CEP) was, unless you’re from the outside looking in.

That’s how high ranking officials of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) sized it up, along with top Japanese consultants two years ago when DICCEP passed their stringent re-view with flying colors.

This was significant because this Davao pilot project can’t be replicated nationwide unless the whole experi-ment here worked 100%. Well, it did worked beyond all expectations and impressed top government officials from the Regional Development Council (RDC) and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), that top of-ficials of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), JICA’s partner of the suc-cessful DICCEP couldn’t wait to replicate the “Davao experience” nationwide.

It’s a pity that the Philippines had been left behind by most developed countries which had been adopting the “industry clustering approach” all these years, as the most effective way of get-ting people together from various in-dustries to solve common problems af-fecting all of them. If you›re looking for a «secret formula» that has boosted the economies of big developing countries all these years--- this is it.

But for the DTI and JICA, it’s not too late yet. This country, which had been dragged down by too much politics, mis-trust and disunity for many years, can still be pulled together to solve most of our problems that kept our industries from growing as fast as it should be--- low production, low quality, high costs of inputs and materials, low prices, lack of financing, new markets, etc, etc…

Amidst smiles and handshakes, both DTI and JICA have just launched the National Industry Cluster Capacity En-hancement Project or NICCEP, a nation-wide replication of Davao’s successful DICCEP to all the regions in Northern Luzon, Southern Luzon, Metro Manila, Visayas and Mindanao.

The Davao industry clusters on the other hand, are now being upgraded to DICCEP 2, which is a continuation of what the clusters did two years ago. Eight (8) industry clusters here in Davao included: coconut industry, banana in-dustry, mango industry, tourism indus-try, ICT industry, mining industry, wood industry and seaweed industry.

“What we like to see is the replica-tion of Davao’s success to all the other regions in the Philippines,” says Tetsuo Inooka, consultant and team leader for JICA who set up the DICCEP with DTI. “We’re now introducing the industry cluster approach to the other regions in this country”.

To show how the industry clusters worked successfully in Davao, team leaders from this region were invited to present their projects to other regions during Pre-NICCEP Workshops held in their cities and provinces. Rene Dalayon, team leader of the banana industry clus-

ter made a presentation to Northern Lu-zon regions in Angeles City, Pampanga; Kit Holganza of the ICT industry cluster made her presentation to the Visayan re-gions in Cebu City; Araceli Ayuste of the tourism industry cluster made her pre-sentation to the Southern Luzon regions.

For all the provinces in Mindanao (except Davao), DTI regional director Marizon Loreto made her presenta-tion of the successful Davao industry approach to all the stakeholders in the southern island, that included everyone involved, including of course, the Au-tonomus Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Just last week, stakeholders and govt agencies from ARMM along with other regions in the island, sat together for the first JICA workshop at the Oases Ho-tel here, listening to the first lecture on the basic concept of industry clustering from Mr. Inooka himself.

Chosen as Mindanao industries for clustering by this big group were Rub-ber, Poultry, Tuna, Palm Oil and Coconut. From the vantage point of this writer who sat down with officials and stake-holders at the ARMM table, the prevail-ing mood was excitement and eagerness of everyone to replicate the Davao suc-cess in their own regions.

“I want this clustering approach to succeed also in our place in north Upi. It can help create more jobs and help our town’s economy, “ says Mayor Ramon Piang Sr who represented local govern-ment unit (LGU) in the Rubber Industry Cluster he’s joining as an active member.

(Comments? Email: tradingpost_davao@yahoo.com)

CHINA does “not believe in making enemies, alliances or targeting third parties,” even as it noted that what

it calls Huangyan Island is not even in the latest official map of the Philippines.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying also said that China would continue bilat-eral consultations with the Philippines on their conflicting territorial claims over the sandbars of Scarborough.

This was her assertion on Friday in a piece she wrote for “The Straits Times” of Singapore, where defense official and key leaders, opinion makers and scholars of the Asia-Pacific are having a dialogue on security.

Madame Fu, a former ambassador to the Philippines, further said that in refer-ence to the disputed shoal, “the 21st cen-tury should not be a time to proclaim new territory.”

China’s claims of the whole of the South China Sea is based on what it calls historical sovereignty, buttressed by an-cient maps and documents.

In mid-May, Philippine Foreign Secre-tary Albert del Rosario said that a US ex-pert had shown him a 1900’s-vintage map of the Philippines that included the Span-ish-named Bajo de Masinloc, or Scarbor-ough shoal, as part of Philippine territory ceded to the US by Spain under the Treaty of Paris of 1898.

A 2006 Philippine map prepared by the National Mapping and Resource Infor-mation Authority (NAMRIA) puts Scarbor-ough Shoal outside the Philippines’ west-ern boundaries and this year authorities started publicly Filipinizing the name to “Panatag,” to mean “steady” or “calm.”

”Huangyan Island has always belonged to China. It is not even included in the Phil-ippine territory on the latest official map published by the Philippines. The 21st century should not be a time to proclaim new territory,” she wrote.

”If such new acts of territorial en-croachment were condoned, the result would be chaotic. However, China still expects to solve disputes with the Philip-pines through consultation and is making endeavours to this end,” she wrote further.

In the same article, she thumbed down ideas of linking territorial issues with freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, stressing that ”no interest would be served” by such proposition.

”Territorial issues could only be solved by relevant countries through active pur-suit of dialogue and continuous enhance-ment of mutual trust,” she noted. She ruled out any meddling by third-party, out-of-the-neighborhood non-littoral States and pointed out that rival claims in the sea lane are an Asian problem that Asians them-selves can deal with competently.

Pointing out that the security of South China Sea is a key transport route for China. Madame Fu said it follows that “safeguarding the freedom and security of the sea lanes is a priority and common responsibility for China and other littoral states.”

Other claimants are Vietnam, Malay-sia and Brunei, all member-States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Following up on her theme of Asia for the Asians, the Vice Minister said “China sees ASEAN countries as its strate-gic partners, bound together not just by geography but also by cultural affinity and a common aspiration for Asian renewal.”

”We must join hands in working to-wards security for all through coopera-tion. We owe it to our children,” she rallied.

Cooperative security is being borne out in China-ASEAN relations, she said, “based on the understanding that secu-rity should be inclusive and mutual” and that “big countries should not bully small countries, nor should small countries pro-voke.”

She asked that ASEAN remain in the driver’s seat, even as China itself pushes on with its international obligations, in-cluding its signing up the Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.

For its part, the Philippines said it is seeking support from ASEAN on its claim as part of the political track of its resolu-tion of the Scarborough dispute. [PNA]

VOL.5 ISSUE 66 • JUNE 05, 201210 COMMUNITY SENSE EDGEDAVAO

AS water is a valu-able but scarce resource in many

areas in Mindanao, selda managers here in Brgy. Malabang, Hagonoy, Davao del Sur keep clean water flowing.

Eugenia Torrecampo, 75, sees to it that her selda or cluster of eight members observe the policies they have agreed in the proper use of the newly installed potable water system (PWS).

“We have to ensure that everyone observes the policy to protect this water facility since this is the project that solved our long clamor for clean and safe water,” Torre-campo said in her dialect.

In the recent past, there were only at least six deep wells serving the community of at least 217 households or close to 1000 residents. Although, incidences of water-borne disease were few, the lack of adequate water supply has negative impact on the community life.

“People have to make a line on very long queue of pails and water contain-ers as early as 4:00 in the morning to gather their daily ration of water for bathing and other house-hold use,” said Vicente Cavan, Jr. , chairman of Malabang Water System Association (MAWASA )of Hagonoy Inc.

Often, the long queue

resulted to altercations especially among chil-dren who usually are tasked to fetch water three times per day.

One of the 21 baran-gays of Hagonoy town, Brgy Malabang, locat-ed 10 kilometers from town proper and 24 kilometers from Digos City the provincial capi-tal, is listed among the most depressed areas of the town. If not farm-ers, most of the residents were construction work-ers who have to be early at work.

It was only very re-cently when a sugar plan-tation was established in the barangay after the bridge, farm-to-market road and electrification were installed. This pro-vided livelihood oppor-tunities to the residents.

“Water facility is the third priority of the ba-rangay’s five-year devel-opment plan. We were fortunate enough that years ago our first two projects, bridge and elec-trification were respond-ed to by other national agencies and the local government,” said Cavan.

“With high hopes we sent proposal to the local government to assist us in the project, as if lady-luck was on our side, our proposal was forwarded and eventually approved by the Department of

Agriculture(DA) – Mind-anao Rural Development Program (MRDP).

The partnership of MRDP and the LGU put up P1.4 million to com-plete the project. The PWS is categorized as level-2 water system. It has an elevated re-inforced concrete tank that has a dimension of 3x3x.4.3 meters. Water is drawn from a 180-meter deep well and diverted to a concrete tank by means of a 3 horsepower sub-mersible pump powered by a 25-Watt transformer through a 100-mm PVC discharge pipe. Water is distributed to the 28 tap stands and faucets.

Each tap stands is shared by 6 to 8 members as one cluster or selda.

“Now, there is ad-equate, accessible clean water we can use. Just one twist of the faucet and water is there,” Tor-recampo said.

To sustain the opera-tion of the project, the MAWASA was formed as the governing body of the water facility.

“We charge every household member a monthly pay of P75.00. The amount collected is used to pay for electric-ity consumption of the pump, maintenance of the system pipes, faucets and other maintenance works and materials,” Ca-van explained.

Selda LeadersSince the MAWASA

board members cannot at all times oversee the use of the 28 faucets, sel-da leaders were chosen to ensure proper use of the faucet.

The selda leader is se-lected among the mem-bers of the clustered us-ers. He or she ensures that the water facility is properly used and that water wastage is avoided.

“As selda leader, I also act as the treasure for the group but we don’t receive any honorarium. I collect payments from my selda members and pays the amount to the MAWASA board,” Torre-campo said, adding:

“We also help educate the barangay folk about the policies agreed and other important informa-tion related to the use of the water facility.”

One ‘water mechan-ic’ or water tender with monthly honorarium of P500.00 controls the main valve. He closes the facility at 10:00 PM and opens it at 4:00 in the morning. Along with the other members of the board, the water tender, regularly checks and monitors on the whole system .

“The water facility near my house is such a great help especially for an old woman like me,” Torrecampo said.

‘Selda’ managers keep water flowingBy Sherwin B. Manual/DAMRDP

SELDA MANAGER Eugenia Torrecampo shows the one of the faucets of the newly installed Potable Water System (PWS) in their barangay, a joint project of the local government of Hagonoy and the Department of Agriculture’s Mindanao Rural Devel-

opment Program (DA-MRDP). As selda manager she ensures proper use of the water facility.  (Inset) The water tank of the level-2 PWS with a maximum capacity of 38.70 cubic meters. (PHOTO BY SHERWIN B. MANUAL)

Recently, a dental mission was conducted at the St. Jude Elementary School in Brgy. Buhangin, Davao City. The dental mission was done by Dr. Magdalena Dicang, Dr. Jojo Salvaleon and Dr. Salve Estipona, and through the support of Davao City 2nd District Representative Mylene Garcia-Albano.

Dental Mission

VOL.5 ISSUE 66 • JUNE 05, 2012 11COMMUNITY SENSEEDGEDAVAO

     

   

 

 

For  Inquiries:  Please  Call   :   PRYCE  CORPORATION  c/o  SONNY  MOLE  Contact  No.   :   0922-­‐879-­‐0036  /  (082)  224-­‐2686  Email  ADD   :   sonitomole1223@yahoo.com  

LOCATION   AREA  (sq.m.)   PRICE/sq.m.  Matina,  

Davao  City  17,940   P2,500  

Matina(Diversion)  Davao  City  

3,831   P1,500  

Bunawan,    Davao  City  

41,408   P800  

Indangan,  Davao  City  

7,056   P1,200  

Bincungan,    Tagum  City  

27,411   P1,000  

LOCATION   AREA  (sq.m.)   PRICE/sq.m.  Villa  Josefina  Resort  Village,  Dumoy  Toril,  Davao  City  

Minimum  of  240  sq.m.  

P5,985  

St.  Joseph  Homes,  Sirawan,  Toril,Davao  City    

Minimum  of  150  sq.m.  

P3,600  

LOCATION   Lot  Area   Flr.  Area   PRICE  Blk.  4,  Lot  10    

Villa  Josefina  Resort  Village  Dumoy,  Toril,  Davao  City  

240  sq.m.   177.31  sq.m   P4.8  M  

IT’S back-to-school time again! And as the new school year begins,

there’s a lot to think about, organize and so much to buy for your kids.

With all of these on your mind, you might lose track of saving energy. Hence, Davao Light and Power Company, put together some tips that will help you and your family stay green throughout the school year.

Save on transporta-tion

Probably the biggest help you can make for the environment is to get your kids out of the car and ei-ther walk, ride a bicycle or take a public transport to

school. If public transport or cycling aren›t practical, you can send your child to school through the school›s carpool.

Low-waste lunches Avoid using plastic wrap-pers, bottles and packets in your child’s lunch boxes. Cutting lunchtime waste teaches your kids good green habits. You may also reuse leftovers from the night before as a tasty lunch that makes a change from sandwiches.

Stationery recycling New stationery is a back

to school tradition, but it can mean a lot of waste. Try to buy recycled - pens, rul-ers, folders and more. And

don›t forget to choose recy-cled paper. Or you may also reuse the items you have from the last school year.

Switch off after home-work

By secondary school, many kids are doing home-work on a computer. Make sure they switch the com-puter and the monitor off standby when they’ve fin-ished.

It is important that par-ents make energy saving a priority in the family not only during the school year but also for the entire year. This is a good way to start teaching our kids the little ways in helping save our en-vironment.

Davao Light: Go green this school year

DONATION OF SCHOOL SITE. School Principal Melinda Roma (3rd from left) formally accepts a donation from Atty. Leoncio Villa-Abrille and his siblings, co-owners of Bucana Estate, of a school site housing the Cesareo Villa-Abrille Elementary School in Barangay 76-A, Davao City. Witnessing the turnover (from right) are Nanette Macapundag, president of the Federation of Bucana

Homeowners Association; Jima Gelmon, Ph.D., DepEd Supervisor, Davao Central District; Sotero Bracero, PTA President; and Weslie Capute, President, Bucana Rotary Community Corps. Not shown is Federation Secretary Fely Pedrosa, who facilitated the legal documentation. (PHOTO BY ORLY ONDUS)

VOL.5 ISSUE 66 • JUNE 05, 201212 NATION/WORLD EDGEDAVAO

NATION BRIEFS WORLD TODAYHope

PRESIDENTIAL Com-munications Operations Office Secretary Her-

minio “Sonny” Coloma said that Malacañang hopes to ac-celerate the judicial process now that Chief Justice Renato Corona has been impeached.

“If we recall our history, we resorted to people power in the past because elections do not bring about change. But in 2010, we’re able to bring about change to an elec-tion. Then, after that, we’re able to establish and prove that we can also hold our public officials accountable through the impeachment process,” said Coloma.

Highest

THE unexpected 6.4 percent increase in the Philippines’ Gross Do-

mestic Product (GDP) in the first quarter of the year was the highest growth rate in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), ac-cording to President Benigno Aquino III.

Aquino’s announcement was substantiated by the re-ports from National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) which showed that the coun-try’s first quarter GDP growth rate was higher than Indone-sia’s 6.3 percent; Vietnam’s 4 percent; Singapore’s 1.6 percent; and Thailand’s 0.3 percent.

Cyclone

A second potential cy-clone to enter the Phil-ippine territory has

been spotted in Mindanao, the weather bureau said on Monday. This, after typhoon ‘Ambo’ has started to move away from the country even as it has intensified into a ty-phoon.

Ben Oriz, weather fore-caster, said the active low pressure area (ALPA) was spotted at 870 kilometers east of Southern Mindanao (6.0°N, 134.0°E). He said the ALPA might turn into a full-fledged cyclone within two to three days, to be named “Butsoy.”

Smooth

DESPITE a lack of class-rooms and teachers in public schools nation-

wide, the opening of classes on Monday was relatively smooth compared to previ-ous years, Department of Education Secretary Armin Luistro said.

Luistro cited the depart-ment’s long preparations that resulted in a smooth and or-ganized school opening this year. “Hindi natin matatapos ang lahat ng problema pero we look for ways so we could respond to it,” he said.

On track

THE government is on track to meeting its rev-enue and deficit targets

for the year, as more resourc-es are collected to support a growing economy and con-tain the budget deficit, official data show.

Data from the Depart-ment of Finance show that revenues accounted for 14.9 percent of economic output in the first three months of 2012, an increase from last year’s 14.4 percent, which also happened to be the target for this year.

Killed

AT least 23 Paki-stani wedding guests, including

six children, were killed when a bus plunged into a ravine near the capital Islamabad, according to police.

Sixty people were in-jured when the driver lost control of the vehicle late Sunday at a sharp bend near Narr village, around 25 kilometres (17 miles) east of Islam-abad.

Crash

A plane carrying 153 people plunged into a residential

area of Nigeria’s largest city, with all those aboard presumed dead, an infer-no igniting at the scene and buildings badly dam-aged.

A number of people on the ground were also believed killed, an emer-gency official said, as around 10 burnt bodies had been removed from a building damaged in the crash.

Captured

ONE of the top lead-ers of Los Rastro-jos, a powerful

drug cartel operating near the border between Venezuela and Colombia, has been captured by Venezuelan authorities, the government said.

Diego Perez Enao, also known as Diego Rastrojo, was seized Sunday in the town of Rojas de Barinas following a weeks-long intelligence operation, Venezuelan Interior and Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami said.

Strike

US missiles killed 15 militants in Paki-stan’s Taliban and

Al-Qaeda stronghold of North Waziristan on Monday, the third drone strike in three days and the deadliest this year, officials said.

The attack looked set to inflame tensions with Islamabad ahead of a visit by a US assistant defence secretary, Peter Lavoy, on a mission to persuade Pakistan to end a six-month blockade on NATO supplies cross-ing into Afghanistan.

Denied

PRESIDENT Bashar al-Assad dismissed allegations that his

government had a hand in the Houla massacre and accused foreign-backed forces of plotting to destroy Syria.

At least 39 people were reported killed across the country as troops clashed with reb-els, the Syrian Observa-tory for Human Rightsre-ported.

CHINESE authori-ties have rounded up hundreds of ac-

tivists in the capital Bei-jing, rights campaigners said on Monday, as they marked the 23rd anni-versary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown.

The detentions came as Washington urged Bei-jing to free all those still jailed over the demon-strations on June 4, 1989, when hundreds, if not thousands, of peaceful protesters were shot and killed by soldiers.

The anniversary of the brutal army action in the heart of Beijing is always hugely sensitive, but par-ticularly so this year ahead of a once-a-decade hando-ver of power marred by fierce in-fighting in the ruling Communist Party.

“They brought in a lot of buses and were round-ing up petitioners at the Beijing South rail station on Saturday night,” Zhou Jinxia, a petitioner from northeast China’s Liaon-ing province told AFP.

“There were between 600 to 1,000 petitioners from all over China. We were processed, we had to register and then they started sending people back to their home towns.”

Police made it clear

CRACKDOWN. Police question then detain a man (2nd L) in Tiananmen Square on the 23rd anniversary of China’s crackdown on democracy protests, in Beijing on June 4, 2012. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, are be-

lieved to have died when the government sent in tanks and soldiers to clear Tiananmen Square on the night of June 3-4, 1989, bringing a violent end to six weeks of pro-democracy protests.

China rounds up activists on Tiananmen anniversary

that the round up of pe-titioners -- people who gather at central govern-ment offices in Beijing to seek redress for rights violations in their locali-ties -- was to prevent them from protesting on June 4, she said.

China still considers the June 4 demonstrations a “counter-revolutionary rebellion” and has re-fused to acknowledge any wrongdoing or consider compensation for those killed, more than two de-

cades later.The government at-

tempts to block any pub-lic discussion or remem-brance of the events by hiding away key dissi-dents in the run-up to June 4 each year, taking them into custody or placing them under house arrest.

Any mention of the 1989 protests is banned in Chinese state media, and the subject is largely taboo in China. Searches on China’s popular social media sites for June 4, the

number 23 and the word “candle” were blocked on Monday.

Despite the heightened security, numerous pub-lic events have been held around the nation to com-memorate the “Tianan-men massacre” and de-mand democratic reforms.

More than 80 rights campaigners met in a Beijing square on Satur-day, carrying banners and shouting slogans calling for a reassessment of the 1989 protests.

POLICE in Ja-pan were on Mon-day quizzing a

woman over the 1995 nerve gas attack on To-kyo’s subway that killed 13 people, leaving only one cultist still wanted for one of the nation’s worst ever mass-murders.

Police said Naoko Ki-

kuchi was being held on suspicion of murder after being arrested late Sun-day in the city of Sagami-hara, west of Tokyo, with local media reporting that officers swooped after a tip off.

Kikuchi, 40, was one of only two remaining mem-bers of the Aum Supreme

Truth doomsday cult still at large, and was wanted for being part of the team responsible for producing the sarin nerve gas used in the subway attack.

“It is true that I was involved in producing sa-rin gas, but I did not know what we were making at that time,” she was quot-

SUSPECT. Naoko Kikuchi, an alleged former member of Japan’s Aum Supreme Truth, is driven from the headquarters of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police in Sagamihara city, suburban Tokyo, on June 3. Kikuchi was being held on suspicion of murder after being arrested late Sunday.

Japan arrests fugitive for Tokyo subway attack

ed as telling police.Kikuchi’s arrest leaves

only Katsuya Takahashi, 54, still on the wanted list.

In the 17 years since the deadly attack, which injured thousands and caused havoc through-out Tokyo, Kikuchi had lived under an assumed identity, telling neigh-bours she worked as an accountant for a nursing care company, reports said.

Kikuchi was quoted by Jiji news agency as telling police: “I have lived as Chizuko Sakurai, but I’m relieved that I don’t have to run away anymore.”

The agency said she also told police she no longer believes in the teachings of Aum guru Shoko Asahara, adding: “I will tell you everything. I am sorry for running away for a long time.”

Police said she had been living with a 41-year-old man, who was not an Aum member and who stayed with her even after she revealed her true identity.

VOL.5 ISSUE 66 • JUNE 05, 2012 13EDGEDAVAO

FFROM 1 FFROM 1

FFROM 3

FFROM 3

FFROM 3

People... City...

Downtown...

Buy...

Mining...

ress.Supera cited that

there are more students at the Magallanes Elem. School (MES) than at the Bolton Elementary School, which is adjacent to the MES, because of the former’s half day ses-sions.

100% readyLast Friday, Supera

said Kapitan Tomas is 100% prepared for school year 2012-2013, includ-ing its physical appear-

ance, acknowledging the parents’ full cooperation during the Brigada Es-kwela clean-up opera-tion.

The Grade 1 teachers are also prepared to im-plement the enhanced K to 12 basic education program after undergo-ing a series of trainings and meetings.

She noted that in-structional materials, books and lesson guides had already been dis-

tributed.With a monthly bud-

get of about P156,000 for maintenance and other operating expens-es, the school has 16 sections for Grade 1 and 2, and 15 sections for Grade 3 to 6.

She said multi-grade teaching is not being practiced in the school as it is only ap-plicable to classes with fewer students in mostly far-flung areas.

said.He added that Canon

educates its clientele by telling them: ‘Buy red, not gray”.

A 45.7 US billion dollar global company, Canon is among the top 25 companies according to the Brand Corporate

Reputation index with strong reputation on performance and good corporate citizenship.

Its products have been distinguished in the Philippines as num-ber one camera and vid-eo brand and number on inkjet printer.

Further, with Canon GreenNation environ-mental campaign and annual Canon Photoma-rathon event, the com-pany was recognized by the Public Relations So-ciety of the Philippines by giving an Award of Merit. [LORIE A. CASCARO]

panies have built roads, schools, health facilities, jobs, and their share of the revenue from mining firms, according to Alcan-tara who is also an entre-preneur.

For his part, Nelson Quiwa, a mining explora-tion geologist and mining engineer in one of the biggest gold mines in Re-gion XI, says “mining as an industry has shaped man’s life in so many ways. Metals since the Bronze Age have been man’s favored material

with which to make tools, implements, jewelry. It had been a part of his life and an important one. Metals have evolved too in quality and abundance and in its various uses.”

He added that when one rides a bike, “there’s iron and aluminum in it. Even when one brushes one’s teeth, limestone and fluorite are contained in toothpaste. There is gold and about 34 other met-als involved when one types on the computer. And in building one’s

dream house, one uses, in varying degrees, cement, gypsum, and iron.”

Quiwa also said that what’s taken for granted is when one cooks a meal, during which there’s iron, aluminum, nickel and steel in the pots and pans to cook with. The engines of our transportation are all made out of mined metals, he said, and “even in the cosmetics used by our women, all these con-tain traces of mica, talc, iron oxide, zinc and tita-nium dioxide.” [AL DACUMOS]

worth P12 million to allegedly pay some foreign consultants of the DCWD, but Braganza said, there was no technical as-sistance provided hence DCWD refused to pay for the loan.

Noting that the amount has reached P42 million due to com-pounded interest, he said, “We told LWUA: Sue us, so we can an-swer you in court. But, they did not file any case against us.”

Today, the DCWD has an existing balance of P30 million borrowed from banks, but no pending obligations to LWUA.

“LWUA could not provide us money, and it was only recently that we were given authority to get local funding as long as we are capable of paying for our debts.”

“But, it was already too late for infrastructure development,” he lamented,

“We have good credit cred-ibility,” Braganza said, adding that in fact, a lot of banks are willing to finance DCWD’s pro-posed surface water develop-ment.

He also mentioned the need for the local administration to control the thrust of develop-ment in the city.

“Our thrust always jives with the city government’s, and we see to it that any proposal for changes, including water rates, is tempered by the local admin-istration,” he said.

Braganza is one with the DCWD labor union’s opposi-tion against the privatization of

DCWD, saying that he want to protect the water rate in the city as it is the lowest in the country today.

An average consumption of 30 cubic meters of water costs only P389 in Davao City, while it is more than P800 in Manila, or a difference of about P500, he added.

Meanwhile, an environment group and the water district em-ployees union jointly oppose the privatization of water resources and utilities nationwide.

It was triggered by the pro-posed creation of a Water and Sanitation Regulatory Authority (WSRA) in Senator Edgardo An-gara’s Senate Bill No. 2997, and the Water Supply and Sanitation Companies (WSSC) in House Bill NO. 5497 of Representatives Ro-meo Quinto and Karlo Nograles.

Guesting yesterday at the Kapehan sa Dabaw, SM City Davao, Rudy Aranjuez, chairman of Nagkahiusang Mamumuo sa DCWD (NAMADACWAD), said the eventual privatization of all water districts in the country will turn water into a profit-driven commodity rather than a basic social service.

Also a guest, Danny Dayang-hirang, member of the steering committee of Mindanawons against Privatization of Water and Energy Resources (M-POWER), said water is a natural resource given by God that has become a business.

“What happened to the principles of public service?”

he asked, adding that like fuel and energy, water is one of the most profiteering businesses as there is no need for advertis-ing because it is people’s basic need.

He cited some efforts of M-POWER in its campaign against privatization of water districts, including asking the city coun-cil and other local government units to pass resolutions oppos-ing privatization.

Labor unions of other water districts are also being encouraged by the NAMADAC-WAD to join the campaign as al-magamation of water districts will result in retrenchment of workers.

“We are more pessimistic of the fact that about 20,000 water district workers nation-wide will be retrenched from work once the amalgamation is implemented. More so that we cannot expect these national and multinational companies to generate regular and stable jobs as they are the primary promoters of contractualiza-tion in the world,” Aranjuez said.

It is alleged that private-public partnership in the wa-ter sector has been opposed in other countries because it had resulted in private corporate control of water which resulted to high water rates.

It is feared that private op-erators will be asking return of investment to the detriment of people’s right to access water.

extracted from its funds P145,806,740.01 for debt servicing.

In 2011, the city paid a total of 461,252,589.87, which means the city paid on average P153.7 million per trimester to the LBP.

The mayor said last May 28 that she wants the city to become debt-free.

“Gusto unta nako nga walay utang ang city. Ang Zambales wala na daw utang,” she said.

The list of loans from LBP contains 19 projects of the city. three of which were fully paid, namely, the controversial Artica Astro-dome built during the time of then mayor Benjamin de Guzman, while the other two projects are labeled “Infra equipment” and “Crematorium project.”

Taking up most part of the P2.3 billion outstand-ing balance is the Traffic Signalization 3 project at P524,608,691.26.

The project involved installation of CCTV cam-eras and procurement of

state-of-the-art monitor-ing system now housed at the Davao City Public Safe-ty and Command Center which began operating in 2010.

Second biggest share is a listed item categorized as Various Infra Projects with an outstanding balance of P523,373,401.43.

BreakdownListed by type of loan

(TL), the following proj-ects have the following outstanding balances as of April of this year:

TL1 Road Rehab/Con-creting has an outstanding balance of P58,469,295.06; TL2 Urban Drainage with P155,164,161.28; TL3 Ur-ban Shelter project with P34,233,262.90; TL4-A Traffic Signalization 1 with P30,541,898.59; while TL4-B Solid Waste Management System has P15,000,000.00.

TL5 Infra. Equipment, paid of its last balance for Jan-Mar 2012 debt servic-ing, has zero outstanding balance.

TL6 PTA Green Park has remaining balance of P33,361,210.43; TL7 Sanitary Landfill with P149,643,474.22; TL8-A Road Rehab/Concret-ing with P15,935,403.11; while TL8-B Traffic sig-nalization 2 is left with P68,883,187.11.

TL9 Mobile Garbage Bins with P27,001,818.60; while Loan against IRA Receivable showed an outstanding balance of P81,499,751.00; TL10 Traffic Signalization 3 with P524,608,691.26.

TL11 Environmental Management Project has P207,566,232.03; TL12 Shelter Program with P31,264,543.35; TL13 Crematorium Project has zero balance; TL14 Road Maintenance Project has P366,625,607.37; while TL15 Various Infra. Proj-ects has P523,373,401.43.

These total to P2,323,171,937.74 out-standing loan balance of the city government.

VOL.5 ISSUE 66 • JUNE 05, 201214 SPORTS EDGEDAVAO

By Eddie G. Alinea

LOS ANGELES, Califor-nia (PNA) -– Bring him on!

These were the words uttered by Manny Pacquiao after his four-round skir-mish against Russian wel-terweight prospect Ruslan Provodnikov last Saturday at the Wild Card Gym here.

“Bring him (Bradley)

on,” Pacquiao told this writ-er when asked about the status of his training two days before he and his Team Pacquiao motor to Las Ve-gas where he will defend his World Boxing Organization welterweight belt on June 9 at the MGM Grand Arena against undefeated Timothy Bradley.

“I’m ready. Anytime this week or next week, puede

nang gawin ang laban,” Pac-quiao, echoing chief trainer Freddie Roach’s statement two days ago. “We have had a very good training camp here and I thank my coach-ing staff and my team, from Freddie (chief trainer Fred-die Roach) to the utility men from doing a great job.”

“To tell you honestly, I haven’t felt this good in the past several camps we had

before,” he added. “Napaka-ganda ng pakiramdam ko at sa tingin ko kaya kong la-banan kahit sino.”

“I would also like to thank my wife Jinkee, for bringing all our children (Jimwell, Michael, Princess and Queenie) here in L.A., not only to watch my train-ing, but likewise, to watch the fight itself,” he said.

“First time na makikita

personally ng mga anak ko ang paglaban ko at ito’y magsisilbing additional motivation para sa akin na hindi lamang manalo kundi manalo ng kumbinsido,” he stressed.

“Also thanks to those who, in one way or the other, extended their support and offered their prayers para sa kaligtasan ko laban sa anumang masamang mang-yayari sa ensayo at sa laban mismo,” Pacquiao said.

“I would like to reiterate my assurance to them that I will give Tim Bradley a good fight and the fans an exciting performance they had never

seen in several of my previ-ous fights,” he remarked.

“Alam naman ninyo na hindi ako nagbibigay ng prediksyon sa mga laban ko. Ang maipangangako ko lang ay ang mabigyan ang mga fans the enjoyment they de-serve,” he added.

Against Provodnikov, who has been his regular sparring partner since the start of the camp in Baguio City, Pacquiao showed the stuff he is expected to dish out against Bradley and his capability to receive what his world junior-welter-weight champion’s chal-lenger could give. (PNA)

‘I’m ready -- Pacquiao

FILIPINO-German mid-fielder Stephan Schrock of the Philippine national

men’s football team will miss their upcoming friendly against Indonesia on Tuesday due to family matters.

The 25-year-old member of the Azkals had to go back to Germany to attend to an “urgent family emergency,” according to a statement by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF) re-leased Sunday night.

“Though playing for our country is a great honor for Stephan, family always comes first and PFF is exhausting all efforts to make sure that he gets back to his loved ones as quickly and as safely as possible,” the statement said.

The Azkals’ upcoming

friendly against Indonesia at the Rizal Football Stadium will also be dedicated to Schrock, accord-ing to the statement.

Schrock has been an inte-gral part of the national side. He first saw action in the World Cup qualifiers in June 2011, and is best remembered for scoring the lone Philippine goal in its loss against powerhouse Kuwait, who ended the country’s hopes in the event.

In their friendly against Malaysia last Friday, Schrock almost nailed a goal in the first half, which could have changed the atmosphere of the match that ended in a scoreless draw.

Last March, Shrock signed a three-year deal with Bundesliga first division squad TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.

Schrock to miss Indonesia match

THE Association for the Advancement of Ka-ratedo (AAK) Davao is

now preparing to see action in two separate events set in July in Manila after suc-cessfully winning the overall championship title held in this city last week.

AAK Davao head in-structor Rommel Tan said they will be joining the SM Super Karate Kids for ages 11 years and below on July 8 at the SM Mega Mall and will also compete in the SM Su-per Karate Kids for 12 years and above on July 22 at the SM City Bicutan.

“My students are ready for that after performing well here last week. But we will still continue to train hard,” Tan said.

AAK Davao won a total of 11 gold medals, 10 silvers and 14 bronzes to emerge as the overall champion in the AAK Davao Karate Cup held at the SM City Davao last March 27.

La Salle Greenhills fin-ished second overall with a 9-8-9 gold-silver-bronze medal haul, followed by At-eneo de Manila (2 gold med-als), Shorei Kon (1 gold-4 silver-19 bronze), Shuto Kai

(1-3-7), De La Salle Zobel (1-1-1), Mega Mall (1-1-0), St. Paul College (1-0-1), Jose Rizal University (0-1-0). Tristan Matthew Sy and Car-mela Estarija were both cho-sen as the most outstanding players from the AAK Davao.

Sy captured the gold medal in the boys’ 6 to 7 years old kumite by beat-ing Shuto Kai’s Kastar Blake Dupa in the finals. He also pocketed the bronze medal in the boys’ 6-7 kata event ruled the Fil-Japanese Naoki Alforte of La Salle, who re-cently saw action from the Japan Adidas Cup. (PNA)

READY. Manny Pacquiao trains with the mitts during a recent media workout with trainer Freddie Roach.

Davao AAK karatekas to compete in Manila

PANABO CITY, DAVAO DEL NORTE – ANFLOCOR Group

of Companies Big Boss To-nyboyFloirendo with 2nd District Rep. Anton F. Lag-dameo, Jr. & Provincial Li-gangmga Barangay Presi-dent Vincent R. Floirendo are one in expressing their solid support for Fil-ipino Boxing Pride Manny Pacquiao. This comes in the heels of Pacquiao’s

upcoming mega fight with Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley on June 10, 2012 in Las Vegas Nevada, USA.

As a manifestation of their support, the trio shall be sponsor-ing fourteen (14) Free live via satellite showing venues in all the locali-ties of Davao del Norte Province. All these ven-ues shall be installed with cinema – style wide

screens for the viewing pleasure of their con-stituents. The free shows shall be held at Brgy. Ma-gugpo South Gym, Tagum City; Sagayen National HS Gym, Asuncion; Sto.Niño Elementary School Gym, Talaingod; Brgy. Limbaan Gym, New Corella; Brgy.Florida Gym, Kapalong; and Brgy.San Miguel Gym in the Municipality of San Isidro.

Floirendo, Lagdameo sponsor free Pacquiao viewing in Norte

Winning members of the AAK Team Davao during the recent AAK Davao Karate Cup at SM City Davao with coach Rommel Tan.

Davao del Norte Barangay Una Boxing Team members pose inside the Ninoy Aquino Stadium, Manila as they prepare for their bouts in the on-going Philippine Na-tional Games held from May 26-June 3, 2012. (from left

to right) Resty Apas, Marvin Masong, Trainor/Coach Jo-nas Jerusalem and Coach Rico Laput, Joey Canoy, Quirino Mellejor, Wilander Hersalia, Jolan Bonghanoy (front) and Jay-ar Inson (back). (GR TECSON)

ASK any adventure seeker where they want to have their next adventure and oftentimes they would name a far away place in Africa or some place in the middle of South America. Fun-ny though that such an adventure is actu-ally a mere one hour drive away in Tagum City at the Hijo Estate Resort. I actually got to experi-ence a literal jungle gym workout at the resort’s lush secondary resort’s tropi-cal forest complete with its own resident wild monkey troupes and wild boars (who are not shy in show-ing their faces whom only their mothers can love.) Of course trekking through the dense jungle is interesting in itself, thanks to the resort’s own jungle canopy walk. Suspended 20

to 30 feet in the air, explor-ers can walk through the dense underbrush while getting a spectacular view of the the jungle and the jungle floor. After walking through the jungle, we were given a river cruise which high-lights Hijo Estate Resort’s wonderful mangrove for-est which had trees that have been there for over 60 years. Hijo Resources Cor-poration’s Rosanna Flores says that some of the man-grove trees are actually over 100 years, which makes

preserving the mangrove forest very important since it is where fish spawn and small fish take refuge. I admit that I am not a traveller who likes to “rough it up” too much, but these features of the Hijo Estate Resort offer a nice balance for travelers who like to commune with nature, or at least to get in touch a bit with their inner “Jungle Joe” at least just for a day or two.

VOL.5 ISSUE 66 • JUNE 05, 2012

EDGEDAVAOTRAVEL

Lost in Hijo’s green jungle

A lone fisherman at one of the mangrove forest’s bends.

The lush ang beautiful mangrove forest frames one of two of Hijo’s two rivers perfectly.

Mindanao’s Time’s Marilyn Roque as she boards our river cruise boat.

Goofing around at the canopy walk.

Meet the locals.

The suspended walkways are 20 to 30 feet off the ground.Trekking through the jungle has never been this exciting or fun.

INdulge!

RAISE your hats, gentlemen—June is Men’s Month in SM Accessories. What-ever the lifestyle you lead, look dashing in the top leather picks brought to you by the only fashion accessories author-ity. What’s more, SM Accessories con-tinues to prove that being a man of substance need not to be pricey. Carry all your essentials with an exclusive MSENSE messenger bag for only Php 100.00 when you purchase Php1,000.00 worth of items from the Men’s Accesso-ries Department—a special treat for all the charming chaps out there. Promo period is from June 1 to June 30, 2012. What are you waiting for? Head on to SM Department Store and visit the only

fashion accessories authority to get first dibs on must-have accessories for the modern man.

A2 INdulge! VOL.5 ISSUE 66 • JUNE 05, 2012EDGEDAVAOENTERTAINMENTSTYLE

Chic summer dressing from Dorothy Perkins

June is Men’s Month at SM Dept Store

THIS season, Dorothy Perkins bares reasons to not only be laid back and casual but to be more stylish and sophisticated as well by presenting ca-sual summer wear alongside peplum dresses, animal print shirts, crinkle tees, peg trousers, ponti jackets. All these and a lot more in subtle prints and exciting color blocks. Create clean and classy silhouettes by pairing a slim-fitting narrow cut pencil skirt in either cream or black with an animal print shirt for that casual, playful image. Comple-ment the ensemble with a black spot cardigan, a green bow ultra-feminine clutch. A block high wedge in stone color and a purple round glasses offer both a colorful contrast and an edgier vibe. A peplum dress flatters the figure. Add a waist cincher such as a suedette jeans belt in leopard print. Then slip into black sue-dette platform shoes and accessorize with side bar clutch in coral for that ulti-mate feminine look. Dorothy Perkins has ca-

sual but classy choices too. For instance, the versatile jeggings in raspberry may do the job of those skin-fit jeans giving off a more re-laxed, carefree allure. Pair it with a gold crinkle tee and a supple tux jacket (either in dark navy or in stone) and an orange pointed court shoes will clearly complement the color mood. Finish the number with a canvas shopper bag with black-and-white ze-bra stripes. Bandeau tops are beau-tiful when worn off the beach. Rock a navy foil striped piece with an uber cool wine paperbag peg leg pants (with a tan two-tassel skinny belt) and a versatile ponti jacket in navy/stone stripes. Fashion pieces such

as a green pointed court shoes, an ochre scarf (with muted dandelion prints) and a blonde round glasses put the essential chic finish. Palm tree prints in bikini tops certainly scream sum-mer. Supplement the smart-ness by taking a walk to your wild side with a comfy snake pleat waist peg trou-sers and lightweight leop-ard T-bar sandals. Reclaim your inner rebel with a black zebra print cardigan, a green snake skinny belt and an oversized panther scarf. Robinsons Specialty Stores, Inc. (RSSI) is the ex-clusive franchisee of Dorothy Perkins in the Philippines. Get the latest Spring-Summer Collection 2012 at Dorothy Perkins Abreeza Mall, Davao.

TALK about a royal good time. Prince William, Kate Middleton, and Prince Harry accompanied Queen Elizabeth II for an-other Diamond Jubilee celebratory event, float-ing down the Thames Riv-er through London Sun-day in a grand pageant fit for, well, a queen. As they made their way through the water on the Spirit of Chartwell royal barge, which was sprin-kled with 10,000 roses, carnations, sweet peas and red charm peonies, according to People, the royal family waved to the nearly million fans that lined the river route. But, they weren’t the only royals in tow. On a couple of the 1,000(!) other boats that accompanied the Chartwell, Princesses Bea-trice and Eugenie, Princess Anne and her husband Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, and some of the Queen’s cousins were also on hand—as were Kate’s parents, her sister Pippa and brother James. And the family made

sure to dress for the occa-sion. While Prince William sported his RAF Flight Lieutenant No. 1 Dress uniform and Prince Harry wore his No. 1 Ceremoni-al Dress of the Blues and Royals, Kate looked stun-

ning in a red Alexander McQueen dress and jack-et paired with a matching fascinator. The 86-year-old Queen also made a fashion state-ment, wearing a silver and white dress and matching hat.

JUST a day after Drew Barrymore and Will Kopelman tied the knot in an uber-secret cer-emony, we’re find-ing out more details about what went into the makings of the pregnant thesp’s big day—including the gorgeous gown she donned for the occasion. So, what did Barrymore wear as she walked down the aisle? While we don’t have pics of the wedding dress just yet, we do know the

37-year-old actress wore a custom long, white Chanel dress pleated in muslin and organza, cre-ated for her by Karl Lager-feld. The dress, which was accentuated at the waist by a black satin belt, also had flowers embroidered in organza, muslin, tulle and feathers along the skirt of the dress. Barrymore was also wearing Chanel fine jew-elry. Sources tell E! News that guests enjoyed a pre-ceremony cocktail party on the lawn of Drew’s

Montecito, Calif., estate before being ushered into the marquee tent for the emotional service, which lasted 45 minutes. The groom’s family rabbi, flown in from New York, did the honors. Children

of the couple’s friends served as flower girls and ring bearers. After the ceremony, Will and Drew took wedding pictures in the garden. For the reception, Drew chose an ‘80s tribute band

since she loves the era and thinks it’s the most fun. We’re sure the guests agreed. The bride and groom left the house at 2 a.m. in a classic Mercedes that was decorated with streamers

and roses tied to the back. No word yet on their hon-eymoon plans, but the newlyweds spent their wedding night at the nearby San Ysidro Ranch.Congratulations you two love birds! (E! Online)

INdulge! A3VOL.5 ISSUE 66 • JUNE 05, 2012 EDGEDAVAOENTERTAINMENT

What did they wear?Prince William, Kate, and Prince Harry grace the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebration

Drew Barrymore ties the knot!

By Kenneth Irving Ong, THE country’s digital imaging leader in the Philippine recently celebrated its 15th an-niversary with a series of mall events all over the country. The Min-danao leg was held at last May 25 at the Atrium of SM City Davao. From a subsidiary with less than a quarter of a bil-lion year-end revenue in 1996, Canon Marketing (Philippines) is now a multi-billion peso company. This is thanks to Canon Market-ing (Philippines)’s steady and consistent double-digit growth from 1997 until 2010 thanks to innovations and technologies in digital imaging. Today, in response to a widespread culture of wire-less connectivity, Canon has unveiled its series of cutting edge WiFi-enabled digital cameras and camcorders. Canon’s new and handy Digital IXUS 510 HS and the IXUS 240 HS cameras allows users to transfer im-ages and videos directly from the camera to any portable Android or iOS run device. Meanwhile, the Power-Shot range of cameras in-troduces seven new models

into its line-up: the travel friendly PowerShot SX260 HS and the Powershot SX240 HS ideal for taking long-range zoom shots of distant subjects; and the entry-level PowerShot A se-ries featuring 16.1 megapix-el imaging power in a super slim, compact body form. Photographers and trav-

elers will tell you how much they love their Canon cam-eras which have recently won awards from the latest run of the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA). Of course Canon is not just about cameras. Printing beautiful im-ages, are where Canon’s PIXMA new inkjet printers excel. From the all-in-one printers to the all-in-one printers with fax, Canon’s printers print beautiful, cost efficient images. Some models like the PIXMA MX 897, MX517 and MX437 models include WiFi con-nectivity, allowing users to print their photos and doc-uments directly from their smartphones and tablets wirelessly.The most exciting part of the launch was when Can-on unveiled the new Canon Cinema EOS, Canon’s digi-tal cinema quality cameras that opens new doors leav-ing no moments behind. Shooting with a Cinema EOS, you can realize HD imaging with exceptional picture sharpness and vir-tually no imaging artifacts. Production can be simpler and more intimate, thanks to exceptional image qual-ity with little available light, even when shooting at set-tings as high as ISO 20,000. This is sure to be every digital cinematographer’s dream machine. Visit your Canon dealer to discover more about Canon’s new products.

ENTERTAINMENTEVENTS

A4 INdulge! VOL.5 ISSUE 66 • JUNE 05, 2012EDGEDAVAO

With Lovie Lavarias of MDR Microware Sales and Ralph Manese of Metropreneur Corp.

The Canon Team with Eliezer Mangubat and Katherine Canonigo of Silicon Valley.

Antonni Cuesta Asst. Manager, Professional Imaging Business Dept. (Imaging Communications Products Division) introduces Canon’s new Cinema EOS.

Bong Serevo, Canon Philippines’ Vice President and Imaging Communications Products Division Head, and Per Andre Hoffman Hoffmann

Meeting the new PIXMA printer range.

Compact and stylish IXUS cameras on display.

The Canon marketing team and Canon Ambassador Per Andre Hoffmann

15 with a bangCanon celebrates wonderful years in the Philippines

VOL.5 ISSUE 66 • JUNE 05, 2012 15EDGEDAVAO SPORTS

!GROOOWL

DUBLIN, Ohio -- Tiger Woods was at his best Sunday at the Me-

morial. He hit nearly every shot just the way he wanted, worked the gallery into a frenzy with one last charge over the final hour and left everyone buzzing - especially Jack Nicklaus - with a shot they will talk about for years.

Better yet was the timing of his 73rd win.

Woods tied Nicklaus for career PGA Tour victo-ries at the tournament that Jack built. And the 14-time major champion suddenly looks equipped to resume his chase of another Nicklaus mark that is more significant - 18 major championships.

The U.S. Open starts in 11 days.

With a chip-in that even Woods called one of the toughest shots he ever made, he birdied three of his last four holes to close with a 5-under 67 and turn a two-shot deficit into a two-shot victory over Rory Sabba-tini and fast-closing Andres Romero.

Coming off a two-putt birdie on the 15th, Woods hit 8-iron over the green at the par-3 16th and into an impossible lie. It was buried in deep rough, the pin 50 feet away along a ridge. Woods hit a full flop shot, hopeful to give himself a reasonable putt for par. Far more likely was the ball going short and down a slope away from the pin, or coming out too strong and rolling into the water.

73 wins and counting, Tiger ties Jack with win at Memorial

WORLD No. 2 Maria Sharapova con-tinued her domi-

nant start to the French Open by hammering 28th seed Shuai Peng in the third round of the French Open on Sunday.

Sharapova won 6-1, 6-2 and has now dropped just five games in her first three matches of the tournament.

In the fourth round, she faces Czech player Klara Zakopalova, ranked 50th in the world, who pulled off a surprise straight-sets win over Russia’s Anastasia Pav-lyuchenkova, the 22nd seed.

Zakopalova won 6-3, 7-5 to eject 22nd seed Pavly-uchenkova and give herself the chance to even up her head-to-head record with Sharapova, which currently stands at 2-1 in the Russian’s favor.

Elsewhere, British No. 1

Andy Murray put his injury worries behind him to re-cord a straight-sets win over Santiago Giraldo.

The 50th-ranked Colom-bian capitulated 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 while Murray showed no sign of the back spasms that incapacitated him for part of his second-round win over Jarkko Nieminen.

The episode prompted former Wimbledon cham-pion Virginia Wade to brand him a “drama queen.”

Murray faces either Ger-man veteran Tommy Haas or French 17th seed Richard Gasquet in the last 16.

Sixth seed David Ferrer of Spain crushed Russian No. 1 Mikhail Youzhny 6-0, 6-2, 6-2 in a match where the Russian felt so bad about his standard of play that he scrawled “sorri” onto the surface of the court midway through the match.

Sharapova demolish foe

PARIS -- There was a moment, a little past 4 p.m. on a dank

and dreary Sunday at the French Open, when the gray sky above appeared to be falling on some of the best of the best.

A listless Novak Djokovic, looking very little like someone ranked No. 1 and bidding to be-

come the first man in 43 years to win four consecu-tive Grand Slam titles, was trying to work his way out of a two-set deficit against 22nd-seeded Andreas Seppi of Italy on Court Philippe Chatrier.

Even more astonish-ingly, a flummoxed Roger Federer, owner of a record 16 major championships,

was trudging to the side-line after dropping his first set against 109th-ranked David Goffin of Belgium, a 21-year-old kid thrilled merely to be sharing Court Suzanne Lenglen with his idol. Goffin, it must be not-ed, was a ‘’lucky loser’’ - a player beaten in qualifying who got to make his Grand Slam debut only because

someone else withdrew.By that point, one sig-

nificant upset already was complete Sunday: The No. 1-seeded woman, Austra-lian Open champion Victo-ria Azarenka, was headed home after losing to No. 15 Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 6-2, 7-6 (4), bust-ing a racket on the way out the door.

Djokovic, Federer win but Azarenka falls

BOSTON -- Rajon Rondo delivered the trash talk at halftime

and the big plays in over-time.

And after one final defensive stand, the Bos-ton Celtics were two wins away from an improbable chance to play for another championship.

Rondo had 15 points and 15 assists, and scored the final three points of the

Celtics’ 93-91 overtime vic-tory over the Heat on Sun-day night that evened the Eastern Conference finals at two games apiece.

Getting a huge break when LeBron James fouled out for the first time since moving to Miami, the Celt-ics recovered after blowing an 18-point lead in regula-tion and moved two games away from a third trip to the NBA finals in five years.

Boston levels with Miami

Tiger Woods celebrates after chipping in for birdie on the par 3 16th hole during the final round of the Memorial Tournament. Inset, with Jack Nicklaus whose record 73 Majors was tied by Woods with this recent win.

Maria Sharapova fixes her hair during her match against Shuai Peng in the French Open.

A young fan holds up a sign which reads “Who needs LeBron we have Rajon!” during the Boston Celtics - Miami Heat match in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2012 NBA Playoffs.

VOL.5 ISSUE 66 • JUNE 05, 2012SPORTS16 EDGEDAVAO

DIFFERENT STROKES. Boy Tan of Pomelo Verdes A and Joe Tesado of Eagle Master 2 in action during the recent Dynasty Cup 2012 at the Rancho Palos Verdes golf and country club. (BOY LIM)

LOS ANGELES, Cali-fornia-– The last time World Box-

ing Organization welter-weight belt-owner Manny Pacquiao won via a stop-page was in 2009 when he technically knocked out Miguel Cotto in the 12th or last round.

The next four outings against Joshua Clottey, Antonio Margarito, Shane Mosley and Juan Manuel

Marquez ended via deci-sions. Against Marquez in the last of their trilogy, it was an embarrassing ma-jority verdict.

Last Friday, Pacquiao vowed to fashion what could be his best per-formance in three years when he fights American Timothy Bradley a week from now in Las Vegas.

Stressing he knows boxing fans are some-

what disappointed with the results of his last four fights dating back to 2010 when he failed to stop all his opponents, Pacquiao said this time, it will be different.

“As I have been say-ing, I always fight for the fans. I fight to make them happy,” the 33-year-old boxing hero in his coun-try, said. “I know boxing fans, and that include our

kababayans all over the world, were not so happy with how I fought lately.”

“But now, I promise them that I will be giving them a fight they want to see,” he assured this writ-er following a brief three-hour workout Friday at the Wild Card Gym here with assistant trainer Buboy Fernandez taking over chief trainer Freddie Roach.

Pacquiao vows best performance