edge davao 5 issue 262

‘National interest comes first’

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VOL.5 ISSUE 262 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, MARCH 8-9, 2013

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PRESIDENT Benigno S. Aquino III said it is his obligation to

pursue the interest of the greater number of Filipi-nos with regards to the ongoing crisis in Sabah.

At the same time, the Chief Executive reiterated his position for the peace-

ful resolution of the issue.

“ A k o naman po,

b i l a n g a m a n g ating b a n -s a ,

o b -li-

gasyon ko ‘yung kapa-kanan, kung hindi ng la-hat, ay ‘yung talagang na-kararami,” the President said during his speech when he met residents and leaders of General Santos City.

The President said the rights of the heirs of the Sulu sultanate must be clarified because there were reports in the past saying these rights were relegated to the Philip-pine government to pur-sue the Sabah ownership.

President Aquino mentioned in his speech a paper presented by then Sen. Ambrosio Padilla on March 29, 1968 showing a February 1, 1968 docu-ment containing a power of attorney allegedly exe-cuted by the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu in favor of former president Ferdi-

nand E. Marcos.The document rec-

ognized the authori-ty and power of the President to repre-

sent them in the settlement of their propriety rights over Sa-bah.

President Benigno Aquino III stresses a point in his message before guests and participants of MICE Convention 2013 which includes foreign and domestic dignitaries during the event’s formal opening at SM Lanang Premier’s SMX Convention Center in J.P. Laurel Avenue, Lanang, Davao City yesterday. President Aquino said more major international events will be hosted by the country in the future. Lean Daval Jr.

VOL.5 ISSUE 262 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, MARCH 8-9, 2013THE BIG NEWS2 EDGEDAVAO

TAX EXEMPTION LAW. President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III signs Republic Act 10374 or better known as Income Tax Exemptions to International Carriers during the formal opening of MICE Conference 2013 at SM Lanang Premier�s SMX Convention Center in J.P. Laurel Avenue, Lanang, Davao City yesterday. R.A. 10374 was co-authored by Rep. Sid Ungab, Rep. Jerry P. Treñas and Rep. Rex Gatchalian which aimed to rationalize the taxes paid by international carriers in the country. Witnessing the signing are (l-r) Rep. Maricar Zamora, Department of Tourism Sec. Ramon Jimenez, Jr., Sen. Franklin Drilon, Speaker Sonny Belmonte, Rep. Jerry P. Treñas, Rep. Isidro Ungab, Vice Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte, Rep. Mylene Garcia-Albano (Davao City, 2nd Dist.) and Rep. Anthony Del Rosario (Davao del Norte, Dist. 1). Lean Daval Jr.

MICE CON. Participants pass through the centerpiece Davao signage at the exhibition area of MICE Convention 2013 at SMX Convention Center in J.P. Laurel Avenue, Lanang, Davao City yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

AN upbeat President Benigno Aquino welcomed some

600 delegates from all over the world on the sec-ond day of the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, Events/Exhibitions Con-ference (MICECon) 2013 at the SMX Convention Center yesterday with the announcement that there were 4.3 million tourist visitors in the country in 2012.

In his speech, Aquino said there were only 1.8 million tourist arrivals in 2001 which grew to 3.1 million by the end of 2009.

The figure of 4.3 mil-lion in 2012, he said, is the first time that we were able to reach that

mark despite the global economic downturn, the president said, adding, “This 1.2-million increase, in just two years, matched what our predecessors had done in nine.”

He also announced that “In 2011, we ex-ceeded by two million, our original 2016 target of 30.5 million domestic travelers, which means that in just a year and a half, we exceeded the tar-get of our whole six year term.”

He attributed this suc-cess to Tourism secretary Ramon Jimenez, who, Aquino said, has found success by improving the tourism sector in such a short time.

FOREIGN air and shipping compa-nies are now ex-

empt from paying certain Philippine taxes after President Simeon Benig-no Aquino III signed Re-public Act 10374 during the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, Events/Exhibition Conference (MICECon) 2013, at SMX Convention Center, SM Lanang Tuesday.

The law was authored by Davao City Congress-man Isidro T. Ungab and two other members the

House of Representatives and Senator Franklin Drilon in the Senate.

A government briefer on the new law says in-ternational carriers and shippers are mandated to pay the Gross Philip-pine Billings Tax (GPBT) and common carriers’ tax (CCT) under the Philip-pine Tax Code, but with RA 10374 where Nation-al Internal Revenue Code of 1997 Section 28 (A) (3) (a-b), Section 109, and Section 118 are amended, carriers will be exempt

from paying the 2.5 per-cent GPBT and three per-cent CCT.

This will be granted to foreign carriers provided that the same exemption is granted by the carrier’s own country to the Phil-ippines, according to the law.

When asked about the significance of the law, Ungab, who is also cred-ited with having been one of the House author of the socalled Sin Tax law, said that the reciprocal agree-ments under the new

law hopes to at least dou-ble the number of tourist arrivals.

“It also hopes to bring back to the Philippines foreign airlines that have left the country like KLM, Cathy Pacific, Qatar and others. Aside from this, our local airline industry will be assisted in pene-trating the tourism indus-try of other countries,” Ungab said.

The briefer states that this will “boost the attain-ment of the tourism in-

IN celebration of the 76th Araw ng Davao, a medical doctor and

a businessman were named as 2013 Datu Bago awardees for their excep-tional contribution to the growth and development of the city.

Councilor Pilar Braga, chairperson of the Datu Bago Foundation, bared yesterday at the weekly iSpeak forum at the city hall that Dr. Helen Grace

Te-Santos and Dennis Uy are this year’s awardees.

Santos was the first president of the Davao Cancer Society and count-less recognition had been given her for her numer-ous accomplishments in the field of Obstetrics, Gy-necology and Oncology.

She was encouraged and unified medical doc-tors and societies to get involved in health outreach programs for

many Mindanaoans. She also travelled not only to Davao communities but also to hinterlands and localities of Mati, Davao Oriental, General Santos City in South Cotaba-to, Carmen in Davao del Norte and as far as Cota-bato City to deliver health missions.

“With her leadership, Dabawenyos have be-come more aware of can-

Aquino inks law exempting int’l airline firms from taxBy EJ Dominic Fernandez

Author Sid Ungab explains benefits of new law

FAQUINO INKS LAW, 11

FDATU BAGO, 11

FPNoy HAILS, 11

PNoy hails MICEConCites bigger things to come for country

Datu Bago awardees namedOncologist, homegrown oil magnate are this year’s awardees

By Che Palicte

VOL.5 ISSUE 262 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, MARCH 8-9, 2013EDGEDAVAO 3PROPERTY

IF city living is your life-style of choice, then you enjoy urban living and

all the modern convenienc-es it offers.

Your workplace or business will be within city limits, easy accessible with a short drive or ride on public transport. You enjoy the city’s night life

and dining out in Davao’s eclectic mix of homegrown restaurants, food chains, and exquisite fine dining hot spots.

You want to easily shut-tle back and forth to your daily commitments with banks, schools, hospitals, worship places, airport, markets, and other public

utilities. And, of course, you want to be close to the city’s biggest and best malls and all its locators.

But even when you desire all these, don’t you yearn to live in a na-ture-filled environment where coming home is a much welcome respite from the city’s hustle and

bustle? Then Camella Northpoint is for you.

Nestled within the heart of Davao’s growth area, this British colonial themed condo develop-ment of masterplan devel-oper Camella, is located at the junction of Buhangin and Bajada in JP Laurel Avenue.

With its clubhouse Wakefield Manor housing a fitness gym, cabanas and grill pits, a salinated well-ness pool, and a multi-use function hall, homeown-ers can still enjoy fine living amenities while at home.

But that’s not all, Northpoint residents also get to enjoy a nature-filled surrounding of tall, age-old Acacia trees surround-ed by all-weather Caribbe-an pine trees that give of a cool, refreshing scent. It also has pocket gardens, nature park, playground, multi-purpose ball court, shuttle service, and 24/7 security.

Northpoint will have its own lifestyle center with specialty restaurants, coffee shops, high-end re-tail stores, and a boutique hotel. The White Mansion already hosts an Asian fu-sion fine dining restaurant with its own wine cellar. All these further enhance the charmed lifestyle of Northpoint residents.

Camella is the sub-sidiary catering to the mid-market segment of

Vista Land, the country’s premier homebuilder.

In a 2011 study by Colliers International Re-search, Vista Land stood out as the leader in Philip-pine residential real estate development with a total of over 18,422 houses, houses and lots and con-dominiums sold out in that year alone.

Like its mother compa-ny, Camella understands that it is the ultimate dream of every Filipino to have a home of their own. Thus, it is their vision to build a home for EVERY Filipino.

Hence it gave Davao its landmark condo develop-ment Camella Northpoint, now the premier address in the city.

For more details on Camella Northpoint, visit Camella at Delgar Bldg. in front of Northpoint or call 2220963. For more Ca-mella information, news, events and announce-ments, check out www.ca-mella.com.ph, like “Camel-la Official” on Facebook and follow “@CamellaOffi-cial” on Twitter.

Camella Northpoint gives the best city living experience

VOL.5 ISSUE 262 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, MARCH 8-9, 20134 EDGEDAVAO

IN celebration of Women’s Month, Senator Loren Legar-

da urged Filipino women to take on a more active role as leaders in the so-ciety as they continue to perform the role of serv-ing their communities.

Legarda, who will attend the Philippine Women Judges Associa-tion’s National Conven-tion in Palo, Leyte and the Women’s Congress in Baybay, Leyte, said that this year’s theme for the Women’s Month celebra-tion, “Kababaihan: Gab-ay sa Pagtahak sa Tuwid na Daan”, underscores the need for women to be at the forefront of ef-forts to improve Filipino communities and take initiatives that would contribute to the na-tion’s progress.

“In celebrating Wom-en’s Month, we aim to empower women so that they will have the

confidence to lead and still have the compas-sion to serve. We must always assert what we believe is right and good for our citizens and for our nation,” the Senator stressed.

“Our government should invest more in strengthening women’s role as leaders in our society because women have proven their lead-ership capabilities espe-cially in times of crisis. There is no question on the importance of in-vesting in women, and in getting them involved in decision-making, es-pecially on issues con-cerning environment and climate change,” she added.

Legarda said that women have been at the frontline of disas-ter prevention and cli-mate change adapta-tion efforts, like a group of women farmers in

Montalban, Rizal who are practicing agrofor-estry to adapt to the prolonged wet season. Meanwhile, a group of women fisherfolk in Hi-natuan, Surigao del Sur reforested over a hun-dred hectares of man-grove areas to protect their settlements from storm surges and secure an additional source of food for their families.

“Climate change ad-aptation is just one area where women can prove that they are powerful agents of change. We must create meaningful opportunities for wom-en’s participation and leadership. We should recognize and empower women, who are agents of solutions, indispens-able holders of valuable knowledge and skills, and able leaders from the grassroots level to the global stage,” Legar-da concluded.

Legarda pushes for women leaders

THE administration coalition Team PNoy on Thursday/

March 7 welcomed the appointment of two new commissioners of the Commission on Elections as a step forward in en-suring that the Comelec’s efforts towards having a clean and fair elections in May is more achievable.

“We welcome Presi-dent Aquino’s appoint-ment of former Ambas-sador Macabangkit Lan-to and election lawyer Bernadette Sardillo as replacements for retired Commissioners Rene Sarmiento and Armando Velasco as this now com-pletes the commission’s membership during this very critical period. We hope that their addi-tion will now afford the Comelec enough man-power to carry out pend-ing reforms to make the elections orderly, peace-ful and credible,” Team

PNoy spokesman Rep. Miro Quimbo said.

The Marikina repre-sentative likewise said the appointment will al-low the Comelec to carry out steps “towards mak-ing the elections truly balanced.”

“We trust that the new appointees will serve as instruments, not obsta-cles, to the government’s pursuit of transparency and accountability,” Qui-mbo said.

Team PNoy senatori-al candidate former Sen. Jamby Madrigal also wel-comed the appointments, noting the two commis-sioners will bring to the poll body fresh perspec-tives on election reform consistent with the Pres-ident’s “daang matuwid” program.

“I am glad that the vacancies in the Comelec have been filled with people of integrity and competence. I trust that

the Commission will do its best to ensure a clean and honest election this May,” Madrigal said.

Former Sen. Ra-mon “Jun” Magsaysay meanwhile congratulat-ed Lanto and Sardillo on their appointments, say-ing they are welcome ad-ditions to the poll body.

“We are filled with optimism that, like the rest of the men and women of the Comelec, they will ensure that the mid-term elections will be clean and honest.

He advised the new appointees to be mean-ingful agents of change and work with a fair sound mind.

“We’re confident that they will contrib-ute significantly to the Comelec’s conduct of clean, fair, orderly and peaceful elections in May as well as in future political exercises,” he said.

Team PNoy hails appointment of 2 Comelec commissioners

ROUTINE FUNCTION. Acting Mayor Rodrigo Duterte goes about his normal routine in the city not worrying about the coming May elections as all his mayoralty rivals have been declared nuissance candidates by the Comelec. (Lean Daval, Jr.)

VICE MAYOR Rody R. Duterte has af-firmed his all-out

support for the candi-dacy of re-electionist 2nd district congresswoman Mylene Garcia, asking Hugpong members and supporters not to believe talks and rumors spread by Joji Ilagan-Bian’s camp that the 2nd district is a “free zone” in so far as the congressional tussle is concerned.

The vice mayor aired his warning in at least two broadcasts of his popular “Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa” weekly program that he would not hesitate to part ways with Hug-pong members who insist on betraying Hugpong by supporting Bian.

The vice mayor’s warning assumes a more significant meaning now that he is the remaining top leader of Hugpong with the resignation of Mayor Sara Duter-te-Carpio as party pres-ident. It may be recalled that Vice Mayor Rody founded Hugpong some-time at the height of his 18-year reign as mayor of the city. He is the Hug-pong standard bearer for city mayor in the May 13 elections.

Rody’s oft-repeated warning was reportedly prompted by overt acts of two former city council-ors who are campaigning for Bian. Both Bian sup-porters had lost their ear-lier congressional bids to

candidates of the Garcia clan – three-term con-gressman Vincent Garcia and his sister, incumbent congresswoman Mylene.The two and Joji, who herself lost in her earlier bid twice, have reportedly formed a “triumvirate of losers,” to “avenge” their defeat at the hands of the Garcias.

Some analysts read this triumvirate cabal as an experiment designed to test the political met-tle of Vice Mayor Duter-te. If Duterte’s candidate loses this May, it will be a signal to Duterte’s politi-cal foes to launch during the 2016 elections a city-wide challenge to Dute-rte’s supremacy. This is not a remote possibil-ity, some analysts say, because Joji is a known ally of former Speaker Nograles, Duterte’s polit-ical arch enemy. Joji’s two supporters defied Duter-te’s counsel once before when they ran for a Con-gress seat against mem-bers of the Garcia family.

Sources knowledge-able of the political histo-ry of Vice Mayor Rody say his loyalty to the Garcia family is understandable. A former councilor and retired politician said the Garcias, particular-ly former Congressman Manuel “Nonoy” Garcia, were among the four pillars who supported Rody in his first battle for mayor in 1988. The other three, now all deceased,

were congressman and former mayor Elias B. Lo-pez, businessman Robert Allan Limso and former senator Alejandro Al-mendras.

During Duterte’s first re-election bid in 1992, Almendras, a distant un-cle, abandoned him and put up his son, former councilor and now vice mayor of Sta. Cruz (Davao del Sur) Alexis for mayor, while Limso supported then congressman Pros-pero Nograles, also for mayor. However, Garcia and Lopez stuck it out with Rody.

Nonoy Garcia’s loyalty was tested when he re-portedly sided with Dute-rte in his fight against for-mer mayor Benjamin de Guzman in 2001, despite the fact that de Guzman was his (Garcia’s) long-time law partner. With Elias Lopez dead, Duter-te continued supporting the former’s son, Roy Lo-pez, for three consecutive terms. However, Duterte and the younger Lopez had a falling out in 2007, prompting Rody to hand-pick Isidro T. Ungab, a consistent topnotcher in past derbies for councilor in the 3rd District, as Hug-pong’s candidate for con-gressman.

With the parting of ways of the Lopez fami-ly with Duterte, only the Garcias have remained Dutertes’ allies from his original four supporters.

VM Rody threatens to part wayswith partymates backing Bian

VOL.5 ISSUE 262 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, MARCH 8-9, 2013EDGEDAVAO 5

VOL.5 ISSUE 262 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, MARCH 8-9, 20136 EDGEDAVAOSUBURBIA

A consortium of Chinese-Filipino businessman is

eyeing to open a P250 million six-story, 111-room high-end hotel in Gen. Santos City within the year.

Domingo Teng, a lo-cal tuna businessman, said that Greenleaf Hotel GenSan is now 85 per-cent complete.

“This would be the biggest business hotel in the city that will cater to businessmen and high-end tourists,” he told re-porters Wednesday.

Teng said they ex-pect to open the ho-tel “four months from now at the most” or in July that would charge its guests “reasonable rates.”

Local and Ma-nila-based investors decided to put up the hotel owing to positive growth indicators in the city, including the increase in incoming air passenger traffic by 14 percent from 2011 to 2012, he said.

There are daily flights to Manila as well as alternating routes to the cities of Cebu and Iloilo served by Philip-pine Airlines, Cebu Pa-cific and Air Philippine Express.

The city’s economy continues to grow as shown by the entry of big shopping malls like Robinsons and SM Mall, and the continued lo-cal construction boom, Teng said.

Greenleaf is locat-ed just across SM Mall along San Miguel Street

at the heart of the city.Known as the “Tuna

Capital of the Philip-pines,” this city hosts six of the country’s sev-en tuna canneries with their executives among the target clienteles of the hotel, he added.

Teng said the city’s economy is also expect-ed to grow further due to the high migration in the locality that is Region 12’s major eco-nomic hub.

Also known as Soc-csksargen Region, it covers the provinces of South Cotabato, North Cotabato, Sultan Kuda-rat and Sarangani and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Ta-curong. Kidapawan and Cotabato.

Avelmar Manansala, city hall’s media affairs officer, said the city has around 1,200 rooms both by big hotels and small lodging houses.

For really big con-ventions, the city is not yet fully capable in terms of accommoda-tion since the existing capacity is not enough, he said, adding they expect the number of rooms to reach 1,500 likely in two years.

Manansala said that Greenleaf invested at least P250 million that entitled it to enjoy lo-cal tax breaks for seven years.

Greenleaf will be the second hotel to open this year after the 66-room Microtel, which opened last month. (Bong S. Sarmiento/MindaNews)

A top local executive in Mindanao is op-timistic the Aqui-

no administration could deliver its target of pav-ing all national auxiliary roads by 2014 and all sec-ondary roads in 2016.

Governor Rodolfo del Rosario, President of the Confederation of Provin-cial Governors, City May-ors and Municipal May-ors League Presidents in Mindanao (Confed), said he is confident President Benigno Aquino III will be able to fulfill his promise of concreting all national roads in the country be-fore his term ends.

“As a governor and as President of Confed, ako po ay naniniwala na yan po ay tutuparin ni Pangu-long PNoy (I truly believe the president could attain that goal),” del Rosario

said in an interview with the media.

The governor affirmed Aquino’s crusade for good governance and an-ti-corruption campaign, dubbed as ‘Daang Matu-wid’ (Righteous Path), will make it possible for the government to realize the target.

During the provincial sortie of the Team PNoy senatorial candidates in Tagum City, del Rosario trumpeted the ‘Daang matuwid’ crusade made it possible for the admin-istration to increase pub-lic investment for more roads, more livelihood and employment, more school buildings and teachers, improved hos-pital facilities and wider universal PhilHealth cov-erage for the poor.

He revealed Davao del

Norte has benefitted a lot with the construction of more farm-to-market roads and concrete high-ways.

Good roads, Del Rosa-rio said, has reduced trav-el time to tourist destina-tions, as well as, encour-aged farmers to produce more with the easy move-ment of their produce.

“Countless more blessings are coming our way,” he said, courtesy of the improving national economy.

The gover-nor vouched for the continuity of the pres-ident’s anti-corruption campaign, among other reforms, even beyond 2016, provided all the administration’s senato-rial slate shall get a fresh mandate in the coming May polls.

Paving of all national roads by 2016 doable

GenSan’s biggest hotel is nearing completion

DATU BAGO AWARDS. Councilor Pilar Braga, Datu Bago Foun-dation chair (left), discusses the upcoming Datu Bago Awards night slated on March 15, 2013 at the Royal Mandaya Hotel during the I-Speak media forum at the conference room of the

Davao City Hall yesterday. At right is Mocha Production chief executive officer Timothy Te who talked about the 1st Dabaw Sinugba Festival to be held at Tienda del Mercado in Juna Sub-division from March 14-17, 2013. Lean Daval Jr.

VOL.5 ISSUE 262 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, MARCH 8-9, 2013 7EDGEDAVAO THE ECONOMY

ABOITIZ Equity Ven-tures, Inc. (AEV) ended 2012 with a

consolidated net income of P23.9 bn, registering an increase of 13% YoY. This translates to P4.33 in earnings per share. Power remained to account for the lion’s share at 78%, which was followed by the Banking and Food SBUs with income contribu-tions of 16% and 5%, re-spectively. The remaining share was accounted for by several other investee companies, including the newly acquired Property SBU.

Power Aboitiz Power Cor-

poration (AboitizPower) ended the year in review with an income contribu-tion of P18.8 bn, vis-a-vis last year’s P16.5 bn. When adjusted for non-recur-ring items, the Power SBU recorded a 13% YoY increase in its earnings share, from P16.1 bn to P18.2 bn.

“With a growing econ-omy comes an increased demand in energy,” said Erramon Aboitiz, AEV Chief Executive Officer.

“For the next four years, AboitizPower and its partners will invest P85 billion for building new power plants across the Philippines. Reliable

and affordable supply of power will be critical in sustaining long term economic growth for the country as a whole,” said Aboitiz.

In 2012, the power generation business con-tributed earnings of P17.5 bn, recording a 12% YoY growth. The increase in the group’s bottomline performance was due to the higher average selling price and net generation recorded for the period.

The group’s average price for its power in-creased by 3% YoY during the year. This was on the back of a 40% YoY rise in average selling price of electricity sold to the spot market as a result of the combination a tight supply situation brought about by higher outage levels and an increase in demand due to the hotter climate and increased economic activ-ity during the year.

AboitizPower’s net generation for 2012 regis-tered a 13% YoY increase from 9,422 GWh to 10,660 GWh. This was mainly ac-counted for by the 17% YoY expansion in power sales through bilateral contracts. On a capacity basis, the Company’s at-tributable sales increased by 9% YoY, from 1,413 MW to 1,547 MW, given the ris-

ing capacity sales through bilateral contracts. Capac-ity sold factors in general rose during the year, with the coal, geothermal and oil plants registering at 74%, 85%, and 93% re-spectively

Meanwhile, improved sales volumes and margin expansions resulted to a 19% increase in the pow-er distribution group’s in-come contribution for the year 2012, to P2.2 bn from P1.8 bn during the same period last year. Aboitiz-Power’s attributable elec-tricity sales grew by 6% YoY, from 3,727 GWh to 3,934 GWh. With econom-ic activity in the country increasing, the industrial segment posted a 6% YoY growth in sales, followed by the residential segment at 5%. Meanwhile the commercial segment also posted modest growth at 3% YoY. The group’s aver-age gross margin for 2012 improved by 11% YoY to P1.60/kWh, mainly due to the implementation of the distribution utilities’ approved rates under the PBR. Another driver for the group’s enhanced gross margin was the re-duced systems loss, with Visayan Electric Compa-ny (VECO) and Cotabato Light and Power Compa-ny (CLPC) in particular

reducing their level of system loss by 0.8 and 0.9 percentage points, respec-tively, as a result of initia-tives implemented during the period in review. The improvement in gross margins helped offset the 16% rise in operating costs during the year.

Financial Services The Banking SBU’s

income contribution for the year 2012 registered a 12% YoY improvement, from P3.4 bn to P3.9 bn.

Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) ended the period with an earnings contribution of P3.3 bn, up by 14% YoY. This was on the back of higher net interest income and hefty trading gains booked during the period.

Net interest income grew by 5% to P7.3 bn, as the 25% improvement in funding costs from inter-est bearing liabilities more than offset the 8% drop in income from earning as-sets.

Total other income rose by 13% to P10.8 bn from P9.6 bn a year ago main-ly on hefty trading gains, which surged by 20% to P6.5 bn. Premium reve-nues, on the other hand, fell by 10% to P1.2 bn as a result of lower sales of First Union Plan’s Inc. pre-need plans.

Total operating expens-es amounted to P8.6 bn, 5% higher than the P8.2 bn last year, mainly attrib-utable to increases in sal-aries and other employee benefits.

UnionBank’s asset base expanded to P275.9 billion as of end-2012, with a de-posit base of P186.0 bn and a loan book of P119.7 bn. The Bank’s Tier 1 and total capital adequacy ratio (CAR) further strength-ened to 18.0% and 20.7%, respectively, comfortably above existing regulatory minimum and forthcoming Basel III requirements.

AEV’s non-listed thrift bank, City Savings Bank (CitySavings), contribut-ed earnings of P520 mn in 2012, which was lower by 2% YoY. The decrease is mainly attributed to the bank’s ongoing expansion program which led to a 28% increase YoY in oper-ating expenses.

Food The Company’s food

unit, Pilmico Foods Cor-poration, recorded a 5% growth in its income con-tribution for 2012 to P1.3 bn, from P1.2 bn the pre-vious year. This was driven by a 6% increase in overall sales, with the flour, feeds, and farm divisions all post-ing an increase in sales vol-umes. Fourth quarter sales

were particularly stronger, growing by 11% to P4.2 bn as compared to the same period last year. In spite of the strong performance of the flour and farms di-visions, the feeds division registered a YoY decrease in its income contribution as a result of lower average selling prices, which led to a corresponding decline in margins.

Property On Sept. 28, 2012, the

Board of Directors of AEV approved the proposal to acquire 100% of affiliate Aboitiz Land, Inc. at the transaction cost of P3.2 bn. The transaction was com-pleted in November.

Financial Condition For the year ending

December 31, 2012, the Company’s consolidated assets amounted to P223.8 bn, up by 11% from year-end 2011 level. Cash and cash equivalents was at P33.7 bn, 14% higher than the year-end 2011 level of P29.5 bn. Consolidat-ed liabilities amounted to P110.3 bn, while Equity At-tributable to Equity Hold-ers of the Parent increased by 19% to P91.8 bn. Cur-rent ratio as of year-end 2012 was at 2.5x (versus year-end 2011’s 3.0x), while net debt-to-equity ratio was at 0.5x (versus year-end 2011’s 0.6x).

Aboitiz 2012 income up 13% to P24B

The Philippines’ largest nation-al flag carrier,

Cebu Pacific (PSE:CEB) remains committed to boosting tourism in Davao, as the official airline sponsor of the Davao Mega Travel Sale Expo, and the only airline sponsor of the MICECON 2013. Both events are held in Davao this week-end.

On its 4th year, the Davao Mega Travel Sale Expo is from March 7 to 10, 2013 at the new SM Lanang Davao. It is orga-nized by the Davao Trav-el Agencies Association. Travelers can buy seats as low as PHP199 at the CEB booth at the Davao Mega Travel Sale Expo until March 9, 2013, for travel from May 1 to Au-gust 31, 2013.

“Cebu Pacific is very pleased to be the offi-cial airline partner of the Davao Mega Travel Sale Expo for the 4th year in a row. We have been supporting the Davao Expo since its inception, because we believe in the tourism potential of Davao, and in engaging stakeholders to continu-ously offer new services

and attractions to the traveling public,” said CEB VP for Marketing and Distribution Candice Iyog.

Meanwhile, tourism and travel industry stake-holders will convene for the 2013 Philippine MICECON (Meetings, In-centive Travel, Conven-tions, Exhibitions and Events Conference) will be held from March 6 to 9, 2013 at the SMX Con-vention Center Davao.

“Last year, CEB launched direct flights from Davao to Puerto Princesa, Kalibo, Dipolog and Butuan, significantly reducing travel time and the need for connect-ing flights. This steady expansion of our Davao hub signifies the our strong commitment in promoting travel to and from Davao, by offering trademark lowest fares and an unbeatable route network,” Iyog said.

CEB currently oper-ates nine direct flights from Davao, with exist-ing services to Cagayan de Oro, Manila, Cebu, Il-oilo and Zamboanga.

The airline recently announced pioneering direct services between

Cebu and Camiguin, slated to be launched on April 15, 2013. Di-rect flights between Cebu and Masbate will be launched on June 1, 2013.

CEB will also launch its Manila-Bali service on March 16 and its Ma-nila-Dubai service on October 7, 2013.

For bookings and in-quiries, guests can go to www.cebupacificair.com, or call the reserva-tion hotlines (02) 7020-888 or (032) 230-8888. The latest seat sales can also be found on CEB’s official Twitter and Face-book pages. Quoted fares are exclusive of check-in baggage allowance, tax-es, fuel surcharges and admin fees.

CEB currently oper-ates 10 Airbus A319, 24 Airbus A320 and 8 ATR-72 500 aircraft. Its fleet of 42 aircraft is one of the most modern air-craft fleets in the world. Between 2013 and 2021, Cebu Pacific will take delivery of 18 more Air-bus A320 and 30 Airbus A321neo aircraft orders. It is slated to begin long-haul services in the 3rd quarter of 2013.

CEB shows full support to Davao eventsHolds Davao seat sale as low as PHP199


IN an ideal world, newspapers would answer complaints from readers and critics directly. But like

other powerful people in the news, ed-itors recoil at being grilled about how they do their job. In 2011, New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller lik-ened his critics to “oxpeckers who ride the backs of pachyderms, feeding on ticks.” In 2009, Washington Post Ex-ecutive Editor Marcus Brauchli gave then-Washington City Paper Editor Erik Wemple an earful when asked detailed questions about a brouhaha at the Post. “I don’t think it’s necessary for us to lay out all of the processes in the newspa-per to make decisions. … Newspapers spend way too much time explaining themselves. … Too many people call our newsroom. There are endless queries on our journalism these days. I think it’s better for us to focus on producing journalism than on our process.”

If there has been any protest — organized or piecemeal — against the Post for retiring the ombudsman position, I’ve missed it. I’ve witnessed greater reader noise after the cancella-tion of a comic strip from the Post. This relative silence suggests that in its 43 years, the Post ombudsman job never created much of a constituency of its own. You can’t blame the Post for read-er indifference: It has given the column big play and has never messed with the ombud’s independence (that I’m aware of). Perhaps the failure of the ombuds-man column to catch fire with readers belongs to the ombudsmen themselves, whose dissections of the Post too of-ten read like stuffy lecture notes writ-ten by an over-the-hill professor. If only the Post could have cloned Dan-iel Okrent. The New York Times ap-pointed Okrent as its first ombudsman (d.b.a. “the public editor”) in 2003 and installed him in the ombudsman posi-tion permanently. Okrent produced a stream ofTimes columns so indepen-dent, thoughtful and incandescent that the only way to contain their unremit-ting brilliance was to seal them forever between hardcovers.

Martin Baron, the Post‘s current ex-ecutive editor, told Ombudsman Pexton last month that one argument against perpetuating the ombudsman job was that its core functions — criticizing the-Post and holding its staff accountable — had been somewhat subsumed by the Internet. “There is ample criticism of our performance from outside sources, entirely independent of the newsroom, and we don’t pay their salaries,” said Baron, which I take as a soft promise that he will be a more willing feeder of the press oxpeckers than was Brauchli.

Ben Bagdikian, a former Washing-ton Post editor, an early Post ombuds-man and a professor of journalism, once called the ombudsman office “a kind of self-indulgent, self-congratulato-ry gesture by a lot of publishers.” But he hadn’t soured on the position complete-ly. “On the whole, it’s been a healthy development. It’s certainly been better than nothing,” he said.

Better than nothing? We’re about to find out.

EDGEDAVAO8

TENS OF THOUSANDS of Dabawen-yoswho are in the state of unhealth, particularly those afflicted with

kidney trouble have reason to be happy.Acting Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R.

Duterte plans to expand the much-vaunt-ed assistance of the city government to kidney patients to include patients who are confined in hospitals other than the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC), the biggest state-run medical fa-cility in Mindanao.

Mr. Duterte bared his plan in a speech he made during a program held to com-memorate World Kidney Day. His plan is doable

This can be done bydemocratizing the services of the city government’s long-running “Lingap Para samgaMahi-hirap” programwhich subsidizes treat-ment and medicines of mostly poor pa-tients in the SPMC.

The best part of Duterte’s plan is the deployment of dialysis machines to smaller hospitals and for the city govern-ment to shoulder the fees for the medical personnel involved in the treatment.

Duterte said it pained him to deny

help to other Dabawenyos who need to undergo dialysis in small clinics, aside from those being served by the Lingap program at the SPMC.He revealed that medical and social services constitute the biggest expense in his 19-year expe-rience as leader of the local government unit P220 million for medicine, hospital and burial expensesfor indigent patients.

“It is bigger than the intelligence fund which is only P5 million per year,” Dute-rte bared.

To better appreciate the big help that the vice mayor is mulling over, let’s look into the operation of the dialysis sec-tion.

Dr. Jeanette Ybiernas, medical direc-tor of the SPMC Mindanao Dialysis Cen-ter, said that due to the increasing de-mand, management had to raise to 55 the number of dialysis machines from the original 34 last October.

Everyday, the center is dialyzing some 90 patients a day, Dr. Ybiernas said, add-ing that at a given time there could be close to 1,000 patients in various dialy-sis centers of the city.

The Duterte solution

OLIVIA D. VELASCOGeneral Manager

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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VANTAGE POINTS

( Conclusion )

Does anyone care about newspaper

ombudsmen?

EDGEDAVAOProviding solutions to a seamless global village.

ANTONIO M. AJEROEditor in Chief

OLIVIA D. VELASCOGeneral Manager

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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EDITORIAL

Big help coming

ANTHONY S. ALLADA • AQUILES Z. ZONIOStaff Writers

EJ DOMINIC FERNANDEZ • CHE D. PALICTEReporters

JOCELYN S. PANESDirector of Sales

AGUSTIN V. MIAGAN JRCirculation

BY JACK SHAFERCOMMENTARY

VOL.5 ISSUE 262 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, MARCH 8-9, 2013EDGEDAVAO 9

SALAAM! Peace!For days now, I’ve been feeling

sad about the unnecessary sacrifice and loss of lives of our Tausug breth-ren in Sabah. I grew up idolizing the Kiram brothers in the game of basketball back in the 1970s: they were such excellent and smooth players with good grasp of the fundamentals of the game back then. Before Michael Jordan was doing the split, one of the Kiram broth-ers (the captain ball of the Sulu High School Basketball Team in the 1970s, before the War) was already doing it with wonderful finesse.

In the 1960s, as I was going through the elementary at Lapa, Maimbung, Sulu, Abraham Idjirani was also my idol; he graduated as a Valedictorian of his class. I was probably Grade III then. Such intelligence I thought. My point is this: Well-thought-out advice---exhausting peaceful means -- should have been given to the Honorable Sultan; for him to do his claim through the (international) Court of law (I’ve been away from the academe for so long; I don’t know which court of law at this point). Times have already changed...;

we can no longer do things the old-fash-ioned way.

Last week a British-American lady (a property owner) was coming back to Santa Cruz, CA to retire. She want-ed to evict an old lady from her property. She asked me about her options. I told her: You know that you can never move this lady out of your property if she has no place to go, especially if she’s paying her rent on time. The Sherriff ’s Office will not put her out... You could probably give her a “60-Day Notice to Move Out” and file the case with the Court after the Notice has expired. But there is essen-tially nothing else you could do to throw her out. Worse comes to worst, you could give her a rent-increase notice...

As a Tausug Muslim, I value life (and peace) so much that it pains me to know about senseless death like this again, especially after my horrible experience in Jolo in 1974---the grieving families, the

children losing their fathers, rel-atives, the pain and anguish of dying in foreign land...Oh my God!

It’s time for us to shift our atten-tion away from war, from fighting, from making use of our glorious history the wrong way. Instead of glorifying our culture of war and guns and wrong-headed courage, we should re-direct the same cour-age to education, peace, open-mindedness, science, growth, de-velopment, tolerance...

These are the new challenges in our lives now in which we can teach our kids to be brave and coura-geous and fearless like those lost Tausug warriors in the past; but blaze a new trail (using the same bravery) to achieve exception-al heights in socio-economic and educational development. Instead of using our money to build an army, we should put up scholarship funds and build public libraries and parks instead -- so our new genera-tions of Tausugs could grow strong and intelligent and bold in the pursuit of peace and love and development.

Magsukul! Salamat! Thanks!A very sad Tausug brother, Morsidy.

( 1st of two parts )

VANTAGE POINTS

A very sad Tausug brother

The Sabah standoff’s grim

implications

MORSIDY HUSIN PEACETALK

BY BEN KRITZCOMMENTARY

MY Manila Times column for Tuesday, March 5. At the time I was actually writing this — in

the wee hours of the morning on Sat-urday, March 2 — the media here in the Philippines was reporting that the standoff had “ended,” which was obvi-ously not the case; if anything, the fight-ing has spread, which should not real-ly be a surprise to anyone. One of the most frustrating things about this very serious crisis is that the governments of both countries have been rather ham-fisted in their attempt to keep the news under control; add to that the nat-ural chaos of war, and it’s a pretty fair bet that no one knows exactly what is happening.

While most of the public conversa-tion about the lamentably bloody end to the Sabah standoff has turned to angry recriminations about the Aqui-no Administration’s appalling mishan-dling of the situation, very few people are discussing its worrisome long-term implications. The armed standoff may have ended – although there is some justification for actually wondering if it has, thanks to an unprecedented co-operative attempt to impose a news blackout by the Philippine and Malay-sian governments – but the dire conse-quences are only beginning.

The revelation that Sulu Sultan Ja-malul Kiram III sent a letter to the Of-fice of the President requesting inclu-sion in the peace talks with the Moro Is-lamic Liberation Front is the key piece of evidence that exposes the conspiracy between the Aquino Administration of the Philippines and the government of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. Aquino’s explanation that the letter was “lost” is simply inexcusable – the negligence that the suggestion that the Philippine government actually needed to be reminded of the Sultanate of Su-lu’s importance to the peace talks im-plies would be criminal, if it were not so ludicrous. The omission of Sulu from the talks, as well as the omission of the Moro National Liberation Front, was clearly intentional. As the intermedi-ary third party, Malaysia is undoubted-ly well aware of who all the interested parties are, and is thus complicit in the exclusion of some of them.

To understand why, we need to look at the Malaysian side of the equation. It is not hard to imagine that excluding the Suluanons would be acceptable to Razak’s government, as that would pre-vent the problematic issue of the Sultan-ate’s long-standing claim to Sabah from being introduced in the peace negoti-ations. And it was possible to exclude the Sultanate, at least initially, because of the internal disagreement among the heirs of Sultan Mahakutta Kiram about who really is in charge. As long as the Kiram clan was not completely united behind a single leader, both the Philip-pine and Malaysian governments could claim, if the issue was raised, that they could not be certain who properly rep-resented the interests of the Sultanate. And in a rather immature attempt to further prevent the issue from being raised, Aquino’s government simply “lost” Sultan Jamalul’s letter.

“Did they want us to send our armed forces and join them

in their violent struggle? In putting at risk our fellow-men (in Sabah), do they also

want to put 90 million Fili-pinos here in danger?”

QUIPS“The Sultan is calling for a

unilateral ceasefire of the Sultanate of Sulu effective this hour 12:30 p.m. in order to reciprocate the call of the United Nations to preserve lives.” SULTAN JAMALUL KIRAM III

through spokesperson Abraham Idjirani

PRESIDENT BENIGNO AQUINO III


PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III signed Thursday Re-

public Act 10374, the law that gives in-come tax exemptions to international car-riers in the country, which he described as “ultimately a strate-gic move” even if it means “initial loss of revenue”.

Speaking at the open-ing ceremony of the Meet-ings, Incentive Travel, Conventions, Exhibi-tions and Events confer-ence here, the President said the law will bene-fit the aviation industry, tourism industry, and the millions of our peo-ple who will have great-er freedom in planning their lives.

Once the law takes effect, Aquino said, all international carriers will be exempted from paying the 3-percent Common Carriers Tax on receipts and income de-rived from transporting passengers.

The law, titled “An act recognizing the prin-ciple of reciprocity as basis for the grant of in-come tax exemptions to international carriers and rationalizing other taxes imposed thereon by amending Sections 28 (A) (3) (a), 109, 118 and 236 of the National In-ternal Revenue Code, as amended, and for oth-

er purposes” was a con-solidation of House Bill 6022 and Senate Bill 3343.

It provides that for-eign carriers, both air and shipping, are exempted from paying the Common Carriers Tax imposed on passenger traffic only, and that carriers will also be exempted from paying value-added tax

for the transport of pas-sengers.

With the signing of RA 10374, the Department of Tourism expected a capacity growth “as route passenger load fac-tors improve relative to flights to neighboring countries,” which is like-ly to start in summer 2014 and winter 2014. It noted that the cumu-

lative capacity growth for three years from for-eign carriers is at 20 per-cent average.

The tax relief will aid in the development of the cruise tourism market for the benefit of the secondary tour-ism destinations and the island economies across the Philippine archi-pelago, the law briefer

said.It added that the

country will get close to achieving 10 million targets in terms of international arriv-als, while tourists are expected to contrib-ute about P50 billion in tax revenues resulting from their expenditures by 2016.

Aquino mentioned that

by 2016, the country will need 37,000 additional rooms to cope with the in-flux of arrivals.

He cited that the num-ber of tourist arrivals had increased from 3.1 million in 2009 to 4.3 million in 2012, the first time the country reached a 4-million mark in arrivals. (Lorie Ann Cascaro/MindaNews)

10 EDGEDAVAONATION/WORLD

WORK ON THE SIDE. President Aquino (right) confers with DILG Secretary Mar Roxas (left) and Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab in the middle of the LP campaign sortie last night at the Rizal Park. Visible at the back of Roxas is Rep. Mylene Garcia. (Lean Daval, Jr.)

Aquino says tax relief for int’l carriers is a strategic move

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino reiterated Wednesday night

the need for sobriety and “reasonable dialogue” to stop the crisis in Sa-bah from escalating, claiming the group that holed up in Lahad Datu for nearly a month now has endangered not only themselves but almost a million Filipinos living and working in Sabah and the 90 million Filipi-nos in the country.

“Para maganda ang us-apan, dapat mahinahon. Dapat may tiwala sa isat isa at mag-usap ng reso-nable at may patutungu-han tayo (To have a good discussion, we should be sober. We should trust in each other and talk reasonably so we can

proceed), the President said in his speech before endorsing Team PNoy, his administration’s senatorial bets for the mid-term elections in May.

Aquino was refer-ring to the group of Rajah Muda Agbimuddin Kiram, brother of Sultan Jamal-ul Kiram III, who sailed along with some 200 followers to Lahad Datu, Sabah in the sec-ond week of February, purportedly to assert their claim over Sa-bah but who has, the President said, endan-gered not only them-selves but almost a million Filipinos living and work-ing in Sabah and 90 mil-lion in the country.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) had

earlier said Kiram led a group of about 180, 30 of whom were armed.

The President said what happened in Sabah was clearly caused by “personal interest” and not for the majority of the people.

Kiram’s group arrived in Lahad Datu, Sabah on the second week of February (some reports put the date on the 9th, others say the 12th) and holed up there, refusing to leave de-spite appeals from the President and Malaysian authorities.

On March 1, the Malaysian govern-ment announced the standoff was over, claiming Kiram’s group attacked secu-

rity forces, killing two policemen.

Fifteen persons were killed on March 1, two of them Malaysian policemen. By Sunday, the death toll was placed at 27, eight of them Malaysian policemen.

On March 5, Ma-laysia launched ae-rial and ground at-tacks to “flush out” Kiram’s group from La-had Datu. By March 6, re-ports from Malaysia said 13 more members of Ki-ram’s group were killed, bringing the death toll to 40.

The President said Kiram’s group is now facing the might of the Malaysian security forces. (Lorie Ann Cascaro/Min-daNews)

SULTAN Jamalul Kiram III declared Thurs-day noon a unilateral

ceasefire in Sabah, Malay-sia in a bid to prevent fur-ther loss of lives but Ma-laysia rejected the truce offer and called on Kiram’s followers to surrender un-conditionally.

“Do not trust the cease-fire offer by Jamalul Kiram. In the interests of the peo-ple of Sabah and Malaysia, destroy all the militants,”

Defense Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, tweeted in Bahasa Malay-sia, Malaysia’s The Star On-line, reported.

The report said Malay-sian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak who visited Lahad Datu Thurs-day, told a press conference that Kiram’s men “must lay down arms and surrender unconditionally.”

Abraham Idjirani, spokesperson of the Sulu Sultan announced in a press conference in the residence of the Sultan in

Taguig City, Metro Manila that, despite Malaysia’s rejection of its truce offer, “I would reiterate the de-cision of the Sultanate of Sulu to declare a cessation of hostilities.”

Kiram’s ceasefire dec-laration, announced in a noontime press conference in Taguig, Metro Manila on Thursday, came some three hours after Malaysia deployed its fighter jets anew to flush out Kiram’s followers from Lahad Datu in Sabah, and a few hours after United Nations Secre-tary General Ban Ki-moon urged an end to violence in Sabah and called for di-alogue among all parties to peacefully settle the prob-lem.

The Secretary-General, the statement said, is close-ly following the situation in Sabah and “urges an end to the violence and encourag-es dialogue among all the parties for a peaceful reso-lution of the situation,” the statement read.

PNoy asks: “What do you want me to do? Sacrifice interest of Pinoys?”

Sultan declares ceasefire:Malaysia rejects truce offer

VOL.5 ISSUE 262 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, MARCH 8-9, 2013 11EDGEDAVAO

FFROM 1

FFROM 2

FFROM 2

FFROM 2

National...

Aquino inks law...

PNoy hails...

Datu Bago...

President Aquino said there is an ongo-ing propaganda war with regards to the Sabah issue.

The President also defended his position of calling for a peace-ful resolution to the issue by persuading the followers of the sultan of Sulu to re-turn home.

“Kayo po testigo, nagmakailang ulit na po akong nakikiusap na kung pupuwede lumikas doon, bum-alik na muna dito at pag-usapan natin ang problema sa mapa-yapa at mahinahon na pamamaraan,” he said.

“Mali ho ba ang mungkahing ‘yon? Tama ho ba ang si-nusugsog ng ilan na dapat suportahan na-tin ang mga nandoon na may dala-dalang armas, na nagkaroon na ng patayan?”

The ongoing con-flict in Sabah may spoil the gains achieved by Malaysia and the Phil-ippines, particularly the stability of Min-

danao after Malaysia successfully brokered the peace talks be-tween the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Libera-tion Front (MILF).

Despite Malaysia’s previous animosity towards the Philip-pines, Philippine-Ma-laysian relations im-proved dramatically in the past several de-cades with the Malay-sians aiding the Phil-ippines achieve peace in Mindanao, he said.

“Mag-i-invest sila [Malaysia], mag-tri-training sila, ma-giging partner natin sila para magkaroon ng tiyak na pama-maraan umasenso ang buhay ng mga kapatid na nag-alsa na rin, at some point in time,” he said.

It is regrettable that the improved re-lations between the two countries could be shattered by the Sabah instability, he said.

Everyone involved must clarify the issue because at stake is

the national interest and welfare, he said.

“Ako’y umaapela sa inyo, dapat mali-wanag na maliwanag dito. Itong pangya-yaring ito mali. Kung mali bakit natin su-suportahan? Dapat suportahan po natin ‘yung tama. ‘Yung tama ang magdadala sa atin sa maaliwalas na kondisyon; ‘yung mali dadalhin tayo sa kapahamakan,” he said.

The Sabah con-flict began February 12, when Malaysia’s government said an estimated 100-300 armed Filipinos had landed in a territory claiming sovereignty over it.

After the ini-tial standoff, vio-lence erupted last week with a deadly shootout. On Tues-day Malaysian secu-rity forces launched a massive campaign to flush out the armed Filipinos. They said 27 have died in the shootouts and related violence.

dustry’s target of 10 mil-lion international visitors by 2016,” adding, “These visitors are expected to contribute about P50 bil-lion in tax revenues from their expenses by 2016.”

In Aquino’s opening speech at the MICECon, he said, “This will actu-ally mean an initial rev-enue loss for us, but it is ultimately a strategic move, airlines have long asked for this measure since it will only bring in more traffic and facilitate connectivity among other

countries.”“With this law, every-

body wins, from the avia-tion industry, to the tour-ism industry, and the mil-lions of our people who will have greater freedom in planning their trips,” the president added.

Aquino signed the law in the presence of House Speaker Feliciano Bel-monte Jr., Rep. Ungab, the principal sponsor of the bill, Jerry Treñas rep-resentative from the lone district of Iloilo City, prin-

cipal author, Rep. Mylene Garcia-Albano of Davao City’s 2nd district, 1st dis-trict Rep. Maria Carmen Zamora of Compostela Valley, Davao del Norte 1st district Rep. Antho-ny del Rosario, 1st dis-trict Western Samar Rep. Mel Senen Sarmiento, Wesley Gatchalian of Alay Buhay, Senator Drilon, the principal author and sponsor of the law in the Senate, and Tourism Sec-retary Ramon Jimenez as witnesses.

“Fortunately, the secretary and I will not allow any breath-ing space, which is why we revised the target to 56.1 million domestic travelers by 2016,” the president added.

He commended the event, saying that the MICE market am-plifies the respective strengths of the coun-try as the government actively campaigns to host events that in-volve top global lead-ers in the industry and government.

According to Aqui-

no, some of the sig-nificant events that will be taking place in the Philippines are the 23rd Asia Pacific Economic Coopera-tion (APEC) summit in 2015, the United Na-tion’s World Tourism Organization regional commission, and the East Asia Summit for the World Economic Forum in 2014.

“The country is confident to host these events, he said, “because we have the facilities, skills and competence to get things done,” adding,

that just last month “the International Civil Aviation Orga-nization (ICAO) sent a coordinated valida-tion commission to the country to review the efforts of the Phil-ippine Civil Aviation Authority.”

“I am pleased to re-lay that the members of the ICAO team ex-pressed great satisfac-tion with our work, in fact, the ICAo already lifted the significant safety concerns pre-viously issued against the Phillipines,” the president said.

cer prevention through her cancer awareness program where she gives free consultations and screenings, even giving away free medicines,” Braga explained.

On the other hand, Uy, the founder and chief ex-ecutive officer of Phoenix Petroleum Incorporated, built his Davao-based startup business to be-come not only the leading independent oil company in the country, but a mod-el for the future of the

downstream petroleum business in the Philip-pines.

Uy embarked on proj-ects that helped thou-sands of people, such as adopt-a-school program; scholarships; adopting the Philippine eagle; Paw-ikan Conservation Project; Medical/Dental missions; Coastal Clean-up Drive; Philippine Coast Guard Di-saster relief program and supporting sports devel-opment programs.

“Uy was born and

raised in Davao City and at his relatively young age, he has contributed so much not only here in Davao City but to the country also,” Braga said.

Braga explained that they deserve the award because of their exempla-ry competence and ded-ication to the city while serving as an inspiration to residents of Davao City.

The awarding ceremo-ny will be held at the Royal Mandaya Hotel on March 15.

NOT HERE. A Malacañang staff (left) shows Vietnamese journalist Dit Bui of Vietnam’s Financial and Business News Channel (center) the designated media area before the start of MICE Convention 2013 at SMX Convention Center in J.P. Lau-

rel Avenue, Lanang, Davao City yesterday. The said event was graced and formally opened by President Benigno Aquino III. Lean Daval Jr.

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1) 1-hectare commercial lot at P10,000/sq m, along National Highway, facing east, beside NCCC Panacan, Davao City. 2) 17,940sq m commercial lot at P2,500/sq m, along Matina Diversion Road. 3) 3,831 sq m lot along Matina Diversion Road. 4) 41,408 sq m commercial/industrial lot at P800/sq m along the National Highway, Bunawan. 5) 7,056 sq m at P1,200/sq m commercial/residential lot along Indangan Road, Buhangin District. 6) 27,411 sq m commercial/industrial lot along the National Highway in Bincungan, Tagum City. 7) 116.15 to 245.92 sq meters , at P5.5M to P12.3M commercial/office condo units in Bajada, Davao City. 8) 699 to 1,117 sq m at P4,100/sq m commercial lots at Josefina Town Center, along the National Highway, Dumoy, Toril. 9) Ready-for-Occupancy Residential Properties: 4BR/3T&B in a 240 sq m lot with 177.31sqm floor area (2-storey) at P4.8M in an exclusive beachfront community in Dumoy, Toril.; 3BR 2-storey in a 71.25 sq m 2-storey in a 143sq m lot in an exclusive flower village in Maa, Davao City; 180 sq m lots with 71.25sqm to 126.42 sq m floor areas, priced at P3.751M to P5.773M in an exclusive mountain resort community along Matina, Diversion Road. 10) 1BR/2BR residential condo units located in Bolton, Maa, Obrero, Davao City. 11) FOR ASSUME (RUSH): 1BR res’l condo unit in Palmetto, Maa. P600K negotiable. Note: Items 1-9 can be paid in cash, in-house or bank financing. If interested, please call Jay (PRC REB Lic. 8237) at 0922-851-5337 (Sun), 0908-883-8832 (Smart) or send email to [email protected].

LEGAL NOTICE

Notice is hereby given that the estate of the late FRANCISCA O. UGALI , has been EXTRA-JUDI-CIALLY SETTLED AMONG HEIRS WITH WAIVER OF HEREDITARY RIGHTS, executed by among her heirs per Doc. No.1486, Page No. 21, Book No. LIII, Series of 2012, of the NOTARY PUBLIC EMMAN-UEL G. FERENAL

2/22,3/1,8

LEGAL NOTICENotice is hereby given that

the estate of the late EN-RIQUE PASIA, has been EX-TRA-JUDICIALLY SETTLED, executed by among hIS heirs per Doc. No.22, Page No. 45, Book No. 52, Series of 2013, of the NOTARY PUBLIC SIL-VANIO T. LIZA

3/01, 8, 15NOTICE OF LOSS

Notice is hereby given by LOYOLA PLANS CON-SOLIDATED INC. that CERTIFICATE OF FULL PAYMENT No.(s) 1003105 under LOYOLA PLAN Contract No.(s) 286662-9 issued to Ranulfa B. Te-jano was lost. Any transaction entered into shall be null and void.

3/8,15,22

VOL.5 ISSUE 262 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, MARCH 8-9, 2013 13EDGEDAVAO SPORTS

ABOUT 250 golfers coming from dif-ferent industries

all over the country like banking, engineering, shipping, and the petro-leum industry are expect-ed to see action on March 9, 2013 at the Phoenix Open Golf Tournament at the Rancho Palos Verdes Golf and Country Club in Davao City.

They will all seek to win a million pesos in cash, 100,000 pesos worth of Phoenix fuel cards, a 6KVA Shinsetsu Generator, a Skygo Wiz-ard 125 motorcycle, an MCX Raptor 125cc motor-cycle, and an Isuzu Cross-wind in designated par 3 holes of the golf course.

Lucky winners shall also receive Royal Selan-

gor Pewter Plates. Cham-pions shall receive limited edition Phoenix signature golf bags.

Special prizes will also be given away to winners who make the “nearest to the pin”, “longest drive” and the “most accurate drive”. Surprises and fun games will also follow at the tee houses and at the clubhouse during the awarding ceremony.

The award rites will be hosted by comedian and entertainer Ethel Booba and golfer/Davao come-dian host Ting Castillo.

Proceeds from the Phoenix Open will go to the advocacies supported by Phoenix Philippines Foundation, Inc.

Registration is still on-going at the Rancho Palos

Verdes Golf and Country Club.

The 5th Phoenix Golf Tournament is present-ed by Phoenix Petroleum Philippines and Pioneer Insurance.

Major sponsors of the Phoenix Petroleum Araw ng Dabaw events are Connex Technology & Industrial Services, Joy Trade Marketing, Kairos, Contractors Supply De-pot, Custom Grafix, Algon Engineering, Seadove Maritime Services, Inc., and Trans-overseas (Gil-barco). Gold sponsors are Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Brenton Engineer-ing Product Corp, Mecha-trends, EEI Construction & Marine, Inc., and BDO. Silver sponsors are Gov. Arturo Uy, Servityre/

Aeolous, ESBE Builders, Isuzu Davao, Yangking Engineering, RB Apila-do, FC Core Construc-tion, EMCOR, HSBC, and Development Bank of the Philippines. Bronze sponsors are Chinatrust, Loc-Seal Industrial Corp., Unifield Enterprises, Flu-idynamics, Motortrade, Cebu DLS, Ohcotech Cor-poration, RMH Engineer-ing, Astig Energy Drink, Unifrutti, DOLE Philip-pines, Marchael Fishing, POLLO PORCO LECHON, China Bank, KEWL Solu-tions, Fasttrack Solu-tions, Inc., Greenflex Consulting, Hope Man-agement & Engineering Services, Land Bank of the Philippines, and IE-PI-International Engi-neers Phils, Inc.

250 golfers in Phoenix Open

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- No matter how bad this season may

look by the Lakers’ lofty standards, it should be obvious by now that Kobe Bryant isn’t remotely close to giving up.

Bryant scored 13 of his 42 points during a 20-0 run in the last 6:22 of the fourth quarter, and Los An-geles overcame a 25-point deficit to fend off the New Orleans Hornets, 108-102 on Wednesday night.

The vintage perfor-mance featured about every shot in Bryant’s ex-tensive repertoire, from off-balance jumpers an-gling way from the hoop, to quick-strike transition

3-pointers, to driving layups as he was fouled. He also kept his teammates involved with 12 assists, and by the time the stir-ring comeback was com-plete, the Lakers had not only staved off potential embarrassment, but also emerged increasingly con-fident about their playoff chances.

‘’I believed we were going to win it the whole time,’’ Bryant said. ‘’The most important thing for me was to bring my team-mates along with me. I had to force the game upon them a little bit and change the momentum and get everybody believing we could do this together.’’

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) drives to the basket past New Orleans Hornets forward Al-Farouq Aminu, behind, during the first half of an NBA basketball game in New Orleans on Thursday (Manila time). (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

SANGGUNIANG Pan-lungsod (SP) closed out the elimination

round with a bang, drub-bing City Engineers Office (CEO), 123 – 75, to enter the semifinal round of the 76th Araw ng Dabaw – DA-CHEA Basketball Tourna-ment Category A at the Davao City Recreation Center Almendras Gym on Tuesday.

The resurgent City Council-based dribblers made an early booking to the final four after win-ning their last five games of the preliminary round.

SP found its mark ear-ly, taking 26 – 12 lead at the end of the first canto, and never looked back to seal the victory.

Christopher “Bong” Go and Dioven Braga scored 32 points each to spear-head the attack of SP which was never threat-ened all game long.

Seldom-used Ariel Bonleon played a mon-ster game making 27 points while Dindo Pastor had 15 baskets to provide support for SP that ends the elimination round with 6 – 2 record.

Big Lakers comeback

SP tops CEO, enters semis

VOL.5 ISSUE 262 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, MARCH 8-9, 201314 EDGEDAVAOSPORTS

THIS is what you call power-house.A frontline of

three 6-7s and one 6-5 and an

overall average ceiling of 6-3, two of the

once feared gunners in the PBA, and a pair of explo-

sive point guards.

A d d up the years of e x p e -r i e n c e too and y o u h a v e a team e v -e r y

coach is salivating.Royal Mandaya Ho-

tel-VMO will be parading a team built for a cham-pionship in the coming Araw ng Dabaw bas-ketball tournament on March 12-15 at the Davao City Recreation Center.

Team spokesperson Jek Melendres bared the line-up of the team which lost the championship last year despite a strong line-up. TRMH-VMO, however, is coming off their title run in the last Kadayawan cagefest.

Things will be vastly different this time though.

For one, their main cog 6-8 Devon Sullivan is no longer in the line-up and instead will be playing for rival Montana Pawnshop, the defending champion.

Melendres, however, said the team will hardly miss Sullivan. In his place are three giants at the frontline led by PBA vet-erans Ervin Sotto, Mark Andaya and Cedric Hap-

pi—all 6-7. Happi, a for-mer Emilio Aguinaldo

College General, is an exciting player who could be light up the floor anytime.

Another player to watch is 6-5 Mark Jeffries, a veteran of

the Asean Basketball League. He will be play-

ing as a local this time af-ter Melendres confirmed he has secured a Philip-pine passport. Jeffries is a half-Filipino wingman who played for Westport Dragons of Malaysia.

Calling the plays for the Hoteliers are three players with PBA experi-ence in former Alaska Ace and Jeremy Lin look-alike Julius Pasculado, Lou Gan-tumbato and Fil-Am Ram-sey Williams, who played for Air21 Express in the PBA and for the Brunei Barracudas in the ABL.

The points will come from two of

the most prolific scorers in the PBA—Jojo Tangkay, Francis Adriano and Cris Calaguio.

Forwards 6-3 Ha-fer Mondragon and 6-5 JR Gerilla complete the squad to be coached by a battery of local mentors led by head coaches Migs Solitaria and Rey Josol with assistants Bambi Santander, Dindo Pas-tor, Cadel Mosqueda and Mark Bonifacio.

If that is already in-timidating, think again. Melendres is keeping one more card close to their chest.

“There’s one more player, our import, and we cannot announce it as of today yet,” he told the Davao Sportswriters Association (DSA) yester-day.

That player could be Justin Williams, the cur-rent shot-blocking import of Global Port in the PBA.

The problem is, Wil-liams might be staying on as import in the PBA afterall.

“If he is cut, we will be signing him up for the tournament as our im-port,” Melendres said.

GlobalPort team manager BJ Manalo on Wednesday confirmed Williams could be hang-ing on to his spot in the team. “Yung reports na si Justin Williams papalitan, walang katotohanan yan. Of course, he was hurt when reports came out that he will be replaced, but I told him not to be-lieve them until I talk to him straight up,” said Manalo in a recent report.

GlobalPort coach Junel Baculi made his disap-pointment with Williams’ performance clear after the import scored just five points in GlobalPort’s loss to Meralco last February 24. Baculi said Williams was under evaluation.

Built for a titleTRMH-VMO parades explosive squad

By Neil Bravo

STAR POWER. Royal Mandaya Hotel-VMO’s squad boasts of 6-5 Fil-Am Mark Jeffries (top), former Alaska guard Julius Pasculada (below left), former EAC General Cedric Happi (middle) and possibly current Globalport import Justin Williams (right).


EDGEDAVAOARTS & CULTURE

Davao goes MADzIT is not often that a national treasure in the performing arts visits Davao. It is even rarer to have that national treasure share their techniques and knowl-edge to the people. But during the recent choral clinic for local choirs in Davao City held by the Philippine Madrigal singers, one can say that beauti-ful seeds of culture and song have been planted.

This was more evident dur-ing the performance at the Annex of SM City Davao last March 4 where the Ateneo de Davao Carillion Glee Club,

UP Mindanao Koro Kantah-anay, Saint Joseph Chorale Ensemble, Saint Mary’s Col-lege Chorale, and the USEP Harmonia Polifonica Chorale

came together with the Phil-ippine Madrigal Singers for a recital to show off what they have learned under the tute-

INdulge!

FDAVAO GOES MADZ, A4

CELEBRATIONS are more exciting at SM City Davao! Apart from amazing dis-counts during the Araw ng Dabaw Sale at SM City Davao on March 11-17, SM ends its week-long celebration with

GMA7’s hottest art-ists Maxene Mag-alona, Dennis Trillo and Rafael Rosell on March 17 (Sunday) at the Annex. Star of the 2013 his-torical drama series In-dio, Maxene will melt Davaoenos’ hearts away

A joint project of the Metrobank Founda-tion and SM Lanang Premier in partnership with the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, the Art MADE in Public exhibi-tion will be open for viewing at the Atrium of SM Lanang Premier on March 11-17. The touring exhibit was first launched in SM North Edsa last month and was then brought to SM City Ma-nila and SM City Cebu. In June, it will make its final pit stop at The Podium. The MADE showcases the Metrobank Art and De-sign Excellence Competition’s award winning artworks for the past twenty eight years. It will be composed of four categories Painting, Architecture, Sculpture, and Interior Design. More than a display of talent, Art MADE in Public is a reunion of the shared vision of now established artists who have distinguished themselves in their respective places in the art world. Apart from the exhibit, Metro-bank Foundation will also hold workshops on March 12. The Metrobank Art and Design Excellence Com-petition is a 28 year annual art and design competi-tion which aims to promote Filipino art and design by awarding young Filipino artists and designers and launching their careers. For inquiries, call 285.0943. Like SM Lanang Premier on Facebook or follow @smlanangpremier on Twitter for event and promo updates.

A2 VOL.5 ISSUE 262 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, MARCH 8-9, 2013EDGEDAVAOUP AND ABOUT

GMA Kapuso stars join Araw ng Dabaw at SM Davao on March 17

Art MADE in Public at SM Lanang Premier

INTERNATION-ALLY-acclaimed Oras Na, GMA News and Public Affairs’ thought-provoking documentary on the deteriorating state of the environment, is now out on DVD. After receiving the Martine Filippi Award for Discovery in the presti-gious International Union Radiophonique et Té-lévisuelle Internationale (URTI) Grand Prix for Author’s Documentary in 2012, Oras Na once again receives commendation after being nominated in this year’s New York Fes-tivals for the Environment and Ecology category. Hosted by actor and environmental advocate Richard Gutierrez, the ambitious project which took months to complete uniquely presented the threatening repercussions brought about by human activities that harm the en-vironment. Oras Na poses a warn-ing that time might be running out—a visual pre-sentation of how the most basic resources sustaining human life may be ex-

hausted years ahead of the worldwide deadline—and how this can be felt in the Philippines. From the degenerating tropical forest in Surigao, a severe case of deforesta-tion due to massive illegal logging; the waning sup-ply of fresh water available for everyone—as depicted by a documentation of a

community’s hard work in Bohol manually dig-ging up a well to serve as the town’s reservoir while households in Metro Ma-nila waste up to 50 million liters of water everyday; to the decline of tuna harvest in General Santos City describing the apparent corrosion of marine and aquatic resources.

Capturing potential clues to what experts be-lieve are this generation’s most crucial deadlines, Oras Na proves that every action taken for or against the environment entails a consequence that can either lead to the planet’s conservation or degrada-tion. Time may indeed be running out, and what once seemed to be boun-tiful may be reaching its breaking point. From the same News and Public Affairs team that brought Signos, Wildlife For Sale, and the multi-awarded Planet Philippines , Oras Na is a documentary that seeks to find answers to some of the most impor-tant questions of this gen-eration. Is it possible that everything could run out? How much time is left to avert the deadlines? Manufactured by GMA Records and GMA Mar-keting and Productions Inc., “Oras Na”—with English subtitle and bonus features – is available in all Odyssey, SM Music and Video, Astrovision, and Astroplus branches na-tionwide at P450 per copy.

New York Festivals Nominee “Oras Na” out now on DVD

TRUST HOME DEPOT’s scorching hot deals in Summer Stars promo. THD will be making your hot season gigs more fun with the coolest deals on outdoor gear. All Coleman products are on sale at 10% off the retail price, and with every purchase of 2-in-1 Bounce Gas Stove (LPG and Butane), get three (3) cans of Butane Gas for free! The Summer Stars offer is good from March 6 to 20, 2013. For more details, please call Trust Home Depot at 29TRUST, 284-0073, 284-1769, 295-3588. Or visit THD at Quimpo Blvd., Ecoland Drive, Matina, Davao City

KEEP YOUR BODY WARM and comfortable with a colourful baby blanket. Get it free for a minimum single-receipt purchase of P1,000 from the Infants’ Wear Department of SM Department Store. Promo is from March 1 to 15 only so visit the nearest SM Store now.

on Sunday while GMA 7’s leading men from “Temp-tation of Wife” Dennis and Rafael will surely heat up the afternoon. This Araw ng Dabaw, everything’s at SM City Davao! Avail of up to 70% discount on unbelievable selections at SM Davao’s Araw ng Dabaw Sale on March 11-17. Mall hours are extended until 10 PM on Friday (March15) and until midnight on Satur-day (March16). For inquiries, please call 297.6998. Like SM City Davao on Facebook and follow @smcitydavao on Twitter for event and promo updates.

INdulge!

IS that you, Kate Moss? The stunning super-model rocked the run-way at the Marc Jacob’s Louis Vuitton show at Paris Fashion Week to-day, and she certainly brought the wow-factor, wearing an entirely sheer dress and short brunette wig. Of course, since this is Kate Moss we’re talking about, she pulled off the seductive look with ease and elegance, strutting down the runway like a pro in her embellished floor-length gown. Sporting wardrobe-malfunction couture only fit for the catwalk, Moss suffered a runway appropriate nip slip and sported tiny gray briefs under the see-through dress. The 39-year-old oft-blond beauty also rocked a cropped brown ‘do which highlighted her enviable cheekbones, and she wore sky-high embellished heels to complete the look. Moss was joined by

PFW It Girl Cara Delev-ingne, who also wore a similar wig on the run-way, although Kate ulti-mately stole the fashion

spotlight. Then again, we’re not surprised—Moss always has a way of command-ing attention.

DON’T let that edgy haircut fool you—Paris Jackson’s got spirit. Michael Jackson’s 14-year-old daughter slipped into her black-and-orange cheer-leading uniform and grabbed her pom-poms to root for Buckley High School’s basketball team as they faced San Luis Obispo, Calif.’s Mission Prep for the CIF Southern Section title. And she must have been their good luck charm, because for the first time in 80 years the Griffins took the champi-onship! Paris was caught by photographers in mid-cheer, clearly showing off her exquisite form when it comes to the tra-ditional jump-and-clap, but she couldn’t help but show her goofy side as well. “lol this may just be the best picture ever,” she

wrote along with a photo on Twitter of herself stick-ing her tongue out at the camera. Jackson debuted her shorter and darker ‘do (which only accentuate those baby blues that much more) in mid-Feb-

ruary through a twitpic, where she tweeted, “Yay for tea,” without any men-tion of the drastic make-over. Are you loving the new haircut paired with her cheer uniform? Sound off in the comments!

A3VOL.5 ISSUE 262 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, MARCH 8-9, 2013EDGEDAVAOENTERTAINMENT

Kate Moss stuns in brunette wig and see-through dress at Paris Fashion Week

Paris Jackson gets peppy in cheerleading uniform for school’s basketball game

INdulge!

A4 INdulge! VOL.5 ISSUE 262 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, MARCH 8-9, 2013EDGEDAVAOARTS & CULTURE

lage of MADz choirmaster Mark Anthony Carpio. The show was opened with the wonderful Prayer of St Francis performed by all the five choral groups together with the Mad-rigals. The one hundred voices in glorious harmo-ny made the prayer and the Philippine national anthem that followed, a delight to the ears and to the soul. Each group then ex-ecuted their pieces—Caril-lion sang Inday sa Balitaw, Koro Kantahanay did an exciting rendition of Te Quierro, St Joseph did a heart-warming interpreta-tion of Love is the Answer, St Mary’s entertained the audience with the very popular Pusong Bato, and Polifonica did a fun Manang Biday number. The Madrigal Singers then took the centre stage with three songs, my fa-vourite of which is the OPM “Very Special Love” which was light yet roman-tic.

For the finale, the choirs all joined the MADz on the stage for a the song “Iisang Bangka” and “One Voice”. The tone and beat of Iisang Bangka in particular, stirred a sense of pride of being Filipino. It is no wonder the Philippine Madrigal Singers are the best of the lot, truly a national trea-sure worthy to be proud of and rightfully worth to be crazy mad about. Follow me on Twit-ter and on Instagram @kennethkingong for more happenings in and around and beyond Durianburg.

The Philippine Madrigal Singers brought the house down.

Together with the local choir masters.

MADz singing A Very Special Love.

The Ateneo de Davao Carillion Glee Club with conductor Arjay Viray.The USEP Harmonia Polifonica Chorale with conductor Mark Anthony Babalcon.

UP Mindanao Koro Kantahanay and conductor Marlon Berzamina.

FFROM A1

Davao goes MADz...

VOL.5 ISSUE 262 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, MARCH 8-9, 2013 15EDGEDAVAO SPORTS

TOP chess players in the region will be vying for the

Araw ng Dabaw Open chess tournament which begins on Saturday at the NCCC Mall.

Tournament di-rector James Infies-to said IM-candidate Reggie Olay will be the top-seeded player of the

City Government-spon-sored event with touch challenge coming from youthful Fide Master Austin Jacob Literatus, NM Alex Lupian and NM Aki Macala.

Also playing in the tournament are Henry Lopez of Davao del Norte and Jimmy Dano of Digos City.

The tournament will be played in a 7-round Swiss System format with the winner taking home P5,000, second place P2,500, third place P1,500, fourth place P750 and fifth place P500.

Registration for the NCFP-sanctioned event is free. (Neil Bravo)

AND then there are four.

Team Villar, a barnstorming squad made up of ragtag players from Manila, will be taking the spot left by Cebu’s M. Lhuillier in the Araw ng Dabaw Basket-ball Tournament set to start March 12 at the Davao City Recreation Center.

Team Vil-lar’s par-t i c i p a -t i o n

was confirmed yester-day by Wil-

liam “Butch” Ramirez of Liga Dabaw.

The four teams com-peting for the four-day cagefest organized by Liga Dabaw and spon-sored by the City Gov-ernment of Davao are defending champion Montana Pawnshop, Royal Mandaya Ho-tel-VMO and Goldstar Hardware.

Team Villar will be bannered by for-

mer PBA pros Christian

N i c d -a o ,

Chester Tolomia, Erian Daja, John Villaver, Jona-than Parreno, Chris Con-cepcion, Darwin Corde-ro, David Sebastian, Oca delos Reyes, Rolando Navarro, John Yap and Fritz Vesagas.

The team will be coached by Tony Chiong and managed by Joseph Sebastian.

The Pawnbrokers will try to defend its ti-tle with an almost sim-ilar line-up including balik-Montana Devon Sullivan.

The Pawnbrokers will parade a line-up consisting of Ronald

Lamocha, Tibs Blanco, Leo Fernandez, Don Adorneo, Bonbon Bu-lac, Josh Adalid, Nestor Martinez, Jano Nunez, Edgar Awiten and JR de Guzman.

The team will be coached by Nick Sera-fica with Dong Cagam-pang and Peter Epe as assistants.

Goldstar Hardware will be the tournament darkhorse after they signed up former San Beda stars Sam Ekwe and Pong Escobal, a Davawenyo who played for Talk N Text in the PBA. Others in the Gold-

star squad are Leomer Losentes, Edmar Pat-enio, Rey Colina, Jay Cabanog, Igot Jawod, Dado Ayson, Marlon Basco and Junar Pinto.

The Hardwaremen will be coached by Rod-erick Conda with Ice Gravador as assistant.

The biggest threat to the title of Montana will have to be Royal Man-daya Hotel-VMO with a star-studded line-up that includes Cris Calaguio, Francis Adri-ano, Jojo Tangkay, Mark Jeffries, Ramsey Wil-liams and Cedric Happi (see separate story).

LOCAL hoop fans will be treated to a grand show of mon-

ster slams and burning three-point shots when Dexter’s Pizza provides the extra entertainment to the Araw ng Dabaw basketball tournament which begins on March 12 at the Davao City Rec-reation Center.

Tournament organiz-er Butch Ramirez of Liga Dabaw yesterday con-

firmed the partnership with Dexter’s Pizza man-ager Bai Lim during the Davao Sportswriters As-sociation (DSA) Forum at Dexter’s Pizza Stadium.

“We are happy to partner with Dexter’s Pizza in this tourna-ment,” said Ramirez.

“Dexter’s Pizza will always be associated with sports and we are happy that our brand is into basketball also,”

said Lim.The slamfest and

shootout will be held in all four days of the tour-nament. The slamfest will be open to all play-ers including those not part of the tournament. The 3-Point shootout meantime will be for the players of the tourna-ment only.

The daily winners will win P3,000 each. (Neil Bravo)

ARAW NG DABAW CAGEFEST

Team Villar completes castBy Neil Bravo

THE country’s no. 2 ranked motocross rider

Donark Yuzon of Iloilo City will be joining the first leg of the Phoe-nix Mindanao Moto-X Series set on March 16 and 17 at the Croc-odile Park Complex in Ma-a, this city.

“Donark of Sel-J Sports has confirmed that he is coming to race,” said organizer Bok Mata during the signing of the memo-randum of agreement of Moto-X Davao as the “Phoenix Cyclomax Motocross Ambassa-dor” last Wednesday at Hotel Tropicana.

“The country’s no. 1 Jovie Saulog and movie actor Jordan Herrera has also ex-pressed their interest

to come,” said Mata.Meanwhile, Phoe-

nix Team Davao will be bannered by the Pineda brothers – Kimboy and Jesse, Je-ven Lagrada, Tristan Galanto, Bonjo La-grada, Michael Tapic, 9-year old IJ Mercado and the Mata brothers – Abu, 16, and Luis, 20.

The other racing teams arriving are Team Don Marcelino of Davao del Sur, Ma-foko Racing team of T’boli, South Cotabato; Team Dinand of Koro-nadal City; Team 125 of Gen. Santos City and Team Alfonso of Bukidnon.

Also to show their wares are Jed Luna of Tandag, Pepeng Mar of Zamboanga, Ralph

Boyhon of Antipas, Cotabato; Lester Pa-dilla, Russel Padilla and Koko Dimaano of Kidapawan; Kennedy Tenerife of Polomolok; John Almerino and Glen Lopez of Bukid-non and Davao’s Tots Lumantas.

The second leg of the Phoenix Mindan-ao Moto-X Series will be held on May 5 in Butuan, June in Pa-ti-ay, Agusan del Sur; August on Kadayawan Festival in Davao; No-vember in Datu Paglas, Maguindanao; and De-cember in the Pasko Fiesta sa Davao City.

At least 100 riders are expected to com-pete in the said series which will determine the Rider of the Year. PNA

Dexter’s Pizza slamfest to spice up AnD tourney

AnD Open chess tourney at NCCC

No. 2 rider Yuzon in AnD motocross

IMPORT. Former San Beda star Sam Ekwe will strut his wares for the first time before the Davao hoop fans.

VOL.5 ISSUE 262 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, MARCH 8-9, 201316 EDGEDAVAO

edge davao 5 issue 262

Documents

president aquino

president benigno simeon

president ferdinand

rosario davao

laurel avenue

centerpiece davao signage

international carriers

lean daval jr