Edge Davao Volume 13 Issue 88 | Thursday, July 23, 2020

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VOL.13 ISSUE 88 • THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2020

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A street sweeper takes a nap on a bench outside Sta. Ana Elementary School along R. Magsaysay Avenue on Wednesday. Edge Davao

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RULE CHANGE Negative RT-PCR test result only mandatory upon exit at DIA

By MAYA M. PADILLO

STORY ON PAGE 2

2 NEWS EDGEDAVAO

VOL.13 ISSUE 88 • THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2020

RULE CHANGE Negative RT-PCR test result only mandatory upon exit at DIA

By MAYA M. PADILLO

M

ayor Sara Duterte-Carpio on Wednesday clarified that the mandatory negative Covid-19 test result through reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is required only upon exit from the Davao International Airport (DIA).

This means that upon check-in at the airport of origin, Davao-bound passengers need not present a negative RTPCR test result issued within 48 hours from the date of departure.

Instead, they will have to present that document only upon exiting the DIA. Requiring passengers bound for DIA to present upon check-in at the airport of origin, of a negative RT-PCR test result issued within 48 hours from the date of departure started on July 20, 2020.

The change came af-

ter Mayor Sara’s discussion with the National Task Force (NTF) and the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging and Infectious Diseases on Tuesday evening.

“After so much discussion, ang resolution nato with NTF and IATF, dili na siya (negative RT PCR test result) himoong mandatory upon checkin sa airport of origin ang RT-PCR, but himoon siyang mandatory upon exit sa Davao International Airport. Ang mahitabo dili siya mandatory for check-in, permissive na siya. Pero mandatory siya for exit sa DIA,” she said.

According to the mayor, with the new system, airline passengers now have choices.

“Ang mahitabo sa pasahero duna siya choice, kung nag-dali ka ug dili ka gusto madugay sa imohang travel you can take the RT-PCR with-

in 24 to 72 hours of the departure date and dadon na nimo and pag-deplane nimo diri mauna naka ug gawas and mauna ka ug advise kung unsa ang kinahanglan nimo buhaton apil na ang home quarantine. Ug ang katong mga walay RT-PCR result gina-hold sila and gina-test nato silang tanan without exemption,” she said.

“They should be prepared to wait for at least 24 hours because duna pa’y time na i-swab tanan and naa pud time na i-run ang tanan na mga tests ug ang time in between ana posible na mag-rerun o i-re-test ang isa ka specimen. Supposedly seven hours na ideally kung isa ka lang pero kung daghan mo can be more than seven hours,” she added.

The test is free of charge at DIA and all passengers, Davao residents

FRULE, P10

Badjao boys spend their morning fishing near their community in Brgy. 23-C Isla Verde, Davao City two days after the city government

of Davao lifted the hard lockdown in the area.

Edge Davao

Duterte to present Covid-19 recovery roadmap during SONA

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n his fifth and penultimate State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Rodrigo Duterte will present a roadmap that will help the country recover from the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), Malacañang said on Wednesday.

“He (Duterte) will be presenting now a roadmap for recovery which the economic team has not unveiled yet and I think the reason is they want to unveil it in the SONA itself and many fora after the SONA,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in an interview with CNN Philippines.

Roque, however, did not provide additional details about the Covid-19 recovery roadmap Duterte will be presenting during his fifth SONA on July 27.

Despite the threat posed by Covid-19,

Duterte decided to be physically present at the Batasang Pambansa Complex in Quezon City when he delivers his fifth SONA. However, there will only be a limited number of people who can attend this year’s SONA to minimize Duterte’s risk of exposure to the novel coronavirus.

The Presidential Security Group has also ensured that heightened security measures would be in place during the annual event to keep Duterte safe from Covid-19.

Roque said Duterte is expected to discuss “in much detail” the government’s efforts to combat the disease, as well as its plan to help the country recover from the Covid-19 crisis.

“There is no other problem as big as [Covid-19] right now,” he said. “The President will summarize the effects of the [Covid-19] pandemic

as well as the responses of the government and the way forward on how the government will actually approach this problem.”

As of Tuesday, the Philippines has logged 70,764 confirmed Covid-19 cases, with 23,281 recoveries and 1,837 deaths.

Duterte has eased the quarantine restrictions in the country to pave the way for the gradual reopening of the economy.

Earlier, he consulted doctors and experts on the possible reopening of the Philippine economy amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

He was told that the country could afford to resume more economic activities, provided that localized lockdown is implemented, Covid-19 testing capacity improves and the vulnerable groups are protected.

(PNA)

Metro Manila. His swab test showed he was positive of Covid-19.

He was however asymptomatic and underwent the mandatory 14-day quarantine.

After completing the quarantine, he was declared by health authorities as “recovered” without performing a re-swab.

He arrived at the Davao International Airport on July 5 where he was held by authorities and transported to the Southern Philippines Medical Center

for re-swabbing on July 6.

The Mati IMT fetched him at the SPMC on July 6 and was immediately transported and isolated at the Alternate Care Site in Milagrosa.

The result of his July 6 swab came out evening of July 8 and he was still positive of Covid-19.

At the ACS, he was already swabbed three times with results all positive. MC-7 has no known contacts in the local community. (CIO MATI)

MC-7 remains positive on his third swab

M Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio announces that reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) will no longer mandatory when entering Davao City as per agreement with the National Task Force and Inter Agency

Task Force. RT-PCR will only mandatory upon exiting the city and travelers without RT-PCR will undergo swap test and will be required to wait for the result. Edge Davao

C-7, the 35-year old male OFW from Saudi Arabia, remains positive on his latest swab since he was diagnosed positive upon arrival in the country on June 21.

Latest result of MC7’s swab test, his fourth swab, which came out Wednesday, July 22, showed that he is still positive of Covid-19, a month after arrival.

MC-7 arrived in the Philippines on June 21. As protocol, he was swabbed and isolated in a quarantine facility in

NEWS 3

EDGEDAVAO

VOL.13 ISSUE 88 • THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2020

Hatid Tulong Initiative sets another send-off for LSIs

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he Hatid Tulong Initiative is set to have another wave of send-off for locally stranded individuals (LSIs) in Metro Manila back to their home provinces this weekend.

Hatid Tulong Lead Convenor and Presidential Management Staff Assistant Secretary Joseph Encabo on Tuesday said they are expecting to help more LSIs on July 25 and 26, especially in regions where there were imposed moratoriums during the first grand send-off.

“Ito po ay para sa mga LSIs na naiwan o hindi natin napagsilbihan noong nakaraang grand send-off, lalung-lalo na po sa mga kababayan nating stranded na papauwi sa Caraga Region, sa Region 6, at saka sa Region 8. So, sila po ngayon ang ating focus na LSIs na tutulungan [This is for the LSIs who were not included in the last grand send-off, especially those who wish to return to Caraga Region, Region 6 and Region 8. We will focus on these LSIs this time],” he said during the Network Briefing News

with Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar.

Encabo said there will also be a simultaneous send-off for LSIs bound for other regions in Mindanao, including the Zamboanga Peninsula, Davao, and Soccsksargen on July 25 and for North Luzon on July 26.

The venue of the second grand send-off will be at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.

“Magkakaroon po tayo ng dalawang venues. Magkakatabi po ito para mas maayos, mas organized, at mascompartmentalized ang ating pag-asikaso sa mga rehiyon ng LSIs kung saan natin sila papauwiin (There will be two adjacent venues to ensure a more organized and compartmentalized processing),” he said.

According to Encabo, they were successful in sending home some 4,000 LSIs last July 4 and 5.

“Mas expected po natin na mas malaki ang grupo ngayong July 25 and 26 dahil naging successful po tayo

FHATID, P10

Ressa pleads not guilty to 5th tax evasion case

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aria Ressa, a journalist who runs a Philippine news website known for its tough scrutiny of President Rodrigo Duterte, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to tax evasion charges in a case she has described as a form of harassment.

Ressa was arraigned at the Pasig Regional Trial Court on Wednesday on charges of failing to report sales receipts from the issuance and sale of Philippine Depositary Receipts in the second quarter of 2015.

Prosecutors alleged a deficiency of P294,258.58.

Rappler has argued that PDRs are not taxable income.

Ressa, a Time Magazine Person of the Year in 2018 for fighting media intimidation, is facing several government lawsuits that have caused international concern about harassment of journalists in the Philippines, a country long seen as a standard bearer for press freedom in Asia.

She and her news website face four other

tax cases at the Court of Tax Appeals.

Ressa, 56, who is chief executive of the news site Rappler, was convicted of libel last month and sentenced to up to six year in prison, a ruling widely seen by government critics as a blow to democratic freedoms under Duterte’s increasingly popular authoritarianism.

She was freed on bail.

Rappler has repeatedly challenged the accuracy of Duterte’s public statements and his justification for his controversial foreign policy.

It has also reported on alleged atrocities in his war on drugs and probed what it says are massive, state-orchestrated social media hate campaigns against Duterte’s critics.

Duterte has publicly lashed out at Rappler, calling it a “fake news outlet” sponsored by American spies.

Ressa’s latest court appearance is over accusations Rappler falsified tax returns by omitting the proceeds of a sale of depositary receipts to foreign in-

FRESSA, P10

President Rodrigo Duterte makes a renewed appeal for public patience Tuesday as his administration works hard to halt the spread of

the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and as the world awaits a vaccine.

Presidential Photo

TESDApushesforfoodsufficiency

By MAYA M. PADILLO

T

he Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in the region is putting emphasis on agriculture to ensure food sufficiency amidst the current health crisis focusing on indigenous peoples (IP) and former rebels (FR).

TESDA 11 announced on Wednesday it is unveiling agriculture-based livelihood trainings for both IP communities and FRs in the Davao Region.

“Sa tanan namo programs we have tried to prioritize the agri sector.

Mao na dako ug allocations sa among program labi na panahon sa Covid nga naa jud makaon ang

atong mga kaigsoonan labi na ang mga IPs ug kaigsoonan sa bukid.

Gidala ang progrmaa sa agriculture sama sa vegetable raising ug poultry raising didto sa kabukiran all over Region 11,” said Arlyn Bandong, assistant regional director of TESDA 11, in a virtual presser.

The programs are under Whole-of-Nation approach and officially rolled out on Wednesday in different provinces of Davao Region spearheaded by TESDA Secretary Isidro Lapeña.

On Monday, Lapeña visited various sites in Davao Region together with the members of

Poverty Reduction Livelihood and Employment Clusters (PRLEC) of Region 11 and the Regional Task Force Ending Local Communist Armed Conflict (RTF-ELCAC) for the livelihood trainings of IPs and FRs. Lapeña went to Prosperidad, Montevista in Davao de Oro to conduct training on ‘mananggete’ covering Barangay Manggayon in Monkayo for “binangay” banana production for the IP community. The secretary was also expected to visit Upper Ulip in Monkayo for carpentry, masonry, and electrical trainings. He was also expected to visit Linoan

in Monkayo to receive the one hectare donation from the Linoan Farmers Association to be used for agriculture training in Davao de Oro. Lapeña also went to Maragatas, Lupon in Davao Oriental for the production and commercialization training of mini organic farm produce.

Bandong said the secretary will also visit the ongoing training of the 21 FRs at the Happy Home in Mati City in Davao Oriental.

Lapeña will also visit the TESDA training center in San Isidro and the TESDA Polytechnic In-

Roque, however, admitted that many have been asking him why the President has not considered blaming Duque for the health-related issues hounding the country.

“The question I’m asked more often is ‘why not?’ But it has never been the case that I think the President has ever used him as a whipping boy,” he said.

Roque said Duque continues to enjoy the President’s trust and confidence, even giving him advice on how to handle criticism after making honest mistakes.

“He’s’ (Duterte) always been supportive of Secretary Duque. He says mistakes have been made.

For as long as his mistakes were done in good faith, it’s no reason for him to lose confidence,” he added.

In a handwritten note

issued from the Philippine National Police Custodial Center where she is detained on drug-related charges, de Lima claimed that the President is letting Duque act as “captain of the sinking ship.”

“My guess is the President just needs a whipping boy for the tragedy that they themselves have brought to our nation.

Kaya siguro hindi niyo matanggal-tanggal para laging may masisisi ang taumbayan (Perhaps that’s why he can’t be removed so there is someone to blame). Is that your strategy? Have we cracked the code?” she said.

Her statement came amid calls for Duque to step down which have been made since the pandemic started, especially after he mistakenly claimed the country is experiencing the second wave of Covid-19

infection and when he wrongly said the country is flattening the curve or slowing down the rate of Covid-19 infection.

In April, senators signed a resolution asking Duque to resign while questioning his handling of the health crisis.

Several groups have also demanded the same after Duque was tagged in the anomalous purchase of medical supplies and equipment.

Duque ignored these calls, saying he served at the pleasure of the President.

Duterte has repeatedly vouched for Duque’s integrity and took “full responsibility” for the order of supplies.

He also extolled Duque for his competence, saying he would not have been appointed as health chief had he thought otherwise.

(PNA)

FTESDA, P10

PRRD not using Duque as scapegoat: Palace

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resident Rodrigo Duterte is not using Health Secretary Francisco Duque III as a scapegoat for the alleged lapses in the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) response of the national government, Malacañang said on Wednesday.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque rejected the statement made by detained Senator Leila de Lima that Duque has not been fired from his post because the President needs a “whipping boy” as the country continues to grapple with the prevailing pandemic.

“I read the same papers and I watch the same news as Senator Leila de Lima, I can tell you the President has not been treating Secretary Duque as a whipping boy,” Roque said in an interview over CNN Philippines.

4 ECONOMY EDGEDAVAO

VOL.13 ISSUE 88 • THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2020

Landbank provides P227-B agri loans as of end-June

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A vendor uses his mobile phone to make himself busy while waiting for customers at one of the fruit stalls along Monteverde Street in Davao City on Wednesday. Edge Davao

73 new ecozones rise during PRRD admin

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eventy-three new economic zones were added from October 2016 to June 2020, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) said Tuesday.

In a statement, PEZA bared these 73 new ecozones proclaimed by President Rodrigo Duterte in the first four years of his term invested a total of PHP88.3 billion.

Bulk or 52 percent of the new ecozones were information technology (IT) centers, 10 manufacturing ecozones, nine IT parks, one agro-industrial economic zone, and one medical tourism center.

For this year alone, PEZA said Duterte signed 12 proclamations for new PEZA ecozones, including the country’s first Knowledge, Innovation, Science and Technology, or KIST Park in Batangas State University.

“Being a KIST Park will now enable Batangas State University to partner with foreign schools to bring their programs so we can create more skilled Filipinos as we embark on transforming our workforce to become multiskilled, multi-knowledge and world class,” PEZA Director General Charito Plaza said.

PEZA has been pursuing the KIST parks as a new type of ecozone that aims to create stronger linkage between industries and the academe to develop the country’s human resources.

“PEZA is spreading the creation of different types of ecozones like the KIST Park nationwide, especially to the countryside.

This is by the virtue of the Administrative Order No. 18 and in support of the Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa Program,” Plaza said.

“Through the KIST and skills training programs, we can spread not

just investments but also employment, technology and skills to attain the total development of the Philippines,” she added.

Meanwhile, Plaza said 63 applications for new ecozones are waiting for Duterte’s signature.

“Once signed, these will bring in export companies to the Philippines.

PEZA’s different types of economic zones are built or proclaimed in accordance to the land available and efficiency and environmental factors in the location. It is assessed if the type of industry is viable or suitable in the area,” she said. (PNA)

to do the capacity here and really try to reduce imports and address also the trade deficit,” he said Monday.

Lopez said since the government eased the community quarantine measures and allowed the reopening of more economic activities, performance of the manufacturing sector has improved.

Manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) has recovered close to stable condition in June 2020 with a score of 49.7 after hitting its record-low of 31.6 in April, the trade chief said.

Lopez added overall manufacturing capacity utilization also improved from 71.2 percent in April 2020 to 73.4 percent in May. Output index likewise

increased from 10.2 percent in April to 29.4 percent in May, and 51.1 percent in June, Lopez said.

“While we are solving problems, we are still looking at modernizing and continuing with an integrated industrialization strategy. And micro SME (small and medium enterprises) is part of that industrial capacity that we are trying to build,” he said.

He underscored the need to go into higher value products and services as part of the global value chain.

“We need to produce higher value from our industries and services so we have better participation in the global value chain. Let’s say for electronics, we produce higher design components to

increase the value of the products that we produce.

There is (a) premium in their value,” he added.

Lopez further said improving the capacity building of different sectors in the country is part of the “building back better” of the Philippine economy.

As the country modernizes and integrates industrial capacity, moves to higher value products in the global value chain, and contributes to socio-economic development such as building vital infrastructure, he added the government is looking to reduce trade deficit, increase value creation, increase backward and forward linkages, and modernize Philippine industries. (PNA)

DTI chief targets capacity building in PH recovery

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rade Secretary Ramon Lopez is pushing for capacity building in manufacturing, agriculture, and services as the country rebuilds its economy from the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.

Speaking at the National MSME Week e-forum happening from July 20 to 24, Lopez said the country should further strengthen its capacity building to be able to supply local demands and lessen importation.

“The more that we have the capacity, the more we will have the capacity to produce and supply the local demand.

We don’t need to import because we are able to increase already that capacity. So, it’s important

tate-run lender Land Bank of the Philippines said Tuesday it has provided a total of P227.47 billion worth of agricultural loans as of endJune this year as part of its intensified support for the agriculture sector.

In a statement, Landbank said of the total agricultural loans, P35.63 billion were outstanding loans to small farmers, fishers, cooperatives, and farmers associations.

“This includes direct lending to farmers and fishers which grew by P219 million or 18.37% from P1.19 billion in May to P1.41 billion in June,” the bank said.

Meanwhile, loans to other players in the agri-business value chain stood at P191.84 billion, of which P141.67 billion was lent to small, medium, and large agribusiness enterprises and P50.17 billion financed agriaqua related projects of local government units (LGUs) and government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs).

The state lender also noted that as of end-June, it has assisted 1,976,689 small farmers and fishers nationwide.

This represents 98.8% of its 2 million cumulative target for the year.

The number is also

18% or 300,825 higher than May’s 1,675,864 tally. The increase was due largely to the new farmers assisted under the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Financial Subsidy to Rice Farmers (FSRF) Program, the Landbank said.

Of the 1,976,689 farmers and fishers that Landbank has assisted, 1,290,240 were supported through the bank’s various regular loan offerings and lending programs jointly implemented with the DA and the Department of Agrarian Reform.

The remaining 218,530 and 467,919 small farmers were assisted specifically through the DA’s Rice Farmers Financial Assistance (RFFA) Program and the FSRF Program, respectively.

“Now more than ever, LANDBANK continues to exert greater focus on driving support for the agriculture sector amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the whole-of-government approach, our strong partnerships with the Department of Agriculture and Department of Agrarian Reform have allowed us to fulfill our mandate of reaching and assisting more small farmers and fishers nationwide than ever before,” Landbank president and CEO Cecilia Borromeo said.

Cut in banks’ reserve requirements to pump P10-B into economy

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bout PHP10 billion worth of liquidity is expected to be released into the system from the 1-percent cut in thrift banks (TBs) and rural and cooperative banks’ (RCBs) reserve requirement (RR) effective July 31, 2020.

“Reduction of 1 percent on deposits/ deposit substitute liabilities amounting to (PHP)1 trillion of TBs and RCBs will release estimated liquidity of PHP10 billion,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno told journalists in a message Tuesday.

The cut is in line with the central bank’s bid to help lift the economy by ensuring there is enough liquidity to support economic activities and address the impact of the pandemic.

Diokno has been authorized by the pol-

icy-making Monetary Board (MB) to reduce banks’ RR by as much as 400 basis points this year.

He already directed the 200 basis points reduction in universal and commercial banks (U/KBs) and non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs) with quasi-banking functions RR last March.

In a statement, the central bank said the RR cut for TBs and RCBs brought their RR to 3 percent and 2 percent, respectively.

“The reduction is expected to increase lending capacity of these banks to support financing requirements of their micro-, smalland medium enterprise as well as rural community-based clients. It will also help lower intermediation cost and ease financial strain faced by these banks’ customers,” it added.

(PNA)

EDGEDAVAO

VOL.13 ISSUE 88 • THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2020

ECONOMY

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Aboitiz unit ramps up construction of Davao bulk water system project

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boitiz InfraCapital Inc said Wednesday it would need more workers as its unit Apo Agua fast-tracks the construction of a bulk water project in Davao.

Apo Agua Infrastructura Inc, a joint venture between Aboitiz InfraCapital and J.V. Angeles Construction Corp, is eyeing to hire 3,000 more workers by November for the Davao City water supply project, its parent said in a statement.

It currently has 1,500 personnel. Skilled laborers such as carpenters, masons, steel men, rebar

fitters, pipefitters, machine and equipment operators, signalmen, watchmen and utility personnel are needed, the company said.

“We are ramping up our construction activities while implementing the appropriate health protocols in our offices and project sites per government guidelines, Apo Agua operations head Shake A. Tuason.

The group is set to deliver the project by 2021, it said. Once operational, it will provide 300 million liters of safe water per day to more than one million Davaoeños.

Megaworld books P38B reservation sales in H1

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roperty developer Megaworld Corp. said Tuesday it has booked P38 billion in reservation sales for its various residential projects in the first half of 2020.

For the second quarter — the period when most parts of the country were under enhanced community quarantine — the company posted P17 billion in reservation sales.

“While the method of selling real estate during quarantine period was quite challenging, our digital sales strategies that we’ve been working on since two years ago paved the way for faster, smoother and safer transactions, and client engagements,” Megaworld chief operating officer Lourdes Gutierrez-Alfonso said in a statement.

“We thank all our

customers for the trust and confidence even during this time,” Gutierrez-Alfonso said.

For June alone, Megaworld said reservation sales reached P7 billion as demand for residential lots in CALABARZON, particularly in Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal, as well as residential properties in Boracay Newcoast and Iloilo Business Park, soared.

Megaworld said its provincial properties made up most of the sales booked during the second quarter.

The property developer said its big ticket projects in Arden Botanical Estate in Cavite, Eastland Heights in Antipolo, Rizal, Hamptons Caliraya in Laguna, McKinley Hill and McKinley West in Taguig, as well as projects in Makati City and Pasig

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BSP cuts reserve requirement for thrift, rural and coop banks

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angko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno on Tuesday announced a 100-basis-point reduction in the reserve requirements of thrift banks (TBs) and rural and cooperate banks (RCBs) effective end-July.

Starting July 31, 2020, the reserve requirement — the amount of cash banks are required to hold in reserve — of TBs will be reduced to 3% and of RCBs to 2%.

“The reduction is expected to increase lending capacity of these banks to support financing requirements of their micro-, small- and medium enterprise as well as rural community-based clients,” Diokno said in a statement.

“It will also help lower intermediation costs and ease financial strain faced by these banks’ customers,” he added.

To recall, the BSP in March already reduced the reserve requirement ratio

for all universal and commercial banks by 200 basis points.

“This move is also part of the BSP’s omnibus package of reforms aimed at assisting the banking public with their liquidity requirements during the Corona Virus Disease 2019 pandemic and supporting the transition towards a sustainable recovery during the post-crisis period,” said Diokno.

To recall, the central bank in March committed to remit P20 billion to the national government in support of efforts against COVID-19.

It also purchased P300-billion worth of government securities to support government programs against the spread of COVID-19.

The BSP has also so far cut key interest rates by a total of 175 basis points this year — 25 basis points in February, and 50 basis points each in April, May, and June.

The Lobby Cafe inside the Arcadia Active Lifestyle Center has added delivery options through online orders in response to Dabawenyos’ needs

amidst the coronavirus restrictions. The Cafe caters to customers daily with new business hours from 9:00-5:00 pm.

BOCseizessmuggledcigarettes worthP107-MatPortofDavao O peratives of the Bureau of Customs(BOC)-Port of Davao have seized four 40-foot containers of illegally imported cigarettes valued at P107,414,676.74 through continuous coordination with the agency’s Intelligence Group (IG) and Enforcement Group (EG).

In a statement on Tuesday, the BOC said intelligence reports revealed that the first two containers which arrived at the Davao International Container Terminal (DICT) on July 10 were said to contain 2,180 boxes of brand-new tissue papers.

However, it said that subsequent derogatory information was received from IG and EG that led to the issuance of a Pre-Lodgment Control Order (PLCO) after discovering that no goods declaration was lodged by consignee Golden Aark Enterprises and there was a possible misdeclaration

of the said commodity.

Authorities then conducted non-intrusive inspection and 100% physical examination that yielded misdeclaration of goods as 1,205 boxes Astro Branded Cigarettes and 942 boxes of YS filter cigarettes, which resulted in the apprehension last July 14.

The BOC said two more containers arrived at the same terminal on July 12 declaring 1,940 boxes of the same commodity.

Authorities then conducted X-ray inspection and 100% examination that revealed 942 boxes of YS filter cigarettes and 941 Fort Branded Cigarettes which were also apprehended last July 16 at the DICT. The Customs said the previous apprehensions revealed that the offenders are trying to outsmart the system by not declaring the shipment’s details in the e-manifest – a system by which the BOC de-

termines the cargo’s details and its intended port of destination.

However, intensified intelligence gathering revealed that the intended destination of these shipments was Davao; to which Customs has sole jurisdiction in conducting examination, the BOC said.

“In the midst of the pandemic, Customs Davao shall ensure that its border security protocols, and coordination with partner agencies remain steadfast in securing the borders of Mindanao” Customs Davao District Collector Erastus Sandino Austria said.

The BOC said Austria issued a Warrant of Seizure and Detention (WSD) to these illicit articles in violation of Executive Order No.245 or the “Amended Rules and Regulations Governing the Exportation and Importation of Leaf Tobacco and Tobacco Products,” Graphic Health Warnings

(GHW) Law or Republic Act 10643, also known as “An Act to Effectively Instill Health Consciousness through Graphic Health Warning on Tobacco Products,” and Section 117 of RA 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act .

Likewise, the BOC said the sub-port Dadiangas in General Santos City also apprehended 1,325 boxes of smuggled cigarettes from Vietnam valued at more than P24 million last June 3.

“Customs Davao shall continue its intensified campaign against the smuggling of these illegally imported goods into the country led by its District Collector, Atty. Austria, partner regulating agencies and Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero’s priority programs steering BOC to international standards in revenue collection, border protection and trade facilitation,” it said.

agreements are executed.

“The intended acquisition is part of completing the agricultural ecosystem being envisioned by ANI,” the disclosure read.

“The financial platform that will be introduced is anticipated to reach the farmers mostly in the unserved rural areas of the country,” it added.

Hatchasia is partially owned by the DFNN Group, which is involved in high-volume secure financial transactions.

Meanwhile, Pay8 is involved in providing payment centers to utilities such as provincial and ru-

ral electric cooperatives.

It also has an existing contract with PhilPost to provide payment centers in far-flung and unconnected areas, providing subscribers neighborhood payment centers.

ANI, for its part, counts as an affiliate the BRB Digibank, which will provide online micro-financing of farm inputs to contract farmers via agri vouchers.

The company will then put all these financial services under one umbrella - Agri Token Inc., a closed lopped ecosystem it pioneered recently.

“The deal completes Tiu’s digital infra and is envisioned to have tremendous synergies which will spur rural development by enabling farmers, producers, distributors and end-users to make cashless payments within its closed-looped ecosystem,” the company said, referring to its president and chief executive officer Antonio Tiu. “The agricultural sector has been registering declines and slow growth in the past decade due to lack of much needed financial support to farmers,” it added.

AgriNurture to acquire 51% of fintech Pay8

A

griNurture Inc. (ANI) this week inked an agreement to acquire a majority stake in fintech Pay8 Inc., in line with plans to complete its envisioned “agricultural ecosystem.”

In a regulatory filing, ANI said it signed a memorandum of agreement to acquire up to 51% of Pay8 Inc.’s authorized capital stock from HatchAsia after effecting an increase in its capitalization.

Based on the current valuation, the 51% is valued at P377.91 million, subject to ANI’s due diligence before definitive

6 VANTAGE EDGEDAVAO

VOL.13 ISSUE 88 • THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2020

On Covid-19 negative test result through reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) as no longer mandatory upon for passengers arriving in Davao through the Davao International Airport: After so much discussion, ang resolution nato with NTF and IATF, dili na siya (negative RT PCR test result) himoong mandatory upon check-in sa airport of origin ang RTPCR, but himoon siyang mandatory upon exit sa Davao International Airport. Ang mahitabo dili siya mandatory for check-in, permissive na siya. Pero mandatory siya for exit sa DIA ... Ang mahitabo sa pasahero duna siya choice, kung nag-dali ka ug dili ka gusto madugay sa imohang travel you can take the RT-PCR within 24 to 72 hours of the departure date and dad-on na nimo and pag-deplane nimo diri mauna naka ug gawas and mauna ka ug advise kung unsa ang kinahanglan nimo buhaton apil na ang home quarantine. Ug ang katong mga walay RT-PCR result gina-hold sila and gina-test nato silang tanan without exemption.”

Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio

EDGEDAVAO

Providing solutions to a seamless global village.

PHILIPPINE PRESS INSTITUTE

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Printed by Zion Accuprint Publishing Inc. Door 14 ALCREJ Building, Quirino Avenue, 8000, Davao City, Philippines Tel: (082) 224-1413 301-6235 Telefax: (082) 221-3601 www.edgedavao.net editorial@edgedavao.net marketing@edgedavao.net edgedavao@gmail.com

NEILWIN JOSEPH L. BRAVO Managing Editor

MAYA M. PADILLO Senior Reporter

KENNETH IRVING K. ONG ATHENA JILLIAN BRAVO NIKKI GOTIANSE-TAN MEGHANN STA. INES FERINA SANTOS Lifestyle

CHRISTIAN JAY H. RAFAL Layout/Cartoons

ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR. LEANDRO S. DAVAL JR. DR. MAURO L. PUYOD CHA MONFORTE Cartoonist Correspondent Consultant Columnists: MA. TERESA L. UNGSON • EDCER C. ESCUDERO • AURELIO A. PEÑA • ZHAUN ORTEGA • BERNADETTE “ADDIE” B. BORBON • MARY ANN C. QUISIDO • LEANDRO DAVAL SR.,TRIA • NIKKI GOTIANSE-TAN NICASIO ANGELO AGUSTIN • EMILY Columnists: ANTONIO V.“ADI” FIGUEROA • HENRYLITO D. TACIO •B.JOHN CARLO • MUJAHID NAVARRA ••FRED C. LUMBA • DENNIS R. GORECHO ZEN CHUA • CARLOS MUNDA Economic Analyst: ENRICO •“GICO” G. S. DAYANGIRANG • JONALLIER GREGORIO G. DELIGERO VIDA MIA VALVERDE • HAROLD CAVITE M. PEREZ

OLIVIA D. VELASCO SOLANI D. MARATAS RICHARD C. EBONA JASPER V. BACSAL OLIVIA D. VELASCO General ManagerPresident Advertising Specialist General Manager/Finance VP-Operations JOCELYN S. PANES Director of Sales

ANTONIO M. AJERO Editor in Chief

SOLANI D. MARATAS Finance

CAGAYAN DE ORO MARKETING OFFICE MANILA MARKETING OFFICE RICHARD C. EBONA LEIZEL A. DELOSO | Marketing Manager Unit 6, Southbank Plaza Velez-YacapinProduct Sts. Development officer Cagayan de Oro City Address: No. 18 Purok 4B, Madelo Street, Lower Bicutan, Taguig City Tel: (088) 852-4894 Mobile number: +63 947 265 2969(smart); +63 916 955 8559(globe)

EDGEDAVAO

EDGEDAVAO

VOL.13 ISSUE • FRIDAY, JULY 17,23, 2020 VOL.13 ISSUE 8883 • THURSDAY, JULY 2020

VANTAGE POINTS

COMPETITIVE EDGE

7

7

DENNIS R. V. GORECHO ANTONIO FIGUEROA PINOY MARINO RIGHTS FAST BACKWARD

ILLEGAL SALARY DEDUCTIONS DUE TO DUBIOUS PROMISSORY NOTES

DURIAN HOTEL: RISING FROM THE PAST

Overseas Filipino WorkIn 2001, due to a series of ers (OFWs) crisis, Durianmust Hotel,be onevigilant of the against the structures execution to of dubiimpressive grace ous promissory notes causing Davao City’s landscape towards excessive deductions the end of the millennium,from was their salaries. forced to fold up after its lendThe Taiwan Times recenter bank, the Metropolitan Bank ly reported that six (6) Filiand Trust Co., foreclosed its pino fishermen Philproperty due to accused unpaid comippine and Taiwanese labor mitments. brokers of making excessive But there were also other deductions from their salafactors that brought the hotel ries. There was a rise in indown.

They conflicts, pointed the out Asian that sur-gent NT$8,000crisis, (P13,500) had financial and the abducbeen deducted each month tions by the Abu Sayyaf group. from their salaries up to Collec-tively, these forspelled 14 months. drastic decline in tourist arrivThesevere fishermen saidinthey als and reduction ecowere asked to sign nomic op-portunities. promissoryWhen notes hard stating that overthey times had acquired a loan, withHotel the whelmed the city, Durian amount and person owed The left was in familiar company. blank. mammoth P3-billion, MalayThey added that they sian-owned Samal Island CawereResort also asked to sign sino shut down due an to affidavit statingEven thatthe the delow occupancy. iconic duction was aHotel placement fee Davao Insular had to temand not close a loan, that porarily itsand doors to they find would have to topay the and full remedy on how resolve amount if their contract were underwrite its heavy losses. terminated.

On the other hand, oth-

leged that theyopted don’t to have any er local hotels severe knowledge as to the contents ties with global managing firms and/or existence of the docuwhich failed to bring in the dements purporting to be promsired guests and became liabilissory notes. ities. For one, Mercure Grand Thenow fishermen were made Ho-tel, Davao Regal Hotel, to sign the postseceded fromdocuments the arrangement, haste, without fully underfollowed by Royal Mandaya Hostanding tel, which the was contents handled bysince Barthese are Group written in the Taicelo Hotel of Spain. wanese language not exOn the side, and skeptics atplained to them in Filipino. tributed the closure to claims They were a the hotel wasalso builtnot on given a weak copy. foun-dation, susceptible to Although the a loan can be earthquakes, groundwork taken out by a seafarer, such sank, and structural engineers loan be in accordance were must not amenable in terms with law. to high-rise buildings of safety the line Amended Midue Under to a fault discovered grant Workers and Overseas in Davao City. Overtime, these Filipinos Act (AMWA) ornumR.A. led to the reduction in the No. and the POEA ber of10022 potential occupants and rules, guests.it is illegal for any person In to charge or accept its heyday, DuriandirectHotel, ly oranindirectly any amount with area of 16,500 square greater thanfamous that specified in meters, was for its Hethe of allowable fees roesschedule Bar, a saloon overlooking prescribed byand thewas Secretary Victoria Plaza a straof Labor and Employment, or tegic hangout for those who to maketoaappreciate worker pay or acwanted the city by knowledge greatnight. It sat any on aamount property that er than that actually received comprised 15 adjoining lots.

volved notoriginal received by Thewere hotel’s buildthem making another ing had only a these total floor area form of placement fees. The of 1,762 square meters.

Any placement fee deground floor accommodated ducted from of a the lobby andthethesalary reception seafarer is illegal.two Under POEA hall, excluding business rules, thethemanning agency stalls. On second story was shall charge from their printhe executive offices, while the cipal/employer manning fee third and fourth astories hosted to cover services rendered in gues-trooms. the Due recruitment deployto risingandpatronage ment of seafarer. and better than usual occupanSince the fishermen did cy record, the family of Bayani not actually receive theofloan Es-cora, original owners the money fromto build the a alleged hotel, decided six-stopromissory notes and ry annex building withconsida total ering that of they are square paying methe floor area 4,566 alleged loans asconsisted deductions ters. Thevedifice of a from theirground salaries,floor, it can basement, andbea argued that they are paying parking lot on the second floor, amounts enough for“greater around 60than cars. that The actually by dedi-catthem as next two received” stories were aedloan or advance. as functions rooms, and the Fr. Joywas Tajonera of Aposfifth story the Grand Balltleship the Seas (AoS) Tairoom, aoftheater-type function wan hall. said that this is a manifestation the systematic On theof other hand, the corruption of human traffick12-story main hotel, with a floor ers toosquare many meters, people areawherein of 10,172 are a blind to such has turning a basement thateye housed the problem, including sendwater boiler, exhaustthe fans, and ing and area, receiving parking while authorities the ground (government), employers and the brokers in Taiwan.

He added that illegal deductions will not happen if the brokers who make profit

out the hard earned money floorofhosted a restaurant, main of the fishermen are eliminatkitchen, two picturesque eleed. vators, and a service elevator.

Difficult times and floor imGo-ing up, the second mediate money to was homeneed to afor cornucopia of finance certain expenses will rooms and cubicles, including lead OFWs to people known the lunchroom of employees, as loan sharks. medical clinic, stockroom, lockTaking advantage of such er room, food and beverage ofsituation, therecomfort are employfice, employees’ rooms, ers or agencies that impose a male-female quarters, and two compulsory and exclusive armedium function rooms. rangement whereby OFW Meanwhile, the an third to is required to avail a loan eleventh stories wereofused for from a specifically designated guestrooms; the twelfth housed institution, entity, or person. the Heroes Bar, the Concorde, Such act considered a function roomis with a mezas one of the prohibited actsa zanine, swimming pool, and under theAtAMWA relation mini gym. the roofindeck were to recruitment and the the cell site, water tank, andemelployment of OFWs wherein evator motors. the company can be In terms or of person breakdown of held administraguestcriminally rooms, theor original buildtively liable. 22 lodgings while ing housed Otheredifice prohibited the main hostedacts 126that acinvolve loans include (a) withcommodations. holding or denying or In 2015, news travel that the other pertinent documents mothballed Durian Hotel, rufrom seafarer for moredanasapplicant a haunted structure, monetary considwas boughtorbyfinancial a new investor erations, or for anyAccordingly, other reabecame hot item. sons, other than those the erection of a new authoedifice rized under the Labor Code; (b) withholding of seafarer’s salaries or remittances, SSS contributions and loan amortization or short-changing /

An immersive opportunity:

reduction without was justo re-placethereof the structure tifiable granting a plannedreasons; to start (c) in the middle loan to year. a seafarer with interest of that The 600-room hoexceeding percent tel pro-jecteight would cost (8%) P400 per annum whichit will used million, making the be biggest for payment The of legal and hoalin Mindanao. proposed lowable and makingplan, the tel, underfees a progressive seafarer issue, either personwould comprise three buildings ally through guarantor with or 9,000 rooms. aThe fantastic or party, yarn accommodation was even verified by the post-dated checks in relation regional tourism office. to the saidsurviving loan; and numerous (d) refusAfter ing to condone renegotiate economic crises,oryears of inaactivity, loan incurred seafarer stories by of the paranormal after the latter’sand employment man-ifestations, challenges contract has been prematureof earth-shaking tremors that ly terminated through struck the Davao region,no thefault hoof tel,his/her almost own. unscathed structurAMWA andpast.

POEA’s ally, The is rising from the revised rules were passed in In early 2020, after the accordance withwas the acquired governforeclosed hotel ment’s among Quibod, others, earlier policy,

by Armando to uphold the dignity and owner of Montana Community fundamental human rights of Finance Corp. and Armando Filipino Financingseafarers Corp., navigating rehabilitaforeign and promote full tion andseas, renovation promptly employment equality of started. For aand change, Durian employment opportunities Hotel, when it reopens under for all. management, will be a new (Atty.

DennisPersimmon Gorecho known as Davao heads seafarers’ Suites, athe premier boutiquedivihosion of the Sapalo Velez tel.

MCM launches Digital Learning Bootcamp 2020

The promissory notes can be voided since these were executed without the consent of the fishermen as they al-

by him as a loan or advance.

The fishermen were made to sign Promissory Notes under the guise of personal loans and the amounts in-

HENRYLITO D. TACIO

Bundang Bulilan law offices. For comments, email info@sapalovelez.com, or call 09175025808 or 09088665786.)

THINK ON THESE!

M

ANTONIO V. FIGUEROA

THE VALUE OF CRITICISM FERNANDEZ PIANO SCHOOL

BACKWARD MCM’s online ed by MCM. matics, Business, may proceed to alayan Colleges Mind-FAST anao, a Mapúa School learning tools In order for Humanities and this link: https:// Blackparticipants tonotSocial bit.ly/MCMDIGI“To avoid criticism, say its anything back.

I’ll justsuch keep on as Hendrie Weisinger adds, “Crit- people, for havingSciences, faults, because it says nothing about announced first Dignothing, do nothing, be nothing.” shining – quietly, calmly, like icism is information that will but having faults different from the person. “(Criticism) merely board Learn, maximize the and Basic Ed- TALBOOTCAMP ital Learning – Elbert Hubbard, LittleBootcamp Jour- the moon.”2020, help you grow.” your own.” Another one said: says something about our own Col-criticism, online learning and follow the neys to the Homes Great TheCollege story remindsBlackboard me of We need Dr. Jose “Don’t minducation criticism. Iffor it is inneed to be critical,” he wrote. inviting allofinthe SHS Established 1950, and to withofthe nuns ofmotiPila, beams, dur-ing thetoannual St. the pieces. the “If Fernandez Piano School; Vol. 3: American Statesman thestay words American Rizal once wrote, keep us untrue, disregard it; if it is unyou attend a gathering laborate, Micexperience, they coming Grade 11 subsequent inFernandez Piano School, a Laguna it “Don’t was safe to Cecilia’s Concert at St. herirritation; distinguished shethe taught muvator to Ziguntil Ziglar. be disawake. “Sometimes, theSchocrit- fair, Among keep from if it is consequently, and listen to all criticism students in Mindanao experosoft 365,weCollege Miwill need astudents de- were students; Basic and pioneering institution, was find a passage back home.

Dr. Evelyn Abelsic schools likelevied Stellaagainst Maris A judge, who was holding tracted by criticism,” he said. lastica’s icism receiveon isNovember valuable, ignorant, smile; if it is justified, thatinisstructions typically rience the first fully integratthe brainchild of Encarnita After the conflict, she con18, 2001, which was a tribute lera-Magno, president of Rizal Ateneo de Davao University, court in a far away town, was “Remember, the only crosoft taste of evenTeams, helpful,” Carlson is notacriticism, learn from it.” others, and to thenthe go home and vice wrote. such itas Algebra, Generlink “MCM Fernandez. was chief in- tinued her studies.

At the time, National for Music Colleges; Women’s Univeralwaysonline sure She of being annoyed success some people have is to “Other times,Artist it’s utter non- Memorial “Criticism may Ana not Mabe Philippine consider how much good all ed learning system in Zoom, Panopto, computer unit, al Physics, BusiDigital” account by some cutting remarks by judge when Fernandez they take ahad bitealready out of Lucio sense. San Either way,She learning to rie agreeable, but it is necessary,” that criticism actually does to structress of the iconic school Pedro. later bePamintuan; Perla Palma sity.

Wiley Plus, andas ‘small laptop or tabness andin an Manthat will be passed sent the region — Digital —as judge-ata local lawyer. one MCM such you.” use criticism stuff’ is aGil; said Sir Winston Churchill make our world a better place, and was tutor After to doz-ens of moved to Davao came a recipient of the 2007 Melinda Garcia-Alonzo; When her parents occasion,who someone asked the the largeWhat is life without critiincredibly useful in our efforts interview with New Statesman. you’ll probably come up with pianists later graced of Davao and CotabaMusic Centennial Awards Aurora Quimpo-Paez; Mila away and she was left alone Cengage Learnlet; stress.” and internet agement, asand through the and get the to use judge atscene, dinner whyopportunity hedaughdidn’t to. cism. it will bedistrict boring from to liveher a lifeAlma of reduced “It fulfills the same function thetend same I do: music mainly HePerhaps, later became Mater. She is Cabaguio-Jocson; Elenita to theanswer school, that Encarnita ing to complete ofinatthe human P roand gbody; raFortune m m i nde-cided g email address tell off nasty lawyer. in Da-online and unchallenging.

Imagine was aconnectivity who Roque-Aquino; pain it calls Zero!”

MCM’s powerful learnters ofthat high-up families judge of Davao (1947-58) and alsoThere a member ofpriest the Piano to close the instiThe judge dropped his buying a new dress andlearning no one kept ontasks his desk aleast special1 noteattention to the development of Criticism does no good, he Mbps for and wife Coding provided upon vao City.

Court of First Instance judge, Teachers’ Guild of the PhilipRanada-Castillo, of the for tute in 1994 and relocated to ing tools for FREE! knife and fork onto the table, ever commenting to you that it book labeled, “Complaints of an unhealthy state of things. If pointed out. “Criticism, like Born in 1923 in Cebu, appointed justice undersecre- pines Foundation, Inc. late city councilor Antonio Kuala Lumpur two years later placed his chin in his hands

designed for inyouris actually registralooks good or bad in you.

Think members againstasynchronous other mem- it is neededincoming in time, dangercollege may sweating, nothing

Encarnita thetable, biological and aconcurrently acting The conservatory, mean- Suazo werea to join her adopted daughandThis elbowswas on Digital the as themselves he tary of writing poemin or short story bers.” be averted; if it isThere surprised, more than a bad habit,” he said. coming Grade 11 sessions and atCastillo. students.

A full tion. daughter of Engr.

GandiongDirector of Prisons in the Garwhile, was housed along Coralso male students who elicitter.

In the next couple destressed the following story: with no one bothering to say a When someone called to fatal distemper may develop.”

“It’s something we getofused Learning Bootthe first fully inand 1st Year Colleast 2 Mbps for course on Math, For any addico and her wife, Encarnacion. cia administration, and acting tez Street (now Bonifacio) in ed good impressions. cades, she took on the life of “When I was a little boy, we word or two. tell him the faults of another, Criticism happens anytime, to doing; we’re familiar with For undisclosed reason, she justice secre-tary in 1959.

A a two-story structure painted Norma Iñigo-Monfort, a semi-retired musi-cian in had a dog.

On nights, when the “The truth is, critics are the priest would say, “Here’s everywhere to anyone.

Election how it feels.

It keeps us busy camp will be tegrated online lege students. s y n c h r o n o u s Humanities, and tional inquiries moon was full, old hound year a fact thereafter, of life, andhecriticism is to mymahogany complaint and book.

I’ll write time is fast The Malaysia. and gives us something to talk was adopted bythat judge Enrique was apwhite, with daughter of approaching.

Davao sportsman However, 2015, held on June 1 to learning system These Social Science about the inMCM dog would howl and barkjusat pointed something all ofofusthe must face,” down tasks what you sessions. say, adorned and you Carlos campaign period about.”

Fernandez, later appeals justice Court of sliding windows V. Iñigo, washas onestarted. of her at age 92, she returned to Mathings he acting saw inand the bright face writes Dr. Richard Carlson, can sign it. Then, I have Criticisms will against opponents need to years listen 13, 2020 issecrein Mindanao. willau- be delivFamiliarizaalso beshe made Digital Learning tice and justice Appeals. with kapis shells.when It did not ex-ceptional students; nila Perhaps, to spendweher last of that moon.

We never did thorAfter of Don’t Sweat the Small to take thefor matter up officially, are the ruleasofathe day. No one to the words of Sirhas Kingsley Wiltary, who was married to her graduating from take long her school to see won gold student of the in the city that given her described as anSome- The particered in either tion with the on- available for Bootcamp 2020, sleep well those nights.

Stuff.

“In fact, the only way to I shall know what I may expect is spared.

After election, the liam Amis, an English novelist aunt, Anselma Gandiangco.

St. Scholastica’s College of daughters from known Davao piano school. After complet- honors and the school she immersive will orto.” line systeming and demonstration please feel free times that dog wouldexhowl ipants all avoid criticism isbe to livesynchronous an iso- you to testify loser will usually say, “I have and poet.

“Self-criticism must Under her legal parents, Music, Encarnita joinedaren’t her families enrol-ling. high school at Philippine founded. night long.” lated life where people The sight of the open book been cheated.” be my guide to action, and the perience inside given access to asynchronous tools will during theproboot- rule to best email atthatadshe After was afforded sister Ana Maria and Aready disciplinarian ori- initiate Women’s she can sharing the thatchance anec- parents exposed and to your work, personpen had itsbyeffect.

“If youCollege, think about it, a firstThe for itstribute employment is to explore herOnline talents.

While in Davao and opened learning the pia- entation, Ms. Fernandez in- ceeded Manila she be Ms.not Fernandez MCM’s MCM’s online the program, af-to camp period. missions@mcm. dote, the judge picked up his ality, or behavior.”

“Oh, no. sesI couldn’t sign anything landslide politicalwhere victory thataccorded in itself to it is a virtue, the was in no school in 1954.

Later, she in studentsusuthe earned herone Bache-lor thea widely known fact that knifejudge and fork, andassigned began to eat But that’s impossible.

Notoculcated like that,” for theher complainant would be where of theMusic win- is only procedure.”

Learning Syslearning portal, sions allow ter which, parTo register edu.ph or instrucconZamboanga, she enrolled in pursued Profes-sional Studemotion in-volved as the degree, major in Piano. most of the leading again. Bewildered, one had the man is an island, so goes a say- ally would say. That’s why no ner received 60% of the vote,” American writer and lectem, aiming to be“MCM Digital” toplayed ticipants be wrote. for this activity 918it piano Pilar ies Chamber the pieces were out and will Another student, Daphne tors piano+63918 schools insaid Davao courageunder to ask: “ButBlanco-Sathat’s ing. inWe cease to Music existparticipants ifatthere entry was ever made.

Dr. Carlson “That means tureroftact Dale Carnegie sidea famous the point, you and haven’t anare nothey people around us.

Theway priest he kept the toCabaguio thatseeven in a convincing win, all: “Any fool can criticize, la, pianist, and later Mannes College, known also in the compositions Jocson, was ainchance Ms. today are former students of demonstrate where can getThat a feel for thethesays allowed and get 1626, +63999 swered your critic.”education at as is the why we cannot book for opened it Fernandez’ 40% of the people will care be wishcomplain andPiano condemn – and pursued tertiary Thereason New York School of were putforty into years, motion on the musical for Fer-nandez School or give participants explore and get “Concern differentkeyboards modallecttimes, short learnto years. win amazing 227 or “I just did,”College the judge anescape in criticism. probably a thousand and ing thea winner lost!”On most second-generation fools do.7493, But it takes St. Scholastica of MuMusic, New York, USA. and the pedals.

As over dozen had the are muswered.

“When that dog over criticism clogs creativity,” never wrote a line in it.

This must be the reason character and self-control to an opportunihands-on ities ofa mentor, remote modules prizes, interest+63917 831 sic in Manila.

The war, though, To herexpecredit, Encarnita she ing was tireless, otheronhand, Mila Cabaguio sicians taught by pioneering barked, the moon just kept on Duane Alan Hahn reminds.

To An anonymous once said: why he argued that we should be understanding and forgivcut short studies. Unable personally performed One firm, consistent,General and wanted Jocson, another protege, com- students of the piano instity to Iher immerse rience utilizing learning providedanother participants shining. don’t intend to say which American psychologist “Criticism is the disapproval of Mathenot criticize person ing.” 8048. to return to Cebu, she decided of her compositions, Moon- integrity in the rendition of pleted her music degree at tute.

8 EDGEDAVAO

VOL.13 ISSUE 88 • THURsDAY, july 23, 2020 VOL.13 ISSUE 88 • THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2020

EDGEDAVAO

LIVING

FORD PHILIPPINES is launching today the internationally-renowned Ford F-150 pickup truck, further expanding its truck portfolio in the country with a tough yet modern full-size truck with a wide range of segment-defining features.

The Ford F-150 sets the global standard in trucks with its standout look and design, powerful performance, class-leading capabilities, and advanced smart and safe technologies. The F-150 is part of Ford’s F-Series, America’s bestselling truck for the 43rd straight year and America’s bestselling vehicle for the 38th straight year.

In the Philippines, Ford is offering two variants of the F-150, the F-150 4x4 Platinum SuperCrew AT and F-150 4x2 Lariat SuperCrew AT. “The F-150 is definitely a strong addition to our pickup truck portfolio as we continue to lead the segment with the widest range of trucks, now totaling fifteen variants. The F-150 is packed with segment-defining features and capabilities that have made it the truck of choice across America and the world,” said PK Umashankar, managing director, Ford Philippines. “We are excited to bring back this legendary Ford truck to Filipino customers who seek next-level power and refinement in their pickup.”

Powerful Performance The F-150 powertrain is equipped with Ford’s proven 3.5L V6 EcoBoost engine with Auto Start-Stop Technology, capable of generating an impressive 380PS of power and 637NM of torque. This is coupled with a 10-speed automatic transmission with SelectShift to deliver tremendous power for heavy-duty use while staying exceptionally fuel efficient. An Electronic Shift-On-The-Fly (ESOF) 4x4 System comes equipped on the F-150 Platinum variant.

Tough Look, Premium Feel Exclusively on the F-150 4x4

FORD REINFORCES TRUCK LEADERSHIP, LAUNCHES F-150 IN THE PHILIPPINES Platinum AT exterior is a silver mesh satin-aluminum grille and tailgate applique, chrome side mirror caps, door and tailgate handles, tail-gate step with tail-gate lift assist, bright beltline moldings, high-gloss black B-pillar applique and platinum badge on fender sides, twin panel moonroof, as well as power deployable running boards.

Its interior on the other hand, features a unique and luxurious leather interior with genuine black ash wood trim accents, aluminum applique in center panel and console, unique instrument cluster gauges, leather-wrapped console lid and shift knob, 10-way power adjustable driver and front passenger seats with ActiveMotion® massage function, color-coordinated carpet flooring with premium floor mats, and metallic door sill inserts with PLATINUM branding.

Meanwhile, the Philippinespec F-150 4x2 Lariat AT variant is one step ahead from the standard Lariat variant as it comes with the SPORT appearance package with a body-color grille with black mesh, side mirror caps, door and tailgate handles, magnetic angular step bars, and SPORT box decals. The interior also features a unique Lariat finish on the instrument panel, media bin lid and doors, as well as leather seats.

Standard across both F-150 variants are body color bum-

Additionally, the F-150 takes safety further through advanced technologies and features such as AdvanceTrac® with RSC® (Roll Stability Control™), Dual-Stage Front Airbags, Front-Seat Side Airbags and Safety Canopy® System with Side-Curtain Airbags and Rollover Sensor, Individual Tire Pressure Monitoring System, SecuriLock® Passive AntiTheft System, Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) and Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD), and Perimeter Alarm. The Platinum variant gets a boost with Inflatable Rear Seatbelts.

pers, 20-inch alloy wheels, high strength aluminum alloy body, daytime running lamps, quadbeam headlamps, LED foglamps and taillamps, a 5.5-inch long box, and front tow hooks.

Smart and Safe Features The F-150 is also equipped with a host of smart and safe features that enhance the driving experience for both drivers and passengers.

The F-150 features Ford Co-Pilot 360 - Ford’s safety suite composed of Pre-Collision Assist with Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Blind Spot Information System (BLIS), Lane Keeping System (LKS) and Auto-High Beam Headlamps.

For convenience, it is equipped with a remote start system, remote tailgate release, 8-inch LCD touchscreen, SYNC® 3 with AppLink, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, 2 smart-charging USB ports and 12V Powerpoint, navigation system, 8-inch productivity screen in the instrument cluster, and a 10-speaker with subwoofer sound system powered by Bang & Olufsen.

The F-150 is also packed with driver-assist technologies (DAT) which include 360-degree camera with split-view display, Active Park Assist, Curve Control, Hill Start Assist, SOS Post-Crash Alert System™, Trailer Sway Control, Rain-Sensing Wipers, and Reverse Sensing System.

Availability and Pricing The F-150 will be available at Ford dealerships nationwide beginning June 25, 2020, with a starting retail price of Php2,698,000* for the F-150 4x2 Lariat SuperCrew AT and Php2,998,000* for the F-150 4x4 Platinum SuperCrew AT. The F-150 4x4 Platinum comes in four colors including Blue Jeans, Star White, Iconic Silver and Agate Black. The Star White color variant, which is a special color for the F-150 4x4 Platinum, is available for an additional Php15,000.

Meanwhile, the 4x2 Lariat variant also comes in four colors including Rapid Red, Oxford White, Iconic Silver and Agate Black.

To know more about the F-150, visit a Ford dealership nearest you.

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ENVIRONMENT

Text and Photos by Henrylito D. Tacio

S.O.S: Saving our soils

W

ith the dreaded coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to take its toll all over the world, people are in a quandary as supply of food is getting scarce. There may be a shortage of rice, vegetables, and fish if the pandemic lingers.

“The threat of hunger is as real as the threat of COVID-19,” pointed out Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar. In response to the threat, the Department of Agriculture (DA) launched the Plant, Plant, Plant Program or Ahon Lahat, Pagkaing Sapat (ALPAS) Laban sa COVID-19. “It aims to further improve our food adequately levels through increased rice, food crops, livestock, poultry and fish production, including that of attaining efficient food processing, marketing and distribution to major consumption center,” Dar explained.

Even if almost all Filipinos plant now – and even if there are farming technologies available like biotechnology, organic agriculture, and high-yielding varieties of crops – if the problem of soil erosion is not addressed, food production will still lag and doesn’t improve at all.

In farming, topsoil is the primary resource.

As American naturalist Charles Kellogg puts it: “Essentially, all life depends upon the soil. There can be no life without soil and no soil without life; they have evolved together.”

The soil is among the most precious resources, yet people often take it for granted or destroy it by making it susceptible to soil erosion. Every year, the world loses an equivalent of five to seven million hectares of farmland through erosion, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). This is equivalent to the land area of Belgium and the Netherlands combined.

In the Philippines,

the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) listed 22 provinces to have an “alarming” soil erosion rate. Among those that had been losing their topsoil were Cebu, Batangas, Marinduque, Ilocos Sur, and La Union. This means that 58% of the country’s total land area of 30 million hectares is susceptible to erosion.

Soil experts say there is nothing wrong with normal soil erosion, which is even beneficial to man.

But accelerated erosion – usually caused by man himself – is destructive.

Soil is lost much faster than it is created through normal geological processes.

Studies have shown that it takes 200 to 1,000 years to form 2.5 centimeters of rich topsoil. But on the average, farmlands are losing 2.5 centimeters of topsoil every 16 years, or 17 times faster than it can be replaced.

“Much awareness needs to be created on the need to maintain, improve and rehabilitate our soil resources because without healthy soils, we cannot grow enough food for us and future generations,” Dar surmised.

More often than not, people howled in protest against foreigners invading another country. But the Philippines is almost conquered already by an unseen foe: soil erosion.

This has been pointed out by Harold R. Watson, an American agriculturist who once headed the Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center (MBRLC) in barangay Kinuskusan in Bansalan, Davao del Sur. “Soil erosion is any nation’s enemy – far worse than any outside enemy coming into a country and conquering it because it is an enemy you cannot see vividly,” said Watson, Ramon Magsaysay laureate.

“It’s a slow creeping enemy that soon possesses the land.”

Studies have shown that as much as 20% of

eroded materials end up in rivers, reservoirs, and irrigation canals. Siltation also can cause serious damage to already endangered coral reefs and coastal fisheries.

Water and wind are the most important degradation processes in Asia, according to Frank Dent of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. “Although the processes are different,” he said, “there is a common factor in all man-made erosion – the absence of vegetation to hold and cover the soil.”

What happens when topsoil is eroded? Authors Lester Brown and Edward Wolf in Soil Erosion: Quiet Crisis in the World Economy, wrote: “The loss of topsoil affects man’s ability to grow food in two ways. First, it reduces the inherent productivity of land, both through nutrient loss and degradation of the soil’s physical structure. Second, it increases the cost of food production.

“When farmers lose topsoil,” the two authors continued, “they can only increase land productivity by substituting energy in the form of fertilizer.

Farmers who lose topsoil may experience either a loss in land productivity or a rise in costs (inputs).

But if productivity drops too low or costs rise too high, they will be forced to abandon their land.”

A recent study by the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution concluded that approximately 30% of the world’s arable crop land has been abandoned because of se-

vere soil erosion in the last 40 years.

Brown and Wolf said that the immediate effects of soil erosion are economic but in the long run its ultimate effects are social. “When soils are depleted and crops are poorly nourished,” they wrote, “people are often undernourished as well. Failure to respond to the erosion threat will lead not only to the degradation of land, but to the degradation of life itself.”

Last year, during the World Soil Day celebration, the unified message of two government agencies – DA and DENR – and the UN food agency was: “Stop soil erosion. Save our future.”

“We will vigorously develop and implement soil and water conservation resources programs and technologies that will ensure the sustainability and viability of our resources,” said Agriculture Undersecretary Cheryl Marie Natividad-Caballero.

Among the soil conservation measures experts have identified are as follows: contouring, cover cropping, crop rotation, contour strip cropping, contour buffer planting, terracing, grassed waterways, farm ponds and checks dams, and reforestation.

The MBRLC has developed a technology that tried to combine most of these conservation measures. It is called Sloping Agricultural Land Technology (SALT). “The principle of SALT is the same as that used by the Ifugao tribes in Mountain Prov-

ince,” says Jethro P. Adang, the center’s director. “All we are doing is suggesting using different nitrogen fixing trees and shrubs instead of rocks.”

Examples of nitrogen fixing trees and shrubs are kakawate (Gliricidia sepium), ipil-ipil (Leucaena leucocephala) and the introduced species Flemingia macrophylla, Desmodium rensonii, and Indigofera anil. These are thickly planted in double rows to form hedgerows.

When a hedge is one-andhalf to two meters tall, it is cut back to a height of 40 centimeters and the cuttings are placed in the strips between the hedgerows to serve as organic fertilizer.

The SALT scheme requires careful management of the space between the hedgerows. A combination of permanent, semi-permanent, and annual crops is recommended so as to rebuild the ecosystem and maximize yields while enabling farmers to organize their work time efficiently.

Every third strip of available land is planted to permanent crops. Examples include cacao and coffee. “Both cacao and coffee have steady markets,” says Adang. “Cacao has a potential of becoming one of our agricultural exports.”

A combination of various cereals (upland rice, corn, and sorghum) and vegetables (beans, pulses, tomato, eggplant, ampalaya, and sweet pepper) are planted on the remaining two strips of land. Each has its own specific area so that there can be a seasonal rotation. For instance, an area planted to corn previously will be planted with mung bean in the next cropping season.

“Crop rotation helps to preserve the regenerative properties of the soil and avoid the problems of infertility typical of traditional agricultural practices,” explains Adang on the importance of regular rotation of crops.

A study showed that a farm tilled in the traditional manner erodes at the rate of 1,163.4 metric tons per hectare per year over a period of six years. A SALT farm erodes at the rate of only 20.2 metric tons per year in the same period.

The rate of soil loss in a SALT farm is 3.4 metric tons per hectare per year, which is within the tolerable range. Most soil scientists place acceptable soil loss limits for tropical countries like the Philippines within the range of 10 to 12 metric tons per hectare per year.

Despite all the conservation measures, SALT still

9

didn’t take off as expected.

Although MBRLC, some government agencies and other non-government organizations are promoting the technology, farmers still fail to appreciate it.

One reason is the adaptability of the system. “In the beginning, I tried to follow the system after getting a training at MBRLC,” admits a farmer from South Cotabato. “But the hedgerows take so much space from my farm.

My production was completely affected.”

Another reason is labor.

“Finding the contour lines, planting nitrogen-fixing trees and shrubs, growing different crops, and maintaining the hedgerows – all these take so much of my time,” said another farmer, who’s from Malita, Davao del Sur. Those reasons are valid. “The advantages of SALT are well-established,” Adang explains. “But, I think, we fail to inculcate to these farmers who have undergone training at the center the importance of topsoil. We know that farmers need to have higher income to support their family.

The SALT system is not a panacea,” he points out. “It was developed for small-scale farmers and for upland areas. We know that 60% of the country’s land area is considered uplands.”

Adang considers SALT as a sustainable farming system. “It’s not for shortterm but for long-term farming,” he says. “The land which the farmer now farms can be inherited by his children. He has to preserve its fertility. Without the fertile topsoil, and even if it is enriched with fertilizers – either organic or commercial – nothing much will come out of a depleted soil.”

Speaking just like a church pastor, of which he is, Adang says that God has given land to people and they have to be a good steward of the land.

Echoing a famous statement, he says, “Farmers are not the owners of the land they are tilling; they are just borrowing it from their children’s children.”

As they are the way to food production, the soil must be preserved and protected at all cost. “If the soil is not well cared for, a country can never develop a sound agricultural base,” FAO reminded. “And without that, national development plans rarely succeed. Soil conservation effectively increases today’s agricultural yields while ensuring the well-being of future generations.”

10 EDGEDAVAO RULE... FROM 2

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and non-Davao residents are subject to testing.

“Wala ta nag-distinguish kung Davao City residents or non-Davao Cioty residents because dili pud nato ma-distinguish kung ang tao gasulti ba siya ug tinuod kung Davao City siya o dili. As a way og helping other LGUs also, i-test nato tanan and that RTPCR test results nila mao na ilang dalhon didto sa ilahang LGUs,” Mayor Sara said.

The city government of Davao has set up a holding area for arriving passengers with expired RT-PCR swab test results and those who failed to have themselves tested at DIA. “Naa ta holding facility sa airport ug mao na ang pinakauna nato ginagamit and once mapuno na, we transfer them to identified holding facilities nato. We have a special holding facility for senior citizens, PWDs, and families with small children who are airline passengers,” Mayor Sara said.

The city government of Davao has piloted the new system for the 177 airline passengers early morning of July 22, 2020.

“I committed to NTF and IATF to immediately implement this na dili himoong mandatory upon check in but himoong mandatory upon exit sa DIA. This way bisan pa man ug wala kay RT-PCR negative result makasakay ka ug airplane but i-test ka pag-about nimo sa DIA. Sa pagkakaron, kaning flight kaganina nga miabot ang pilot sa ani nga sistema. Kaganina dunay mga nangabot na naa na sila’y RT-PCR result nila nga 48 hours ug ni derecho na sila ug gawas ug gitagaan na sila ug advise sa ilahang

home quarantine and what to do during home quarantine,” the mayor said.

Mayor Sara said with this new set up the city cannot proceed to its plan for the full operation of the commercial flights due to the testing upon arrival. She also cited the limited space of the holding area.

“So kinahanglan paspas ang atoang turn over before we can add flights. But let’s see by August because duna na pud isa ka laboratory mag-operate basin ma-paspaps nato and makadungag ta ug flights because ultimately ang gusto nato that is the reason why we requested for airplane passenger to have a negative RT-PCR test result is para ma full operation nato ang domestic and international flights. That way ma-open nato fully ang atoang airport and atoang city,” she said.

She said the NTF and IATF have their reasons but what is good is they approved they city’s requests to conduct testing to all plane passengers at DIA. “Therefore, walay makasulod sa Davao City or wala’y makauli sa ilahang LGUs nga wala miagi ug RT-PCR testing,” she said.

Mayor Sara also assured that travel ban and airport closure are out of the question.

“Dili na nato na buhaton because I explained also in my letter to the national government na nakita nato last time nag-travel ban ta then close ang atoang airport, yes reduced ang atoang numbers pero once giopen nato ang atong airport nisaka pud ang atoang number of confirmed Covid-19 cases,” she said.

club must address the issues raised,” Gastanes said.

Meanwhile, Mazinyi, as stated in Global Makati’s statement, will remain mum until he and the rest of the officials at Mazinyi Management are done meeting with Torre.

“Mazinyi Management Ltd. will not be accepting requests for comments and interviews until after that meeting,” the statement read.

However, the club said that it will still play in the upcoming PFL season, whose start is still unknown due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

“We would like to reiterate that we are committed to Global FC and clearing these matters, as well as ensuring its participation in the 2020 season with an eye on challenging for trophies,” Global Makati further said. (PNA)

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nung nakaraang July 4 and 5. Sa ngayon po, nasa 3,000 plus na po ang confirmed LSIs na gustong magpahatid o ma-send off natin [We expect a bigger group this coming July 25 and 26 because we had a successful send-off last July 4 and 5. Currently, we already have more than 3,000 confirmed LSIs who want to be sent home],” he said.

The initiative’s secretariat is continuously providing advisories and more information for those who wish to join the program.

Hatid Tulong helps 126K LSIs, ROFs Encabo said the Hatid Tulong initiative has already helped around 126,000 LSIs and returning overseas Filipino workers in response to the directive of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.

He also said the assistance given to the LSIs and ROFs nationwide is supervised and monitored by the Hatid Tulong Technical Working Group.

“Simula na naging functional ang Hatid

Tulong initiative, nasa 126,000 LSIs na po ang ating natulungan. Ito ay suportado ng iba’t ibang ahensya ng Philippine Coast Guard, ng AFP, ng DOTr, ng Philippine National Railways [Since the Hatid Tulong initiative became functional, we were able to help more than 126,000 LSIs. This is supported by various agencies including the Philippine Coast Guard, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Department of Transportation, Philippine National Railways],” he said.

He clarified that the 126,000 LSIs are not only from Metro Manila but inter-provincial and inter-regional movements of LSIs. Encabo also expressed his appreciation to the PCOO and attached agencies for informing the public about the initiative.

“Malaki pong tulong ang inyong programa sa paghahatid ng tamang impormasyon para sa LSIs natin (Your program helps a lot in the dissemination of right information for our LSIs),” he said. (PR)

vestors, which later became the securities regulator’s basis to revoke its license.

Ressa, a dual US-Filipino citizen, said in a tweet on Wednesday: “pleaded NOT GUILTY.” The securities regulator alleged it was a scheme by Rappler to allow foreigners to illegally own shares in a domestic media firm.

Rappler has maintained foreigners never owned shares, but were allowed to invest without voting rights or involvement in operations. Rappler is still operating pending its appeal against its license being revoked.

Media watchdogs and human rights ac-

tivists say the charges against Ressa are part of a broader strategy to silence or humiliate opponents of Duterte.

Earlier this month, his allies at the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favor of denying ABSCBN’s bid to renew its 25-year license, an outcome that Duterte had repeatedly promised would happen because of its refusal to air some of his election campaign commercials.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque says Duterte supports freedom of speech and any media facing legal cases are for breaking the law, not for their reporting.

projects across the country with enhanced safety protocols in place, such as pre-visit registration, contactless payments, document sanitation, and digital presentations aside from the standard regular disinfection of the showroom premises and equipment.

Clients who visit showrooms are also given their own hygiene kits for personal safety, according to Megaworld.

stitute in Lupon, Davao Oriental. He will also visit the Freedom Residence in Tagum Davao del Norte for the mushroom production, meat and vegetable processing training.

“Tanan ang intention sa programa para sa IPs and FRs will have a livelihood after training mao na ngano agriculture ang among focus kay pag naa ta’y vegetable garden for the next six months naa kay harvest and it is really sustainable not only that it will bring food to our tables but also as a source of income,” Bandong said.

On July 23, 2020, Lapeña and PRLEC will visit trainings on high value crops and vegetable and poultry production in Sitio Luyan, Tambobong in Baguio District; Sitio

Taloytoy in Barangay Malabog, Paquibato; and Sitio Kapihan, Barangay Malabog, Paquibato District.

On July 24, 2020, the secretary will be in Malita, Davao Occidental for another training.

“This is the opening salvo of the many programs to be launched under the Whole- ofNation approach. Sa sunod na mga adlaw programs will be launched also in other regions of the country. TESDA believes that food is essential at this time of the pandemic. Ang among mandate is to ensure that the Filipino families can produce food at their own consumption kaya naa ta sa agriculture karon nag-focus,” Bandong said.

City, contributed to the bulk of the period’s reservation sales.

“Even during the ‘enhanced community quarantine’ in Luzon during the second quarter, we received a lot of inquiries and reservations via our online channels mostly coming from the upper mid-market,” Gutierrez-Alfonso said.

The company said it has opened its showrooms for residential the Clippers and Denver Nuggets are still at considerably less than full strength, and while the nature of these personal emergencies is not yet known, the threat of coronavirus on family members outside of the bubble still looms as a reason for players to leave.

The Clippers are at least fortunate in that they are one of the deeper teams in the NBA. Just before the pandemic, they signed former Detroit Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson after he received a buyout. Jackson figures to pick up many of the minutes Beverley is surrendering by leaving, and while Beverley’s return may

change his role, the silver lining to his absence is that it gives the Clippers a chance to see how Jackson fits in with the remainder of their roster. Sixth Man of the Year candidate Lou Williams could also see his role expanded.

The Clippers are set to take on the Los Angeles Lakers in their first game back on July 30. The Lakers, like the Clippers, are missing a number of rotation players, as Avery Bradley opted out of playing in Orlando while Rajon Rondo broke his thumb at a recent practice. That could be the norm in the early going in Orlando. Few teams are at full strength as the season is set to restart.

for people,” he said at one point, which... is a pretty accurate description of how COVID-19 actually does spread from one person to another.

And despite him saying at one point that he “understands the whole ‘wear a mask’ and all that stuff,” the big man kind of backtracked at one point.

“They tried to make a big deal about what I said about wearing the mask,” Howard said.

“And I get it. Common sense, it’s not common.

But I understand why certain people say certain things.”

He didn’t explain why he feels “it’s not common,” but in the long In-

stagram video, Howard did share his thoughts on another public health topic: vaccinations.

“Do I believe in vaccinations?” Howard said when asked about his stance on them. “No, I don’t. That’s my personal opinion, but no, I don’t.”

It’s unclear if Howard will be penalized at all for his actions and words regarding face coverings. He has already been warned by the league for not wearing a mask, but per the NBA’s health and safety protocol, the league has the right to also fine, suspended, or even remove a player from the bubble if that player isn’t abiding by the guidelines.

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11

The Tagum-based Davao Aguilas club announced on Tuesday that it will form youth teams.

Davao Aguilas make return through youth program

D

avao Aguilas are making a comeback to the Philippine football scene, although it will just be in the youth program for now.

The Tagum-based club announced on Tuesday that it will form youth teams.

“We are delighted to

announce our partnership and the resurgence of the Davao Aguilas Football Club through our youth teams,” the Aguilas said in a statement.

While it does not necessarily equate to a potential return in the Philippines Football League

(PFL) after its senior team folded up after the 2018 season, Davao sees the new youth program as “a new era in the history of our club.”

“We are confident that this partnership will be a huge boost to Philippine football and its supporters around the

world,” the club added.

Davao Aguilas were formed in 2017 as one of the pioneering members of the PFL. Despite having a breakthrough 2018 season where they became title contenders in the league and the Copa Paulino Alcantara, the

os Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard landed himself in a bit of hot water earlier this month when he was reported to the NBA’s bubble hotline for not wearing a mask. Just a few days later, Howard took to Instagram to speak about his thoughts on wearing masks and admitted that he’s not in favor of wearing one in the bubble.

He doesn’t think players should have to wear them because of how clean their

environment is.

“They sanitize everything,” Howard said.

“We’re getting tested every day. So, it’s not like we’re around anybody that can give it to us because we all get tested together. And so, we’re only around each other. We’re only around everybody that’s in the bubble. We don’t see any outsiders. We don’t have any contact with any outsiders.

“So, I’m just... I understand the whole ‘wear a mask’ and all that stuff, so nobody is not trying to do anything out of order. But, you know, again, I understand that there always has to be some type of controversy somewhere. And I’m not in no controversy.

You know what I’m saying? I get it. It’s some clickbait.”

The protocols that the NBA has put in place

within the bubble are obviously working thus far.

The league announced Monday that zero players have tested positive for COVID-19 out of the 346 that have been tested since July 13.

Howard’s video was almost an hour long and he touched on the topic of wearing masks on several occasions.

“I didn’t know that the coronavirus be flying through the air looking

Howard questions wearing a mask inside the bubble

L

FHOWARD, P10

Beverley leaves Disney bubble to attend to personal emergency The Clippers’ Patrick Beverley left the Disney bubble in Orlando over personal emergency.

P

atrick Beverley has left the Disney bubble to attend to a personal emergency, according to ESPN’s Malika Andrews. He plans to return to the Clippers when possible. Beverley is the second prom-

inent Clipper to have left the bubble, after Montrezl Harrell also did so to attend to a family matter.

Zion Williamson was the first notable NBA player to leave the bubble after going through the quarantine period. He, too,

had a family matter to attend to.

The Clippers are short quite a bit of depth at the moment. In addition to Harrell and Beverley being absent, starting center Ivica Zubac is not known to be in Orlando.

While the latest round of testing indicated that no players have caught COVID-19 in the bubble over the past week, teams are still dealing with things that have happened and continue to happen outside of the bubble. Teams like

FBEVERLEY, P10

Aguilas announced the disbanding of their PFL squad.

Skipper Phil Younghusband, who joined the Aguilas along with older brother James through a shock transfer from Meralco Manila on Aug. 2, 2017, never got to play club football again fol-

lowing the dissolution of the Aguilas and eventually retired from football.

James Younghusband found himself signing with Ceres Negros in the latter part of the 2019 season and ended the year as a domestic double winner before calling it a career. (PNA)

PFL commish Torre summons Global Makati for salary woes

P

hilippines Football League (PFL) commissioner Coco Torre has set up a meeting with the officials of Global Makati as allegations of delayed salaries continue to hound the club.

“Our aim is to ascertain the current situation of the club and discuss with club management the actions they are taking,” said Torre through a statement on Tuesday night.

Global Makati has been accused of not paying its players and staff in time since last year, and it reached boiling point on Sunday night when its former graphics designer took to Facebook his own story.

Saya Jaruda revealed that the club has not him paid yet for inforgraphics announcing its new signings.

“Global requested me to make graphics for the new upcoming players and they promised to pay me afterwards and take note that was January and today is already July,” Jaruda said.

Despite promises from Global Makati’s

new owner, Tami Mazinyi, Jaruda claimed that Mazinyi has not done a single transaction to pay him up.

Jaruda then irked after seeing posts of Mazinyi attending parties, leading to his post.

John Cofie, one of Global Makati’s new signings, then claimed that he too has not received any salary from the club, even calling it “a sham.”

“The owner, Tami, is [a] compulsive liar!

Me and my representatives are going after the club too as they owe me [the] signing fee plus 6 months worth of wages!” said Cofie, a product of Manchester United’s youth program and was once a part of England’s under-17 team.

Philippine Football Federation secretary general Ed Gastanes, on the other hand, wants to assure that the PFL players will be taken care of especially financially.

“Players’ welfare is important to the growth of a professional club and of the league. The

FPFL, P10

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VOL.13 ISSUE 88 • THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2020

PSC undergoes major revamp after payroll fraud

P

hilippine Sports Commission Chairman William Ramirez announced Wednesday noon that changes in the agency’s organizational setup were approved in an executive meeting held that same morning, a revamp which the board felt was needed in light of an employee’s fraudulent actions discovered last week.

According to the sports chief, “it was a collective decision of the board as part of a plan to re-stabilize the organization.”

Part of the said revamp is the appointment of Atty. Guillermo Iroy, Jr. as acting

Executive Director vice Merlita Ibay who resumes her position as Deputy Executive Director for Finance and Administrative Services, her original appointment before being tapped to take on the acting ED role.

Queenie Evangelista, will head the Bureau of Coordinating Secretariat and Support Services as its Acting Deputy Executive Director.

Not one to wince in the face of challenge, Ramirez acknowledged the lapses in the agency and vowed to ensure that necessary investigation, correction, and sanction are done. “As the

PSC board appoints Dabawenyo lawyer Atty. Guillermo Iroy, Jr. as new Acting Executive Director.

highest accountable official of the agency, I take responsibility to effect changes, to make sure that there are no gaps in the organization.

I feel sad, frustrated, and hurt but we all have to have compos u r e ,” shared

Ramirez, adding that he hopes all stakeholders and partners “are at peace with these decisions and

continue to support us through this.”

So far, the National Bureau of Investigation, Department of

Justice and the Office of the Solicitor General have been asked to assist with the investigation and case.

Other leadership changes within the agency are set to be undertaken within the week.