The Davao City Fire District has urged busi-nessmen to file complaint against their alleged in-spectors who will urge the business owners to buy fire extinguishers in exchange for approval of permits.

Davao City Fire District

marshal Fire Chief Inspec-tor Carlos T. Dueñas ad-mitted there are personnel from the said office who pose as inspectors and re-quire fire extinguishers from business establish-ments. The next ploy of the

P 15.00 • 20 PAGESwww.edgedavao.netVOL. 7 ISSUE 84• FRIDAY-SATURDAY, JULY 11-12, 2014

By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.abf@edgedavao.net

EDGE Serving a seamless society

DAVAO

Taxes still imposed on real...

INSIDE:23Number of

buildings surges16DON’T CRY, IT’S

ARGENTINA

FAKE FIRE INSPECTORSBFP warns of firemen peddling fire extinguishers

UNIVERSITY FAIR. Japanese Consul General Koichi Ibara (2nd from right), Malaysian Consul General Abdullah Zawawi Tahir (2nd from left), SM City Davao mall manager Lynette Lopez (leftmost) and assistant mall manager Nick Santos lead the cutting of ribbon to mark the opening of the three-day SM University Fair 2014 at the Annex of SM City Davao yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

HERE’S one warning to business estab-lishment owners: Beware of fake fire inspectors peddling fire extinguishers

to fast track approval of business permits.

FFAKE, 10

TAKE-OFF AREAS. The stilt village in Isla Verde and other shoreline communities in Davao City are among the areas that are closely monitored and patrolled by the authorities after reports that the coastlines can be used by terrorists as take-off points in advancing to the city. Lean Daval Jr.

VOL. 7 ISSUE 84• FRIDAY-SATURDAY, JULY 11-12, 2014

DAVAO City Rodrigo R. Duterte ordered Task Force Davao

to remove all vendors in its Lasang and Binugao detachments.

“I’m asking the ven-dors to go out forthwith immediately, ASAP para walang gulo,” Duterte told reporters late Wednes-day after a speaking en-gagement in the national convention of Philippine Association of Court As-sociation at the SMX Con-vention Center.

Duterte said vendors should be prohibited in these areas for security

reasons. “Ayaw ko na andyan

sila kasi baka madamay sila? Checkpoint yan mili-tary,” Duterte emphasized.

Duterte said the ven-dors only add up to the worries of the military.

“The problem is you congregate so many peo-ple there not passengers, pareha na didto sa labas ng (Sasa) Wharf dun ini-wan yung (bomba),” he said adding that the mili-tary could not inspect the vendors since they are not passengers.

Duterte made the or-

2

FREMOVE, 10

FONLY, 10 FRODY, 10

EDGEDAVAO

THE BIG NEWS

FOR EDUCATIONAL FUTURE. Fourth year high school students from various schools in Davao City attend the first day of the three-day SM University Fair 2014 at the Annex of SM City Davao yesterday which aims to help graduating students from secondary level to make better decisions about the best option for their educational fu-ture. This year’s event is participated by 13 colleges and universities from all-over the country. Lean Daval Jr.

THREE months after the April 4 fire incident, only 40 percent of the

more than1, 860 families dis-placed after the devastating fire incident in Isla Verde are resettled back to their former residential areas.

“Most of the affected res-idents are still temporary housed in evacuation centers at the gymnasiums at baran-gays Aquino, Duterte, 37-C, 5-A, and Mini Forrest. Some of them are renting their own place somewhere in the city,”

said city information officer Leomides Villareal.

In an interview last Mon-day, Villareal said that issues surrounding the reconstruc-tion of the area and the clash of beliefs among the affected residents have delayed the resettlement process.

Davao City Mayor Rodri-go R. Duterte has ordered that construction of roads should be done first before the resettlement can be made. Also, sanitation, drain-

THEY give land to the local government yet they are still being

asked to pay taxes on the do-nated properties.

This sentiment of real property donors was raised by city councilor Tomas Monteverde IV, chairperson of the city council commit-tee on rules, privileges, laws and ordinances during the regular “Pulong-pulong ni Pulong” press gathering last Tuesday.

The culprit? Ownership titles are still in the name of the property owners.

Monteverde said that Local Government Code of 1991, donations should be accepted by the chief execu-tive. Unfortunately, the local government has been re-mised in facilitating the own-ership tile.

“Some donors shared their complaints during com-mittee hearings,” he said.

The property owners

donated to the local govern-ment their lands utilized as roads, educational site and baranggay facilities.

With the failure to trans-fer the titles, the donors experienced difficulty in applying for the renewal of business permits as it would appear on record that they failed to pay the real proper-ty tax.

According to Mon-teverde, a baranggay in Ag-dao district built its barang-

gay hall and covered court on a donated real property but the city government is still collecting taxes from the property donor.

To address the problem, Monteverde has authored a draft resolution entitled the “Proposed Ordinance pre-scribing the rules and regula-tions on the donations made involving real properties in favor of the City Government of Davao by directing the

DAVAO City Mayor Ro-drigo R. Duterte asked the city council to call

a public hearing attended by representatives of the reli-gious and education sectors on the proposed amend-ments on anti-vice ordinance.

“Mag touch base muna sila sa pari pati yung esk-welahan… maybe to give the encouragement to have their IDs for all purposes,” Duterte told reporters late Wednes-day.

Duterte said the public hearing will help legislators in the ordinance’s proposed amendments specifically on the requirement of valid IDs to buyers of liquor and cigarettes suspected to be minors. Under the proposed amendments, establishments and vendors are not allowed to sell liquor and cigarettes to minors.

Duterte said that the mechanism of presenting any identification card in the pro-

posed amendment is really useful that could help to pre-vent the minors to purchase alcohol drinks and liquor.

“I will approve it as long as not mandatory,” Duterte stressed.

The mayor said that the city council should not make the provision mandatory be-cause it could run counter against constitutional provi-sions.

“Hindi mo mapilit ang tao na magkuha ng ID. Only those

who want it,” he said.Councilor Tomas J. Mon-

teverde IV, author of the ordi-nance, told Edge Davao in an interview that there was no significant resistance raised from the different sectors of the city.

“I am happy to say that there is no credible resis-tance ni ani,” Monteverde said.

Monteverde said vice Mayor Paolo Z. Duterte told

Rody urges Council to call public hearing on anti-vice amendments

By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.abf@edgedavao.net

Taxes still imposed on real properties donated to city

vsa@edgedavao.net

By VANNAH S. ANG

Only four of every 10 fire victims relocatedBy CHENEEN R. CAPON AND MARLA ARREZAADDU STUDENT TRAINEE

RODY TO TF DAVAO:

Remove all vendors

FTAXES, 10

VOL. 7 ISSUE 84• FRIDAY-SATURDAY, JULY 11-12, 2014 3NEWS

REHABILITATION. Workers from the General Services Office clean up Osmeña Park yesterday as part of the city gov-ernment of Davao’s effort to rehabilitate and beautify the area. Lean Daval Jr.

EQUANIMITY. Despite the scorching afternoon heat, this man patiently pedals his mountain bike along E. Quirino Avenue in Davao City just to bring his wife to school yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

SUPPORT groups for persons with disability (PWD) appealed to the

local government of Davao City and the Department of La-bor and Employment to check the compliance of public and private offices with the provi-sions of Republic Act 10524, an Act Expanding the Positions Reserved for Persons with Dis-ability.

The Project SELP (Support the Employment and Liveli-hood of Persons with Disabil-ity) of Bigay Buhay Multipur-pose Cooperative (BBMC) has found out that of more than 2,000 registered PWDs in Davao City, only 200 or 10 per-cent are employed both in the public and private sectors.

“Kokonti lang regular da-hil karamihan sa kanila ay job order o contractual kadalasan,” said project coordinator Ester Payumo.

Payumo said that there is a pool of talents from PWDs that is still untapped by private companies and government offices. She said that some PWDs can work in the ICT and service industry.

“We have PWDs who worked as an encoder. Kahit simpleng pagbukas ng pinto at pag greet sa tao kaya naman nila,” Febe Lybai Matthews, president of Davao Autism In-tervention Center Foundation

Inc., said.“Kung may naghihire man

dito sa Davao City na mga pri-vate companies, kokonti lang. Hindi 100 percent kasi kada-lasan hindi nila alam na may batas na dito o kaya hindi lang talaga nila pinapansin,” Payu-mo said.

In a phone call survey con-ducted by BBMC, it found out that of the 100 companies, 90 percent don’t or will not hire PWDs, 5 percent will consid-er hiring but on a contractual basis and remaining 5 percent will consider outsourcing but not on a regular basis.

Under RA 10524, it says that “at least one percent of all positions in all government agencies, offices or corpo-rations shall be reserved for PWDs.

It adds that private corpo-rations with more than 100 employees are encouraged to reserve at least one percent of all positions for PWDs.

Because of the high unem-ployment rate among PWDs, Payumo said most of them are in “extreme poverty.”

She said that there are many PWDs who live in far-flung areas of the city, unre-corded by both local and na-tional agencies.

“Pag humihingi kami ng data kung san-san lang kami

THE Ateneo Public Inter-est and Legal Advocacy of Ateneo de Davao Uni-

versity (APILA-ADDU) urged qualified human rights victims during the Martial Law in the region to get their claims on

August 4-6.Lawyer Romeo Cabarde ,

director of APILA told report-ers in yesterday’s “I Speak media forum” that claimants should go to ADDU legal aid office where the Justice Assis-

tance Center (JAC) housed to facilitate their claims and pre-pare their documents.

Cabarde said that the claimants should fill-out an ap-plication form and attach any proof or evidences to prove

that they were really a victim of Martial Law.

He said that the evidences that are going to attach in the form are a copy of warrant of arrest where they were arrest-

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Region 11 has in-

tensified its Consumer Action for Sustainable and Healthy Lifestyle (CASH-L) campaign to help address problems stemming from the worsening climate change, global food and oil crisis and sky-rocket-ing prices of consumer goods.

To re-promote CASH-L,

the DTI 11 held a consumer forum on “Strategizing Re-sponses to Global Challenges” last July 10 at the Lispher Inn.

The forum’s guest speak-ers taught consumers from all over the region the issues and importance of ensuring the sustainability of resourc-es with efficient food, energy, water, and waste (FEWW) management to aid the devel-

opment of the economy and environment.

They emphasized the “life cycle” perspective in consum-er decision-making and sup-ported the purchase of local, organic and ethical products.

According to Robert W. Barlis, chief of DTI 11 con-sumer welfare and trade reg-ulation office, said there is a

DAVAO City continues to experience rapid growth in property de-

velopment with the increase in the number of building permits issued to developers of residential, commercial, institutional and industrial in-frastructures on the first half of the year.

Records obtained from the Davao City Building Of-fice (CBO) showed that 4,041 building permits were issued from January to June this year which is higher as compared to 3,144 recorded during the same period last year.

The issued permits for the first two quarters of the year is already 57 percent of the 7,048

total building permits issued for the entire 2013.

Of the total, 266 of the ap-proved permits were issued for commercial infrastructures from January to April with a combined value of more than P1-billion.

Among the significant in-frastructure development in the city are the on-going con-struction of Therma South Inc. of the Aboitiz Power Company, Gaisano Mall in Tibungco and other residential develop-ments like high-rise condo-miniums and high-end subdi-visions.

“The number of issued building permits have been increasing in past years,” Engr.

Cirinia Grace L. Catubig, head of the CEO’s Processing and Evaluation Division said.

Catubig said the admin-istration of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte is attracting more investors who poured in huge amount in real estate de-velopment projects.

“More and more investors are coming in because they trust the [city] government. They cannot just put in billions of investment if they don’t trust enough the government,” Catubig added.

He added that the stability of peace and order give inves-tors the confidence to venture into the city.

More job opportunities sought for many PWDs

crc@edgedavao.net

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

Martial Law human rights victims urged to apply for reparation claims

By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.abf@edgedavao.net

DTI 11 pushes for sustainable,healthy lifestyle of consumers

vsa@edgedavao.net

By VANNAH S. ANG

Number of buildings surgescrc@edgedavao.net

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

FMORE, 10

FMARTIAL LAW, 10

FDTI, 10

FNUMBER, 10

VOL. 7 ISSUE 84• FRIDAY-SATURDAY, JULY 11-12, 20144GENERAL SANTOS CITY

EDGEDAVAO

SUBURBIA

TUNA industry players in General Santos City have

started preparations for the holding of the annual National Tuna Congress, considered as the biggest industry-related gather-ing in the country.

Joaquin Lu, president of the Socsksargen Feder-ation of Fishing and Allied Industries Inc. (SFFAII), said this year’s event par-ticularly aims to bring the Philippine tuna industry to greater heights.

Now on its 16th year, the annual tuna confer-ence seeks to improve the competitiveness and sus-tainability of the coun-try’s tuna industry.

Other topics lined up for discussion in the 16th National Tuna Congress with a bearing on the BIMP EAGA are the de-velopment in Indonesia’s tuna industry and the impact of ASEAN Integra-tion to Asian tuna trade.

Lu noted that interna-tional markets continue to influence each other and with the supply chain growing increasingly international in scope, there is a need for local players to align to the dif-ferent standards emerg-ing in the global tuna market.

“Today’s global [tuna industry] climate brings

both challenges and op-portunities, and in the face of both, we must continue and strength-ened our resolve for a more and competitive Philippine tuna industry,” he said.

This year’s annual tuna conference themed, “Shared Resources, Shared Responsibility,” will be held on Septem-ber 4-5 at SM General Santos Trade Hall.

It is traditionally held during September as part of the week-long celebration of the city’s Tuna Festival.

The conference will start with a caravan from the General Santos City Fishport Complex that will be followed by opening of a trade exhib-it from international and domestic enterprises involved in the tuna in-dustry, according to the event’s briefer.

Fourteen experts, in-cluding foreigner speak-ers, will discuss various topics involving the tuna industry, it added.

These topics include ASEAN Regional Ap-proach to Sustainable Growth, Tuna Fishery and Climate Change, Benefiting from Innova-tions in Sustainable and Equitable Tuna Manage-ment in the Coral Trian-

gle and Western Pacific, among others.

“The annual tuna conference will bring a forum of ideas and a net-work of thought leaders, experts, and peers eager to share the best practic-es, market updates, test-

ed solutions and proven results,” Lu said.

This city, considered the “Tuna Capital of the Philippines, has been hosting the annual tuna conference since 1998.

Six of the country’s tuna canneries are based in this city, providing

livelihood to tens of thousands of people in the locality and neigh-boring municipalities.

Last year, the city shipped to foreign coun-tries canned tuna worth US 3 million, data from the local office here of the Bureau of Customs.

The tuna industry in the EAGA or East ASE-AN Growth Area is a multi-million dollar in-dustry with the Philip-pines and Indonesia as key players. The EAGA also comprises Brunei Darussalam and Malay-sia.[PNA]

Tuna players gear for 16th national gab

KORONADAL CITYTAGUM CITY

SOUTH COTABATO

THE Koronadal City local govern-ment is targeting

to start before yearend the ground works for the construction and development of the city’s P230-million modern integrated transport terminal complex.

Marloun Gumbao, city treasurer’s office chief, said Wednesday they are currently processing the requirements for the ratification by the city

council of the local gov-ernment’s P150-million loan with the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) for the project.

After the ratifica-tion of the loan agree-ment, he said they will immediately schedule its formal signing with LBP officials.

“After the signing of the loan agreement, we will proceed with bidding and awarding of the proj-ect contract and the im-

plementation phase,” he said in a radio interview.

Gumbao said City Mayor Peter Miguel has been pushing for the early ratification and sign-ing of the loan con-tract to facilitate the immediate implementa-tion of the project.

He said the mayor is personally monitor-ing the progress of the processes involved in the release of the loan, especially the

compliance of the re-quirements for its ratifi-cation.

He said Miguel wants the processes fast tracked but at the same time fully compliant with gov-ernment policies and reg-ulations.

“So far, I think we’re still on track with our target in terms of starting its construc-tion phase before the end of the year,” Gumbao said. [MindaNews]

LGU to build P230M transport terminal

THE provincial govern-ment of South Cota-bato has allocated an

additional P57 million for the implementation of key infrastructure and oth-er related development projects within the second half of the year.

South Cotabato Gov. Daisy Avance-Fuent-es said Wednesday such allocation will cov-

er for the construc-tion and development requirements of 39 projects that were ear-lier set by the local government as among its pri-ority initiatives for this year.

She said her office re-cently issued the go-sig-nal to the Provincial Engineer’s Office to pro-ceed with the bidding of the contracts for the

identified projects.“These are projects that

we prioritized for fund-ing and implementation due to their potential so-cio-economic impacts,” the governor said in a statement.

Fuentes said the bulk of the allocation was set aside for three major road projects in the munici-palities of T’boli, Surallah and

Tampakan.She said they specif-

ically allotted P10 mil-lion for the concreting of the T’boli-Barangay La-conon road, P5 million for the concreting of the junction Surallah–Ba-rangay Lamian road and P5 million for the rehabilitation of the main road in Barangay Albagan in Tampakan. [MindaNews]

P57 M alloted for infra, dev’t projects

THE City Govern-ment of Tagum through the City

Nutrition Council (CNC) kicked-off its celebration of the 2014 Nutrition Month last July 8, 2014 through a nutri-walk par-ticipated by all the 91 day care centers in Tagum City, which aims to in-crease awareness among families and individuals on strategies to prevent malnutrition among youngsters.

The event, dubbed as “Piso Walk Campaign for Nutrition,” also aims to generate funds to sup-plement the feeding pro-grams in their respective day care centers. Pupils, their parents and the gen-eral public were encour-aged to contribute in the feeding programs.

Also highlighting the event was the annual Monitoring and Evalua-tion of Local Level Plan Implementation (MELL-PI) through the Region-al Nutrition Evaluation

Team (RNET), which con-sists of the evaluation of three selected barangays, which were validated on their performance and accomplishment on nu-trition programs.

These barangays are Canocotan, Bincun-gan and Magugpo North, whose accomplishments and performance will be the basis if the city will advance to the next level to clinch the Green Ban-ner Award, considered to be the highest award in nutrition.

Serving as Guest Speaker during the pro-gram was Dr. Maria Te-resa L. Ungson, Nutrition Regional Coordinator, who highlighted the im-portance of breastfeeding as a basic foundation in attaining proper nutri-tion for children.

This year’s celebra-tion banners the theme “Kalamidad Paghandaan: Gutom at Malnutrisyon Agapan!” [Gleiza Delga-do/CIO Tagum]

Nutri-walk highlights Nutrition Month start

VOL. 7 ISSUE 84• FRIDAY-SATURDAY, JULY 11-12, 2014 5EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 7 ISSUE 84• FRIDAY-SATURDAY, JULY 11-12, 20146 EDGEDAVAO

THE ECONOMY

2,061,135

Number of international visitors to the Philippines for the first 5 months of 2014. This figure posted a 2.47% growth compared to the same months in 2013, with registered arrivals of 2,011,520.

It figures

P2.36 billion

Amount spent by the Department of Public Works and Highways to complete the construction of 440.14 kilometers of farm-to-market roads across the country. With the completed projects, DPWH now has accomplished 85% of the needed road projects for the Agrarian Reform Infrastructure Support Project - Phase 3, which is expected to be completed within the year.

P1.73 billion

Amount the Department of Budget and Management released to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to implement water supply projects nationwide. According to Secretary of Budget and Management Florencio B. Abad, the Tourism Water Supply Infrastructure program—a convergence project between the DPWH and the Department of Tourism —was also designed to spur tourism and economic activity in identified priority development sites.

PHILIPPINE exports grew by 6.9 percent in May 2014 and

overall outlook for the rest of the year continues to be upbeat, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

The Philippine Statis-tics Authority (PSA), an attached agency of NEDA, reported today that total revenues from exports rose to US$5.5 billion during the period from US$5.1 billion or 4.1 percent in May 2013.

To date, total exports in-creased by 5.8 percent from US$23.0 billion in the same period last year to US$24.4 billion.

Stronger sales in min-erals, manufactures, to-tal agro-based, and forest products propelled the growth in merchandise ex-ports by 6.9 percent. Reve-nues from mineral products grew by 58.0 percent, from US$395.6 million in May 2013 to US$625.0 million in May 2014 mainly due to increased shipment to the People’s Republic of China (PR China), Japan, and Swit-zerland.

Similarly, overseas sales of manufactured goods ex-panded by 3.3 percent to US$4.2 billion in May 2014 from US$4.1 billion in May 2013.

“The positive outturn

in the manufactured seg-ment of the export industry during the period, a rever-sal from the 3.2 percent year-on-year contraction in May 2013, was broadly in line with a stronger glob-al manufacturing activity,” said Emmanuel F. Esguer-ra, NEDA Deputy Direc-tor-General and currently Officer in Charge.

Total agro-based ex-ports also picked up its pace in May 2014 as reve-nues increased to US$450.9 million during the period from US$380.8 million in May 2013. Major contribu-tors to this growth were co-conut products, fruits and vegetables, and other agro-based products.

Export revenues from coconut products posted a significant growth of 31.1 percent in May 2014 mainly due to higher internation-al prices. But the volume of shipments in coconut products fell due to the natural slowdown in copra production, as well as the long-term negative impact of Typhoon Yolanda in co-conut-producing areas and the effect of the coconut scale insect (CSI).

“On fruits and vege-tables, higher volumes of bananas were shipped to major markets such as Ja-pan, PR China, South Korea, Kuwait, and Iran. The reha-

bilitation of banana plan-tations damaged during Typhoon Pablo in Decem-ber 2012 also significantly improved supply condi-tions which supported the exports growth of the said commodity group,” he add-ed.

Forest products also posted a positive growth of 34.2 percent during the period.

“However, while over-all export outlook for the year is positive, sales in to-tal agro-based exports may decline due to the adverse impact of a possibly pro-longed dry spell in the com-ing months,” said Esguerra. Other contributory factors include negative outturns in shipments of coconut products.

Along this line, the NEDA official reiterated that to attain the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) Midterm Update FY 2014 target of US$69.0 billion, policies should remain sup-portive of higher exports growth.

“In the short-term, ef-forts must be intensified to help the areas vulnera-ble to the adverse impact of a prolonged dry spell. Measures to contain the spread of coconut scale insect (CSI) must also be stepped up. Moreover, the capacities of exporters to

improve product quality and packaging in line with internationally-accepted standards and practices must be enhanced,” said Esguerra.

“In the long term, to ensure the sustainability of manufacturing exports, the government needs to intensify the Industry Roadmapping Project. This includes the on-going Manufacturing Resurgence Program, complemented by continuing measures to improve the country’s business climate, as well as to increase overall pro-ductivity and innovative capacity,” he added.

Esguerra also reiter-ated the pressing need to address the overhanging issue concerning power.

Japan remains as the country’s top export mar-ket with a total value of US$1.12 billion, account-ing for 20.4 percent of our total revenues from mer-chandise exports during the period.

This is followed by the PR China with a 17.5 per-cent share and the USA with 13.7 percent.

DDG Esguerra is the OIC of the NEDA Secretar-iat while Economic Plan-ning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan is on official business abroad from July 7 to 13, 2014.

PHL exports grow by 6.9 percent

DO you know “ Boy Bawang”?

If you don’t, “Boy Bawang” is the crispy and crunchy gar-lic-flavored cornick made from corn grit that is a fa-vorite junk food of young and adults in the Philip-pines.

Imported from the Philippines by Sun-nation PTY LTD at Or-ange Groove, Liverpool, New South Wales, “Boy Bawang” cornick can be bought in Australia from any of the many Asian stores located in Black-town which is the biggest concentration of Filipinos in Australia.

At Tongli Supermar-ket inside Westpoint Mall in Blacktown, one can buy not only “Boy Bawang”’but a host of other manufactured Fil-ipino foods and condi-ments like Rufina Patis, Mang Tomas sauce, fish paste (bagoong), sar-dines, Dole and Del Monte pineapples, nata de coco, “pandesal”’ bangus belly from Sarangani and many others.

Also in that super-market are packed “gabi”, malungay and ampalaya leaves.

All these passed the stringent standard of the Australian government as to quality, tastes, salt and sugar contents and others.

Dole and Del Monte pineapples as well as Sky-flakes and Fita biscuits, all from the Philippines, are a by-word in every super-market all over Australia.

At the back of West-point Mall are Filipino take out food shops called in the Philippines as “tu-ro-turo” that serve vari-ous Filipino delicacies like “dinuguan”, “apritada”, “adobo” “kalderita” and snack food like “bibingka” “ which is sold at five AU dollars each, and “ fresh lumpia” at two AU dollars each. (An Australian dol-lar is equivalent to P41).

These shops are be-ing mobbed by Filipinos longing for home as their biggest come on is the show in Filipino overseas channel of GMA and times of ABS-CBN. [PNA]

Philippine food, goods now in Aussie market

VISTA Land & Lifes-capes Inc., the coun-try’s largest home-

builder, is unfazed by pros-pects of rising interest rates.

Vista Land Chairman Manny B. Villar said in an interview that “in general, a minimal increase in in-terest rates in response to the higher inflation will not affect the private sector.” Vista Land, in particular, he said, “will not be affected by an increase in interest rates because we cater to the end-user market. It is the speculative market that is sensitive to interest rates.”

The former senator, who pioneered the house-and-lot package scheme, now an industry standard, also pointed out that “we are used to high rates. We have been in the housing business for a long time and

we continued to grow even when interest rates were at double digits.”

Villar said the compa-ny’s advantage is that most of its buyers are end-users, referring to families who buy homes for their own use. “Our buyers are peo-ple who want their own homes,” he said. “They are not the ones who are buying real estate with the intent of leasing them our or selling these for a profit later.”

An increase in interest rates will reduce the yields on speculative investments, especially when demand for leased units slackens, he noted. While speculators may shy away from the real estate market when inter-est rates are higher, he said end-users will continue to look for a house to buy be-cause this is an emotional

as well as a physical need. About 60% of Vista Land’s buyers consist of overseas Filipinos for whom buying a house is among their top priorities.

Should interest rates go up, he pointed out, the increase is not expected to be substantial and rates will still be very low. “It won’t be much, maybe half or a fourth of 1 percent. Even then, the deposit rates will still be low so people will still invest in property.”

Vista Land remains one of the most profitable real estate companies in the Philippines, with reve-nues and profits growing in double digits. For the first quarter of 2014, net income increased by 11 percent to P1.5 billion compared with P1.3 billion for the same pe-riod last year.Consolidated

revenues reached P5.4 bil-lion, reflecting a 12-percent growth from P4.9 billion a year ago.

Villar noted that res-ervation sales during the first quarter hit almost P13 billion, “which confirms our reading that demand for housing all around the country continues to be very strong.”

For his part, Vista Land President and CEO Manu-el Paolo A. Villar said the company launched 13 sub-division developments with a total value of P8 billion during the first quarter, of which 12 were low-cost housing projects. These subdivisions would rise in Agusan del Norte, Bacolod City, Bataan, Batangas, Bu-lacan, Cebu, General Santos City, Palawan and Tarlac. [PNA]

Villar’s Vista Land unfazed by prospects of interest rate hike

DEBT watcher Moody’s Investors Service on Thursday said the

new stress test require-ments for Philippine banks is credit positive for the in-dustry.

Under the stress test requirement, which the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) policy-making Mone-tary Board (MB) approved on May 22, 2014 and will take effect in the second half of July, banks are required to write-off 25 percent of their real estate exposure.

They also need to have a minimum capital threshold of a six percent common eq-uity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio and a 10 percent total capital ra-tio after taking into account the effect of stressed losses on the financial institution’s

capital.Banks that fail to meet

the requirements will be given 30 days to explain why it failed to meet the new reg-ulations.

”These new require-ments are credit positive for Philippine banks because they will impose higher min-imum capital requirements on banks that lend more heavily to the real estate sec-tor, and will serve as a pro-active measure to regulate banks’ lending to the sector,” Moody’s said in a statement.

The credit rating agency noted that real estate loans in the Philippines has been posting strong growth in the last five years because of the continued robust expansion of the domestic economy. [PNA]

Moody’s: Real estate stress test for PHL banks is credit positive

VOL. 7 ISSUE 84• FRIDAY-SATURDAY, JULY 11-12, 2014 7EDGEDAVAO

ENVIRONMENT

GOVERNMENT ex-pects the country to still experience

tropical cyclones (TCs) and flooding during 2014’s second half despite the possible onset of the drought-driving El Nino phenomenon this year.

“We expect an average of 13 to 16 TCs to develop or enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) from July to December,” Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astro-nomical Services Adminis-tration (PAGASA) weather specialist Anthony Lucero said Wednesday during a briefing in Metro Manila.

Data he presented during the briefing show that two or three TCs are

expected to occur in July, three or four TCs in August, another three or four TCs in September, two or three TCs in October, two or three more TCs in November and one or two TCs in Decem-ber.

This month, TC ‘Flo-rita’ (international name ‘Neoguri’) entered PAR but veered northwards to-wards Japan, sparing the Philippines.

PAGASA noted climate model output suggests TCs that’ll develop or enter PAR in July may tend to move more along the Philippines’ coast.

The agency’s 10 a.m. July 8, 2014 final adviso-ry on ‘Florita’ located this typhoon 610 kilometers

northeast of Basco, Batanes in the Philippines or or 180 km southwest of Okinawa, Japan.

‘Florita’ packed maxi-mum sustained winds of 185 kilometers per hour near its center and gusti-ness of up to 220 kph, PA-GASA also said in the advi-sory.

Lucero noted that TCs are among the weather systems that might affect the Philippines from July to December 2014.

Low-pressure areas (LPAs), the southwest monsoon or ‘habagat,’ in-ter-tropical convergence zone, occasional thunder-storms, tail end of a cold front and the northeast monsoon are other weath-

er systems that can affect the country as well during the same period, he noted.

PAGASA expects down-pour-causing LPAs or TCs to enhance rainfall during the July-August-September period.

People must guard against flooding, particu-larly during such period, warned PAGASA.

“Occurrence of flooding is highly possible in low-ly-ing areas,” it said.

According to PAGASA, near- to above-normal rainfall can be expected in most parts of the Philip-pines this month.

The country will likely experience generally nor-mal rainfall in August and September, the agency con-

tinued.PAGASA projects gen-

erally below-normal rain-fall in most parts of the country by October and November, however.

Even drier conditions with generally below- to way below-normal rainfall are expected in December, PAGASA added.

The October-Novem-ber-December season is when climate experts ex-pect the chance for El Ni-no’s development to reach around 80 percent.

Majority of climate models indicate a lower 65 percent chance for El Nino to develop during the Ju-ly-August-September peri-od, noted PAGASA.

Citing latest available

climate models, Lucero said most of these “favor El Nino to develop in the next several months.”

“There’s no El Nino yet, however,” he reiterated.

Last month, PAGASA declared the onset of the 2014 Philippine rainy sea-son.

Generally near- to above-normal rainfall oc-curred in June over north-ern and western portions of Luzon as well as most parts of Central and East-ern Visayas, including Cen-tral Mindanao, PAGASA re-ported during the briefing.

The rest of the country experienced that month way below- to below-nor-mal rainfall, added PAGA-SA. [PNA]

PHL typhoon season on despite looming El Nino

SEVERAL foreign ex-perts urged increas-ing action for ad-

dressing climate change to help better protect the environment and people, particularly the marginal-ized, from its ills.

Such ills include on-slaught of weather ex-tremes as well as sea level and temperature rise, all of which fuel repercussions that threaten life on Earth.

“Climate change will have a big impact,” In-ter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group II Techni-cal Support Unit science co-director Dr. Katharine Mach said this week in Metro Manila during a briefing on the matter.

She noted the impact will be greater on im-

poverished areas where vulnerability to climate change is higher.

UNISDR defines vul-nerability as “the charac-teristics and circumstanc-es of a community, system or asset that make it sus-ceptible to the damaging effects of a hazard.”

Hazard is “a dangerous phenomenon, substance, human activity or condi-tion that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, property dam-age, loss of livelihoods and services, social and eco-nomic disruption, or envi-ronmental damage,” notes UNISDR.

The briefing was among outreach activities of IPCC to increase aware-ness about its work and output including the forth-

coming Fifth Assessment Report (AR5).

IPCC partnered with the Philippines’ Climate Change Commission for the outreach’s Metro Ma-nila leg.

Reporting on key phys-ical science findings of AR5, IPCC said warming of the climate system “is un-equivocal.”

“Human influence on the climate system is clear,” IPCC also notes in its physical science summary report for AR5.

The summary report says increasing green-house gas (GHG)concen-tration in the atmosphere and observed warming are among manifestations of such influence.

GHG emissions trap heat in the atmosphere

and this raises global tem-perature so climate change results, noted experts.

IPCC Working Group II co-chairperson and Stan-ford University professor Dr. Christopher Field cau-tioned about the chang-ing climate’s influence on formation of tropical cy-clones.

“Change in the climate strengthens some factors that build up tropical cy-clones,” he said at the brief-ing.

He cited need to invest in adaptation measures so countries can cope with repercussions of the changing climate.

Measures to reduce GHG emissions are also necessary for climate change mitigation, indi-cates the IPCC summary

report.“Continued emissions

of GHGs will cause further warming and changes in all components of the cli-mate system,” the report says.

The report notes lim-iting climate change will require “substantial and sustained reductions of GHG emissions.”

Southeast Asia is among regions which ex-perts expect to bear the brunt of climate change and the problem won’t involve just onslaught of weather extremes.

“Sea level rise will be an issue for Southeast Asia and so will ocean acidifica-tion,” IPCC Working Group I Vice-Chairperson and Victoria University profes-sor Dr. David Wratt said at

the briefing.According to the IPCC

summary report, rate of sea level rise since the mid-19th century “has been larger than the mean rate during the previous two millenia.”

Over the 1901-2010 period, global mean sea level rose by 0.19 m., the report notes.

“Global mean sea level will continue to rise during the 21st century,” reads the report.

The report also notes climate change will affect the carbon cycle in a way that’ll exacerbate increase of carbon dioxide in the at-mosphere.

“Further uptake of car-bon by the ocean will in-crease ocean acidification,” the report warns. [PNA]

Experts raise urgency for broader action to address climate change

ROUGH SEAS. High waves caused by strong winds pounded the seawall of a port as Typhoon Yolanda hit the city of Legaspi, Albay. [Photo by AFP/Charism Sayat]

VOL. 7 ISSUE 84• FRIDAY-SATURDAY, JULY 11-12, 20148 EDGEDAVAO

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EDITORIAL

A 59-year-old Redemptorist priest got into trou-ble days ago for a surprisingly irrational behav-ior he demonstrated during an otherwise usual

duty he used to perform –baptizing a baby.Instead of administering baptism, Fr. Romeo Obach

scolded on record the 17-year-old mother of the baby, not knowing that he was being filmed while doing it.

In video which went viral in Facebook, Obach said in Cebuano, “You come here to have your child baptized without a husband. You slept with a man who is not your husband. Are you not ashamed. Do you hear me, girl? This child has no sin. But any woman or man who sleep together even if they are not married dwells in sin.”

“You are stupid. I hope someone would help so your child won’t be like you who doesn’t follow the teach-ings of Jesus.”

The priest reportedly turned to the girl’s relatives and friends and asked. “Is she being a a good Chris-tian… will you spread your legs for a man you barely know?”

The video was taken by the girl’s younger sister and uploaded by their grandmother to a Facebook account.

As a result, Obach was suspended from saying mass and other sacraments. He has already apologized for his amazing conduct and has been reportedly forgiv-en by the girl and her family.

Obach used to be a good-mannered and bright priest, according to a Dabawenyo who was a former colleague of his in Cebu.

What could have driven him to subject the young unwed mother to such a cruel tongue-lashing, we don’t know. Maybe he has a niece or nieces in the same predicament. Maybe he has many relatives who are irresponsible parents. Maybe he is fed up with be-ing asked to extend assistance to poor relatives who have keep on making babies despite their poverty.

Maybe he is just fed up with his difficult life as a priest about to turn senior citizen. We don’t know. But what he did was a big mistake and he’ll regret it all his life. He needs our sympathy, not condemna-tion.

VOL. 7 ISSUE 84• FRIDAY-SATURDAY, JULY 11-12, 2014

AQUILES Z. ZONIOCorrespondent

VANTAGE POINTS 9EDGEDAVAO

BY MANNY VALDEHUESA

COMMENTARY

Destabilizing plot

Nation of gasoline stations

‘Promdi’ has gone into disuse but the behavior persists

(Conclusion)

AND that’s because this public do-main is not well-managed, not well-designed, and not built or

maintained according to standards. In other words, the public domain is nota-ble only in that it presents a stark con-trast to the smaller private subdivision within it.

Unlike the private domain, the pub-lic domain is not clean, not neat, and lacks amenities like clean toilets, a fit-ness or exercise area for youth or se-niors, function rooms for exhibits, or educational activities, and such.

It is a disturbing contrast. It shows how inept or incompetent barangay public officials are, revealing them to be promdis at heart or mind, ill-suited for urban public administration, with neg-ligent habits and very low standards of propriety or esthetics.

*****In general, not only in prom-

di-governed communities, evidence of neglect, abuse, or mismanagement, abound throughout the jurisdiction.

And, more disturbing, rare is the ba-rangay whose people raise their voice or call their officials’ attention to things amiss.

It may be a street without a sign bearing its name, an abandoned vehicle rusting away on the side, uncollected garbage, illegal sidewalk occupation, unsanitary surroundings—all making the community unsightly.

The barangueño’s interest is fo-cused mainly on his own home or compound, as if saying: To hell with the public domain beyond! There is no sign of interest in improving the condi-tion of the entire jurisdiction. No sign that it is a community; nothing that indicates neighborliness, or solicitude about communal welfare or the com-mon good.

Overall, the landscape of our com-munities, the basic units of our repub-lic, reveal us as a society without sense of community, lacking in social con-sciousness, deficient in esthetic stan-dards, and uncaring about quality of life except our own. Too bad…

*****How do you view your barangay,

your community of residence? Are you concerned about its condition? Do you care what happens in it or what peo-ple do to it? Do you take pains to invest time or effort, no matter how little, to secure its wellbeing and protect the community’s welfare?

It’s important to address these questions. The answers go to the grain of our sense of nationhood and the de-gree to which we would take pains to secure its dignity or uphold its integri-ty—by taking care of it as an earnest of our love and loyalty to it.

Or are we content with being cap-tives of promdi habits and values?

[Manny is former UNESCO regional director for Asia-Pacific; secretary-gen-eral, South East Asian Publishers Asso-ciation; director, development academy of Philippines; member, Permanent Mis-sion to the United Nations; vice chair, Local Government Academy; member, Cory Government’s Peace Panel, and PPI-UNICEF awardee for outstanding columnist. valdehuesa@gmail.com]

GASOLINE stations are sprout-ing everywhere like mush-rooms after a heavy down-

pour the night before, to borrow a tired idiomatic expression. Along our highways and even along inner downtown streets we see them be-ing constructed. It’s as if the only most feasible business these days is retailing of fossil fuel-- diesel, gasoline, aviation gas and their ilk.

Our medium scale businessmen and capitalists think so easily of investing in gas stations business due to the ever burgeoning number of vehicles crowding streets. The business looks simple and return of investment (ROI) seems quick. Of course, gas station operators are often cursed for the never-ending upward price adjustments. But the operators don’t mind. What is im-portant is that their cash registers would continue ringing.

There are a lot more of oil sup-pliers now in the country than it was in the 70s. Add to that the oil smugglers that use cargo ships and unload the smuggled oil to de-

pots in the seashores. There was that outcry about oil smuggl ing before, and our Con-gress now is silent about it so with our law en-forcement and customs authori-ties.

I can still remember that in the 70s when there was oil shortage, my sleepy town saw vehicles in long queues to three gasoline sta-tions- Petron, Shell and Caltex. Peo-ple were queueing, too, with their softdrink bottles and plastic con-tainers to buy kerosene. The Petro-max lamp was still the order of the night in the absence of electrifi-cation. DANECO (Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative, which is now crippled by a factional strife and in danger of being disconnected from its main power suppliers) was un-

heard of then. Anyway, Nabunturan, then still

a sleepy town, whose people used slippers in walking, also stood still due to the oil crisis. As kerosene supply dwindled and being ra-tioned at a high price, many house-holds had no lamps, slowing down the movement of the townsfolk who had a hard time finding their way in the dark. Nabunturan resi-dents were asleep as early as 8 p.m. Life in the boondocks is only made more laidback and sluggish by fuel crisis.

The presence of many gasoline stations now seems to indicate how far our places and people have gone in progress and development. Subsequently, under a regime of mass transportation, gas stations stand for how far society’s devel-opment has given a quid pro quo effect to our ambient air now.

When we smell of petrol in the air in our next stop to gas up at a gasoline station, that’s just a fine smell of the pollutant that increas-ingly smudge our fresh air.

SHORT PARTISAN SPURT – We have often been fragmented into factions – political or oth-

erwise, each chasing after its vest-ed-interest without regard for the common good. This is probably the reason why we are confronted with life-and-death threats – a magnitude of complex problems, arrogance and neglect that have allowed political grievances to remain unsettled and truly lack a sense of unity. If we do not pull this off posthaste, we risk turning the Philippines into a coun-try torn apart by endemic political conflict.

PATTERN OF DISTRUST - On many occasions notably during his out-of-town sorties to look into on-going government projects and in-teract with local officials, President Aquino gave an inside glimpse of the country’s present socio-economic and political situation.

He proudly informed the differ-ent crowds that the Aquino adminis-tration continues to score high in the economic front and likewise empha-sized it has moved aggressively to address a range of neglected issues that have long been the subject of concern: rising crime, widespread corruption, rampant smuggling, bu-reaucratic red tape, joblessness and poor delivery of basic social services.

President Aquino repeated this repertoire and during his contact with the local communities he has always backed up his speeches with rants against corruption with a swath of prosecution of middle-level government officials and business-

men, but a handful of high-profile s u s p e c te d grafters. He seems will-ing to show a little more of the iron fist than usual, un-derscoring with sternness that there will be no compromise – or exceptions in his drive to minimize if not totally eradi-cate corruption.

In responding to harsh critics who accused him of being indeci-sive and coddling nefarious “polit-ical pets,” he says with conviction that the concerns raised by his pow-er-obsessed detractors is a ques-tion of perception. Also, in what appeared to be a direct slap on the face of the opposition and militant groups, the President maintained that his adversaries have nothing else to offer except to find fault. They have no tangible ideas that can be translated into some realis-tic programs and just want to offer promises to their supporters and followers.

But amid the brighter socio-eco-nomic outlook and peaceful envi-ronment envisioned by the Aquino administration, opposition leaders and activist groups accused Aqui-no of struggling to keep up with the prevailing crisis specifically the disgraceful PDAF and DAP fund scandals. This fits into a pattern of

hate and distrust the political de-tractors now feel besides bearing a simmering resentment about the President’s much-vaunted “Daang Matuwid” (Straight Path) policy.

They blame the Aquino leader-ship for the problems that contin-ued to plague the country and mak-ing it a crucial political issue against President Aquino and the dominant Liberal party (LP) during the 2016 presidential elections. Will those criticism and tirades ever stop? The opposition forces, which are also badly disintegrated, are turn-ing more attention to destabilizing campaign. They have already spent time and money on smear drive.

It’s a common knowledge that af-ter just a few months of his incum-bency, Aquino’s detractors already embarked in negative pronounce-ments with a spot calling the Pres-ident: “wrong on socio-economic policies, wrong on taxes, wrong on defense” and every wrong thing they could ever imagine.

To weaken the Liberal Party and its prospective candidates, the op-position has to destroy first its titu-lar head – President Aquino. But for the incumbent President, this is no big deal, being simply a part of the country’s traditional murky politi-cal game.

Unfortunately for the opposition, the dominant party might also have an ace hidden under its sleeve and blow it up at the appropriate time. Between now and Election Day many unexpected things could hap-pen.

Cha Monforte

HASHTAGS BREW

VOL. 7 ISSUE 84• FRIDAY-SATURDAY, JULY 11-12, 201410 NEWSFake... Only...

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General Santos Drive, Koronadal City, South Cotabato 9506Tel. No. 083-228-2511 ; Fax No. 083-228-2654

WANTED FOR IMMEDIATE HIRING!

BUS DRIVER

Qualifications:

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

Requirements:

1. Driver’s License with Official Receipt2. 2 x 2 I.D. picture (2 pcs.)3. Certificate of Employment or clearance from previous employment

May apply in person at Human Resource Department, YBLI Office, General Santos Drive, Koronadal City.

General Santos Drive, Koronadal City, South Cotabato 9506

Tel. No. 083-228-2511 ; Fax No. 083-228-2654

WANTED FOR IMMEDIATE HIRING!

BUS DRIVER

Qualifications:

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

Requirements:1. Driver’s License with Official Receipt2. 2 x 2 I.D. picture (2 pcs.)3. Certificate of Employment or clearance from

May apply in person at Human Resource Department, YBLI Office, General Santos Drive, Koronadal City.

NOTICE OF LOSS Notice is hereby given by LOYOLA PLANS

CONSOLIDATED INC. That CERTIFICATE OF FULL PAYMENT No.(s) 21044132 under LOYOLA PLAN Contract No.(s) 183652-0 issued to CARLOS B. SALCEDO was lost. Any transaction entered into shall be null and void.

7/4,11,18

NOTICE OF LOSS Notice is hereby given by LOYOLA PLANS

CONSOLIDATED INC. ThatCERTIFICATE OF FULL PAYMENT No.(s) 46665 under LOYOLA PLAN Contract No.(s)436981-5 issued to ALFREDO T. CASIA was lost. Any transaction entered into shall be null and void.

7/11,18,25

“fake inspectors” is to offer fire extinguishers to the applicant which they are selling.

“Kung ing-ana man inyong makita sa atong kabomberohan file mo og complaints directly sa opi-sina along with supporting documents,” Dueñas said.

Dueñas clarified that not all firemen are fire safe-ty inspectors who are au-thorized to issue certificate of compliance as part of the requirement to get a build-ing permit.

He said that fire safety inspectors always have the inspection order coming from his office which has his counter signature every time they go to inspect a structure.

“Kung wala gani na sig-urado ko bogus na,” Dueñas stressed.

The Davao City Fire Dis-trict marshal urged also the establishment and building owners to get the full name of the personnel who will come to inspect their struc-ture.

At the moment, the fire office is monitoring some of his firemen who allegedly into this kind of business while they are in active duty.

Dueñas said that there are complaints did not prosper because some of the complainants did not pursue it. He said that is the reason why this illegal business of some fireman remains in their agency.

der after he learned that a detachment command-er of Task Force Davao in Binugao, Toril was re-lieved after he allegedly berated three vendors.

“Tama yung sa mili-tary and I support Task Force Davao,” Duterte ex-pressed.

“Nakakaawa ang mga sundalo binubully na… hindi naman ako papaya nito nagtatarabaho yung tao,” he added.

Last Tuesday, Lt. Colo-nel Nestor Mondia, com-mander of TFD’s Security

Company that conducts checkpoint in Binugao, Toril was replaced by Cap-tain Richard Duculan after receiving complaints filed by three vendors before the Toril Police Station.

Based on earlier re-ports, the three vendors namely Grace Tapat, Ju-nalyn Dalian and Rolly Di-ego appealed to Mondia to allow them continue sell-ing goods and beverages, but the officer apparent-ly got irked with their presence and berated the three. [ABF]

age and water connections must be restored as well.

City Planning and De-velopment Office (CPDO) officer-in-charge Marcelino P. Escalada Jr. said in an in-terview that the rehabilita-tion of Isla Verde will start on August after the bidding for the possible contactor

scheduled to happen this month.

“The master plan for road network and foot bridge is already approved while a budget amounting P40 million has been allot-ted,” he said.

Escalada said that P30 million of the budget will be

used for the construction of 8-meter road network and 6-meter lateral road in the area while the remaining P10 million will be used for the construction of foot bridges.

Villareal mentioned that one of the main problems is the community itself as the

residents of Isla Verde insist to live within their group: Muslims, Christians, Badjaos and other sub-groupings.

Until these different sec-tors decide to co-exist in the community, resettlement would be difficult for the local government to imple-ment, he added.

him to hasten the amend-ment because of the existing problem on minors who may have easy access on alcohol drinks and liquor.

Monteverde said the he is set to make a committee report to include the item on next Tuesday’s regular ses-sion for second reading. He hopes that it will be approved before ‘Kadayawan’ festival next month.

The city council ap-proved on first reading last month “An Ordinance Amending, Revising and/or Modifying Section 2, Sec-tion 4, Section 5, Paragraphs (A) and (B), Section 6 and Section 7 of Ordinance No. 064-02, Series of 2002, oth-

erwise known as “An Ordi-nance Prohibiting Retailers, Wholesalers, Grocery Stores, Convenience Stores and oth-er Businesses from Selling or Allowing to be Sold to Minors in their Respective Store and Establishments Cigarettes and other Tobac-co Products, Beer, Liquor, and other Intoxicating Bev-erages and Prohibiting All Minors, Aged 17 and Below from Buying Ordering and Serving, Selling or Drinking Beer, Liquor, Coconut Wine, Ordering or Smoking Cig-arettes and Other Tobacco Products from Wholesale, Retail Grocery or Conve-nience Stores and all other Business Establishments in

the City of Davao. ’ ” Under section 5 of the

amendment, all persons are prohibited from instructing, ordering, sending on an er-rand or co-opting minors aged 17 and below to buy alcohol drinks and cigarettes from all wholesale and retail stores and all other business establishments in the city.

“For this purpose, all wholesale, retail, grocery or convenience stores and all other business establish-ments in the city are man-dated to determine the of their would be buyers by re-quiring them to present their identification documents that establish or indicate the person’s birth date or age

such as school ID, employ-ee’s ID, and other govern-ment issued ID such as but not limited to the following: driver’s license, voter’s ID, SSS/GSIS ID, PRC ID or Post-al ID, before selling wine and other intoxicating beverag-es as well as cigarettes and other tobacco products,” the proposed ordinance stated.

The proposal stipulated that failure of a person to es-tablish his age and identity as indicated in the forgoing paragraph shall be a cause for the persons-in-charge, which includes the cashier, manager, or any other em-ployee, of the establishment to refuse from selling the products to customers.

appropriate government agencies for appropriate ac-tion and providing remedies thereof.”

The proposed ordinance

specified after a period of 60 days of making the donation, the donor may avoid assess-ments by notifying the city assessor under the authority

of the mayor to sign the deed of donation.

Monteverde that donat-ed properties comprised a portion of the P1.115 bil-

lion uncollected property taxes recorded in 60,350 accounts found out last Feb-ruary.

tinatapon. Kulang ang record ng City Social Service and De-velopment Office. Mismo ang Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 11 kulang ang record nila,” Payu-mo bared.

“Ang kailangan dyan isa-isahin na sila kasi mismo sila nahihiyang lumabas dahil sa kondisyon nila pag minsan mismo ang pamilya nila ang

nahihiya na meron silang isang myembro sa pamilya na PWD,” Payumo said.

The mentality of the so-ciety among PWDs affect the perception of PWDS to them-selves. Pamuyo said that the low self-esteem of these peo-ple affect their capability to look for jobs and to perform in their jobs.

Aside from low compli-

ance of the law on employ-ment of PWDs, Pamuyo said the government should also check whether buildings being constructed are accessible to PWDs.

She said that there are many private establishments in the city that failed to provide ramps.

“May convention kami last month sa isang hotel dito sa

Davao City [which she refused to name] na binuhat ang PWD pataas kasi walang ramp na dadaanan at wala ring eleva-tor,” she said.

Pamuyo said that it is high time for government and pri-vate sector coordinate to ad-dress the employment prob-lem among PWDs by intensify-ing the implementation of laws designed to empower PWDs.

ed by the military during that time.

“Pwede pud mga picture or mga naa lay affidavit of ex-ecution na nagpakita sa pag-pangabuso sa ilaha,” Cabarde said. He said that with the re-lease of the claims, some peo-ple might take opportunity by pretending as claimants.

He warned those who will pretend as claimant that if the Human Right Victims Claim

Board (HRVCB)will verify that they are not legitimate claim-ants, they will be imprisoned up to 10 years if found guilty by the court.

“Pwede pud sila madis-qualify to occupy public of-fice,” he said.

In their statement, the claimant should personally apply to their office for the compensation before HRVCB allowing the latter to verify

the claims as mandated by Re-public Act 10368 or “Human Rights Victims Repaartion Act of 2012.”

The statement said that the filing of claims has begun last May 12, 2014 and will end on November 10 though the HRVCB.

“While the pay-out to the claimants will have to be com-pleted within two years or un-til May 12, 2006, after a thor-

ough process of validations of the claims,” the statement stipulated.

The statement said that during the era of the dicta-torship of former President Ferdinand E. Marcos the are 3,257 extra-judicial killings, 800 enforced disappearanc-es, 70,000 political prisoners, 35,000 tortured victims and 12, recorder human rights vi-olations.

need to spread CASH-L cam-paign.

“The forum emphasizes sustainable consumption. We should prioritize basic needs instead of wants and desires. When consumers decide to buy something or procure a service, they should consider if they really need it because consumption can cause a neg-ative effect to the economy and environment. Resources have already been abused and wasted.” he said.

The CASH-L network en-courages the act of sustain-able consumption with the

consumers’ satisfaction for basic human needs and not the desire for useless “wants” and luxuries because the “quality of life is more import-ant than the material stan-dards of living.”

With the concern for the future generations, the cam-paign promotes minimal re-source use, waste and pollu-tion.

It is anchored on the belief that “more people will be able to make their small contribu-tions that can snowball into a massive change for the better, that there is a fundamental

truth that every human being is duty-bound to care for the welfare of their fellow human beings and the earth with the vision of a society founded on communities of empowered consumers living a sustain-able and healthy lifestyle.”

It also aims to “bring to-gether a critical mass of con-sumer communities and influ-ence them to adopt this kind of lifestyle.”

The local government of Davao City supports the CASH-L network with the City Agriculturist’s Office (CAO) promoting organic farming

and continue to campaign for more intensified information dissemination on the benefits of organically-grown produce, and create programs that will encourage more Dabawenyos to support organic farming, patronize locally, and organ-ically-grown products, and adopt healthier and responsi-ble lifestyles.

Since 2008, The CASH-L Network has continuously campaigned for the “attain-ment of basic human needs through the promotion of or-ganic products and the utiliza-tion of local resources.”

Based on CBO record, there also an increase in the collection fees from 2009 until 2013.

Data showed that from P46.04 million collections in 2009, it went up to P 49.94 million in 2010. In 2011, col-

lection fee reached P 56.74 million, an increase of 113 per-cent.

The following year, CBO re-corded a total collection fee of P72.69 million. From 2009 up to 2012, collection fee increase by 157.86 percent in just four

years.The CBO was able to col-

lect an initial fee of P45.32 mil-lion in the first half of 2013.

Acting assistant building official Atty. Joseph Dominic S. Felizarta said that more than P40 million was collected for

the first six months of 2014.This is already more than half of their P75-million target col-lection for this year.

Felizarta, earlier, said that they are confident to hit their target.

VOL. 7 ISSUE 84• FRIDAY-SATURDAY, JULY 11-12, 2014

In 1974, Jane E. Brody wrote in The New York Times: “Each year, an es-

timated half of the world’s critically short food supply is consumed or destroyed by insects, molds, rodents, birds, and other pests that attack foodstuffs in fields, during shipment and in storage.”

Nothing much has changed since then. The Food and Agriculture Orga-nization (FAO) estimates that up to 35% of the losses in an-nual crop production world-wide are due to pests. Of the presumed one million insects in the world, some 150 to 200 species frequently cause serious damage to crops.

When losses due to pests are combined with posthar-vest losses, worldwide food losses would amount to 45%. “This is almost one-half of the world’s potential food sup-ply,” the Rome-based United Nations agency deplores.

Generally, farmers use pesticides to control crop pests. Pesticides come in two forms: synthetic or botanical. The synthetic organic com-pounds, like Malathion and Paraquat, constitute the ma-jority among the pesticides. They are synthesized from oil.

Botanical or “natural” pesticides are extracted from vegetative parts. Well-known examples are pyrethrum from the pyrethrum flowers, rotenone from derris roots, nicotine from tobacco leaves, and azidiracthine from the neem tree.

“The first records of pes-ticide come from the ancient Greeks,” reports the Wash-ington, D.C.-based World-watch Institute. “Pliny the Elder compiled a list of com-mon compounds like arsenic, sulphur, caustic soda, and ol-ive oil used to protect crops. The Chinese later recorded using similar substances to combat insects and fungi.”

In the 19th century, Eu-ropean farmers started using heavy metal salts like copper

sulphate and iron sulphate to fight weeds. “With the in-vention of DDT in 1939, the war against pests escalated sharply,” wrote Worldwatch’s Peter Weber.

Under stream of new insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides, scientists re-ported unprecedented crop yields. Farmers began using pesticides intensively in in-dustrial countries and, when money allowed, everywhere else. The notion that pesti-cides are essential to mod-ern, high-production agricul-ture was born.

But pests, among the toughest animal species, can’t be obliterated. In an article, Rodolfo P. Estigoy observed: “Over the years, a costly war has gone on between insects and man… Even if we pour billions of pesos worth of pesticides, we cannot totally wipe out all insect pests.”

The use of pesticides creates many environmental problems. “Pesticides are like bombs being dropped in the food web creating enor-mous destruction,” pointed out Dr. K.L. Heong, an ento-mologist who used to work at the International Rice Re-search Institute.

For one, pesticides don’t kill only the pests but also those that prey on insects that attack crops. “There are some insects that are really the farmer’s friends because they attack and can usually control pests without insecti-cides,” said Dr. B. Merle Shep-ard, another former IRRI en-tomologist.

For another, pesticides are deterrent to one’s health. Depending on the pesticide, health effects can be imme-diate (acute) or they can oc-cur after years of low-level exposure. Long-term effects of pesticides include skin dis-orders, damage to internal organs (liver, kidneys, and lungs), increased sensitivity to pesticides and effects on the progeny.

But farmers these days

need not to use pesticides to eliminate pests. All they have to do is plant crops with Bt organisms. Bt stands for Bacillus thuringiensis, a com-mon soil bacterium so called because it was first isolated in the Thuringia region of Germany. It produces a pro-tein that paralyzes the larvae of some harmful insects.

Scientists, through ge-netic engineering, have taken the Bt gene responsible for the production of the insec-ticidal protein from the bac-terium and incorporated it into the genome of plants. As such, the plants have a built-in mechanism of protection against targeted pests.

Among the crops where Bt is introduced include corn, cotton, poplar, potato, rice, soybean, tomato, and more recently eggplant. “The pro-tein produced by the plants does not get washed away, nor is it destroyed by sun-light,” said a briefing paper published by the Global Knowledge Center on Crop Biotechnology. “The plants are protected from the in-sects round the clock regard-less of the situation.”

Since Bt crops are able to defend themselves against pests, the use of chemical insecticides is significantly reduced. A study conducted by the United States Depart-ment of Agriculture showed that 8.2 million pounds of pesticide active ingredients were eliminated by the farm-ers who planted Bt crops in 1998.

“Aside from being effec-tive against insect pests, Bt crops have lower incidences of opportunistic microbial pathogens, such as the fun-gus Fusarium,” the briefing paper said. “This fungus pro-duces mycotoxins that can be deadly to livestock and also cause cancer in humans.”

The briefing paper shares this information on how Bt operates: “When in-gested by larva of the target insect, the Bt protein is ac-

tivated in the gut’s alkaline condition and punctures the mid-gut leaving the insect unable to eat. The insect dies within a few days.”

It is for this reason why much research has been done to exploit the organ-ism’s agronomic value. To date, there are more than 200 types of Bt proteins iden-tified with varying degrees of toxicity to some insects.

In the past, Bt was cul-tured by fermentation. In fact, over the last 40 years, Bt has been used as an insecti-cide by farmers around the world. It is said that organic farming has benefited from it as it is one of the very few insecticides permitted by organic standards. “The in-secticide is applied either as a spray, or as ground applica-tions. It comes in both gran-ules and liquefied form.”

The International Ser-vice for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) recently released a report which indicates more than 18 million farmers in 27 countries planted biotech crops in 2013, reflecting a five million, or three percent, increase in global biotech crop hectarage.

“Accumulated hectarage of biotech crops planted worldwide to-date stands at 1.6 billion hectares or 150 percent of the total landmass of China,” said Clive James, author of the report and ISAAA Founder and Chair-man Emeritus.

In Asia, Bt corn is now planted not only in the Philip-pines but also in China, Indo-nesia, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, and Taiwan. It is also grown in the United States, Canada, Switzerland, and in some parts of South America and Africa.

But there are some is-sues against Bt crops. Critics claim that Bt proteins could target predatory and other beneficial or harmless in-sects as well as the targeted pest. The University of Cal-

ifornia reported that the Bt proteins have been used as organic sprays for insect con-trol in France since 1938 and the USA since 1958 with no ill effects on the environment reported.

“The specificity of Bt for its target insects is one of the characteristics that make it an ideal method of biologi-cal pest control,” the briefing paper explained. “The spec-ificity rests on the fact that the toxicity of the Bt protein is receptor-mediated. This means that for an insect to be affected by the Bt protein, it must have specific receptor sites in its gut where the pro-teins can bind. Fortunately, humans and majority of ben-eficial insects do not have these receptors.”

A 1999 study, which ap-peared in Nature, showed that in a lab environment, pollen from Bt corn dusted onto milkweed could harm the monarch butterfly. Sev-eral groups later studied the phenomenon in both the field and the laboratory, re-sulting in a risk assessment that concluded that any risk posed by the corn to but-terfly populations under re-al-world conditions was neg-ligible, according to a study published in the Proceedings of Natural Academy Science.

A 2002 review of the scientific literature also con-cluded that “the commercial large-scale cultivation of cur-rent Bt–maize hybrids did not pose a significant risk to the monarch population” to quote a study entitled, “The case of the monarch butter-fly: a verdict is returned,” which appeared in Trends Genet.

What about among hu-man beings? The US Envi-ronment Protection Agency has reportedly administered toxicology assessments. Bt proteins have already been tested even at relatively high-er dosages.

According to the Exten-sion Toxicology Network

(Extonet), a pesticide infor-mation project of several universities in the US, “no complaints were made after 18 humans ate one gram of commercial Btpreparation daily for five days, on alter-nate days… Humans also ate one gram per day for three consecutive days were not poisoned or infected.”

On tests conducted on dogs, guinea pigs, rats, fish, frogs, salamanders and birds, the Bt protein was found not to have any harmful effects. What was interesting about the study was that the no tox-ic effects were found on ben-eficial or predator insects, such as honeybees and lady beetles, Extonet reports.

The ISAAA claimed that Bt crops have benefitted food security, sustainability and the environment. “Between 1996 and 2012, biotech crops have made positive contributions through de-creased production costs and increased productivity (es-timated at 377 million tons) valued at US $117 billion,” it reported.

Its environmental bene-fits included: eliminating the need for 497 million kilo-grams of pesticides; reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 27 billion kilograms in 2012 alone (equivalent to remov-ing 12 million cars from the road for one year); and con-serving biodiversity by sav-ing 123 million hectares of land from being placed in ag-ricultural production during the period 1996 to 2012.

“Bt crops are an addition to our arsenal against plant pests,” the briefing paper concludes. “With an increas-ing population and decreas-ing arable land, it is neces-sary to exploit all options with as little compromise to produce more crops. When used side by side with prop-er agricultural practices, Bt insect resistance technology can bring many benefits to crops, farmers, and consum-ers alike.

11EDGEDAVAO

BIGGER PICTURE

The fight against pestsBy GERRY T. ESTRERA

VOL. 7 ISSUE 84• FRIDAY-SATURDAY, JULY 11-12, 2014

Contributor

VOL. 7 ISSUE 84• FRIDAY-SATURDAY, JULY 11-12, 201412CLASSIFIED

Billiard Supplies

( )

Phone Nos. Cell Nos.

INdulge! VOL. 7 ISSUE 84• FRIDAY-SATURDAY, JULY 11-12, 2014

EDGEDAVAOFOOD

BUSINESS deals are an important matter when sealing a contract or making a good impression counts. But making that busi-ness deal where good impressive courts, business deals are sealed. without breaking the bank can be a difficult balancing act and that is why Park Inn by Radisson Davao in-troduced their new Quickfire lunch specials

at the hotel’s all-day dining concept RBG. Designed for business people who are always on the go, the Quickfire lunch is a three-course meal that features deliciously filling a power lunch that is easy on the pocket. “Our Quickfire set meals are designed to fit your limited time for lunch and give you value for your money,” shares General Manager Pa-van Kakar. “For only Php375.00, you get to cre-ate your own three-course

meal and choose from our selection of entrées, desserts and salad mixes, added with RBG’s soup of the day.”

A Park Inn quickie

Grilled pork belly set.FPARK INN, A4

IN CELEBRATION of the National Children’s Book Reading Day, SM Lanang Premier, in partnership with the Depart-ment of Education and Vibal Publishing House, Inc. will be having a Storytelling Activity for grade school children. This is to commemorate the publication of Dr. Jose Rizal’s clas-sic, “Ang Pagong at Ang Matsing.” The said storytelling activity is part of SM Foundation and SM Cares’ Program for Children, which promotes lit-eracy and encourages the young to develop their love for reading at an early age. Former Davao City Mayor Atty. Sara Duterte-Carpio and invited professionals will read books from Vibal Publishing and bring characters into life. They will discuss the moral of the story and encourage the students to make reading a regular habit. Participating students will be given free story books courtesy of Vibal Publishing to jumpstart their daily habit of reading. Meanwhile, collected books from SM Foundation and the SM Cares’ Book Drive will also be turned over to two public elementary school beneficiaries from communities near Lanang. The National Children’s Book Reading Day is celebrated annually every 3rd Tuesday of July across SM Supermalls in the Philippines as well as in China. It is in line with the com-pany’s advocacy to make its malls not just child-friendly but also be a venue for learning, where children can learn traditional values and develop their full potential. For activity and event updates, visit SM Lanang Premier on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

SUN POSTPAID subscribers now have the chance to score free tickets to the July 14 concert of Jessie J, the London-born singer behind the chart-topping singles, Price Tag and Domino. New subscribers or existing Sun Plan users who avail of top-up bundles automatically earn one raffle entry to the new Sun Post-paid promo. Up for grabs are 15 pairs of lower box tickets and 25 pairs of upper box tickets to Jessie J’s upcoming Manila concert. To join the promo, Jessie J fans simply have to subscribe to a new Sun Plan 600 or Sun Plan 999 to earn one raffle entry. Subscribing to Sun Plan 600 gives you unlimited calls & texts to SUN , 350 texts to all networks, P100 consumable, 30 hours of mobile surfing and a free phone such as a Samsung Galaxy Core! If you choose to subscribe to a Sun Plan 999, you get 4 hours of SUN calls, unlimited texts to SUN network and unlimited mobile surfing. With this plan, you can even get 2 devices – a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 and Samsung S Duos 2. Existing Sun Postpaid subscribers just need to top up with specific Sun bundles—CTU TriNet 399 or Sun iPlan 799 for a chance to enter the promo. Sun CTU TriNet 399 offers Sun subscribers with unlim-ited calls and SMS to Smart and Talk ‘N Text, 500 SMS to all networks and 10 Hours of mobile surfing. On the other hand, Sun Postpaid subscribers who top up with Sun iPlan 799 will enjoy the benefits of unlimited mobile internet for 30 days. Subscribers may register to an add-on via SMS, USSD, by calling the Sun hotline, or by visiting a Sun Shop. A maxi-mum of three raffle entries may be availed for each Sun Postpaid mobile number. Promo runs from July 4 to 10, 2014. For more information, just visit the Sun Shop near you or log on to www.suncellular.com.phYou can also check for updates by logging on to the Sun Cellular’s official social media sites: www.facebook.com/suncellularph or www.twitter.com/suncelldeals. Sun Cellular is the mobile brand of Digitel Mobile Philip-pines Inc., a member of the PLDT Group.

A2 INdulge! VOL. 7 ISSUE 84• FRIDAY-SATURDAY, JULY 11-12, 2014EDGEDAVAOUP AND ABOUT EVENT

SM Lanang Premier to mark National Children’s Book Reading Day, instill love of reading

No need to worry about the price tag with Sun Postpaid’s Jessie J Concert Promo

Ciudades announces winners of first MTB

video-making competitionTO bring more in-terest to its 11-hect-are El Centro Sports and Activity Park, Ciudades of Lapan-day Properties Phil-ippines, Inc. recently held a mountain bike video making contest where par-ticipants are encour-aged to make their own videos promot-ing the park’s 12-ki-lometre long bike trail. The announcement of winners of the said event was held last July 5 at Karl’s Koffee Korner in a simple but meaningful ceremony which celebrat-ed the creativity and the camaraderie of the differ-ent teams who were able to joined the event. Lapanday Properties Philippines, Inc., market-ing manager Maria Luisa Abaya was there for the ceremonies. “We wanted to hold this event to promote the El Centro Sports and Activ-ity Park’s bike trail which is the only bike park in Mindanao.” says Abaya “We hope the videos can spark interest in not just the park but in the many aspects of living and cel-ebrating life at Ciudades.” The five teams that participated were Sikad Davao, Biketas, SDMR, Suasin Couples, and Sick Bike. The Biketas team came away with the View-er’s choice award while Sikad Davao went home with the top prize winning Php5,000 in cash. The first to fourth runners-up went home with Php1,000 each. “The El  Cen-tro  Sports  and  Activ-ity  Park  Video  Mak-ing Contest is just a preview of Ciudades’ Kadayawan Fun Ride and Mountain Bike Race.” adds Abaya. The Ciudades Kaday-awan Fun Ride and Moun-tain Bike Race will have a total of P28,000 worth of prizes will be given to the winners. Categories include the Open Elite, Intermediate, Beginners, Womens, and the Biggest Delegation. Participants may reg-ister the RIDEA store lo-

cated at the 5th floor of the Gaisano mall of Davao. A registration fee of P350 will be collected, inclusive of a jersey shirt, one meal, a raffle ticket, and a one-day admission ticket to El Centro Sports and Activity Park. A Go Pro Hero 3 White Edition, the world’s most versatile camera, as a raffle prize during the event. The El Centro Sports and Activity Park is open to all individuals who want to experience various sports activities with an affordable entrance fee of Php30.00 for Mondays to Thursdays and Php50.00 for Fridays to Sundays. Ciudades is a 200-hect-are master-planned town-ship development by Lapanday Properties Phil-ippines, Inc. located in the Buhangin District. It is a modern integrated mixed-use development ideal for the expanding institution-al, commercial, recreation-al, and residential require-

ments of the Region. It is envisioned as a new township with all the req-uisite elements to respond to the expansion needs of Davao City. Its develop-ment signals the rise of new communities and endless choices as a premier invest-ment proposition inviting

people to live, work, play, shop, and grow. Ciudades is known for the residential develop-ment of Nizanta Gardens of Robinsons, Las Palmas Verdes, Altea, and Soller of Sta. Lucia., and El Cen-tro Sports and Activity Park.

By Kenneth Irving Ong

Lapanday Properties Inc., marketing manager Maria Luisa Abaya.

Team Suasin Couple. Team Biketas.

Team Sikad.

ANOTHER weekend of fun fam-ily bonding awaits the Kapuso view-ers this Saturday (July 12) as Pepito Manaloto (Michael V.) showcases his clumsiness, bringing loads of laughter to every Filipino home. When Mimi (Nova Villa) visits Pepi-to’s house to return Elsa’s (Manilyn Reynes) valuable necklace, Pepito will be the one to receive it since his wife is busy at that time. But instead of keep-ing it in a safe place, Pepito will put it somewhere inside the house. So when Elsa already asks for it, he will not re-member where he placed it. Pepito’s clumsiness will then lead to

a riot as Patrick (John Feir) accidently throws the necklace in Tommy’s (Ron-nie Henares) trash can. When Pepito learns about this, he will search for it just in time when the garbage collec-tor comes. The collector will then find out that Tommy does not practice proper waste segregation, resulting to a penalty being imposed on him. Will Pepito take full responsibility of the incident? Will Patrick also be liable for the loss of Elsa’s necklace? The hit Kapuso sitcom Pepito Manaloto: Ang Tunay na Kuwento airs on its new timeslot every Saturday right after 24 Oras Weekend on GMA 7.

THIS SATURDAY (July 12), extreme fun-filled adven-tures continue in GMA Net-work’s Tropang Potchi as it takes the viewers this time to Subic Freeport Zone where nature tripping be-gins. Join Nomer (Nomer Lima-tog) and Kyle (Kyle Ocampo) in a memorable nature ex-perience at Mangrove Park where the mangroves or bakawan are taken care of. These are trees up to me-dium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal habitats. Also, be part of their ex-citing adventure at Subic’s newest family attraction,

Funtastic Park, where the 3D Mirror Maze can be

found. Making this maze challenging is that it gives

the illusion of wide open spaces, so Nomer and Kyle

ERICH GONZALES will inspire TV viewers this Saturday (July 12) as she portrays the role of a visu-ally impaired model-beauty queen named Jessa in ABS-CBN’s “Maalaala Mo Kaya.” Inheriting her mother’s glaucoma and losing her eyesight at the age of 18, Jessa grew up being bullied in school. But she became a source of inspiration to oth-er blind students and other people, especially when she was crowned Miss Philip-pines on Vision 2013. Also part of this episode are Irma Adlawan, William Lorenzo, Nikki Bagaporo, Abby Bautista, Bianca Ben-tulan, Ogie Escanilla, Louise Bernardo, Joe Gruta, Amy

Robles, Dionne Monsanto, Nina Ricci Alagao, and Ko-reen Medina. The episode is

directed by Nuel Naval and written by Joan Habana. “MMK” is led by business

unit head Malou Santos and creative manager Mel Men-doza-del Rosario. Capturing the hearts of Filipino viewers all over the world for the past 23 years, “Maalaala Mo Kaya” has a legion of fans from differ-ent generations who cried, laughed, fell in love, and got inspired through the real-life narratives of the show’s letter-senders. Don’t miss the longest-running drama anthology in Asia, “MMK,” every Sat-urday, 8pm, after “Home Sweetie Home” on ABS-CBN. For more updates, log on to MMK.abs-cbn.com, follow @MMKOfficial on Twitter, and “like” Facebook.com/MMKOfficial.

INdulge! A3VOL. 7 ISSUE 84• FRIDAY-SATURDAY, JULY 11-12, 2014EDGEDAVAOENTERTAINMENT

Erich plays visually impaired beauty queen in ‘MMK’

Pepito Manaloto plays clumsy husband this Saturday

GMA 7’s Tropang Potchi goesto Subic this Saturday

need to make use of both hands in finding their way out of it without bumping into the endless mirrors several times. Meanwhile, at the Tro-pang Potchi’s tambayan, Miggy (Miggy Jimenez) will share the unique use of a roll of tissue paper in his segment, “Miggy and the

Thinking Throne,” featur-ing new interesting ideas that the kids will surely love. Watch the tropa’s fun Subic escapade and get to learn new lessons this Saturday in the award-win-ning children’s program Tropang Potchi, 9:10 AM only on GMA 7.

PG 13

GP

R 13 /

*R 13 12:05 | 1:45 | 3:25 LFS / * 5:10 | 7:35 | 10:00 LFS

R-16

WHEN THE LIGHTS WENT OUT 2D /

* DELIVER US FROM EVIL 2D

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

DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES 2D

Kate Ashfield, Tasha Connor / * Eric Bana

Andy Serkis, Gary Oldman

PG 13 01:00 | 3:40 | 06:20 | 09:00 LFS

DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE

APES 3D

Andy Serkis, Gary Oldman

12:00 | 3:20 | 6:40 | 10:00 LFS

TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION 2D

Mark Wahlberg

A4 INdulge! VOL. 7 ISSUE 84• FRIDAY-SATURDAY, JULY 11-12, 2014EDGEDAVAOFOOD

Every Quickfire meal comes with a bright and tangy RBG Salad with your choice of dressing followed up by RBG’s soup of the day. I was able to taste RBG’s sig-nature Pumpkin Soup which was hearty and readied my palate for the main course. A nice cold glass of iced tea is also complimentary although I chose to have a cup of coffee instead to pair with my dessert later. Choices for main course include Grilled Belly of Pork, Crispy Roasted Pork, Grilled

Chicken with Honey Mustard Barbecue Sauce, Rosemary-Lemon Roast-ed Chicken, Grilled Tuna Belly, Crispy Breaded White Fish with Tartar Sauce, Grilled Burger Steak and Beef Salpicao. For dessert, guests can choose between a slice of cake and fresh fruits. Being a meat person, I had to have the Crispy Roasted Pork Belly. The Beef Salpicao as well as the Grilled Burger Steak were my alternative choices. It can be noted that each Quickfire set also comes with an extra serving of starch, be it mashed potato, steamed rice, or fried rice. For dessert, the more health conscious din-ers can opt for a platter of fresh fruits while the more indulgent (like me) can opt to choose be-tween a Dark Chocolate

Designed for business people who are always

on the go, the Quickfire lunch

is a three-course meal that features

deliciously filling comfort food that

makes a power lunch impression

that is easy on the pocket.

Park Inn by Radisson Davao’s general manager Pavan Kakar and Park Inn by Radisson Davao’s Annalee Perez.

Park Inn by Radisson Davao’s PR manager Meghann Sta. Ines together with the RBG team.

Salpicao set.

At RBG by Park Inn by Radisson Davao.

Call: 224-0733 • Tionko St., Davao City

Park Inn...FFROM A1

Cake or a lighter Butter Cake. I chose the Dark Chocolate Cake and was rewarded with a rich and moist dark chocolate cake that had a flavour profile that was remi-niscent of Oreo cookies without all the sugar. “Our chefs cre-

ated these menu op-tions combining rich, textured flavours and healthy, natural good-ness which are perfect for a fast-paced life.” adds Mr. Kakar. “Our goal is to give you cu-linary delight with in-credibly tasty and excit-

ing dishes that are sure to charge you up for the rest of the day at work.” Follow me on Insta-gram or on Twitter @kennethkingong for more travel tips, foodie finds, as well as happenings in, around, and beyond Du-rianburg.

VOL. 7 ISSUE 84• FRIDAY-SATURDAY, JULY 11-12, 2014 13CLASSIFIED

Dedita, Dee or Inday as she was fondly called, grew up in Davao City.

She graduated from the Davao City (National) High School, class 1961 and proceeded to attend Silliman Uni-

versity at Dumaguete City, where she graduated with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Nursing, batch 1967.

She was an ICU Nurse for over 30 years at Kaiser Per-

manente San Jose Medical Center.She is survived by her daughter, Jessica Bukovac, son-

in-law, Nicholas Bukovac,and step-daughter, Kristen Cacdac.

She also leaves brothers Rodolfo, Leopoldo, Jose, Jr.,

Ernesto, and sister Nenita P. Tayko; and countless neph-ews, nieces, grandchildren and great-grandchildren,

friends and colleagues who love her so much.

Her warm smile, infectious laughter, kindness, gener-osity and thoughtfulness will be greatly missed. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, July 12,

2014 at 9:30 AM. in San Jose, California For friends in the Philippines, you may send your con-

dolences online oremail to leepar19@yahoo.com or

sms to mobile numbers: 0998-555-9750 (smart);0917-701-7041 (globe); 0922-891-7041 (sun)

Details of a memorial service to be held in Davao City will be announced later.

Dedita Parreño CacdacMay 21, 1946 – July 5, 2014

San Jose, California

VOL. 7 ISSUE 84• FRIDAY-SATURDAY, JULY 11-12, 201414 SPORTS

SPITFIRE execu-tive assistant Bong Go had his usual

hot-shooting night but he was spared of doing it all with his backcourt part-ner Glenn Escandor hit-ting his own just as con-sistently.

Escandor, city sports consultant, quelled a late uprising by the Associa-tion of Barangay Captains (ABC) as the City Hall Executives escaped with a 83-81 win on Tuesday night at the Genesis 88 Gym in Game 3 of their 2nd Conference best of seven series to take a commanding 3 – 0 lead.

With the ABC Village Chiefs threatening at 79-80, the spot-up shooter Escandor took a pass from Go who played decoy and sank a three-pointer from the wings in the dying seconds.

Go took charge in the payoff period and Escan-dor delivered significant-ly as the Executive Oldies moved within the thresh-old of another series sweep. That three point-er by Escandor turned out to be a huge bucket down the stretch as the nothing-but-the net shot put an end to the village chiefs late rally.

Go, the sweet-shoot-

ing executive assistant of Mayor Rodrigo Dute-rte, scored 16 of his 45 points in the final canto to lead the way for the Ex-ecutive Oldies who drew 20 points from spot-up shooting Escandor, a con-sultant to the City Mayor’s Office.

The fourth period was

tightly contested as both teams traded basket after basket in closing that kept them check to check with each other.

The village chiefs got back in the game after a mammoth fightback bridging third and fourth period that erased the Executive Oldies dou-ble-digit lead.

The Executive Oldies shot five triples, four of which came from Go, in the final period that shut the lights out for ABC.

Burly forward Jun Labro paced ABC with 19 points. Romeo Torrejas Jr and Jessie Culaste had 11 apiece.

The village chiefs bat-tled hard all throughout behind their great vibes on both ends, counting the all-out-game of Labro and Arnold Apostol and superb quarterbacking of Roger Galido.

They were close to

nail its first win in the series but they could not wrapped things up to find themselves at the deep hole.

ABC successfully im-posed its drive to make the game a fast play con-test through skipper Tor-rejas Jr. who spearheaded a huge run in the early go-ing of the fourth.

The Executive Oldies, who relied on Rhodelio Poliquit and Orly Escarilla to control the boards, got off to a hot start behind Go and Escandor to take a 22 – 9 lead after the open-ing period.

They pushed the lead

to 46 – 33 at the break. The ABC cut the lead to single digit, 57 – 64, en-tering the final frame.

The Executive Oldies swept the first conference series 4 - 0. (Rico Biliran)

Box scores:Executive Oldies – 83 –

Go 45, Escandor 20, Pelo-ton 6, Poliquit 6, Reyes 4, Ong 2.

ABC – 81 - Labro 19, Torrejas 11, Culaste 11, Guevarra 10, Maquiling 8, Apostol 6, Bantayan 3, Laurel 3, Culaste 2, Gali-do 2, Canada 2, Orilla 2, Barredo 2,

Qtr scores: 22 – 9, 46 – 33, 64 – 57, 83 - 81

FOUR straight PBA ti-tles. 2014 PBA Season Grand Slam Champi-

ons.The San Mig Super

Coffee Mixers etched their name into the history books as they defeated the Rain or Shine Elasto Paint-ers 92-89 in Game 5 of the 2014 PBA Governors’ Cup

Finals.James Yap exploded

for 29 points in the game to carry the Mixers to an exciting victory. Yap’s 29-point was his best in all of the Mixers’ 22 Finals games in their four-cham-pionship run.

With the game on the line, Yap missed two free

throws that could have giv-en them a five point lead. Luckily for the Mixers, Jeff Chan and Paul Lee missed game tying attempts.

After the Mixers got the rebound, Mark Barroca stepped up to the line but he also missed two freebies to give Rain or Shine one last shot at forcing over-

time. However, Arizona Reid missed a three-point attempt at the buzzer.

The Mixers started the first quarter wanting to establish distance between them and the Painters. Powered by a combined 15 points from Marqus Blake-ly and James Yap, San Mig held a 23-16 lead after the

first quarter.Momentum turned for

the Painters after the San Mig Super Coffee ball boy was called for a technical for contesting an out of bounds call. Jeff Chan hit the technical free throw and Raymond Almazan followed up with a slam dunk to cut the Mixers’

lead down to four points. Mark Barroca responded with a baseline floater but Gabe Norwood hit a three for a 27-25 count in favor of San Mig.

PJ Simon put together five straight points to keep the Mixers ahead but a Paul Lee triple knotted the game at 32-all.

THIS week’s edition of FAST Fridays (Fun-Ad-venture-Sports-Trav-

el) media forum will feature loads of sporting events and a brand new coffee shop that’s truly Davao-grown.

Set at 10:00 a.m. today at Archipelago 7107 (Barrio Fi-esta) at the second level of the Fountain Court at SM Lanang Premier, the fast-rising week-ly media forum will tackle the forthcoming Sky Cable and National Geographic Fire Up Your Feet: Unang Takbo Para sa Kabataan, the first ever Martial Arts Expo and the Maharlika Sports Develop-ment Institute football work-shops.

Another exciting discus-sion will be the opening of the Dayaw Coffee with owner

Omar Santos giving the me-dia a walk-through of the first ever authentic local coffee brew.

Speaking for the Sky Ca-ble and National Geograph-ic Run are organizers Rosa Rada, Cherill Labis, Claudine Calibo and Monica Peque. For the Martial Arts Expo, Dr. Vince Vicente will be person-ally on hand to give a briefer on the August 2-3 event.

The football workshop will have Edgar Te, Peter Lat and coach David Peñano as panelists.

FAST Fridays is open to all media practitioners of the different media organiza-tions and formats in Davao. It is hosted by veteran sports journalist Neil Bravo, manag-ing editor of Edge Davao.GRAND SLAM. The San Mig Coffee Mixers celebrate their Grand Slam win in the PBA.

BACK IN FORM. Glenn Escandor of the City Hall Executives fired 20 points and a crucial three-pointer to lift the Execs past ABC in Game 3 of their basketball series. Lean Daval Jr.]

Execs lean on Go, Escandor

FAST Fridays tackles Nat Geo Fun Run, MMA, football camp

GRAND SLAM

Mixers is fourth PBA team to cop rare PBA feat

VOL. 7 ISSUE 84• FRIDAY-SATURDAY, JULY 11-12, 2014 15SPORTS

ARGENTINA for-ward Sergio Aguero cannot

wait to meet Germany in the World Cup final at the Maracana on Sunday and says that Joachim Low’s side respect his.

The Manchester City striker missed the Albi-celeste’s victories over Switzerland and Bel-gium after limping out

of their final group game against Nigeria with a muscle injury.

But he returned as a late-second-half substi-tute on Wednesday as Argentina beat Nether-lands 4-2 on penalties to book a place in show-down with Germany and the 26-year-old is ready to put his injury woes behind him for what he

describes as a “dream” World Cup final.

“The truth is incred-ible. I am so happy, we cannot believe it,” Ague-ro told the press. “I suf-fered from a mini tear but I have done every-thing possible to recov-er. Luckily we are in the final.”

Joachim Low’s side thrashed Brazil 7-1 on

Tuesday in a staggering match but the Argenti-na star does not believe that Germany will be overconfident heading into the final.

“Germany are al-ways a tough team at the World Cup but we will continue to play our game,” he added. “Argen-tina is Argentina. Ger-many also have a bit of

respect for us.”Javier Mascherano

also spoke of his pride at making it to the fi-nal, labelling his team’s achievement “brilliant”, and knows that it is a chance that may well only come once.

“We played a brilliant game, without any fear of anything,” enthused the Barcelona man.

“We came into the game of our lives and now we will enjoy it be-cause this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“Hopefully we will be crowned champions on Sunday but, regard-less of the outcome, I have no words to ex-press how proud I am ... the goal was to be in the final.”

THE “Mayor Rody and Vice Mayor Pulong Duterte Lumba Bisikl-

ita sa Kadayawan 2014” is slated on August 16 in an out-and-back course in Barangay Magtuod in Davao City.

Registration is free with five categories all in the mountain bike race.

“However, participants must still register and fill up a form,” said Salvador “Jun” Pa-holio Jr., chairman of the orga-nizing Davao City Sports Con-sumer Cooperative (DCSCC).

The event is sanctioned by Philcycling and is spon-sored by the City Mayor’s Of-fice-Sports Development Di-vision headed by OIC William “Butch” Ramirez as part of the Duterte Sports Plan.

The categories are the Open Elite, 23 Under, Junior (18 under), Veterans (31-39)

and Masters (40-49). A total of P24,000 in cash prizes plus medals are at stake to the top three finishers of each catego-ries.

The Open Elite and 23 un-der riders will have a total of three loops while the Junior, Veterans and Master will only have two loops. Each loop has a distance of 12 kilometers.

“The new race track is very challenging with 2.3 ki-lometer technical and 3.11 kilometer rough road,” said Race Commissaire Carlofer Salonga.

Registration will start on July 15 at the DCSCC, Room 5, 2nd floor, Jaltan Bldg., Ma-gallanes St., Davao City or Phi-cycling Davao Office, ground foor, Jaltan Bldg., Alley, Ma-gallanes St., Davao City. For more inquiry, call tel. no. 300-3961. – LITO DELOS REYES

SAVED. Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero saves this attempt by Wesley Scneijder in the penalty shootout to carry Argentina 4-2 for the victory and a ticket to the World Cup finals.

LONG FACES. Players of Netherlands wore long faces after the end of their semis encounter to Argentina.

Lumba Bisiklita sa Kadayawan set Aug. 16

Germany respects us: Aguero

VOL. 7 ISSUE 84• FRIDAY-SATURDAY, JULY 11-12, 201416 EDGEDAVAOSportsDON’T CRY, IT’S ARGENTINA

Argentina books finals against Germany

STEADY MESSI. Leo Messi of Argentina is through to the Finals of the World Cup.

RIO DE JANEIRO (Re-uters) - Argentina reached their first

World Cup final in 24 years on Wednesday, beating the Netherlands 4-2 on penal-ties after the first scoreless semi in the tournament’s history, with old foes Ger-many awaiting them in Sun-day’s showpiece.

The match will be a re-peat of the 1986 and 1990 World Cup finals, the first of which was won by Argen-tina before the then West Germany gained revenge four years later.

Argentina’s win com-pounded the misery for hosts Brazil who were hu-miliated 7-1 by Germany on Tuesday before seeing their worst fears realised when their South American neighbours booked their place at the Maracana on Sunday.

Midfielder Maxi Rodri-guez scored the decisive penalty for Argentina after their goalkeeper Sergio Romero had saved spot

kicks from Ron Vlaar and Wesley Sneijder, triggering wild celebrations among Lionel Messi’s triumphant team.

“I’m proud to be a part of this group,” Messi said in a statement posted on his social media pages.

“They are all phenom-enons, what a match they played.

“What madness. We are in the final. Let’s enyoy it, it is just a litle step more.”

Brazil may have won the World Cup more than any other country, but the one they wanted most of all will now be played between two of their greatest rivals.

For Brazilians, it is un-palatable prospect for the mourning samba nation but for soccer fans, it is a dream showdown between a Ger-man team that has wowed everyone at the tournament and Messi, the four-time World Player of the year who has won every honour except the World Cup.

Wednesday’s second

semi-final in Sao Paulo could not have been more different than Tuesday’s goalfest in Belo Horizonte but the sheer tension of the occasion had fans on the edge of their seats.

“I’m very happy be-cause we reached the final and now we will see what we can do,” said Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella. “We will give everything as usual, with humility, work and 100 percent effort.”

Neither Argentina or the Netherlands created many chances in a dour game that was dominated by defence but ultimately came down to a battle of nerves when they finished deadlocked at 0-0 after ex-tra time.

For players and fans, the tension was almost unbear-able and it was the Dutch, who have played in three World Cup finals, including the last one in Johannes-burg four years ago, but never won one, who fluffed their lines in the shootout.

VOL. 7 ISSUE 84• FRIDAY-SATURDAY, JULY 11-12, 2014