P 15.00 • 20 PAGESwww.edgedavao.netVOL. 8 ISSUE 214 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, JANUARY 24 - 25, 2016

EL NIÑO:The force awakens

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VOL. 8 ISSUE 214 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, JANUARY 24 - 25, 2016

THREE provinces in Davao region are most likely to be affected from

the brunt of El Niño, which has already been wreaking havoc in some parts of the country, the state weather bureau said.

The Philippine Atmo-spheric, Geophysical and As-tronomical Services Admin-istration (PAGASA) identified Davao del Sur, Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley as the provinces likely to experience drought.

Other provinces in Mind-anao that are expected to ex-perience the dry spell are Zam-boanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, Bukidnon, Camiguin, Lanao Norte, Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental, South Cota-bato, North Cotabato, Saran-gani, Sultan Kudarat, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Bas-ilan, Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Sulu, and Tawi-tawi.

According to PAGASA, as much as 85 percent of the country will suffer a meteoro-logical drought caused by El Niño in April. El Niño has been predicted to peak between March and May this year.

“A consensus of climate models shows that it will likely strengthen further…and may last until the first half of 2016. This 2015 and 2016 El Niño event will potentially be four strongest events since 1950,” PAGASA said.

Scientists rank El Niño as the number one force disturb-ing world climate patterns. The force it carries is huge, almost beyond what the mind can comprehend. An American meteorologist shares this: “(El Niño) contains more energy than has been procured from all the fossils fuel burned in the United States since the begin-ning of the century – that’s all the gasoline in all the cars, the coal in all the power plants, the natural gas in all the furnac-es. It would take more than a million large power plants, at 1,000 megawatts each, run-ning full tilt for a year, to heat the ocean that much.”

Until now, no one can pin-point when precisely El Niño first struck. Historians are dat-ing the phenomenon at least as far back as the early 1500s, when the Spanish conquista-dores entered South America amid raging storms. Some 400 years before that, there were some records of terrible sweeping through pre-Colum-bian communities.

Originally, Spanish fish-ermen named the event as

“Corriente del Niño.” The word “corriente” describes the ap-pearance of a warm ocean current flowing from time to time in the eastern equato-rial Pacific region along the South American coasts. The word “Niño” was traditionally associated with the birth of Baby Jesus, as it was observed around Christmas. It was used to be considered a local event along the coasts of Peru and Ecuador. Through the years, “corriente” was dropped out, leaving only “El Niño.”

According to the Global Environmental Outlook 2000 (GEO 2000), El Niños are not natural disasters but natural variations in climate. They nor-mally occur every three to five years, lasting 6-18 months. Be-tween El Niños, there are often periods marked by a cooling of the surface waters of the same area of the Pacific, a phenome-non called La Niña (“the girl”). The whole cycle is called the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO).

The ocean current is char-acterized as “a mysterious, massive pond of warm, nutri-ent-poor seawater” which pro-duces a periodic shift in ocean temperatures and atmospher-ic conditions in the tropical Pacific. El Niño varies the sur-face temperature of the central eastern part of the tropical Pa-cific by up to 4 degrees Centi-grade, with associated changes

in the wind and rainfall pat-terns. This condition disrupts weather around the world leading to nasty extremes.

“El Niños have far-reach-ing effects,” notes GEO 2000, published by the United Na-tions Environment Program (UNEP). “The build-up of warm water along the west coast of South America pre-vents the normal upwelling of cold water from the ocean depths. In the western Pacif-ic, the normally rain-bearing cloud systems shift eastward the central and eastern Pacif-ic, bringing heavy rainfall to these areas while countries in the western Pacific, such as Australia, Indonesia and Pap-ua New Guinea experience drought.”

Aside from being unpre-dictable, El Niño is mind-bog-gling. “This weather distur-bance is considered an enemy that could cause damage to the environment, agriculture, and marine life. As such, it has destructive consequences to human life,” points out the La-guna-based Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD).

In the Philippines, El Niño usually brings drought. Annal-iza Solis, PAGASA climatologist and senior weather specialist, pointed this out. “In general po kapag may El Niño ang impact po sa atin ay warm and dry. So

kapag nagkakaroon po tayo ng strong El Niño, magkakaroon tayo ng kakulangan o kaba-wasan sa tubig ulan,” she told a radio program last year.

In an interview with The Guardian, Dr. Simon Brad-shaw, Oxfam Australia’s cli-mate change policy advisor, explained: “With an El Niño event, you usually get about one-fifth less rainfall across the country as well as significant changes to the timing of the rainy season.”

Solis urged the public to take El Niño seriously. “Dapat seryosohin hindi lamang ng national government kundi pati ng mga ordinaryo nating kababayan ang naka-ambang problema dulot ng El Niño phe-nomenon,” she said.

The local government of Davao City seemed the heed

the call. It has allocated “P60 million for the procurement of new equipment and repair of agricultural infrastructures,” according to Mindanews. The allocation was “in a bid to cushion the impact of El Nino that was projected to last until June this year.”

In Bansalan, Davao del Sur, the Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center bats for the imple-mentation of Sloping Agricul-tural Land Technology (SALT) in the uplands to defy drought. Its studies conducted in the 1980s and 1990s showed that despite the long drought sea-son, crops can still be produce.

The cost and return analy-sis of the SALT demonstration plot showed that during the El Niño in 1983, the system still managed to give a monthly net income of P436.90. The

previous figure, in 1982, was P597.85 per month. Report-ed studies showed that most upland farmers in the country during that time get a mea-sly income of only P300 per month.

In 1990, when another drought hit Mindanao, the SALT system had a monthly net income of P1,277.31. This was only 54.34 lower than the previous reported monthly net income of P1,331.74 in 1989.

“SALT is an agroforestry technology which combines agricultural and forestry crops in a single land, at a percentage ratio of 75:25,” points out the book, El Niño Southern Oscil-lation: Mitigating Measures. “This technology can help re-duce soil erosion four times, increase the yield crop five times, and improve income six times.”

Roy Alimoane, the MBRLC director, urges Filipino farmers to adapt and adopt the SALT scheme in their farms now. “Whether they like it or not, more drought will come our way due to climate change,” he said.

And El Niño may be just around the corner. “El Niño events occur on average every four or five years, but irregu-larly – they can be two years apart, or as many as 10 years,” an official of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-ministration said.

2

By HENRYLITO D. TACIO

EDGEDAVAO

COVER STORYEL NIÑO: The force awakens

“One of the scientific success stories of the

late 20th century was the ability to predict

El Niño events up to a year ahead.”

-- Michael Jarraud, secretary general of the UN World

Meteorological Organization

VOL. 8 ISSUE 214 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, JANUARY 24 - 25, 2016 3EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 8 ISSUE 214 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, JANUARY 24 - 25, 2016

POLICE and military authorities here have launched a manhunt

against suspected communist guerrillas who torched four heavy equipment of a con-struction firm in T’boli, South Cotabato Friday night.

Chief Inspector Jose Marie Simagan, T’boli police chief, told DXOM-AM Radyo Bida the

incident happened in Baran-gay Edwards at 8 p.m.

Simangan said about 10 to 15 heavily armed suspect-ed New Peoples’ Army (NPA) arrived in the compound of AJ construction company in Ba-rangay Edwards at 8 p.m., dis-armed the security guards and set on fire four construction equipment.

Torched were road roller, a backhoe, grader and a dump truck.

Quoting the firm’s securi-ty guards, Simangan said the armed men quietly arrived in the firm’s ground equipment compound and identify them-selves as “NPAs.”

After setting on fire the

4 EDGEDAVAO

NEWS

DAVAO Light and Pow-er Company (DLPC) warned of up to three-

hour power outages starting Monday, January 25, as the power situation in the city continues to worsen due to El Niño which has been causing drought in the country.

In a statement, DLPC said the situation is worsening because demand may reach as high as 340 megawatts (MW). This will result in an estimated three hours of ro-tating power interruptions during the peak hours, which is from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., and in an estimated one-hour out-age during off-peak hours, which is from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m.

Aside from the dry spell, Therma South, Inc (TSI), also gave an advisory last Fri-day that its coal-fired power plant’s 150-MW Unit 2 will undergo a corrective main-tenance shutdown for seven days starting Saturday, Janu-

ary 23.DLPC has a 100 MW con-

tract with TSI, of which 50 MW comes from the affected unit.

DLPC said with the shut-down, the total power supply will only be at 233 MW, insuf-ficient to supply the demand in its franchise of 320 MW on Saturday and 290 MW on Sunday.

It said it will continue to optimize its supply contracts with the following generating plants: Therma Marine Inc. for 30 MW; Unit 1 of the TSI coal-fired power plant for 50 MW; Hedcor Sibulan for 39 MW; Hedcor Talomo for 3 MW; and the Western Mind-anao Power Corporation for 15 MW.

DLPC said its Bajada Pow-er Plant will continue to run and the Interruptible Load Program will still be activated to help mitigate the impact of the very tight power supply

situation.It also said it will continue

to give its customers updates on any improvement in the power supply situation.

Last week, Davao Light apprised the public that its current power supply alloca-tion from the National Power Corporation-Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Man-agement Corporation (NPC-PSALM) through the National Grid Corporation of the Phil-ippines (NGCP) had been fur-ther reduced.

The NGCP reported that this was due to the much re-duced capacity of the major NPC-PSALM hydro generat-ing plants in Mindanao due to low water inflow caused by El Nino.

It said another reason was the intermittent bomb-ings of transmission towers in Mindanao, which had isolated two other NPC-PSALM power plants.

Now, 4-hour rotating blackoutsDavao Light presses alarm due to worsening El Niño

THE Davao City Police Office has already re-corded 12 violators of

the election gun ban being implemented by the Commis-sion on Elections (Comelec) since January 10.

In an interview, DCPO spokesperson Chief Inspector Milgrace C. Driz said eight of the violators were arrested for carrying guns and im-provised firearms while four were carrying bladed weap-ons, which are also prohibited under the gun ban.

The latest violator ar-rested was identified as King Samuel S. Traya, 22, a resident of Buhangin, Davao City.

Bunawan Police Station reported that Traya was ar-

rested while carrying an im-provised firearm known as sumpak loaded with .38 cali-ber bullets in Sitio Koobler in Barangay Ilang around mid-night on January 23.

Driz said most of the other arrests were made at checkpoints mounted by po-lice stations in various parts the city.

“Naa puy mga insidente na nakuhaan nato through crime incidents like for in-stance nandunggab sila, nag-amok (There are some cases in which the violators were arrested while committing crimes, like stabbing or going amok),” she said.

Driz said some arrests also came from reports of

concerned citizens or people who were carrying firearms and deadly weapons despite the gun ban.

Driz said those arrested carrying firearms will face charges of violation of Repub-lic Act No. 10591 or the Com-prehensive Firearms and Am-munition Regulation Act. The penalty is up to 12 years of imprisonment if found guilty by the court.

Those arrested for bladed weapons will only be charged for violation of the Omnibus Election Code. Under Comelec Resolution No. 10015 dated November 13, 2015, violators will be slapped with up to six years of imprisonment. AR-MANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

DAVAO City Council com-mittee on trade and in-dustry chair Jimmy Du-

reza has told the Department of Transportation and Com-munication (DOTC) that there is no hurry in implementing the controversial Sasa Port Modernization project.

In an interview, Dureza said a lot of concerns need to be addressed first before the

P18.9-billion project can be implemented.

“For example, what will happen to the passenger ter-minals? It will be gone once the port development project will push through. Where are they going to place our passenger terminals here?” he said.

He said the traffic flow also needs to be addressed espe-cially since the area is beset by

heavy traffic congestion as it is.“The project has no pro-

vision to expand the road net-work there,” Dureza said.

He said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has told the city that it has no fund for the road right of way. “Wala sa plano ba (It is not being planned),” he said.

Dureza said the DOTC

By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR. and CHENEEN R. CAPON

TOO YOUNG TO WORK. Two young boys stack used cardboard boxes they collected from establishments around R. Castillo Avenue to be sold to a nearby junk shop for P2 per kilo. Lean Daval Jr.

MAINTENANCE. Linemen from a company commissioned by the Davao Light and Power Company (DLPC) conduct rehabilitation and maintenance work along San Pedro Street in Davao City. DLPC announced

that its franchise areas will experience up to four hours of blackouts as its allocation from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) was further reduced due to the impact of El Niño. Lean Daval Jr.

Councilor on Sasa portproject: What’s the hurry?

Suspected rebs torch heavyequipment, manhunt on

12 arrested for violatingComelec election gun ban

FCOUNCILOR, 10

FSUSPECTED, 10

VOL. 8 ISSUE 214 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, JANUARY 24 - 25, 2016 5EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 8 ISSUE 214 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, JANUARY 24 - 25, 20166 NEWS EDGEDAVAO

THE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) 11 will strictly

monitor the jail facilities in Davao Region in a bid to clamp down on the possible illegal drug activities of the inmates through surprise "search and seizure operations."

In an interview on Thurs-day, PDEA 11 Adzhar Albani told reporters that it is not ac-ceptable if any of the prisoners would be able to sneak illegal drugs in jails where the secu-rity is supposed to be at it the strictest level.

Last Wednesday, a joint operation between PDEA and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) was con-ducted at the latter's jail facili-ty in Maa, Davao City.

No illegal drugs were found, he said.

But Albani added that they are not taking it lightly even as no illegal drugs were seized at

the BJMP to prevent the prolif-eration of illegal drugs in the jails.

He said he has yet to get an inventory of jails run by the BJMP, city and municipal governments, and Bureau of Corrections (Bucor) around the region.

"We will conduct surprise operations if we receive an intel that some of the inmates are using illegal drugs," he said.

He said that there is an existing memorandum of agreement between PDEA and BJMP that allows special oper-ations inside the jail facilities at anytime.

He said he cannot say for sure that all jails in the region are clear of illegal drugs, the reason why they are doing the operations as a preventive measure.

"We're not proclaiming that Davao Region is drug-

free," he said.He said that there have

been no reports of any clan-destine shabu laboraties oper-ating in the region but they are doing all they can to prevent the entry of illegal drug lords in the region.

Interdiction team at aiportsInterdiction teams have

been set up November 2015 at the Francisco Bangoy Interna-tional Airport and Zamboanga International Airport to pre-vent the entry of illegal drugs.

Aside from PDEA, he team comprises the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, Bureau of Customs, and Air-port Police Station and PNP Aviation Security Unit 11, Al-bani said.

The team monitors 24/7 so that no illegal drugs will pass through the airport secu-rity, he said.

Albani added the same

mechanism will be implement-ed in other airports noting that big shabu shipments have passed through the airport as mails and packages.

“They are the ones who check and apprehend any bag-gage that possibly contain ille-gal drugs,” he said.

He said security teams in airports have not been this or-ganized before as they lacked a mechanism to prevent the entry of illegal drugs to the city.

He said they have been alarmed that passengers might slip in illegal drugs through the airport’s mail and parcel sys-tem, citing an incident where 19 kilos of shabu from Zam-boanga was discovered at the airport in Tawi-Tawi.

“The fact that it passed through the security in Zam-boanga airport, it means to say that the security has not been so tight,” he said. ANTONIO L. COLINA IV

SENATOR Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. has said the arrest of

a ranking military officer in a drug raid should be a wake-up call to everyone that the drug problem has gotten worse and that the only way to solve it is for the entire nation to unite against it.

In an interview, Marcos branded as “very disturbing” the arrest of Marine Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino, a former officer of the Philippine Drug

Enforcement Agency (PDEA), saying it just means that the state of the drug problem in the country is very serious.

“This is a very disturbing development. Kitang-kita na-tin na talagang malalang-mala-la na talaga ang problemang ito. At kahit na ang ating mga alagad ng batas ay nagiging in-volved na,” he stated.

Marcos pointed out that being so, the only solution to put an end to the illegal drug problem is for the whole coun-

try to unite. “We must galva-nize, we must motivate the entire country, ang ating mga magulang, ang ating mga guro, ang ating mga simbahan, mga pulis, mga korte, mga prose-cutor, dapat lahat ay magkaisa para mabigyan na ng solusyon ang problemang ito,” he said.

Marcos said that accord-ing to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), more than 20 percent of the 42,029 total barangays nation-wide had drug-related cases in

2014, with the National Capi-tal Region having the highest rate of drug-affected baran-gays at 92 percent.

Likewise, Marcos said crime rate rose by more than three times from 2010 to 2014 based on the annual reports of the Philippine Statistics Au-thority. The reports show that total crimes in 2014 reached 1.16 million cases compared to 324,083 cases in 2010.

He stressed that solving

SAYING that there is a need to ease the burden and suffering of public school

teachers, vice presidential can-didate Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano wants to sufficiently increase their sal-aries.

In a solidarity meeting with the Ating Guro party-list and the Teachers’ Dignity Co-alition (TDC) in Taguig City on Saturday, Cayetano assured teachers that if elected, he and his running mate Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte will work towards sufficient-ly increasing the salaries of all teaching positions within three (3) years to allow the country’s public educators to benefit from real economic growth.

It was reported that differ-ent teachers’ groups rejected the government’s proposal to grant educators with en-try-level position an additional of P2, 205.00 from the pres-ent salary of P18, 549.00. The groups said the proposal is a meager increase of less than 12%, spread over a period of four years, making the annual increase of a little more than P500.00, the lowest in recent history.

“Sobra na ang gulo sa ban-sa kaya huwag na natin dag-dagan pa ang pahirap ng tao lalo ng mga guro. Hindi dapat sila tinitipid. Imbes na ginha-wa, dagdag gulo sa buhay ang binibigay ng gobyerno,” Cay-etano said.

AN Army battalion of around 500 men and officers arrived here

Wednesday on board a C-130 cargo aircraft from Mindoro for deployment against the New Peoples Army (NPA).

With the arrival of the 16th Infantry Battalion, there are now four army battalions operating in Surigao del Sur, mostly targeting the Andap Valley complex where most of the rebels are believed to be operating.

Gov. Johnny Pimentel welcomed the soldiers to his province. He said he asked for more Army battalions for de-ployment to end the problem of insurgency that has plagued their province since 1979.

“Our prayers have been

heard. We welcome you here knowing that you can help solve the insurgency problem in our problems,” he said.

Pimentel said their prov-ince ranks third nationwide in the number of communist guerrillas, after Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental

“Come election time, these rebels will again harass can-didates campaigning in their bailiwicks. This has to stop,” he said.

Pimentel said he sees no problem with the deployment of more troops even if most of the human rights groups and militant left accused the mil-itary for allegedly backing up the paramilitary group Maga-hat-Bagani who were iden-

ABUSE PART I. The government spends millions in public funds to expand and improve the roads like this one along Quezon Blvd. near the so-called “Mini-Forest Area” only to be used as parking area of passenger utility jeeps (PUJs). The other side of the road is likewise used as parking area. Maintenance of traffic and order in the streets is the re-sponsibility of the Traffic Management Center (TMC), renamed City Traffic and Transport Management Office (CTTMO).

Many other government agencies have the power to arrest violators, but it seems they’re all inutile, unable to correct this simple traffic problem. Rightly or wrongly, some citizens are asking who’s making money out of this chaos in the streets? Lean Daval Jr.

PDEA 11 to monitor jails

Marcos: Arrest of Marcelino a wake-up call against illegal drugs

Cayetano vows to upsalaries of teachers

Army troops land in Tandagfor deployment against NPA

FMARCOS, 10

FCAYETANO, 10

FARMY, 10

VOL. 8 ISSUE 214 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, JANUARY 24 - 25, 2016 7EDGEDAVAO

ECONOMY

THE Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) in Southern Mindanao is opposing

the proposal to give a month-ly increase of only P500 to P1,000 to pensioners in the wake of President Aquino’s decision to veto the bill giving them a hike of P2,000.

KMU-Southern Mindanao branded the move of House leaders working on a com-promise bill as “shortchang-ing” the pensioners and con-demned the Aquino govern-ment’s veto of the original bill.

The labor group also be-lied government claims that the SSS would be insolvent if the P2,000 SSS pension hike was signed into law.

“The government is ly-ing through its teeth. The proponents of this bill had carefully studied the financial capacity of the SSS, including all possible sourcing, such as the improving the collections and penalizing delinquent employers who do not re-mit SSS premium contribu-tions of worker-members,” KMU-Southern Mindanao spokesperson Olalo said in a statement.

Olalo said the president and his allies “insulted pen-sioners enough and is indeed heartless.”

“If the president is wor-ried about insolvency, it must instead deprive SSS execu-

tives of fat bonuses and return the P71 million unaudited monies to the SSS members than veto the bill. Improve collections and create mecha-nisms to penalize delinquent employers in order to boost SSS funds,” Olalo added.

KMU also lambasted the government’s and SSS exec-utives’ defense of the veto by pitting the future of the cur-rent members and the pen-sioners.

The group said that the main hindrance to the future of the SSS is inefficiency, citing SSS’ P325-billion uncollected revenue. Olalo said that if SSS can only improve its present 38% collection rate, the sta-

bility of the SSS fund will also be much improved.

House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., said in an earli-er report that the House has passed House Bill No. 6112 which “would allow the SSS board to increase the premi-um contributions of mem-bers to cope with the rising demands of pensions and other perks of members.”

Meanwhile, Ariel Casilao, first nominee of Anakpawis Partylist, explained that it is now up to mass movement of people, SSS members and pensioners, as well as mem-bers of the House to override the veto. Casilao added that at

present, representatives from the Makabayan bloc are now lobbying support in Congress to make the veto reversal pos-sible.

“PNoy and his allies are attempting to create the bo-gey of insolvency to persuade belief in the morality of the veto but we are not convinced. They are trying to create a divide between current SSS members and pensioners, but we are also future pensioners and this P2,000 pension hike is immediate relief for us in the future. The reality is that when push comes to shove, PNoy and the ruling LP clique is evidently anti-worker and anti-poor,” Casilao added.

“We are calling on all pen-sioners and current SSS con-tributors to strongly unite in order to reverse the veto. Let us be clear with our demand for the P2,000 SSS pension hike and continue protesting until the bill is finally passed into law,” Casilao explained.

Casilao also called on the public to support nationwide protests and pensioners’ con-sultation on January 28 and 30.

Earlier, some workers orkers, drivers, and SSS mem-bers under Kilusang Mayo Uno and Anakpawis Partyl-ist staged a picket protest in front of the SSS Office in Ba-jada.

Aquino hit over pension hike vetoKMU: Giving pensioners less is shortchanging them

crc@edgedavao.netBy CHENEEN R. CAPON

A TRANSMISSION pole of the National Grid Corpo-ration of the Philippines

(NGCP) in Salimbao, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao was burned Friday evening.

“NGCP’s Sultan Kudarat Substation- Cotabato City- Datu Saudi Ampatuan 69-kV line tripped on 22 January at 10:57PM because of the burned transmission pole,” NGCP corporate communica-

tion officer for Mindanao Mil-france “Bambie” C. Capulong said in a statement.

Capulong said initial find-ings indicate sabotage.

Just last week, another NGCP tower was bombed, making it the second incident this year.

Capulong said NGCP’s Tower #50 of Agus 2-Kibawe 138kV line in Brgy. Pantar, Di-mayon Bubong, Lanao del Sur

was bombed early morning of 18 January.

“The bombings only ag-gravate the tenuous power situation in Mindanao,” she said. “The incoming 600MW of generation capacity from new power plants will not be sufficient to relieve Mindanao of its energy problems unless the bombing of transmission facilities are stopped.”

Sufficient supply and

strong transmission are both integral to a stable power situ-ation, Capulong added.

Meanwhile, Power to Co-tabato City was restored at 1:39AM and to Maguindan-ao Electric Cooperative, Inc. (MAGELCO) areas at 7:14AM today, 23 January.

NGCP completed the nec-essary repairs at 1:54pm to-day with the installation of a

NGCP transmission pole torched

ACHORED on its vision of attaining self-sufficiency on rice production, the

City Government of Tagum, through the City Agriculture Office, recently transplanted rice seedlings to its 1.8 hect-are rice field located at the city’s Rice Research Station at Mandapaan, New Balamban, Tagum City on January 21,

2016. The transplanted seed-

lings which were originally purchased as registered seeds at the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) in Agusan del Norte, were planted to yield 200 sacks of certified seeds which will then be distributed for sale to the members of the six rice farmer’s organizations

in the city at 800 pesos per sack which is significantly low-er compared to the prevailing and current market price.

This is still part of the agenda on achieving food se-curity for Tagum City of Mayor Allan L. Rellon under the EA-GLE WINGS Program.

The 800-peso income of each of the farmers from the

would-be sale of the certified seeds will form part of the rice farmers’ Revolving Fund under the Farmers Empowerment and Sustainable Agriculture (FESA) Program of the City Ag-riculture Office.

City Agriculturist Harold S. Dawa, said that the setting up of the revolving fund with the

Tagum targets rice farmers’ self-sufficiency

A DAVAO City Councilor, who authored the city’s Public Private Partnership

Ordinance, said members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) are willing to sit down with offi-cials of the Department of Trans-portation and Communication (DOTC) whose controversial Sasa port modernization proj-ect was disapproved by the City Government and local business community for its alleged over-priced bid cost of P18.99 billion.

Councilor Jimmy Dureza, chair of the committee on trade and industry, told reporters that they have no qualms regarding this proposed port project, but that proponents must consult the SP which will then pass a resolution endorsing it.

“It’s a requirement under the Local Government Code. Any national government project that will have to be undertaken should have the consent … of the local government,” Dureza said Tuesday last week.

Ma. Lourdes Lim, regional director of the National Eco-nomic Development Authority

(NEDA) who is also vice chair of the Regional Development Council (RDC), said they are set to hold a consultation meeting with DOTC officials within this quarter.

She previously said that the city government objected to the proposal after the DOTC proceeded with the bidding process without consulting the City Council, which is supposed to pass a legislation allowing the project here based on the Local Government Code.

Dureza said that the pro-posed project lacked a provision for the expansion of roads lead-ing to and from the port to pre-vent traffic congestion.

“Secondly, we are already confronted by traffic congestion, no provision to expand the road network. We have to prepare the infrastructure facilities that will be needed,” Dureza said Tuesday last week.

He added that they are not objecting the project but they want to conduct a study on this.

“If they are interested to

Council willing to sit down with DOTC on port project

BANK lending standards in the Philippines re-mained steady in the

fourth quarter of 2015, with some banks even reporting in-creased tolerance for risks.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pil-ipinas (BSP), in a report Friday, said the broadly unchanged credit standards for loans, to both enterprises and house-holds, in the last quarter of last year was the 27th consecutive quarter that banks reported the same.

Results of the Q4 2015 Senior Bank Loan Officers’ Survey (SLOS) showed that most of the banks said cred-it standards for enterprises remained steady, with some reporting net easing, not only

because of higher risk toler-ance but also due to improved outlook on certain industries.

Over-all credit standards eased across most firm sizes except for micro enterprises, it said.

Banks expected the same situation to transpire in the first quarter of 2016.

Credit standards for households are generally sim-ilar, with the easing of stan-dards attributed also to im-proved profile of borrowers.

“In particular, banks’ re-sponses indicated overall in-creased credit line sizes and less strict loan covenant for loans extended to households,” the report said.

Phl bank lending standards steady

GOING COCONUTS. Coconut farmers from Davao del Sur deliver coconuts at the bagsakan area in Bankerohan yesterday. Things may be looking up for the coconut industry as the demand for buko juice has been increasing in countries like the Netherlands, United States of America, England, and Australia. Lean Daval Jr.

FNGCP, 10

FTAGUM, 10

FPHL, 10

FCOUNCIL, 10

VOL. 8 ISSUE 214 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, JANUARY 24 - 25, 20168 EDGEDAVAO

VANTAGE

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Drug menace as a parameterONE can just imagine the shock at finding a man known to

be a drugbuster this time on the other side.That must be one insane twist arresting personnel of

the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) encountered seeing their former officer in the scene of the crime where supposed illegal drugs suspects are to be arrested. To arrest him was never the intention but there was no other reason why he should be spared.

Yes, the arrest of Marine Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino, whose record as a drugbuster included the notorious “Alabang Boys”, is very disturbing. It’s like a script culled out of a movie we have seen over and over again. A storyline that has been very much abused that it no longer jolts to the senses where crimebusters and law enforcers end up breaking the law.

The arrest of a ranking military officer in a drug raid should be a wake-up call to everyone that the drug problem has gotten worse and that the only way to solve it is for the entire nation to unite against it.

According to PDEA, more than 20 percent of the 42,029 total barangays nationwide had drug-related cases in 2014, with the National Capital Region having the highest rate of drug-affected barangays at 92 percent.

The way we look at it, the campaign to end this menace will have to wait for the next administration. It obviously shows the current leadership failed miserably in this area.

A few weeks back, Mayor Rodrigo Duterte tipped that the drug problem in the country is getting really worse. He could be right in his assessment and the arrest of Marcelino could be just the tip of the iceberg that the most unlikely personalities are now involved in this major syndicate.

Solving the drug menace, therefore, should be one of the top priorities of the next administration because of its ill-effects in peace and order and the youth.

That should be one of the parameters our electorate should be looking at when the time comes to cast the ballot for the next leader of this country.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 214 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, JANUARY 24 - 25, 2016 VANTAGE POINTS 9EDGEDAVAO

ARE you looking for something to give your beloved this coming Valentine’s Day? If you cannot think of anything yet,

why don’t you give her the usual thing being of-fered on this day of lovers?

No, I am not referring to red roses but choc-olates. Aside from preventing heart disease, the ingredients in chocolate, when taken in moder-ate amounts, could also boost the immune sys-tem and prevent plaque formation that leads to tooth decay. That’s what the US-based Mayo Clinic said in its website.

“Harvard researchers found that of 7,800 men who participated in a study, those who ate candy one to three times a month lived longer than those who almost never ate candy,” the re-port said.

Although the Harvard researchers failed to ask what type of candy the subjects ate, it was speculated that they must have eaten choco-lates.

“If that’s true, the explanation for the re-sults of the study may be that a 1.5-ounce piece of chocolate contains the same amount of the heart-protecting antioxidant, phenol, as a glass of red wine,” the report said.

“Chocolate and health do not seem to fit to-gether but it is a very interesting proposition: if I can eat something I like and it is good for me, that is great,” said Hans Vriens, chief innovation officer of Barry Callebaut, which conducted a study. “Chocolate is probably at the bottom of the list when you think about making food healthier.”

But eating dark chocolate every day for 10 years could reduce the likelihood of heart at-tacks and strokes in some high-risk patients. A team of researchers from Australia used a

mathematical model to pre-dict the long-term health impact of daily dark chocolate consumption in 2,013 people with a condition known as meta-bolic syndrome, which puts them at high risk of heart dis-ease.

The team found that in the best case sce-nario – with no patient missing any daily por-tions – the treatment could potentially avert 70 non-fatal and 15 fatal heart attacks or strokes per 10,000 people over 10 years.

The study was published in the British Med-ical Journal. The researchers, however, stressed the protective effects have only been shown for dark chocolate containing at least 60 to 70 per-cent cocoa—not for milk or white chocolate. This is probably due to higher levels of flavo-noids in dark chocolate.

But experts not involved in the study urged caution. “Recommendations for daily con-sumption of dark chocolate ... will certainly get people with metabolic syndrome excited, but at this point these findings are more hypothetical than proven, and the results need real-life data to confirm,” said Dr. Kenneth Ong at the Brook-lyn Hospital Center in the United States.

A few years ago, some American teenagers came to the place where I work as an informa-tion officer. Actually, the place is a farm teemed

with various crops, both fruits and vegetables.“This is where chocolate comes from,” I

told them. All of them were amazed to see ca-cao trees. I thought they had seen it before but when someone inquired, I almost wanted to laugh. “Do you put straw on that fruit to get the chocolate out?” he asked.

Cacao is a native crop of the Philippines. It was first cultivated by the Mayas around the 7th century A.D. They carried the seed north from the tropical Amazon forests to what is now Mexico. In the 16th century, the Spanish planted cacao across South America, into Cen-tral America, and onto the Caribbean Islands. In the 17th century, the Dutch transported the cacao to other places around the globe like Java, Sumatra, Sri Lanka, New Guinea, and the Phil-ippines.

“In 1670, Spanish mariner Pedro Bravo de Lagunas planted the first cacao in San Jose, Batangas,” reports The Philippines Recommends for Cacao. After that, cacao growing flourished in various parts of the country – until pod rot wiped out plantations of it.

In the 1950’s, the imposition of Import Control Law resulted in efforts to revive the industry by inter-governmental agencies and by private sector for self-sufficiency and ex-port. By the time the industry was blooming, pod borer infestation surfaced. Control of the disease was quite expensive. As a result, estab-lished plantations were again wiped out; oth-ers were abandoned.

This particularly happened in Mindanao, where most of the cacao crops were grown. In 1990, about 18,388 hectares were planted to cacao, according to the Department of Agricul-ture.

By 2006, the area declined to less than 10,000 hectares. During this period, produc-tion fell from 9,900 tons to about 5,400 tons, with two-thirds of the production coming from Davao region alone.

But in recent years, more and more farm-ers are planting cacao. This is due to the fact co-coa bean is in big demand in the international market. The European Union and the United States are the two biggest finished chocolate product consumers, accounting for three-quar-ters of total chocolate consumption, according to a position paper written by Adam Keatts and Christopher Root. Other significant chocolate consumers are Russia, Japan, and Brazil.

A “banner year” for cacao industry was how Valente Turtur considered 2015. In a news report written by Cheneen R. Capon, it was said that “domestic buying price for dried fermented cacao bean started with P110 per kilo in January and went up to P170 towards the end of the year.”

“Domestic buying price was higher than the international price which was pegged at only P157 per kilogram,” Turtur, who is the executive director of the Cacao Industry De-velopment Association of Mindanao, Inc., was quoted as saying.

Last year, the country produced 12,000 to 13,000 metric tons of cacao beans -- with more than 90% (10,000 to 11,000 metric tons) came from production areas in Mindanao. Only 40% of those were sold abroad and the remaining 60% used domestically.

Mindanao is home to about 23,000 million cacao trees -- with 12 million of those already fruit-bearing. Davao City has the biggest area planted to cacao -- 6,000 hectares.

AS we are getting very close to the ASE-AN Economic Community we have to realize that the name of the game is

competitiveness. Philippine companies like all firms operating in ASEAN must find the means of enlarging their economic position, alone or in partnership with other regional or interna-tional players. EU companies, leading in tech-nology, are ready to go into such partnerships.

Let’s look at some sectors:

Mining Industry ASEAN member states are mineral rich

and mining is playing an increasingly import-ant role in the Region’s economic growth. In Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, mining now accounts for 12% of GDP. Even as global demand has eased, Asia’s locomotive economies continue to drive ASEAN’s fast de-veloping mining sector – unfortunately not in the mineral-rich Philippines. It is trusted that the next administration taking control on 1 July 2016 will fully implement and enforce the provisions of the existing Mining Act, espe-cially its environmental protection measures and provisions on post-mine rehabilitation, introduce an internationally competitive fiscal regime for mining, and ensure consistency of local ordinances with regulations, decisions and policies of the National Government.

Transport

South-east Asia, a region of around 600 million peo-ple, with a combined GDP of US$ 2.1 trillion, is not only a vast and developing market, it is also bound by the dynamic economies of China, India, South Korea and Australia. Facilitation of trade is vital for all ASEAN countries, which occupy an area at the heart of these leading global manufacturers. Trade among member coun-tries themselves is steadily increasing with in-tra-trading expected to increase to 30% of total trade. As a result, transport and logistics have become big business in Southeast Asia, with some 275 publicly listed companies involved in the sector. Their total combined revenues reached US$ 140.8 billion. For the Philippines this means to accelerate the implementation of transport PPPs and overcome legal objections swiftly; the Philippine government has to ad-dress cost, quality and competitiveness issues in domestic logistics.

AviationThe aim of the ASEAN Single Aviation Mar-

ket is to foster a competitive airline industry and propel the Region’s carriers into the global market. It is a strategy that seeks to increase market access, establish central authorities and industrial standards, for a sector that is undergoing unprecedented expansion. Open skies will yield a host of opportunities for ASEAN members by removing obstacles to growth, such as restrictive airspace and route constraints. In the Philippines, the decision has to be made to expand Clark and modern-ize NAIA, provide night-landing equipment to 14 airports, and improve civil aviation regula-tion. This has to include the implementation of the two-airport strategy (NAIA and Clark) and move budget airlines / budget flights from NAIA to Clark. In order to move passengers from Manila to Clark, initially a fast-transit bus system should be considered, while making the rail link possible.

ICTSustained investment in information and

communication technology is proving to be one of the most potent drivers of development for emerging economies. The strong focus on ICT development is having a significant im-pact on the ASEAN region. There is a master plan to deliver ICT as an engine of growth for all member states and to establish the Region

as a global communications hub. The Philip-pines telecoms and IT market is estimated to contribute more than 10% to the country’s GDP, boosted by the exponential development of mobile telephony. The Philippines is a lead-er in business process management and will have to improve its telecoms infrastructure / broadband if it wishes to maintain that posi-tion. Additionally, if the Philippines wants to benefit from Big Data (and it should want this), the implementation of the Data Privacy Act is more than overdue.

HealthcareHealth spending in Southeast Asia is ex-

pected to double in real terms over the next decade, outstripping GDP growth, as govern-ments seek to improve standards and widen the scope of care available. There are wide variations in the Region. Several ASEAN mem-bers have passed laws to establish national health insurance systems and mandated uni-versal coverage, including the Philippines. An integrated ASEAN market in healthcare con-sisting of harmonized standards, registration and evaluation, mutual recognition of qualifi-cations and cross border cooperation greatly expand regional healthcare facilities, stimulat-ing growth of a vital sector. European compa-nies, active in the healthcare sector, are ready to be part of the solution to bring healthcare to Filipino patients fast and effectively.

Henrylito D. Taciohenrytacio@gmail.com

THINK ON THESE!

Chocolates come from cacao

AEC – Are all sectors ready?

Henry J. Schumacher

EUROPE BIZ

VOL. 8 ISSUE 214 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, JANUARY 24 - 25, 201610 EDGEDAVAONEWSCouncilor... FROM 4

Marcos... FROM 6

NGCP... FROM 7

Tagum... FROM 7

Phl... FROM 7

Council... FROM 7

Suspected... FROM 4 Army... FROM 6

Cayetano... FROM 6

should prepare for the infra-structure needed before the project is implemented. “This is to accommodate the future expansion there,” he said.

Dureza said the City Coun-cil is willing to talk with the national agencies to inform them that bypassing the city government is a violation of the Repubic Act No. 7160 the Local Government Code of the Philippines.

National Economic De-velopment Authority (NEDA) 11 regional director Maria Lourdes Lim had earlier said consultation meetings will be done with DOTC officials with-in this quarter.

Lim, however, said the project will continue even if there is opposition from the city government.

Dureza, however, said the DOTC should not insist that it is right because it had gone about the procedure incorrect-ly.

“They should not insist on it because we are in the same government. We welcome the project, but we just want to follow the right procedures,” he said.

Last month, the City Coun-cilor unanimously voted to object to the project because there was a violation of Local Government Code of 1991 un-

der section 27 which says no project or program “shall be implemented by government authorities unless the consul-tations mentioned in Sections 2 (c) and 26 hereof are com-plied with, and prior approval of the council concerned is ob-tained.”

The Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII) had earlier ex-pressed its outright rejection of the project. It demanded that the national government place the bidding process on hold and revisit the study and recommendation made by the Development Bank of the Phil-ippines-International Finance Corporation (DBP-IFC).

DOTC Undersecretary Rene K. Limcaoco, on the other hand, defended the project by saying that the P19 billion bid price is just the “estimated cost of the conceptual design.”

He said the winning bidder is not required to implement the modernization project at the P19 billion bid price. It could be lower depending on the bidder and its respective design, he added.

Limcaoco said three com-panies have already bought bid documents for P300,000. One of them is San Miguel Cor-poration (SMC). ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

construction equipment, the suspects left letters addressed to the construction company owner and to South Cotabato Gov. Daisy Avance Fuentes.

Simangan said extortion

was the likely motive.AJ Construction Compa-

ny has been working on road expansion project in T’boli, an upland town in South Cotaba-to. (PNA)

the drug menace should be one of the top priorities of the next administration because of its ill-effects in peace and order and the youth.

“Ang pinag-uusapan dito ay hindi lamang kriminalidad na dulot ng droga, kundi ang

binibiktima ay ang ating ka-bataan at sinasabi natin pala-gi ay ang kabataan ang ating pag-asa. Wala tayong pag-asa, hindi tayo magiging progresi-bo kapag sinira na nila ang buhay ng ating mga kabataan,” he said.

Apart from hiking their basic salaries, Cayetano also wants to grant public educa-tors P10,000 worth of addi-tional compensation through his Senate Bill No. 94, which will be over and above the pro-posed Salary Standardization Law (SSL). This was warmly welcomed by different teach-ers’ groups.

“Sen. Cayetano has been part of our campaign from the very start. At a time when teachers are losing hope, the senator’s proposal re-ener-gized our ranks,” TDC Chair-person Benjo Basas said.

Basas, who is also the first

nominee of Ang Guro Partylist, said he was happy that Cay-etano took a firm stance in re-pairing the government’s erro-neous compensation scheme for teachers. He said past and present salary laws classified teachers as among the lowest paid government profession-als.

“Through these bold solu-tions, we will make sure that our teachers, who are the backbone of our education sys-tem, are treated right. Under a Duterte-Cayetano leadership, everyone will have an oppor-tunity to realize a better life,” Cayetano ended.

tified by witnesses as having killed Emerito Samarca, Execu-tive Director of the Alternative Learning Center for Agricul-ture and Livelihood Develop-ment (Alcadev), a school for Lumads; and Lumad leaders Dionel Campos and Bello Sinzo on September 1.

“No clear evidence”“There is no clear evidence

that the military is behind the killings or that they are sup-porting the Lumad killers,” Pi-mentel told reporters

Pimentel said he is satis-fied that the Philippine Nation-al Police has put bounties of P1.2 million each for the arrest of suspected Magahat leaders Bobby Tejero, his older broth-er Loloy and Garito Layno.

He said the bounty will one day help authorities arrest the three suspects.

“The rest of the demands made by the evacuees and human rights groups are not doable at the level of provincial government,” Pimentel said.

Pimentel said the de-mands that could not be met by the provincial government are: pullout of all military troops; suspension of military operations; and resumption of the peace talks between the government and the National Democratic Front.

He said at least 1,000 evac-uees are still at the Tandag sports center, too scared to go back home with the ongoing military operations.

Near home

Lt. Alfredo Bagbag of the 16th Infantry Battalion, who hails from Zamboanga del Sur, carried an AR 15 rifle, pouches of extra bullets and a longing for home. His deployment here makes him “nearer to home and my family,” he said.

Bagbag immediately sought fellow Army officers for the best travel route to Zambo-anga del Sur where his family is based.

The commander of the Charlie Company said it is hard for a soldier to see his children growing up without his pres-ence. “I only see them twice a year during my visits. I am hoping I can visit them more now that my battalion is de-ployed here in Surigao del Sur,” he said.

Lt. Col. Andres Ferrer, com-mander of the 16th In Infantry Battalion said being a soldier is difficult for the families that are left behind.

Ferrer’s family is based in Iloilo and like Bagbag, he rare-ly sees them. “That is why I ex-plained to them before we left that soldiers have a sacrifice to make. This is our job.”

Ferrer said many of his men did not have the time to bid their families goodbye when they left Mindoro for Su-rigao del Sur.

“We just have to man up our emotions. We are profes-sional soldiers and we have a duty to serve the people in Su-rigao del Sur,” he said. (Froilan Gallardo / MindaNews)

modified lightweight tower, she said.

“NGCP is doing all it can to ensure continued, uninter-rupted power transmission services all over the country,” she added. “However, power interruptions caused by force majeure events like sabotage and tower bombings, are be-yond our control.”

She said the NGCP is ap-pealing to the national govern-ment, the local government units, law enforcement agen-cies like the PNP and the AFP, as well as to the local com-munities and their leaders, to help them secure transmission lines to prevent such power interruptions. CHENEEN R. CAPON

aid of the local government of Tagum was on the premise that the rice farmers of the city needed a system where they do not have to keep going to lenders to finance the oper-ational costs of their farms, thereby becoming debt-ridden due to the extremely-high in-terest rates.

He added that the CA-GRO warehouse will have on standby buffer stocks of rice seeds from the seed produc-tion harvest that will be readily

distributed to the farmers in case their respective rice fields are hit by natural calamities and also stated that the City Government will distribute the sacks of certified seeds for free in the event of pest infestation as well as flooding.

Through the continued im-plementation of the program, the members of the six farm-er’s organizations will become self-sustaining by year 2019, and will no longer need the aid of the city government.

In terms of loan demand, the central bank survey showed that banks expect de-mand to remain robust both for households and enterpris-es.

Some banks even see high-er demand, with those from

enterprises attributed to high-er accounts receivable financ-ing needs of borrowers firms and clients, while those from household because of expect-ed increase in consumption and more attractive financing terms. (PNA)

implement the project then they should first get the consent. They presumed there is no need to consult the local legislative body,” Dureza said.

It’s not also indicated in the proposal whether the passenger terminals will be retained, he said.

Dureza said that they are willing to discuss with the stake-holders to settle the infirmities in the proposal since there is still six months before the 17th City

Council adjourns in June.In a forum organized by the

Davao City Chamber of Com-merce and Industries Inc. (DC-CCII) at Park Inn by Radisson Davao in July last year, stake-holders from the business com-munity objected to the bid cost which was placed at P18.99 bil-lion, higher by more than three folds from its original cost of P4 billion set by the Philippines Ports Authority. (Antonio L. Co-lina IV / MindaNews)

the event is Canon’s EOS M10, the newest addition to the EOS M range of mirrorless interchange-able-lens cameras. Pair-ing superior image quality associated with an EOS DSLR with the conve-nience of a point-and-shoot compact, the chic design and light weight of the EOS M10 makes it the perfect companion for Filipinos today who love

creativity while keeping everything in style. The EOS M10 is paired with the new, compact EF-M15-45 mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM lens. Equipped with a tilt-type LCD touchscreen that extends to 180 degrees, the EOS M10 has an intuitive user interface that also enables selfies from different an-gles. Photographers also benefit from an enhanced

user experience with its Creative Assist editing ca-pabilities and connectivity features. “Canon takes the imag-ing experience of smart-phone camera users to a new level with the new EOS M10,” said Ms. San-chez. “As straightfor-ward and convenient as a smartphone, EOS M10 goes with anyone’s life-style and taste. Canon brings the experience a notch higher with superi-or image quality that only comes from Canon’s latest DLSR technology. More-over, its compatibility with the wide range of EF lenses, connectivity and Creative Assist features bring forth a bigger world of creative possibilities to its users, too.” The intuitive and user-friendly 3.0’’ touchscreen LCD enables quick and direct access to functions, allowing users to change camera settings such as shutter speed and aperture

UP AND ABOUT

EDGEDAVAOINdulge!

Compact yet powerful, the Canon EOS M10 brings the experience a notch higher with superior image quality and creativity tools.

The Canon PIXMA G2000 ranically changes the cost of printing a document or a photo with its new integrated see-through ink tanks and spill-resistant ink bottles which allow for easy ink refilling.

By Kenneth Irving Ong

CANON MARKETING PHILIPPINES, INC. (CMPI) recently launched their latest line of Pixma printers in Davao at the Pin-nacle Hotel. The PIXMA G Series is Canon’s line of refill ink tank printers. It is the small entrepreneur’s best bet to address his busi-ness’ printing needs with its unique design, printing quality, and hardware durability.

“As the leader in the imaging and printing business, Canon brings to the table the best-in-class genuine refill ink tank printer thus far,” said Vinchy Sanchez, CMPI’s Director for Consumer Group. “This meets the Filipino entrepreneurs’ long-sought ask for qual-ity printers that could bring them quick return on investment.” The PIXMA G Series offers high volume print-ing at low cost per print with inks available at P295 per bottle, which can yield 7,000 colored prints and

6,000 black & white prints perfect for small offices or print businesses as well as creative people such as crafters or digital artists who need to print their works. The printers’ integrated see-through ink tanks contribute to a compact printer body and allow us-ers to view remaining ink levels at a glance. More-over, the spill-resistant bottle design shows off the bottle tip designed to pre-vent spillage, making the ink tank refilling sessions easy and mess-free. Also featured during

Tools for the

Canon’s latest printer and cameras launched in DavaoCREATIVE SET

at the tap of the screen. The EOS M10 introduces features that enhance im-age quality for taking cre-ative and convenient self-portraits. When the LCD screen is angled to 180 degrees, a shortcut option to activate the self-portrait mode enables quick ad-justments to parameters for taking the best selfies – brightness, smooth skin effect, background defo-cus, flash and self-timer. Creative individuals will have fun with the EOS M10’s Creative As-sist feature, consisting of a series of six sliders such as Blur /Sharpen, Darker/Brighter, Cool/Warm that enables even the new pho-tographer creative control of their pictures and the fun of experimenting. Us-ers can easily make adjust-ments and see the effect of these settings on the images, providing ama-teur photographers with a keener appreciation for photography.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 214 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, JANUARY 24 - 25, 2016

A2 INdulge! EDGEDAVAOEVENT

On January 17, Abreeza Mall launched the Blush & Blue New Year Finds Bazaar, which brings to-gether new picks—some of them in blush and blue colors—presented by par-ticipating Abreeza Mall merchants; namely, Art-work, Cocoon, Femme, Flossy, Maitre Choco-latier, Robinsons De-partment Store, R.O.X., Sanuk, Toby’s Sports, Trevisé, Worship Genera-tion, and Zen Zest. Cus-tomers get to score trendy yet affordable clothing, footwear, active lifestyle buys, and more while the bazaar runs at the Activ-ity Center until January 24.

Another component of Abreeza Mall’s Blush & Blue campaign is a vignette exhibit featur-ing pink- and blue-toned creations by members of local fashion design col-lective Davao Elite Fash-ion Group. Among the designers who contribut-ed their elegant, ethereal, and cutting-edge works are Andi Amora, Aztec Barba, Bamba Limon, Benjie Panizales, Dodjie Batu, Edgar Buyan, Egay Ayag, Emi Englis, Junie Artajo, Lala Luz, Lauren Arriola, Tzardy Tombo, Windell Mira, and Xioti Chiu. Their designs are on display at the Activity Center and the Ground

Floor Fashion Hallway until January 24. Abreeza Mall’s New Year fashion campaign culminates on January 24 with Scandi-lous, an ex-clusive fashion mixer that

will gather figures from Davao’s fashion, publish-ing, and blogging com-munities. At Scandi-lous, guests will be treated to a peek at the trends that are set to take over 2016, par-

ABREEZA MALL ushers in a stylish new year with Blush & Blue, a mall-wide fash-ion exhibit and bazaar whose name is in-spired by the color of the year for 2016 as proclaimed by the Pantone Color Institute: Rose Quartz and Serenity.

ticularly Scandinavian style and “it” colors Rose Quartz and Serenity, with looks from Abreeza Mall merchants Debenhams, Dorothy Perkins, GAP, Mango, Marks & Spencer, and Promod. Scandi-lous will also feature a talk by editor-in-chief Pam Quinoñes and fashion editor Philippa Andrén of L’Officiel Manila, the Philippine edition of the Paris-based fashion mag-

azine and the country’s first locally franchised international fashion title. For inquiries and up-dates on Abreeza Mall news and events, please visit the Main Concierge at the ground floor or call (082) 321-9332. Stay updated by liking www.facebook.com/Abreeza-Mall and following @abreezatweets on Twitter and @iloveabreezamall on Instagram.

Abreeza Mall welcomes

2016 trends

VOL. 8 ISSUE 214 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, JANUARY 24 - 25, 2016

INdulge! A3EDGEDAVAOENTERTAINMENT

WORLD CLASS TALENT SEARCH “Pilipinas Got Talent” (PGT) returns to television to search for the best Pinoy acts last Saturday on ABS-CBN. Hosted by Billy Crawford and Luis Manzano, the local adaptation of the worldwide hit franchise gets even bigger this season as PGT welcomes a new set of judges. Joining resident judge and certified star maker Freddie “FMG” Garcia in the panel are award-winning versatile actress Angel Locsin, “astig” idol Robin Padilla, and the phenomenal box-office star and comedian Vice Ganda. This season also marks the

first time the judges will use the Golden Buzzer. If any of the judges decides to press the Golden Buzzer, the contestant instantly goes straight to the semi-finals. Last week, the preliminary

live auditions roared to life at the KIA Theater where hopefuls from Metro Manila pulled out all the stops to impress the judges and the live audience. In the coming weeks, the “PGT” team will

go around different parts of the country to cull and watch the potential talents from the different regions. The popular “Got Talent” franchise first made its debut on Philippine television in 2010, when siomai vendor Jovit Baldivino was named the first grand winner. In 2011, it returned for the back-to-back seasons 2 and 3 won by singer Marcelito Pomoy and singing trio Maasinhon Trio, respectively. In 2013, online singing sensation Roel Manlangit was named the grand winner of PGT’s fourth season. Pinoy acts not only conquered the local stage but

the international stage as well, as some “PGT” contestants made it to the first edition of “Asia’s Got Talent.” Shadow act El Gamma Penumbra was named the grand winner, Gerphil Flores was among the top five finalists, and the Velasco Brothers made it to the semi-finals. Who will be season five’s grand winner? Don’t miss “Pilipinas Got Talent” this Saturday (Jan 23), right after “MMK,” and Sunday (Jan 24) after “Rated K” on ABS-CBN. For updates, follow @officialPGT5 on Instagram and Twitter or like www.facebook.com/officialPGT on Facebook.

‘Pilipinas Got Talent’ kicks off new season

‘Be my lady’ tops daytime on pilot telecast

Valeen Montenegro joins the cast of GMA’s hit show Juan TamadTHIS SUNDAY, hot, young actress and FHM cover

girl Valeen Montenegro

joins the cast of Juan Tamad and takes an

unexpected role as the

school mascot Mayumi who turns out to have a crush on Juan. It’s a complicated life for Juan, played by Kapuso comedy actor Sef Cadayona, as he struggles through his last semester in college. An embarrassment to

the basketball team and a laughingstock in class, Juan’s only bright spots in campus life are his encounters with his Political Science teacher Marie (played by Max Collins). Unknown to Juan, the cunning and terror Professor Panindak has been stalking him and Marie, taking paparazzo photographs of them for evaluation by the school board. As the teacher-student relationship becomes the center of school gossip, Marie is in danger of losing her lecturer position while Juan dreads being

kicked out. Amid this controversy, Juan finds solace in the company of the cuddly school mascot Mayumi, who apparently is hotter than all the cheerleaders. Will Mayumi distract Juan from Marie? Watch out for the moment when the mascot finally reveals her identity to Juan. Sparks fly on the set between Valeen and Sef, who is very happy to be working with his new co-star. Catch Juan Tamad this Sunday, January 24 at 4:30 p.m., only on GMA.

ABS-CBN’s newest series “Be My Lady,” topbilled by Daniel Matsunaga and Erich Gonzales, instantly topped daytime programming with its pilot telecast last Jan 18 that hit a national TV rating of 18.7%, higher than its rival program’s 8.2%. It was also the fifth most watched program nationwide, according to data from Kantar Media. “Be My Lady” opened its light story with the happy and loving Crisostomo family living a simple life in Pampanga. One day, Marcy’s (Janice De Belen) father got sick and needed urgent medical attention. Desperate to help his wife, Emil (Al Tantay) sold the piece of land he uses for farming. Now, the Cristostomos face another challenge as Marcy tries her luck in Singapore in

hopes of giving them a better life. How will they handle this? How can they survive being apart from each other? Don’t miss “Be My Lady,” weekdays at 11:30 AM

before “It’s Showtime” in ABS-CBN’s PrimeTanghali. For updates, follow @bemyladyabscbn on Twitter and Instagram or like www.facebook.com/

VOL. 8 ISSUE 214 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, JANUARY 24 - 25, 2016

R13/

*PG

R16 / *R16

G12:00 | 2:00 | 4:00 | 6:00 | 8:00 | 10:00 LFS

ALVIN & THE CHIPMUNKS:THE ROAD CHIP

Bella Thorne, Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting, Justin Long

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

THE BIG SHORT/*STAR WARS VII

12:00 | 2:00 | 4:00 LFS / * 6:00 | 8:00 | 10:00 LFS

CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES/ *JERUZALEM

John Travolta, Michael Pitt/* Yael Grobglas, Yon Tumarkin

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

Christian Bale, Steve Carell,

Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt/*Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher

THE 5TH WAVE

Chloe Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson

January 22 – 26, 2016

A4 INdulge!EVENT

BEING A GLOBAL BRAND DMI- MX3 in partnership with ABS CBN brings its natural goodness for all in the TFC One Kapamilya Go. This time MX3 visited our kababayans in the Land of the Rising Sun, Japan. Excitement can be palpated at the Chiba per-fecture where the crowd gath-ered to watch Kapamilya Stars perform. Top caliber artists John Lloyd, Bea ALonzo, Maja Salava-dor and Shaina Magdayao made hundreds of people rise to their feet as they sang and danced for the crowd. It was cold in Japan but the enthusiasm and happi-ness of the people radiated much warmth, it was a sight to behold. MX3 was very visible in the activity as MX3 Products were given a prizes for the games hosted by the comedian Pooh. The audience was responsive in the “Sakit Mo I Arte Mo”. MX3 which is made from natural in-gredients specifically, Alpha, Beta and Gamma Mangostana, can help boost our immune system to

keep everyone in a sound state of health. In the Mx3 Wave game, the lucky ones with stamped M, X and 3 fliers were able to bring home exciting prizes as well. It was heart-warming to see how our product is well received in the local and international markets. DMI, continues to as-pire to provide our Kababayans the best products that can help each one to be at the prime of health. A good number of the population worldwide is plagued with illnesses and it wise to be equipped with a sturdy im-mune system to ensure that we are always at the pink of health. The MX3 team were also on the lookout for our products users to who can share their experi-ence with MX3. We have been blessed that MX3 products have reached many countries and con-tinents because of its unparal-leled quality and excellence. The company also aspires not only to bring the gift of good health but DMI- MX3 also participates in the great commission of sharing the word of God.

MX3 says konichiwa Japan!

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 8 ISSUE 214 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, JANUARY 24 - 25, 2016

VOL. 8 ISSUE 214 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, JANUARY 24 - 25, 2016 11EDGEDAVAO

CULTURE & ARTSDavao artist winsworld competition

ANOTHER Dabawenyo has done the city proud in the international scene: Homegrown artist Teo-dy Boylie “Bong” Perez was selected as winner

in the December Art Challenge-Advance Category or-ganized by Colored Pencil Magazine for his work “Old

Wooden Toys.”

The CPM Art Challenge-Advance Category is an in-ternational compe-tition open to art-ists who have been working with col-ored pencils as an art medium for over two years. The win-ning work of Perez

will appear in the March 2016 issue of Colored Pencil Magazine, which is based in North Caroli-na, USA.

“Old Wooden Toys” and other works will be shown at Perez’s 11th

Solo Art Exhibit at the second level of Gaisano Mall of Davao which will open on January 28 and will run until February 7, 2016. This exhibit will showcase Perez’s 30 col-ored pencil drawings.

Perez was born in Davao City on April 15, 1970. He worked for seven years as an art instructor at the Philip-pine Science High School in Mindanao before go-ing to Japan for a study grant in 1998.

After completing his graduate studies in March 2005, he was hired as special lecturer by the Philippine Wom-en’s University Institute of Fine Arts and Design from 2005 to 2007. He returned to Davao City in 2007 and fulfilled his promise to impart the knowledge he acquired in the field of visual arts to his own community. At present, he teaches at

art competitions in Mindanao. In his six years of stay in Japan, he mounted four solo exhibitions in the cities of Hiroshima, Saga, Koga, and Fukuo-ka and was active in group art exhi-bitions, some of which were held in Fukuoka, Saga, Fukui, Kurume, and Tokyo City.

Perez’s me-dia are oil and acrylic with the subjects of land-

scapes, ethnic culture, and people in the ur-ban areas. Several of his artworks are in pri-vate collections in the Philippines, Germany, France, London, USA, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Japan. His other works can be accessed in his homepage at www.bongperez.tk.

the College of Social Sci-ence and Humanities of the University of the Phil-ippines Mindanao.

He completed his Doctoral Program of Fine Arts in Plastic Expression in Kyushu Sangyo Univer-sity, Japan in March 2005 and Masters in Art Edu-cation at Saga Universi-ty, Japan in 2002. He got his BFA in painting from Ford Academy of the Arts, Davao City in 1991.

He was a recipient of three scholarships: The Bachus Memorial Schol-arship (1987-1988), Davao Scholarship Trust Foundation (1988-1991), and Japanese Govern-ment Scholarship- MON-BUSHO (1998-2005).

Perez was a consis-tent art winner, garnering seven first prize awards from local and regional

PENCIL ART. Lumad Siblings Counting Alms

SAKURA. Perez and his mural painting‘Geisha With Blooming Sakura’

TEACHER AT HEART. Perez conducting an art workshop

WINNING PIECE. Old Wooden Toys, the piece that won the December Art Challenge-Advance Category organized by Colored Pencil Magazine for Perez

VOL. 8 ISSUE 214 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, JANUARY 24 - 25, 201612CLASSIFIEDS

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DA to start cloud seeding operations in Region 12

CERTIFIED LODGING SECURITY OFFICERS.  Seda Abreeza’s Security Team gains its first achievement for 2016 as they have been pinned and certified last January 21, 2016 as Certified Lodging Security Officers (CLSO). The graduation and pinning  ceremony was graced by Hotel Manager Ken Kapulong and  P/CSUPT Francisco Jose Villaroman  (Ret).  The CLSO training is under Asia World Hospitality -   American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute’s (AHLEI) partner, and is the lodging industry’s top salutation of proficiency for security officers in the hospitality business. Seda Hotels is the first to have its security staff be trained and certified in the country.

AGRICULTURE officials in Central Mindanao region are preparing for the cloud

seeding operations with the ar-rival Friday of 900 bags of salt, Department of Agriculture (DA-12) regional director Amalia Jay-ag-Datukan announced Saturday.

Datukan made the announce-ment as personnel from the Bu-reau of Soils and Water Manage-ment (BSWM) prepare for the conduct of an operation that will induce rain in drought-affected provinces of South Cotabato, Sul-tan Kudarat and Saranggani.

“We expect cloud seeding op-eration to take place today (Sat-urday),” Datukan told DXOM-AM Radyo Bida.

Datukan, in an earlier inter-view, said the DA intervention, in partnership with local govern-ment units, aims to save high val-ue crops on its vegetative stage, including palay, corn, coffee, ca-cao.

Datukan also urged farmers to continue farming heat-resis-tant crops despite the on-set of El Nino in the region “because the government is ready to intervene by providing agricultural assis-tance.”

The three provinces, along with Maguindanao, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi, are likely to ex-perience drought during the first quarter of 2016.

The Philippine Atmospheric,

Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration defined drought as three consecutive months of way-below normal rainfall.

DA-12 Deputy Regional Tech-nical Director Zaldy Boloron said at least 10 cloud seeding opera-tions are already in the pipeline across Region 12 composed of the provinces of North Cotabato, Sul-tan Kudarat, and Saranggani and the cities of Cotabato, Kidapawan, Tacurong, Koronadal, and General Santos.

Datukan said DA has set aside about PHP6 million for the cloud inducing operations. She did not say how much each sortie would cost the department. (PNA)

NEWS

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VOL. 8 ISSUE 214 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, JANUARY 24 - 25, 2016

WITH Steve Kerr back on the Golden State bench, the NBA is

trying to determine who will coach the Western Conference All-Stars.

Kerr returned from back surgery on Friday (Saturday, Manila time), but is ineligible to coach in the All-Star Game after doing so last year. The league is deciding if Warriors assistant Luke Walton would be eligible.

Spokesman Tim Frank

says: “We are review-ing our rules around the West coach situation to determine what is appropriate.”

Walton led the Warriors to a 39-4 record and a two-game

lead over San

Antonio in Kerr’s absence.Coaches are not allowed

to coach consecutive years, a rule that dates to Pat Riley’s dominance of the West when

he coached the Lakers in the 1980s. Had Kerr been coach-ing all season, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich would have already secured the West spot.

The coaches for the Feb. 14 game in Toronto are deter-mined by the teams with the best winning percentage in each conference through Jan. 31. Tyronn Lue, who replaced the fired David Blatt in Cleve-land on Friday, would guide the East if the Cavs remain on top.

15EDGEDAVAOSports

CLARKSON’S MISSIONI’ll bring the boys to RioJORDAN Clarkson has reiterat-

ed his desire and commitment to play for Gilas Pilipinas in the

country’s quest to return to Olym-pic basketball.

In an interview with Mike Trudell of Lakers.com on Wednes-day (Thursday, Manila time) that was released on Friday, Clarkson said moves are being made to pave the way for him to join the Phil-ippine team in the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament which Ma-nila will host in July.

“We’re working on it right now, actually,” Clarkson said. “We have to go through some stuff with Fiba, so we’re trying to make sure that happens. So hopefully the timing is right, and I get a chance to do that.”

The 23-year old shooting guard has been impressive in his second year as a starter for the Lakers and is eager to represent the Philip-pines. According to Clarkson, his mother, Annette Davis, was born in Pampanga.

“I definitely want to compete, I want to try to get the guys to Rio [de Janeiro]. That would be awe-some to experience,” said Clarkson, whose visit to the Philippines last

year allowed him to wit-ness first-hand the pas-sion Filipinos have for hoops.

“They have so much passion and love for the game, and you know, I did a couple of camps over there and kids were showing up with like, no shoes and stuff, playing on concrete in sandals,” said Clarkson.

The 6-5 combo guard, one of the bright spots for the team the past two seasons, even attended a few practice sessions with Gilas and watched the Jones Cup tournament in Taiwan where the Philip-pines competed in the run-up to the Fiba Asia champi-onship.

“There’s definitely a love over there for the game and I want to continue to keep going over there and try-ing to represent, and do great things for the coun-try as well as the people.”

DAVID Blatt’s second NBA season seemed to be going better than his first. Now, it’s

over.Blatt was fired on Friday

(Saturday, Manila time) by the title-chasing Cavaliers, replaced by top assistant Tyronn Lue, said David Griffin, the team’s general manager.

Griffin told reporters Friday night that the Cavs had been tak-ing steps back and were lacking connection. The team isn’t in the business of being “pretty good,” he said.

Blatt led Cleveland to the NBA Finals last year. He was fired one day after expressing frustra-tion with criticism of a team that’s 30-11 and the top team in the Eastern Conference.

Lue is scheduled to make his debut Saturday night when the Cavs host the Chicago Bulls.

Griffin said Lue is not an in-terim coach and has the “pulse of our team.”

Blatt was 83-40 with the Cavs.

Blatt’s firing came one day after the coach was defensive before and after the Cavs beat the Los Angeles Clippers. Blatt had been bothered by criticism that his team — led by superstar LeBron James — received after a 34-point loss to the defending champion Golden State Warriors earlier this week.

A person close to James said that the four-time NBA MVP was told of Blatt’s firing about one hour before reports of the move surfaced. The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity be-cause of the sensitivity of the situ-ation, said James was not consult-ed on the decision.

Blatt was 83-40 with the Cavs.Blatt seemed to be adjust-

ing to the NBA game following his struggles in 2015. One of the most successful coaches in Eu-ropean history, Blatt was feeling good about the way his team was performing amid overwhelming expectations. However, there was an apparent disconnect between Blatt and his players.

ON A MISSION. Jordan Clarkson of the Los Angeles Lakers wants to bring the Pilipinas Gilas squad to the 2016 Olympics if he is cleared by the NBA ballclub to play in the Olympic Qualifiers in July.

END OF THE ROAD. David Blatt has been fired by the Cleveland Cavaliers as head coach. Replacing him is assistant coach Tyronn Lue.

The Philippine Airlines (PAL) Interclub, long regard-ed as the country’s official team golf championship, marks its 69th year next month by going back to the island of its birth – Luzon – for the first time in ages while introducing a new division and opening its doors again to the best players in the land.

Play will be held at Mi-mosa’s two layouts inside Clark Field in Pampanga even as the Championship Divi-sion, won last year by Manila Southwoods, has, for all in-tents and purposes, returns to its old stature as an ‘Open’ bracket where teams will not

be burdened by handicaps anymore.

The likes of reigning two-time national amateur champion Jobim Carlos and many-time former winner Rupert Zaragosa will be returning to play for a Can-lubang squad that breaks its long hiatus in the centerpiece division when the Regular Men’s event tees off on March 2.

Seniors action, as usual, will be taking the lid off of the event’s 30th edition on Feb. 25 with Canlubang and Lu-isita renewing their storied rivalry in the event reserved for players 55 years old and

above.Carlos will be using this

event as his farewell tour-nament before turning pro, as he plays in both the Asian Tour and the local ICTSI cir-cuit while leading the Sug-ar Barons to a triumphant comeback.

“I’m excited, there’s no doubt about it,” Carlos said. “The PAL Interclub has a special place in my heart be-cause this is a tournament like no other, where team comes first before individu-ality. I’m looking forward to playing again.”

The PAL Interclub was first played at Wack Wack’s

fabled East layout in Man-daluyong in 1948, with the home team winning.

There have been many stops in the past, but the event – which was hatched in 1947 by Leopoldo Rovi-ra in Cebu – has treated the South as its home for close to the past 50 years, with Cebu taking its turn in hosting it last year.

From the old four di-visions – Championship, Founders, Sportswriters and Friendship – a fifth bracket will be introduced, as tour-nament organizers will be di-viding the Founders into two groups.

PAL Interclub tees off at Mimosa Feb. 25 Cavs fire Blatt

Will Kerr coach West?

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