edge davao 7 issue 10
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Edge Davao 7 Issue 10, March 28-29, 2014TRANSCRIPT
City Planning and De-velopment Coordinator Mario Luis J. Jacinto said the proposed 44-kilome-ter highway bypass project will facilitate the travel of
people and transportation of commodities from Bun-awan to Sirawan.
He said that travelers who want to go in Davao
P 15.00 • 20 PAGESwww.edgedavao.netVOL. 7 ISSUE 10 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 28-29, 2014
By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO [email protected]
EDGE Serving a seamless society
DAVAO
FALTERNATE, 10
FPHL, 10
ALTERNATE ROAD EYEDHighway bypass project is aimed to mitigate traffic congestion
FISHING FOR LUNCH. A man makes a large motorized boat his cover against the scorching heat of the sun while trying to catch fish for his family’s lunch at Sta. Ana wharf in Davao City yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.
BLAMED. An increase in the number of Dabawenyos suffering from high blood pressure was recorded this month which is blamed by some people, rightly or wrongly, on the Durian fruit, now being sold as low as Php 25 per kilo due to the abundant supply. The warm weather is also blamed. Lean Daval Jr.
A superhighway running parallel to the ex-isting diversion road is envisioned as the ul-timate solution to the high traffic growth rate now besetting the continued fast urbaniza-tion of Davao City.
THE Philippine gov-ernment signed a peace accord with
the country’s largest Mus-lim rebel group on Thurs-day, the culmination of years of negotiations and a significant political achieve-
ment for President Benigno Aquino III.
The deal grants largely Muslim areas of the south-ern Mindanao region great-er political autonomy in ex-change for an end to armed
PHL, MILF sign peace deal
VOL. 7 ISSUE 10 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 28-29, 2014
SPIRIT OF VOLUNTEERISM. Davao Light and Power Co. was awarded as Davao Region’s Most Outstanding Volunteer for the Organization-Corporate Category of the Search for Outstanding Volunteers 2013 by the National Economic and Development Authority Regional Development Council (NEDA RDC) XI. (Second from left to right) Davao Light EVP and COO Art Milan, AVP for Corporate Communications and Branding Ross Luga and Community Re-
lations Department Manager Fermin Edillon receive the award from Director Maria Lourdes Lim of NEDA RDC XI (leftmost). The award is in recognition of the company’s effective implementation of its Corporate Social Respon-sibility Program and on its efforts in community development especially in the Davao Region. The awarding was held last Wednesday, March 26 at NEDA RDC XI Center in Bangkal during its 1st Quarter Regular Meeting.
2
WEATHER FORECAST
EDGEDAVAO
THE BIG NEWS
IN implementing the newly-approved Com-prehensive Land Use
Plan (Clup), the Davao City local government will relo-cate informal settlers found in the identified hazard prone areas.
City Planning and De-velopment Coordinator Mario Luis J. Jacinto told reporters in yesterday’s “I Speak” media forum that it is a mandatory that settlers who are in the hazard zones would the priority for relo-cation.
He said that based on their inventory, Davao City has 39,000 informal settlers live in the identified hazard prone areas such as coastal areas and riverbanks.
“But, only about 4,000 of this 39,000 who are qual-ified for relocation under
the program of the being implemented consistent with the Urban Develop-ment and Housing Act,” said Jacinto.
He said that the remain-ing 35,000 might be relo-cated through community mortgage program which will relocate them in an al-ternative site.
Jacinto said that the city government will imple-ment the relocation process gradually, citing the need to know first some factors that might affect the settlers to their new community.
He added that the set-tlers will be relocated to the city government-owned settlement sites in Los Amigos and Tibungco.
Earlier, city councilor Bernard Al-ag said that they
THE Department of Public Work and Highways 12
based in Koronadal City has is eying to pave all national roads in Region 12 within the year.
OIC- Regional Direc-tor Reynaldo S. Tamayo confirmed that paving/ concreting of the nation-al primary road in the region is already 80%, and will be completed this year as scheduled. On the other hand, pav-ing of the national sec-ondary road as targeted will be completed on or before the Aquino ad-ministration ends.
Tamayo has earlier announced that DPWH
12 was lauded as sec-ond best region in the nationwide ranking after garnering a total score of 81.10% based on cur-rent and carry- over in-frastructure accomplish-ment. Said recognition was confirmed during the executive meeting in the same month with department secretary Rogelio L. Singson at the Central Office, Manila.
Last year, the region was number 15 out of the 16 competing regions nationwide. The great leap in accomplishment was credited from the top management to the rank and file employees region wide especial-
ly those assigned in the field.
“The challenge to lead our home region towards economic prog-ress has inspired us to realize our thrust in in-frastructure develop-ment, and because we understand that advanc-ing infrastructure is im-perative to the growing economy and tourism.”, RD Tamayo explained in a press interview.
The DPWH tagline, “DaangMatuwid, Kaun-laranangHatid” is ac-cordingly aligned to the famous “TuwidnaDaan” advocacy of President Benigno C. Aquino.
In line with this, the
department has under-gone transformation to-wards a better govern-ment agency preceding accountability, trans-parency and integrity – the core values of good governance. Anti– cor-ruption efforts aimed to establish trust and gain support from its stake-holders.
Singson emphasized the department’s man-date to provide safe and quality infrastructure projects and programs following the “right proj-ect at the right cost with the right quality, right on time by the right peo-ple”. [DPWH Information Unit]
LGU to relocate settlersfound in hazard zones
DPWH targets to pave all roads in R12 by 2016FLGU, 10
PERHAPS informed ahead, the owners of two stalls at the
Calinan Public Market yesterday preempted the personnel of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) who were on their way to implement what the own-ers did by themselves: Close the stalls.
Danilo C. Mendoza, West Davao City revenue district officer, told Edge Davao in an interview that maybe there maybe someone who informed the owners of the Estil-lore Mini-Mart and the FJAD Merchandising.
“According to the peo-
ple in the nearby stalls, nung malaman nila na ang BIR is coming for the closure order isinara daw nila, kasi to avoid siguro,” Mendoza said.
He said that according to their standard operat-ing procedures, the BIR will inform first the ba-rangay officials and police precinct in the area be-fore they will execute the order.
He said that even with-out the presence of the owners, the closure order was still implemented with barangay officials serving as witnesses.
“I don’t know kung
bakit ganun kasi balik-tad yun kasi the more na dapat nilang hinarap yun para mas ma explain sa kanila,” he added.
He said that before they proceeded to the stalls they secured first a permit from Calinan Police Precinct for assis-tance. The operation was witnessed by Veto Evan-gelista, purok leader and Allan Tahoy, a barangay staff.
Mendoza said that based on BIR, each own-er had a P6-million Value Added Tax (VAT) misdec-larations for 2011 and 2012.
He said that the own-ers were already sum-moned last year by BIR to demand payment but the owners failed to comply.
Mendoza said that be-fore they issue a notice, the BIR conducts a 15-day surveillance to know the daily average income of an establishment. After-wards, misdeclarations will be determined which will then be submitted to the national office for evaluation.
Mendoza said that these two stalls are the first establishments that have been closed by their office for this year.
Market stalls closed ahead of BIR personnel’s arrivalBy ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.
CITY officials declared the signing today of the Comprehensive
Agreement on the Bang-samoro (CAB) by the gov-ernment and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panels as an im-portant historical break-through in Mindanao’s journey to peace.
Mayor Ronnel Rivera said the city government is joining the majority of the people in Mindanao in celebrating the finaliza-tion of the CAB, which he described as a vital step towards the realization of a genuine and lasting peace in the island.
He said the agreement is no less than a manifesta-tion of the government and MILF’s sincerity and com-mitment to end the violent conflicts in Mindanao that has been challenging the country for decades.
The signing of the
agreement, which came 18 months after the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro was signed, marks an import-ant milestone “as we move forward to the next phase of the peace process – the implementation (stage),” he said.
“The CAB is a victory – it is everyone’s victory. It is a victory not only for the Bangsamoro, but for all of us who have been working for peace,” Rivera said in a statement.
The government and MILF peace panels are scheduled to sign the CAB this afternoon in a cere-mony at Malacañang.
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Ter-esita Quintos Deles earlier said they are expecting at least 1,000 people to grace the CAB’s signing, includ-ing foreign dignitaries. [MindaNews]
CAB an important historical breakthrough: GSC officials
VOL. 7 ISSUE 10 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 28-29, 2014 3
NEWS
EDGEDAVAO
BIGGER PICTURE
THE prevailing notion, particularly in the rural areas, that
women are not fit to enter occupations traditionally seen as male-dominated has been proven wrong by four women in Madalag, Aklan.
According to the De-partment of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Wednesday, Sherlina Hungay, Genie Nanson, Lovely Tello, and Marian Cadevida, have proven their detractors wrong by having completed training in weld-ing in their province.
The training was made possible under the Gender Incentive Grant (GIG) from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) through the Millennium Chal-lenge Account-Philippines (MCA-P).
It was implemented through the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Com-prehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS), one of the core poverty alleviation programs of the DSWD.
“These women used the negative perception against women welders as motiva-tion to work hard to prove to others, and themselves, that they have the capaci-ty to rise to the challenge,”
said DSWD Secretary Cora-zon J. Soliman.
“Dati akong ‘taga’ -- ta-ga-linis, taga-laba, taga-luto (I used to be ‘taga’. I cleaned, I washed clothes, I cooked),” Sherlina, 33, jokingly said.
As a Pantawid Pamily-ang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiary of the DSWD, she was among the priori-ty-trainees of a skills train-ing provided by the Tech-nical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) through the GIG from Kalahi-CIDSS.
Sherlina had no prior experience in working for she was just a plain house-wife who took care of her three children.
She cited that she was about to consider the pos-sibility of working as a do-mestic helper abroad to earn money for her family before the training.
Her spouse is a sim-ple job-order construction worker at the municipal government.
She disclosed that af-ter the training, she had to pass the assessment so she could become a full-fledged welder.
Luckily, she passed the assessment without any problem.
In her testimony during the graduation ceremony,
she said that the training provided her an opportu-nity to prove her worth, ex-press courage and believe in herself.
Like Sherlina, Genie, 27, of Barangay San Jose, who has a family of her own with two children, also shared how she was able to com-plete the training amid the skepticism of her neighbors who doubted her ability to complete the training.
“I did not mind them, even though there were times that their comments were already offensive. In-stead, I used that as motiva-tion,” she added.
She also narrated the difficulties she had endured like accidentally burning herself in one of the training sessions, and how it took some time before she got used to the welding equip-ment.
From there, she learned perseverance, and like Sherlina, she passed the as-sessment.
It was this same per-sistence that pushed her to seek on-the-job training from the Kalahi-CIDSS Area Coordinating Team (ACT).
Genie’s persistence eventually paid off when two Kalahi-CIDSS infra-structure sub-projects -- a school building and a bridge
-- were put on schedule for construction, and she was tapped as one of the weld-ers to work on these.
She did not feel discour-aged even as some of her neighbors watched her on her first day on the job as a welder.
It was also during that moment that she discov-ered she had developed full confidence in herself. For this, she is grateful to Kala-hi-CIDSS.
The other two women, both 18 years old, who have
gone through the same training -- Lovely Tello and Marian Cadevida -- also shared their experience.
They disclosed that they joined the training because their families could not af-ford to send them to college.
They recalled that they signed up for the welding classes because they just stayed at home at the time, occasionally helping out in household tasks.
They said that they are not aware of their own abil-ities in the past.
“It was only when we were able to experience welding firsthand that we began to have faith in our-selves,” they added.
They are happy to note that they have proved that neither gender nor age is a barrier in skills building.
Furthermore, they have been able to prove also their capacity to overcome obstacles as they explored to be productive mem-bers of their community and contributors in nation building. [PNA]
Women find worth in men-dominated welding jobs
By LEILANI S. JUNIO
In the midst of natural ca-lamities reminding us of our slowly deteriorating envi-ronment, Abreeza Mall joins the rest of the world in cel-ebrating EARTH HOUR, the global campaign to spread the message of environmen-tal stewardship. Shoppers are invited to contribute to this worthwhile advocacy by join-ing a benefit dinner dubbed as “GREEN PLATES” on Sat-urday, March 29, 2014 at 6:30-9:30 pm at the Restau-rant Row of Abreeza Mall. The dinner-for-a-cause will showcase eight restaurants – Maitre Chocolatier, Risto-rante Spirale, Hanoi, Café Laguna, Tsuru, T.G.I. Fridays, Italianni’s and Ranchero Grill – featuring their own special
selections in a 3-course din-ner at P 450 nett per plate. Perfectly matching the de-lectable dinner offering is a natural al fresco ambience by candlelight and percussion music as the mall observes the one-hour Earth Hour lights off from 8:30-9:30.
Proceeds of the event will benefit the Adopt-a-Site Project of the Davao City Water district, which will re-habilitate and maintain one hectare of forest land in the Talomo-Lipadas Watershed protected area. A ceremonial turnover and symbolic instal-lation of an environmental-ly-themed art mural will also seal the mall’s commitment to be stewards of the earth and agents of change. Anoth-
Earth Hour at Abreeza Mall
er highlight of the night’s celebration is the an-nouncement and awarding of winners for the Art in the Dark art competition which is also in line with the Mall’s Earth Hour campaign. Tick-ets to the benefit dinner are available at the Concierge or at participating restau-rants. For more info, check out Abreeza Mall on Face-book and Twitter.
VOL. 7 ISSUE 10 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 28-29, 2014
SEAWEED production here is expected to increase fisher folk
income with the govern-ment’s livelihood-assisted project.
The town is renowned for being a major producer of seaweeds in Davao re-gion. The commodity is also a source of livelihood to at least 372 small fishers.
The Bato Seaweeds Association Inc. (Baseas), a group of seaweed farmers here has received P6.2 mil-lion to fund their seaweed farming and processing project.
The bulk of the said amount came from the Min-danao Rural Development Program (MRDP) while the provincial government provided P1 million as its counterpart fund. The Ba-seas raised P1.2 million as its corresponding equity.
MRDP is a special proj-ect of the Department of Agriculture (DA). Through its Community Fund for Agricultural Development, various people’s organiza-tions were able to access funds and enhance live-lihood projects into agri-business enterprises.
Baseas president Vic-tor Relator said that with the funding assistance, their association has estab-lished a five-hectare sea-weed production farm and put up a processing ware-
house and drying facility. “The processing ware-
house includes a drier where members can dry their seaweeds not only from the Baseas’ five-hect-are farm but also from their own individual farms,” Re-lator said.
Members were also given 67 non-motorized bancas which they using in planting and harvesting seaweeds. To haul farm inputs and huge volume of harvested seaweeds, a flat-bottom up pump boat was also provided includ-ing a hauling truck which delivers their products in the market.
He said warehouse and drying facility is a big help in improving the income of small fishers as dried sea-weed is sold at least P30 a kilo while fresh seaweeds is only sold at P7 per kilo.
The association has also developed a foliar fer-tilizer, a value-adding prod-uct made out of the dried seaweeds extract, and sells it at P1,000 per container.
“Before we have to spend our money out of our meager income from fishing to buy materials and inputs for replanting. With the MRDP’s assis-tance our association can now provide us initial capi-tal for seaweed replanting,” said Baseas member Julito Toto.
«The provision of ban-ca is also a big help as I can now regularly monitor my seaweed farm and check if they are not washed out by strong winds and waves,” he said.
Toto maintains around 20 lines (at 8 meters per
line) of seaweeds. After 25 days from planting, he said he starts harvesting at least 300 kilos a month.
Miguella Edquilla, MRDP regional deputy coordinator in DA Davao region said the association seaweed project has a huge
potential to expand not only in production but also in processing.
She said Baseas has a big chance to be part of the upcoming PRDP as sea-weeds is one of the identi-fied national priority com-modity of the program.
An upscale version of MRDP, the PRDP will be a six-year national gov-ernment platform for an inclusive, value-chain ori-ented and climate change resilient agriculture and fisheries. [Noel T. Provido/DA-MRDP]
4STA CRUZ, DAVAO DE SUR
DAVAO DEL NORTE COMPOSTELA VALLEY
EDGEDAVAO
SUBURBIA
NEWLY-PLANTED. Julito Toto of the Bato Seaweed Farmers Association shows his newly planted seaweed line along the 5-hectare farm provided by the local government of Sta. Cruz in Davao del Sur. He said seaweed harvesting can be done after 25 five days from planting. [Noel T. Provido]
P6.2 M DA assistance boosts seaweed farm
COMPOSTELA Val-ley Province’s farm youth affiliated with
the 4-H Club gathered at the Capitol on March 20, 2014 for a Provincial Farm Youth/ 4-H Achieve-ment Cum Agri-Skill and Literary Musical Contest.
Aside from acquir-ing skills on farming, the young people’s talents and skills on arts, liter-ary, and music were also showcased.
Governor Arturo T. Uy ensures that full sup-port be given to the group through his Farm Youth Development Program.
And such gathering is one avenue of promot-ing unity, camaraderie,
and empowerment of the farm youngsters in the province.
Friendly competi-tions of different cate-gories were conducted such as asexual propa-gation on grafting cacao, technology transfer of organic rice and corn production, organic rice and corn production, or-ganic feed formulation, handicraft on corn husk flower arrangement and other novelties, handi-craft on livestock & poul-try by-product and corn husk doll making, ex-tempo, quiz bee, poster making, and OPM singing contest. [Grace Almedilla, IDS-COMVAL]
A PANABO-BASED banana exporter, through its partner
foundation, has adopted a local river as their Adopt-A-River project, in support to their commitment in the National Greening Pro-gram (NGP) of the govern-ment.
A division of Dole Phil-ippines, Dole-Stanfilco through Kasilak Develop-ment Foundation inked on March 25 an agreement with the provincial govern-ment of Davao del Norte and the municipality of Carmen for the protection, preservation and conser-vation of Carmen River, formerly Ising River.
Done during the Pro-vincial Disaster Risk Re-duction and Management Council meeting, the agree-
ment was signed by Gov-ernor Rodolfo del Rosario of Davao del Norte, Mayor MarcelinoPerandos of Car-men and JoemilMontebon, executive director of Kasi-lak Foundation.
Montebon said that DOLE Stanfilco chose Car-men River as their next project upon the recom-mendation of its Panabo office, citing the river to have denuded riverbanks that should be rehabilitat-ed as Carmen River forms part of the major catch-ba-sin in Davao del Norte.
In an interview, May-or Perandos said that the project will eventually lessen the occurrence of flooding in their munici-pality since the protection and preservation of the riv-erbank will minimize soil
erosion and over-flooding of water.
This will also be a good opportunity to increase the awareness of the people in the locality on mitigat-ing the effects of climate change in their area, Mayor Perandos said.
The project amounting
to P 172,800 will be im-plemented until January 2015 by the project man-agement team composed of the Kasilak Foundation, DOLE-Stanfilco, Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO), municipal government of Carmen, Department of Education (DepEd) and the barangays within the river-banks.
Montebon said that although the MOA stated
a duration of one year, the Kasilak Foundation will implement a three-year program in Carmen Riv-er depending on the ex-tent of its rehabilitation and the environmental protection needs of the community surrounding it.
Launched on March 18, the project manage-ment team started planting 7,000 forest, fruit and bam-boo trees in the three-kilo-meter stretch riverbank.
Aside from that, the team will also be calling for meetings among local stakeholders to intensi-fy and institutionalize their participation through con-duct of information and education campaigns in schools, churches, planta-tions and barangay. [PIA 11/Michael Uy]
Youth farmers compete for agri-skills contest
Panabo banana exporting firm adopts Carmen river
VOL. 7 ISSUE 10 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 28-29, 2014 5EDGEDAVAO
THE ECONOMY
TO provide quality service, it must be er-ror-free.
With this aim in mind, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) 11 recently underwent the Service Quality (SQ) Train-ing Program entitled, “Cre-ating Error-Free Service” at the CAAP Central Plant, Francisco Bangoy Interna-tional Airport here.
Conducted by the Re-gional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) 11, a total of 53 personnel from the var-ious units including Air Traffic Service, Flight Ser-vice Station, Air Naviga-tion Service, Air Terminal Section, CAAP Security and Intelligence, Crash Fire and Rescue Unit, Aerodrome Rescue and Firefighting, Medical Unit, Administra-tive Unit, Finance and Man-agement Unit, Mechanical Unit, Maintenance Unit, and Aerodrome Develop-ment and Management Service.
“The SQ Training Pro-
gram was embraced by CAAP 11 to equip their human resource with the tools to enhance the agen-cy’s service delivery,” said RTWP Board Secretary Ruby A. Badilles.
“Being the gateway to the rest of the regions in the country and to other countries as well, the CAAP 11 which manages the
Francisco Bangoy Interna-tional Airport plays a vital role in promoting tour-ism and increasing trade and investments in Davao Region, thus quality and error-free service is neces-sary,” Badilles added.
The training work-shops did not only give the diverse participants com-ing from the different units
the opportunity to ex-change ideas and insights but also enlightened the trainers on the operations of CAAP and the problems they face in providing bet-ter services to clients.
“The workshops are thought-provoking partic-ularly in looking for solu-tions to the challenges we have encountered in our
effort to improve produc-tivity and to provide qual-ity service to our clients,” said CAAP Personnel Offi-cer Meliza Lelis.
DOLE Regional Direc-tor Joffrey M. Suyao, , said that the SQ Program is in-tended for the Key Employ-ment Generators such as the tourism supply chain (hotels, restaurants, health
and wellness centers, and transport industry).
Suyao, who is also the RTWPB 11 Chair, said: “it is essentially a management productivity and quality service system that aims to enhance the knowledge and skills in error hunting and prevention in order to provide “error-free” ser-vice to clients.” [RTWPB 11]
Service Quality Training participants from CAAP XI pose for photo op after the training [Photo by RTWPB Secretariat]
RTWPB provides CAAP 11 ‘error-free service’ training
VOL. 7 ISSUE 10 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 28-29, 2014
IN a bid to strengthen trade ties, facilitate information exchange,
and enhance transfer of technology and skills between two focus areas of BIMP-EAGA, cooperation agreements were sealed here last week between the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Incorporated (DCCCII) and business groups from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
DCCCII President An-tonio dela Cruz, Federa-tion of Sabah Industries President Datuk Seri Pan-glima Wong Khen Thau and Malaysian Interna-tional Chamber of Com-merce – Sabah Branch Chairman Brig. General Datuk Arulpragasam led the signing of the two memoranda of cooper-ation (MoC) held at the Conference Room of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA).
BIMP-EAGA stands for Brunei Darussalam Indonesia Malaysia the Philippines East ASEAN Growth area, a sub-re-gional economic coop-eration designed to spur economic development in lagging sub-economies of the member countries by boosting trade, tourism, and investments.
“The signing of the MoCs seals the kinship between the people of Davao and Sabah,” said Sebastian Angliongto, chair emeritus of DCCCII
while adding “that both cities have ties that date back to ancient times.”
Angliongto was the chair of the Mindanao Economic Development Council from August 2008 to January 2001, the Philippine coordinat-ing office for BIMP-EAGA from 1994 to 2010.
He added that the MoCs reinforce the vision of BIMP-EAGA to accel-erate economic develop-ment in the sub-region by maximizing each mem-ber-country’s compara-tive advantage.
The ceremonial sign-ing was also part of the Mindanao roadshow to promote the conduct of the Sabah International Expo slated from 18 to 21 September at the Sutera Harbor Resort in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
“We are looking for-ward to partnering with Mindanao business play-ers in various trade ven-tures, particularly those businesses that we will feature during the Sabah International Expo,” said Datuk Wong Khen Thau, who also sits as the expo’s
committee chair. In a related develop-
ment, Mindanao will host the 2nd BIMP-EAGA and IMT-GT Trade Fair and Business Leaders’ Con-ference in October this year, considered as the largest sub-regional trade fair and business con-ference that will gather the top business leaders and traders from the two economic sub-regional groupings within ASEAN.
The international fair and business conference, which will be held at the SM Premier’s SMX Con-
vention Center will fea-ture a series of sub-events designed to strengthen economic, social, and cul-tural relations in prepara-tion for the ASEAN inte-gration in 2015.
IMT-GT stands for the Indonesia Malaysia Thai-land Growth Triangle, a regional sub-grouping formed in 1993 with sim-ilar goals of promoting trade, investment, and tourism in less-devel-oped states and provinc-es in Sumatra, Indonesia, Peninsular Malaysia, and Southern Thailand.
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 12:30Cebu Pacific Thu 5J965 / 5J968 12:55 Manila-Davao-Manila 13:25
Cebu Pacific Tue/Wed//Sat 5J965 / 5J968 13:35 Manila-Davao-Manila 14:05Silk Air Mon/Sat MI588 / MI588 13:35 Davao-Singapore 18:55 Silk Air Wed/Sun MI566 / MI566 15:20 Davao-Singapore 18:55Silk Air Thurs MI551 / MI551 12:05 Davao-Singapore 15:45Cebu 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 16:45
as of May 2013
Stat Watch
MONTHLY AVERAGE EXCHANGE RATE (January 2011-September 2013)
Month 2013 2012 2011
Average 42.23 43.31December 41.01 43.64November 41.12 43.27October 41.45 43.45
September 43.83 41.75 43.02August 43.86 42.04 42.42
July 43.35 41.91 42.81June 42.91 42.78 43.37May 41.30 42.85 43.13April 41.14 42.70 43.24
March 40.71 42.86 43.52February 40.67 42.66 43.70January 40.73 43.62 44.17
7.1 1st Qtr 2013
7.8 1st Qtr 2013
USD 3,741 million
Feb 2013USD 4,708
million Feb 2013USD -967
million Feb 2013USD -640
millionDec 2012
P 4,964,560 million
Feb 2013
2.4 % Mar 2013P113,609
million Mar 2013
P 5,281 billion
Mar 2013
P 41.14 Apr 2013
6,847.5 Mar 2013
132.8 Apr 2013
2.6 Apr 2013
3.1 Apr 2013
418,108 Feb 2013
20.9% Jan 2013
7.1% Jan 2013
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/
Indicator Latest
1. Gross National Income Growth Rate (At Constant 2000 Prices)
6.8 2nd Qtr 2013
2. Gross Domestic Product Growth Rate (At Constant 2000 Prices)
7.5 2nd Qtr 2013
3. Exports USD 5,045 million
Sep 2013
4. Imports USD 5,711 million
Sep 2013
5. Trade BalanceUSD -665
million Sep 2013
6. Balance of Payments USD 692
million Jun 2013
7. Broad Money LiabilitiesP 5,980,938 million
Aug 2013
8. Interest Rate 2.0 % Sep 2013
9. National Government Revenues
P 127,336 million
Sep 2013
10. National government outstanding debt
P 5,609 billion
Sep 2013
11. Peso per US $
P 43.83 Sep 2013
12. Stocks Composite Index
6,191.8 Sep 2013
13. Consumer Price Index 2006=100
135.2 Oct 2013
14. Headline Inflation Rate 2006=100
2.9 Oct 2013
15. Core Inflation Rate 2006=100
2.5 Oct 2013
16. Visitor Arrivals 382,022 Aug 2013
17. Underemploymen Rate
19.2% Jul 2013
18. Unemployment Rate 7.3% Jul 2013
6 THE ECONOMY
SABAH CONNECTION. Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. President Antonio dela Cruz (left) signs a memorandum of cooperation (MOC) with Federation of Sabah Industries President Datuk Seri Panglima Wong Khen Thau last week in Davao City, aimed to facilitate exchange of commerce and foster economic ties between the two BIMP-EAGA focus areas.
Davao, Kota Kinabalu traders seal ties
EMPERADOR Inc. has been recog-nized in FinanceA-
sia’s 14th annual Best Companies’ poll results in two categories, “Best corporate governance” and “Most committed to a strong dividend policy,” besting other Philippine companies.
Dominador Hidalgo, AVP of Sales for Emper-ador, said FinanceAsia, Asia’s leading financial publishing company based in Hong Kong, says Emperadorremains to be the best and strongest li-quor brand and company in the Philippines.
“We have a very domi-nant position nationwide, particularly in Metro Ma-nila, where seven out of
ten liquor bottles sold are Emperador. We are also experiencing robust growth in the southern islands of Visayas and Mindanao. Last year, we managed to sell 33 mil-lion cases nationwide. We are very excited about our continued growth in the first few months of this year,” Hidalgo said.
“We are also setting our sights abroad, where we target to own 33 per-cent of the world’s brandy market within four years. Our P5.8 billion invest-ment in Spain will help us achieve our vision to be a major brandy producer in the world, further elevat-ing the status of Emper-ador as a strong global brand,”Hidalgo added.
GrupoEmperador Spain, a subsidiary of Emperador Inc., recent-ly investedPhP3.7 bil-lion (€60 million) for 50 percent participation in Bodega Las Copas S.L., a company owned by González Byass.
Bodega Las Copas is a fully-integrated bran-dy production company. Its operations in bran-dy-making run the full scale with its vineyard near Toledo, its distill-ery plant in Tomelloso, Ciudad Real, and its Las Copas brandy production premises in Jerez.
The 275-hectare spe-cialized vineyard proj-ect of Bodega Las Copas near Toledo will be the first of its kind in Spain
to grow the finest grapes dedicated exclusively for brandy distillation and production. The pioneer-ing vineyard uses sustain-able, state-of-the-art tech-nology, an innovation that will improve the compa-ny’s efficiency in produc-ing top-quality brandy.
González Byass, formed in 1835, is one of the largest sherry, wine and brandy producers in Spain. Emperador is the world’s second-largest selling liquor brand with an estimated aggregate of 1,000 hectares of vine-yards in Spain.
Last year, Empera-dor disclosed that the company, through its subsidiary Emperador Spain S.A., also acquired
a 409-hectare vineyard in Madrid, Spain, in ad-dition to its vineyards in Toledo, Spain. Emperador has also fully acquired Spain’s largest liquor company, Bodega San Bruno, and all its assets. The Filipino-owned bran-dy is heavily investing in Spain as it continues its bid to attract a larger market in Europe, North America, the Philippines, and next year, in Vietnam. The vineyards have been acquired for the com-pany’s Emperador De-luxe edition, which is produced and bottled in Spain. Emperador Deluxe is the company’s flagship product that is being mar-keted outside the Philip-pines.
Emperador voted one of the PH’s best companies by FinanceAsia
VOL. 7 ISSUE 10 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 28-29, 2014 7EDGEDAVAO
ENVIRONMENT
AN investment of US $30 billion per year - under seven per
cent of the US $480 billion paid in annual global fos-sil fuel subsidies - in the REDD+ forest conservation initiative can accelerate the global transition to green and sustainable growth and ensure the long-term well-being of tens of millions in developing countries, a new report released yester-day said.
Building Natural Capi-tal: How REDD+ Can Sup-port a Green Economy, a report by the International Resource Panel (IRP) and the UN REDD Programme, outlines how integrating REDD+ programmes into a Green Economy approach can conserve and even boost the economic and so-cial benefits forests provide to human society.
The IRP report lays out recommendations to de-liver the new integrated REDD+ and Green Econo-my approach, including bet-ter coordination, stronger private sector engagement, changes in fiscal incentive frameworks, greater focus on assisting policymakers to understand the role for-ests play in propping up economies, and equitable benefit sharing. The report stresses in particular the needs for a rights-based ap-proach to ensure that bene-fits flow to the rural poor.
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in De-
veloping Countries (REDD) is the approach to cut greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and for-est degradation-estimated at up to 20 per cent of the global total-through pay-ments for services. REDD+ is an expanded approach that includes the conserva-tion and sustainable man-agement of forests, and the enhancement of forest car-bon stocks.
Forests support the livelihoods of 1.6 billion people, with the value of ecosystem services from tropical forests estimated at an average of US $6,120 per hectare each year. Despite these economic gains, for-est loss averaged 13 million hectares per year between 2000 and 2010, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). This mar-ket and policy failure will undermine sustainable de-velopment by destroying the natural capital that sup-ports so many economies.
The report argues that integration of REDD+ into all economic planning processes is essential, as deforestation and forest degradation are driven by consumption patterns in virtually every sector of the economy. Green Economy innovations resulting from REDD+ have the potential to increase the resource efficiency of many of these sectors.
REDD+ is so far backed by a total of US $6.27 billion.
However, an estimated US $30 billion is projected to be needed each year from 2020. The IRP report seeks to encourage delivery of this funding by demonstrat-ing that REDD+ approaches can support economic de-velopment and increase long-term returns on in-vestments.
The report shows how activities supported by REDD+ can be designed to
increase income by boost-ing output on land under cultivation, developing new green industries, encourag-ing forest-based ecotour-ism, and increasing sus-tainable production of com-modities for which demand is increasing. For example, a stimulus package in the sustainable management of forests could provide up to 16 million additional jobs globally. At the same time,
restoring just 15 per cent of degraded forest can double household income in rural areas in developing coun-tries, as an example from Tanzania cited in the report shows.
It also points out that an increasing number of coun-tries have Green Economy growth plans that clearly define the role of protecting forests and other natural capital.
The United Nations Collaborative Initiative on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Develop-ing Countries (UN-RED-D)-jointly implemented by the FAO, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UNEP-sup-ports REDD+ readiness efforts in 49 partner coun-tries in Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. [UNEP]
$30-B annual investment eyedfor tropical forest conservation
Green Tee. Org is the newest adopter in the Davao City Water Dis-
trict’s Adopt-a-Site project. This, after its board member Gamirin Jerico M. Bajo signed a memorandum of agreement with DCWD, represented by
Environment and Watershed Protection Division manag-er Engr. Anthony D. Miranda for the club’s adoption of five hectares inside Mt. Talomo-Li-padas watershed. The signing was held on March 3, 2014 at the Delongtes Restaurant.
Also present during the event were Wendel M. Adlao and Brian S. Davila, members of Green Tee. Org and Engr. Lor-na M. Maxino, DCWD’s water-shed management chief.
On behalf of DCWD, Engr. Miranda thanked Green Tee.
Org for responding to DCWD’s call to adopt a site inside Mt. Talomo-Lipadas watershed. With this new addition, there are now 89 adopters from var-ious sectors sharing the cause of watershed protection.
Launched in 2001, the Adopt-A-Site project is a five-year commitment of an adopter who pledge to do-nate Php 6,000 every year for every hectare of adopted area inside Mt. Talomo-Lipa-das watershed to help defray cost of seedlings, planting, fertilizing and maintenance necessary for the rehabilita-tion activities. The help of the adopters proved vital in the complete rehabilitation of 530 hectares in the said wa-tershed in 2010. This success prompted DCWD to add 470 hectares rehabilitation area, of which 285.5 hectares have been rehabilitated in 2013.
DCWD is not only hope-ful to get more adopters this year but also to con-tinue reaching out to the various sectors of society in its awareness-raising and watershed protection cam-paigns. [Jamae R. Garcia]
DCWD partners with Green Tee. Org. DCWD and Green Tee. Org formally sign the memorandum of agreement for the Adopt-A-Site Project on March 3. In photo are (L to R) Green Tee. Org members Wendel M. Adlao and Brian S. Davila, board member Gamirin Jerico M. Bajo, DCWD Environment and Watershed Protection Division manager Engr. Anthony D. Miranda and watershed management chief Engr. Lorna M. Maxino.
Green Tee. Org adopts watershed siteTHE Department of
Agrarian Reform (DAR) and the local
government unit of Midsay-ap in North Cotabato plant-ed around 1,200 mahogany seedlings in the agrarian re-form communities (ARCs) of Tumbras, Rajah Buayan, Tu-gal, Nabalawag, Kapinpilan, and Sambulawan in support of the National Greening Program of the government.
The initiative aims to mitigate the impact of cli-mate change on the liveli-hood of participating agrar-ian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) who were given the privilege to name a tree af-ter them.
For instance, they have trees called Francisco Basa-dre tree, Farida Taha tree, Peng Kulilong tree, Alimu-din Mulod tree, Abdul Kadir tree, Ester Lanzarote tree, among others.
The ARBs were inspired with the concept of naming the trees after them because it gave them the sense of pride and responsibility on
the trees they have planted, according to DAR Municipal Agrarian Reform Program Officer Felerma Gimenez.
The department is en-couraging other ARBs to support the program as the trees to be planted will help sustain the natural resourc-es in their communities.
“We are hopeful that this program will also strengthen the coopera-tion and camaraderie of Muslim and Christian ARBs to attain peace and devel-opment in their respec-tive communities,” Marion Abella, provincial agrarian reform program officer, said.
The National Greening Program is an initiative of the government that aims to plant around 1.5-bil-lion trees covering about 1.5-million hectares nation-wide to promote resource conservation and protec-tion, productivity enhance-ment, climate change miti-gation and adaptation, and poverty reduction. [PNA]
DAR undertakes greening program in North Cotabato
VOL. 7 ISSUE 10 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 28-29, 20148 EDGEDAVAO
VANTAGE
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EDITORIAL
THE Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) finally signed the Compre-hensive Agreement on the Bangsa Moro (CAB) yes-
terday amid celebrations by those who are very hopeful the agreement would work excellently for the future of Mindanao and Mindanaoans.
In essence, the agreement will usher in the MILF’s aban-donment of the armed struggle for an independent state in Mindanao. In return, the government will work on an improved kind of autonomy, something that is much bet-ter than the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao, which is perceived to have failed the expectations of the Moro people.
The agreement will lead to the decommissioning of the MILF’s military arm, establishing a Bangsa Moro police force, disbanding of private armies, various kinds of so-cio-economic assistance to former combatants and many other changes that will be gradually instituted like dem-ocratic elections and correct historical injustices, among others.
The Moro people within and outside the defined Bang-
sa Moro area, and their Christian and lumad neighbors are genuinely hopeful the CAB will work. However, unlike the doubting Thomases, they realize that a lot of challenges have yet to be hurdled after yesterday’s CAB signing.
For those who do not want to be over optimistic, the CAB has achieved something not talked about very often. This is the growing constituency for peace, the increasing number of people who are fed up with the bloodshed that have ruled their lives for decades and are now demanding that all parties who have been at each others’ throats for so long, should now embrace creative ways to end the vi-olence.
To be sure, the proposed law to cover the establishment of the Bangsa Moro entity has still to be drafted for sub-mission to Congress where the debates are expected to be passionate.
In reality, as of now, the man on the street in Mindan-ao view and value the CAB as simply a mechanism that would lead to a more lasting and just peace in their land. It is now a matter of letting them understand what they can do and contribute their share to let it happen.
VOL. 7 ISSUE 10 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 28-29, 2014
BY MANNY VALDEHUESA
WORM’S EYEVIEW
AQUILES Z. ZONIOCorrespondent
VANTAGE POINTS 9EDGEDAVAO
Perennial drawbacks
Much brouhaha over Honor Code
IS K to12 A BURDEN RATHER THAN A SOLUTION? – As the SY 2014-2015 about to start very soon,
doubts and apprehensions over the im-plementation of the controversial K to 12 education enhancement program of the Department of Education (DepED) remained high. Top officials of the edu-cation department insist that students who complete 12 years of basic educa-tion will be better equipped technical-ly or vocationally, and become compe-tent enough with their acquired skills as soon as they graduate.
However, there are two faces of a coin. While top DepEd officials in-sist that the K to 12 program is a key to competitiveness and employment, critics and other education experts and groups adverse to the program, on the other hand, strongly argue that length-ening the education cycle has no direct basis for improving the quality of edu-cation. They don’t believe adding two more years will solve the problem in education, and later on unemployment because those are two different things.
So what kind of education en-hancement program is the K to 12 all about, they asked? The K to 12 edu-cation scheme agued some unsympa-thetic groups is only a burden rather than a solution to the recurring prob-lems. They say the “well-defined” K to 12 guidelines is good only in papers, probably at this juncture since it need about two or three years before we could see the result – progressive or otherwise.
Different factions who previously strongly opposed the DepEd initiative stressed that the problems actually be-setting the country’s education system are basic and these have been peren-nial drawbacks – lack of classrooms, books, desks, tables, water and pow-er supply and other facilities, and of course, lack of qualified teachers. The biggest problem as we all know is mon-ey because the education department relied mainly on the annual appropri-
ation to meet the acute shortage.
R a n k i n g DepEd offi-cials there-fore should take into ac-count that the annual gov-ernment ap-p ro p r i a t i o n for education may never meet the requirements es-pecially with years and years of back-log in the education budget. In any case, adversarial groups have proven their point that additional budgetary requirement for education is what the country needs and not additional years of basic education.
It was rather unfortunate that de-spite getting a bigger slice of the bud-get for this year, DepED still failed to address the recurring problems pes-tering the country’s educational sys-tem. If our education sector is serious in reclaiming its rightful place as an Asian leader, government should at least pay attention and look prudently into these key priority areas: make ed-ucation accessible and relevant to the times, take extra effort to lower our current high dropout rates and serious investments should be made in im-proving the plight of our public school teachers by way of refining their teach-ing knowledge and skills.
No matter how government educa-tors and planners add years to basic education, the perennial problems if not attended posthaste would not pro-vide the right condition for learning. With over 40 million Filipinos living on less than P100 a day, there is very slim chance families can allocate for educa-tion much more for additional years of basic education. Consequently, many of our children are roaming the streets instead of remaining in school.
And for those children who are
fortunate enough to go to school are also confronted with another problem. They suffer a silent hunger that only the poor know. Without any food in their stomachs, these children could hardly comprehend their lessons or even stay in school. So how could the DepEd’s much-vaunted K to 12 edu-cation enhancement program keeps in tune with the enduring problems plaguing the country’s education sys-tem?
What’s more, child malnutrition is in fact a leading cause of high student dropouts especially in the poorest ar-eas throughout the country. Dropout rates are something government ed-ucators have to contend with. But the serious shortcomings of government are the virtual absence of teachers’ training. Each year only a pittance is spent per public school teacher on their training, and sadly of course, they are also victims of chronic underpay-ment.
Teachers’ salaries should be in-creased immediately if we are to keep members of this noble profession from leaving the country to look for greener pasture abroad or from going hungry. With such low pay and lack of proper training many qualified people are not attracted to teach in public schools – to the detriment of the students. Most importantly, in investing for their training, our educators can continue learning and become more efficient teachers.
Furthermore, we live in the age of technology. Children need to know not only basic reading, writing and math. They need to know how to speak the language of computers. Having ac-cess to computers, our children will learn to use them – and the whole new world of technology will be open to them. This will keep our education sys-tem current with the times since our students will improve their skills and teachers will also constantly update their knowledge and expertise.
JUST a few more days and it’ll be Saturday, March 29 – the day synchronized Barangay Assembly meetings will take place nation-
wide. Big deal, some may say; or, SO WHAT?... And
who can blame them? For example, see if P-Noy will even bother to
look in on the Assembly of the barangay where Malacañang sits in Manila’s San Miguel district? It matters if he doesn’t.
In Quezon City, will Mar Roxas or his Mom Lady Judy or his spouse Korina attend in Cubao? How about the Binays in Barangay San Antonio in Makati City? Will they participate in this rite of citizenship in one’s community? Find out.
SincerityAttendance or absence is a good test of sin-
cerity, intention, or focus in public service. Do they really believe in good governance (which must start in one’s community)? How about the importance of people’s participation? How about empowering people?
They’re supposed to set a good example, as model citizens!
While you’re at it, find out also if the “hon-orable” senators and congressmen will attend their village assembly as well as the mayor, vice mayor, and councilors.
They’re not exactly famous for attending this rubric of democracy at the grassroots, which as-sures stability at the base of our republic.
If this assembly is not worth their attention and participation, there might be an issue of hy-pocrisy or insincerity against them.
Trapos typically view this event as just a good campaign gimmick to attract the votes of the hoi polloi, the masses, the common tao – which of course is like saying, let’s get the votes, but to hell with citizen participation or good governance!
Let’s Try AnywayNevertheless, let’s you and me and every
other Filipino just go and do the right thing. We’re the sovereign citizens; they’re our ser-vants!
Meanwhile, do check if the notice and agen-da for the Saturday Assembly has arrived as of this day.
If not, your barangay government is al-ready in violation of the Local Government Code which states that NO MEETING OF THE BARAN-GAY ASSEMBLY SHALL TAKE PLACE UNLESS A WRITTEN NOTICE IS GIVEN ONE (1) WEEK PRIOR TO THE MEETING…(Section 397, R.A. 7160).
If the Assembly takes place on Saturday any-way, you have every right to raise this and oth-er issues and inform them that such lapses or non-compliance will cause you and your neigh-bors to lose confidence in them.
Loss of confidence is sufficient ground for Recall – removing them from office and replaced as per Sections 69-75 of R.A. 7160.
You may even chide them for being readily compliant to a directive from above (assembling at DILG’s behest) but remiss in their duty be-low – namely, fulfill local expectations as well as comply with the law.
In fact, it would be a good occasion to check on official conduct. Ascertaining the wishes and expectations of the constituency is one of the first tasks of local administration, especially for a new team.
Have consultations with the community tak-en place to define or identify local problems and priorities? Is the Barangay Development Council duly constituted and at work preparing the com-prehensive multisectoral development plan?
If not, there’s also failure of duty here. What have they been doing since taking office and getting paid after the October elections?
NPA?Or can it be that both the officials and the
constituents don’t really care and haven’t both-ered to scan or prioritize the community’s needs?
If autonomy or self-governance is of no interest to your community, it would be a very bad sign. It will reflect badly on you and your neighbors. It will brand your community as an unconcerned unit of the republic with dubious loyalty to its wellbeing.
You will then appear as an NPA: a Non-Per-forming Asset – a community without civic sense, a polity that lacks patriotism, a barangay shadowed by unreliability, uncaring, not trust-worthy, with just a trivial attitude to duty.
Woe to you and your neighbors then, for you will neither be a model nor an inspiration to our society!
[Manny is, among others, former UNESCO regional director for Asia-Pacific; secretary-gen-eral, Southeast Asian Publishers Association; director, Development Academy of Philippines; vice chair, Local Government Academy; member, Philippine Mission to United Nations; Cory Gov-ernment’s Peace Negotiator; and PPI-UNICEF awardee for outstanding columnist. [email protected]]
Reality check (on sincerity, good governance)
THE Philippine Military Academy (PMA) makes a lot of brouhaha over its Honor Code.
Question: Do its products have the Code firmly imbedded in their hearts after leaving the portals of the acade-my?
Unfortunately, the record of past alumni – “mistah” they proudly call themselves – leave a bad taste in the mouth.
Some who occupied the top posts in the military establishment conducted themselves DISHONORABLY. They de-fied their commander-in-chief, turned against the government they have sworn to defend, and raided the gov-ernment coffers.
From honorable men after grad-uation, they turned into rebels and scoundrels. The list has familiar and high-profile names:
Gregorio Honasan, Panfilo Lacson, Antonio Trillanes IV, Carlos Garcia, the Euro Generals, several chiefs of staff and some colonels.
H o n o r Code? Haha-hahahahaha-ha!!!!
o0oSHALLOW
BANK LOGANSBPI – Bank
of the Philip-pine Islands – the coun-try’s oldest ad most expe-rienced bank, has a slogan that entices the public to “Make the best happen” by banking with it.
I think the burden of making the best happen rests on BPI. It can start by increasing the annual interest rates on savings and time deposits.
Such increase would hardly put a dent or adverse effect on the bank’s net profit which runs to tens of billions of pesos.
Banco de Oro likewise can lure more
depositors if it will “find ways” to give clients attractive deal by also increas-ing its annual interest rates on deposits. Like BPI, BDO records net profit in the tens of billions.
Metro Bank also registers net prof-it in the billions of pesos. Its come-on slogan “You’re in good hands” will only ring true if it also increases the annual interest rates on deposits.
Now, if the above three banking gi-ants, and other leading commercial banks that have billions in net profit, will not adjust upward their annual in-terest rates on deposits, then all those flattering slogans become meaningless, empty and hypocritical.
Just one word would aptly re-fer to them: GREEDY.
o0oCHOICE QUOTES:
Honor and shame from no condition rise. Act well your part: there the honor lies.
An honest man is the noblest work of God.
VOL. 7 ISSUE 10 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 28-29, 201410 EDGEDAVAONEWSAlternate...
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END OF THE LINE. The lifeless body of Billy Rolona, alias Boy Negro, lies on a pavement after he fatally stabbed many times by unidentified assailants in Brgy. 31-D Mabini Extension, Davao City early morning yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.
del Sur and Bukidnon can use the highway which has 30 meters expansion where trucks and other vehicles can traverse.
“Ang intention niya, if you don’t have any business going to congested areas now or on developed areas sa existing national road system then you pass that way,” said Jacinto.
He said that the pro-posed road will have a tun-nel structures in of one its sections. The sections will cover the areas of Waan, Magtuod and Langub.
“These are the high el-evation areas across Davao River from north to south,” Jacinto said.
He said that the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is now on its final stage of feasibility study that would be done in the middle of the year.
Jacinto said that the re-sult of proposal will depend on the outcome of the study and the priority of the na-tional government.
“Because it is part of the bilateral agreement, of course, JICA is very aggres-sive on it because they are really pushing for it,” he
said.Jacinto said that JICA
sent their technical teams to conduct ground surveys, alignment surveys and in-ventory of possible land ownership. He added that city government has also sent their technical work-ing teams to assist JICA.
The Department of Public Works and High-ways (DPWH) has earlier released a report indicating that while “major urban roads in Davao City have four lanes, these are insuf-ficient to ease severe traffic congestion.”
“Traffic from and to Sasa and Panabo ports is also frequently experienc-ing congestion, affecting transportation of goods,” the report said.
“As of the present, the traffic condition (along these roads) in spite of be-ing widened to the maxi-mum possible width, tends to slow down at snail pace during peak hours. On non-peak hours, the traffic is still manageable. But with the high traffic growth rate in the area, the roads will soon be congested most of the time,” it added.
are looking at high-risk and protected areas such as riverbanks identified in the zoning ordinance to ensure that “there should be no settlers” in these ar-eas.
Al-ag admitted that the implementation of the new zoning ordinance will need funding amounting to millions of pesos for relo-cation of settlers near the
riverbanks.He added that the local
government will also seek assistance from the nation-al government to back up the available local funds.
Al-ag said the entire project implementation will take as long 10 years considering the large num-ber of informal settlers liv-ing in the city’s riverbanks. [ABF]
rebellion, but it will not end all violence in a part of the country long-plagued by lawlessness, poverty and Islamist insurgency.
Other insurgent groups have vowed to keep fight-ing for full independence. The region is also home to the Abu Sayyaf, a Muslim extremist network with international links that the Philippine army is battling with American support.
Aquino and leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front witnessed the sign-ing of the agreement in the presidential palace in Ma-nila. Malaysian Prime Min-ister Najib Razak, whose country brokered the peace talks, attended the ceremo-ny.
“In signing this agree-ment, the two sides have looked not to the problems of the past, but to the prom-ise of the future,” Najib said. “After so many years of con-flict, and so many lives lost, it is a momentous act of courage.”
The peace accord con-cludes formal negotiations that began in 2001. A cease-fire agreement had been in place since 1997 and has been largely observed by both sides.
More than 120,000 peo-ple have died in separatist violence since the 1970s in Mindanao, the main south-ern Philippine island. It is home to most of the coun-try’s 5 million Muslims, but Christians remain the over-all majority.
Previous presidents, including Corazon Aquino, Aquino’s mother, tried but failed to resolve the conflict, which has stunted growth in the region and helped foster Islamic extremism in the country and elsewhere in Southeast Asia.
Much work remains to ensure that the terms of the deal and the political framework it envisages are implemented fully during the remainder of Aquino’s term, which ends in 2016.
Under the accord, called the Comprehensive Agree-ment on the Bangsamoro, the Moro rebels agreed to end violence and their de-mand for a separate state in exchange for broader au-tonomy.
An existing five-prov-ince Muslim autonomous region is to be replaced by a more powerful, bet-ter-funded and potentially larger region to be called Bangsamoro.[AP]
THE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agen-cy (PDEA) Regional
Office 11 has warned the Davaoeños on the dangers of using cocaine, a prohib-ited drug taken from the coca bush plant that grows in South America.
“It is usually in the form of powder that can be oral-ly taken, injected or sniffed depending on what type of cocaine is used. The effects of cocaine can last any-where from few minutes to a couple of hours depend-ing on how the cocaine is taken,” it daid.
“There are many per-sons died because of using cocaine. Whitney Houston, the Grammy Winning Sing-er died after taking cocaine. Another one is Chris Far-ley, a comedian and made many movies but he died in 1997 for cocaine overdose. As cocaine interferes with the way the brain process chemicals, one needs more and more drug just to feel normal. People who be-came addicted to cocaine lose interest in other areas of life. Wrong dose of co-caine can cause a person to overdose. The strength
or purity of the cocaine increases the risk of over-dose. It can lead to coma and death. Using this kind of drugs can also cause psy-chosis, paranoid delusions, hallucinations, becomes ag-gressive and it can drive the user to commit suicide,” the agency added.
“In order to avoid this kind of incident, the of-fice wish to inform to the public that you are hereby ordered immediately sur-rendered the remaining bricks of suspected cocaine hydrochloride to PDEA Re-gional Office XI or to your
nearest Police Station,” it said.
“If you are caught having possession of this drugs, law enforcers will cause your arrest for possession of dangerous drugs. Imposable penal-ty for possession of more than ten (10) grams or more of cocaine or cocaine hydrochloride regardless of the degree of purity is Life Imprisonment and a fine ranging from five hundred thousand pe-sos (Php 500,000.00) to ten million pesos (Php 10,000,000.00),” it added.
PDEA Davao warns on deadly effect of cocaine
THE Department of Tourism (DOT) is working for the open-
ing of additional domestic and international flights to and from four major air-ports in Mindanao in prepa-ration for the integration by next year of the economies of the 10 member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Arturo Boncato Jr., DOT assistant secretary for Min-danao operations, said they are currently negotiating with various domestic and international airline com-panies for the opening of new routes for the Davao, General Santos, Cagayan de Oro and Zamboanga air-ports.
He said the four air-ports are considered as the key entry and exit points in Mindanao for destinations in the ASEAN, especially areas within the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philip-pines-East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) sub-re-gion.
“These airports, al-
though currently among the busiest in Mindanao, are not yet fully utilized and could still accommodate more flights so we’re work-ing very hard to fill that gap,” he said.
Of the four airports, Boncato said only the Fran-cisco Bangoy or Davao City International Airport pres-ently accommodates regu-lar international flights.
Singaporean airline SilkAir maintains six return flights every week between Davao City and the Changi International Airport in Sin-gapore.
The official said they are specifically pushing for the reinstatement of the flights between Davao and Mana-do in North Sulawesi, Indo-nesia; General Santos and Manado; and Zamboanga and Sandakan in Malaysia.
Wings Air, a subsidi-ary of Indonesia's largest privately run airline Lion Air, reopened its flights be-tween Davao and Manado in 2012 but was forced to later close it down due to
low passenger load. The airline has served the same route back in 2008.
In November 2003, In-donesian carrier Merpati Nusantara Airlines opened weekly flights between Gen-eral Santos and Manado us-ing a Fokker 70 aircraft but it folded up several months later due to poor passenger traffic.
Zamboanga used to serve regular flights to La-buan, Sandakan and Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia via Philippine Airlines and Ma-laysian Airlines during the ’90s but were eventually cut due to financial problems.
In 2004, South Phoe-nix Airways opened direct flights from Zamboanga to Sandakan and Kota Kinaba-lu but was later cut due to poor load of passengers.
Asian Spirit reopened the Zamboanga to Sanda-kan route in May 2007 but was later scrapped. Indone-sia's Sriwijaya Air recently signified to reopen the Zam-boanga-Sandakan.
Boncato said the agency
is currently revisiting the previous arrangements and evaluating the viability of reopening these routes in terms of the tourism aspect.
“We’ve been working with the local government units for the opening of new tourism sites or attractions that could draw tourists or travelers to these areas,” he said.
The official said they have been talking with lead-ing domestic airline Cebu Pacific to open flights in the previous international routes and in other key des-tinations in Mindanao.
“Cebu Pacific is expect-ing new planes and natural-ly it has to look for new des-tinations to connect to and we’re pushing that it would include some parts of Mind-anao,” he said.
Aside from the opening of additional flights, Bon-cato said they are pushing for the improvement and expansion of the facilities of the four airports and those in other key cities in Mind-anao. [MindaNews]
DOT wants additional flights to/from 4 Mindanao airports
VOL. 7 ISSUE 10 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 28-29, 2014
THE signing of the Com-prehensive Agree-ment on the Bang-
samoro (CAB) on Thursday in Malacañang after 17 years of on-and-off peace negotia-tions between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), comes at a most in-secure time for Mindanao’s 27 provinces and 33 cities.
Government troops in Mindanao are on red alert as the communist New People’s Army, which is cel-ebrating its 45th anniversa-ry on March 29, has vowed more offensives against the Aquino administration. The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters’ silence is making observers uneasy.
MindaNews saw two armored personnel carriers along the highway of Datu Saudi Ampatuan town in Maguindanao last Monday. More tanks were deployed in the run-up to the signing.
The many factions of the Moro National Libera-tion Front (MNLF) are wait-ing on the side. The usually media-savvy Nur Misuari, MNLF founding chair who is facing criminal charges, has not been heard from since the 21-day standoff between government and MNLF forces in Zamboanga City in September. In fact, Misuari neither showed himself nor spoke during that period, his alleged statements mouthed by non-Moro spokespersons based in South Cotabato.
For Muslimen Sema, former secretary general of Misuari and now chair of one of the MNLF factions, told MindaNews “we have nothing to lose and fear.”
The indigenous peo-ples in the proposed Bang-samoro core territory, who asserted in December that they want to be referred to as “tribal peoples” to main-tain their distinct identity as IPs within the Bangsamoro area, are restless over still unresolved issues on ances-tral domain.
Just a piece of paper“At the end of the day,”
said Amina Rasul, President of the Philippine Council for Islam and Democracy, told MindaNews, “a peace agree-ment is only a piece of paper. It will be made real by peo-ple.”
Rasul said she hopes leaders “have learned from the mistakes committed during the implementation of the 1996 FPA (Final Peace Agreement) and will truly work for the benefit of the
Bangsamoro.”Her fear? That leaders
“will manipulate the GPH-MILF agreement for their own interests.”
Sittie Anida Tomawis, an Iranun from Maguindanao who is pursuing a law de-gree at the Notre Dame Uni-versity in Cotabato City, told MindaNews at the sidelines of a Youth Conversations on the Bangsamoro forum in Cotabato City on Saturday that she fears “there may be more conflicts that will arise” when the agreement is signed, referring to other armed groups in the area such as the Bangsamoro Is-lamic Freedom Fighters, a breakaway group from the MILF.
The MILF itself broke away from the MNLF in the late 1970s after the 1976 Tripoli Agreement col-lapsed.
Tomawis is also con-cerned over the rights of indigenous peoples within the future Bangsamoro and hopes the new political en-tity won’t end up like the ARMM (Autonomous Re-gion in Muslim Mindanao) that it is replacing.
Benefit future genera-tions
Saidamen Mambayao of C-CARE (Citizens Coa-lition for ARMM Electoral Reforms) envisions a Bang-samoro that will have a Min-istry of Youth Affairs and
a seat in the Bangsamoro Assembly so they can partic-ipate in the affairs of the new entity which will be a minis-terial form of government.
After all, he said, the peace pact is supposed to “benefit future generations.”
But Mambayao fears the agreement will not be imple-mented “because of spoilers and many other negative factors.”
Jinggoy Mokudef, a Teduray youth leader, said he hopes the agreement would respect the rights of the IPs like him in the Bang-samoro and that they would be represented in the As-sembly.
Jerome Sucor Aba, acting spokesperson of Suara Bang-samoro-Cotabato, maintains that peace must be based on justice and that whatever agreement is signed would bring “totoong autonomy” (genuine autonomy).
Aba led some 50 young Moro men and women in a rally at the Tantawan Park in Cotabato City on March 18, the 46th commemoration of the Jabidah Massacre that led to the organization of the Moro National Liberation Front.
Danger zonesSam Maulana, who rep-
resented the Samahan ng Ex-Detainees Laban sa De-tensyon at para sa Amnesti-ya (SELDA) at the rally, told MindaNews that the peace
agreement is “a compro-mise.”
“It can work but I am still very worried about the dan-ger zones ahead,” he said, among them the fact that the Bangsamoro Basic Law drafted by the Bangsamoro Transition Commission may be revised by Congress.
He also hopes that those who will be appointed by President Aquino to the Bangsamoro Transition Au-thority will not end up as puppets of the administra-tion.
But Maulana acknowl-edges the “sincerity and honesty” of government and how the panels worked to craft the CAB.
Kidapawan Bishop Ro-mulo dela Cruz, the Arch-bishop-elect of Zamboanga, told MindaNews in an inter-view in his office in Kidap-awan City last Sunday that he hopes the CAB “will suc-ceed” but fears other armed groups would emerge and cause trouble.
Dela Cruz, however, hopes for a leadership in the Bangsamoro that would en-sure the interests of the peo-ple are served.
Fraught with dan-gerous twists and turns Former GPH peace pan-el member Irene Santiago (2001 to 2003) said she is “elated, of course, at the signing of the agreement.”
“I am particularly pleased with the strong par-ticipation of women toward the end of the negotiations. But the road ahead is fraught with dangerous twists and turns. The Filipino people must stand together with the Bangsamoro for indeed we are one state but many ‘nationals’ and today we declare this diversity as our treasure and not the source of devastating conflict,” San-tiago said.
Caloy Manlupig of Balay Mindanaw in Cagayan de Oro said he hopes to see a “small victory, a simple suc-cess story – that will inspire the people that it is possible to achieve harmony, prog-ress and peace in Mindanao.”
His greatest fear is that “mahimong sumpay lang kini sa pila na ka henerasyon nga pagpulipuli lang sa mga mapasagaron, hugaw ug kawatan nga pangagamhan-an – i.e. RAG (Regional Au-tonomus Government), ORC (Office of the Regional Com-missioner), ARMM. Pulipuli lang sa pag-abusar, pagpan-gawat, pagpasagad samtang misamot kalisod ang kinab-uhi sa kadaghanan” (this will just be a continuation of the cycle of abusive, dirty and corrupt governance – from RAG , ORC, ARMM. Cycle of abuse, corruption and that would make life more diffi-cult for the majority).
Greater Jihad
Gus Miclat, Executive Director of the Initiatives for International Dialogue, hopes that both GPH and MILF “don’t drop the ball, enter into a meaningful and collaborative partnership; do projects, programs show themselves TOGETHER, reach out to and dialogue with groups such as IPs (In-digenous Peoples), MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front), local politicians, Vi-sayas and Luzon peoples, deliver high impact, sus-tainable and visible projects ASAP.”
Miclat fears that “IPs are cavalierly shunted aside, too much accommodation for local trapos (traditional poli-ticians), both administration and opposition will use this for their respective political agendas, and the masses will not feel the significance.”
Mussolini Lidasan, Ex-ecutive Director of the Al Qalam Institute at the Ate-neo de Davao University, said the signing of the CAB is “the start of the Great-er Jihad (struggle), a jihad against one’s inner desires and greed.”
“We pray that the MILF will remain true to their commitment of peace and dialogue among peoples. We pray that the Philippine government will finally ad-dress social justice in our homeland,” Lidasan said. [MindaNews]
11EDGEDAVAO
BIGGER PICTURE
MABUHAY BANGSAMORO! A Moro woman raises a flaglet during a gathering in Pikit, North Cotabato on Thursday to celebrate the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro in Manila. As of 10:30 a.m., organizers said 5,000 have already arrived. [Mindanews Photo by Keith Bacongco]
Hopes, fears aired on signing of Bangsamoro peace pactBy CAROLYN O. ARGUILLAS
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ARAW NG DA-BAW went by fast not because it took place unknowing-ly but Davaoeños surely did celebrate the weekend with a bang. Among the several city-wide fes-tivities was Pundo-kan, a 3-day event at Backyard Burgers South (Ecoland) last March 14 to 16, 2014. In commemoration of the city’s local culture, the event featured a series of competitions, workshops and exhibits that exempli-fied what Davao is about in terms of its lifestyle and culture. Not to mention there was a bazaar as well, showcasing some of the budding local businesses and food establishments in Davao.
Davao’s New Chill Tam-bayanPundokan’s vision was to provide a place of gath-ering for locals who just want to relax, hang out and be with great com-pany. This has led Back-
yard Burgers owners Mr. Juan Gadi and wife, Rica Gadi, to transform their restaurant’s parking lot into a small turf that soon would become an annual hangout spot for everyone who wants a taste of the Davao vibe. Along with these ideas, the compe-titions and workshops were tailored to bring out what Davaoeños love best,
which mainly were music, arts and most definitely, food. The competitions held were BB Grill Off: Search for the Best Dabaw Burg-er, Battle of the Bands @ Backyard Burgers, BB Graffiti Art Contest, Pundokan Essay Writing Contest and Pundokan Photography Contest/Ex-hibit. In addition, Pundokan also organized a health and wellness seminar on Kangen water followed by Zumba session led by John Ri. On Sunday, an Arts and Crafts Work-shop for dream catcher making and coffee paint-ing was led by Ms. Blue Matalam of Travelbeads and local artist Ms. Abi-gail Albino. The winners of the competitions were Mr.
INdulge! VOL. 7 ISSUE 10 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 28-29, 2014
EDGEDAVAOEVENT
Bogart the Explorer and Pundokan organizers.
Entertainment during Pundokan.
The Backyard Burger Grill Off competition.
Pundokan:Kaon. Kalihukan. Kalipay.
Ritchel Engbino (BB Grill Off), Benchwarmers (BB@BB), Jeremiah Lim (Graffiti), Gabrielle An-saldo (Essay), and Benjie Burdeos (Photography). The event concession-aires were Chef P’s Snacks and Sweets, Hoy, Panga!, Nine-Nails T-shirts, Pica Fruits, Sea Green Cafe and Lifestyle Shop, So-nya’s BBQ and Yurp Din-er and Travelbeads. The people behind Pundokan: Kaon. Kali-hukan. Kalipay would like to thank everyone who participated and came. We hope to see you all again on the next Araw ng Davao celebration. PR
ON March 29, Abreeza Mall joins the world in celebrating Earth Hour through its Art in the Dark Competition, a group live art competition in honor of Earth Hour. Up for grabs are prizes of up to P15,000. There will also be a Green Plates Benefit Dinner at the Res-taurant Row. Tickets to the ben-efit dinner are still available at the Main Concierge at P450.00 each. Proceeds will go to the Davao City Water District’s Adopt-a-Site Program. For inquiries and updates on Abreeza Mall events, visit the Main Concierge at the ground floor or call (082) 321-9332. Stay updated by liking www.facebook.com/AbreezaMall and following @abreezatweets on Twitter and @iloveabreezamall on Instagram.
LEADING telecommunications company Globe Telecom furthers its commitment in helping mitigate the impact of climate change by supporting Earth Hour 2014 on March 29 from 8:30-9:30 pm. Earth Hour is a global initiative of the World Wide Fund for Na-ture (WWF) to show how individuals, communities, businesses, and governments can address the threat of global warming by working as one. Supported by nearly two billion individuals globally and by more than 18 million Filipinos, the Earth Hour campaign is the largest voluntary movement for the planet. This year’s theme is “Earth Hour Blue, Use your Power to make change a reality.” “Globe Telecom is not only committed to reducing its own en-vironmental impact, but also to promote sustainable lifestyle. It is our hope that through Earth Hour we will be able to engage our employees and subscribers to start living a sustainable lifestyle even beyond Earth Hour,” said Fernando Esguerra, OIC, Corpo-rate Social Responsibility. Globe and its employees pledge to join the global initiative by switching off lights in major offices and LED boards, and their homes. A participant of Earth Hour for the past years, Globe continues to comply with environmental regulations while incorporating solutions that mitigate climate change such as reducing carbon emissions via products and solutions that will enable a low-car-bon economy. It is also on the lookout for other areas where it could make a difference in following the path towards sustain-able development.
STARMOBILE goes all out for summer with their Starmobile Sale which offers discounts up to P5000 off on selected models until March 31, 2014. Crafted with a solid and beautiful alumi-num body, the latest ENGAGE tablets im-press with sleek and speed. Leading the tablet pack is the Quad Core Engage 8 3G with high speed HSPA+ con-nectivity that delivers a full on tablet experi-ence for only P8,990. The quad core WiFi-only option—ENGAGE 8 Quad-- is also avail-able for only P5,990. Fans can now enjoy Starmobile’s flagship multimedia tablet—the Starmobile ENGAGE 9i—for only P8,990. This impressive An-droid 4.2.2 Jelly Bean tablet packs a 2GHz Dual Core Intel Atom Z2580 Chipset and 2GB of RAM which give it the ability to run multiple Android Jelly Bean applications with ease. Coupled with an 8.9-inch Full High Definition (1920 x 1200 pixels) multi-touch screen and Stereo Speakers, the ENGAGE 9i raises ‘content con-sumption’ to a whole new level as it brings seamless High Defi-nition (HD) video and audio playback into the hands of Filipino consumers. Quality Starmobile Powered by Android devices are now avail-able nationwide. Check out www.starmobile.com.ph, Happy Man by Starmobile on Facebook, and @happymanPH on Twitter for more exciting news from Starmobile.
A2 INdulge! VOL. 7 ISSUE 10 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 28-29, 2014EDGEDAVAO
Abreeza Mall to join Earth Hour celebration
Globe Telecom commits to WWF Earth Hour 2014
Go from old school to all cool with Starmobile’s tablet sale
UP AND ABOUT EVENT
SM shines in PRA awards night
IT was a shining mo-ment for SM’s Retail and Shopping Cen-ter group when it received several ma-jor awards during the Philippine Retail Association’s 17th Outstanding Filipino Retailers and Shop-ping Centers of the Year Awards night held recently at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Ortigas Center. Leading the way was the SM Group’s Tessie Sy-Coson, who received the prestigious PRA Presi-dent’s Award. She was rec-ognized as Philippine Re-tailing’s Woman Visionary Leader for her “insightful vision and commendable leadership at the help of SM that made it the largest and most consistently suc-cessful retail conglomerate in the Philippines.” “As one of the pro-ponents of this award, I always advocate to give credit to whom it is due,” says former PRA President Mars Chua. “Like her fa-ther, she has received so many recognitions and awards – both interna-tional and local – but none from her own peers and from the industry where she started and truly be-longs.” During the same eve-ning, the SM Group re-ceived several awards: the Hall of Fame for the SM Store in the Full Line De-partment Store Category; the Foreign Fashion Ap-parel Award for Forever 21 in the large store category; the Foreign Brand Cate-gory Killer for ACE Hard-
ware; and the Shopping Center of the Year (Small Category) for SM Center Muntinlupa.
This is the ninth year that PRA, the largest or-ganization of the country’s top retailers and prime
SM Investments Vice Chair Tessie Sy-Coson receives the PRA President’s Award from DOT Sec. Ramon Jimenez Jr. (2nd from left), OFR Chairman and DTI Sec. Gregory Domingo (3rd from left) and PRA Presi-dent Lorenzo Formoso (5th from left) during ceremonies held during the 17th Outstanding Filipino Re-tailers and Shopping Centers of the Year Awards Night held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Ortigas City. Also shown in the photo are PRA Vice Chairmen Alegria Limjoco and Mars Chua and PRA Chairman Emeritus Samie Lim (right). Ms. Coson was recognized as Philippine Retailing’s Woman Visionary leader.
SM Prime Holdings President Hans T. Sy with members of the SM Center Muntinlupa team who won PRA’s Shopping Center of the Year (Small Category) award: SM Supermalls President Annie Garcia (right), SM AVP for Operations for South Luzon 2 and 3 Jason T. Terre-nal (3rd from left), SM Center Muntinlupa Asst. Mall Manager Justin Carlos Leonor (left) and SM AVP for Leasing for South Luzon 2 and 3 Carminda D. Magbal.
The SM Store continues to be part of the lives of generations of Filipinos after more than fifty years of service with 48 stores in key cities around the Philippines.
movers in the retail in-dustry, is handing out the President’s Award to salute the industry’s leaders and visionaries who paved the way for this generation of retailers. Ms. Coson’s father, SM Founder and Chairman Henry Sy, Sr. was the first PRA Presidential Awardee, honored as the Father of Philippine Retail. She and her siblings were growing up when their father start-ed his business, and they were involved when they were very young. In retail, Ms. Coson to-day oversees the growth of the business, which includes the SM Depart-ment Stores, and affiliates totaling 300 stores nation-wide. SM’s retail group was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame of Re-tail Asia’s Asia Pacific Top 500 Awards, a distinction given to retailers who have been awarded the Best of the Best Award for three consecutive years. She likewise works closely with SM’s mall operations through SM Prime Holdings, where she sits as Adviser to its Board of Directors; and is Chair of BDO Unibank, Inc. Ms. Coson has received numerous awards, includ-ing being named one of Fortune Magazine’s Most Powerful Women in Busi-ness for ten years, and Forbes Asia’s Power Busi-ness Women list for the past three years. PR
WHAT seemed to be just a dream for Kapuso Mas-ter Showman German “Kuya Germs” Moreno before finally became a reality via the launch of the Walk of Fame held last Sunday (March 23) at the GMA Network Center in Quezon City, dubbed as the country’s “City of Stars.” Located along EDSA and Timog Avenue sur-rounding the GMA Net-work Center, the Walk of Fame is a dream-come-true for Kuya Germs because this serves as another milestone in the history of local enter-tainment industry. Kuya Germs is thankful to GMA Network Chairman and CEO Atty. Felipe L. Gozon for his untiring support that made the launch possible. “I am proud to finally have this Walk of Fame dahil dito lang natin ma-papadama sa mga artista yung importansya at kon-tribusyong nagawa nila para sa Network. I feel complete na lahat ay nag-cooperate para sa event na ito dahil hindi magig-ing successful ang project na ito kung walang pag-tutulungan,” said Kuya Germs.
The event was graced by politicians/actors close to Kuya Germs’ heart led by Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista, and Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno. Also present in the launch were GMA Network officers, namely GMA Senior Vice Presi-dent for Entertainment TV Lilybeth G. Rasonable, GMA First Vice President for Program Support Regie C. Bautista, GMA Vice President for Enter-tainment TV Marivin T. Arayata, GMA Vice Presi-dent for Program Man-agement Jose Mari R. Abacan, GMA Senior As-sistant Vice President for Alternative Productions Gigi Santiago-Lara, GMA Assistant Vice President for Talk, Magazines, Mu-sical, Reality Productions and TV Specials Darling P. De Jesus, GMA Assistant Vice President for Drama Cheryl Ching-Sy, GMA Assistant Vice President for Corporate Affairs Te-resa L. Pacis, GMA Senior Program Manager for Entertainment TV Bang U. Arespacochaga, and GMA Program Manager for Entertainment TV Ali Nokom-Dedicatoria. The Walk of Fame
launch proved to be a star-studded event as it was attended by veteran actresses Gloria Romero and Pilita Corrales. Kapu-so artists Aljur Abrenica, Louise delos Reyes, Mark Herras, Yasmien Kurdi,
LJ Reyes, Julie Anne San Jose, Kristoffer Martin, Derrick Monasterio, Bar-bie Forteza, Bela Padilla, Bea Binene, Max Collins, Rafael Rosell, Glaiza de Castro, Rochelle Pang-ilinan, Mona Louise Rey,
THE love team of teleser-ye royalties Coco Martin and Kim Chiu has quickly won the hearts of TV viewers and netizens as their characters in ABS-CBN’s master teleserye “Ikaw Lamang” Samuel and Isabelle begin to re-kindle their past. “Ikaw Lamang’s” epi-sode last Tuesday (March 25), where Isabelle stayed at the house of her child-hood friend Samuel scored a national TV rat-ing of 28.9%, based on data from Kantar Media. It was 11 points higher compared to its rival pro-gram on GMA “Carmela” that only got 17.8%. Neti-zens also took to Twitter to post their thoughts about Coco and Kim’s ro-mantic scenes, prompt-ing the show’s official hashtag #IkawLaman-gIsabellesAwakening and the names Samuel
and Isabelle to become instant worldwide trend-ing topics on the micro-blogging site. Meanwhile, fans and avid viewers will fall even more in love with the story of “Ikaw Lamang” as Samuel and Isabelle begin to develop deeper feelings for each other.
How will Isabelle defend Samuel against her fam-ily when they find out about their special friend-ship? Will they finally end up together or will fate intervene once again and break them apart? Don’t miss the the timeless master tele-serye, “Ikaw Lamang”
weeknights after “Dye-sebel” on ABS-CBN Pri-metime Bida. For more information about “Ikaw Lamang” visit the show’s official social media ac-counts Facebook.com/IkawLamang.Online, Twit ter.com/IkawLa-mang_TV and Instagram.com/IkawLamang_TV.
INdulge! A3VOL. 7 ISSUE 10 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 28-29, 2014EDGEDAVAOENTERTAINMENT
Master Showman German Moreno launches Walk of Fame at GMA Network
Kim-Coco love team, a certified hit among viewers and netizens
Jonalyn Viray, Kyla, Jay-r, Mark Bautista, Chef Boy Logro, Manilyn Reynes, Angelu de Leon, Mark An-thony Fernandez, Gabby Eigenmann, Raymond Bagatsing, Ricky Davao, and Eat Bulaga Dabarkads Anjo Yllana and Wally Bayola also graced this momentous occasion. Also present during the event were GMA News and Public Affairs per-sonalities Arnold Clavio, Sandra Aguinaldo, Raffy Tima, Mariz Umali, Oscar Oyda, Mark Salazar, Jun Veneracion, Chino Gas-ton, and Nathaniel Cruz.
PG 13
PG 13
PG 13
PG 1312:00 | 3:00 | 6:00 | 9:00 LFS
R-16CAPTAIN AMERICA:
THE WINTER SOLDIER 2D
1:00 | 4:00 | 7:00 | 10:00 LFS
CAPTAIN AMERICA:
THE WINTER SOLDIER 2D
11:40 | 2:15 | 4:50 | 7:25 | 10:00 LFS
DIVERGENT 2D
Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson
12:30 | 3:30 | 6:30 | 9:30 LFS
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER 3D
Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson
Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson
Shailene Woodley, Theo James
A4 INdulge! VOL. 7 ISSUE 10 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 28-29, 2014EDGEDAVAOEVENT
WIRELESS leader Smart Communi-cations Inc. (Smart) turned the 77th Araw ng Dabaw into one of the country’s grandest celebra-tions as Smart Pre-paid’s “Live All Out” hosted simultaneous gatherings for thou-sands of Dabawenyos and offered subscrib-ers with exclusive perks, freebies and discounts for a richer and more exciting festival experience. The highlight of Smart Prepaid’s “Live All Out” festivities was the Liberalia, a neon glow-in-the-dark party held at the Croco-dile Park concert grounds, featuring the country’s top DJs in an electronic dance music fest. Smart also hosted Step Up, a street party along Palma Gil Street, where the most happening bars in Davao are located. Both events fired up at 3 p.m. and lasted until the wee hours of the morning, seal-ing Davao’s claim as one of the country’s top party destinations.
Smart Prepaid swathes Liberalia in neon glow At Liberalia, over 3,000 party-loving Dabawenyos gamely splashed them-selves in neon paint and cheerfully danced all night in an outdoor rave. Every-one was stoked with un-
flagging party vibe as they danced to the beats spun by the metro’s finest, DJs Wacky Masbad and Torch Gacuma. As the night ran deeper, the crowd rocked to the sounds of DJ Ace Ramos, DJs Curse and Bless, DJ Surf and premier party boosters Aliana Jimenez, Clyde Harris and Reo Mendoza. Manila’s most in-demand hypeman, MC Paolo, was also present, keeping the party bustling all night. Working the crowd at the party were dynamic dancers in glow-in-the-dark tribal costumes. Ev-eryone also welcomed the
Universo Robot, the larger-than-life dance machine decked with LED technol-ogy and special pyrotech-nic effects that has become a staple in festivals around the world.
Partying in Smart Live All Out fashionSmart Prepaid subscrib-ers got the most fun out of the celebration, enjoy-ing exclusive perks such as a free general admis-sion ticket and a special kit complete with glow sticks, waterproof phone holder and a tank top for every purchase of mobile load. All Smart subscribers also got a 20 percent discount on VIP tickets inclusive of unlimited Bacardi drinks. Like VIPs, Smart sub-scribers also enjoyed free transportation from stra-tegic pick-up points in the city to the concert venue. They also stayed connect-ed throughout the concert with their free WIFI access and mobile phone charg-ing at the Smart tent so they could upload all their good times online without a hitch.
Smart takes the celebra-tion to the streetThousands also trooped to the party strip along Palma Gil Street for another mas-sive Araw ng Dabaw bash at the Step Up: Street Party. The crowd enjoyed the to-tal “Live All Out” experi-ence with the sounds of top international DJ Ingo Vogelmann of Germany, celebrity jocks DJ Coki and DJ Cherry Summer,
Smart Prepaid sets ‘Araw ng Dabaw’ aglow with epic ‘Live All Out’ parties
and homegrown spin mas-ters DJ Patrick, DJ James, Kevin Rage, DJ Enzo, DJ Robert and DJ Cindy. The next day, a Smart contin-gent also joined the parade at Davao’s major streets
with a marching band en-semble, capping a weekend of joyful celebration. Until the last day of the festival, Smart Prepaid subscribers got to enjoy instant treats for every
purchase of load mobile in their favorite establish-ments such as Magsaysay Durian, Pasalubong Cen-ter, Penong’s – Quirino branch, Aling Fopings Ha-lo-Halo, Coffee Cat, Bak-bak Grill and Restaurant, and MTS Taboan. The Araw ng Dabaw is part of the series of region-al celebrations that Smart has made more exciting through its “Live All Out” activities. Prior to Araw ng Dabaw, Smart Prepaid’s “Live All Out” has turned up the celebrations in Ce-bu’s Sinulog, Iloilo’s Dina-gyang and Baguio’s Panag-benga. Smart subscribers should watch out as Smart Prepaid is to set to reach out to more areas of the country to provide them with an incomparable fes-tival experience. For more information and updates, check out Smart.com.ph/liveallout and follow @SMARTCares on Twitter and Instagram. PR
Dabawenyos “Live All Out” at Liberalia, a Smart Prepaid-sponsored neon party to celebrate Araw ng Dabaw.
Thousands “Live All Out” on Palma Gil St. for Smart Prepaid’s Step Up: Street Party.
Smart Prepaid joins the Araw ng Dabaw parade.
VOL. 7 ISSUE 10 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 28-29, 2014 13
3/14,21,28
Notice is hereby given that the estate of the late ROBERT TONGSON GALLANO has been the subject of an EXTRA-JUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF ESTATE WITH WAIVER OF RIGHTS executed by his heirs per Doc. No.377; Page No. 76; Book No. X; Series of 2014 of the NOTARY PUBLIC MARIANO L. APAO, JR.
LEGAL NOTICE
EDGEDAVAO
COMPETITIVE EDGE
AS part of the stra-tegic alliance of Tigerair with Cebu
Pacific Air (PSE:CEB), Ti-gerair Philippines now
operates an Airbus A320 aircraft from Cebu Pacif-ic, the first of four aircraft that will be transferred on lease to Tigerair Philip-
pines. The aircraft will be
flown from Terminal 4 by Tigerair Philippines pilot and cabin crew. The air-craft will serve Tigerair Philippines menu.
The leased aircraft ail complement the three (3) Airbus A320 aircraft of Ti-
gerair Philippines. “We give you more
reasons to fly with us. With our alliance with Cebu Pacific, our cus-tomers can now expect a more vibrant and dynamic Tigerair as we leverage on their wide network, flight frequencies, and customer
service. Watch us move as we collaborate to bring you innovative deals in the coming days,” ends Lau-rente.
Tigerair flies you to Cebu, Bacolod, Clark, Ka-libo, Iloilo, Tacloban, Puerto Princesa. For bookings and inquiries,
please log on to www.ce-bupacificair.com or call our reservation hotlines: +(632) 7020-888 or +(6332) 230-8888. The latest seat sale can be found on CEB’s official Twitter (@cebupacific-air) and Facebook pages. [Menchie V. Osial]
Tigerair Philippines leases Airbus A320 from CebPac
VOL. 7 ISSUE 10 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 28-29, 2014
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP) — Novak Djokovic benefited
from an erroneous call and claimed he didn’t realize he had broken the rules. When Andy Murray walked to the net and challenged him about it, Djokovic re-sponded with a shrug and a sheepish smile.
The point that aggra-vated Murray occurred at the start of the 12th game, when he was serving at 5-6. Djokovic charged forward
to volley a short ball and hit it for a winner.
Murray argued — and TV replays confirmed — he should have be awarded the point because Djokovic’s racket was on the far side of the net when he hit the ball. Chair umpire Damian Steiner declined to change his call, and such rulings can’t be appealed for video review.
Murray briefly dis-cussed the matter with Djokovic.
“I went and asked No-vak, and he told me he was over the net,” Murray said.
“Look, it might be my mistake,” Djokovic said. “I think I crossed the net with the racket. I didn’t touch the net. Maybe the rule is that you are not allowed to pass on his side with the racket. I’m not sure. You tell me.”
That is indeed the rule. Djokovic said that if he had understood it correctly, he would have conceded the point.
A flustered Murray committed unforced back-hand errors on the next three points to lose the game and the set.
“Obviously, that dis-tracted him mentally, and after that he gave the set away,” Djokovic said.
Murray took a lead in the second set but lost the final four games and the last 12 points. Afterward, he downplayed the bad call.
“I’m not angry,” he said. “It maybe had a slight bear-ing on that game, but I was still up a break in the sec-ond set.”
Djokovic’s next op-ponent, Nishikori, will be playing in only his sec-ond ATP Masters 1000 semifinal, and his first in 2½ years. He advanced by breaking Federer five times, including in the final game.
“I thought I really played well, especially in the third set,” Nishikori said. “I was hitting balls deep and striking well. Ev-erything was going well.”
Federer was the run-ner-up to Djokovic at In-dian Wells two weeks ago, and said he’s pleased with his start to the year despite the latest loss.
MIAMI (Reuters) - A tireless Kei Nishi-kori shocked 17-
time grand slam winner Roger Federer 3-6 7-5 6-4 on Wednesday to claim his second top five scalp in two days and reach the semi-fi-nals of the Sony Open.
After knocking off fourth seeded Spaniard Da-vid Ferrer in a three-hour marathon on Tuesday, the 21st ranked Japanese was forced to go the distance again, surviving a two-hour center court battle with Federer.
Nishikori has been one of Federer’s few bogeymen, having now gotten the bet-ter of the Swiss maestro in two of their three career meetings.
“To beat Roger, and it’s second time to beat him... I thought I really played well, especially in the third,” Ni-shikori told reporters. “I was hitting both deep and striking well. Everything was going well.
“There was couple of tough moments, but I was fighting through and happy to win today.”
Arriving in south Flor-ida riding the momentum from a finals appearance at Indian Wells, Federer had been in superb form, cruis-ing into the Miami quar-ter-finals without dropping a set, highlighted by 49 minute fourth round win
over Richard Gasquet.A two-time Miami
champion, Federer con-vincingly won the opening set and looked ready for an easy night when he twice went up a break in the sec-ond.
But each time, the feisty Nishikori would imme-diately answer back then broke Federer again at 6-5 to level the match.
With the third set head-ing towards a tie-break it was Federer who blinked
while serving to stay in the match at 5-4, slamming an easy forehand into the net and then sending a return long to hand Nishikori tri-ple match point.
Federer would survive the first two but could not
save the third, Nishikori whipping a forehand win-ner off the return to seal the upset.
“I just couldn’t find my rhythm on the serve to-day,” Federer said. “It was surprising especially after
how well I have served and played this week.
“I had the set and a break and up a break again so it is a little frustrating.
“He was more consis-tent in the second and third so all credit to him.”
14 SPORTS EDGEDAVAO
Kei Nishikori hits a forehand against Roger Federer on day ten of the Sony Open at Crandon Tennis Center. (Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports)
Nishikori stuns Federer
Novak Djokovic returns to Andy Murray at the Sony Open Tennis tournament in Key Biscayne, Fla. on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)
Djokovic beats Murray in Sony Open quarterfinals
Tiger Woods bows his head on the fourth green during the final round of the Cadillac Championship golf tournament. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Almost every year at the Masters, Jack Nicklaus, the man
whose record 18 major championships seems more untouchable by the day, year and Tiger Woods back spasm, holds court with the media.
He almost always plays a little coy, offering a polite, passive aggressive bit of competitive talk. He con-sistently says he expects Woods, stuck since 2008 on 14 majors, to one day take his record. Yet Jack al-ways notes it won’t be easy because it keeps getting more difficult with each successive missed oppor-tunity.
In 2010: “They asked me if Tiger would not
play this year, what did I think about my record. I said I think it would be a lot more difficult because three of the golf courses we are playing are courses he likes very much, obvi-ously Augusta and Pebble Beach and St. Andrews.”
In 2011: “He will prob-ably pass my record, but then … I always say, he’s still got to do it. If you look at what he’s got to do, he’s still got to win five more, and that’s more than a ca-reer for anybody else play-ing.”
In 2013: “Obviously the older he gets and if he doesn’t win, it makes my record move out further.”
Tiger went oh-fer in all of those years, of course.
Woods running out of time to break Nicklaus’ record
VOL. 7 ISSUE 10 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 28-29, 2014 15SPORTSEDGEDAVAO SPORTS
Indiana Pacers forward Paul George, center, shoots between Miami Heat defenders Udonis Haslem, left, and LeBron James during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis on Wednesday. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Indiana took every shot Miami could muster
Wednesday night.Then the Pacers threw a
couple of their own punch-es - and put the two-time defending champs on the mat.
Paul George scored 23 points, Roy Hibbert added 21 and Indiana rallied from a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Heat 84-83, taking a three-game lead over Miami in the chase of the Eastern Conference’s top seed.
‘’They’re the champs, they’re going to bring out the best in us,’’ said David West, who made a 3-point-er with 50.2 seconds to go. ‘’They bring out the best in anybody. I thought we just had enough fight.’’
It was one of those rare grudge matches that actual-ly lived up to the billing.
Before the game, the teams chided one another with dueling comments. Afterward, nobody was ready to make up. And in between, the action got downright nasty.
LeBron James need-ed a cotton swab in his nose to keep playing in the fourth quarter after getting whacked in the face. Dwy-ane Wade spent the final minute of the game icing his right hamstring.
Pacers center Roy Hib-bert finished the game de-spite taking an elbow to the face that left him so groggy he didn’t even remember getting hit.
James and George both
wound up taking spills into basket supports, and Lance Stephenson was ejected midway through the fourth quarter after picking up his second technical foul for celebrating a basket. The angry Stephenson waved his hand at the ref and af-ter leaving the court, threw a towel and kicked a door. Coach Frank Vogel was not amused, saying he had a stern talk with his budding star guard before he went home.
But it typified a rugged night for Miami (48-22).
‘’It is what it is, they ref the game, we play it,’’ James said.
The NBA’s best home team ended a two-game losing streak, took a 2-1 lead in the season series and now has the inside track to home-court advan-tage with just 10 games to play.
And (52-20) Indiana still managed to do all of that on a night James seemed to be at his best.
The four-time MVP finished with 38 points, eight rebounds, five assists, was 9 of 15 from the field and 14 of 15 from the free throw line.
The problem: James also had six turnovers, Wade had six more turn-overs and Miami managed only one basket over the final 3 minutes, 23 sec-onds. James and Bosh both missed late jumpers that would have given Miami the lead, the last an airball by Bosh from just right of the top of the key as time
expired.‘’Unfortunately, that
was what I diagramed,’’ coach Erik Spoelstra said. ‘’It probably wasn’t the best call. It might have been a little too gunslinger on my part. I just wanted an open shot.’’
They were so hard to come by Wednesday night that James was even called for a flagrant foul when he drove to the bas-ket and sent the 7-foot-2, 290-pound Hibbert crash-ing to the ground. When Hibbert got up, he stum-bled. Eventually he had to leave the court to change his blood-spattered jersey, but he refused to sit against the Heat.
Hibbert dominated the first half yet again, scoring 17 points.
But when the Heat de-cided to make things tough on Hibbert in the second half, George and his team-mates took advantage.
George spurred the first fourth-quarter run with two monster dunks - one over the hand of a trailing James - to get the Pacers back in the game.
Later, it was Evan Turn-er, the trade deadline acqui-sition, who delivered two of Indiana’s biggest baskets of the night. The first came after James’ final turnover, on a breakaway layup. The second came courtesy of Mario Chalmers’ turnover out of bounds. When the middle of the court opened up, Turner bolted through a clear path for an 81-80 lead with 90 seconds to go.
Pacers outlast Heat
San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker (left) runs into Denver Nuggets’ Darrell Arthur as he tries to drive to the basket during the first half of an NBA basketball game on Wednesday in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- The San Antonio Spurs didn’t dwell on nearly
blowing a 24-point lead in the second half. They won, and that’s all that mattered to the veteran club.
Tim Duncan had 29 points, 13 rebounds and five assists, and San Antonio overcame a fourth-quarter collapse to beat the Denver Nuggets 108-103 Wednes-day night for its 15th straight victory.
Tiago Splitter, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili had 10 points apiece for the Spurs (55-16), who have the league’s best record.
‘’They made it compet-itive,’’ Parker said. ‘’They played with a lot of ener-gy. We missed a lot of little stuff; easy layups that we always make and they got back in the game. It hap-pens sometimes. We’re not going to beat everybody by 20.’’
It just seemed like they were after overwhelming the Nuggets in the first half.
Danny Green’s 3-point-
er at the buzzer was his fifth of the half, giving San Anto-nio its largest lead of open-ing 24 minutes at 63-43.
Green scored 16 points, all in the first half, before leaving with a foot injury early in the second. His status is unknown, but he wore a walking boot as a precaution after the game and will have an MRI on Thursday morning.
‘’All of a sudden he couldn’t walk,’’ San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. ‘’The bottom of the foot, there is something. They are going to X-ray it. I am just guessing it is plantar fasciitis or something like that.’’
San Antonio had 19 as-sists while going 24 for 42 from the field and forcing nine turnovers in the first half.
‘’We were getting em-barrassed in the first half,’’ Denver forward Darrell Arthur said. ‘’I was upset. I had words with some of the guys in the locker room.’’
Duncan helps Spurs crush Nuggets BOSTON (AP) -- De-Mar DeRozan under-stands that a playoff
berth for the Raptors has meaning beyond Toron-to’s locker room.
Terrence Ross scored 24 points, Kyle Lowry 23 and the Raptors edged closer to their first play-off spot since 2008 with a 99-90 win over the Bos-ton Celtics on Wednesday night.
‘’Not just the fran-chise, the whole city of Toronto and Canada,’’ said DeRozan, sitting at his locker with his left foot in a bucket of ice. ‘’I’ve been here five years and see how passionate the fans are. It definitely means a lot. We feed off them, the energy they bring every single night. That would be great for the city and we have to take advan-tage of the opportunity.’’
DeRozan added 20 points for Toronto, which increased its Atlantic Division lead to 2 1/2 games over Brooklyn. The Raptors could have clinched a playoff spot,
but the New York Knicks beat Sacramento later Wednesday.
It was Lowry’s eighth straight game of 20 or more points and helped the Raptors snap an 11-game losing streak in Boston.
‘’I’m not going to lie,’’ Lowry said. ‘’I think ev-erybody tonight is root-ing for that Western Con-ference team over there.’’
The Raptors are also chasing a division title. They face Boston in the back end of a home and home on Friday.
‘’We can’t be satisfied just making the playoffs,’’ DeRozan said. ‘’We could go out there and play four games and be home. We’ve worked too hard to get to this point just to slow down and pace our-selves. We’ve got a long, long way to go.’’
Jared Sullinger led Boston with 26 points, going 4 of 6 from 3-point range, and Avery Bradley scored 16. Boston lost for the seventh time in eight games.
Raptors edge closer to playoffs
VOL. 7 ISSUE 10 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 28-29, 2014EDGEDAVAOSports16
EDGEDavao Davao Partners
Filipino ring icon Man-ny “Pacman” Pac-quiao and his trainer,
Freddie Roach, said they are not worried about the judges leading up to the boxer’s April 12 rematch against unbeaten Ameri-can Timothy Bradley Jr.
Pacquiao lost to Brad-ley when they first fought in June 2012, when two judges scored their 12-round welterweight
encounter in favor of the American despite the “Pacman” dominating the fight.
Leading up to the re-match, Pacquiao said he is not even thinking about the judges, and is not pres-sured to go for a knockout in order to avoid leaving the bout at their hands.
“I am not thinking about the judges. I always believe in the decisions of
the judges. What I want to do is focus in the ring, and focus on the strategy and techniques that we prac-tice in the gym,” Pacquiao said in a conference call.
Pacquiao also stressed that he has moved past the loss against Bradley from two years ago, saying: “I’m not angry after the deci-sion.”
“The officials did their best, and no one is perfect
in this world and some-times they make mistakes. It’s part of boxing. I wasn’t really bothered about it af-ter the fight,” he added.
“One bad decision doesn’t change everything in life, and doesn’t change our game plan,” said Roach.
The trainer said that regardless of the judges, Pacquiao’s game plan will be similar to what he used
against Brandon Rios in November 2013.
“We are going to fight that is similar to our last fight – stay very busy and throw combinations and [move] in-and-out. We’ve got a good game plan, and Manny’s doing very well with it,” said Roach.
“We are not going to make any adjustments as to who the judges are, because that is out of our
control,” he added.Pacquiao and Roach
agreed that the “Pacman” does not need to go for a knockout against Bradley.
“We don’t go into fights looking for knockouts,” Roach explained. “If you do that, it’s not going to happen. Knockouts come with combinations. It’s a little bit of a bonus. The thing is, we are going to fight this fight our way.”
Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao and his trainer, Freddie Roach, say they are not worried about the judges leading up to the boxer’s rematch against Timothy Bradley Jr.
Pacquiao, Roach not worried about judges