P 15.00 • 20 PAGESwww.edgedavao.netVOL. 8 ISSUE 182 • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

EDGE Serving a seamless society

DAVAO

COMELEC: RODY COC IN ORDERHuge crowd assemble at Comelec in support of Mayor Duterte

By CHARLES RAYMOND A. MAXEY

IN ORDER. Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte shows his Certificate of Candidacy as president after visiting the Commission on Elections law department Tuesday where the Comelec affirmed that his COC is in order. Photo below show’s one of Duterte’s supporters outside the Comelec office in Intramuros. From Manny Piñol’s facebook account

ONE more obstacle hurdled, there’s no stopping Davao City

Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte now from seeking the pres-idency in 2016.

Duterte’s quest for the highest position in the land received another major boost after the Commission on Elec-tions (Comelec) law department on Tues-day declared that his Certificate of Candi-dacy (COC) as pres-idential candidate was in order.

Duterte himself made the announce-ment to members of

the media shortly after he visited the Comelec office in Intramuros before noontime yesterday where the extremely popular mayor got yet another warm reception usual-ly accorded to a rock star.

“I am here to officially affirm that I am running for President and to clarify with the COMELEC law department whether the COC filed by my lawyer on my behalf last week, met all of the require-ments,” Duterte said following the Comelec’s affirmation of his pres-idential bid under the PDP-Laban.

Last November 27, Duterte’s lawyer, Salvador Medialdia, armed with a Special Power of Attorney, filed his COC. Duterte earlier with-drew his COC in Davao seeking re-election and was substituted by

his daughter Sara Duterte-Carpio.News on Comelec’s affirma-

tion elated thousands of Duterte supporters, who waited for hours at the Comelec office with their streamers and placards showing their support to the leader from the South whom they believe could lead the country rise from the depths of despair.

Former North Cotabato gover-nor Manny Piñol, one of Duterte’s close allies who accompanied him to the Comelec office, said the may-or received a warm welcome from his Metro Manila supporters in In-tramuros.

“The Davao City Mayor’s legion of supporters waited for him in front of the Comelec wildly cheer-ing as he arrived with his vice pres-

idential running mate Alan Peter Cayetano. Coming out of the Law Department Office after a 3-minute call and meeting to clarify issues, Duterte came out with a copy of his COC and showed it the members of the media who waited for him in the Comelec office,” Piñol posted on his Facebook account.

“Thank you Immaculate Con-ception of the Blessed Virgin Mary ... one more step hurdled to-wards#TunayNaPagbabago... Rody Duterte personal appearance at the Comelec at Intramuros to affirm his CoC and PdP-Laban CONA filed last week by his lawyer, Salvador Medi-aldea ...,” said Peter T. Laviña, Duter-te’s spokesperson.

“Before going to the Comelec F COMELEC, 11

VOL. 8 ISSUE 182 • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 20152 EDGEDAVAO

NEWS

DAVAO City Mayor Rodri-go R. Duterte brushed off allegations that the

latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey which he topped was commissioned by his camp.

“Well, kung gusto sila ing-non na lang ko na number 10 na lang ko, OK lang man pud sa akoa (If they want they can just say I’m number 10. That’s fine with me),” Duterte said in an interview last Monday.

Duterte said it is up to his opponents if they cannot ac-cept the survey results. “I have no drama with the result of the

survey,” he said.A report from Inquirer.net

said the survey, which con-ducted on November 26 to 28, was commissioned by a Davao City-based businessman.

“Wala man gani ko kabalo kung kinsa (I do not even know who it was),” Duterte said.

Duterte, however, said he is humbled by his recent ratings.

“Ang ako lang masulti if maabot ko diha sa presidency (All I can say is, if I make it to the presidency), I will be faith-ful to my oath of office,” he said.

For his part, Duterte’s run-ning mate Senator Alan Peter

Cayetano said the survey is a picture of the people’s senti-ments.

“Kung maganda ang survey pinupuri, pag pangit tinitira. Normal lang sa tao yun (If the survey result is favorable they will praise it, but if the result is bad they criticize it. That’s nor-mal),” he said.

“I won’t waste time saying that the survey is true or not,” he added.

Still, Cayetano urged the people to help Duterte get a 50 percent rating in the next survey.

The SWS nationwide sur-

vey showed that Duterte was the choice of 38 percent of vot-ers, giving him a double-digit lead over Senator Grace Poe and Vice President Jejomar Binay, who each got 21 percent. Former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas received 15 percent and Senator Miriam Defensor-San-tiago got 4 percent.

SWS ran the survey on Nov. 26-28, or five to six days after Duterte finally declared his run for the presidency and two days before PDP-Laban proclaimed him its presiden-tial candidate for the May 2016 general elections.

DAVAO City Mayor Rodri-go R. Duterte’s running mate Senate majority

floor leader Alan Peter Cayeta-no believes Duterte will not be disqualified because candidate substitution is allowed and has in fact been used hundreds of times before.

“Many councilors, con-gressmen, and provincial board members have used substitution. Why is it a big issue now that Mayor Duterte is availing himself of it?” Cay-etano said, adding around 400 politicians have run as substi-tutes in the past.

This developed as Duterte personally filed his certificate of candidacy (COC) before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Intramuros, Ma-nila yesterday as a substitute for erstwhile PDP-Laban presi-dential candidate Martin Diño. (See related story.)

One of the possible glitches that have been pointed out by various sectors is that Diño’s COC states that he was running for mayor of Pasay City and not

for President.Cayetano, however, said,

the issue is moot and academic because the Comelec accepted Diño’s COC, telling him there were some typographical er-rors in it.

Diño also received a letter from Comelec telling him he could be disqualified “due to his incapability to run a nation-al campaign” and not because he was running for mayor, he added.

Meanwhile, Duterte said he will not attend the hearing of the disqualification case filed against him which is scheduled next week.

“Bahala sila. Di ko moadto. PDP man na (It’s up to them, I will not go there because its PDP’s job),” Duterte said in an interview on Monday after-noon.

Duterte said if the Comelec will rule to disqualify him from the presidential race, he will simply accept it because he does not dream of being Pres-ident. Armando B. Fenequito Jr.

ASSORTED New People’s Army (NPA) weaponry were captured after a

20-minute firefight with 25th Infantry Battalion troopers in Montevista, Compostela Valley Monday afternoon.

In the encounter that took place 2 p.m., an undetermined number of NPA members were believed to have been wound-ed and killed, said 10th Infantry Division spokesperson Captain Rhyan Batchar.

Recovered from the encoun-ter scene were an AK-47 auto-

matic rifle, an improvised explo-sive device, two rifle grenades, and six backpacks.

Batchar said 25th Infantry Battalion troopers were conduct-ing security patrols in the area in response to reports of NPA sight-ing when the encounter took place.

No government troopers were hurt in the engagement at Sitio Bagtok, Barangay San Vi-cente, Montevista, Compostela Valley.

Pursuit operations are still ongoing as of this posting. (PNA)

FULL SUPPORT. Renowned artists Luke Mejares (leftmost), Thor (2nd from left), Paolo Santos (2nd from right) and Jimmy Bondoc (rightmost) show their full support to Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte’s presidential candidacy by raising the mayor’s hands during the annual Pahalipay ni Mayor Rody sa PWDs at the Davao City Recreation Center on Monday night. Lean Daval Jr.

Duterte says he didn’tcommission SWS surveyBy ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

abf@edgedavao.net

WARM WELCOME. Senator Alan Peter Cayetano greets the crowd upon entering the Davao City Recreation Center where he and Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte were guests of honor during the annual Pahalipay ni Mayor Rody sa PWDs on Monday night. Lean Daval Jr.

Cayetano: Candidatesubstitution allowed

NPA weapons, equipment seized in ComVal battle

VOL. 8 ISSUE 182 • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015 3EDGEDAVAO NEWS

AIR SUPPLY IN DAVAO. Graham Russel and Russel Hitchcock of the legendary Air Supply answers questions from media during the pre-concert press conference yesterday at the Park Inn by Radisson. Neljo Ecol is the concert’s line producer under Steve O’Neil of Air Supply. Athena Jillian Bravo

A DAVAO City-based pho-tojournalist received undue flak from netizens

when the Manila Bulletin cred-ited the wrong photograph to him and apparently took liber-ties in writing its caption.

In its website on Septem-ber 9, 2015, the Manila Bulle-tin posted a photo showing a traffic jam on a six-lane high-way with the following cap-tion: “Just like edsa? McArthur Highway in Davao City is not spared from the horrendous traffic condition that has also struck Metro Manila as could be seen in this photo taken near the corner of Quimpo Boulevard. Lack of discipline among drivers and the sheer

volume of vehicles have been initially pinpointed as the ma-jor cause for this logjam in the city.”

The photo and caption were credited to Keith Bacon-gco, a Davao City-based pho-tographer who contributes to various publications, including MindaNews to which EDGE Davao is subscribed.

As Dabawenyos know, there are no six-lane high-ways in Davao City. The photo also showed other details that are not present here: buses, a bus/public utility vehicle lane marked by a yellow line, and concrete columns of what ap-pears to be an elevated train

RODY Duterte is just Rody Duterte and to those who really know him,

there was nothing surprising about his behavior when he uttered expletives during his proclamation as the PDP-La-ban presidential candidate a couple of weeks back.

This was what former Se-curities and Exchange Com-mission (SEC) chair Perfecto Yasay Jr. said of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte in

the aftermath of the firestorm the local chief executive creat-ed when he hurled cuss words during the event at the Centu-ry Park Sheraton Hotel.

Duterte was cursing at the time over government’s inept-ness in addressing the traffic problem in Metro Manila, but was severely criticized as he also mentioned Pope Francis at the height of his tirades.

“I heard what Rody Dute-rte said during his proclama-

tion impromptu speech at the Century Plaza Hotel last No-vember 30 and I cringed along with many others when he ut-tered with acerbic passion his favorite invective that instinc-tively flows out of his mouth in anger and frustration to drive a point. I also wished he had done otherwise and would forthwith stop deliver-ing speeches from his heart,” Yasay posted on his Facebook account last December 3.

“But for those who know him better, especially Min-danawans and Cebuanos, what Rody candidly revealed of himself that day is nothing new. That is the real unpre-tentious Rody Duterte that has always been the Rody Dute-rte that the electorate loves and chose to become Mayor of Davao City for the longest time,” added Yasay in his post titled “MORE ABOUT RODY DUTERTE.”

Yasay and Duterte were classmates in law school at San Beda, or long before Dute-rte became a prosecutor in Davao and eventually becom-ing mayor of one of the largest cities in the world.

Yasay was all praises for Duterte, whom he said would be a good president of the country.

“His leadership style, in-cluding his personal procliv-ities (expletives included), is

what Davao City, notoriously confused with `Nicaragdao’ – the former hotbed of social unrest and criminality – need-ed to become one of the most progressive, attractive and welcoming cities of the coun-try today,” Yasay said.

“Another important fact that Filipinos should know is that when President Cory assumed power, she prompt-ly appointed the same Rody

‘As president, Duterte will do every Filipino proud’By CHARLES RAYMOND A. MAXEY

Davao lensman gets flakover editor’s mistakeBy JON JOAQUIN

jon@edgedavao.net

F AS PRESIDENT, 11

F DAVAO, 11

VOL. 8 ISSUE 182 • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 20154 EDGEDAVAO

ECONOMY

MORE than half or 69 percent of registered investments this year

in the Davao Region amount-ing to P1.469.65 billion were established in Davao City, the Department of Trade and In-dustry-Board of Investments (DTI-BOI) said.

“As of September this year, the investment that poured into Davao City reached P1.014. 22 billion which was lower compared with the P3.186 bil-

lion recorded last year,” DTI 11 regional director Ma. Belenda Q. Ambi said during her recent presentation on the prelimi-nary annual performance 2015 at the Marco Polo Davao.

Meanwhile, Ambi said the remaining 38 percent was shared by the province of Davao del Norte with an initial investment totaling to P288.37 million and Davao del Sur with P167.0 million.

Based on this year’s pre-

liminary data for investment by the BOI bared that more investment entered the two provinces in the previous year with Davao del Sur’s total 2014 investment of P8.494.29 bil-lion and Davao del Sur with P864.12 million.

Majority or 50 percent of these year’s investment in Davao went to real estate ac-tivities, while the rest are in-vested in wood products; gas products; palm oil product;

Infromartion Technology (IT) and Communication; transpor-tation, logistics, and storage; and consumer durables like plastics and packaging.

The real estate invest-ments for Davao Region as of September this year were the P322.84 million real estate ac-tivity of the Johndorf Ventures Corporation; the P276.62 mil-lion real estate project of Davao Joyful Homes Realty Corpora-tion; and the P142 million real

estate project of Mountain Ha-ven Development Inc.

Ambi also said the Star-bridge Global Corp investment P169 million, while the Consol-idated Plywood Industries, Inc., invested P5 million for devel-opment of wood products.

Investment on the IT and communication sector includ-ed the P118.66 million for in-frastructure development of Cybercity Teleservices (Phils) Inc.

The Panabo Trucking Ser-vices, Inc. investedP83.72 mil-lion for project on transporta-tion, logistics and storage while the Sammito Packaging Corp., poured P30.38 million for pro-duction of consumer durables like plastics and packaging.

The palm Asia Milling Cor-poration invested P167.06 for production of palm oil prod-ucts while the Filsure Enter-prises Corp. invested P154.10 million for gas products.

Davao gets bulk of investmentscrc@edgedavao.net

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

THE Philippine Cara-bao Center (PCC) in the farming village of

Dalwangan, Bukidnon gener-ated P 7million revenue this year from the Carabao dairy production, PCC official said Monday.

Gina Villamor, head of the PCC Marketing Department, said that a single Carabao could produce at least six li-ters of milk valued at the pre-vailing price in the market of Php75.00 per liter.

She said that this year’s Php7 million was only a walk-in revenue where clients pur-chased directly at the PCC in Dalwangan.

Villamor said that the PCC has currently 200 heads of fe-male carabao where 90 heads are for dispersal and repro-duction for two cooperatives in the towns of Don Carlos and Maramag, all of Bukidnon.

As of 2015, the PCC al-ready dispersed a total of 126 heads to various cooperatives

engaged in Carabao milk pro-duction in Bukidnon.

Villamor said that the De-partment of Agriculture (DA) is fast tracking the develop-ment of the daily production involving carabao milk to catch up with other countries in the ASEAN region.

Villamor identified the countries where the dairy production has overtaken the Philippines as Thailand, Korea, and Vietnam.

She said that the Nation-

al Dairy Authority (NDA) has adopted the Dairy Multiplier Scheme (DMS) in a bid to uplift the country’s dairy industry.

DMS is a loan scheme from government banks such as Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) with a lower interest.

“No doubt, the Philippines would soon be among the best in the ASEAN market when it comes to dairy products,” Vil-lamor said. (PNA)

Carabao’s dairy yield in Bukidnon generates P7-M walk-in revenue

PACIFIC Cement Compa-ny (PACEMCO) based in this city is set to pay

within the first quarter next year P1.1-billion worth of lia-bilities to all its workers and creditors.

Edwin Batac, chairman of the PACEMCO Mamumuong Nagkahiusa (PAMANA), said this was revealed during the final meeting with PACEMCO’s creditors and employees held in Mactan Island in Cebu last week.

Aside from PAMANA, the PACEMCO Supervisors Union

was also present, represented by its president, Metodio Sem-bajon, and lawyer Jose Begil Jr.

Batac said all creditors will be paid of all its claims except interest and surcharges. “All employees will be paid first at 100 percent of their benefits, he added. Payment will report-edly start on January 1, and not later than March 31.

Alfonso Casurra, PACE-MCO’s lawyer, acknowledged this was one of the highlights during the meeting in Cebu.

He said subsidiary firms of San Miguel Corporation – East

Star Sea Cement Inc. and E Nu-vate Holdings Ltd Inc. – will take over for the rehabilitation of PACEMCO.

He said workers will be paid at least P400 million.

Casurra said the time frame is clear, but added that some 18 creditors are not yet recognized.

“Those recognized claims as reflected in the final regis-try of claims as of November 17, 2015 will be paid together with the employees,” he said.

On December last year, PACEMCO filed for corporate

rehabilitation before the Re-gional Trial Court in Surigao City to settle its financial obli-gation to all its creditors.

The cement company halt-ed operations on May 5, 2014 after the Surigao del Norte Electric Cooperative cut its power supply for unsettled obligations worth at least P25 million.

Since then, PACEMCO has never been able to resume its operations.

Batac said a total of 343 employees were affected by

Surigao cement firm to pay P1.1B to workers

TO improve educational system and empower students, the Autono-

mous Region in Muslim Min-danao (ARMM) has distrib-uted PHP11.3 million worth of educational and livelihood assistance to students and cooperatives in the region, of-ficials on Tuesday said.

The aid extended is un-der the government’s Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) program of the region.

Dong Anayatin, PAMA-NA-ARMM program manager, said about 759 students re-ceived educational assistance amounting to PHP10,000 each for college students and PHP5,000 each for high school students. The bene-ficiaries are children, or im-mediate relatives, of Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) members in Maguin-danao and Sulu.

According to Anayatin, the educational assistance was from the region’s 2014 budget. He said it was a one-

time grant and the beneficia-ries were extensively chosen and recommendations of MNLF cooperative chairper-sons were considered.

Under the program, An-ayatin said ARMM is aiming to help 3,200 college students and 2,073 high school stu-dents across the region. Oth-er beneficiaries will get their educational assistance before the year ens.

One of the beneficiary, Na-jma Dimaporo, 17, a resident of Matanog, Maguindanao, said that she will use the ed-ucational assistance she re-ceived for her school fees.

“I will use the assistance for my enrollment. Because of this, we can save money and I can help my family,” she told reporters.

“I hope the ARMM gov-ernment continue this ini-tiative to help more people,” said Dimaporo who is a first year student of the Cotabato City State Polytechnic College taking Bachelor of Secondary

ARMM distributes P11.3-M educational, livelihood aid

A TOTAL of 57 job seek-ers were initially hired-on-the-spot (HOT) in

yesterday’s 82nd Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Anniversary Job Fair at the Abreeza Mall in Davao City.

As of 2 p.m. report, DOLE 11 regional director lawyer Joffrey Suyao told EDGE Davao in a text message that majority of the HOTs were for local em-ployment totaling 40 and 17 overseas.

Suyao also said that an initial of 381 job seekers were nearly hired, with 230 of whom for local employment and 151 for overseas.

Suyao earlier said that more than 3,000 job seekers were expected to participate in the annual anniversary job fair.

“Our anniversary job fair will give chance of employ-ment to our October graduates and those who are still looking for better jobs,” Suyao said.

The regional agency is expecting an increase in the number of job seekers in this year’s anniversary job fair, ac-cording to him.

“Last year’s anniversary job fair was participated by an estimate of more than 2,500

job applicants,” Suyao said.A total of 21,091 job va-

cancies locally and abroad will be made available in this year’s anniversary job fair, according to Suyao.

“This year’s anniversary job fair will be participated a total of 37 employers, of which 52 were local and 21 were overseas,” he said.

The number of participat-ing firms in the 82nd DOLE An-niversary Job Fair decreased because the DOLE strained out companies that are just “man pooling.”

Of the 21, 091 total job vacancies posted in the 82nd DOLE anniversary Job Fair, ma-jority or a total of 16,201 were for overseas employment while only 4, 890 were local.

The top ten job openings abroad are nurses, engineers, electricians, cooks, service crew, mechanic, welders, ca-shiers, drivers, and all-around beauticians.

Meanwhile, most vacan-cies for local employment are call center agents, accounting staff, engineers, IT specialist, cashiers, sales associates, fac-tory workers, machine opera-tor, and promo merchandisers. CHENEEN R. CAPON

57 job seekers initiallyhired in DOLE 11 Fair

READY FOR CHRISTMAS. Vendors display Christmas gift bags at their makeshift stall along Ilustre Street in Davao City yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

F ARMM, 11 F SURIGAO, 11

VOL. 8 ISSUE 182 • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015 5EDGEDAVAO THE ECONOMY

crc@edgedavao.netBy CHENEEN R. CAPON

JOLLIBEE continues to reach more milestones as it expands its store net-

work to bring langhap-sarap goodness to more families nationwide. Last November 27, the country’s leading fast food chain opened Jol-libee Davao Quimpo Drive Thru branch, its 25th store in Davao.

Located at the city’s most prosperous and populated area, the freestanding store carries the restaurant’s latest modern tropical design con-cept and offers drive thru and 24-hour service to accommo-date loyal customers.

“The opening of our 25th Davao City store in Mindanao signifies not only our com-mitment to reach out to more Filipino families in the region and bring them together over their favorite langhap-sarap

meals, but also our contin-uous support for the city’s growing economy,” said Ana Aluyen, Jollibee Regional Business Unit Head for Min-danao.

Jollibee officials led by Mindanao Regional Business Unit Head, Ana Lourdes Aluy-en and Operations Director, Grace Mercado and Honor-able Davao Councilor Joan Bonguyan Quilos led the rib-bon-cutting and store bless-ing ceremonies.

Exciting activities and promotions marked the opening of Jollibee Davao Quimpo Drive Thru. Every-one’s favorite friend Jollibee, along with Twirlie, Hetty, Popo and Yum, danced and paraded across town in a grand motorcade led by fes-tival dancers and a drum and lyre group. Hundreds

of kids and their families also enjoyed the 3-day Meet and Greet with Jollibee and Friends. Aside from these, customers were also treated to free Peach Mango Pies, Va-nilla Cone Twirls, Foodkeep-er Sets, Trendy Tumblers or Jollibee Umbrellas for every purchase of select Jollibee products.

Jollibee is the largest fast food chain in the Philippines, operating a nationwide net-work of over 900 stores. The company has also embarked on an aggressive internation-al expansion plan, and cur-rently has a total of 132 stores in the USA (32), Vietnam (67), Hong Kong (1), Singapore (2), Saudi Arabia (10), Qatar (3), UAE (1), Kuwait (4) and Brunei (12), sharing the well-loved langhap-sarap Pinoy goodness across the world.

THROUGH FDS (Family De-velopment Sessions) we learned that we need to se-

cure our important documents and ready our disaster kit during calamities, said Ablan Toroba, a 55-year old Pantawid Pamilya beneficiary from Barangay Po-blacion, Boston, Davao Oriental.

TS Pablo made its landfall on December 4, 2012. Boston, Davao Oriental was one of the hardest-hit towns.

“A coconut tree fell on our house. My wife, our four children and I hid in a huge boulder near our house,” Ablan reminisced.

Ablan was able to secure all their important documents, clean clothing and rice that could last them a week. Ablan and his wife Nina, 38, made a makeshift shack to house their children.

“The relief goods, blankets, mats, pans from DSWD arrived the next day. It was a big help es-pecially to families who did not have dry, clean clothing to wear,” shared Ablan.

DSWD was one of the first agencies to respond and still has not left us yet. Because our house was totally damaged, they gave us a new place to live on Novem-ber 2014. I was also able to avail of the cash-for-work program where we repaired schools, said Ablan.

Ablan is also one of the 850 recipients for Abaca Production Training in Boston. Each recipi-ent was given a P 12,000.oo pe-so-worth starter kit which con-tains abaca tissue culture, bolo, pesticide, fertilizer and knapsack sprayer.

DSWD has been our con-stant companion. Before the ty-phoon, DSWD workers were the ones who prepared us through FDS. When the typhoon came, DSWD was one of the agencies that assisted us. And now that we are gradually rising from the devastation, DSWD is still there to ensure that we continue to move forward, Ablan said. Car-mela Cadigal-Duron

ALL SET. Ablan Toroba is all set for the abaca production training.

Second chancesfor ‘Pablo’ survivors

Jollibee opens 25th store in Davao City

THE Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (CanCham)

is pushing the Philippine and Canadian governments to proceed with the sealing of the possible bilateral free trade agreement that will boost the two nations’ long standing relationship.

CanCham president Ju-lian Payne said inking a bilat-eral agreement between Can-ada and the Philippines could improve either the move-ment of goods and services, facilitation of investments, and labor movement as well or both.

Payne said the two gov-ernments have already ex-pressed intention of sealing a potential agreement earlier this year when former Cana-dian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Benig-no Aquino III launched the

exploration of a possible bi-lateral trade agreement.

However, the recent shift in government of Canada put off the possible agreement on its priority list, Payne said.

“We’re still waiting for the response of the new Ca-nadian Government under Prime Minister Justin Tru-deu,” Payne said during a roundtable discussion with reporters.

Payne said the explora-tion stage for the possible trade agreement was sup-posed to end last month. However, it was postponed.

Now postponed, Payne said the private sector-led CanCham has been conduct-ing consultation activities among its members in Davao, Cebu and Manila to lobby their concerns on the possi-ble trade agreement.

The Philippines has been

an important trade and in-vestment partner of Canada.

Payne also said sealing the agreement would open a window for Canada to the Asean.

“Canada has no existing trade agreement with any Asean nation,” he said.

Not only the agreement will open window for Canada but to the Philippines as well, he added.

“Canada could be the Philippine’s gateway to other international markets of Can-ada,” Payne said.

“Products from the Phil-ippines could possibly enter other international markets which Canada has existing trade agreements with like North America and Mexico, among others,” he added.

The trade agreement would allow the lowering down or elimination of tariff

of export commodities lead-ing to increase of bilateral trade flows between the two countries, according to Payne.

“The agricultural com-modities from your coun-try have a huge potential in Canada. We don’t have crops like cacao and coffee, for in-stance,” he added.

Not only inflow of goods and services can improve but also labor movement.

Payne said the number of Filipino migrants to Cana-da has been increasing since 1930’s.

At present, 800,000 Filipi-nos are living in different ar-eas in Canada which is equiv-alent to 2.5 percent of the Philippines’ total population.

“Tagalog is becoming the second top spoken language in Canada because of the presence of Filipino commu-nities there,” he added.

Phl, Canada askedto seal trade accord

GLOBE Telecom’s small and medium enterprise (SME) arm, Globe myBusiness,

has been the at forefront in equip-ping SMEs with effective business solutions that aim to inspire suc-cess and help them to be globally competitive. Globe myBusiness recently rolled out its first “my-Business Day” last October in Northern Luzon in Cauayan, Isa-bela to bring business opportu-nities, insights and solutions. This one-day ground fair is making its second stop in Davao, one of Asia’s fastest growing cities and considered the largest local econ-omy in Southern Philippines.

The Globe myBusiness cara-van is a one-stop exhibit for SMEs that caters to existing and soon-to-be entrepreneurs. It is a venue that has potential franchises and suppliers on-site, digital business tools on display and informative talks from business experts. The

event gives local entrepreneurs the chance to learn the ropes of managing a business and to discover the best solutions that support their operations. With its cost-effective tech solutions, Globe myBusiness boosts more efforts in expanding to different regions in the country that are showing growth in entrepreneur-ship and are willing to embrace the digital spectrum.

The event will show-case Globe myBusiness’ portfolio of products to teach participants the latest trends in business solutions. This strategic partner-ship between Globe myBusiness and Local Government Units en-ables SMEs to be competitive by learning how to automate their processes and to digitize their businesses. Davao City’s boom-ing economy serves as the main trade, commerce, and financial and industry hub of Mindan-

ao. With the support of Globe’s digital solutions, it will serve as equalizers in the playing field empowering SMBs to reach cus-tomers globally and to eventually succeed in their business.

“With the success of our first event in Isabela, we continue to recognize the big contributions that SMEs give to drive growth in our economy. With these car-avans, we try to encourage en-trepreneurs everywhere to run their own businesses with our tailor-fit digital solutions that ar-en’t just afforded by the big enter-prises.” says, Globe myBusiness senior vice president, Martha Sa-zon. “Our advocacy is to embrace digital and that’s why we want to provide SMEs with affordable solutions that will help make their business successful, con-tribute to the local economy and provide jobs as well.” she added.

The expo will be held at SMX

Lanang in Davao on December 14, 2015 from 10:00 a.m to 7:00 p.m. and will be open for every-one to visit for free. Participants can expect engaging activities geared for aspiring entrepre-neurs to start or expand their own businesses.

The learning sessions will feature topics such as product knowledge, business permits and loan literacy but the assistance provided will not be limited to the products offered. It will also pool different sectors and government units to help educate the partici-pants.

Globe myBusiness will also be showcasing its portfolio of dig-ital solutions led Shopify, a cloud-based, multichannel e-Commerce platform present in about 150 countries. It is one of the solu-tions that will help SMEs to sim-plify and professionalize their

A TOTAL of 35,547 jobs were created by the ini-tiatives of the Depart-

ment of Trade and Industry (DTI) 11 in Davao Region as of September this year.

“We have already sur-passed our 2015 target of 30,000,” DTI 11 regional direc-tor Ma. Belenda Q. Ambi said during the presentation of pre-liminary annual performance 2015 at the Marco Polo Davao.

Ambi said this year’s total job generated is 18 percent higher than the target for this year.

Among the DTI initiatives which led to job generation were Shared Service Facili-ties (SSF), Small and Medium Enterprises Roving Academy (SMERA), and bottoms-up budgeting (BUB) which is part of the DTI’s MSME Develop-ment (MSMED).

MSMED is a key strategy to achieve the government’s goal of inclusive growth and jobs generation, the DTI added.

One of the programs under the MSMED is SSF “which aims

to improve the competitive-ness of MSMEs by providing them with machinery, equip-ment, tools, systems, skills and knowledge under a shared system.”

The DTI 11 established a total of 46 SSFs amounting to P28.50 million this year which led to the assistance of 1,108 MSMEs.

Ambi said a total of 6,884 jobs were generated through facilitation of shared facilities to partner cooperatives in dif-ferent areas in the region.

The DTI 11 established 11 SSF in Davao City; Davao del Norte had 10; Davao Oriental has 10; Davao del Sur with 7; and Compostela Valley with 8.

The DTI had already es-tablished 46 SSFs in 2013 and 2014.

Another MSMED program of DTI is the SMERA which was able to provide 209 training to 6,768 participants and the BuB amounting to P15.125 million downloaded to local government units. CHENEEN R. CAPON

Biggest regional Globe myBusiness Day digital solutions caravan to empower SMEs in Davao

35,547 jobs createdthru DTI initiatives

F BIGGEST, 11

VOL. 8 ISSUE 182 • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 20156 EDGEDAVAO

AGRITRENDSPhilippine mangoes go internationalText and Photos by HENRYLITO D. TACIO

THE Philippines may not be one of the top ten mango producers in

the world, but the fruit is now being sold in the international market. Like banana and pine-apple, Philippine mangoes are now exported.

According to the Philip-pine Statistics Authority, the Philippines earned US$20.38 million for its mango exports for the January-to-September period in 2014. Unfortunate-ly, it dropped by 37.6% to US$12.71 million for the same period in 2015.

But the good news is: man-go producers from South Cota-bato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos (more popularly known as Soccsksargen) have been re-ported to ship out 1 metric ton (MT) of carabao mangoes to Dubai, United Arab Emirates recently.

This was reported by Busi-ness Mirror based on the data released by the Department of Agriculture.

Mary Grace Padin, author of the news report, quoted Amalia Jayag-Datukan, the de-partment’s regional executive director, who said “the trial shipment was made after pro-ducers participated in the Mid-dle East Natural and Organic Products Expo in Dubai in the first week of November.”

Emerson U. Palad, the department’s agriculture un-dersecretary, said that more than 30 countries buy fresh mangoes from the Philippines. Among the countries cited were Australia, Canada, Chi-na, England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zea-land, Russia, Singapore and South Korea.

Local dried mangoes, on the other hand, are being ex-ported to 21 countries, includ-ing Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan and the United States.

Although mangoes can be grown anywhere in the coun-try, supply for export still fell short of demand. “The short-age of supply in the country is brought about by factors such as climate change, pests and diseases, and postharvest loss-es,” said Dr. Patricio S. Faylon, executive director of Philip-pine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD), adding that the poor harvest practices and lack of appropriate facilities alone contribute to about 15% to 35% loss in the total pro-duce.

“With the world market demand for mango rapidly growing, several measures must be done to improve

harvesting and postharvest handling to prime up the Phil-ippine mango industry,” Dr. Faylon suggested. “Because mango is highly perishable, prone to mechanical damage, and susceptible to postharvest diseases, its quality must be ensured right along the supply chain.”

The PCAARRD, a line agen-cy of the Department of Sci-ence and Technology (DOST), has come up with “Mango Har-vesting and Postharvest Han-dling,” a booklet that provides information in proper harvest-ing, post-harvesting handling and disease control, and pack-aging of mango.

Proper harvesting

Among the materials needed for harvesting are bamboo ladder, picking pole, rope, newsprint and “kaing.” “Harvesting should be done at the proper stage of maturity,” the 12-page booklet states. “This determines the keeping and eating quality of the fruits.”

Factors affecting the rate of fruit maturity include climate, elevation of the area, and phys-iological status of the three at the time of flower induction. “The number of days from potassium nitrate spraying is commonly used to determine fruit maturity for harvesting,” said another PCAARRD pub-lication, “Mango Production Manual.”

Generally, fruits can be harvested 105-130 days af-ter flower induction. The fruit matures faster during the hot dry months. However, matu-rity takes more than 115 days during colder months.

The following are the ma-turity indices used as guide in harvesting: flat shoulder at the stem end (pedicel), full cheeks, presence of white powdery deposits on the peel (called “bloom”), creamy yellow pulp, and higher density as evi-denced by sinking of 80% (12 of 15 fruits) or more in a 1% salt solution (10 grams of salt dissolved in one liter of water).

Harvesting must not be done too early in the morning. “(Doing so) cause rapid flow of latex from the pedicel-end,” the manual informs. “Harvest the fruit when the leaves are dry from 9 am to 3 pm.”

For small trees, handpick-ing is done. For large and tall trees, the mango manual sug-gests this: “Tie one end of the rope to your body and the oth-er end to the collecting basket (lined with paper on side and bottom). Climb up the tree. Hang the basket freely on one big branch. Untie the end of the rope from your body and tie it on another big branch nearby. Now you can start picking the

fruits using a picking pole. Once full, transfer the fruits from the poles to the collecting basket. When full, lower the basket slowly to the ground for unload-ing by another person.”

When the fruits are already on the ground, they “are sorted according to their market qual-ity and size,” the booklet says. “Sorted fruits are packed in plastic crates with newspaper lined in-between layers of fruits. Importing countries have dif-ferent set of requirements and standards on exportable grade mangoes.”

Hot water treatment

The hot and humid condi-tions of the Philippines favor the development of mango diseases such as anthracnose and stem end rot. To reduce the incidence or severity of these diseases,

especially for mangoes harvest-ed during the rainy season, the booklet recommends the har-vested mango fruits to undergo hot water treatment (HWT).

“In HWT, the fruits are dipped in hot water (52º to 55ºC) for 10 minutes followed by hydrocooling in tap water for another 10 minutes,” the book-let instructs. “After hydrocooling, the fruits are air-dried (either inside or outside the crates) for about 30 minutes before pack-ing.”

Here’s how HWT is done. First, fill the tank with clean wa-ter (about three-fourths of the total depth of the tank). Then, heat the water to 55ºC. Check water temperature at different points of the tank using a ther-mometer. When the water is already hot, put the mangoes to be treated in plastic crates with-

out overfilling. Dip the crates in hot water for 10 minutes. Stir water occasionally (if no pump is available). After 10 minutes, remove crates from the tank. Cool treated mangoes in tap water for 10 minutes. Finally, air-dry the fruit for 30 min-utes before packing. Electric fans or industrial fans can be used to hasten the drying of fruits.

According to the mango manual, the ben-efits derived from HWT are the following: (1) when performed not later than two days after harvest, HWT reduces disease incidence and se-verity or at least delay the onset of the disease so that the fruits may have ripened and consumed long before the disease symptoms would have appeared; (2) HWT removes dirt, dust, latex stain, and chemical residues; and (3) the treat-ment directly benefits the retailers, consumers, and processors by reduction of losses and in-crease in quality.

Packing and storage

The type of container to use depends on the intended market. “The best container for man-goes is the plastic crate,” the booklet says. “The plastic crates are durable, easy to handle and clean, and prevent injury during transport.”

Fruits intended for export to Japan and South Korea are packed in a different manner. The fruits, wrapped in thin paper, are packed pedicel-down in a cell type fiberboard carton in a single layer with a net capacity of 5 kilograms.

For Hong Kong and China markets, cartons with a capacity of 12 kilograms are used. The box is divided down the middle with a vertical driver and clean papers are used as liners in-be-tween layers of fruits.

Mango fruits should be exposed to low tem-perature to extend the marketable life. “At the recommended storage temperature of 12.5ºC, mangoes can be stored for two weeks, although ripening will set in towards the end of the sec-ond week,” the booklet says.

Storage life of Philippine mango fruits – also called “Carabao” mangoes – can be extended for 29 days when kept under controlled atmo-sphere (CA) condition at 12.5ºC to 13ºC. “In this technique, the level of oxygen in the storage room is maintained at 5-6% while the carbon dioxide concentration is 4-5%. Mangoes are almost 50-70% yellow when taken out of CA storage and completion of ripening occurs when fruits are transferred at a temperature of 20ºC to 23ºC.”

Ripe mangoes

Green mangoes

VOL. 8 ISSUE 182 • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015 7EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 8 ISSUE 182 • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 20158 EDGEDAVAO

VANTAGE

EDITORIALTarget

AS a presidential hopeful, Mayor Rodrigo Duterte is certainly fair game for anyone who wants to put him down. This is an accepted part of Philippine politics where election campaigns are built

around personalities and not on programs and platforms of government. As such, Duterte’s entry into the race makes him an automatic target for various attacks and tirades that are geared towards displacing him from the top spot he is currently occupying in the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey. In recent days he has been accused of murder, torture, womanizing, badmouthing the pope, and much more — and he and his supporters take it all in stride since it is the game that is played during this political season. We can wish that the mudslinging and character assassinations would become a thing of the past, but that would be just that: a wish.

But it’s one thing to bash Duterte, another to attack the people he has served well over the past years. In recent weeks Dabawenyos have become the targets of criticism and other forms of attacks that have been painting Davao City as less than what its citizens claim it to be. One of these issues is peace and order, something that is close to the hearts of every citizen of this city. While Dabawenyos experience a safe environment here, those who have not felt it for themselves have laughed off claims of being the safest city in the world and cite statistics

that show that other areas have fewer crimes. But when one looks at the numbers, one sees that the comparison is made between Davao City and smaller ones and those that have not gone through the turmoil this city had seen in the 1980s. The comparison is, as the saying goes, between apples and oranges, which just doesn’t work in this case.

And just the other day a photo that appeared in a national newspaper’s website three months ago began circulating on social media, showing an apparently congested six-lane highway with the following caption: “Just like edsa? McArthur Highway in Davao City is not spared from the horrendous traffic condition that has also struck Metro Manila as could be seen in this photo taken near the corner of Quimpo Boulevard. Lack of discipline among drivers and the sheer volume of vehicles have been initially pinpointed as the major cause for this logjam in the city.” The problem with the photo is that it was not of Quimpo Boulevard but of — what else? — EDSA itself. And while Dabawenyos acknowledge that traffic jams do occur in this city, it is certainly not for “lack of discipline” but simply because of too many vehicles during rush hour.

The newspaper has since pulled out the offending photograph, but the damage had already been done. Perhaps it is inevitable that Davao City would become the object of such misinformed posts, and we can only seek to correct each one that comes our way.

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

OLIVIA D. VELASCOGeneral Manager

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Columnists: CARLOS MUNDA • HENRYLITO D. TACIO • EDCER C. ESCUDERO • ATTY. EMILY ZEN CHUA • GREGORIO G. DELIGERO • JOHN CARLO TRIA • VIDA MIA S. VALVERDE • FRED C. LUMBA • HENRY J. SCHUMACHER • VANESSA KATE MADRAZO Economic Analysts: ENRICO “GICO” G. DAYANGIRANG

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VOL. 8 ISSUE 182 • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015 VANTAGE POINTS 9EDGEDAVAO

“A waiting person is a patient person. The word patience means the willingness to stay where we are and live the situation out to the full in the belief that something hidden there will manifest itself to us.” ― Henri J.M. Nouwen

***

“ADOPT the pace of nature: her secret is patience,” declared Ralph Waldo Emerson. Josiah Gilbert Holland ex-

plained, “There is no royal road to anything, one thing at a time, all things in succession. That which grows fast, withers as rapidly. That which grows slowly, endures.”

The Holy Bible, the book of all seasons and all time, teaches us patience. Take the case of Abraham. At age 75, he was given God’s prom-ise of a son. Ten years later, he was still waiting. Fifteen years passed, then 20, and still no son. Finally, when Abraham was 100, a quarter-cen-tury after God had made the promise, baby Isaac was born. “Surely Abraham had times of doubt during those 25 years,” commented Dr. Charles Stanley, an inspirational author. “Yet he continued to trust God and kept watching for the fulfillment of His promise.”

Examples from the Bible abound. As a young man, Jacob met the girl of his dreams, but he worked many years before making her his bride. Joseph had a God-given vision of blessing at age 17 but languished 13 years in slavery and prison before receiving the re-ward. David was anointed King of Israel as a teenager but spent the next 14 years or so run-ning for his life before taking the throne.

Those stories, related to me when I was still a little boy, came into my mind. But then

the words of Paul Sweeney also haunted me. “How can a society that ex-ists on instant mashed pota-toes, packaged cake mixes, fro-zen dinners, and instant cameras teach patience to its young?” he wondered.

“The two most powerful warriors are pa-tience and time,” reminded Egyptian novelist Leo Tolstoy. “Patience,” said a Turkish proverb, “is the key to paradise.” And Mahatma Gandhi reiterated, “To lose patience is to lose the bat-tle.”

Men of science themselves value patience. Thomas A. Edison said, “Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits.” And Albert Einstein once admitted, “I think and think for months and years, ninety-nine times, the con-clusion is false. The hundredth time I am right.”

“He that can have patience can have what he will,” American statesman Benjamin Frank-lin said.

I was reminded of the story of a young man who presented himself to the local expert on gems. He said he wanted to become a gemol-ogist. The expert brushed him off because he feared that the youth would not have the pa-tience to learn. The young man pleaded for a chance. Finally, the expert consented and told the youth, “Be here tomorrow.”

The next morning, the expert put a jade

stone in the boy’s hand and told him to hold it. The expert then went about his work: cutting, weighing, and setting gems. The boy sat quietly and waited.

The following morning, the expert again placed the jade stone in the youth’s hand and told him to hold it. On the third, fourth, and fifth day, the expert repeated the exercise and the instructions.

On the sixth day, the youth held the jade stone, but could no longer stand the silence. “Sir,” he asked, “when am I going to learn some-thing?” The expert answered, “You’ll learn.”

Several more days went by and the youth’s frustration mounted. One morning, as the ex-pert approached and beckoned for him to hold out his hand, he was about to blurt out that he could go on no longer. But as the expert placed the stone in the youth’s hand, the young man exclaimed without looking at his hand, “This is not the same jade stone!”

“You have begun to learn,” the expert told him.

“Patience can’t be acquired overnight,” said Eknath Easwaran. “It is just like building up a muscle. Every day you need to work on it.” The description of Epictetus was even more pictur-esque: “No greater thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen.”

“The key to everything is patience,” re-minded Arnold H. Glasgow. “You get the chick-en by hatching the egg, not by smashing it.” But on second thought, “We smile at the ignorance of the savage who cuts down the tree in order to reach its fruit; but the same blunder is made

by every person who is over eager and impa-tient in the pursuit of pleasure.” Those words come from the pen of William Channing.

But do people still wait today? Even in the past as it is today, there is no such thing as sud-den results. Listen to the words of Jacob Riis: “When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at a hundredth and first blow, it will split in two, and I know it was not that last blow that did it -- but all that had gone before.”

“Have patience with everything unre-solved in your heart and try to love the ques-tions themselves,” Rainer Maria Rilke advises. “Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live every-thing. Live the questions now. Perhaps, then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.”

Wait and be patient. “Never think that God’s delays are God’s denials,” George-Louis Leclerc de Buffon pointed out. “Hold on; hold fast; hold out. Patience is genius.”

To end this piece, allow me to quote the words of Margaret Atwood (The Penelopiad): “Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress. Water is not a solid wall, it will not stop you. But water always goes where it wants to go, and nothing in the end can stand against it. Water is patient. Dripping water wears away a stone. Remember that, my child. Remember you are half water. If you can’t go through an obstacle, go around it. Water does.”

MANY of us fear the high cost of health-care. We often conjure images of a check-up in the hospital for feeling

something odd in the body only to discover a dreaded disease eating away at our bodies. Culturally, we have already appended the word “dreaded” to many ailments such as heart dis-ease and cancer. As such, treatment means money, not to mention the emotional stress and the physical toll on both patient and loved ones. The dread covers the emotions as well as the pocket.

Health careers remain attractiveNonetheless, many strive to obtain a ca-

reer in the medical profession, seeing the hon-or placed on professionals in white coats and dangling stethoscopes providing insights into a patients past and trying to influence their future into good health.

Still many others seek the medical and al-lied health professions for the regularity and consistency provided by a tightly run institu-tion such as a hospital or clinic. Twenty years ago, allied medical professions such as medical technology, physical therapy, and nursing were

the rage among generation Xers seeking the op-portunity such careers pro-vide on foreign shores.

Driving down h e a l t h c a r e costs

Healthcare is a service. As with any ser-vice, costs will go down so long as wages remain stable and costs of food and electricity likewise reduce. Assuming that 20-30 percent of hospi-tal charges are dedicated to food and electricity costs for patients, then consider how much low-er these would be if the price of food and elec-tricity goes down. We have no shortage of qual-ified and experienced health personnel, hence there is no possibility of needing foreign health workers. Already, some large government hos-pitals have solar panels installed to cut the elec-tricity costs courtesy of the Department of Ener-

gy (DOE). Government must put forward a de-liberate effort to lower cost of social services by reducing cost of these direct inputs and perhaps lower import duties on medical equipment.

Need more preventive health programsBeyond keeping health facility costs low,

however, preventive health investments are essential to reducing government spending on health care. Most of the poor in society have to depend on subsidized health facilities, which they can barely afford to avail themselves of often due to distance. And while laudable, the government’s campaign against smoking via the anti-smoking ordinances needs to be combined with pushing for a healthy diet.

The next stepFor one, government must act to reduce the

per capita consumption of rice. A daily diet of rice for an increasingly sedentary Filipino pop-ulation raises the risk of type 2 Diabetes. Fifty percent of Pinoys already living in urban areas mean less manual labor and more city-based work that is sedentary and stressful. Already, this disease has reached alarming proportions

in the Philippines. Government must act to pro-mote a smaller rice consumption by substitut-ing it with cheaper and healthier carbohydrates with a lower glycemic index like camote. A bene-fit of such a shift in consumption is the increased income for the upland farms of indigenous peo-ples that produce such crops.

Good health is good governanceWhat all of these only means is that health-

care is a vital aspect of the quality of life in a giv-en society. Lowering costs and ensuring afford-ability and access is a priority. Government poli-cy needs to harness the resources of both public and private sectors to push a holistic healthcare agenda combining the therapeutic and preven-tive. Both will be needed to balance the health-care effort to ensure the equitable and afford-able provision of this vital service to the nation. More preventive health programs result in less people getting sick, and these citizens become more productive contributors to society. At the same time this lessens the strain on healthcare institutions. The key result is that more people will remain and stay healthy, and society as a whole is well.

Patience: Taming your passion

Improving healthcare

Henrylito D. Taciohenrytacio@gmail.com

THINK ON THESE!

John Triaecisouth@gmail.com

MY TWO CENTS’

VOL. 8 ISSUE 182 • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 201510 EDGEDAVAO

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WITH every season’s ending come memories which bring to mind not only of good tidings and blessings, but also of hopes, dreams and passions unleashed.

INdulge!

PASSIONWhen

meets

PURPOSE

In the pre-holiday Blissmakerie gathering with fellow inspirations seekers, I was reminded of how time, action, patience, commitment and dedica-tion serve as springboard to realizing one’s passions in life. Led by Make It Blissful’s editor-in-chief, Martine de Luna, the get together was intended to be an open environment

for meaningful conversa-tions among women in the community to share insights on living out their purpose and interests. True to its tradition of bringing forth inspiration through real-life stories, encounters and experi-ence, the event brought humble souls together to collaborate by sharing their crafts and expertise. A working mom, blogger and project lead for Pur-suit Manila, Rhiza Oyos has long been a partner

for almost all events by Make It Blissful, with her generous and meaningful contribution in the form of passion cards. These paper goods are designed by Rhiza herself and fea-tures life verses which speak of faith, hope, love and gratitude. Love Ocampo, who is a pho-tographer and stylist by profession, joined Rhiza in selecting brands to be included in each Blissful box. Mia Sison and Nica Cosio of Craft Party PH added color to the after-

noon with their art and design session using clay plate and pens. This duo of moms also gamely shared their experience in put-ting together their work-shop series out of their own love for anything and everything handmade. Mia is also the brains be-hind Juice Hut, a brand of fresh, cold-pressed fruit and veggie sips. Alessa de Rivera, the event stylist, was the person in charge of the

METROMOM A4

VOL. 8 ISSUE 182 • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

IT’S THE MORE, the merrier as ACE Hard-ware, the helpful place offers the first-ever spe-cial Christmas bundles of top brands of small appliances. Perfect as holiday corporate gifts and giveaways, these are compact, functional, and in-credible in price. There are juicers for healthy blends, coffee makers for easy brewing, and sandwich makers for tasty snacks at the home or office. There are also electric kettles, steam irons and tower fans that work wonders at home. While shopping at ACE Hardware stores, also check out its ongoing Great Gifts, Great Savings promotion wherein you can avail of great savings and discounts on blenders, breakfast makers, juicers and steam irons as well as electric kettles, rice cookers and tower fans until December 31, 2015. You can also earn rewards points with your SM Advantage, Prestige, and BDO Rewards Cards when you shop. Get great Christmas gifts or giveaways by shopping smart with special Christmas bundle finds available at selected branches of ACE Hardware, ACE Express and ACE Build-ers stores nationwide. You may also visit our website at www.acehardware.ph  or like us at www.facebook.com/acehard-warephilippines or follow us at twitter and instagram at ace-hardware_ph

WHEN Filipinos talk about Christmas, they immediately think about their families and how much they want to show their love to them during this occasion. This is the enduring sentiment especially for many Filipino households whose breadwinner is working in another city or country just to support the family. No matter where they are, what they do or from whatever walks of life they come from, Filipinos will always go out of their way to show love come Christmas time. Padala service called Pick-Up Anywhere, Filipinos will find it easier and more convenient to send their love and continued support to their families. Smart Padala Pick-Up

Anywhere allows the easiest, safest, and most convenient way to send and receive money to and within the Philippines, regardless of their mobile network. It is secure, safe, and guaranteed to be claimed only by the nominated mobile number. According to Lawrence Ferrer, Vice-President of Smart eMoney, Smart Padala Pick-Up Anywhere makes it more convenient for customers to send remittances during the holiday rush. “With Pick-Up Anywhere, both the money sender and the beneficiary don’t have to commute to a far location, brave the traffic, and line up at specific centers just to send or receive money. They have thousands of Smart Padala Centers nationwide to do the transaction,” he said.

Another great thing about this service is that people can send money to their beneficiaries regardless of mobile network. One can effectively send money via Smart Padala Pick-Up Anywhere to anyone with a mobile number in the Philippines. “We want everyone, not just Smart subscribers, to enjoy the benefits and security features of this groundbreaking financial service enhancement,” said Ethel Ines, Brand Manager of Smart Padala. “Filipinos can conveniently send their Padala in time for the Christmas season,” she added. Filipinos primarily send money to their families for basic needs. According to the National Baseline Survey on Financial Inclusion released by the Bangko

Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) this year, 44% of Filipino adults had remittance transactions in the past six months and for those on the sending side, 91% sent to their families while 6% sent to their friends. On the other hand, for those who received remittances, 90% received from their families while 7% received from friends. Top line items for purposes of remittances receive is for food (71%), education (39%), medical expenses (28%) and emergencies (22%). The same survey said that it takes Filipinos an average of 22 minutes to reach the nearest financial services provider. In terms of cost, the average roundtrip fare to reach a financial access point is PhP 43. “By enhancing our Smart

Padala service with Pick-Up Anywhere, we are enabling millions of more Filipinos to experience the benefits of financial technology when they need it the most, wherever they maybe,” Ferrer added. Smart eMoney, Inc. is the digital financial services unit of PLDT and Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart). A global pioneer in mobile banking, mobile money and mobile wallet services with over 15 years in the industry, Smart eMoney’s proprietary innovations span products and services across market segments, catering to the financial transaction requirements of the banked and unbanked. It recently launched PayMaya, a digital payments innovation for online transactions.

A2 INdulge! EDGEDAVAOUP AND ABOUT

‘Padalapit’ love this holidayNothing can stop the spirit of giving this Christmas with Smart Padala Pick-Up Anywhere

This compact Philips Juicer features a micro- mesh filter for more juice and a round tube to slip ingredients with ease.

Great gifts come in bundles at Ace Hardware

This Dowell Coffee Maker has a 10-12 cup capacity and comes with a stainless steel jug. A water indicator and permanent filter that make a coffee making easy for everyone.

With this Dowell Coffee Maker, you can brew coffee up to 10 cups in an elegant and effortless way. It comes with a glass carafe and translucent water reservoir as well as a permanent filter.

This 3D Empire Tower Fan provides you an ultimate cooling experience in your home. It features a 3-speed control, an approximate 60 degree oscillation angle, a quiet motor and 120 minutes timer

This Black and Decker Steam Iron is designed for an effortless ironing experience with a non-stick coated soleplate to smooth out the wrinkles, and a soleplate to prevent the fabric from sticking to the iron. This ensures the safety of your clothes in times of overheating.

This Union Electric Kettle with a 1.7L capacity boils quickly and convenience features like an automatic power off mechanism and a push-button option to easily open the lid which is useful when hot.

This Philips Blender will help you make great smoothies with its 1.5L jar, 400W motor and a 5-star serrated blade features.

Delicious and tasty sandwiches made easy with this Philips Sandwich Maker.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 182 • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

C H R I S T I A N BAUTISTA has made a name for himself as a romantic balladeer in Southeast Asia. With the release of his latest single “Who is She To Me”, Christian is in a good position to further his career in Europe, as well. Shortly after his new song dropped in the UK, Christian made his debut on the country’s vocal iTunes charts, with “Who is She To Me” claiming the 44th spot. The single sits with titles by renowned international artists such as Kristin Chenoweth, Barbra Streisand, Etta James, and Idina Menzel. In a press conference held last December 3, Christian said that his musical venture into Europe is inspired by the flourishing music scene in the region, and is right at home in UK, as far as his musical inclinations are concerned. “I feel na mas maa-appreciate ng UK audience ang ballads, and that’s my core strength.” According to Christian, the success of “Who is She To Me” is a pleasant surprise, and is a ray of

JANELLA SALVADOR might have burst onto the music entertainment scene as an actress, but she has quickly gained recognition for her sweet and exceptional singing voice. After breaking into the music industry as Star Music’s OPM Pop Sweetheart, she is now officially a Disney princess after being chosen by Hong Kong Disneyland to represent the Philippines and sing its 10th anniversary theme song “Happily Ever After.” Both the English and Taglish versions of the song, which Janella performed live for the first time on “It’s Showtime” last week, is included in the limited edition of her self-titled album under Star Music. “I remember celebrating my 7th birthday in Hong Kong Disneyland ten years ago when it just opened. I’m so honored, this time, to represent our country and sing its 10th anniversary theme song. Dreams do come true, and Disney never fails to prove that,” she said. Janella’s solo self-titled album also features nine pop and

inspirational songs. Included in the album is her carrier single “Ganyan Talaga,” composed by inspirational diva Jamie Rivera. The making of the album was very special for Janella as her mother, singer-actress Jenine Desiderio, served as its vocal supervisor. Janella’s album tracks also include her own versions of Sharon Cuneta’s “Dear Heart” and Donna Cruz’s “I Can.” Fans of her love team with Marlo Mortel, a member of boy group Harana, will surely enjoy their duet in “Kapag Tumibok ang

Puso.” Completing the track list are “Harana Na Na Na Na,” “Tick Tock Love,” “Teka Muna Pag-ibig…,” and Himig Handog P-Pop Love Song “Mahal Kita Pero,” as well as the minus-one versions of the album’s nine songs. The limited edition of “Janella Salvador” will be available soon at all record bars nationwide for only P199. Digital tracks can also be downloaded soon via leading record stores all over the country and in online music stores such as iTunes,Mymusicstore.com.ph, and Starmusic.ph.

INdulge! A3EDGEDAVAOENTERTAINMENT

Christian Bautista now on UK hit charts

Janella’s dream to be a Disney princess comes true

hope for Filipino artists who want to explore the possibilities of launching a career in Europe. “There is a chance for anyone with a dream -- with the right people, the right connections, [and] the right song.” If the song cracks top 10 of the charts, Christian said that plans to go to the UK and further promote the single will start rolling. If Christian’s fans in the UK want to see him in

concert there soon, they have to download and request for the song on local radio stations! As a treat to the press, Christian even performed a part of his chart-topping UK single live. For more updates on your favorite Kapuso artist and shows, “like” GMA Pinoy TV on Facebook, follow GMA Pinoy TV on Twitter and Instagram, and visit the GMA Pinoy TV website.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 182 • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

PG

PG/*PG

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

THE CREED

Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone

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

IN THE HEART OF THE SEA

12:40 | 3:00 LFS / *5:20 | 7:40 | 10:00 LFS

THE 33 / *POINT BREAK

Antonio Banderas, Rodrigo Santoro /

*Teresa Palmer, Luke Bracey

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

Chris Hemsworth, Cillian Murphy

A SECOND CHANCE

Bea Alonzo, John Lloyd Cruz

December 9-15, 2015

A4 INdulge!WOMEN

beautiful setup and trans-formed our venue into a modern-rustic indoor garden. Alessa was my group mate in the Bliss-ful Blogging workshop back in June and, at that time, she was still in the planning stage for a cre-ative venture. Her concept was a unique one with so much potential and we even took cues from her study and used her them as points for our group project. I remember bringing the house down with fun, quirky ideas and plans for the activa-tion and launch. With her family’s business of sup-plying Christmas deco-

rations, Alessa grew up with great enthusiasm for holidays and events which eventually fueled her spir-it and mind to marrying business with her passion. Lo and behold, 5 months after (yes, that fast), she

METROMOM A1

has officially made her de-but as events stylist. See-ing her in front, sharing her story, became sort of a proud moment for me and I couldn’t help but wonder how far she’d go in the next 365 days.

Alongside the guest speakers were women be-hind start-up brands who lovingly prepared tokens for the participants. What made the event more meaningful was its generous contribution to

Make A Wish Founda-tion. Martine particularly chose the said founda-tion as beneficiary of the event’s proceeds, given that it also shares her advocacy in giving hap-piness and joy to others

through any form and means. Follow @makeitblissful on Instagram and be part of this growing online community by sharing love and light from your own nook and space.

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 8 ISSUE 182 • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

VOL. 8 ISSUE 182 • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015 11COMELEC... FROM 1 As president... FROM 3

Biggest... FROM 5

ARMM... FROM 4

Surigao... FROM 4

Davao... FROM 3

EDGEDAVAO

Law Department, Duterte lis-tens attentively to the counsel of his lawyers during a `Stair-way to Heaven’ conference, while members of the media patiently await for him along a corridor,” he added.

Laviña said Comelec law-yers even pose for a souvenir shot with the mayor after af-firming that his COC met all the requirements.

After emerging from the Comelec law department, Duterte faced the nation in an impromptu press conference arranged with the assistance of the Comelec Information Office.

“All things fall into place in God’s plans,” Laviña said.

Duterte’s visit to the Comelec followed an earlier declaration by the poll body’s 2nd Division that it has dis-missed as “moot and academ-ic” a resolution seeking the disqualification of Martin Diño for being a nuisance candidate.

A second petition asking the poll body to declare Diño’s COC as null and void because of “clerical errors” is sched-uled for hearing on Dec. 16.

The COC filed by Diño was titled “Certificate of Candidacy for President” but a clerical error was discovered later in

the portion which asks the po-sition that the candidate was running for, which indicated the position of “Mayor of Pas-ay City.”

Also showing at the Comelec office in Intramuros yesterday were the members of Duterte’s core group that included his campaign manag-er, Maribojoc Mayor Leoncio Evasco.

Some members of the Duterte for President Move-ment and Davao City council-ors showed their support by showing up at the Comelec office.

Piñol said Duterte’s law-yers are expecting that the supporters and lawyers of the other presidential candidates would undertake efforts to de-rail the presidential candidacy of the Davao City Mayor espe-cially now that he is leading in the nation-wide survey.

Just days ago, in a nation-wide survey conducted by the Social Weather Station (SWS), Duterte emerged the frontrunner months before the elections at 38 percent, or a double-digit lead over Vice President Jejomar Binay and Sen. Grace Poe. Mar Roxas got only 15 percent and Sen. Mir-riam Santiago 4 percent.

Duterte to be vice-mayor of Davao City and strongly sup-ported his bid to eventually become mayor,” he added.

Yasay also recalled how Duterte was being recruited to become a Cabinet member during the time of previous oc-cupants of Malacañang.

“Almost all presidents thereafter had wanted Rody to become a cabinet member charged with the restoration, maintenance and preserva-tion of peace and order - in the campaign against terrorism, criminality and illegal drugs - because of his uncompro-mising firmness, dedication and astuteness in getting the job done. He politely and con-sistently refused, anticipating that his controversial leader-ship attributes and personal lifestyle can prevent his con-firmation by the Commission on Appointments and cause a

big embarrassment to the ap-pointing power,” Yasay said.

“But this is precisely why Rody never wanted to become president and had to equivo-cate up to the last minute to a point that his insistence of not running was becoming a great disappointment and frustra-tion to millions of Filipinos from the highest to the lowest social class,” he added.

Duterte, he said, “finally acceded on one condition that people would accept him for who he is like a naked grain without any chaff and get what they desire of their leader.”

“Despite his human flaws, as Mayor of Davao City Rody has received dignitaries from all over the world with compe-tence, dignity, respect and ad-miration. I am confident that as President, he will do the Philippines and every Filipino proud,” he said.

system. The photo began circulat-

ing on social media networks the other day, three months af-ter it was first posted. Since the photo was credited to Bacon-gco, netizens from Davao City began castigating him online, calling him all sorts of names and labeling him a paid hack.

A Facebook user who said she “used to be a broadcast journalist” and “member of the KBP (Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas) scold-ed Bacongco, saying, “You’re a journalist, Mr. Keith Bacongco. Get your freakin’ facts straight. Ano to, desperate times call for desperate measures? Envelope journalism lang ang peg mo?”

Another person posted a reaction on the website itself: “To Keith Bacongco who with all the intentions of making our city look bad, do your re-search mister and next time post an actual photo of Davao.”

And as expected, netizens connected the Manila Bulletin photo and caption to the pres-idential candidacy of Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

Sought for comment, Ba-congco told EDGE Davao that the editors in Manila used the wrong photograph. He said he pointed this out to the editors but nothing was done about it.

And in a Facebook post, Bacongco said: “On the photo published on MANILA BUL-LETIN 9 September 2015: It›s NOT my photo. It was a clear mistake on the part of the Ma-nila editors.

He then posted the photo that he dispatched on Sep-tember 8, showing a portion of MacArthur Highway near Matina Crossing. “This was the photo I dispatched 8 Septem-ber. The traffic congestion was reportedly caused by a vehicu-lar accident at the junction of McArthur Highway and Quim-po Blvd.”

Bacongco also reacted to the negative comments: “Ing-na lang ng uban diha na relaks. di man ta mamatay anang er-ror sa dyaryo. di man daw gani mamatay si mayor kung di sya madaug pagka presidente (Tell them to relax. We won’t die from newspaper errors. Even the mayor said he won’t die if he doesn’t win the presiden-cy).”

EDGE Davao tried to get Manila Bulletin’s side but no one in its online department would answer the phone. An email also went unanswered as of press time.

The Manila Bulletin did, however, remove the photo from its website.

business operations through their own, personalized online store for just P429 a month.

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Education major in English.Anayatin said the liveli-

hood assistance was com-posed of 11 units of six-wheel-er hauler trucks. These were given to three cooperatives in Maguindanao and eight coop-eratives in Sulu.

Anayatin identified the cooperative-beneficiaries as MNLF Agribusiness Cooper-ative, Ganasi Kandalamdin-ga Marketing Cooperative, and Malangit MNLF Farmers Marketing Cooperative in Ma-guindanao; and Buhanginan Agri-Marine Producers Co-operative, Sahabat Agri-Ma-rine Producers Cooperative, Kausawan Agricultural Pro-ducers Cooperative, Shareif Agri-Marine Producers Co-

operative, Buansa Agri-Ma-rine Producers Cooperative, Suba-Suba Producers Coop-erative, Bandang Agri-Marine Producers Cooperative, and Darayan Agri-Marine Produc-ers Cooperative in Sulu.

Datu Halun Amilussin, 64, representative of Buansa Agri-Marine Producers Coop-erative in Indanan, Sulu, said the hauler-truck his group received will help uplift the lives of the people in his ba-rangay.

“We will use the truck to help small businesses in our barangay. Most of us are job-less and this will help not only our cooperative but also our barangay,” said Datu Halun. (PNA)

NEWS

the mismanagement and al-leged corruption within the company that led to its bank-ruptcy.

The sole cement company in the Caraga Region, PACEM-CO is the only remaining Fili-pino-owned and controlled ce-

ment company in the country. It started commercial opera-tions in 1967.

The company had an av-erage production of 500,000 to 700,000 bags of cement per month. (Roel N. Catoto / Min-daNews)

VOL. 8 ISSUE 182 • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 201512 EDGEDAVAOCLASSIFIEDS

VOL. 8 ISSUE 182 • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015 13EDGEDAVAO CLASSIFIEDS

VOL. 8 ISSUE 182 • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015

NO SHORTCUT TO GLORY14 EDGEDAVAOSports

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RIO Paralympics-bound para athlete Ernie Gawilan admitted it

wasn’t easy punching that ticket to next year’s Olympi-ad.

“One year kaming nag-training. Malaking sakripisyo din ang ginawa naming dito, kaming mga atleta at an gaming mga coaches sa national team (We trained for one year. We sac-rificed a lot, the athletes and our coaches from the nation-al team),” Gawilan told Edge Davao in an online interview a day after booking a ticket to the quadrennial games for special athletes, the first for a Filipino para athlete.

Moving into the 400-me-ter freestyle race of the 8th Asean Para Games in Sin-gapore where he needed to break 4 minutes 49.29, Gaw-ilan had a previous best time of 4:53 in that distance. To break the Olympic standard, he needed to swim nearly four minutes faster than his best time.

Any athlete knew that breaking one’s personal best is not easy, much less when it’s nearly four seconds.

Gawilan did just that. He

swam like a man possessed even when his rivals were far behind. He battled rival Toh Wei Soong through the first 100 meters before taking over at the 1:31 mark. From there, he went on to finish the race not wasting a single sec-ond and not even relaxing his torrid pace.

“Paghuman nako ug lan-goy, sakit kaaoy i-ihi sir (After swimming it was so painful to pee),” Gawilan laughingly re-counted. “Gipugos nako to ug langoy makuha lang ang time (I forced it in order to get the time).”

On his head-to-head bat-tle with Toh, Gawilan said he waited for his rival to get burned out before making his move.

“Oo sir gihulat nako na masunog diha kay kusog man among split sa first hundred, nasunog siya (Yes sir, I wait-ed for him to get burned out because we were swimming fast in the first one hundred meters),” said the 23-year old swimmer with underdevel-oped extremities.

Gawilan was set to swim in his last event last night in the 200-meter S8 individual medley.

Ernie says intense training did it

NEW RECORD. Ernie Gawilan of the Philippines await the official clocking of the 400-meter freestyl event S8 in the 8th Asean Para Games. Youtube

TEAM LEADER. Glenn Escandor of Esdevco-Genesis 88 in action during Game 2 of the Escandor Group of Companies basketball finals at the Genesis Gym. Escandor fired 8 points to help carry his team past DASIA for a 1-all lead in the series. Lean Daval Jr.

njb@edgedavao.net

By NEILWIN JOSEPH L. BRAVO

VOL. 8 ISSUE 182 • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2015 15EDGEDAVAO SPORTS

NBA SCOREBOARD

JUST a day after losing in the Philippine Su-per Liga Grand Prix, Aby Marano encoun-tered more heartache after Philippine Army

bowed to PLDT Home Ultera in the Shakey’s V-League Season 12 Reinforced Conference finals.

The double whammy was too much to bear for Marano, who, after enduring the shock over Petron’s loss to Foton in the PSL finals on Sat-urday, suffered more heartache in Army’s 21-25, 22-25, 25-22, 21-25, loss to the Ultra Fast Hitters on Sunday at The Arena in San Juan.

“Wala sobrang na overwhelm na ganon nangyrari sa dalawang team ko sa Finals,” said the former La Salle skipper, a guest player in the Army side that didn’t taste defeat until the finals.

“Unbeaten sa elims itong Army, come championship natalo kami twice,” she rued. “Inisip ko na lang na this is not for my teams, God has better plans for us, for me.”

Marano, however, was steadfast in her belief that the pair of setbacks will make her stronger and better.

“I’ll strive more and be a better athlete,” vowed Marano.

But for now, the pain lingers for the popu-lar spiker.

“Syempre kailangan ko mag cheer up, sobrang sakit lang sa side ko,” she said. “Da-lawang team ko na pinaghihirapan ko every single training, ibuhos lahat ng pagod ko sa isang araw dalawang beses ensayo ‘tas ganun resulta, sakit.”

LEBRON James has signed a lifetime deal with US sporting

goods giant Nike it was confirmed on Mon-

day in what was described as the

largest single athlete deal in the company’s

history.Nike con-

firmed the agree-ment — believed to

be the first lifetime deal in the company’s 44-year

history — in a brief state-ment.

“We can confirm that we have agreed to a lifetime re-lationship with LeBron that provides significant value to our business, brand and shareholders,” Nike said.

“We have already built a strong LeBron business over the past 12 years, and we see the potential for this to continue to grow throughout his playing ca-reer and beyond.”

No figures for the deal were available but a source familiar with the terms told ESPN it easily eclipsed the $300 million (277 million euros), 10-year deal Nike signed with Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Du-rant.

Nike has a longstand-ing partnership with Mi-chael Jordan but has never announced a lifetime deal before. Sales of Nike’s Air Jordan brand have exceed-ed $2.2 billion in sales since 1985.

THE Indian Aces stamped their class, rolling past the UAE

Royals, 30-18, in Day Two of the Manila leg of the Interna-tional Premier Tennis League on Monday.

The defending champi-on Aces shut the Royals out, winning all five matchups that left the Mall of Asia Are-na crowd impressed.

Aces star Rafael Nadal showed he was in it to win it in his debut, chasing and re-

turning tightly angled shots that made him an instant crowd favorite.

The Spanish stand-out won both his sets, in the men’s doubles with Ivan Dodig against Tomas Berdych and Daniel Nestor, 6-4, and in the men’s singles versus Berdych in a thrilling showdown that went to the limit.

Nadal, though, didn’t have to break plenty of sweat as his teammates did most

of the work earlier when the Aces took the first three sets.

Rohan Bopanna and Sa-nia Mirza beat Nestor and Kristina Mladenovic , 6-4, in the mixed doubles to get them off to a rousing start.

Samantha Stosur then frustrated Ana Ivanovic and substitute Mladenovic, 6-3, in the women’s singles, before playing-coach Fabrice San-toro defeated Goran Ivanise-vic, 6-3, in the legends singles.

“We just prepared the

best way in every match we play,” Santoro said. “Some days it works, but some days it works a bit less, but tonight was a great night for us.”

With the outcome settled after the fourth set, Nadal could afford to go down three games against Berdych.

But the King of Clay buck-led down to work, knotting the count, then going ahead, 5-4, before Berdych forced a shootout, where Nadal pre-vailed, 7-3.

Lebron seals lifetime deal with Nike

Lebron James inked the biggest sports contract ever.

TEARY EYED. Rachel Ann Daquis (left) and Aby Marano (right) are in tears after Petron Blaze lost to Foton in the PSL Grand Prix finals. Volleyball PH

Nadal swings in two wins

Marano reeling afterback-to-back losses

Nike, which signed James to a lucrative sev-en-year $90 million deal in 2003, has made 13 versions of LeBron’s sig-nature shoe, with annual sales expected to pass $400 million for 2015.

According to Forbes.

com, James is the sixth highest earning athlete in the world, raking in annual earnings of $64.8 million according to a list issued in June. The Cleveland Cavaliers star’s net worth is estimated at around $300 million.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 182 • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 201516 EDGEDAVAO