P 15.00 • 24 PAGESwww.edgedavao.netVOL. 8 ISSUE 6 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 10 - 11, 2015

EDGE Serving a seamless society

DAVAOsoar.7up is not enough.

7th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

GAME CHANGERS

VOL. 8 ISSUE 6 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 10 - 11, 20152 EDGEDAVAO

NEWS

KEYNOTE. Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte delivers his keynote speech before the delegates of the 27th National Convention of Prosecutors at SM Lanang Premier’s SMX Convention Center on Wednesday afternoon. Lean Daval Jr.

DAVAO City Mayor Ro-drigo R. Duterte said the proposed City

Sports Complex should re-main in the vicinity of Uni-versity of the Philippines Mindanao (UPMin) and the settlers inside should vacate the area.

In an interview on Wednesday afternoon, Duter-te said he does not recognize the claimants’ issue in the UPMin campus in Bago Os-hiro, Mintal since the area is known as government reser-

vation land.“Kanang claimants, I

do not recognize them. Ta-ga-Davao ko, gamay pa ko, reservation na sa army og goberno kanang University of the Philippines. 1949 diri na mi nahibalo ko kung kinsa ang tag-iya anangyuta (I do not recognize the claimants in the area. I am from Davao and since I was a child that the University of the Philip-pine ares is the reservation for the army and govern-ment. We were already here

since 1949 and I know who owns that land),” he said.

Duterte said if the claim-ants do not have land titles to the land they are occupying, they must vacate the area be-cause it is already a matter of public interest.

“Para na sa edukasyon sa mga bata, hawa mo diha. Ako’y mangunay og bungkag diha (It is for the education of children. Get out of there. I will be the first one to de-stroy the structures there),” he said.

He said if the UPMin has no budget for the relocation of the settlers, he will allocate lots in the city’s relocation site in Los Amigos, Tugbok for the settlers.

“Sa goberno na, kabalo sila na dili na ila (The govern-ment owns the area and they know that they do not own the land there),” the mayor said.

Duterte said the P200 million budget for the pro-posed sports complex will be implemented any time as

soon as the city and UPMin arrive at an agreement.

City council chairman of the committee on rules, priv-ileges laws and ordinances councilor Bernard Al-agearli-er earlier said he will call for a committee hearing within this month to clarify UPMin’s stand on the settlers.

Al-ag said he will ask the administration UPMin for the plans for the settlers in the area before signing a Mem-orandum of Understanding (MOU) on the proposed City

Sports Complex.Earlier,Vice Mayor Paolo

Z. Duterte said in the pro-posed City Sports Complex inside the UPMin is not feasi-ble due to the problems of the claimants living in the area.

The vice mayor said if the national government will allocate a P200 million bud-get for the sports complex, then it should just give it to the city government and let it find a place for the project outside of UPMin where a lot of claimants will be affected.

SIX Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) members and two gov-ernment troopers were

killed during an encounter in Sitio Nangka, Barangay Gata, Talipao town, Sulu Thursday morning.

Another 13 soldiers were wounded along with an unde-termined number of the ban-dits in the 10:30 a.m. firefight.

Lieutenant Colonel Harold Cabunoc, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public af-fairs office chief, said the 32nd Infantry Battalion, a unit of Task Force Sulu, was conduct-ing law enforcement opera-tions when it encountered an estimated 300 ASG members under the command of Nil

Hairula, Hatid Sawadjaan, and Radullan Sahiron.

In the ensuing gunbattle, six of the bandits and two com-pany commanders were killed and another 13 were wound-ed.

Cabunoc said they are still awaiting details on the govern-ment dead and wounded.

The ASG men retreated towards to the vicinity of Bud Bagsak, prompting Task Force Sulu commander Colonel Allan Arrojado to deploy more pur-suing troops.

Cabunoc said fighting was still ongoing as of this posting.

Pursuing units are being aided by attack helicopters and artillery strikes. (PNA)

AFTER a successful trip in Northern Mindanao following the Holy Week

break, Davao City Mayor Ro-drigo R. Duterte resumes his listening tour on federalism with the Luzon swing late this week.

Next stop will be the prov-ince of Cavite and Calabarzon region where Duterte is ex-pected to make a strong push for a federal form of govern-ment in the country, an advo-cacy he has been championing lately with vigor and determi-nation.

And he is getting posi-

tive response, with support mounting by the day.

“He had another warm re-ception in Iligan City. He was treated like a rock star upon his arrival and until he left,” said Peter Laviña, a former Davao City councilor who now serves as one of Duterte’s vol-unteers in his advocacy.

Duterte was in Iligan last Tuesday as speaker during the 45th commencement ex-ercises of the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT).

The local chief executive from Davao was greeted with a

standing ovation at the school gym after he was introduced by MSU-IIT chancellor Sukar-no Tanggol.

A forum on federalism was also held right after the com-mencement exercises where Duterte made another strong case for his advocacy.

Laviña said Duterte was elated with the result of his campaign sorties thus far.

“The mayor is in good spirits. He was happy with the turnout,” he said.

From Iligan, Duterte will fly to Manila for a series of speaking engagements on fed-

eralism.William “Butch” Ramirez,

another volunteer, said Dute-rte will be in Tagaytay City on April 11, then travels to Lagu-na on April 12 before travelling to Bacoor, Cavite on April 13. He will also speak on federal-ism in Batangas on April 17.

But before that, Duterte returned to Davao Wednesday to address the 27thNational Convention of the Prosecu-tor’s League of the Philippines (PLP) at the SMX Convention Center of SM Lanang Premier.

“I cannot be President,”

Rody: Sports complex should be in UPMinBy ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

abf@edgedavao.net

6 ASG men, 2 trooperskilled in Sulu firefight `Listening Tour’ rolls off to Luzon

Duterte says no to presidency, but calls for him to run mountingBy CHARLES RAYMOND A. MAXEY

FLISTENING, 15

VOL. 8 ISSUE 6 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 10 - 11, 2015 3EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 8 ISSUE 6 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 10 - 11, 20154 NEWS EDGEDAVAO

GREETINGS. Governor Corazon N. Malanyaon of Davao Oriental and Deputy Ombudsman for Mindanao Rodolfo M. Elman exchange pleasantries during the third day of the 27th National Convention of Prosecutors at SM Lanang Premier’s SMX Convention Center on Wednesday afternoon. Lean Daval Jr.

DAVAO City Mayor Ro-drigo R. Duterte urged all prosecutors in coun-

try not to follow the order of Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Leila De Lima pro-hibiting them from accepting allowances from the local gov-ernment units (LGUs).

De Lima had said last month during the 15th Inte-grated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Convention in Cebu City that she would issue a direc-tive prohibiting all prosecutors and employees of prosecution services nationwide from re-ceiving allowances and other forms of benefits from LGUs.

She said it is to ensure that

the prosecutors will not feel beholden to local politicians who might affect their inde-pendence and partiality in the discharge of their mandate.

De Lima said the directive would be for strict compliance.

But in his keynote speech during the 27th Prosecutors League of the Philippines (PLP) National Convetion at SMX Convention Center on Wednesday afternoon, Dute-rte said de Lima was wrong since there are laws that allow the LGUs to give allowances to prosecutors.

He also said the order of de Lima is discriminatory be-cause only prosecutors will be

prohibited from receiving the allowance while others such as the court judge can still accept it.

“If I may ask, why? What is the reason you came up with this silly thing?” Duterte said, addressing de Lima.

The Office of the City Prosecutor has an allocation of P359, 937 in the proposed Supplemental Budget No.2 of Davao City as aid of the city government.

In a separate interview, Davao Regional State Prosecu-tor Antonio Arellano cited to reporters the laws that legal-ize the allowance given by the LGUs to the prosecutors.

Arellano first cited Pres-idential Decree (PD) No. 1275 or the Creation of the National Prosecution Service which provides that LGUs will provide allowances to the prosecutors and employees “including even the rental for buildings and other require-ments on the administration of criminal justice.”

Under section 14 of PD 1257, “the salaries of provincial and city fiscals and their assis-tants shall be paid entirely out of national funds and included in the annual appropriations of the DOJ. This is without preju-dice to the grant of allowances

FILIPINO war veterans who fought the Japanese invaders during World

War II and gave the country its freedom took center stage anew as they were honored during the 73rd Aaw ng Kagit-ingan Wednesday morning at the monument in Jones Circle.

Their suffering and hero-ism remembered in a fitting ceremony organized by the City Government of Davao and supported by various groups, the war veterans showed up to the cheers of those in atten-dance.

“The whole nation will re-main indebted to these heroes who have inspired us and will continue to inspire us,” Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)

Eastern Mindanao Command head Lieutenant General Aure-lio Baladad said in his message read for him by Commodore Joselito dela Cruz, commander of the Naval forces.

“To our war veterans, thank you for risking your lives to give this country its freedom, and for sacrificing your time, comfort and even your families to protect many Filipino generations,” Baladad added.

City Administrator Atty. Jesus Melchor V. Quitain also lauded the war veterans for their heroism and promised them their sacrifices will not go unnoticed.

“No words can express the

DAVAO region bagged the major awards during the Agri-Pinoy Rice Achiev-

ers Award (APRAA) held re-cently in Manila.Davao del Sur, Davao Oriental, and Compos-tela Valley were among the top 10 awardees for the provincial category.

APPRAA is an annual search of the Department of Agriculture to recognize the country’s top rice producers. Adjudged top performing LGUs and farmers’ organiza-tions were given cash incen-tives through Department of Agriculture (DA) Rice Pro-gram. The contest also aims to encourage commitment and ensure excellent performance of the LGU stakeholders and famers’ organizations to fur-ther increase yield and im-prove quality of their produce.

This in turn will help the coun-try meet its rice self-sufficiency target.

Among the three win-ner provinces, Davao del Sur emerged on the top rank for Region 11 as the province registers an average growth rate of 2% per year for the past six (6) years. With this scenario, the farmers still generated marginal and if not, subsistence income from their production because of high production cost and low price during harvest season.

Another key factor in achieving APRAA is the sup-port of local officials to rice production of Davao del Sur Governor Claude Bautista said that the province has allocated P300 million in support to the rice-farm mechanization.

STUDENTS and teachers from various schools in the Caraga Region ex-

pressed their hope for peace through responsible and bal-anced journalism during a peace journalism workshop at the Father Saturnino Urios University on Tuesday.

Primy Cane, a former broadcast journalist based in Cagayan de Oro City who spearheaded the workshop, pointed out the importance of peace journalism, especially in Mindanao.

“Mindanao needs peace journalism, the way a thirsty man needs water,” Cane said.

She pointed out that af-ter the Mamasapano tragedy, there was so much anger and “uninformed comments and opinions” one can read all over the social media.

Cane, who recently fin-ished her masters degree

from the University of Sydney through the Australia Awards Scholarships, expressed the need for a better way to con-vey “what really is happening by providing context, history and background, and doing more legwork and extra re-search” so the audience can realize that “violence is not the only solution to conflict.”

She pointed out how peace journalism can help build a better perspective on what is really happening in the field away from the prejudice and hatred.

Cane said that while she was taking up her Masters in Peace and Conflict Stud-ies, all she could think of was how much her fellow Min-danawons “needed to hear and learn all that I was hear-ing.”

“There is so much prej-

SALUTE. Coast Guard district commander Commodore Joselito Dela Cruz leads the offering of the wreath dedicated to fallen World War II heroes who sacrificed their lives for the country’s freedom during the Araw ng Kagitingan celebration at the Veterans Memorial Monument in Davao City yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

Rody to prosecutors: Insist on allowancesBy ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

abf@edgedavao.net

War heroes honored,numbers dwindlingBy CHARLES RAYMOND A. MAXEY

Davao provinces shinein Rice Achievers Award

Studes express hopein peace journalism

FDAVAO, 15

FSTUDES, 15FRODY, 15

FWAR, 15

VOL. 8 ISSUE 6 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 10 - 11, 2015 5EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 8 ISSUE 6 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 10 - 11, 20156 ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

THEY say photo-graphs give life to every newspa-

per. Without images, newspapers will be dull and unattractive as each one of them represents a unique story that reflects the daily lives of

ordinary people in our society.

As Edge Davao’s resident photojournal-ist, here is a collection of what I personally consider my most mem-orable photographs. These photographs are

not necessarily the best of the lot but they are the ones that carry a memorable story behind the experience of taking them. With each photo-graph is a brief recount of the story behind the image.

best photographsand their stories

Personnel of Central 911 try to extinguish the fire that hit the Muslim Village in Zone 5, Km. 11 Sasa, Davao City on August 22, 2013. The fire burned down 270 houses leaving 300 families homeless.

Before he became a playing coach of Kia Sorento in the PBA, superstar boxer Manny Pacquiao played for The Royal Mandaya Hotel-CMO in the Kadayawan In-vitation Basketball Tournament.

Movie and television personal-ity Robin Padilla gamely poses with Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte during a brief meeting at The Marco Polo, Davao on March 7, 2015. The popular actor said he would support the mayor should he decide to run for President.

Members of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name, Inc. from the different parts of the world participate in a Disneyland-inspired parade during the church’s 8th National Children’s Day celebration in time for the birthday of founder Apollo C. Quiboloy on April 25, 2013.

An emotional Edge Davao editorial consultant Ramon M. Maxey, who spent the last seven years of his life with Edge Davao as editorial consul-tant, is comforted by his son, Charles, during the 72nd Araw ng Kagitingan commemoration at the Veterans Memorial Monument. Maxey passed away days after the photo was taken at the age of 91.

Cebu Pacific flight 5J 971 bound from Manila overshoots the runway and hits the non-cemented portion of the Francisco Bangoy International Airport in Davao City on June 2, 2013. None of the 165 passengers were hurt in the in-cident.

Davao City Public Safety and Security Command Center (PSSCC) chief Francisco Villaro-man (right) checks high-powered firearms owned by members of a kidnap-for-ransom gang who were killed in a shootout with the Davao SWAT team at Allied Bank along C.M. Recto Avenue in Davao City on July 11, 2013.

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VOL. 8 ISSUE 6 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 10 - 11, 2015 7

It is that stage of expressing preferences and manifesting in-dividuality.

Seven year olds have the appetite of a linebacker and the restlessness of a quarterback. Constantly pounding. Constantly creating opportunities. Fun-lov-ing but always wanting to run ahead of the pack.

Oh, to be seven year old.Much like Edge Davao. Now,

seven years old.If Edge Davao were a child,

you’d see a high-energy kid out there with an eye for the prize. He’s focused and he’s restless.

In 2008, a bunch of bat-tle-scarred warriors in the com-munity journalism business parented a weekly business newspaper. Marketing mogul Ol-ivia D. Velasco and veteran editor Antonio M. Ajero led an organiza-tion in bravely treading the high-ly-competitive waters of the local community journalism industry.

In this business, the word “bravely” may be a synonym for “stubbornly.”

Stubborn as it may, Edge Davao entered an arena with players who have been around in the business for decades, not to mention having enormous re-sources too. Edge Davao wasn’t in there to make any monkey busi-ness either. It was serious. Dead serious. soar.7

up is not enough.

ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

SO what does a seven-year old tell you about?We learn from experience that seven-year-olds are much more adept at taking care of themselves -- not only in those day-to-day routines such as bathing, get-

ting dressed and even getting themselves a bowl of cereal in the morning but also in relation to making decisions and choices for themselves.

At 7, Edge Davao embarks on a mission to steer onward and revolutionize

CHANGING THE GAME

MEN ON A MISSION. The Edge Davao Editorial team led by (l-r) Editor-in-chief Antonio Ajero, managing editor Neilwin Bravo, associate editor Jon Joaquin, editorial consultant Charles Raymond Maxey, reporters Cheneen Capon and Armando Fenequito, and photographer Lean Daval Jr.

The mission: Change the game.After four years in the week-

ly business paper platform, Edge Davao finally joined the mainstream battleground and battled with the rest in the race for daily newspaper supremacy. Armed with a dynamic and innovative bunch of editorial staff--a blend of veterans and young turks--Edge Davao knew what it was up to from the very start. But the pa-per was hell-bent on surviving the heat of the battle.

The battlecry was simple--to be that one paper that’s “insanely dif-ferent.”

With a radical look and content that blazed a trail in the industry, Edge Davao gave Davao readers a dif-ferent look at news. Fresh coverage, deep insights and uniquely bigger and colorful images. In no time, the wet-nosed tyro must have caused a ripple. It had become a benchmark in meetings elsewhere of some edi-torial board.

Is it becoming a rock-my-world kind of existence?

The Edge Davao organization is just too busy at work to even think about its impact on the competition.

“Let’s just continue to work and beat ourselves,” Velasco continues to remind everyone in the organiza-

tion from the editorial to production, to marketing and administration.

And then there were the bonus-es for hardwork. The trophies and plaques started filling the once empty rack.

In the words of editor-in-chief Aje-ro: “It’s our inspiration for working harder. I told everyone in the news-room to always strive to be at their best and to explore new things each day.”

As a weekly business paper, Edge Davao won the Best in Science and Environment Reporting, and Best in Business and Economic Reporting in 2011 from the Philippine Press Insti-tute (PPI).

In its first year as a daily newspa-per, it won the Best in Science and En-vironment Reporting and the Best in Business and Economic Reporting for the Daily Newspaper category in 2013.

Last year, Edge Davao went on to score the biggest win of them all after it ran away with the 2014 PPI-Coca Cola Best Edited Community Newspaper award for Daily Newspaper category besting all community newspapers na-tionwide.

At the 6th anniversary last year, Edge Davao celebrated with the theme

“ROAR” which stood for Responsible, Objective, Accurate and Relevant.

This year on its 7th anniversary, Edge Davao resumes its quest for excellent service with its battlecry: “SOAR” which stands for “Steer On-ward And Revolutionize.”

Edge Davao looks ahead to more challenges--a lot of them will be of breaking limitations and setting trends in the media business. At sev-en, what can this paper do?

The possibilities are endless. Seven-year-olds will display a formi-dable sense of adventure and thirst for information. That’s what it’s all about. The thirst for innovation and the appetite to transcend boundar-ies.

One thing is sure. Being up is not enough.

In the words of editor-in-chief Antonio M. Ajero: “It’s our inspi-ration for working harder. I told everyone in the newsroom to al-ways strive to be at their best and to explore new things each day.”

Stubborn as it may, Edge Davao entered an arena with play-ers who have been around in the business for decades, not to mention having enor-mous resources too. Edge Davao wasn’t in there to make any monkey business ei-ther. It was serious. Dead serious.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 6 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 10 - 11, 2015

BITS & FACTS7

007As the central figure for his works, Ian Fleming cre-ated the fictional character of James Bond, an intelli-gence officer in the Secret Intelligence Service, com-monly known as MI6. Bond was also known by his code number, 007, and was a Royal Naval Reserve Commander.

Fleming based his fictional creation on a number of in-dividuals he came across during his time in the Naval Intelligence Division during World War II, admitting that Bond “was a compound of all the secret agents and commando types I met during the war”. Among those types were his brother, Peter, who had been in-volved in behind-the-lines operations in Norway and Greece during the war. Aside from Fleming’s brother, a number of others also provided some aspects of Bond’s make up, including Conrad O’Brien-ffrench, Patrick Dalzel-Job and Bill “Biffy” Dunderdale.

The name James Bond came from that of the Ameri-can ornithologist James Bond, a Caribbean bird expert and author of the definitive field guide Birds of the West Indies. Fleming, a keen birdwatcher himself, had a copy of Bond’s guide and he later explained to the ornithologist’s wife that “It struck me that this brief, unromantic, Anglo-Saxon and yet very masculine name was just what I needed, and so a second James Bond was born”. He further explained that:

When I wrote the first one in 1953, I wanted Bond to be an extremely dull, uninteresting man to whom things happened; I wanted him to be a blunt instru-ment ... when I was casting around for a name for my protagonist I thought by God, (James Bond) is the dullest name I ever heard.

—Ian Fleming, The New Yorker, 21 April 1962

Fast & Furious 7Furious 7 (alternatively known as Furious Seven and Fast & Furious 7)[5] is a 2015 American action film. It is the sequel to the 2013 film Fast & Furious 6 and the seventh installment in the Fast & Furious film series. The film was written by Chris Morgan and directed by James Wan. It stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris Bridges, Kurt Russell and Jason Statham. With the previous three installments being set between 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006), Furious 7 is the first film of the series to mostly take place after Tokyo Drift.

The film marks the final film appearance of Paul Walk-er, who died on November 30, 2013, with filming only half-completed. After Walker’s death, filming was de-layed for script re-writes and his brothers Caleb and Cody were used as stand-ins to complete his remain-ing scenes. Furious 7 was released first in Australia and Mexico on April 2, 2015, and then in the United States on April 3, 2015, and was released in 3D inter-nationally, a first for the series.

8 ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

things I learnedas a migrantin Davao City7

BY JON JOAQUIN

1. The sea smells good. If you’re from Manila, you know that Manila Bay smells like rotten eggs. All that trash and — ugh — human waste has made the water not just dirty but also positively reeking. Up to the time I was 24 I actually thought seawater smelled that way. Imagine my surprise when I took a breath at the wharf in Sasa and realized that the air didn’t smell bad. To this day when I go to the beach I marvel at how fresh and clean the air smells. There are areas where the wa-ter is polluted, but on the whole the water surrounding Davao is still clean and beautiful.

2. Beach sand is white. This may be obvious to Dabawenyos, but you have to remember that Manila Bay is surrounded by gray sand. I never liked going to the beach when I was a boy because the gray sand would get in my clothes and I would always feel so dirty. And maybe we just went to the wrong beaches when I was growing up, but I never saw white sand in any of the resorts we went to outside of Manila. It was only when I went to Samal Island on my first trip here that I saw white sand. It felt so clean that I didn’t mind that bits of sand had clung to my clothes and insinuat-ed themselves in the nooks and crannies of my shoes.

3. Dirty surroundings are optional. It takes discipline to keep a city clean, and while Davao City isn’t perfect, it is leaps and bounds cleaner than Manila. One of the reasons is that I hardly see a resident throwing trash on the ground. As I walk around I see people holding onto their bits of candy wrapper or paper cups and waiting until they see a waste basket to dispose of it. Even the public markets are clean here. The city government does have its hands full trying to collect all the trash, and it admits that it doesn’t do it perfectly, but at least most people are conscientious about waste disposal.

4. Food is good when prepared simply. Tagalog food is great but requires a lot of ingredients and preparation. Davao food is simple: just put a jaw of tuna, or a slab of pork, or a leg of chicken on a grill for a traditional sinugba. These can be marinated, of course, but even the marinade is made up basically of soy sauce and

I FIRST stepped into Davao City in the summer of 1990. It was my first time

to leave Luzon, where I had been living for 24 years, and I still remember the feeling

I had when I stepped off the ship (yes, my team of cam-pus missionaries took a ship because air fare was prohib-itively expensive back then). We had boarded the ship in

the chaotic, congested, smelly, and dirty pier in Manila, but we landed in the clean and orderly wharf in Sasa. What a difference, I said to myself. I eventually decided to set-

tle here, and over the years I learned a few things that are simple and perhaps taken for granted by people who were born here but to me are huge realizations.

In Davao, the sea smells good and beach sand is white

Fodo is best when prepared simply.The most complicated dish here is the kinilaw.

calamansi. The most complicated Davao dish I know is kinilaw, which is made up of chopped up raw fish, radishes, onions, cucumber, and vinegar. But since it’s not cooked it still counts as a simple dish.

5. It’s OK to be syano. There are times that the big city can overwhelm us, but there’s nothing wrong with that. When I left Manila there was only the LRT, and we used tokens to get in. Now there’s also the MRT, and the two systems use fare cards that I must confess I’m still not comfortable with up to now. I invariably forget that I need it not just to get in but also to get out (I always hold up the line behind me as I search my wallet for the card). But it’s OK to be like that in Manila — just as it’s OK for newcomers in Davao to be dumbfounded at the sight of clean streets and clean waters, and to realize that they can walk around the city at any time of the day or night. It’s all part of life; we’re all different, and we accept ourselves and each other just as we are.

6. It’s not OK to be looked down upon. There is an attitude among Manileños that those living outside the Metro are somehow less sophisticated than they are. They even have a derogatory word for it: syano, short for probinsiyano, the hapless guy who doesn’t know how to ride the MRT or order food at a restaurant. While some of these stereotypes are true (see number 6), a lot of it is just urban pride rearing its ugly head. We journalists unfortunately get a lot of this. Many times the “provincial” or “local” media are treated as second class citizens when it comes to coverages of the President or other bigwigs. In one infamous incident last year, Davao City media were kept out of the cov-erage venue while their Manila counterparts — who arrived late — were allowed to walk straight in.

7. Life doesn’t have to be complicated. Life in Davao City can be as simple (or as complicated) as you want it to be. Go to work in the morning, come home early enough at night to enjoy dinner with family. Go out to the beach or the mall on weekends. Repeat. It never gets old. And it’s entirely doable because there’s not too much traffic on the roads and you can get from place to place within a reasonable amount of time. If you want a simple life, get out of Manila and settle in a place like Davao.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 6 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 10 - 11, 2015 9

IF he were alive today, my father would have resented this article.

Writing an article about him makes my dad uncom-fortable, but our managing editor Neil Bravo insisted Ram Maxey deserves one, having spent the last sev-en years of his life at Edge Davao as consultant.

I, for one, don’t really write in the first person approach. It’s not my style. I don’t even write columns and I rarely post on Face-book, except in the last couple of months when Mayor Rody Duterte has been busy promoting his advocacy on federalism.

“You have to, this time,” Neil told me, fully aware of the story of the man who passed away almost a year ago, a journalist and a war veteran who loved his chil-dren and grandchildren so much.

Well, my dad lived for 91 years and definitely en-joyed life to the fullest. He had a colorful life, I should say. Although life was hard for him and the family, he still had joyous times with us around him, especially his grandchildren.

My father drew us to-gether. Every time I came for a visit in his house in Buhangin, he had this pen-chant of sending SMS to my siblings telling them that I was around. Some-times, I was the one being informed: “Boy, punta ka sa bahay. Andito si Alan. Bibili ako one case of beer.”

He was informing me of my younger broth-er’s visit, and so there we would gather in his house for some drinks. These oc-casions were many, espe-cially during nights when Barangay Ginebra or the Los Angeles Lakers were playing.

That’s what my father was when he was still alive. He wanted the family to-gether all the time. My sis-ter Angel, who now lives in Switzerland, revealed to me what dad had told her once while she was in Davao for a vacation: “You know Baby, I’m at my happiest when I’m watch-ing basketball with your brothers.”

He was a friend and my textmate. He always sent messages informing me of the running score of a PBA basketball game, and during out-of-town cover-age he would always open a conversation by asking what hotel I was staying and what food we were eating.

Boy, how I miss my tex-tmate. But if his admiration for Ginebra and the Lak-ers was public knowledge, there are several facts about my father that most people don’t know.

Remembering

Few people know that Ram Maxey marched in the streets against Marcos in the early 80s, was de-tained once for curfew in the 70s, and survived ma-laria and mortar fire and nearly drowned during the Japanese occupation in the 1940s.

He fought against the Japanese invaders during World War II. He was a second year student at the University of the Phil-ippines when war broke out and, after liberation, finished college at the Far Eastern University with a

degree in journalism.After that, he became a

police reporter for an eve-ning paper assigned at the Manila area. He also ven-tured into sports writing and resumed his journal-ism career years later in General Santos City where I was born at the Calderon clinic in 1967.

My father then moved to Davao City when he was hunted down by govern-ment forces following Mar-cos’ declaration of Martial Law and stayed here for good.

He admired Mayor

Rody Duterte so much be-cause of his brand of gov-ernance and leadership. He praised the mayor if he had done something good for the people of Davao, but was not afraid to criti-cize him if he felt the local chief executive was making a wrong decision.

This is not actually the first time that I wrote about my father. I also did an article about him when I was still with another pa-per, but that was different. It was not in the first-per-son narrative and he was still alive then. So, imagine

the difficulty I had in writ-ing this piece. I initially couldn’t figure out how to start even as I searched for words as the image of his face kept flashing on the screen as I was writing this.

Even going inside the Edge Davao office brings back memories of my fa-ther. It was here where he pounded those keyboards while writing columns and editorials, or editing sto-ries of reporters.

Yesterday, I attended the Araw ng Kagitingan ceremonies at the Jones Circle. I was teary-eyed

during the program, for it was here in the same place where my father was sit-ting during last year’s rites, the second and last time he graced the important event honoring our war veterans.

You really grieve when you lose someone so dear to you, especially a father. But life has to go on.

Ram MaxeyANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

VOL. 8 ISSUE 6 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 10 - 11, 201510 EDGEDAVAO

VANTAGE

Seven yearsEDITORIAL

IT is said that the human body changes every seven years; that is, each cell in one’s body is different now from seven years ago. It is like we are reborn every seven years. And if some experts

are to be believed, we also undergo psychological changes every seven years, such that the way we act and view the world is differ-ent now than from a mere seven years ago. In a manner of speak-ing, we are a different person every seven years, for better or for worse. But the fact that we change means that each moment that we live is cause for introspection to see if the changes are desir-able and beneficial not just to ourselves but, more importantly, to others.

In the case of Edge Davao, the last seven years have been filled with numerous milestones that we believe allow us to move for-ward and become the publication that Davao and its environs de-serve. From being a weekly paper to a daily one, we have become part and parcel of life in these southern parts , covering important events and those that would have slipped through the radars of other media outlets. We have developed an eye for detail, and our nose for news is something we have honed over the last years. Our

efforts were rewarded last year when we were chosen Best Edited Newspaper by the Philippine Press Institute (PPI) -- an award we do not take lightly because it was built on the hard work of every single staff member of Edge Davao.

More than that formal award, however, is the recognition giv-en by the community itself to our efforts. As the challenger in this industry, we have seen how our pages have impacted the lives of people in a way that is relevant and positive. Our features on such people as Randy Halasan -- who would eventually win a Ramon Magsaysay Award for his work in educating his Matigsalug stu-dents -- give us the impetus to keep doing what we are best at.

We do not want to be stuck in the past however; as they say, we are only as good as our last issue. We recognize the ever-chang-ing landscape of the media industry, and in the next seven years -- and beyond -- we will endeavor not only to catch up but to blaze the trail for others to follow. We believe, however, that while tech-nologies and methodologies change, the need for people to be in-formed will be constant. That is our mission, and we will do our best to fulfill that for the benefit of the community.

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

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VOL. 8 ISSUE 6 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 10 - 11, 2015 VANTAGE POINTS 11EDGEDAVAO

WE all dream. Whether you are young or old, you go into that mysterious world when you sleep.

“Dreaming is an act of pure imagination, at-testing in all men a creative power, which if it were available in waking, would make ev-ery man a Dante or Shakespeare,” H.F. Hedge once said.

“Dreaming permits each and every one of us to be quietly and safely insane every night of our lives,” dream expert William Dement tells us. Dr. Edgar Cayce considers dream as “today’s answers to tomorrow’s questions.” And from the TV hit series, ‘X-Files,’ comes this quotable quote: “Dreams are answers to questions we haven’t yet figured out how to ask.”

We have known some great writers who took their inspiration from dreams. “I’m sure we would not have had men on the Moon if it had not been for (H.G.) Wells and (Jules) Verne and the people who write about this and made people think about it. I’m rather proud of the fact that I know several astro-nauts who became astronauts through read-ing my books.” So said Arthur C. Clarke while addressing the US Congress in 1975.

Yes, he was the same guy who wrote Technology and the Future. In the said book, he penned: “The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible.”

Remember the words of The Impossible Dream, the theme song of the 1972 mov-ie, Man of La Mancha (portrayed by Peter O’Toole, who received an Oscar nomination

for his perfor-mance). The first stanza goes this way: “To dream the i m p o s s i b l e dream / To fight the un-beatable foe / To bear with u n b e a r a b l e sorrow / To run where the brave dare not go.”

Joe Darion, who wrote the lyrics, scrib-bled the second stanza with these words: “To right the unrightable wrong / To love pure and chaste from afar / To try when your arms are too weary / To reach the unreach-able star.”

Many years ago, there lived a very old man in North China. His house faced South and right in front of his door stood the two gigantic peaks of Taihung and Wangwu. They blocked his way to the south. So, he sat down with his sons and made a solemn promise and then got out his hoe. They made up their minds to hack away those two mountains.

A neighbor saw them set to work and shook his head. “How stupid can one get?” he told the father. “It’s absolutely impossi-ble for you to carry away these might moun-tains.”

The old man smiled and replied, “Well, when I die, my sons will carry on the work.

When they die, my grandsons will continue what I have started. Yes, the mountains are high but they won’t get any higher. But our strength can still grow. With every bit of soil that we carry away, we come closer to our goal. It is better to do something, than just sit around and complain that those moun-tains keep out the sunlight.”

And with complete conviction, the old man kept on digging. God saw what he was doing. He was moved to send two of His messengers to earth. They lifted the two mountains onto their shoulders and carried them off.

The Bible states, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God” (Luke 18:27). This must be the reason why French novelist (1957 Nobel Prize for Liter-ature) Albert Camus commented, “We turn toward God only to obtain the impossible.”

“Impossible is a word only to be found in the dictionary of fools,” commented French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. “I love those who yearn for the impossible,” admitted German playwright Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. “It’s kind of fun to do the impossi-ble,” Walt Disney, pioneer of animated car-toon films, declared.

History is replete with impossible sto-ries. Demosthenes stuttered. He filled his mouth with pebble and walked the seashore shouting at the waves until in spite of his handicap he became Greece’s most famous orator.

To England, Horatio Nelson is the great-est naval hero. Yet, he never conquered the

seasickness which assailed him the first time he took to the water and kept recurring all his life whenever he boarded a ship.

What grander symphonies were ever written than Beethoven’s? And yet the mas-ter melodist was deaf and never his own im-mortal music.

Glenn Cunningham, who hung up new records for the mile in running, had both legs so badly burned that he was expected never to be able to walk again. Against all odds, he defeated the impossible.

If you think you cannot do the task, don’t quit. You know somewhere and somehow, you can do it. As American editor and writ-er Elbert Hubbard puts it, “No one ever gets far unless he accomplishes the impossible at least once a day.”

Again, here are the remaining words of the Impossible Dream song: “This is my quest to follow that star / No matter how hopeless, no matter how far / To fight for the right without question or pause / To be willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause,

“And I know if I’ll only be true to this glo-rious quest / That my heart will lie peaceful and calm / When I’m laid to my rest / And the world will be better for this / That one man, scorned and covered with scars / Still strove with his last ounce of courage / To reach the unreachable star.”

“Well, the tragedy is over,” Albert Camus wrote. “The failure is complete. I turn my head and go away. I took my share in this fight for the impossible.”

Reaching the impossible dream

Henrylito D. Taciohenrytacio@gmail.com

THINK ON THESE!

AS they say, hindsight is 20-20 vision. Looking back, it is clear now how my-opic the central government had been

in its treatment of Mindanao, failing to help its peoples build capability not only to pro-vide for their own needs but also to expand its contribution to the national economy.

“Imperial Manila” paid little attention to the island-region’s needs in education and opportunity—to bring Mindanaons up to par with the rest of the country if not the world.

Little consideration, if any, was given to enabling them to cope with their needs, not even to empower them in their own back-yard.

Appointees from Luzon and Visayas were brought in to administer Mindanao provinces. One of them was the grandfather of incumbent senator T. G. Guingona III—the late Teofisto J. Guingona Sr. from Guimaras, Iloilo.

He was appointed governor of Agusan and held other posts until he represented all of Mindanao and Sulu in the Senate. Later on his son, Teofisto “Tito” Guingona Jr., followed the same path, became senator, and served briefly as vice president.

*****It’s a measure of their stewardship, and

of their successors, however, that to this day Mindanao is distinguished as having eight of the 10 poorest provinces in the nation—a performance that should make their proge-ny and dynastic heirs hang down their heads in shame and guilt.

Our island region had plenty going for it early on: vast natural resources, friendly and generous peoples, multi-cultural allure for entrepreneurs and adventurers, strategic trading position, and so on.

But the central government paid less at-tention to such exciting and lucrative pros-pects than the capitalists and economic ex-ploiters did—seeing Mindanao’s vast plains as ideal sites for plantations, its forests as God’s gift to loggers, and its minerals in their boundless potentials.

For the politicos’ lack of foresight, the over-exploitation they fostered, and the abuses they tolerated, everyone today is

paying a steep price.*****

When the policy of accelerating the is-land’s colonization was adopted (through inter-island migration from Luzon and the Visayas), no one bothered to look into its ad-verse effects, short or long-term.

Slowly but surely, like erosion eating up the hillsides and riverbanks, mindless ex-ploitation ate up nature’s endowments and the livelihood afforded our people and com-munities.

Worse, greed and the urge to aggrandize ravished the indigenous cultures, scraping away their value systems, turning common sense and folk wisdom upside down, cor-rupting tradition, stultifying political devel-opment.

Naturally, from the exploited landscape and its diminished capacity to accommodate people, aggressive development, and the ag-grandizing urge, there arose a tension which brought us to today’s intersection between autonomy and secession.

*****The big question now is: will the Bang-

samoro Basic Law do better for Mindanao than what PNoy considers as the “failed

experiment” of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao?

And another: where does Imperial Ma-nila get its confidence that regional autono-my will work out fine among feudal minded Mindanaons when it can’t even demonstrate how it works on a modest scale in the lowly barangay?

Hindsight tells us that wishful thinking cannot substitute for good government or participatory governance, which must be inclusive. Negotiating with oligarchs and armed bands just isn’t good enough.

But since they’re at it already and well into what they say is the last lap, let’s wish them good luck! What choice have we got? But please, no more violence!

(Manny is former UNESCO regional direc-tor for Asia-Pacific; secretary-general, South-east Asia Publishers Association; director, De-velopment Academy of Philippines; member, Philippine Mission to the UN; vice chair, Local Government Academy; member, Cory Govern-ment’s Peace Panel; awardee, PPI-UNICEF outstanding columnist. He is chairman/con-venor, Gising Barangay Movement Inc. and author of books on governance. valdehuesa@gmail.com )

What hindsight tells us

BY MANNY VALDEHUESA

THE WORM’S EYEVIEW

VOL. 8 ISSUE 6 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 10 - 11, 201512 EDGEDAVAO

ECONOMY

CACAO will be among the top commodities that will be prioritized

under the Davao City’s City Commodity Investment Plan (CCIP) 2015-2018, an official said.

City Planning and Devel-opment Office (CPDO) plan-ning division head Engr. Jose Froilan Rigor said the CCIP is needed for the ap-proval of funding under the Department of Agriculture’ s Philippine Rural Develop-ment Program (PRDP).

“Based on our proposal, priority programs for cacao

industry for the next three years are the construction of a nursery, farm to market roads (FMR) and extending financial assistance to our farmers,” Rigor told Edge Davao.

Rigor said cacao is one of the prime commodities of Davao City that has a bright future in the export market.

“The cacao industry has a huge potential because of its large demand in both local and international mar-ket,” he said.

Cacao stakeholders pro-

jected that there will be a global cacao supply short-age by 2018 because of the increasing demand and the looming problem on Ebola disease in cacao-producing countries in West Africa.

Rigor said aside from its growing global demand, cacao has vast plantations here that the city have to take advantage of.

According to the City Agriculture Office (CAO), the city has a total of 3,485hectares with the biggest chunk located in Calinan District with a total

of 998.49 hectares. Other areas are in the districts of Baguio, Marilog and Tug-bok.

Of the total planted area, 70 percent or 2,409.44 hectares are productive, as shown in the CAO records. Other areas planted with cacao are Buhangin, Talo-mo and Bunawan.

In 2013, production vol-ume of Davao City reached 1,129.73 metric tons (MT) or 0.84 MT per hectare. This is 29 percent of Davao Region’s total production of 3,844.30 MT last year.

In the proposed CCIP, it is noted that during the five year period 2009-2013, the production volume of Davao City reached an av-erage of 6.58 percent per year. The minimal increase in area planted was com-pensated with improve-ment in yield which in-creased on the average by 5.32 percent.

Identified potential ar-eas for cacao are around 14,164.73 hectares. How-ever, there is still more areas that can be planted with cacao.

Rigor said different departments in the city in-volved in the project have to finalize how much will be the propped total budget for cacao.

Rigor said other com-modities that the city is proposing for funding are cardaba banana, abaca, cas-sava and rubber.

The proposed CCIP will be up for approval by the development council and the City Council of Davao before it will be submitted to DA 11 for final approval and endorsement.

Cacao industry gets big boostcrc@edgedavao.net

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

DAVAO del Norte Gover-nor Rodolfo del Rosario said that, considering

the congestion in Sasa area, the long-dreamed-of Samal bridge is better off to span from Ba-rangay JP Laurel, which is the first barangay of Panabo City right after northernmost Ba-rangay Lasang in Davao City.

In an interview, the gov-ernor said his proposal to build the bridge “is not in Sasa seaport” in Davao City, citing congestion characterized by the presence of cruising ships and ferries, the airspace for the landing and take off planes in nearby Davao International Airport, the vehicular traffic and high volume of economic activities in the area.

He added that the Baran-gay JP Laurel in Panabo City is sparsely populated and its shoreline during low tide

could dry up some 300-meter length littoral zone, the area that is above water at low tide and under water at high (the area between tide marks).

He said that somehow a sort of flyover across over the littoral zone would first be con-structed and then connected to the suspension bridge, a type of bridge in which the deck (the load-bearing portion) is hung below suspension cables on vertical suspenders.

Similar construction works would also be made at the other end of the bridge at Babak district in Samal Island.

The bridge is shorter by about one kilometer if it spans between Sasa and Babak compared to about 3 kms. if it spans connected to JP Laurel but the latter can be offset by its advantages, he said.

This being his idea, but the

final location would still hinge on the result of the feasibility study.

As to the funding of the bridge, the governor, who is also chairman of the Regional Development Council (RD-C)-XI, bared that follow-up ef-forts to President Aquino are still being made at present. The bridge is estimated to cost around P10 billion.

He said though the P90 million funding for the feasi-bility study of the project has already been approved and it is coursed through the Dept. of Education.

Del Rosario said that cer-tainly the cost of the bridge is smaller compared to what was recently endorsed by the RDC for Bicol headed by Albay Governor Joey Salceda of con-structing a bridge that would connect the island-province

of Catanduanes to mainland Bicol through the province of Camarines Sur.

It is already touted as the incoming longest bridge and labelled as the Friend-ship-Tourism Bridge with a distance of 10.8 kilometers be-tween the two points.

The proposed bridge in Bi-col is five times longer than San Juanico Bridge which present-ly holds the title as the longest bridge in the country with its 2.6-kilometer span linking Sa-mar and Leyte provinces.

The Samal-Davao bridge is needed to boost the island’s competitive advantage, be-ing one of the 10 sites in the country declared by tourism authorities as a first-class eco-tourism destination and at the same time “free the island from stagnation and underde-velopment”, said the governor.

ECONOMIC managers are proposing a tax package that would offset the

proposed cut in government revenues for 2015.

This after the inter-agen-cy Development Budget Co-ordination Committee (DBCC) on Tuesday recommended a total of Php 66.9 billion cut in government’s revenue target to Php 2.275 trillion, down by 2.6 percent compared to the Php 2.337 trillion earlier.

Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad, in a briefing Tuesday night, said revenue target of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) was cut by Php 46.96 billion.

Bulk of the cut was due to lost revenues from the mea-sure that increased tax ex-emption cap on bonuses from Php 30,000 to Php 82,000. The measure was signed into law by President Benigno Aquino III last February.

Also, Php 16.9 billion of it was due to expansion of the list of minimal benefits such as those under the collec-tive bargaining agreements (CBAs) and productivity in-centives schemes, which are exempted from income tax.

Also, revenues of the Bu-reau of Customs (BOC) was slashed by Php 20 billion due to the impact of lower oil pric-es.

Under the said proposal, BIR’s revenue goal for this year will now be Php 1.67 trillion from Php 1.72 trillion while BOC’s would be Php 436.4 billion from Php 256.4 billion.

Abad said the tax package entails both legislative and ad-ministrative measures, thus, they will coordinate with law-makers for its approval.

In the same briefing, Fi-nance Undersecretary Jeremi-

THE first-ever Davao Pomelo Festival will be launched today at

SM Lanang Premier as part of the six-week citywide sale and events extravaganza Visit Davao Fun Sale (VDFS).

SM Lanang press relation manager Acey Puno-Reyes said the event will be co-pre-sented by the Davao Pummelo Stakeholder’s Association, Inc. (DPSAI). It aims to promote and support the production and export of pomelo, one of the foremost fruits grown and harvested in Davao City.

“As a food tourism effort, it also intends to create in-creased awareness and appre-ciation for the fruit people love for its sweet, juicy and tangy taste,” she added.

Among the leading pom-

elo producers participating in the Davao Pomelo Festival are Nenita Farms, Davao Golden Pomelo, Inc., HellenCabali-da, Sheba Marie Elefante and Rosemarie Ambay.

She said foreign and local tourists are invited to visit and get a taste of Davao’s favorite fruit at the Pomelo Market from April 10 to May 17; and, “once hooked to the mouth-watering goodness of pomelo, they can join the fun at Eat-All-You-Can fest happening all Sat-urdays and Sundays during the period.”

On April 18-19 and 25-26, the public is invited to witness Pomelo Dishes and Drinks Chef Demos at the festival. Fea-tured chefs will show how the fruit can spice up and enhance

RDR: Samal bridge best to connect to Panabo

‘Pomelo Festival’ opensat SM Lanang Premier

Tax package eyed to offsetcut in 2015 revenue target BY CHA MONFORTE, CORRESPONDENT

HELP. A Marco Polo, Davao staff member helps a foreign guest locate some of the city’s top tourist destinations using a map at the lobby of the hotel yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

FPOMELO, 15

FTAX, 15

TIP FOR VISITING GOURMETS7 most durable restaurants in Davao City

By Antonio M. Ajero, Cheneen R. Capon, Bai Fauziah Fatima Sinsuat Ambolodto, and Kenneth Irving Ong

AS its contribution to tourism, particularly to foodies who constitute a big chunk of foreign and domestic tourists, Edge Davao, on the occasion of its 7th anniversary, hereby identifies the seven most durable restaurants in Davao

City, eateries which have survived the vagaries of time and rode triumphantly over the highs and the lows of economic tides. That they have lasted this long -- a number of them first opened their doors to customers more than half a century ago—tells volumes of how they have continuously pleased the gourmets with the superior kind of food they offer and the excellent service they render.

ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL A1EDGEDAVAOVOL. 8 ISSUE 6 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 10 - 11, 2015

TIP A2

The top seven are Dencia’s, Harana, Sarung Banggi, Bistro Rosario, Yellow Fin, Marina Tuna, and Ahfat. The other “du-rables” are Jaltan, Asia Restau-rant, and Swiss Deli. Worth rec-ommending to tourists are half a dozen more, except that they have been established less than seven years ago.

Purposely not included in the survey were restaurants which are not part of a hotel or a mall and those that specialize in smorgasbord or “eat-all-you-can” fairs.

Dencia’sDencia’s tops them all. It

is the restaurant that perhaps every Dabawenyo grew up with starting with its first site at the corner of Gov. Vicente Duterte and Legaspi streets.

Unbeknownst to many, Dencia’s was born along his-toric Escolta in Manila. Ole-gario Brito, the founder, and wife Sootee decided to move to Davao City as the rental rates in Escolta, at the time, the coun-try’s top shopping center, were skyrocketing. There was a log-

ging boom in Davao then and the Britos heard so much about it from friends and fellow busi-nessmen. They established the Davao Dencia’s Restaurant Inc.

It is without fear of contra-diction that one can say Den-cia’s is the favorite of Davao foodies from all generations.

Carlota “Charlie” Lazaraga, a Mutya ng Dabaw runner-up in the 70s who later became Mrs. Benigno “Bobby” Aquino III, deceased nephew of martyred former senator Benigno ”Ni-noy” Aquino Jr., says she loves

A2 ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDGEDAVAO VOL. 8 ISSUE 6 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 10 - 11, 2015

all the recipes that Dencia’s of-fers, but her favorites were and still are tokwat baboy, siopao, garlic chicken, lugaw, pancit and lumpia.

Businessman Jose B. Cus-todio who turns 80 this month likes all that ,too, in addition to bihon tostado special and ca-maron rebusado. Former vice mayor Louie Bonguyan, civic leader, lawyer Leoncio “Non-oy” Villa-Abrille and Sebastian “Anggie” Angliongto, former head of the MEDCO (Mindanao Economic and Development Council) could only chorus in agreement.

This season being sum-mer, Dencia’s is always full of vacationing balikbayan senior citizens ordering their favorite dishes early in the morning.

Yellow FinBelieve it or not, Yellow

Fin started as an eatery for bodyguards and drivers of pol-iticians dining in a steakhouse also owned by the Angeles family. It was called Karenderia back then.

In 1992, the steakhouse closed and the owners focused on strengthening Karender-ia because of its charisma to Dabawenyos.

Located originally along Quimpo Boulevard, the bam-boo-made eatery served mostly the same food until today: sin-igang na baboy, giniling, and tuna dishes, among others.

Years later, the Angeles Family rebranded it to ‘Yellow Fin because of the varieties of tuna delicacies it offers.

By then, it had expanded its homegrown food dishes and renovated the area without changing the ambiance of the place.

Almost 23 years later, Yel-low Fin has expanded to La-nang, Torres Street, and in front of SM Lanang Premier, still of-fering the dishes it has become known for.

Yellow Fin customers just can’t get enough of the adobo tuna buntot, greaseless chick-en, the sizzling seafood platter, tuna fish laing, their original ha-lo-halo, sizzling bagaybay, and kinilaw.

Yellow Fin general manger Juan Carlos D. Angeles -- who seemed genuinely surpised that the restaurant has become a Davao icon -- said the reason-able price and the quality of food keep their clients coming back.

Marina Tuna“Putting up the restaurant

was my last ace,” 60-year old Domingo “Doming” 0. Ang, Ma-rina Tuna chief executive offi-cer, said as he sat comfortably at his restaurant at Kilometer 8, Barangay Pampanga in Sasa, Davao City.

For Ang, an accountant by profession and a self-confessed fish lover, Marina Tuna, a sea-food market and restaurant, is a product of his hard work and disappointments on life.

After Ricsan Development Corporation, his father’s com-

TIP A1

Dencia’s

Yellow Fin

Marina Tuna

pany, bogged down in his 30’s and his planned fish cannery in Toril did not prosper, Doming knew that his faith and passion were among his last reasons to hold on.

“The restaurant used to look more like an office than a dining place when we opened,” he said. “I didn’t have much cap-ital. The last money I had was P80,000 to P100,000. I had to borrow from a friend to whom I owe the most.”

The once small resto, named after his only daughter Marina Theresa, expanded and

can now cater to up to 200 peo-ple at a time.

Sir Doming, as his employ-ees call him, closely supervises the management himself. His restaurant grew with his own personal touch.

Still on his working boots on the morning of the inter-view, he said he starts his day at 7 a.m. by looking at his fish aquariums at the back of his restaurants.

A devotee of Our Lady of Guadalupe, he also attributed his succeess to his diligence and expertise to choose the best

quality of tuna and seafoods to be served at his restos.

“I personally handpick the tuna and other seafoods,” he added. “I can say we serve the beat sashimi not only in Davao but also nationwide.”

Only premium class of tuna and other seafoods are used in Marina Tuna.

Among his top sellers are tuna sashimi, tuna panga, tuna eye soup sinigang, tuna belly gril, crispy tuna tail, tuna ki-nilaw, and swordfish belly grill.

This visionary man styled and created the menu himself.

Among his unique food dishes.was the tuna kare-kare.

Ong said the quality of food and service keep his costumers coming back

And for almost 15 years, Ong has been giving back his blessings by feeding poor Dabawenyos. Since 2006, Ma-rina Tuna has been tapped by Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to supply Tuna Lugaw for the government feeding program.

Today, every meal pur-chased is equivalent to a bowl of sumptious tuna lugaw that

goes to its “Marina Tuna Lugaw Kitchen Feeding Program.”

Ahfat Seafood PlazaAhfat Seafood Plaza is an

institution – no question about that. With its favorable loca-tion, it’s no wonder that what began as one has sprung into thre in the course of just 17 years. Since the opening of its first branch at the Victoria Pla-za Compound on October 20, 1998, it has been regarded as a definite gastronomic dining place of locals and foreigners alike.

A home-grown Davao restaurant, Ahfat Seafood Pla-za embodies the Dabawenyos’ love for good food, quality ser-vice, and value for money. With patrons coming from all cor-ners of Davao, Mindanao, the country, and even the world, it is no wonder they chose to op-erate in one of the most peace-ful cities in the world.

What makes Ahfat special? It’s more than it being special but rather it being extra special. With an abundant and exten-sive menu, you are assured of a delicious time whenever you take a bite of any of their dishes. They offer an array of Chinese dishes tweaked to suit local palates. Best sellers include their Garlic Chicken, Lobster Tail, Crabs, Green Seafood Soup, Patatim, Dragon Ball, Vegeta-ble and Seafood Noodle, and Steamed Pigik (Imelda Fish). They also serve some of the best tasting appetizers and des-serts in town.

What began as a one-man business venture is now a fam-ily corporation wherein the children are steering the wheel. Driven with passion and the dedication to succeed, each of them plays a vital role in keep-ing their 3 branches in top con-dition.

Indeed, the evolution is prevalent in each of their branches (second branch opened July 16, 2005 and third branch opened October 31, 2010) – expanding into a big-ger space, with more round tables to cater to guests and VIP rooms to make every cele-

ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL A3EDGEDAVAOVOL. 8 ISSUE 6 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 10 - 11, 2015

ready a trademark owned by a studio. “So my husband decided and said ‘gawin na lang natin ito na Bistro Rosario for you.’” beamed Ms. Lizada.

When asked how the her restaurants were able to stand the test of time, Ms. Rosario re-veals that it is not just because of good food but it is also because of top quality service. “We invest in our people. We give them bene-fits as well as incentives. In fact, many have worked for many years and have retired already. That is how long they have stayed with us.”

Aside from top quality ser-

vice, Ms. Rosario also believes that the prices her restaurants are also what make clients go back to her restaurants. “I believe that pricing should be fair, we are not thinking only of profit, but we want to share the food experi-ence to the people,” she said.

When asked what her plans are for the future of her restau-rant group, Ms. Lizada reveals that she has already retired from making the major decisions of the group and has handed down the management to her daugh-ter Amylou Lizada-Aarts. “I have been very careful when it came to planning for the future of the

Ahfat Seafood Plaza

Harana

Bistro Rosario

Swiss Deli

Sarung Banggi

business, that is why even up to the last moment, even until now I am still there to check.” reveals Ms. Lizada “Because I always tell my children to not depend on just the business but to go also on their own to make the business grow. Benjie has his own food busi-nesses and my grandchildren are also helping to manage SarungBanggi.”

And with thenew gen-eration of the Lizada family ready to steer the family business, it may seem that the restaurants Ms. Rosario Lizada founded will be there to serve new generations of Dabawenyos.

Swiss DeliWe promised you eight

restaurants, but this piece re-ally deserves an eighth, one that has also proven itself to be a durable icon in the city’s food scene.

The Italians and Europe-ans have learned that eating is not just a way to fill their

stomachs and their hearts but to also create new friends and share stories over a bot-tle of wine. In Davao City, both experiences are present in Swiss Deli and Restaurant located along Lanang.

Established by Roma-no Venuti and Markus Kehl, Swiss Deli and Restaurant was originally built to show-case sausages and processed meats products produced by the Swiss Deli. However, it has become a haven for in-ternational cuisine and best tasting wines.

Venuti said their clients in the restaurant cannot get enough of their top seven dishes: Sausage Platter, Swiss Steak, Chicken Zurich Style, Swiss Fondue, US Angus Rib-eye, Assorted Cold Cuts, and Seafood Chowder.

The crisp smell of the wooden crate in Swiss Deli’s underground wine cellar will also surely set a good mood for a conversation. With its wall decorated with bottles

of wines and liquor imported from Australia, France, South Africa, Chile, Italy, Switzer-land, Spain and USA, one cannot resist sipping a glass of wine after a good plate of food.

Venuti said customers patronize Swiss Deli because it is capable of delivering high standard of excellent services, competitive and reasonable price, and quality and value for money.

The 11-year old restau-rant also has imported deli items. Among the products that the Deli offers are sau-sages, hams, bacons, chees-es, sauces, US Angus Steaks, Australian tenderloin steaks, lamb meat, ostrich steak, turkey with special roasting arrangements.

It also has a wide array of imported and local deli goods like pastas, coffee beans, marmalades, choco-lates, biscuits, juices, pickles, variety of liquors, spirits, German beers and more.

bration personal – Ahfat thinks for-ward towards making everyone’s dining experience a most memora-ble one. Surely, a family as zealous and committed as theirs will not only make a name for themselves now but establish a legacy that will be remembered from generation to another.

Harana, Sarung Banggi, and Bistro Rosario

Among the restaurants Dabawenyos grew up with are the establishments that are owned and operated by the Lizada family led by their matriarch, Ms. Rosario Lizada.

Harana was the first restau-rant that the Lizada family opened in June 29, 1966. The first Harana was located at the backyard of Ms. Lizada’s brother in Juna Subdivi-sion. The restaurant opened there because it was near Philippine Women’s College where Ms. Lizada used to teach. “Harana’s first cus-tomers where students of mine,” recalled Ms. Lizada.

The restaurant had a gar-den-style concept serving Filipino food. “We named the restaurant Harana after the old tradition of serenading,” added Rosario.

Harana was followed by Peter Pan, which opened on May 8, 1968 along Ilustre Street. Peter Pan was famous for its hot pandesal which was served even in the afternoon. “It also helped that our area had three movie theaters back then. You could see lines of people queu-ing up to buy hot pan de sal,” Ms. Lizada said.

After Peter Pan, she opened Sa-rung Banggi in 1973 at the corner of Ilustre and Duterte Street. After three years, the restaurant was moved to its present location in 1976. Sarung Banggi serves steak and Western style cuisine.

After acquiring land along Torres Street, Ms. Lizada decided to build a restaurant housed in a more elegant standalone building and this was to become Bistro Ro-sario. The restaurant was opened on December 21, 1989 just in time for Christmas. Ms. Lizada revealed that Bistro Rosario was named such because when they applied for the name Peter Pan, they were disapproved because it was al-

A4 ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDGEDAVAO VOL. 8 ISSUE 6 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 10 - 11, 2015

ZION ACCUPRINT:Growing with the people

THERE are 4P’s of marketing, these are product, price, promotions and place (distribution). But for Zion Accuprint founder Olivia D. Velasco,

a fifth factor -- people -- is as important, if not, the most important factor of business success.

crc@edgedavao.net

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

“People is what makes a company successful. You need to take care of them,” Zion and Edge Davao gener-al manager Velasco said. Just like any fruit-bearing tree, you need to take care of it be-fore you can expect a sweet fruit.

Zion Accuprint started in 2008 when Velasco got out of Sunstar Davao and started a publishing house capitaliz-ing mainly on her experience handling the operations of her former employer for 23 years. Throw in a lot of guts to it and that’s how it all started.

“I am thankful for the experience I learned from Sunstar and thankful for the opportunity given by Mr. El-pedio Damaso,” she told this writer while recollecting the days when she woke out of

bed to tell herself this is what she wanted to do.

With the help of friends like Jonjon Ramirez of Cortez Printing where she loaned Zi-on’s first Heidelberg machine, Velasco was able to put up.

Soon after, Zion paved the way for the establishment of Edge Davao which also be-came the first to have a CTP machine among local news-papers in Davao.

Zion began with four employees, including herself. She gave proper benefits, minimum salary to her three employees – Helia Mamaed, Cherry Pajariliaga, and Zaldy Jimeno. From 4, Zion grew to 11 while Edge Davao has a total of 12 employees to date.

“Gusto ko if ever mag grow ang Edge and Zion, (our employees) grow with us.

Ayoko ng iba ng pag nasa taas na puro na lang profit tapos ung mga nasa baba . Gusto ko yung sabay,” Velasco said.

Her guiding principle was simple--building the company to-gether with her employees. She wanted to enjoy the fruit of hard-

work with her employees.Noe eight years old, the year

for Zion is a year for innovation. “We need to grow with the

times. Zion will continue to grown under a new younger and innova-tive management along with Edge Davao,” she said. “Pagtulungan

natin kasi dito tayo nabubuhay ingatan natin ang ating resources.”

Well said.Now, Velasco has her eyes

trained on the new challenges but with an open mind for revolution-izing change in this world she pas-sionately lives.

“People is what makes a company successful. You

need to take care of them”- Zion Accuprint founder Olivia D. Velasco

VOL. 8 ISSUE 6 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 10 - 11, 2015

BITS & FACTS7

No. 7 JaworskiRobert Vincent Salazar Jaworski (born March 8, 1946 in Baguio City, Philippines), also known as Sonny Ja-worski, Bobby Jaworski, Robert Jaworski, Sr. or simply Jawo, is a former Philippine senator, basketball coach and Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Asso-ciation (MICAA) and PBA basketball player.

Known as The Big J and called The Living Legend during his playing days, Jaworski was a former play-ing coach—the first ever in the PBA in 1985—for Ginebra San Miguel. In 2000 he was honored as one of the PBA’s 25 Greatest Players of all time.

Jaworski’s no. 7 is arguably the most popular number in the history of the PBA.

The 7 World War II BattleshipsThe seven World War II battleships HIJMS Nagato, HI-JMS Mutsu, HMS Nelson (28), HMS Rodney (29), USS Colorado (BB-45), USS Maryland (BB-46) and USS West Virginia (BB-48)

13

crc@edgedavao.net

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

WHEN almost all employees of Edge Davao

and Zion Accuprint Pub-lishing have left the of-fice, one person stays behind to make sure the newspaper comes out the next day: Jake G. Dupay.

Jake used to be a free-lance technician working on mobile units or com-puters at a friend’s stand located in San Pedro and Uyanguren almost eight years ago.

“My interest in com-puters started when I was in high school where I worked as a computer laboratory assistant,” he said. “I took a computer technician course for one year and graduated in 2003.”

From checking bro-ken LCDs and mother-boards, Jake is now busy supervising over-all job-bings for layout for Zi-on’s client and even Edge Davao newspaper as the prepress supervisor.

Thirty-year old Jake entered Zion in 2008 as a layout artist. He left the company for more than one year in 2010 because of the pressure on his job. “I was pressured because I was the only layout art-ist then,” he said.

But the arrival of the of an equipment called Computer to Plate (CTP) pulled him back to the Zion family in 2011.

“The new machine ap-peared to be a challenge that I should conquer,” he said.

During the day, Jake is busy talking with clients

JAKE DUPAY:Printing out the future

“The new machine appeared to be a challenge that I should conquer”

regarding their layout specifics. His office hours don’t end at five, how-ever, because he needs to make sure that all the plates are good to go.

Married for almost eight years to Rhona-

belle, he said all his hard work pays off with satis-fying benefits and salary.

“My job here im-proved the status of my life. It’s hard to be a free-lancer because there’s no security. There’s no as-

surance I would be able to provide food on our table,” he said.

Originally from Bu-cana in Lasang, Davao City, Jake said he would like to stay with Zion for the next 10 years to enrich his learning and skills.

“I would like to start a small business 10 years from now,” the soft-spo-ken but humorous Jake said. He said he is work-ing for his wife and for their future children.

When Jake turns off his computer at night, it is not only the newspaper or a student yearbook that is printed clearly but also the future of his fam-ily.

Production team

VOL. 8 ISSUE 6 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 10 - 11, 201514 EDGEDAVAO

CONSTRUCTION of the 33-level Aeon Towers, the signature

project of local developer FTC Group of Companies, is moving on as scheduled.

Latest construction updates showed that the project is now at 31 per-cent of the overall total project cost to date and 21.2 percent of the overall work coverage. As of Feb-ruary 15, the bored pile and diaphragm works is fully completed at 100 per-cent.

The cast capping beams on the diaphragm wall is also reported at 100 percent.

The 33-level AEON Towers project is beamed as the center of Davao’s evolution--a structure that embodies the spirit of Davaoeños, towering over the Davao City landscape. When completed in 2016, Aeon Towers will become the tallest skyscraper in Mindanao.

Located right at the heart of central business district, the AEON Towers stands among major ed-ucational centers, public

service and health facil-ities, places of worship, business districts, com-mercial hubs and enter-tainment complex. It is within city access from the city’s major tourist attrac-tions. To live there is to live right at the center, where everything is just within your reach.

The AEON Towers exudes with the perfect balance between boldness and tradition, between a carefree lifestyle and a progressive mindset. Now, one can finally experience state of the art condomini-um living in Davao’s tallest residential building.

Created, designed and conceptualized by Archi-tect Dennis J. Litonjua, the mixed used revolutionary condominium tower offers a formidable designs that mirrors the architect’s un-compromisingly high stan-dard of excellence and pro-fessional aggressiveness, creating a total experience of dynamic creativity and technical expertise. It will house a hotel, restaurants, fitness gym, shops, BPO and condominium units.

PROPERTY

AEON Towers construction moving right on schedule

VOL. 8 ISSUE 6 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 10 - 11, 2015

Big 7 Harry Potter charactersThe “big seven” Harry Potter characters: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Nev-ille Longbottom, Luna Lovegood and Draco Malfoy.

7 DwarfsThe Seven Dwarfs are a group of dwarfs that live in a tiny cottage and work in the nearby mines. Snow White happened upon their house after being told by the Huntsman to flee from the Queen’s kingdom.

When the Seven Dwarfs return home, they immedi-ately become aware that someone sneaked in secret-ly, because everything in their home is in disorder. During their loud discussion about who sneaked in, they discover the sleeping Snow White. The girl wakes up and explains to them what happened and the Dwarfs take pity on her, saying: “If you will keep house for us, and cook, make beds, wash, sew, and knit, and keep everything clean and orderly, then you can stay with us, and you shall have everything that you want.” They warn her to be careful when alone at home and to let no one in when they are away delving in the mountains.

When the Queen disguised as an old peddler ties a colorful, silky bodice onto Snow White which caus-es her to faint, the Seven Dwarfs return just in time and Snow White revives when the Dwarfs loosen the lace. When the Queen dresses as a comb seller and gives Snow White a poisoned comb, the Seven Dwarfs save her again. The Queen then appears disguised as a farmer’s wife and gives Snow White a poisoned apple, of which she takes a bite. This time, the Sev-en Dwarfs are unable to revive the girl, because they can’t find the source of Snow White’s poor health and, assuming that she is dead, they place her in a glass coffin. After some time has passed, a Prince traveling through the land sees Snow White where he strides to her coffin, and instantly falls in love with her upon being enchanted by her beauty. The Seven Dwarfs let him take the coffin, and as his servants carry the cof-fin away, they stumble on some roots and the piece of apple comes out of Snow White’s throat, reviving her.

15BITS & FACTS7NEWS

Listening... FROM 2

Studes... FROM 4

War... FROM 4

Pomelo... FROM 12

Tax... FROM 12

Soar... FROM 7

Rody... FROM 4

Davao... FROM 4Duterte told a large number of convention delegates who listened attentively.

Everywhere he goes, or every city or locality that he visits, the Davao mayor had been met with mounting clam-or for him to run in the 2016 Presidential elections.

A good number of those in the PLP convention at the SMX wore shirts expressing their support to Duterte and had hoped that he will finally utter the words they had been aching to hear.

Early last month, Pulse Asia released a survey show-ing Duterte cornering 12 per-

cent and landing third in the list of preferred candidates for President.

His camp saw this as an excellent performance in spite of the fact that Duterte has not declared he is seeking the highest position of the land.

But, despite his remark-able showing in the survey, Duterte had been stating time and again that he has no mon-ey and that he is too old for the job.

His volunteers have one realization, though. Each time Duterte rejects such clamor, calls for him to run for Presi-dent get louder and louder.

“We need to unite and set parameters to identify actu-al demand and the volume requirement for rice produc-tion so that we can eliminate surplus and stabilize prices of rice,” Bautista added.

Apart from the successful provinces, Banaybanay, Davao Oriental won as the outstand-ing municipality, while San Isidro Farmers Association of Davao del Norte and Albatan-aBluconMalabis from Davao del Sur won as the Outstand-ing Irrigators Association re-spectively.

The winning provinces re-ceived P4-million each while the outstanding municipality received P1-million. The cash grants will be utilized to fur-ther enhance rice production in the three provinces.

Moreover, 12 outstanding agricultural extension workers

(AEW’s) and one local farm-er technicians (LFT’s) from Davao region were also recog-nized for and received P20,000 each.

Director RemelynRecoter said that remarkable perfor-mance of the three provinces has significantly contributed to the increased of rice pro-duction in the region from 421,692 metric tons (MT) in 2013 to 452, 267.00 metric tons (MT) in 2014.

“We commend our local officials and farmer leaders in-cluding the agricultural exten-sion workers for partnering with DA in ensuring that the necessary interventions such as production support, infra-structure, and technical assis-tance are in place to boost rice production in the region,” Re-coter said. (Mishel C. Castilla/VerceliReambonanza - DA-11)

udice against this beautiful island and its generous peo-ple, and I grew up influenced by this culture that people would ask me if my island is as scary and dangerous as it is portrayed in the news. While in Australia, I decided that I wanted to become part of the solution to correcting this grossly skewed misconception of Mindanao,” she stressed.

During the open forum, the students expressed their optimism and called for the importance of responsible journalism through advocat-ing peace.

Jamila Loren Tingzon, a third year communication stu-dent at FSUU and president of its Communication Guild, re-vealed that the workshop was an eye opener for the students.

“We were all clueless about it. It’s not taught in

school, and I think it should be,” she said, referring to peace journalism. She promised to help spread the cause.

“With peace journalism, people will have more hope towards a much better life,” seconded Cybil Pearl Alegria, a high school student from Trento, Agusan del Sur.

Reynaldo Hipitulan, a teacher who headed the dele-gation from Bayugan Central Elementary School, said he was delighted that at such a young age, the students had a “grasp of the idea of peace ed-ucation and journalism.”

He expressed optimism that the students will under-stand the importance of peace and incorporate this “in the way they write and hopefully develop them into better writ-ers in the future.” Erwin Mas-cariñas/MindaNews

to the above-mentioned fis-cals by their respective local governments, in amounts not exceeding 25 percent of their basic salaries.”

It also stated that the sal-aries of clerks, stenographers and other subordinate em-ployees in the offices of the provincial and city fiscals shall be paid by the province or city.

Arellano also quoted the Republic Act (RA) 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991 which allows LGUs to provide assistance to the pros-ecutor offices in the country.

“The third is the new law which was enacted several years ago that is Republic Act No. 10071 (“Prosecution Service Act of 2010”) which also allows local government units to grant allowances to prosecutors provided that the allowance will not go be-yond 50 percent of their basic salary,” he said.

Under section 16 of RA 10071, the salaries and al-lowances of regional, pro-vincial and city prosecutors and their assistants, and the members of the prosecution staff, including the prosecu-tion attorneys, shall be paid entirely out of national funds and included in the annual appropriations of the DOJ. Provided, however, this pro-vision is without prejudice to the grant of allowances to

the prosecutors by their re-spective local governments in amounts not exceeding 50 percent of their basic salaries

Arellano said the PLP, Chief Prosecutors Associa-tion and Regional Prosecu-tors Council already wrote a letter to de Lima asking her to reconsider the order.

“We are with her in her desire to really come up with higher standards of gover-nance. But we are saying, considering the situation of the prosecution on the field in the regional areas in the regional offices and in the cit-ies and provincial offices, the resources from the national government is very inade-quate,” he said.

“It is good that the law provides that, if there are in-stances where the resources of the national government will be inadequate, then the local government should as-sist... When the local govern-ment exercises governmental functions such the admin-istration of criminal justice, this is exercising a function not just a separate entity but as an entity of the state,” he added.

Arellano admitted re-ceiving an P8,000 monthly allowance from the city gov-ernment, which he said is uniform to all prosecutors in the city and the region.

gratitude that the entire na-tion has for you. We can only say that your sacrifices will not be in vain,” Quitain said.

He, however, noticed that the numbers of war veterans attending the annual rite are declining.

“It’s really unfortunate that your numbers are dwin-dling,” Quitain said. “But every time you need assistance from

the city government we are al-ways there to help you.”

From last year’s list of 20 surviving war veterans in Davao, the number went down to only 14 this year, some of whom event failed to grace yesterday’s ceremony as they are either bed-ridden or sick.

the flavor of food and beverage with a dash of creativity and imagination.

The Davao Pomelo Festi-val is part of the Flavors of the Philippines campaign of the Department of Tourism (DoT)

for VDFS. It is supported by the Davao City Government, the Department of Science and Technology DOST), the Depart-ment of Agriculture (DA), De-partment of Trade and Indus-try (DTI) and REDD-Ltd. (PNA)

as Paul Jr. said they would sub-mit a copy of their proposal to President Benigno III.

”We are scheduling a meet-ing with him,” he said. (PNA) RMA/JS/EDS

VOL. 8 ISSUE 6 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 10 - 11, 201516

GENERAL SANTOS CITY MARKETING OFFICEEDMUND P. RENDONMarketing SpecialistGeneral Santos CityMobile: (Sun) 0925-357-3460 (Smart) 0907-202-3844

DAVAO CITY MAIN OFFICEJOCELYN S. PANESDirector of SalesDoor 14 ALCREJ Bldg.,Quirino Ave., Davao CityTel: (082) 224-1413Telefax: (082) 221-3601

MANILA MARKETINGOFFICEANGELICA R. GARCIA Marketing Manager97-1 Bayanbayanan Ave.,Marikina Heights, Marikina City Tel: (02) 654-3509

GO BOLD GO COLOUR• All text

• Telephone Number (bigger point size)

• Bold Header

• Background• Text

Price: 100.00 Price: 175.00 Price: 230.00

ADD-ON

• Pictures/Logos• Graphic Elements

EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 8 ISSUE 6 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 10 - 11, 2015 17NEWSEDGEDAVAO

COMBINED police and Philippine Drug En-forcement Agency

(PDEA) operatives arrested a suspected big time drug pusher and seized an esti-mated P200,000 worth of methamphetamine hydro-chloride locally known as shabu in Dipolog City.

Superintendent Ranie Hachuela, Dipolog City acting police chief, identified the ar-

rested suspect as Joseph Elli Anthony Abucay, 27.

Hachuela said Abucay was arrested in a buy-bust operation around 12:51 a.m. Wednesday in Barangay Bar-ra, Dipolog City.

Hachuela said the arrest-ing team confiscated from the suspect’s possession 17 plastic sachets -- one large-sized, 12 medium-sized, and four small-sized -- of suspect-

ed shabu with an estimated market value of P200,000.

Also confiscated was P250 in “marked money” consisting of two P100 bills and a P50 bill, a mobile phone, and paraphernalia used in the trade of prohibit-ed drugs.

Hachuela said the suspect was detained while appropri-ate charges are set to be filed against him. (PNA)

Police, PDEA seize P200K shabu in Dipolog buy-bust

JAPAN and the United States have assured the Philippines of their con-

tinued support in addressing challenges and threats, fore-most among them terrorism.

In his message during the anniversary of Araw ng Kagit-ingan delivered in Mt. Samat, Bataan, Japanese Ambassa-dor Kazuhide Ishikawa said peace building in Mindanao was among the top priorities for assistance from Japan.

“Japan has also been con-tributing to the peace, stabili-ty, and prosperity of the Asia Pacific region throughout these 70 years as peace-lov-ing nations, as one of the best partners of the Philippines, and as an ally of the United States of America,” he said.

“The path Japan has tak-en as a peace-loving nation in

the past 70 years will remain unchanged,” Ishikawa said.

He said the collaboration between the Philippines and Japan has been expanding through security and defense cooperation.

Apart from these collab-oration initiatives, Ishikawa added that Japan would con-tinue to be trading partner and donor of official develop-ment assistance (ODA) to the Philippines.

“We are always one of the largest investors to the Phil-ippines and have been the number one donor of ODA for decades, not to mention projects for infrastructure and socioeconomic devel-opment. We provided hu-manitarian assistance and disaster relief when typhoon ‘Yolanda’ hit this country,” he

said.For his part, US Ambas-

sador Philip Goldberg said many countries continued facing challenges and threats, particularly fighting the scourge of international ter-rorism.

“In 2015, as in 1942, we face challenges and threats together as partners, friends, and in many cases now, fam-ily. Whether we are fighting terrorism or responding to the devastation of natural di-sasters, we face them togeth-er. And when the Philippines is threatened, it is not alone,” he said in the same event.

On April 9, 1942 or 73 years ago, 76,000 Americans and Filipinos gave their lives fighting in defense of free-dom and liberty of Bataan and Corregidor. (PNA)

Japan, US vow continuedsupport for peace efforts

VOL. 8 ISSUE 6 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 10 - 11, 201518 EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 8 ISSUE 6 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 10 - 11, 2015

BITS & FACTS7

19

Air Jordan 7 RetroInspired by the nighttime lights of Barcelona, the newest color of the Air Jordan 7 Retro is a snapshot from the historic summer of 1992. The upper fea-tures black nubuck and smooth leather with pops of Infrared 23 and Retro. The shoe was launched last March 7 on Nike.com.

THE list is long and daunting, but we have to pick the top from

our very own perspective. This list was made

with the influence on mind throughout our years of sportswriting experience. Without a doubt, Muham-mad Ali had the biggest im-print of them all from his glory days as Cassius Clay, to his ditching of compulsory

military enlistment, to his fight in Manila and his saga against Parkinson’s Disease.

The rest of the list are a bevy of athletes in different sports disciplines from Mi-chael Jordan (basketball) to Pele (soccer) to Tiger Woods (golf) to Roger Federer (te-nis) and to Wayne Gretzky (ice hockey).

1. Muhammad Ali

First three-time world heavyweight champion

Won 22 heavyweight championship fights with 19 successful defenses

2. Michael JordanFive-time NBA MVP; six-

time NBA champion (Finals MVP for all six titles)

10-time NBA scoring champ (most in NBA histo-ry)

3. Jackie RobinsonFirst African-American

player in modern era of ma-jor league baseball

All-Star in six straight seasons from 1949 to ‘54

4. Pele1,281 professional goals

in his career, fourth-most all time

Only player to win three

World Cup championships; youngest goal scorer in a World Cup final at age 17

5. Tiger WoodsHas won 14 majors, sec-

ond-most all time10-time PGA Player of

the Year, most all time

6. Roger FedererHeld world No. 1 ranking

for 302 total weeks, most all

timeSeven career Wimble-

don singles titles, tied with Pete Sampras for most all time

7. Wayne GretzkyWon Hart Trophy as

NHL’s Most Valuable Player a record nine times

NHL career and sin-gle-season record holder for goals, assists and points.

ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

Top 7 International Athletes

THE powerhouse Cy-cleline cycling team of Butuan is joining the

Tour de Grande Dos moun-tain bike cross country race set on May 10 in Barangay Catalunan Grande in Talomo District.

Team manager Lito Pa-tayan confirmed his team’s participation to Mark Martin Severino, Grand Knight of the organizing Knights of Colum-bus Council No. 9573.

Cycleline showed its dominance inn the recent-ly-held Araw ng Dabaw Cri-terium Challenge held at the Davao Crocodile Park last March 21.

Tour Pilipinas veteran Cesar Lapaza Jr. of Cycleline ruled the Open Elite catego-ry followed by former Team Rody Duterte’s Ronnie Urda-neta and Cycleline’s Gilbert Enarciso in second and third,

respectively.Enarciso also topped the

Junior category for 18 years old and below by beating his own two teammates Warren Sagarino and Robin Ray Der-ro, who finished second and third.

Another Cycleline rider Jade Lopez clocked 23 min-utes. 54.92 to win the 23 under category. Davao’s Eric Dhave Apinar and Cycleline’s John Earl Sagarino finished second and third.

More riders are expected to register during the event.

Registration is still on-going at the San Isidro Labrador Parish in Catalu-nan Grande. Registration fee is P350 with free pack lunch and race bib.

Severino said proceeds will go to the on-going con-struction of the San Isidro Labrador Parish Pastoral and

Formation Building in Baran-gay Catalunan Grande.

The event will be held in celebration of the San Isidro Labrador Fiesta, is sanctioned by Philcycling in coordination with the Davao City Sports Consumer Coop-erative.

Barangay Captain Janu-ary Duterte, president of the Association of Barangay Cap-tains (ABC) in Davao City is the invited guest speaker.

A total cash prize of P49,000 with medals will be awarded to the top three finishers of the Open Elite, 23 Under, Junior (18 under), Veterans (30-39), Masters (40-49), Ladies Open, Golden Boys (50 and above), Leg-end (60 and above), Fat Boys (minimum weight of 180 lbs.) and Executive (25-45 yrs. Old with PRC license or updated business permit under the

rider’s name).The race route starts and

ends at San Isidro Labrador Parish. Each lap has a dis-tance of 16.2 kilometers with only the Open Elite, 23 Under and the Veterans having a to-tal of two laps.

The riders will kick off from the parish church go-ing to Sitio Awa, passing Sitio Ubat turn right to San Miguel towards Sto. Nino Ilihan, Si-tio Guadalupe, turn left Sa-mantha Homes to Sitio Toril, Matina Pangi Road, Diversion Road, turn right for the Pink Sisters and go back to the parish.

The top three finishers in the Open Elite, 23 under, Ju-nior and Veterans will receive P3,000, P2,500 and P2,000 with medals.The top three placers in the other catego-ries will earn P2,000, P1,500 and P1,000 with medals.

Cycleline riders joining Tour de Dos

TOP-RANKED Rory McIl-roy chases his third consecutive major vic-

tory and a career Grand Slam while Tiger Woods stalks his first major title since 2008 when the 79th Masters begins Thursday.

Perfect playing conditions at iconic Augusta National greeted golfers for the final practice session on the eve of the year’s first major cham-pionship, tension already mounting even for those who already own the green jacket symbolizing Masters suprem-acy.

“Feeling the pressure at Augusta and winning it, I know that I can do it, so it helps a lit-tle,” defending champion Bub-ba Watson said. “You’re still nervous. You’re still scared. But at least I have won a cou-ple times.”

McIlroy could join Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Gene Sarazen and Woods as the only players to have won each of the majors

at least once. The 25-year-old Northern Ireland star would be the first European to do so.

“I’ll sleep OK,” McIlroy said. “If I get five or six hours I’ll be happy. Lucky I’ve got an early tee time.”

McIlroy, who plays along-side Americans Phil Mickelson and Ryan Moore with a 10:41 (1441 GMT) morning start, has stressed that he expects to have many more chances at winning the Masters if this one does not result in a victory.

“He has that opportuni-ty and he’s going to have that opportunity for decades to come,” Woods said. “I’m sure he’ll have many green jackets in his closet before it’s all said and done.”

It would also be McIlroy’s fifth career major win after the 2011 US Open, the 2012 and 2014 PGA Championships and last year’s British Open. If he does don a green jacket Sunday, McIlroy would join Woods and Ben Hogan as the only men to win three majors

FAMILY AFFAIR. Tiger Woods waits to put as girlfriend Lindsey Vonn, son Charlie and daughter Sam look on during the Par 3 Contest. Ezra Shaw, Getty Images

Rory seeks slam, Tiger chases no. 15

OUR PICK. (l-r) Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Pele, Jackie Robinson, Roger Federer and Wayne Gretzky.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 6 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 10 - 11, 201520 EDGEDAVAOSports

THIS one is another hard list to make. A lot of changes along the way

but we stick to the impact these athletes made in their respective fields of sporting battle.

Of course, our consen-sus no. 1 is boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao with his eight world division titles and a chance at being the first conqueror of unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. Then we have the ‘ultimates’ in their own turf--Paeng Nepomuceno in bowling, Felicisimo Am-pon in tennis, Efren Reyes in billiards, Mansueto Velasco (amateur boxing, and Gabriel “Flash” Elorde (pro boxing) and Paulino Alcantara (foot-ball).

1. Manny PacquiaoWorld Titles:WBC Flyweight Champi-

on (112 lbs)IBF Super Bantamweight

Champion (122 lbs)WBC Super Feather-

weight Champion (130 lbs)WBC Lightweight Cham-

pion (135 lbs)WBO Welterweight

Champion (147 lbs)WBC Light Middleweight

Champion (154 lbs)(2) WBO Welterweight

Champion (147 lbs)Minor World Titles:IBO Light Welterweight

Champion (140 lbs)The Ring/Lineal Champi-

onship Titles:Lineal Flyweight Champi-

on (112 lbs)The Ring Featherweight

Champion (126 lbs)The Ring Super Feather-

weight Champion (130 lbs)The Ring Light Welter-

weight Champion (140 lbs)

2. Rafael NepomucenoHe is listed in the Guin-

ness Book of World Records for three records: 1) for most Bowling World cup wins, 4, in three different decades.) for being the youngest ever to win the Bowling World Cup (at 19 years of age. In Septem-ber 2003 issue of the Presti-gious Bowlers Journal Inter-national named Paeng as the Greatest International Bowler of All Time.

3. Felicisimo Ampon1934 Far Eastern Games

champion (gold)1936 Philippines Ama-

teur Tennis Championship, quarter-finalist

1937 Philippines Ama-teur Tennis Championship, finalist

1937 Davis Cup singles champion

1948 Wimbledon Plate

champion1950 Pan American Ten-

nis Championships1952 French Open, quar-

ter-finalist1953 French Open, quar-

ter-finalist1958 Asian Games men’s

singles, 2nd place (silver)

4. Efren “Bata” ReyesMost number of world ti-

tles won in billiardsRegarded by world pool

stars as the greatest billiards player of all time

First Asian to be inducted into the Billiard Congress of America’s Hall of Fame.

Ranked no. 2 in Pool & Bil-liard Magazine’s “Fans’ Top 20 Favorite Players” poll.

5. Mansueto Velasco1996 Olympics silver

medalist6. Gabriel Elorde

World Junior Lightweight Champion, he won the title in 1960. In 1963, he was inaugu-rated as WBC and WBA cham-pion. He still holds the junior lightweight division record for longest title reign, and is con-sidered as one of the greatest junior lightweight champi-on in history. It spanned for seven years, and in doing-so he legitimized the division. Elorde is considered as one of the best Filipino boxers of all-time along with eight-division world champion Manny Pac-quiao and flyweight champi-on in the 1920s, Pancho Villa. He was much beloved in the Philippines as a sports and cultural icon, being the first Filipino international boxing champion since middleweight champion Ceferino Garcia.

7. Paulino AlcantaraFilipino–Spanish footbal-

ler and manager. He spent most of his playing career at Barcelona and was the first Filipino and Asian player to play for a European club. He also played for Catalonia, the Philippines and Spain. Alcán-tara made his debut for Bar-celona at the age of 15 and remains the youngest player to play or score for the club. He also scored 100 goals in 69 matches, making him the club’s highest goalscorer (counting goals scored in both official games and friendlies). After retiring as a player in 1927 at the age of 31, he be-came a doctor. On 3 July 1927, Barcelona played against Spain in a testimonial match in his honour (Spain won 2–1[4]) and he later served as a club director between 1931 and 1934. In 1951, Alcántara became a coach and managed Spain for three games.

Edge Davao’s Top 7 Filipino AthletesMAGIC 7. (l-r) Manny Pacquiao, Efren Reyes, Paeng Nepomuceno, Onyok Velasco, Gabriel Elorde, Felicisimo Ampon, and Paulino Alcantara.