EDGEDAVAOPhp 15.00 • 20 PAGES

www.edgedavao.netVOL.5 ISSUE 3 • MARCH 7, 2012

Sabah’s iconPage 10

Boulder racePage 3

n Responding police officer, 2 suspects, 3 civilians

killed in failed robbery attemptby Gregorio G. Deligero

A police officer and five civilians were killed during a shootout between law enforcers and suspected holdup

men in Panabo City at high noon yesterday.Among those killed were two suspects

riding in tandem who engaged city police officers in a shootout.

The suspects robbers broke into a commercial establishment in Panabo City, Davao del Norte.

Supt. Marvin Manuel Pepino, Panabo City chief of police, said that two motor-cycle-riding suspects, armed with caliber .45 pistols, barged into Yidong Agri Sup-ply, which sells bananas and agricultural supplies, along Park Avocado, Kilometer

Cop, 5 othersdie in PanaboGreat Barrier Reef

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FCOP, 13

Globe, Smart to fix 911 glitch

Globe, SMART to fix 911’ glitchby Jade C. Zaldivar

DAVAO City Vice Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte yesterday grilled representatives of the Globe and

Smart telecommunications companies on why the telcos suddenly changed the system of the public accessing Central 911.

The telcos officials appeared before members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod presided by the vice mayor to answer questions why their firms made the move without informing the public and the city

officials.“Okay lang sana if it were made clear

from the very beginning, but that was not the case,” the vice mayor said, adding “it

had been going on for a long time and the people did not realize it.”

During yesterday’s session, the city council converted itself into a committee

SUSPECT. A suspected snatcher was nabbed by the members of the Mobile Patrol Group of the Davao City Police Office after he allegedly stole a cellphone. The suspect sustained a cut in

the upper left eye after he was mauled by concerned citizens. [Karlos Manlupig]

Story down below

2 THE BIG NEWS VOL.5 ISSUE 3 • MARCH 7, 2012 EDGEDAVAO

It figures

THE increase in net income of the Government Service Insurance System last year, P45.3 billion in 2010 to P57.6 billion as a result of the gains from the administration’s debt exchange during the first half of 2011 and the recall of the pension fund’s investments from inter-national investment program.

THE MONEY private schools and colleges nationwide stand to lose with the implementation of Kindergarten to 12 program (K+12) of the Department of Education (DepEd)

Over five years as the number of enrollees are expected to decline. The amount only covers the four-year under-graduate programs, not including five-year courses and graduate programs.

NUMBER of official development assistance (ODA) projects were release rates was below 50 percent. There were 18 projects whose disbursement rates were below 50 percent and three which did not disburse at funds at all last year.

VALUE of Philippine food ex-ports in 2011, showing an increase of 21 percent over the $2.12-billion exports income the previous year. However, Phil-ippine Food Processors and Exporters Organization, Inc. (Philfoodex) presi-dent Roberto C. Amores said much can still be done to enhance our export per-formance.

NUMBER of prospective run-of-river hydropower projects whose contracts with the government are up for grabs. Energy Undersecretary Jose M. Layug, the government will use the bidding model in granting renewable energy service contracts as against the first-come, first-served scheme.

BUDGET approved by Mayor Sara Z. Duterte delineate Davao City’s eight watershed areas as identified by the Davao Ctiy Watershed Code.

24percent P800TP128billion 50$2.6billion21

by Jade C. Zaldivar

WHILE the city awaits a formal response from the Philippine

National Police (PNP), Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Car-pio has issued a verbal order to local police to implement a six-day gun ban as an alter-native to an earlier request in line with the celebration of the 75th Araw ng Dabaw.

It may be recalled that the City Peace and Order Council (CPOC) met Febru-ary 28 and passes a resolu-tion requesting PNP Director General Nicanor Bartolome to declare a gun ban in Davao City for the whole month of March 20212.

But Duterte-Carpio took it upon herself to verbally order the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) to prohibit the carrying of firearms from March 12 to 17.

“Kabalo na man ka an-ing gobyerno, diyos ko Lord, 10,000 years bago mulihok. Katong sa CPOC niana mi nga one month para dili magku-

lang sa hinulatay sa approv-al,” Duterte-Carpio said Mon-day in a press conference.

“Wala na namo gibutang didto sa CPOC resolution, pero inalternative amo na lang gi-verbal diri sa atoang local na kapulisan na nay gun-ban Monday sa opening, March 12 hanggang Satur-day, March 17 sa pahalipay,” she said.

The mayor on February 28 said she expected there will be a delay in the approv-al of the CPOC’s request thus she ordered for a month-long gun ban.

“Rather than falling short, it’s better we lengthen the number of days,” the mayor said.

With her expectation met, the mayor said the CPOC has agreed to an alter-native which is to implement a gun-ban during the busiest days of the Araw celebrations when people will crowd the streets.

The mayor, however, said they had received con-tact from the PNP informing

the local government that the approval is underway.

“Gi-check namo the oth-er day, naa na didto sa ilang operations. Nanawag na sila for clarification regarding the resolution,” she said.

“We’ll just have to wait for action and/or final deci-sion of the national head-quarters regarding our re-quest,” she added.

Challenge to copsMeanwhile, the mayor

said the DCPO cannot afford to be slack against criminal-ity.

“That is the reality of the workings of the city. Kinang-lan mu-respond sila, mu-step up sa challenges. What is im-portant is naga-trabaho ang atong kapulisan,” Duterte-Carpio said.

“The DCPO director, Col-onel Ronald dela Rosa, has strengthened its overt and covert tactics. Gipakusog nila ilang patrolling, ilang police visibility. They do follow-ups, and call for communities and barangays to support the po-lice,” she said.

Sara gives verbal orderto implement gun ban

PROTEST. Human rights activists stage a condemnation protest on Monday evening to criticize the snail-paced resolution of the brutal murder of NPA commander Leoncio “Ka Parago” Pitao’s daughter, Rebelyn, on 2009. The Davao City Council is currently

working for the passage of the Rebelyn Code as a protective mechanism for the victims of human rights violations. [Karlos Manlupig]

by Lorie A. Cascaro

IT’S been three years since Rebelyn Pitao, a 20-year old teacher and daughter

of revolutionary NPA chief, Leoncio Pitao, a.k.a. Ka Para-go, was found dead on March 5, 2009.

Her mother, Evangelyn Pitao, has been crying for justice ever since. In a phone interview during a press conference yesterday at Pia’s Café on Quimpo Boulevard, Davao City, Evangelyn ex-pressed her dismay over the country’s slow-paced judicial system which she claims is playing deaf and dumb on the case.

She pointed out that those who murdered her daughter remain free, refer-ring to who she suspects are members of the military which has been hunting her husband, Evangelyn’s father.

Mrs. Pitao, who did not arrive in the press confer-ence for her security, said that she, together with her family and friends, is not giv-ing up hope to achieve justice for Rebelyn.

Rebelyn codeInspired by the strug-

gle for justice for Rebelyn’s death, Davao City councilor lawyer Karlo S. Bello filed the Rebelyn Code, an ordinance increasing the role of the city in observing and protecting the basic human rights of individuals in situations of armed conflict.

Waiting for the third reading of the ordinance, Bello and co-author, lawyer Leah Librado, continue seek-ing the support of all coun-cilors for the proposed or-dinance, whose proponents want the local government unit to take an active role in the prosecution of human rights cases involving armed conflict. It will provide legal assistance and psychosocial interventions to the victims.

Under the Rebelyn Code, a human rights legal assistance and resource office will be created and attached to the city may-ors’ office. A multi-sectoral monitoring team will also be created composed of five members: representative of the city mayor, city legal offi-

cer in his capacity as the city human rights coordinator or his representative, chairman of the committee on civil, po-litical, and human rights, and members from the private sectors appointed by the city mayor.

CARHRIHL Frame-work

Bello drafted this with-in the framework of the Comprehensive Agreement for the Respect of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CAR-HRIHL) signed by the Gov-ernment of the Republic of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines in 1998. It contains the fundamen-tal human rights which will serve as guidelines and prin-ciples in the implementation of the provisions of Rebelyn Code.

Rebelyn’s body was found 20 hours after she was killed bearing five stab wounds in a canal in Car-men town, Davao del Norte. Her death enraged human rights groups, especially women groups like Gabriela.

Rebelyn’s death: A mother’s lament

BAYAN Muna Rep. Ted-dy Casiño is batting for new mining law after

calling the government’s ‘fair mining policy’ a pipe dream under the existing Mining Act.

Casiño, author of the People’s Mining Bill (HB 4315), has expressed doubt that President Benigno Aqui-no’s much awaited executive order (EO) on mining would be able to reform the mining industry.

“The EO won’t be able to go beyond the defects of the Mining Act of 1995 in terms of lopsided benefits to foreign-owned and backed mining firms, its deficient environmental safeguards, its export orientation and lack of integration with the local economy, and the dis-empowerment of local com-munities,” he said.

The EO is expected to, among others, introduce competitive bidding for min-ing rights, impose a wider ban on mining in some areas, as well as a new provision on increased economic valua-tions on projects before they are approved.

“This EO will not change the bias for exports and its resulting unbridled extrac-tion of our mineral wealth for other economies. It seems the thrust of the EO is merely

to increase government rev-enues, bribe local govern-ments with a larger piece of the pie and provide token prohibitions for environ-mentally critical areas. But this fails to address the more fundamental issues afflicting the industry,” he said.

“We need a new law, not a rehashed EO,” said Casiño, citing the experience of the previous administration’s own mining EO (EO 270) which led to the proliferation of large-scale, environmen-tally destructive mining op-erations.

Without a clear indus-trial strategy and the repeal of the Mining Act of 1995, we will only be further deplet-ing our mineral resources to the benefit of foreign mining corporations. What we need now is a more nationalist, people-oriented and ecolog-ically-balanced mining law. The thrust should be to cor-rect mining destruction and plunder, not to compromise the people’s interest with that of multinational corpo-rations and profiteers,” Ca-siño said.

The People’s Mining Bill authored by Casiño seeks to reorient the Philippine min-ing industry towards the “wise and sustainable devel-opment and judicious use” of the country’s mineral re-

sources. Among its key provi-

sions are:·The establishment of

a centralized and strategic planning of the Philippine mining industry through the crafting and implementation of a National Industrializa-tion Program and a National Mining Plan.

·The reorientation of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) as a scientific research institution under the Department of Environ-ment and Natural Resources (DENR) with exclusive right to conduct exploration ac-tivities and identify strategic mineral resources needed for the country’s develop-ment.

The creation of Multi-Sectoral Mineral Councils for designated mining areas, composed of representatives from the government, stake-holder groups, and affected communities, which will ap-prove and monitor the con-duct of mining activities in each respective area.

· Upholding the rights and welfare of Philippine mining industry workers, in-digenous peoples, and local communities.

· The provision of appro-priate support and protec-tion to Filipino corporations and professional science and

Casino bats for new mining law

DAVAO City-based One Network Bank is branching out to

the Visayas with a merger with an Iloilo-based rural bank as the first of five branches within the year.

ONB President Alex V. Buenaventura said that even if the merger with the rural bank does not push through ONB will still pursue the plan to set up branches in areas in Iloilo which are already identified.

“It would be cheaper for the bank to set up new branches with about

P7 million of capital ex-pense for each bank than to merge considering that this would mean the Min-danao-based bank has to buy out some owners of the rural bank it will merge with,” he said.

He however admitted the advantage of merging with the local bank is that it will have “ready clien-tele” for ONB, currently considered as among the widest rural banks in the country.

“Another advantage of merging with a local rural bank is that we can

use our five licenses to set up five more branches in Mindanao,” Buenaventura explained, pointing out that under the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas regu-lations, a bank can only apply for five branches at a time.

The bank has been closely watching and studying the Visayas mar-ket, particularly Central Visayas since late 2010 when it started contem-plating of expanding in the area, he said.

Buenaventura said ONB plans to put up

ONB eyes branches in the Visayas area

FONB, 13

3THE BIG NEWSVOL.5 ISSUE 3 • MARCH 7, 2012EDGEDAVAO

THE Mines and Geo-sci-ences Bureau (MGB) 11 will soon start

conducting census on small scale miners, and in assess-ing the situation of small-scale mining (SSM) areas.

Guesting in the recent Kapihan sa PIA, MGB 11 Regional Director Edilberto Arreza revealed the plans of MGB 11 to visit SSM sites in the Davao region to up-date the list of SSM groups, and to know the condition of SSM sites.

“We would like to know the concentration of the mining areas and the conditions therein,” he said.

He, however, made it

clear that MGB had no in-tention of recommending to stop SSM operations but is looking forward to help-ing them adopt safe ways of mining and eventually to “possibly recommend their areas as a Minahan ng Bayan.”

“Nandyan na sila (They’re there) and we can’t stop them,” he said.

Arreza cited Compos-tela Valley as the biggest area which the MGB targets to conduct its mining cen-sus starting this year.

Nine of the 11 mu-nicipalities of Compostela Valley Province are rich in metallic mineral resources,

especially gold. These are Maragusan, Monkayo, New Bataan, Compostela, Nabunturan, Mawab, Maco, Mabini and Pantukan.

Data from the office of Compostela Valley Pro-vincial Gov. Arturo Uy re-vealed specific SSM areas located in Pamintaran and Tupaz in Maragusan; in sitios Balite and Buenas Tinago (Diwalwal) and in Pasian in Monkayo; Ca-manlangan, Andap and Manurigao in New Bata-an; in Ngan in Compos-tela; in Inupoan, Saraban, Tagnocon and Mainit in Nabunturan; in Andapon and Andili in Mawab; New

Leyte, Panoraon, N. Bari-li, Teresa, Mainit and Masara in Maco; Golden Valley, De Oro, Anitapan and Mascareg in Mabini; and in Gumayan, Tiog-dan, Araibo, Lumang-gang, Panganason, Diat, Lit-ag, Biasong, Lima-tukan, Pulang Lupa and Boringot in Pantukan.

However, the pro-vincial government of Compostela Valley through the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board (PMRB) has approved only seven people’s small mining areas or Mi-nahan ng Bayan, covering 506 hectares.

MGB 11 to conduct mining censusRENEWAL. Davaoenos flock the one-stop shop renewal center of the Land Transporta-tion Office in SM City Davao to renew their driver’s license on Tuesday. The satellite

renewal center in the mall aims to provide to the public an easier way and venue to renew their licenses. [Karlos Manlupig]

THE high turnout of travel and tour op-erators who joined

this year’s Mega Travel Sale organized by the Davao Association of Tour Operators (DTAA) con-firmed the importance of the Davao market to the country’s eco-tourism in-dustry.

DTAA president Kriz-ia Tan told the media that 60 tour operators partici-pated in the travel expo held from March 2 to 4 at Abreeza Mall, 60 percent of whom came from com-panies operating outside Davao while the rest are local operators.

“Last year’s partici-pation was mostly com-panies based in Davao but we are glad that many from outside the city joined and we’re happy with the turnout of the expo,” said Tan.

Apart from the differ-ent private tour operators that offered affordable rates for travel and tours, three tourism boards also took the chance to intro-duce their tourist destina-tions to Dabawenyos.

Tourism boards of Sabah , Malaysia , and In-donesia were around to introduce money-value tour packages.

It was also during the opening of the travel expo that Indonesian Consul General in Davao City Eko

Hartono announced the re-opening of the Davao-Manado connection. Two flights per week will soon be availed of by local trav-elers going to Manado , the capital of North Su-lawesi, Indonesia.

Tan and the rest of the local tour operators took it as a welcome de-velopment that would further boost tourism in the City.

The Sabah Tourism Board officials came to assess the viability of a di-rect flight from Davao to Kota Kinabalu.

The entry of budget airlines like the newest AirAsia that flies Davao-Clark has also contrib-uted to the increasing ap-preciation of Dabawenyos to travel both domestic and international.

Tan explained that local tourists still choose HongKong as the most preferred international destination while the most preferred domestic destinations are Bohol, Palawan, and Boracay.

The DTAA targeted P10 million in gross sales from the travel expo. Tan expects to surpass this target given that par-ticipating tour operators were clearly satisfied with the turnout during the first two days of the event. [pia 11/Frances Mae gevera-Ma-capagat]

Travel expo proves vibrant eco-tourism

4 THE BIG NEWS VOL.5 ISSUE 3 • MARCH 7, 2012 EDGEDAVAO

by Jade C. Zaldivar

UNDERSTANDING that tuition fee hikes in schools are in-

evitable, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio ap-pealed to educational insti-tutions to ‘be lenient’ with parents.

The mayor appealed to schools to provide lee-way for parents to ease the burden of financing their children to school.

“My message to schools is, if their peti-tion for a tuition fee hike is approved by the Com-mission on Higher Educa-tion (CHED), they should implement leniency on payments,” Duterte-Carpio said Monday during her regular press conference at the city hall conference room.

“They should accept promissory notes from parents, or guarantee the payment schemes. So that

even if they implement an increase parents can still cope,” she added.

CHED 11 disclosed last week that 41 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), or 44 percent of the 93 HEIs in the region, have petitioned for tuition hike which will be implemented in school year 2012-2013.

The mayor also said that as a parent herself, she relates to why parents do not welcome tuition fee hikes.

“Katungod na nila mu-reklamo. Even ang mga es-tudyante katungod na nila to demand asa man padu-long ang ilang mga idungag nga bayad. Bisan ako kung ginikanan ko mu-oppose ko ug increase,” she said.

However, she added that she understands why schools need to hike tu-itions.

“But siyempre nakas-abot pud ta nga sa pag-operate ug skwelahan, ang

mga gastuson naga-taas. Sama pud na sa pag-oper-ate ug local government, naga-taaas ang gatuson so kinahanglan sila mu-increase sa tuition fees and miscellaneous fees,” the mayor added.

City scholarship pro-gram

Meanwhile, the city provides scholarship to high-performing but finan-cially-challenged students.

For school year 2011-2012 the city shouldered the education of some 130 students under the Schol-arship for Tertiary Educa-tion Program-Financial Assistance (STEPFA).

“The scholars are re-quired to maintain high grades. If they step up their grades during the previous year then their financial grant will in-crease, but if they have failing grades then their grant will drop,” Duterte-Carpio said.

Sara to schools:‘Be lenient with parents’

DEFY THE RAGING WATERS. White water tubing is just one of the four disciplines involved in the upcoming 2nd International Mt. Apo Boulder Face Challenge on April 28-29 in Sta. Cruz,

Davao del Sur. For more details, check out www.boulderface.com [Dot 11]

Power outages in Mindanao worse next monthTHE continuing daily

rotating brownouts here and other ar-

eas in Mindanao are seen to worsen by next month reportedly due to another round of maintenance works set by the National Power Corporation (NPC) on the Pulangi hydro pow-er plants in Bukidnon.

Engr. Santiago Tudio, general manager of the South Cotabato I Electric Cooperative (Socoteco I), said Tuesday they received a notice from the NPC that it would shut down the combined 150-mega-watt (MW) Pulangi plants by April to pave the way for their scheduled preventive maintenance and river desilting opera-tions.

He said they were still waiting for the final notice about the matter from the NPC and power transmis-sion firm National Grid Corporation of the Philip-pines (NGCP) but said they were informed in advance to allow them to prepare and properly inform their power consumers.

“The 150-MW supply

cut will be pro-rated to all electric cooperatives in Mindanao so it means we’ll have extended rotat-ing brownouts by then,” Tudio said.

Socoteco I has been implementing hour-long rotating brownouts with-in its service area, which covers Koronadal City and the municipalities of Tam-pakan, Banga, Tantangan, Norala, Surallah, Banga, Sto. Nino, T’boli and Lake Sebu in South Cotabato; and, Lutayan town in Sul-tan Kudarat.

This city, the entire Sarangani province and the municipalities of Tupi and Polomolok in South Cotabato is served by So-coteco II, which imple-mented periodic rotating brownouts lasting about an hour since January.

Tudio said that they implemented the rotat-ing brownouts due to the power supply cuts imposed by the NPC and NGCP as a result of Mind-anao’s worsening power supply deficit.

Based on the power situation outlook released

by NGCP Tuesday morn-ing, the island’s power deficit is presently at 154 MW based on the total system capacity of 1,099 MW and the peak power demand of 1,253 MW.

But Tudio said they received a separate notice from the NGCP and NPC that Mindanao’s power deficit for Tuesday has reached 240 MW and is ex-pected to increase to 300 MW during the peak hours. Due to the power deficit, he said the NPC was only able to supply 25 MW to their service area out of their contracted supply of 31 MW.

He said the situation was even worse in the Socoteco II area, which earlier lost 30 percent of its power requirements or around 30 MW.

“But we’re not much affected yet in terms of the rotating brownouts when compared to the almost half-day outages in other areas because of the sup-ply augmentation from Therma Marine,” Tudio said.

He was referring to the separate contracts forged last year by both Socoteco I and II with the Aboitiz-owned Therma Marine Inc. (TMI) for a standby supply of 4 MW and 18 MW, respectively.

“But overall, our situation is very volatile because of the unstable condition of NPC’s hydro power plants so our group (Mindanao electric co-operatives) is continu-ally working with the DOE (Department of Energy) to find other alterna-tive power sources for us here,” he said.

In a meeting in Ma-nila last Feb. 24 to 25, Tu-dio said Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras in-formed them that the gov-ernment will immediately send to Mindanao the two power barges presently stationed at the Navotas port in Manila to help offset the area’s power shortage.

The power barges reportedly have a capac-ity of 40 to 50 MW each, he added. [allen v. estabillo/Min-Danews]

FOR writing a story about the reported presence of an al-

leged dealer of stolen cars in the mansion of boxing icon and Sarangani Rep. Emmanuel “Manny” D. Pacquiao two weeks ago, a local reporter has been slapped with a multi-mil-lion peso libel complaint.

Called the “Pacman,” the boxing champion is

seeking P75 million in damages against Edwin G. Espejo, chair of the Na-tional Union of Journalists of the Philippines in South Cotabato, Sarangani and General Santos City.

Pacquiao’s complaint stemmed from the recent articles of Espejo, which appeared at online news outfits Asian Correspon-dent and MindaNews,

where he maintains the columns “Pacquiao Watch” and “Southern Comfort.”

At the Asian Corre-spondent, the piece was titled “Stolen car dealer finds refuge in Pacman mansion,” while Mind-aNews titled it “Dealer of stolen cars last seen in Pacman mansion.”

Citing reports, Es-

pejo wrote that Moham-mad ‘Bong’ Akia, former head of the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group in Region 12, was seen dis-embarking from a com-mercial plane from Ma-nila two weeks ago, and immediately boarded the waiting vehicle of Pac-quiao who flew in on the same flight.

“Reports said Akia

Pacman files P75-M libel case vs GenSan reporter

FPACMAN, 13

by Lorie A. Cascaro

Some 1,500 women are expected to march in Davao City in celebra-tion of the International Women’s Day on March 8, as well as to protest Presi-dent Aquino’s closeness to the US government which has resulted in in-equities for the Filipino people,

said GABRIELA Southern Mindanao Sec-retary General Mary Ann Sapar.

The rallyists will be coming from the sectors of urban poor, peasant, workers, youth and non-government organiza-tions on women and chil-dren, and barangay chap-ters of Gabriela Women’s Party.

They will assemble at Freedom Park, Roxas Ave. and march to Rizal Park where a cultural program will be held featuring the women’s stand on socio-economic and political issues under the Aquino administration.

“The continuing oil price increases and priva-tization of public utilities are some of the manifes-tations of the US-Aquino regime’s conspiracy, Sa-

par told Edge Davao. Ga-briela demands for the repeal of EPIRA, EVAT and the Oil Deregulation Law, which, according to the group, “gives power generation, transmission, distribution, and oil price control solely in the hands of private companies.”

“It is us women who bear the brunt of rising prices of daily needs in the face of lower incomes and increasing number of unemployed.” Sapar said.

Sapar is inviting all women in Davao City coming from different sectors to join the mobi-lization on March 8, say-ing that it is a significant way to show their protest against the continuing economic crisis.

Meanwhile, the Ga-briela Women’s Party sponsored House Bill 4704 to amend Section 4 of RA 9337, urging Con-gress to exempt oil and petroleum products, as well as prime commodi-ties and basic necessi-ties from the imposition of EVAT. Representatives Luzviminda Ilagan and Emmi De Jesus are also pushing for the repeal of the EPIRA law and the re-moval of the 12% VAT on electricity.

1,500 women set to join protest rally

‘WE recognize that Tesda has an important role to play in the K+12 reform initiative and under the leadership of the DepEd, we affirm our commit-ment to make it work and succeed.’

--Director General Joel Villanueva of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda)

BizQuips

THE ECONOMY 5Stat Watch

MONTHLY AVERAGE EXCHANGE RATE (January 2009 - January 2011)

Month 2011 2010 2009

Average 43.31 45.11 47.637December 43.64 43.95 46.421November 43.27 43.49 47.032October 43.45 43.44 46.851

September 43.02 44.31 48.139August 42.42 45.18 48.161

July 42.81 46.32 48.146June 43.37 46.30 47.905May 43.13 45.60 47.524April 43.24 44.63 48.217

March 43.52 45.74 48.458February 43.70 46.31 47.585January 44.17 46.03 47.207

3.5%4th Qtr 2011

3.7%4th Qtr 2011

USD 3,342Million

Nov 2011USD 4,985

MillionNov 2011

USD -1,643Million

Nov 2011USD -114

MillionDec 2011

P4,442,355Million

Nov 2011

4.71%Oct 2011P128,745

MillionNov 2011

P 4,898Billion

Oct 2011

P 43.65Dec 2011

3,999.7Sept 2011

128.1Jan 2012

3.9Jan 2012

3.4Dec 2011

284,040Sept 2011

19.1%Oct 2011

6.4%Oct 2011

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

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

3. Exports 1/

4. Imports 1/

5. Trade Balance

6. Balance of Payments 2/

7. Broad Money Liabilities

8. Interest Rates 4/

9. National Government Revenues

10. National government outstanding debt

11. Peso per US $ 5/

12. Stocks Composite Index 6/

13. Consumer Price Index 2006=100

14. Headline Inflation Rate 2006=100

15. Core Inflation Rate 2006=100

16. Visitor Arrivals

17. Underemployment Rate 7/

18. Unemployment Rate 7/

VOL.5 ISSUE 3 • MARCH 7, 2012EDGEDAVAO

Cebu Pacific Daily 5J961 / 5J962 5:45 Manila-Davao-Manila 6:15Zest Air Daily Z2390 / Z2390 5:45 Manila-Davao-Manila 6:25Cebu Pacific Daily 5J593 / 5J348 6:00 Cebu-Davao-Iloilo 6:30Philippine Airlines Daily PR809 / PR810 6:10 Manila-Davao-Manila 7:00Philippine Airlines Daily PR819 / PR820 7:50 Manila-Davao-Manila 8:50Cebu Pacific Daily 5J394 / 5J393 7:50 Zamboanga-Davao-Zamboanga 8:10Cebu Pacific Daily 5J599 / 5J594 8:00 Cebu-Davao-Cebu 8:30Cebu Pacific Daily 5J347 / 5J596 9:10 Iloilo-Davao-Cebu 9:40Cebu Pacific Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri/Sun 5J963 / 5J964 9:40 Manila-Davao-Manila 10:10Philippine Airlines Daily PR811 / PR812 11:30 Manila-Davao-Manila 12:20Cebu Pacific Daily 5J595 / 5J966 12:00 Cebu-Davao-Manila 12:30Silk Air Mon/Wed/Sat MI588 / MI588 18:55 Davao-Cebu-Singapore 13:35Cebu Pacific Thu 5J965 / 5J968 12:55 Manila-Davao-Manila 13:25Cebu Pacific Tue/Wed//Sat 5J965 / 5J968 13:35 Manila-Davao-Manila 14:05

Silk Air Thu/Sun MI566 / MI566 18:55 Davao-Singapore 15:20Cebu Pacific Mon/Tue/Wed/Fri 5J507 / 5J598 15:00 Cebu-Davao-Cebu 15:30Philippine Airlines August 15:55 Mani2Mani 16:50Zest Air Daily Z2524 / Z2525 16:05 Cebu-Davao-Cebu 16:45Cebu Pacific Daily 5J967 / 5J600 16:35 Manila-Davao-Cebu 17:05Philippines Airlines Daily PR813 / PR814 16:55 Manila-Davao-Manila 17:45Cebu Pacific Mon/Tue/Thu/Sat 5J215 / 5J216 18:00 Cagayan de Oro-Davao-Cagayan de Oro 18:20Cebu Pacific Daily 5971 / 5J970 18:40 Manila-Davao-Manila 19:10Cebu Pacific Tue/Sat/Sun 5J973 / 5J974 20:00 Manila-Davao-Manila 20:30Cebu Pacific Daily 5J969 / 5J972 20:30 Manila-Davao-Manila 21:00Airphil Express Daily 2P987 / 2P988 20:30 Manila-Davao-Manila 21:00Philippine Airlines Daily except Sunday PR821 / PR822 21:20 Manila-Davao-Manila 21:50Philippine Airlines Sunday PR821 / PR822 22:20 Manila-Davao-Manila 22:50

as of august 2010

by Carlo P. Mallo

WHILE it may seem a win-win solution,

the banana exporting companies in the coun-try are not yet counting on the proposed oil-for-bananas barter trade agreement between the two countries. Not be-cause the Philippines is allied with the United States, but simply be-

cause the banana ex-porters do not have the capacity to deal with oil.

“If ever that will be-come a possibility, the government will have to step in and accept the oil for us and pay us in negotiable cur-rency,” Stephen Antig, executive director of the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association, said in an interview.

Nearly two years ago, Senator Teofisto Guingona III arranged a meeting between the members of the PBGEA and Iranian officials to discuss trade agree-ments. Iran is facing multiple sanctions and boycotts from Euro-pean countries and the United States for build-ing its nuclear armory.

Iran plays a crucial role in the country’s banana export industry

as it accounts for the biggest market share in the Middle East. Based on the 2011 data of PBGEA, shipments to Iran by their members already reached an es-timated P1.4 billion, or 84,731 tons with an ex-change rate of $1:P42.

While operations are still normal in Iran, Antig said that their members could only bleed for so long. “When the delays in

payments are already more than what we can bear, we will have to look at other markets,” Antig said.

The banana in-dustry is considering China and the United States as alternative markets once they lose Iran.

“Most probably Chi-na, the United States is a little far, maybe in three more years,” An-tig said.

PBGEA not ready to accept oil for bananas

ASIAN economies, a major net im-porter of oil as

a whole, will be much more adversely affected than most other regions if oil prices keep ris-ing, Nomura Research warned in a latest re-port.

The price of Brent crude was up nearly 15 percent last week from 108 U.S. dollars per barrel at the end of last year, hovering at about 124 U.S. dollars per bar-rel. While this pales in comparison to the 364 percent surge over the prior five years to the peak of 144 U.S. dollars per barrel in July 2008, Nomura said the recent run-up is not insignifi-cant and the current level is already relative-ly high.

Given that Asia, ex-cluding Japan’s annual net imports of crude and refined petroleum, increased from 234 bil-lion U.S. dollars in 2009 to 329 billion U.S. dol-lars in 2010, and to a record 447 billion U.S. dollars in 2011, Nomu-ra estimated that a U.S. dollar per barrel rise in Brent crude could add 3.5 billion U.S. dollars to Asia’s monthly net oil import bill. Although Asia, excluding Japan, is not completely without oil reserves, but with its massive industri-alization and growing consumer affluence, it only produces what is enough to cover one-third of its needs.

The Japanese re-search house conducted “what if” exercise under three different scenari-os to assess the impact on the gross domestic product growth, con-sumer price index in-flation, current account balances, fiscal posi-tions and policy inter-est rates for each Asian economies.

Under a good sce-nario, where the price of Brent averages this year at around 110 U.S. dollars per barrel, Asia, excluding Japan’ s to-tal GDP growth, will be 6.6 percent. Under the bad scenario where oil price averages 125 dol-lars per barrel in each of the four quarters of this year, Nomura fore-cast total GDP growth to slow to 6.4 percent, and slow further to 6.1 percent in the ugly scenario, where the oil price averages 135 U.S. dollars per barrel for the year.

Among the indi-vidual economies, No-mura predicted that the growth is hit hardest by falling about one per-centage point in India, South Korea, Thailand and the Philippines, while China, Malaysia and Singapore are least-affected if the ugly sce-nario takes place.

According to No-mura, Asia, excluding Japan’s consumer price index, inflation will rise from 4.5 percent in the good scenario to 5.2 percent in the ugly sce-nario, led by big inflation surges of 1. 8 percentage point in the Philippines and Thailand.

Asia excluding Ja-pan’s 2012 total current account surplus will nar-row from 1.4 percent of GDP in the good scenario to 0.6 percent in the ugly scenario, but with some big divergences across the region. In the ugly scenario, India’s cur-rent account deficit will increase to 4 percent of GDP, while Malaysia’s current account surplus will swell to 11.5 per-cent of its GDP.

As for Asia exclud-ing Japan’s aggregate fis-cal deficit, it will widen from 2.1 percent of GDP

in the good scenario to 2.8 percent in the ugly scenario, led by increas-es of 0.9 percentage points in India, South Korea and the Philip-pines. Of these three, In-dia would have the larg-est fiscal deficit at 5.9 percent of its GDP.

The monetary pol-icy outlook will be very different in the good and ugly scenarios. No-mura said nearly all Asian central banks will cut rates further this year in the good scenar-io, by 25 basis points to 100 basis points from current levels. By con-trast, in the ugly sce-nario Nomura would expect policy rates to be kept on hold for the rest of this year in India and South Korea; and hiked by 25 basis points in Malaysia, by 50 basis points in Thailand, 75 basis points in the Phil-ippines and 100 basis points in Indonesia, re-spectively. Only China will be expected to cut rates by 25 basis points in the ugly scenario.

THE International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Mon-

day said the overall macroeconomic con-dition of the Philip-pines is broadly favor-able despite global un-certainties.

“The outlook for the near term is broadly favorable, but subject to significant external risks,” the Wa s h i n g to n - b a s e d global lender said in a report released after its consultation with Philippine authorities.

“In this context, the key policy chal-lenge is to safeguard macroeconomic sta-bility while building the foundations for stronger and more in-clusive growth over the medium term,” the report noted.

The IMF lauded Philippine economic policies, saying pru-

dent policies have un-derpinned a strong re-covery and supported confidence.

Philippine mon-etary policy is “appro-priately supportive” of economic activity and inflation is “firmly in the middle of the target range,” the IMF said, adding that the fiscal policy is “appro-priately focused” on supporting growth in the near term while aiming for consolida-tion over the medium term.

The lender ex-pressed support for the Philippine central bank’s policy of al-lowing orderly adjust-ments of the exchange rate to market pres-sures.

The IMF expected the Philippine econ-omy to expand by 4.2 percent this year, and 4.7 percent in 2013. (pna/Xinhua)

IMF projects positive econ growth for PH

Asia to suffer from oil price hikes

TAX SEASON. BIR OIC Regional Director Atty. Glen Geraldino leads the 2012 tax campaign kick-off in Davao City on Tuesday. The “I love Philippines, I pay taxes” campaign aims to educate the public to be conscious

in fulfilling their tax obligations. The tax agency aims to collect P 10.2 billion pesos this year from the Davao region alone. [Karlos Manlupig]

6 THE ECONOMY VOL.5 ISSUE 3 • MARCH 7, 2012 EDGEDAVAO

THE Monetary Board of the Bangko Sen-tral ng Pilipinas

(Bangko Sentral), ap-proved on 16 February 2012, the consolidation of the First Community Cooperative Bank of Mis-amis Occidental (FBMO), Cooperative Bank of Davao del Sur (CBDS) and Cooperative Bank of Surigao del Sur (CBSS) to form a new coopera-tive bank to be known as Consolidated Cooperative Bank (CCB).

First Community Cooperative (FICCO),

a primary cooperative based in Cagayan de Oro City, which is the major-ity shareholder of FBMO, CBDS, CBSS, spearheaded the consolidation of the three banks. CCB, as the new consolidated entity, will assume all the assets and liabilities of the three constituent CBs. The plan of consolidation was a collective agreement of the common sharehold-ers of FBMO, CBDS and CBSS in their desire to strengthen the financial position and operating efficiency of their respec-

tive cooperative banks with the intent to become a relevant player in the socio-economic develop-ment of Mindanao.

The Bangko Sentral is actively promoting merg-ers, consolidations and acquisitions of coopera-tive banks as a means to promote larger and stron-ger institutions whose more solid capital posi-tion and wider branch network would enable them to deepen their reach in the countryside, spur lending activities in the unbanked and the

underserved areas, and eventually uplift the eco-nomic condition of the people residing in these communities.

Among the incentives approved by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is that the consolidated bank, subject to compli-ance with certain require-ments, will be allowed to establish branches/of-fices in major cities and towns of Mindanao. It will also be allowed to re-value existing properties necessary based on fair valuation.

BSP approves consolidation of three rural banks in Mindanao

MALL SCHEDULES. Mall-goers in Davao City pass by a poster of the schedule of events for the month-long celebration of the 75th Araw ng Dabaw. The poster also features the brave

men and women of Davao who ensures the safety and security of the people of Davao round the clock allowing trade, commerce, and tourism to thrive. [Karlos Manlupig] THE Department of

Agriculture through the Philippine Co-

conut Authority (DA-PCA) will aggressively promote export of coconut sap sugar, popularly called ‘coco sugar,’and corner a big share of a billion-dol-lar alternative sweetener market.

Agriculture Secre-tary Proceso J. Alcala also added that they are eyeing new and emerging mar-kets as possible destina-tions for the export mar-ket.

“In tandem with the private sector, we are crafting a master plan to promote coconut sap sug-ar overseas and win a big share of the $1.1-billion global alternative sweet-ener market,” said Secre-tary Alcala.

Further, he said the DA — in tandem with Philfoodex and other agri-fishery food producers, processors and export-ers — will tap new and emerging exports mar-kets, and strengthen exist-ing ones.

He said the country

will reinvigorate and di-versify traditional farm exports like coconut oil, tropical fruits (banana, pineapple and mangoes), tuna, sugar, and abaca, among others.

For emerging mar-kets, he said the country is eyeing at the following countries: South Korea for avocados, after we allowed the entry of Korean pa-prika into the Philippines; China for bangus or milk-fish, as Alsons Aquaculture Corp based in Sarangani, sent an initial shipment of nine tons of bangus to Xia-men; Japan and Malaysia, for pork; and South Korea, for chicken.

For livestock and poultry, Secretary Alcala said that the country will bank on its FMD- and bird flu-freedom to expand the market in Asia, Middle East and other parts of the world.

“These are just some of our initiatives meant to support the continued growth and prosperity of the food, agribusiness and agriculture industry,” the DA chief said.

DA eyes new market for coco sugar, poultry, and meat

LAND Bank clients may soon enjoy the benefits of conve-

nient, cashless purchas-es worldwide through LANDBANK Visa Interna-tional Debit Card.

An agreement has been signed between Land Bank of the Philip-pines, the country’s offi-cial depository, and Visa Worldwide Pte., Limited to develop the said prod-uct.

This card allows ac-cess to over 2 million ATMs and more than 31 million point-of-sale ter-minals connected to the Visa Worldwide network.

With the Internation-al Visa Debit Card, Land Bank expects to not only expand service delivery reach to customers but also to reduce cash han-dling and overhead ATM costs once payments mi-grate to POS transactions.

“This partnership with Visa likewise pre-pares us to respond to government require-ments to institute reforms in payment and collection

systems by providing a secure, convenient, and reliable method of pay-ment for our consumer, business, and even public sector clients,” said Land Bank President and CEO Gilda E. Pico.

v“We are delighted that Land Bank has cho-sen Visa as its strategic partner for the implemen-tation of its international debit card product. There are over 16,000 banks around the world that currently issue or acquire Visa cards, and Land Bank decision to strengthen its relationship with Visa en-sures that the bank will be able to offer the latest in electronic card pay-ment services and tech-nology to its individual and corporate customers as well as the Philippine Government for years to come,” said Visa World-wide Country Manager Iain Jamieson.

Pico and Jamieson signed the agreement in a ceremony held at the Land Bank Plaza in Ma-late, Manila.

LandBank goes global with Visa International

THE Department of Science and Tech-nology (DOST) will

soon give a wider range of support to countryside entrepreneurs with the establishment of its Com-munity Technology Busi-ness Incubation program this year, a statement said.

According to Tech-nology Resource Center (TRC) Director Dennis Cunanan, the program, which is an offshoot of the agency’s Open Tech-nology Business Incuba-tion (Open TBI), will be implemented through its regional offices.

A technology busi-ness incubator, or TBI, is a program that helps en-trepreneurial companies and start-up businesses

to take off and develop through its array of busi-ness support resources and services. Some of TBI services include business space for rent, marketing assistance, accounting/financial management as-sistance, links to partners, help with regulatory com-pliance, and others.

In addition to help-ing entrepreneurs start up their businesses, the agency also helps over-seas Filipino workers (OFWs) to start over through its free livelihood trainings to displaced OFWs.

DOST, in partner-ship with Duty Free Phil-ippines, likewise offers livelihood packages such as washing machines for

Laundromat business or car tools for automobile service business through its Kabuhayan Shopping Program.

“The TRC has been the industry leader in terms of livelihood training and technology resource for nearly 35 years. In keep-ing up with its mandate of creating opportunities, TRC will continue improv-ing and innovating its programs to be able to en-hance the productivity of more sectors,” DOST Sec-retary Mario Montejo for his part said.

“This year, TRC will focus on sectors like the youth, women, senior citi-zens and OFW’s... Expand-ing our services will en-able us to serve more sec-

tors and, this way, people can identify themselves and find their place in the whole picture,” Cunanan said.

“Creating opportuni-ties is a continuous pro-cess. We will not stop from now and make sure that the workforce of the cen-ter will adapt to the chang-ing times and we will be still relevant and effective as an institution. The peo-ple deserve nothing less,” he added.

Aside from strength-ening its public-private partnerships, TRC’s pro-grams also includes com-mercialization of afford-able baby food products developed by Food and Nutrition Research Insti-tute. (Dost)

DOST 11 to launch incubation program

7ICT HUBVOL.5 ISSUE 3 • MARCH 7, 2012EDGEDAVAO

THE $64 billion global video games industry, shaken up

by the likes of Zynga in re-cent years, may be on the verge of another identity crisis.

Hardware and soft-ware sales for consoles keep dropping, market-leading Activision Bliz-zard, which makes the “Call of Duty” and “World of Warcraft” mega fran-chises laid off 8 percent of its staff in February, and a proliferation of games on app stores is making it costlier to stand. So, an estimated 20,000 video game industry types, ex-ecutives and game de-signers will descend on this week’s Game Devel-opers Conference in San Francisco looking for an-swers.

The interactive en-tertainment industry has been trying to cope with the rapid growth of on-line and mobile gaming for a few years, but now even the companies mak-ing games in these bur-geoning areas are finding it harder to turn a profit.

Also, young compa-nies that are not as big as Zynga or Electronic Arts are finding it difficult to stand out in increasingly crowded app stores on mobile devices without spending heavily on ads, executives say.

“The number of apps is growing exponentially and with that, costs of user acquisition is going up. If you are not a com-pany with a series of fran-chises like us, it becomes a lot tougher,” said Ben Liu, the chief operating officer of PocketGems, the makers of hit casual mo-bile games “Tap Zoo” and “Tap Pet Hotel”.

The increasing mar-keting burden is driving some fledgling companies

into the arms of deeper-pocketed partners.

Philip Holt, CEO of Row Sham Bow, said it has 5,000 daily active us-ers but it was getting ex-pensive to attract players to its Facebook strategy game “Woodland Heroes”, where raccoons fight to make the forest safe from an evil bear.

The Orlando-Fla.-based company said last week it had signed a rev-enue-sharing agreement with Zynga, where the gaming giant promotes the animal game on Face-book and on its own new platform, Zynga.com.

“Working with Zyn-ga was better than go-ing to spend money on Facebook ads to acquire users and spending per click. For an independent developer without a lot of cash, you end up with a significant marketing spend,” Holt said.

NEW PLATFORMSEven Zynga, consid-

ered a success story af-ter a billion dollar IPO in December, is trying to reinvent itself to keep its 240 million users coming back.

This week, it will pitch its new games ser-vice, Zynga.com -- which analysts say is an attempt to whittle down its heavy reliance on Facebook for gamers -- when chief operating officer John Schappert gives the key-note speech at the confer-ence.

Other companies, like Pocket Gems, believe the future is mobile. The company’s games, where players run zoos and ho-tels, have been download-ed more than 60 million times on Apple and An-droid devices.

But even then, the startup is hedging its bets, said Liu, the chief operat-

Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg speaks during the premiere of the video game “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3” in Los Angeles, California

Video game industry looks for new plan to reach players

ing officer. The company is holding hackathons -- marathon programming sessions -- to develop for HTML5 technology, which allows programs to run in mobile Web browsers that people do not need to download. ABI Re-search has said that 2.1 billion mobile devices are expected to use HTML5 browsers by 2016.

Away from the devel-opment sphere, a battle is brewing between op-erating software players. Research in Motion is making its biggest gaming push to date at the confer-ence, said Meggan Scavio, the director of the Game Developers Conference.

The Blackberry mak-er is hosting sessions on how to make games and turn a profit using its sys-tem, all in the hopes of at-tracting developers to its ailing tablet, PlayBook.

“They are trying to draw attention to their platform and their hope is to do what Google did with Android,” Scavio said, referring to how Google boosted the num-ber of games on its sys-tem by appealing to de-velopers at last year’s conference.

Google itself will be pitching its new “native client” technology that video game makers can use to bring games to the

Internet. So far, 15 games on Google’s Chrome Web store use the technology, including one by Japan’s Square Enix. Google has also been trying to woo developers to its “Google +” social network with more attractive fees for companies than Facebook and Apple, which take a 30 percent cut of revenue of games on its system.

While this week’s con-ference is all about pre-dicting the next big thing in gaming, sometimes it just isn’t clear what is around the corner. Apple’s expected iPad 3 announce-ment on Wednesday, for example, being made just blocks away from the con-

ference center, could ush-er in a whole new way to play games.

“Every two or three years, there’s a new trend, a new technology and a new way to make video games you never would have thought of,” said Colt McAnlis, a game developer advocate at Google whose job it is to bring game makers to the Internet gi-ant’s platforms.

After all the changes he has seen working for the past decade at former employers Microsoft and Activision Blizzard, he has learned that, “if you man-age to last 10 years in the industry, you’re that old guy on he porch.”

THE world’s most valu-able company has turned into a bit of a

casino stock.Since Apple Inc on Feb-

ruary 29 became only the sixth company in U.S. history to top $500 billion in market capitalization, trading has become more volatile, indi-cating that more investors are tracking headlines and looking for quick gains.

Apple has gained 32 percent since the beginning of the year, outstripping its gains for all of 2011. It ac-counts for more than 4 per-cent of the weight of the S&P 500 index, a kind of outsized standing that has caused its moves to dictate market di-rection on a daily basis.

That’s a trend that is causing consternation

among some players in the market. They note that other companies that had become members of the elite $500

billion club not only couldn’t sustain their standing, but weighed on the entire mar-ket as they fell.

People walk past an Apple billboard advertising the iPad 2 in downtown Shanghai

Investors roll the dice as the value of Apple booms WITHIN three

months of the launch of the Inter-

net “pornography” domain “.xxx,” 10 cases have been launched against Web pi-rates registering sites on it using the names of reputable companies and people, insid-ers said on Monday.

Sources at the World Intellectual Property Organi-zation (WIPO) reported that among complainants to its dispute resolution system over .xxx -- usually called dot-triple x -- were banks, a jew-elry business and an online shopping operation.

One individual com-plaint, against a site called femjoy.xxx, was brought by someone named George St-reit, according to WIPO’s dis-pute website. But the sources could not say if this was George Strait, the U.S. coun-try music singer. WIPO of-ficials could also not confirm

whether the slightly different spelling was a typographical error.

WIPO, whose Director General Francis Gurry re-ported on Monday that cases of Web piracy, commonly called cybersquatting, rose 2.5 percent last year involv-ing a record 4,781 sites with nearly 90 percent resolved in favor of complainants.

Many world-famous personalities, such as film star Tom Cruise and soc-cer player Wayne Rooney, and major corporations and brand names like Barclays Bank and Nestle, have in the past won cybersquatting cases in WIPO.

But these have all been brought against owners of sites registered under well-known and long-established domains such as dot-com, dot-int and dot-org, or the national suffixes identifying countries, including France’s

dot-fr.Cyberquatters often

register at a nominal fee us-ing commonly known names or brands with the aim of selling them at a profit to the real name-owners. But they also use misleading sites to attract Web surfers to their own products or services.

Dot-triple x came into operation on December 6, 2011, after years of debate within the Internet Corpora-tion for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), on how to control the spread of por-nography on the Web and make it manageable.

AID TO PARENTSSupporters of the idea of

a special domain argued that it would enable parents and employers to control more easily the sites to which their children and employees had access by cutting off a single domain rather than separate sites.

Porn domain ignites alarm

8 VANTAGE POINTS

THE Davao International Airport is a problem that is worsening by the day and Dabawenyos seem helpless to do something about it.

The DIA opened its doors to the traveling public in December 2003, after taking several years to finish at the bloated cost of more than P5 billion, approximately double its original cost of only P2.7 billion.

From the outside, the brand new airport appeared sleek and posh but inside it had a lot of defects that prompted the House of Representatives to conduct an investigation shortly after its opening.

Many of the multi-million navigational instruments whose cost was charged against the DIA’s construction, including luxury vehicles which were used by some higher government officials in Manila instead of being brought here for use of the airport management.

Many of the defects and anomalous practices in the DIA were exposed by some concerned insiders but, save for the seemingly sham House investigation, noth-ing was done about the anomalies. Instead of being ap-preciated, one whistleblower was reassigned to Jolo, forcing the poor chap to leave the country and family and seek employment in an Arab country.

Today, the airport continues to deteriorate with time without any solution in sight. The problems are exacerbated by bad practices of the local management.

Consider the following: --only one of its three original firetrucks is still op-

erational :

--only one of the original four baggage x-ray ma-chines remain functional:

-- the terminal’s roof leaks whenever it rains;--the restrooms reek with foul odor;-- during peak hours, many passengers have to

squat on the floor or stand because the pre-departure area lacks space and benches;

--the airport tower is infested with termites;--dogs are allowed to encroach into the runway;--cats are allowed to sneak into the terminal;--planting of corn is allowed in one space of the air-

port attracting birds that pose a risk to planes taking off or about to land.

All these and more compromise the comfort and safety of airport clientele.

Political and business leaders of the region who have lodged a formal complaint with the Civil Avia-tion Authority of the Philippines have failed to goad the CAAP authorities to correct all that is wrong with the DIA.

We suggest that our leaders through the Regional Development Council Region11 address their appeal to Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas. Surely he is in a position to do something about the problem with the airport.

Incoming first time visitors to our city will have their first impression of the city upon their landing, and last impression upon leaving.

Nakakahiya!

Airport, a worsening problemEDITORIAL

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VOL.5 ISSUE 3 • MARCH 7, 2012 EDGEDAVAO

By Edwin EspejoSpecial Feature

Social issues

(Cunclusion)

FORMER Commission on Election chair Christian Monsod however said mining has become and is a social issue given

the dismal track record of large mining com-panies in the Philippines.

One major concern he raised is whether mining companies should be held perpetu-ally responsible for the post mine closure maintenance of leftover structures and for any damage that will arise from the hazards left behind by these mines.

He suggested that the mining companies set aside upfront fund to ensure that these is-sues will be covered in the future.

Jasareno admitted that this concern is not covered under Mining Act of 1995 other-wise also known as Republic Act 7942.

Clive Wicks, noted environmentalist and co-author of the book Mining or Food, c re-port on mining operations in the Philippines, warned that the biggest mining project in the country, the Tampakan Copper and Gold project poses a high-risk exposure to environ-mental disaster.

The project is located in one of the active fault lines in South Cotabato and is less than 20 kilometers from the active volcano Mt. Matutum. He said the proposed two mine tailing dams with million gallons of hazard-ous mine leftovers could collapse in an event of a strong earthquake, both natural and in-duced, or when Sagittarius Mines Inc (SMI) begins blasting the area. A disaster of such magnitude could wreak unimaginable havoc to both lives and properties downstream.

But SMI general manager Mark Williams said the Wicks scenario will not happen. Asked what guarantees these dams would not collapse, he said these will be designed to be virtually indestructible.

The Catholic Church, three dioceses of them, in south central Mindanao is strongly opposed to the operation of SMI.

The provincial government of South Co-tabato has even passed an ordinance banning open pit mining operation in the province.

This alleged ‘incongruence’ of local ap-plication and national policies on mining has been a major concern of the mining industry.

The blame gameChamber of Mines of the Philippines

president Benjamin Philip Romualdez also urged the government to look into the small scale mining operations throughout the country which he claimed are almost beyond the reach of government regulators.

Romualdez said unregulated small scale mining operations have left a negative impact on the industry.

Oddly enough, small scale miners were not represented in the mining conference Friday.

Romualdez said the imposition of higher royalty fees in gold production among small scale miners coincided with the drop in gold purchase by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

He said small scale miners are now smuggling gold outside the country.

Jasareno however said of the 30 tons of gold purchased by the Bangko Sentral ng Pili-pinas last year, 68 percent of them came from small scale miners.

But the mines bureau chief acknowl-edged that two conflicting laws on small scale mining have contributed to the inabil-ity of MGB to enforce the laws aside from the perennial lack of personnel and government geologists. He said the government is now looking into the situation and may introduce amendments to Congress.

Controversial EOMalacañang (Office of the President) is

already poised to release an executive order that would address concerns of the industry after it was delayed last month.

Included are the royalty fee provision and a possible hike in the excise tax.

The proposed EO also calls for the re-view of all existing mineral development and mining contracts which raised uproar in the business community.

Finance secretary Cesar Purisima later assured industry leaders that the govern-ment will honor all existing mining con-tracts.

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which most likely has seen the draft order, has cited lack of consultation in opposing the proposed executive order.

“WITH the per-mission of this Honorable Tri-

bunal”…“If Your Honor,

please”…“Point of clari-

fication, Your Hon-or”…

“Your Honor, may I make a manifestation”…

“The ruling of the Chair is”…“What is the pleasure of the defense?”…“Objection sustained”… “over ruled”…“Qualify your witness”…“Objection, the question is immaterial, ir-

relevant and impertinent”…“It is not in accordance with jurispru-

dence”…“Do you swear to tell the truth and noth-

ing but the truth…so help you God?”…“Any objection? There being none, the

motion is approved.”…“So moved.” “So ordered.”Non-lawyers certainly find themselves

wallowing in dizzyland listening to the above legal and courtroom verbal brouhaha. Indeed, these are way above the heads of ordinary mortals like you and me.

So, let’s take a break from the impeach-ment drama, and get rid of the 3x-a-week dos-age of legal gobbledygook.

And let’s stop listening to all the lies that fly out of the mouths of politicians. We all know pretty well that the people’s welfare is not their main concern, but the power, the privileges and the honor that go with the position. The term “honorable” is music to their ears.

What about service, you may ask? Well, I think politicians know more about service car, service pistol, home service, and lip service, which they pay to public service.

Last week, the Senate cited in contempt lawyer Vitaliano Aguirre, who sits as private prosecutor in the prosecution panel in the im-peachment trial of CJ Corona.

Aguirre cupped his two ears with both hands while Sen. Miriam Santiago was cas-tigating the prosecutors for their incompe-tence in presenting their case.

When allowed to explain his action by Senator Enrile, he said that he did it on pur-pose. And he sounded defiant and self-right-eous.

I think Aguirre deserves the Senate sanction for undecorous, unprofessional and uncivilized demeanor in the halls of the Sen-ate. Despite having practiced law for years, he still has not learned court decorum and self-discipline.

And he had the nerve to preach about proper court behavior. He thinks that he knows more about decorum than anybody.

Vitaliano is too proud for his own good. His is a misplaced and false pride. Somebody should tell him that pride is one of the seven cardinal sins. If he is a Christian, he should know what it means.

oooOoooChoice quote: “Of all the causes which

conspire to blind / Man’s erring judgment, and misguide the mind / What the weak head with strongest bias rules / Is pride, the never-failing vice of fools.”- Alexander Pope

9VANTAGE POINTS

Enhancing the dynamics of tourism

Battle of the brainy and the brainless

Monkey Business

VOL.5 ISSUE 3 • MARCH 7, 2012EDGEDAVAO

‘The magnificent structure is famous for its 360 degree revolving restaurant, view deck

and skywalk, and a favorite recreation spot of people who have lots of money to spare.’

‘BUT I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgement. And if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council. And if you say, ‘You fool, you will be li-able to the fires of hell.’

--Fr. Catalino Arevalo on Senator Miriam Santiago’s scolding the prosecution panel in the Impeachment Court

‘I can engage in a public debate with the priest and we can ex-change quotation for quotation from the Bible. But that would be foolish, because the Bible can be interpreted in as many ways as there are Christian churches.’

--Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago

FaceOffOutside the Impeachment Court

CA N D I D SHOTS – I think every

journalist has heard more than once that “it must be a work worth rewarding.” And it is. Writing about everything under the sun – socio-economic, political, peace and order, and the environment for a living is a gift. For almost three decades of being a newsman, I don’t regret a moment I’ve spent at it. The reality of being a journalist is both as great as you think it is and perhaps more frustrating than others can imagine. Sadly of course, some people, notably those in govern-ment, would like to imagine media as a shad-owy collective group that works in lockstep to undermine whatever beliefs the government holds.

TOURISM – A “BIG, FAT” INDUSTRY – On a typical weekend in Toronto City, hordes of local residents and tourists alike flock to vari-ous leisure destinations. Tired and stressed probably due to their rigid work routine, the locals consider packing their bags and heading off to one of Canada’s well-known tourist destination – Niagara Falls, located in the Niagara Peninsula near the US-Canada border. Foreign tourists likewise have found that spring and summer season are the great times to travel and experience viewing the stunning and amazing work of nature releas-ing millions of gallons of water every minute.

Actually, there is more that Toronto can offer. The city’s tourism industry has rede-fined competitiveness and economic advan-tage. As one of Canada’s oldest city, Toronto is brimming with historical landmarks, the most prominent being the old city hall and parliament building. These eye-catching tour-

ism treasures were inspired by colonial archi-tecture. And one of its world-renowned mod-ern landmarks is the imposing CN Tower, still considered the world’s tallest tower standing almost 600 meters high. The magnificent structure is famous for its 360 degree revolv-ing restaurant, view deck and skywalk, and a favorite recreation spot of people who have lots of money to spare.

Well, there are lots of things the city lead-ership could do to make Toronto a tourism hub. Aside from historical landmarks, the city still has sections of famous and popular sites such as the various museums, 18th century churches and other places of worship. Sure enough, visitors and tourists have a day or two to bring it all into a perspective, like the one in which they have to drive during sunny or crappy weather, either to an urban center or rural community that is suitable for rest and recreation.

The tourism industry flourishes signifi-cantly not only in Toronto , but also in other Cana-dian cities and regional municipalities as well, with government lead-ers and prominent busi-ness entrepreneurs busy pouring concrete foundations and infusing huge capital outlay to promote tourism. Lo-cal executives and tourism officials probably foresaw a surge in visitors and tourist arrivals not just to experience shopping comfort or indulge a hawker fare to fine dining in vari-ous gastronomic havens, hence, offer more tourist-friendly programs and initiatives.

The vibrant and robust tourism indus-try in Toronto and the rest of Canada proves the business is in high spirits and ready to take on the competition. Perhaps, the govern-ment and its counterparts from the private and business sectors firmly believe that tour-

ism is a “big, fat” business venture, therefore its tourism dynamics are being enhanced by promoting and adding ecotourism and sports tourism programs to their list. Either way, prospective tourists, frequent visitors and lo-cal residents realize that the series of leisure attractions being offered are simply astound-ing.

Furthermore, Canada is known for its astonishing lakes, rivers, creeks and streams the biggest being Lake Ontario. However, of all the lakes, probably none is as famous as Lake Ontario, which is so vast that it stretch-es to adjacent provinces. Foreign tourists and local visitors consider nature’s bounty as a great ecotourism destination – famous ecological endpoint, each one covered in lush greenery, pristine plants, and flora and fauna. Offered with ecological knowledge during their tours, visitors can really learn about real ecotourism and environmental conservation.

Another enticing tourism scheme is sports tourism. Tourists and sports enthusiasts are able to watch NBA games at Rogers Centre. The world-class and state-of-

the-art sports facility is home to the Toronto Raptors and equally popular Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team. The city is becoming a great place to experience international sports events such as tennis, football, soc-cer and baseball. There are also a variety of extreme sports such as the formula Indy 500 races, motor grand prix, motocross, go-kart races, skater and bicycle tricks, and ice hockey, arguably Canada’s most famous and successful homegrown sports event, and declared as a national sport. Well, that’s primarily the reason why Toronto is such a distinctive tourist destination.

‘When allowed to explain his action by Senator

Enrile, he said that he did it on purpose. And he

sounded defiant and self-righteous.’

10 COMMUNITY SENSE VOL.5 ISSUE 3 • MARCH 7, 2012 EDGEDAVAO

THERE are already four millionaires from Davao af-

ter winning in the Bu-reau of Internal Revenue (BIR)’s Premyo Sa Resibo program.

BIR XI District Col-lector Bella Bentulan re-vealed this to Davao me-dia telling them that the program is not a hoax and in fact has changed the lives of many Dabawen-yos.

Lucky entries from Davao Region were picked as grand prizewinners last August 2006, August 2007, January 2009, and

April 2009.Nineteen Davao en-

tries also won P5,000 each, and two entries for P100,000.

Bentulan urged Da-bawenyos to again take the chance to be the next millionaire for tomorrow’s monthly draw which will be held at SM City Events Center in time for the Tax Campaign Kick-Off.

Entries sent from Feb-ruary to 29 are valid for tomorrow’s draw. How-ever, entries sent starting March 1 onwards will be drawn next month.

The BIR official ad-

vised participants to re-cord the control number sent to them after submit-ting the entry for this will be asked if their entry is picked during the draw.

Bentulan said that BIR has no record as to how many Dabawenyos have been participating in this promo but given that many winners rose from Davao, she thinks that there are already plenty of Davao participants.

To join, just text PSR(space) TIN No. of O.R.(asterisk) O.R. No.(asterisk) O.R. Amount (example: PSR

Premyo sa Resibo not a hoax, BIR 11 says

IN the recently con-cluded 17th Philip-pine International

Hot Air Balloon Fiesta, a thousand bright yellow Sun Life kites flew across the Clark airfield skyline. Soaring high, it heralded the steady expansion of Sun Life Financial-Phil-ippines (SLFP) into the country’s different re-gions, as befitting its first and longest-standing life insurer.

Started two years ago, Sun Life’s region-al expansion program boasts of 28 Inter-branch Sales Offices (ISOs) & four satellite offices covering all the major regions of the country. Indeed, this program bears witness to the company’s mis-sion of bringing financial freedom to every Filipino -- wherever they may be.

Reach is a critical component of a healthy insurance industry, and this is where the very heart of the regional ex-pansion program lies. “We hope to do more not just for Sun Life but for the industry in general, since we believe that a healthy insurance indus-

try is a critical component in nation building,” af-firmed SLFP Head of Busi-ness Development Deo G. Orpilla.

Such a noble un-dertaking is viable, as the Philippines has one of the lowest insurance penetrations in South-east Asia, hovering a little above 14%. According to Orpilla, the project would ensure that whenever a Filipino needs a financial solution, Sun Life would be readily available and accessible.

“Aside from the dili-gence of our advisors and excellence in handling the finances of our clients, the whole Sun Life expe-rience is such a reward-ing journey, one that will make financial freedom easier to reach,” shared Orpilla. He noted that an integrated sales and mar-keting campaign, special tactical projects, and mar-ket alliances could fur-ther elevate the program to new heights. Expan-sion would also cover in-frastructure such as ISOs and increasing its agency force.

Since 2009, SLFP’s

regional expansion proj-ect tripled its sales from P185 Million to P516 Mil-lion. In 2011, Sun Life’s ISOs increased by four fold. It now has 28 offic-es to serve the financial planning needs of Filipi-nos. By reaching to other segments, Sun Life is bound to reap more suc-cess for 2012, anchored by a solid performance last year.

Orpilla revealed that the regional expansion program achieved 168% of its 2011 revenue tar-get. This also led to gain-ful employment, deliver-ing 108% of the expected manpower target. All while managing expens-es at the prescribed level, taking into consideration the volatility of global economy.

“Despite the eco-nomic challenges we are facing, Sun Life is pre-pared and determined to secure a stable future for all Filipinos. Through the regional expansion pro-gram, we can help fulfill dreams and shape a gen-eration where finances is part of our national iden-tity,” mused Orpilla.

Sun Life Financial to expand nationwide

A high-speed water race competition in time for the celebra-

tion of the 75th Araw ng Da-baw, awaits Davaoeños and its visitors at the waters of Davao gulf, Sta. Ana Wharf on March 18.

The event dubbed as “Bangkathon sa Davao Gulf 2012”, is water –bustle adventure aimed at gather-ing Banca riders using fast-

charged 16.5 and 7 Horse-power Mitsubishi engines. The contest draws active participation from fisher-folk coming from Davao City, Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte, Davao Oriental and as far as General Santos City, Surigao, Sarangani, among others.

Organized by One Ra-dio 102.7 NewsFM, Ang Radyo ni Juan, the newest

FM station in town, together with SEACom Inc., (exclusive distributor of Mitsubishi en-gines) and the City Govern-ment of Davao, Bangkathon sa Davao Gulf 2012 is more than just a water-sports event; it also hopes to raise the awareness of the people in preserving the coastal and marine resources as well as protecting the welfare of the fisherfolks in the region.

Bangkathon sa Davao Gulf set on March 18

BKI to DVO. Allen Chia, of the Sabah Tourism Board, displays a proboscis monkey stuffed toy, which is one of the icons of Sabah. Sabah is presently eyeing direct flights from Kota Kinabalu to

Davao City to boost tourism and trade between the two cities. [Karlos Manlupig]

THE rehabilita-tion of the two dams of the Ala Riv-

er Irrigation System (Ala RIS) will be carried out as planned in May, the province’s agriculture chief announced on Sat-urday.

Provincial agricultur-ist Reynaldo Legaste said more than 9,000 hect-ares of irrigated rice fields in South Cotabato’s Upper Valley area and about 2,000 hectares in Sultan Kudarat province will lose water supply because Ala RIS’s dams in Colong-golo in Surallah, South Cotabato and Bai Sirafi-nang in Bagumbayan, Sul-tan Kudarat will be totally shut down.

The shutdown is es-timated to last until Au-gust this year.

“Repair of the said irrigation sys-tem is deemed neces-sary; since its opening in 1972 the dams and

its line and distribution canals have not under-gone any rehabilitative works,” he said.

However, Le-gaste was quick to allay fears that agricultural production in the affect-ed areas in South Cotaba-to -- the municipalities of Surallah, Sto. Niño, Banga, and Norala -- will be ad-versely reduced, thereby affecting grains supply in the province.

He said, rice farmers here were able to plant a follow up cropping in at least 5,000 hectares in February; these will be ready for harvest in April and May.

“In our meet-ings with irrigators’ as-sociations we repeatedly encouraged farmers to resort to the traditional practice ‘tabungos’ or stocking of palay grains for the lean months,” he added, to make sure that farm families will

have enough food supply. “Also, of the 9,000

hectares that will lose irrigation services an estimated 2,000 hect-ares in the low-lying ar-eas could still be plant-ed with palay because these have other water sources such as natural springs.”

Other mitigating measures such as grow-ing of other crops in lieu of palay have also been laid out with affected ir-rigators’ associations.

Since the situation could be considered a ca-

lamity, the Office of the Provincial Agricultur-ist has proposed to the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council for a seed assis-tance amounting to P1.5 million (P750,000 each for palay and hi-bred corn) as well as purchase of P780,000 worth of ti-lapia brood stock from Muñoz, Nueva Ecija for future fingerlings disper-sal.

He is confi-dent this proposal would get the approval of the PDRRMC.

11SUBURBIA

‘They are using the same tactics and recuit-ment line of the 1980s during the time of Presi-dent cory.’

--Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV.

BizQuips

VOL.5 ISSUE 3 • MARCH 7, 2012EDGEDAVAO

SoCot irrigation dams set for repair in May

THE rain poured heavily yet the 11,859 runners

wearing their green-col-ored singlet of the 2012 Bulawan Fun Run didn’t mind it at all as they all sprinted towards the fin-ish line. The fun run held last March 2 was one of the province’s activities in the celebration of the 5th Bulawan Festival.

It was also the 14th Founding Anniversary of Compostela Valley, which highlights support to the provincial greening pro-gram anchored on the theme, “ComVal shines at 14...going green!”

Proceeds of the fun

run will be given to the school children through the “Kalinga sa Kabataan, Bayanihan sa Paaralan” program of Comval Gov-ernor Arturo T. Uy.

The provincial gov-ernment extended its gratitude to the sponsors: Phoenix Petroleum, Ga-wad Kalinga, provincial officials, House of Repre-sentatives, San Agustin Services, Inc., APEX Min-ing, Inc., PHILCO Mining Corporation, HEXAT Min-ing Corporation, JVF Com-mercial, Penong’s Barbe-cue Seafoods & Grill, Sum-ifru, Davao Metro Shuttle, Gaisano Grand- Tagum, and KarAsia, Inc. (pia Xi)  

11k runners join Comval marathon

EARTHQUAKE RESCUE. Rescue teams from the Sarangani Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office simulate a rescue operation during an earthquake

drill  during the earthquake drill of the Provincial Government of Sarangani and Department of Education. (SARANGANI INFORMATION OFFICE)

n Rehab to increase farmers’ income

THE recently rehabil-itated farm-to-mar-ket road (FMR), in

Barangay Lower Bala of Magsaysay, Davao del Sur is seen to increase by 20 percent the income of rice farmers here.

Previously, most parts of the 4.470-kilometer long road were impass-able during rainy days in-terrupting the transpor-tation of farmers’ produce to the market.

Now, with the P7.2 million FMR rehabilita-tion project of the Depart-ment of Agrarian Reform, the road reduced travel time to travelers espe-cially for the farmers who have also lowered the hauling cost of their farm products.

DAR has completed and turned over the proj-ect, which was imple-mented under its Agrar-ian Reform Infrastructure Support Project (DAR-ARISP 3) to the local gov-ernment units in Davao del Sur in February this year.

Aside from Barangay Lower Bala, the FMR proj-ect also benefits other ad-joining barangays namely New Ilocos, Simon, San Isidro, Tacul, Barayong, Upper Bala in the mu-nicipality of Magsaysay and some barangays of Colombio municipality, province of Sultan Kuda-rat.

“I am committed to the maintenance of this road,” said Governor Douglas R. Cagas in his acceptance speech during the turn-over ceremony.

Together with Pro-vincial Agrarian Reform Officer (PARO) Wilson S.

Antiga, District Engineer Zenaida Tan, and Baran-gay Captain Pastor Bas-inilio of Lower Bala, Cagas signed the turnover docu-ments.

“This is our continu-ing commitment in sus-taining the gains of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), hand-in-hand we will make things happen,” An-tiga said.

The FMR rehabilita-tion project is under DAR-ARISP 3’s Road 1 project, which represents 40% of the total project cost of P18 million. Road 1 project also includes the widening and gravelling of the road with two-line box culvert and two-line lateral and minor-cross drainage.

The 60% of the total project will go to Road 2 project worth P10.8 million for the rehabilitation and concreting of a 4.8-kilo-meter FMR connecting the Simon-Sambino-Kilolog roads.

The project needs an equity share, which will be funded by the Provincial Government of Davao del Sur.

Program of work for the Road 2 project is now wrapping-up and will be implemented within the year.

DAR-ARISP 3 is a pack-age to support the agricul-tural-productivity of the agrarian reform beneficia-ries in the rural areas. The package is comprised of sub-projects namely a) ir-rigation component b) farm-to-market road c) post-harvest facility d) po-table water system and e) agri-tenchnology transfer and institutional develop-ment. (Dar-Xi)

DAR allots P7.2M for repair of roads

12 NATION /WORLD VOL.5 ISSUE 3 • MARCH 7, 2012 EDGEDAVAO

NAtION BRIEfS WORLd tOdAyRussian police arrest hundreds of protesters

Police clearance

THE Department of For-eign Affairs (DFA) re-minds Filipinos trans-

ferring to Australia, Canada, Europe or the United States from Saudi Arabia to first ob-tain a Saudi police clearance before exiting the Middle Eastern country.

This will save the Fili-pino traveler a lot of incon-venience and money since such police clearance would also serve as an entry/residency document to the above-mentioned territo-ries. It cannot be circum-vented since the traveler’s passport would indicate that he or she had been to Saudi Arabia.

Citation

THE Civil Service Com-mission (CSC) cited on Monday a Filipino

scientist for her business advocacy of nuclear science.

CSC said Dr. Lucille V. Abad, Supervising Sci-ence Research Specialist at the Philippine Nuclear Re-search Institute (PNRI), has devoted most of her career life to studying the practical uses of nuclear technology. In 2000, equipped with a bachelor’s degree in Chem-istry and a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering and Manage-ment, she started to develop a radiation-treated healing patch for wounds and burns.

RUSSIAN police have arrested more than 500 people protest-

ing Vladimir Putin’s crush-ing victory in elections that the opposition denounced as illegitimate and interna-tional monitors said were skewed.

Western powers re-acted warily to the prospect of Putin returning in a May inauguration to the Kremlin for a six-year term from his current job as premier, urg-ing a full investigation into the reports of violations.

Police said they arrest-ed 250 people in Moscow and 300 in Saint Petersburg on Monday after moving in roughly to break up rallies claiming that the polls the previous day were rigged.

Some 20,000 anti-Pu-tin protesters turned out in Pushkin Square in central Moscow chanting “Russia Yes! Putin No!” Most of the rally broke up peacefully, but police moved in to dis-perse hundreds of people who refused to leave the square.

Amid frantic scenes, they arrested dozens by

Russian.jpeRussian riot police break up an opposition protest contesting Vladimir Putin’s election win.

dragging them to waiting police vans, an AFP corre-spondent said.

Among those arrested were Russian anti-corrup-tion crusader Alexei Naval-ny, seen in some quarters as a possible future rival to Putin, and two other op-

position leaders, Sergei Udaltsov and Ilya Yashin.

“People were calm, but at some point police started moving in, kicking people, tearing their clothes,” Yash-in told independent Dozhd TV from the police van by phone.

Moscow police also roughly arrested dozens of protesters at a separate un-sanctioned event near the central election commis-sion, including the leader of the Other Russia radical opposition group Eduard Limonov.

An AFP reporter saw similar police action at an unauthorized meeting in Putin’s native Saint Pe-tersburg and a local police spokesman quoted by Rus-sian news agencies said a total of 300 people had been detained.

The protests came af-ter official results showed Putin won just under 64 per cent of Sunday’s ballot to win back the Kremlin seat he held for the maximum two terms from 2000-2008 before his four-year stint as prime minister.

Royal visit

PRINCE Harry has ar-rived in Jamaica’s capital Kingston for

a four-day visit amid a push by the country’s new prime minister to sever ties with the British mon-archy and turn the page on its colonial past.

The 27-year-old prince arrived on Monday by private jet at Kings-ton’s international airport, receiving a 21-gun salute from members of the Ja-maica Defence Force.

flops

INDIA’S Congress party was trailing in fourth place as counting of

votes got underway in Ut-tar Pradesh on Tuesday, a stunning blow to Rahul Gandhi who had staked his political future on reviving his party’s fortunes in the populous northern state.

“It’s baffling if this is true,” Congress spokes-man Abhishek Manu Sing-hvi said, as partial results showed his party was like-ly to fall far short of the 120 seats it predicted it would win in the state’s 403-seat legislative assembly.

Explosion

INTERNATIONAL ex-perts are fighting to prevent a fire in the

Republic of Congo from reaching a second arms depot and exploding more munitions, a day after a blaze set off blasts so vio-lent they flattened build-ings, killing hundreds and trapping countless others under debris.

Small detonations continued to shake Brazza-ville, capital of the Repub-lic of Congo, on Monday. Sunday’s blasts buckled numerous buildings, in-cluding two churches and a hospital and exploded win-dows nearly 10 kilometres away across the Congo Riv-er in the heart of Kinshasa, capital of the neighbouring Central African nation of Congo.

G8 Summit

THE White House has abruptly announced it has scuttled plans

to hold the coming G8 eco-nomic summit in Chicago and would instead host world leaders at the presi-dential retreat at Camp David in Maryland’s moun-tains north of Washington.

It was an unusually late location change for a large and highly scripted international summit and came with little ex-planation from the White House. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the for-mer White House chief of staff who personally lobbied President Barack Obama to hold the summit in Chicago, was informed of the change only on Monday.

THE Commission on Elections (Come-lec) on Tuesday

said it is seriously con-sidering exercising its option to purchase the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCO machines used during the 2010 presi-dential elections for the upcoming May 2013 na-tional and local polls.

Appearing before the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms, Comelec Chair-man Sixto Brillantes said the decision was based on consensus among Comelec commission-ers and for the practical reason that the poll body had already paid 67 per-cent of the contract price for the PCOS machines.

Brillantes said the Comelec can purchase the PCOS machines for the 2013 and 2016 polls by paying the balance of 33 percent, or about P1.8 billion, under its contract with Smart-matic, a private company

which owns the PCOS machines.

“Due to the time con-straint, restricted bud-get and the lower cost entailed by buying the old PCOS than buying new machines, we are seriously thinking of em-ploying our options to purchase the machines,” Brillantes said.

His statement elic-ited several questions from the members of the committee headed by Cavite Rep. Elpidio Bar-zaga Jr.

Parañaque Rep. Roi-lo Golez said that the ma-chines, if the purchase would push through, should not be under the custody of Comelec.

“Putting the ma-chines under the sole custody of the Comelec would raise the same is-sues on tampering with the election results,” Golez said as he stressed the need to shield and insulate the poll body from this concern to pre-

Comelec keeps on buying PCOS machines for 2013

FCOMELEC, 13

13FfROM 1

FfROM 12FfROM 2

FfROM 4

FfROM 1

Cop...

Comelec..ONB...

Pacman..

Globe...VOL.5 ISSUE 3 • MARCH 7, 2012EDGEDAVAO

serve its credibility.On the other hand, Va-

lenzuela City Rep. Magtang-gol Gunigundo was inter-ested on the source codes to be used, who is keeping them and who will design the source codes to be used in next year’s elections.

“We also wanted to know if the PCOS machines are still technologically cur-rent,” he said noting the rapid advancement of technology and that the machines will have been three years old by 2013.

According to Brillantes, the PCOS machines are not yet obsolete and will proba-bly be kept in the Smartmatic warehouse where they are currently being maintained.

To preserve the integ-rity of the machines once the election process starts, he suggested that all politi-cal parties be invited to have their respective representa-tives present in the ware-house until such time the machines will be transported to the poll precincts.

For the source codes, Brillantes said that the ma-chines would utilize the same ones used during the 2010 elections.

“The source codes are currently safeguarded at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and will be enhanced according to the parameters of the 2013 elections,” he said.

Brillantes said that Comelec has until March 14, 2012 to decide and enter into a contract with Smartmatic for the purchase of the PCOS. (pna)

Republic of the PhilippinesDepartment of Transportation and Communications

MARITIME INDUSTRY AUTHORITYRegional Office XI

Case NO. DMRO 12-013-A Application for Amendment of Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC)

NEREIdS INC.ORDER

Before us, is the Application for thew Amendment of Certificate of Public Conve-nience of above –named applicant, specially for the addition of the vessel MBca FLY-ING SQUID to its fleet and to operate the same in a passenger island tour service on a deregulated schedule, from 6;00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. daily in the route: From Sta. Ana Pier, Davao City to any point within the Island Garden City of Samal and vice versa.

Notice is hereby given that the said Application will be heard by this Authority on March 19, 2012 at 10:00 A. M. at the Marina-RO XI Conference Room,

2nd Floor Tan Bldg. Monteverde Ave., Davao CityThe Applicant shall publish this Order once in a newspaper of general circulation,

or shall post said Order in the MARINA website, at least ten (10) days prior to the above date.

The Applicant shall likewise furnish a copy of its Application and this Order to the affected parties.

Parties opposed to the grant of the Application must file their written opposition supported by documentary evidence on or before the above date, furnishing a copy of the same to the Applicant, and may, if they so desire, appear on said date and time.

The Applicant shall submit a written Formal Offer of Evidence (FOE) during the hearing of five (5) days thereafter.

WITNESS, the Honorable Administrator, EMERSON M. LORENZO, this 22nd day of February 2012 at Davao City, Philippines.

(SGd) MARIANItO d. MENdOZA, CESO V Regional Director

accompanied Pacquiao in the latter’s residence and has not been seen since,” Espejo reported.

An earlier press state-ment from the Philippine Na-tional Police said the suspect (whose surname was spelled Aquia) has been charged with violation of Republic Act 6539 or the Anti-Carnapping Act.

The case was filed against Aquia after the High-way Patrol Group arrested a village official here for pos-session of a stolen Hyundai Starex van. The village of-ficial identified Aquia as the source of the “hot car” that was carjacked from a busi-nessman in Angeles City and replaced with a license plate registered to showbiz celeb-rity Luis Manzano, according to the PNP statement.

Pacquiao’s lawyers filed the libel suit late Monday af-ternoon at the city prosecu-

tor’s office.Espejo, former editor-

in-chief of SunStar General Santos said he has yet to for-mally receive a copy of the complaint but that he was able to obtain a copy from a third party.

“I’ll stand by my story,” he told MindaNews, noting that he is still trying to find a lawyer to help him and that he is still waiting for the of-ficial copy of the complaint before issuing any more comments.

In the two articles that were the bases of Pacquiao’s complaint, Espejo wrote that Pacquiao could not be reached for comment at the time because he was in the United States promoting his upcoming fight with Ameri-can Timothy Bradley.

Pacquiao’s lawyer, Fran-cisco ‘Bong’ Gacal said he was not aware Akia was in his client’s residence, the ar-

branches in Iznart in Il-oilo City and the towns of Oton, Tigbauan, Miag-ao, Sta. Barbara and Oton.

Nelson L. Billena, bank branching head, bared that the bank will continue to look for growth areas where it could set up a branch, in-cluding those areas that have not had any bank at all. “Our desire is to reach out to communities that are growing which need modern banking services,” he said.

Late in January, the bank held the soft opening of a branch in Makati, the first ever outside Mind-anao. The bank decided to put up a branch in the fi-nancial center of the coun-try to serve the banking needs of its parent com-

pany, the Consunji Group.The bank also opened

its branches in Esperanza, Sultan Kudarat and Balin-gasag in Misamis Oriental.

The Balingasag branch was supposed to be located in Baganga, Davao Oriental which the bank had to transfer to the area after it failed to find a good location in the mu-nicipality.

Next month, the bank is also hoping to open branches in Sangali, a fishing port in Zamboan-ga City, and Butuan City.

The bank is look-ing at renovating key branches, particularly those that have smaller offices, although he did not mention how much is the bank spending for this program.

31, Cagangohan village at 12:15 p.m. and declared a robbery.

The establishment is owned by Filipino-Chi-nese Leo Apalie Lai, 28.

Senior Insp. Gretchin Cinco, deputy spokesper-son of the Southern Min-danao regional police, initially identified those slain as Dexter Marcel-lones, one of the two sus-pects; Edgar Mocos, se-curity guard; Allen Jones Polo, driver; and Irene Zamora, who was taken hostage by the suspects.

Meanwhile, Darios Pi-lotos, a caretaker for Lai’s warehouse, was rushed

to Rivera Hospital after sustaining injuries.

Pepino said that the robbers, who were eventually killed by po-licemen, took Zamora hostage after taking P900,000 from the estab-lishment. They used Lai’s car as a getaway vehicle but were only able to drive 20 meters from the shop before they were killed by police.

He said that Alam-pay died from a gunshot wound to the head and that they were still try-ing to determine who fired the bullet that killed Zamora.

of the whole to tackle the issue, with Councilor Pilar C. Braga, SP’s energy committee chair, presiding.

This allowed the vice mayor to join the discussion and ask questions of the telcos representatives.

Duterte minced no words in expressing his disappointment over the telcos’ failure to properly inform and communicate with local officials and that it was the height of irony as they are giant communications companies.

The vice mayor reminded them of the assistance that the city had extended to the companies.

He said he personally went up to the hills and appealed to the New

People’s Army rebels “not to touch your satellites because these are for everybody.”

Duterte recalled that there was an agreement between him and the t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s companies in 2004 to allow subscribers to contact Central 911 by simply dialing 911 on their cellular phones.

“Is it a matter of revenue? Tell me because everyone knows that you telecommunications companies have earned billions because everyone uses celphones,” the vice mayor asked Melvin Santos, Globe national carrier relations head.

“No, your honor, it has nothing to do with revenue,” Santos said.

Santos explained that since Central 911 subscribes to the local PLDT, the call made by a person from his Globe celphone is transferred from Globe top PLDT first before reaching Central 911. He said the

heavy traffic (volume of calls and text messages) could hinder the fast arrival of the message at Cental 911.

Anthony Fernandez, SMART Communications regulatory head, later told the councilors that his company had conducted tests on the problem and have found the reason for it.

He said that when the agreement was reached in 2004, the cellphones were simple, the ones that did not have cameras and other advanced accessories.

He said that tests proved that it was easier for simple phones to access 911, but difficult for so-called smartphones.

Fernandez said smartphones have assigned vanity numbers such as “000,” “112,” or “911.” He said these disturb the codes used in transferring messages from the telcos to PLDT and eventually to 911.

Councilor Rene Lopez also berated the telcos

for insensitivity to the welfare of the public by not informing about the matter.

“ B e i n g t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n companies, you had all the time and opportunity to communicate with the people, through television and other forms of media, but you can not deny you did not inform the people,’ Dr. Lopez said.

“ As I have emphasized again and again, this matter involves life and death. Sunog. Ambulansiya. You should let us know,” the vice mayor said.

Duterte later apologized for the harsh words he had uttered against the telcos on the issue but that it could not be helped because the lives of poor people were involved, referring to the importance of Central 911 in saving lives.

The telco officials vowed to fix the problem in two weeks so the public can contact Central 911 quickly.

ticle said.Gacal, younger brother

of long time Pacquiao lawyer Franklin ‘Jeng’ Gacal Jr, said he will have to confirm the reports with the eight-time world boxing champion, it added.

“Knowing Congress-man (Pacquiao) and Jinky, they do not allow Gensan (General Santos) guests to stay in their mansion,” Gacal said even as he said he will inform Pacquiao about the rumor that Akia is still holed up inside the residence of the congressman, according to the articles.

In the MindaNews ar-ticle, the piece continued by citing a report posted on www.journal.com.ph on Feb-ruary 26.

The Journal report said that police personnel were ready to arrest Akia at the General Santos City airport morning of February 11 but when Akia noticed the pres-ence of policemen, he hur-riedly went to see Pacquiao, who had just arrived on board a commercial plane from Manila and was walking on his way to his Hummer ve-hicle with “Pacman” special plate. [bong sarMiento/MinDanews]

14 SCIENCE/ENVIRONMENTVOL.5 ISSUE 3 • MARCH 7, 2012 EDGEDAVAO

EARTH is set for a close encounter of the asteroid kind,

with a space rock capable of causing damage equiva-lent to a nuclear explosion passing extremely close to the planet.

But NASA scientists say we won’t need a Bruce Willis-style intervention, with the risk of an actual impact deemed very low, the Daily Mail reported.

The asteroid, named 2012 DA14, is expected to pass within 27358km of Earth on February 15, 2013 - something which is closer than many man-made satellites orbiting the planet.

This is believed to be the first asteroid spotted this close to Earth before it was actually passing.

Asteroid 2012 DA passes the Earth around every six months, NASA scientists said.

Scientists spotted 2012 DA14 in February, and calculated that it had a very similar trajectory to Earth’s. Early on, there was even fears that an impact could be possible, but a US astronomer has all but ruled it out.

“Asteroid 2012 DA14 is

Earth’s close encounter of the asteroid kind

SENATE minority lead-er Alan Peter Cayeta-no urged the Depart-

ment of Education (DepEd) to focus on improving the quality of education in the country especially in the area of science.

The senator lamented that the Philippines, de-spite allotting the most time to science education in elementary in the South-east Asia, continues to rank poorly in comparison to other countries in the re-gion.

He cited a study by the South East Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) that puts the Philippine time allotment to science at 1,100 minutes per week as compared to Brunei’s 810 minutes, Sin-

gapore’s 540 minutes and Malaysia’s 360 minutes.

He then compared this to the county’s ranking in the annual Global Competi-tiveness report that pegged the quality of science and education in the country at 112th out of 139 countries in 2010-2011 and 115th out of 142 countries in 2011-2012.

“With the amount of time we spent learning science, shouldn’t we be performing better com-pared to our neighbors?” he asked.

The minority leader pointed out that these re-sults should urge DepEd to focus on improving the quality of education rather than only the quantity or the number of years a stu-

dent spends in school as a result of the K+12 program.

He suggested that this be done through a careful review and improvement of the existing elementary science and math curricula.

“Rather than asking stu-dents to spend more time in school, efforts should be focused on enhancing the quality of education they receive when they are in school,” he said.

Cayetano also said that adding more years to basic education will only put unnecessary strain on teachers and the country’s already limited educational resources if this is not com-plemented with efforts to also improve the quality of education students will get from school.

almost certainly not going to hit Earth next February. And by “almost certainly”, I mean it. The odds of an impact are so low they are essentially zero. This does not rule out an impact at some future date, but for now we’re safe,” Phil Plait wrote on his space blog, Bad Astronomy.

“Seventeen thousand miles (27358km) is well

beneath many of our own orbiting satellites. To the best of my knowledge, this is the closest pass of a decent-sized asteroid ever seen before the actual pass itself. However, let’s again be very clear - it will miss. In astronomical terms, 17,000 miles is pretty close, but in real human terms it’s a clean miss,” he said.

“After its visit next

year, 2012 DA14 is not expected to make another pass at the Earth until 2020, but even then the likelihood of collision was just one in 100,000, “he added.

Early reports of the asteroid’s 2013 visit had suggested it could hit the Earth, sending users on social microblogging site Twitter in a panic.

Cayetano pushes for upgrading of quality of science education

A UN team has ar-rived in Australia to investigate pos-

sible damage to the Great Barrier Reef by the min-ing industry.

Fears that coal ex-ports and oil and gas exploration would jeop-ardise the reef prompted the Unesco delegation’s visit.

Environmentalists have urged the govern-ment to suspend mining development until a gov-ernment review is com-pleted.

The reef is home to 400 types of coral and 1,500 species of fish.

The Great Barrier Reef, which holds Unes-co World Heritage sta-tus, lies off the coast of the state of Queensland, which is the largest pro-ducer of coal in the coun-try.

The Unesco team is scheduled to visit the reef for a week before making recommendations to the World Heritage commit-tee. They will also meet members of the govern-ment.

Environmentalists are concerned that an in-crease in coal production and the shipping traffic that would follow could

affect the Great Barrier Reef ’s World Heritage status.

They want the gov-ernment to suspend all new developments while a state and federal re-view of the health of the reef is carried out.

Greenpeace Austra-lia Pacific’s senior cli-mate and energy cam-paigner John Hepburn said the mining indus-try was threatening the reef ’s future.

“The Great Barrier Reef is in danger from the coal industry and the fos-sil fuel boom that is hap-pening, but it is a reck-less expansion that will have direct impacts both in terms of the dredging as well as the increased shipping, as well as the impact of climate change

on the Great Barrier Reef,” he said.

The BBC’s Phil Mer-cer says the exploitation of oil and gas is driv-ing industrial expansion along much of Australia’s most famous wilderness area, including plans for the world’s biggest coal port near the town of Bowen.

The Australian gov-ernment has imposed strict guidelines to en-sure water quality and protect marine life dur-ing development.

But the reef presents a familiar conundrum for resource-rich Aus-tralia - the demands of a powerful and lucrative mining industry against the needs of the environ-ment, our correspondent adds.

UN team examines mining threat to Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef off the Queensland coast is home to a wealth of marine life.

THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources

(DENR) here is recom-mending for at least 3,000 hectares of watershed ar-eas in the Davao Region to be reforested to arrest degradation and ensure sustainable supply of wa-ter following the national greening program.

Jaime O. Sampulna, DENR regional director, said as instructed by DENR Secretary Ramon Paje, the bid to rehabilitate water-sheds will be participated in by students, non-gov-ernment organizations and other sectors to mobi-lize tree-planting activities within the priority water-sheds in the region.

Sampulna said there are 54 identified water-sheds in the region, in-cluding the watersheds of Tagum-Libuganon, Tu-ganay in Davao del Norte; Cateel, Manay, Upper Bi-tangan in Mati, in Davao Oriental; and Saug water-shed in Compostela Valley. These areas are considered priorities of the rehabilita-tion program.

Meanwhile, some 800 hectares will be allotted for

the nationwide expansion program of clonal nursery with the convergence of the Department of Agri-culture (DA), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and DENR. The planting sites will preferably be near the Agrarian Reform Communities (ARCs) in different areas.

“Part of the program is the production of qual-ity planting materials of forest and fruit trees and the rehabilitation as well as expansion of clonal fa-cilities and nurseries in the country,” said Sam-pulna.

In Davao Region, he said the clonal nursery is located in Magdum, Tagum City. It produced a total of 21,956 seedlings and wildlings of narra, ma-hogany, tangile, and lauan last year. Out of these, 10,000 planting materials were distributed to vari-ous stakeholders.

This year, the targeted seedling production is 1.5 million, and out of these, 150,000 seedlings of in-digenous tree species will be produced by the clonal nursery, Sampulna said. [pna]

DENR pushes reforestation of 3,000-hectare watersheds

GOVERNMENT aims to better boost its campaign against

air pollution by beginning to further raise by Janu-ary 1, 2016 the exhaust emission standards for all new passenger and light-duty motor vehicles to be introduced in the local market.

The Environmen-tal Management Bureau (EMB) believes requiring such vehicles to comply with Euro 4 standards

will further reduce their respective emissions’ sulphur content which is among air pollutants and ingredients for dangerous acid deposition.

“Requiring Euro 4 compliance is also in line with harmonization of standards within the As-sociation of Southeast Asian Nations to which the Philippines belongs,” said EMB Air Quality Sec-tion chief Jean Rosete.

European emission

standards define the ac-ceptable limits for ex-haust emissions of new vehicles sold.

EMB continues pro-moting concerted multi-sectoral action against air pollution as studies show this problem is environ-mentally degrading and a threat to human health.

“Vehicles’ carbon diox-ide emissions contribute to global warming which drive climate change,” Ro-sete also said.

PHL to upgrade emission standards

INdulge! VOL.5 ISSUE 3 • MARCH 7, 2012

EDGEDAVAOWOMEN UP AND ABOUT

INdulge! Asked some of Davaoeños to share their thoughts on the issue. YES. I favor divorce and see it not as an easy exit from mari-tal troubles but an ap-propr i ate measure to reinstate the humanity of two persons who recog-nize their worthiness in a relation-ship. PROF. ADRIAN TAMAYO, economist and social scientist, Uni-versity of Mindanao.

Y E S . B r o k e n f a m i l i e s are now rampant. One result is financial t r o u b l e due to unsettled bus iness and prop-erty own-

ership issues. Many more problems arise from loss of love between cou-ples. Day in and day out, husband and wife plot against each other instead of creating ways to nurture the marriage and benefit from the relationship. The innocent children become the collateral damage in the untenable situation. Divorce is a bet-ter option, an opportunity to move on in pursuit of happiness, which to me is one of the most important human rights. SAMUEL ABRE-NILLA, president, Davao Inventors Association

NO. With divorce, we can no lon-ger take pride in the Philippines’ be-ing the last bastion of a determined familial togetherness. I think Fili-pinos always have a way of solving domestic problems without having to break the sanctity of marriage. Let’s not suffer the children. We are known to be resilient, loving, forgiv-ing and compromising under given circumstances. Divorce should not be the way out, even as a last re-course. ARIEL SEBELLINO, Philip-pine Press Institute. AS a Muslim, divorce is okay. But I don’t suggest it for Christians because it means going against the teachings of their Church, which dis-approves of divorce. ZAMZAMIN AMPATUAN, former undersecre-tary of the Department of Energy and head of the Office of Muslim Affairs and Southern Philippines Development Administration. NOPE! Definitely not. As in mawala ang sanctity of marriage and treatment of marriage seriously as it should be. Ma-disregard pud ang bounden duty of married couples to strive hard to attain and maintain good conjugal relationship. Naay possibility na di mag-exert og effort ang couple to solve problems kay naa nay convenient escape called di-vorce. The moment dili na nila feel magkaayos, bulag dayon, unsa pay dugayan. Mora og ingon niana ang konsepto sa divorce. SYDNEY, a col-lege scholar, Oikawa-Rotary Club of East Davao scholarship YES. Legal separation and annul-ment by the courts and annulment allowed under the Canon Law of the Catholic Church are similar to di-vorce, only divorce is better because the separated partners can legally remarry. It is a good idea and a prac-tical and just way to give couples

a second chance to be happy and fulfilled. It will entail cost, yes, but which important thing in life does not involve cost? ARTHUR UY, president of Rotary Club of South Davao and chairman of the Council of Presidents (COP) of the Rotary Clubs of Davao.

YES. Forc-ing couples to live together with irrecon-cilable differ-ences will not only harm them psycho-logically and emotionally, worse it will adversely af-fect the chil-dren, who will become the innocent victims. TEK O CAMPO, television an-chorman. NO. I

believe in the sanctity of marriage. Legalizing divorce will only make failed marriages more prevalent in this country. YOLY CRISANTO, Globe ex-ecutive. NO, it will just weaken m a r r i a g e relationship and nega-tively affect the children. ALEX BUE-N A V E N -TURA, One N e t w o r k Bank presi-dent.

WE do not have divorce here in the Philippines but it is one of the most talked about issues right now. Has the absence of divorce actually helped in keeping marriages intact or has it become a hindrance for couples, es-pecially women, to live their lives, as they should?

Discussing divorce YOU are wanted at the Araw ng Dabaw Food Festival. The food festival, orga-nized by the Pofta Buna Events Organizing team, is a dining destination where you can experience a mouth-watering array of food from different restaurateurs, chefs, caterers, and food hobbyists. It is a haven of bestselling cui-sines such as uniquely-grilled meat, tasty kebabs, pure lean beef burgers, scrumptious paella, spring rolls brim-ming with flavor, heavenly salad dressings you can bring home and irresistibly sweet and creamy cakes and pas-tries. All these and more from the following establishments you will find at the festival: Belito’s Vineyard, Café Aseya, Cubiyertos, Duo Commis, Gino’s All American Burgers, AJML Goat Farm and Cater-

ing Services, Go Nuts Donuts, Kitchen Pantry, Kuya Chito’s Kakanin, Margie’s Bakeshop, Ngoyong Haus, Penong’s, Pepper & Peppers, Sencha Fresh Tea Sensations and Za-badani Café. These are just some of the booths you can look forward to at the festi-val. On top of all the great-tast-ing food finds, you can also attend short cooking dem-onstrations and participate in fun-filled activities. What bet-ter way to celebrate Davao’s 75th anniversary than eating to your heart’s content and having fun at the same time? So come, celebrate a gas-tronomic feast at the Pofta Buna Araw ng Dabaw Food Festival on March 16 and 17, 2012 at the Pryce Business Park from 11a.m to 9p.m. En-trance is free.

Pofta Buna food festival kicks off on March 16

THE Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) of Davao, Inc.

invited college leaders to a College YMCA Club Lead-ers’ Forum held Febru-ary 22 at the YMCA board room.

The eight who at-tended were Keith Maceda and Kevin de Leon of Holy Cross of Davao College; Marck Angelo Paulin and Raymond Helicame of DMMA College of South-ern Philippines; Richard Martinez, Ivan Christopher Papa and Shaquille Do-mingo of Philippine Wom-en’s College of Davao; and Jennie Cel Adolfo of Davao Doctors’ College.

YMCA general secre-tary Sylvia L. Piedad talked on YMCA’s History, Chal-

lenges and Ideals while program assistant Joefrech G. Luga led discussion on what is “College Y” the name given to a college YMCA club and other basic programs of the YMCA.

In an open forum pre-sided over by program committee chair William “Butch” I. Ramirez, the participants learned more about the YMCA move-ment from resource speak-ers Ramirez and lawyer Antonio B. Partoza, Jr., who replied the college leaders’ questions.

“YMCA is a genuine organization. The commu-nity needs an organization of its kind, and you can help us bring it to them,” Ramirez said told the col-lege leaders.

YMCA Davao hosts college leaders forum

THE Philippines’ largest national flag carrier, Cebu Pacific (PSE:CEB) announces it will mount additional domestic flights in anticipation of the summer peak period in the Philippines. This is also in time for the arrival of two more brand-new Airbus A320 aircraft from Toulouse, France this March 2012. The following CEB routes will become daily from Febru-ary 8 to June 15, 2012: Cebu-Dipolog, Cebu-Legazpi and Ce-bu-Pagadian. Three more weekly flights will be added to the Cebu-Puerto Princ-esa route, making it 10 times weekly from March 17 to June 4, 2012. From March 24 to April 25, 2012, CEB is also add-ing flights to the following routes: M a n i l a - Le g a z p i and Manila-Puerto Princesa (total of 4 daily flights each). “We know that these additional flights and con-nectivity will play a big part in entic-ing more local and foreign tourists to these destina-tions. Legazpi is the gateway to whale shark encounters in Donsol, Sorsogon. Meanwhile, CEB re-mains the largest airline operating to and from Puerto Princesa, which is world-renowned for its Underground River,” said CEB VP for Marketing and Distribution Candice Iyog. The summer peak months of March and April will also see flight frequency increases for the following routes: Cebu-Bacolod (total of 17 weekly flights), Cebu-Caticlan (3 daily flights), Cebu-Davao (5 daily flights), Davao-Iloilo (2 daily flights) and Cebu-Siargao (4 weekly flights). CEB is the only airline flying direct to Siargao, an international surfing destination. Flight frequency additions will be extended from March 24 to June 4, 2012 for the following high-traffic routes: Ma-nila-Cebu (total of 99 weekly flights), Manila-Bacolod (40 weekly flights) and Manila-Iloilo (7 daily flights). “Because of these additional flights, passengers have more travel and flight options. We encourage passengers to book in advance to get the best travel deals, and to do web check-in for added convenience before their flights,” Iyog added. CEB offers free web check-in service with free seat selec-tion, from 48 hours up to 4 hours before all Airbus flights. Passengers automatically get assigned a seat for free dur-ing the web check-in process through the Manage Book-ings section in the CEB website. For bookings and inquiries, guests can go to www.cebu-pacificair.com, or call the reservation hotlines (02) 7020-888 or (032) 230-8888. The latest seat sales and promos can also be found on CEB’s official Twitter and Facebook pages. CEB flew close to 12 million passengers from January to December 2011, an increase of 14% over 10.5 million pas-sengers in 2010. It will launch the following flights in the 1st half of 2012: Manila-Hanoi (March 17), Manila-Xiamen and Kalibo-Hong Kong (March 23), and Manila-Siem Reap (April 19). CEB currently operates 10 Airbus A319, 20 Airbus A320 and 8 ATR-72 500 aircraft. Its fleet of 38 aircraft – with an av-erage age of 3.6 years – is one of the most modern aircraft fleets in the world. Between 2012 and 2021, Cebu Pacific will take delivery of 22 more Airbus A320 and 30 Airbus A321neo aircraft orders, and 2 Airbus A320 aircraft on op-erating lease agreements.

A2 INdulge! VOL.5 ISSUE 3 • MARCH 7, 2012EDGEDAVAO

CompostElA Val-ley marks the 2nd day of the 5th Bu-lawan festival and

14th founding anniversary with a synchronized tree planting activity with more or less 500,000 seedlings planted province wide on march 6. In fact, this year’s Bulawan festival is anchored on its theme: “Comval…shines at 14, Going Green!” participated by almost all sec-tors from the provincial, munici-pal, down to barangay level, national line agencies and private sectors, the provincial govern-ment was able to organize about 50,000 planters with a target of 10 seedlings per individual. In line with the National Green-ing program, Comval formally launched its provincial Greening program on June 18, 2011. the target is 20,000,015 trees planted and grown by year 2015! thus, dubbed as “20million15 trees.”

Although the environmental protection program were already in place and has been one of the priorities under Gov. Arturo Uy’s administration, it continues to fast track the greening initiatives and has mobilized not only the lGUs but all sectors for the full support and ensure the success of the pro-gram. to date, Comval has already planted a total of 1.8million of as-sorted trees and industrial crops ranging from forest trees such as

mahogany, Falcata, Narra, Aca-cia mangium and all types of fruit trees and high value commercial crops like Rubber, Cacao and Coffee. It can be recalled that on Febru-ary 24, 2011, president Benigno s Aquino III issued Executive order (Eo) 26, declaring the implemen-tation of the National Greening program as a government prior-ity program and led the launching of the NGp with the Department of Environment and Natural Re-

s o u r c e s ad lead a g e n c y. N G p seeks to plant 1.5 b i l l i o n seedlings in 1.5 m i l l i o n hectares of pub-lic lands n a t i o n -wide in six years, f r o m 2011 to

TRAVEL

CEB adds even more domestic flights for summer

Because of these additional flights, passengers have more travel and flight options. We encourage passengers to book in advance to get the best travel deals, and to do web check-in for added convenience before their flights

Synchronized tree planting in Comval’s 5th Bulawan festComval shines at 14…Going green!

THIS March, Esquire Philippines releases the Style Issue by training the spotlight on everything that’s stylish for every Esquire Man – from the best restaurants in the Philippines to the best hotels in the world and the ultimate guide on watches and bags for every occasion. The Style Issue also features an exclusive interview by Esquire’s web editor and Pres-idential nephew Jonty Cruz with every-one’s current obsession, Grace Lee. Grace candidly talks about her career, the Sound of Music, Korean Tourists, and her rumored relationship with incumbent President Noynoy Aquino. On the cover of Esquire Philippines’ Style Issue is one of the country’s Original Pili-pino Music icons Ely Buendia. The former front man of the widely-known and now-defunct band Eraserheads finally talks about the band, the songs he wrote, the

fallout, and where life is taking Ely now. “I wouldn’t trade places with the past and now,” says Ely. “That’s the kind of phi-losophy I’m trying to adopt now, like really

appreciating the present, not to be too identified with the past.” Esquire Philippines’ editor-in-chief Erwin Ro-mulo also takes the liberty of unravel-ing what goes on in the mind of Ely Buendia.

The March issue of Esquire Philippines is available in newsstands and bookstores nationwide for P195. All iPad users also get a chance to have a copy of the Style Issue’s alternate cover of Ely Buendia. For more details, check out Esquire online via www.esquiremagazine.ph, become a fan of Es-quire on Facebook via www.facebook.com/EsquirePH, and follow them on Twit-ter via Twitter.com/EsquirePH.

The former front man of the widely-known and now-defunct band Eraserheads, Ely Buendia graces the cover of the latest issue of Esquire Philippines.

SAN MIGUEL BEER SUMMER BABADPointblank band wins the first week of San Miguel Beer’s Summer Babad at Taboan, Matina Town Square.

A3INdulge! VOL.5 ISSUE 3 • MARCH 7, 2012 EDGEDAVAO

LAST month, GMA Network launched its high-calibre primetime offering drama se-ries My Beloved. My Beloved’s blockbuster cast is led by the country’s most popular loveteam and one of today’s hottest couples in the entertainment business, Dingdong Dantes and Marian Rivera. Dantes plays the role of Benjie/Ar-lan, an angel of death who takes on a human form to save the life of his be-loved woman Sharina (played by Ri-vera), the beautiful mortal who falls in love with a fallen angel. Joining Dingdong and Marian are some of today’s most bankable names in drama- Paolo Contis, Katrina Halili and Chanda Romero. The primetime series also stars two of today’s most sought-after loveteams: Jennica Gar-cia- Carl Guevarra and Louise Delos Reyes-Alden Richards. Under the direction of Dominic Zapata with original concept by RJ Nuevas, My Beloved showcases a beautiful and timeless tale of undying love between two people of two differ-ent worlds. Catch the cast of My Beloved with no less than Marian Rivera and Ding-dong Dantes on March 17 live at SM Davao Event Centre. Admission is

free. SM Davao celebrates Araw ng Da-baw with a weeklong mall-wide sale event beginning March 12. Mall hours are extended to 10PM on March 12-16 and until midnight (12MN) on March 17

Celebrate Life in the City at SM City Davao, where we all come together! For inquiries, please call 297.6998 local 126. Like SM City Davao on Facebook or visit www.smcitydavao.blogspot.com for event and promo update.

ENTERTAINMENT

Esquire Philippines’ March issue is all about style

Marian Rivera, Dingdong Dantes at SM, March 17!

Among the newly-acquired equipment are the LED operating room lights that can be adjust-ed as desired by a sen-sor activated by placing a hand near it. Another is the latest model of cautery machine that is more accurate in cutting and coagulation. Con-sidered top of the line in its category, a number of Hillrom - branded stretchers and beds were purchased. In addition, a new gas sterilizer is provided to efficiently maintain ste-rility of OR supplies and instruments. Moreover, already pro-cessed for acquisition

are new OR instruments, OR tables, state of the art cardiac monitor with gas analyzer, and an or-thopaedic extension set with C-arm that features continuous xray during operation. The OR Complex is currently manned by well-trained workforce of 24 active surgeons, not to mention the active OB-Gyne consultants and vis-iting surgeons; 18 nurses and 6 OR technicians. Patient safety is of utmost concern of the hospi-tal when it developed its OR Complex. According to Dr. Jean Lindo, ac-tive consultant: “There is a minimum standard of

patient care and safety set by the Philippine Society of Anesthesiologists, but [here in Brokenshire] we are trying to surpass it.” “It’s a milestone in the history of Brokenshire Hospital in having the renovation [of the OR]

and acquisition of new equipment. This will help the doctors to provide excellent surgical care at affordable cost to our patients,” declared Dr. Tomas Monteverde III, MD, chair of the Surgery Department.

A4 INdulge!HEALTH MOTHERHOOD

CUTTING OF RIBBON ( From left to right: Engr. Edwin G. Juit (Hospital Administrator), Dr. Edgar B. Ramiterre (Medical Director) , Mr. Moises C. Arendain (BOT Chairperson), Rev. Ruben L. Dela Cruz, Ph.D. (Chief Executive Officer ).

OR Nurse Unit Manager Santiago Ompang and CEO (center) with active Nurses of Operating Room Unit

Former Chairperson of the Board Mr. Jules Larry S. Estacion (center below) with BIHMI Board of Trustees and Officers

Dr. Tomas J. Monteverde III (standing) and CEO with Brokenshire Partners

LEFT: OR Complex Hallway. ABOVE AND BELOW: The new state of the art OR Equipments.

VOL.5 ISSUE 3 • MARCH 7, 2012EDGEDAVAO

Brokenshire Hospital opens state of the art OR complexBROKENSHIRE Memorial Hospital is creating its own niche amongst top private

hospitals in Mindanao when recently it opened its new Operating Room Com-plex, featuring state of the art equipment and 10 operating theaters. “It is the biggest operating room, so far, in Mindanao when it comes to private hospitals,

“ said Santiago Ompang II, RN, OR unit manager.

By Meghann Sta. Ines

A model-thin advertis-ing mogul who lives out of a suitcase and boasts of a collection

of shoes, bags, clothes, and ac-cessories profuse enough to fit the closet of a fashion maga-zine. This is the movie in my mind. Or, should I say, was. I had a wish list of what I wanted to happen to my life in the next 7 years. I dreamed, prayed, and hoped. Despite the movie character I longed to become, I remained realis-tic. At the time, I was enjoying my new found career in pub-lic relations. I was always on the go as my mind went wild with creative ideas and color-ful imaginations. I was (and, if the schedule permits, still am) a workaholic by day, social but-terfly by night. I was, then, 22 years old. Fast forward to 7 years, my profile now reads: Film school graduate, public relations manager, advertising creative, word wizard, fashion fanatic, partyphile, photo hobbyist, oc-casional stylist cum art director, and SINGLE MOTHER. Fate came a-calling just days before my 23rd birthday. The two tell-tale lines on the preg-nancy test led me to silent cries of disbelief as I went through the whole painful ordeal and discovery of such unexpected chaos. The truth didn’t quite sink in (or maybe I chose not to believe the sign) until I took my third test. I wanted to lash out on friends who comforted me by saying that my 7 week old baby was the greatest gift God could ever give me for my birthday. “YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! MY LIFE IS OVER!” I didn’t know what the future held for me, nor did I know what a baby would mean in my life. Tears and fears aside, hav-ing calmed my nerves down, I swallowed the truth and in-haled courage and strength. I tried to live and breathe the air of a fulfilled woman for the rest of the 32 weeks of my pregnancy. TRIED was the op-erative word as it was hard go-ing through the difficult days alone. This mom-to-be was liv-ing on her own, with the future of the child depending on her profession and bank account. If you were an OB-Gyne, I’d say I wasn’t your usual case, with not much qualms, pregnancy woes, and discomfort… Every-thing was by choice. I didn’t go through the pa-glilihi phase because if I craved for any particular food at any given time of the day, I KNEW I WOULD HAVE TO GET IT ON MY OWN.I didn’t have dizzy spells and

morning sickness because if I fail to show up at work, I KNEW I WOULDN’T EARN ENOUGH TO SAVE FOR MY CHILD’S FU-TURE.I wasn’t slow to move at work because I WAS DRIVEN TO FIN-ISH ON TIME SO I COULD LEAVE AND DROP BY THE FAST FOOD RESTAURANTS WHERE I’D BUY MY DINNER. I endured 22 hours of la-bor without epidural, puffing through Lamaze breathing techniques and getting clock-crazy doing mental counting, BECAUSE I HAD NO ONE TO RELY ON BUT MYSELF AND THE LITTLE BUDGET I HAVE FOR CHILDBIRTH EXPENSES. From the point of child-birth to how my daughter is right now, I give credit to my friends as I have come to fully understand the blessing Tati-ana brought to my life. In her first word and step, every mile-stone she made, I found more reasons to be embrace life. My daughter is my strength now as my mom had been before. She loved me like I was her sun and moon. It is through her that I learned the art of forgiving. I shed out whatever excess baggage I had (both emotionally and physically), and found more reasons to believe that there is so much good and beauty in this world. Little things don’t bother me anymore. I’ve been through childbirth, nothing can ever rain on my parade. I devel-oped a knack for looking at the brighter side of life. I still have my shortcomings as a single parent (workaholic and unable to provide other luxuries, etc), but I try my hardest to give my daughter a better chance in liv-ing her life to the fullest. Motherhood for a single mom, like me, is a road to im-provement. I continue to be a work in progress, and I commit to be the best for my daugh-ter. I am her best frenemy to some sort, a fairy godmother and wicked witch in one form. I share my friendships, hap-piness, and troubles with her, just as she tells me of her inno-cent thoughts and takes on her daily life experiences. We bring the house down with bickers and squabbles, but make up for it with more love than I ever thought possible. It pains me to be at work when I know my daughter longs for my time and attention during the day. However, I not only need my career to provide for her, but also for her to be inspired by whatever success I can claim from using my talents and brain. What and how I am now will shape my child’s future. With her, I am living a pur-pose driven life.

Expecting the unexpected

15SPORTS

Phoenix-San Sebastian, Pacific-UE banner Araw Invitational cagefest

VOL.5 ISSUE 3 • MARCH 7, 2012EDGEDAVAO

NBA RESULTS

SCORES Utah 109Cleveland 100

Golden State 120Washington 100

Orlando 92Toronto 88

Indiana 72Chicago 92

Dallas 91Oklahoma City 95

LA Clippers 94Minnesota 95

Philadelphia 93Milwaukee 97

Sacramento 116Denver 119

New Orleans 74Portland 86

WORLD FOOTBALL

Premier LeagueManchester United 3Tottenham 1Sunderland 1Newcastle 1ItalyAtlanta 0Udinese 0Cagliari 0Siena 3Genoa 2Lecce 2Catania 2Inter Milan 2Germany Bundes LigaBayern Munich 0Bayer Leverkusen 2Werder Bremen 0Hertha Berlin 1VFB Stuttgart 4Hamburg SV 0Spanish LeagueReal Betis 1Levante 3

MMA Fighter Rankings

1. Anderson Silva (31-4)2. Jon Jones (15-1)3. Georges St-Pierre (22-2)4. Jose Aldo (21-1)5. Frankie Edgar (14-1-1)6. Dominick Cruz (18-1)7. Junior Dos Santos (14-1)8. Gilbert Melendez (20-2)8. Rashad Evans (22-1-1)10. Dan Henderson (25-7)

by NEIL bRAVO

SAN Sebastian Golden Stags, the runner-up in the 87th NCAA Sea-

son, will head the cast in the 75th Araw ng Dabaw Basketball Invitational which reels off March 20 at the Davao City Recreation Center.

The Stags will carry the Phoenix Petroleum col-ors in the four-team tour-nament sponsored by May-or Inday Sara Duterte, Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte in cooperation with Liga Dabaw and the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas.

In the last NCAA sea-son, the Stags were led by forward Calvin Abueva, center Ian Sangalang and

wingman Jonathan Semira. Calling the shots for the Stags is former PBA guard Topex Robinson.

Providing stiff chal-lenge to the Stags are the University of the East War-riors who will suit up the colors of Pacific Palm Spa Resort.

The Warriors will be bannered by Paul Chris-tian Zamar, son of former UE Red Warriors coach, former UE Red Warrior David “Boycie” Zamar, and co-captain Lucas Tagarda. They will be mentored by another former PBA star Jerry Codinera.

In the UE lineup as power forwards are Chris-topher Joyce Javier, John Michael Noble, Jairold

Flores, Erwin Duran and Adrian Santos. In the cen-ter post is Ronnie Rosetom De Leon. Playing as for-wards are Ebrahim Enguio, Joseph Nicholas Montel-ibano, Jess Mar Sabangan and Jhon Rey Sumido. The team’s point guards are Von Arvie Chavez, Shej Roi Sumang and Benjamin James Zosa. Rounding out the UE squad is Lord How-ier Casajeros as off guard.

The local challenge will be provided by Gold-star Hardware and Mon-tana Pawnshop.

The tournament will also feature exhibition matches between the Mini Basketball U-13 National squad against a Davao Se-lection. (nJb)

A million pesos in cash and a brand new mo-torcycle await the win-

ner of the hole-in-one at the Araw ng Dabaw 4th Phoenix Open this March 10 at the Rancho Palos Verdes Golf and Country Club. Pioneer Insurance is putting up the prize money at the golf tour-nament organized by Phoe-nix Petroleum Philippines.

Format is 18-hole, Stabl-eford for team, partner, and individual competitions. The tournament is open to male and female amateur golfers 21 years old and above.

Registration has started at the following outlets: Ran-cho Palos Verdes, Apo Golf and Country Club, and Davao City Golf Club. Registration fee is P5,000. Players will re-ceive a golf marker, two dri-fit golf shirts, a golf cap, and towel, to be distributed on the day of the tournament at the venue.

Each golfer is entitled to one practice round on any day from March 7 to 10 at Rancho Palos Verdes upon presentation of tournament receipt at the club’s front of-fice. Deadline of registration is on March 7, and is limited to 180 paid slots.

Special prizes will also be given for the Longest Drive, Nearest to the Pin, and Most Accurate Drive win-ners.

Awards rites will be held at the clubhouse of Ran-cho Palos Verdes at 6 pm on

March 10, with major and minor prizes to be raffled off.

The Araw ng Dabaw 4th Phoenix Open will benefit schools hit hard by Typhoon Sendong in Iligan and Cagay-an De Oro city, as well as other charities and projects of the Phoenix Philippines Foundation.

Aside from the Phoenix Open, Phoenix Petroleum will also hold the Araw ng Dabaw Phoenix Marathon on March 11. On March 17, the on-going Trip Ko Phoenix Fuels Basketball Cup Season 3 which opened last January 29 will have its champion-ship at the Davao City Recre-ation Center.

Phoenix Petroleum also sponsors the Araw ng Dabaw Cyclomax Motocross race that will be held on March 25, 2012 at the Moto-X Davao Racetrack at Crocodile Park Complex, Ma-a, Davao City.

These big sports events is organized by Phoenix Pe-troleum Philippines, Inc., and presented by Pioneer Insurance. Major sponsors are Custom Grafix Adver-tising, EEI Corporation, Mechatrends Corporation, Kangqi International, Star-pump, and Nissan. Bronze sponsors are Unifield, Loc-seal, Esbe, Yangking, and Measurement and Controls. Benefactors are Fluidynam-ics, and Apilado. Patrons are Sun Cruises/Magsaysay Transport, and MDH Cus-toms Brokerage.

P1 million cash, exciting prizes up for grabs at 4th Phoenix Open

WARRIORS. Phoenix Petroleum marketing coordinator Neb Bula-clac (left) with members of the newly crowned NSBC High School champion Assumption College of Davao and Warriors coach Ice

Gravador after the team was presented at the DSA Forum at the Tower Inn. (nJb)

COACH Isaias “Ice” Gra-vador wasn’t taken se-riously when he bared

his ‘secret’ motivational words to his boys before tip-off of the National Students Basketball Championship (NSBC) high school finals.

“I will kill you if you don’t win.”

You believe that?No. Ice was just kidding.Ice is a cool cat. It was

simply a statement to stress the urgency of the situa-tion—in any championship, you either live or die.

“Coach said let’s grab this opportunity,” said one of his boys in yesterday’s Davao Sportswriters Asso-ciation (DSA) Forum at the Tower Inn.

You got to believe that.In fact, that seemed

to be the Warriors battlec-ry from the moment they

grabbed the opportunity to represent Davao in the NSBC Finals after Davao champion Holy Child and runner-up Agro Industrial Foundation College both passed up.

“I just wanted them to have a killer instinct,” Gra-vador said. The Warriors re-sponded to Gravador’s strat-egy at the bench to apply pressing defense to the ball carriers of the opposition. The ploy worked wonders for the Warriors who were benefited with explosive numbers in the offensive end.

“We capitalized on de-fense to explode on offense.” The Agdao-based Warriors completed the tournament with a four-game sweep and a winning margin of 22 points in a devastating dis-play of defensive discipline and offensive firepower.

The Assumption College of Davao were bannered by standouts from the ongoing Trip Ko Phoenix Fuels Bas-ketball Cup Season 3 which included Alfred Joshua Cape-ding, John Vincent Cal, Pat-rick Quidato, Jvannesic Arcil-las Tarranza, Bosh Tarranza, and John Bacong.

“We are so proud that these boys stood out in the nationals. It shows that the exposure they are getting from the Phoenix tourna-ment is working well for them,” said Neb Bulaclac, marketing coordinator of Phoenix Petroleum.

Indeed, while Phoenix has fuelled the boys’ desire for excellence, coach Ice has etched in their minds that character defines one’s toughness—you either have the killer instinct or get killed (pun intended) in the finals. (neil bravo)

Cool as Ice A coach’s secret to winning the national title

DAVAO CITY, March 6 (PNA) – The provincial government of Davao

del Norte is boosting its pres-ent initiatives to attain its bid to become the sports tourism capital of Mindanao.

Provincial sports officer Giovanni I. Gulanes said the provincial government allo-cates P1.6 million as annual budget for sports develop-ment initiatives.

“We only have a limited annual budget of P1.6 mil-lion. However, this shall be augmented via supplemental budgets. Also, this is where private partners could dove-tail with the local government unit’s programs,” he said.

Among the sports activi-

ties which the province can offer are triathlon, duathlon, marathon/footraces, beach volleyball, scuba diving, spe-lunking and bankarera (a race event for small boats).

“Actually, we still have stakeholders’ consultations for this, but offhand, we look at triathlon for Talicud (in the Is-land Garden City of Samal) and spelunking for Kapalong,” he said when asked which areas in the province they are look-ing for the identified sports activities.

However, Gulanes said as a basic strategy, “we first center on the poorest ba-rangays which have tourism potentials”. This is based on the recommendation of the

Provincial Social Welfare and Development (PSWD) office.

“After due consultation with the stakeholders, we will figure out what sporting activ-ity could be aptly staged in the area. Of course, this shall be based on the terrain, resources and willingness of the people to cooperate,” he said.

Gulanes said local and provincial sports associations of a specific sports activity shall be tapped as the lead technical organizer.

Meanwhile, assistant pro-vincial administrator Romulo D. Tagalo said in developing this particular potential of the province, investments and livelihood opportunities are also expected to flourish.(pna) 

DavNor eyes sports tourism market

MANILA, March 6 (PNA) -- Philip-pine National

Shooting Association (PNSA) president Mikee Romero said the lone Fili-pino shooter who will vie in the London Olympics may just be the one to break the golden spell for the country.

“You’ll never know. The first gold may even

come from us,” said the youthful shooting presi-dent, who graced Tues-day’s PSA Forum along UN Avenue.

Romero was joined by three of the four shoot-ers hoping to get the slot awarded to the Philip-pines by the International Olympic Committee and the International Sport Shooting Federation. (pna)

PHL shooters seen to break the golden spell in London

Rory McIlroyTiger WoodsTom GillisLee WestwoodCharl SchwartzelJustin Rose

-12-10-10-8-7-7

268270270272273273

$1,026,000$501,600$501,600$273,600$216,600$216,600

Points

219pts191pts175pts144pts140pts110pts75pts41pts41pts36pts

NOW it can be told. Newly-crowned na-tional high school

students basketball cham-pion Assumption College of Davao are only a second choice alternate to partici-pate in this year’s national finals in Dagupan City.

ACD head coach Ice Gravador revealed his team was just a last min-ute substitute for Regional champion Holy Child and runner-up Agro-Industrial Foundation Colleges which both begged off.

The Holy Child Reds was first to nix the slot to the national finals because of a commitment to anoth-er basketball program. The slot was next offered to first runner-up AIFC which also turned down the right to play in the NSBC Finals because of financial woes.

Then came third plac-er Assumption College of Davao Warriors.

Under the NSBC rules, the regional champions shall shoulder their own expenses to the national championships.

The spectre of financ-ing a team’s trip to Dagu-pan City tolled heavily on the schools, but the War-riors were hell bent on competing in the nationals.

“We scrambled for solicitations and asked for everyone’s help just so we can participate. We had lit-tle time left when we were told we are given the slot, but I guess it was the boys’ desire to elevate their sta-tus that fuelled our even-tual trip to Dagupan,” said Coach Ice.

Off went the substi-tute team to the nationals. They flew to Manila on their own and then took a 6-hour bus ride to Dagu-pan City.

“On the way, I was hoping we will not draw the strong teams early because we were really tired and we had barely enough practice. We were more busy finding money,” Coach Ice bared.

Once in the hardcourt in Dagupan, the boys were

like Warriors possessed. They were suffocat-

ing their opponents with their pressure defense who could not quite make quick adjustments, result-ing to five or six quick turnovers in succession. Think about that, six turn-overs coupled with a con-version on the other end is easily 12 points. That ex-plains the huge 22-point average winning margin the Warriors set in the en-tire tournament.

They swept the tour-nament with four wins, nailing down the cham-pionship with a blowout win against Malay Nation-al High School. So badly beaten were the boys from Boracay that they must owe the Warriors a sweet taste of summer in the is-land paradise.

In the end, it was all hardwork and desire.

Coach Ice was kind of emotional when he em-phasized what they had to go through to reach the finals.

The boys responded.You can call them now

Super Subs.But if you ask me,

would Holy Child or Agro also had won the title if they were the ones who played in Dagupan?

I say no. It does not follow.

Victory, you see, goes to those who try. Not to those who pass up oppor-tunities.

So chalk that record to 5-0, not 4-0.

Four wins in Dagu-pan. One win for taking the challenge.

16

Tulip Drive, Ecoland, Davao City

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HELPING YOU MAKE INFORMED BUSINESS DEcISIONS.

SPORTS VOL.5 ISSUE 3 • MARCH 7, 2012 EDGEDAVAO

HELPING YOU MAKE INFORMED BUSINESS DEcISIONS.

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8100 PhilippinesTel. No.: (084) 216-3003Cell No,: 0939-243-8539

You can now buy your weekly paper fill of in-depth business news and features from any of these

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Tagum

Assumption Warriors are the new “Super Subs”

SEVENTH ranked Er-icka Mae Manduriao fell in ambush to un-

ranked Nethmie Waduge of Sri Lanka while three other Filipina bets also bowed out right in the first round of the ITF Asia 14 & Under Development Championships–Division I tennis tournament at the Rizal Memorial tennis courts yesterday.

Waduge held off Man-duriao’s fightback in the second set to complete a 6-3, 7-5 victory to join the romp of the foreign bets in the five-day tournament put up by the Interna-tional Tennis Federation Grand Slam Development Fund to create the first-ever ranking system for ju-nior players in the region.

No. 10 Tzu Hui Chen of Chinese-Taipei survived Ingrid Mariz Gonzales, scrambling with a 7-5, 6-4 victory, while sixth ranked Seon Young Um of Korea settled down after a shaky first set stint to sweep Maia Bernadette Balce, 7-5, 6-1.

Hong Kong’s Jacinta Yuan Sze Chen, on the other hand, easily dis-posed of Ma. Dominique Ong, scoring a 6-0, 6-0 rout to roll into the second round of the girls division of the event sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association and backed by the Philippine Tennis Academy, Mariposa Foun-dation, Dunlop Fort Balls, Magnolia Purewater and Century Park Hotel. [pr]

Pinays wiped out in Asian jr tennis opener

Maia Balce (right) prepares for a forehand return to Korean Seon Young Um.

Daria Shevchenko of Kazakhstan (left) in action against Seo In Choi of Korea.