Edge Davao 10 Issue 14

P 15.00 • 20 PAGES

EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 10 ISSUE 14 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 21 - 22, 2017

www.edgedavao.net

Serving a seamless society

FINAL GO-OVER. Davao City’s leading tourism movers City Tourism Office head GeneRose Tecson (left) and Visit Davao Fun Sale (VDFS) Execom chair Benjie Lizada make a last minute checking on the details of the VDFS signage before the start of the grand opening of Davao Region’s biggest summer tourism event, the VDFS 2017, dubbed #rockyourSPArty held at the Waterfront Insular Hotel in Davao City on Wednesday evening. Lean Daval Jr.

A cubic perspective

EDGEDAVAO Sports

MINDANAO PRIDE P14

Mindanaoan Pinoy champ Tapales ready to defend title in Japan

BURNED TO DEATH 6 confirmed dead in Bangkal LPG explosion

By JECIA ANNE OPIANA

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IX out of seven members of a family who were injured when an LPG tank exploded inside a warehouse

in Bangkal on April 11 all succumbed to severe burns, leaving only one family member fighting for her life at the

Southern Philippines Medical Center.

All the victims died of severe third-degree burns, ac-

cording to Fire Inspector Patricio Brananola of the Bureau of Fire Protection.

The BFP officer identified

the victims as Cristito Fuerte, the father of the family and caretaker of the establish-

F BURNED, 10

2 NEWS EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 10 ISSUE 14 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 21 - 22, 2017

HONORED GUEST. President Rodrigo Duterte is warmly received by former President and incumbent Manila City Mayor Joseph Estrada upon his arrival at Manila Hotel on Wednesday night for Estrada’s 80th birthday celebration. KING RODRIGUEZ/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

ASG leader Sahiron hints of giving up due to old age

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NE of the hunters of Abu Sayyaf Group leader Radullan Sahiron has confirmed the willingness of the bandit chief to surrender due to old age, fatigue and incessant military pressure.

This was disclosed by Joint Task Force commander Brig.

Gen. Cirilito Sobejana in an interview Wednesday.

“There is no definite date yet for his surrender but he has expressed willingness to surrender and as reported to us, he is weak, tired and weary due to their constant movement from one place to another as our focused military operation against them is unceasing due to our constant rotation of our forces,” said Sobejana in Filipino.

Sobejana declined to iden-

tify the ASG chief’s emissary but said the latter is a close and respected friend of the bandit chieftain.

He also declined to give additional details as efforts are still ongoing to ensure that Sahiron’s surrender will materialize.

“We believe that once Radullan surfaces (and surrenders), his followers and other (leaders) will follow,” the military official added.

Should this develop, 70 percent of the ASG problem will be solved, the Joint Task Force Sulu commander stressed.

One of the conditions set by the ASG leader is that the Philippine government will not turn him over to the US

Paolo warns criminals using his name to stop

By FUNNY PEARL A. GAJUNERA

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ICE Mayor Paolo Duterte warns small time criminal who use his name and his office that the law will catch up with them soon.

This after the vice mayor received reports that some small time criminals has been using his name and asking prepaid load from their victims.

“As relayed to me by my

office staff, unscrupulous individuals called up a travel agency using my name and tried to purchase several plane tickets at the same time asking prepaid load from the travel agency,” Duterte said.

“Another incident that happened victimized a 7-11 store wherein the criminals again asked for prepaid loads using my name and office

again,” he added.

The Vice Mayor said that it is best that when these small time criminals try to victimize some establishment, the management should call his office first to verify it.

“I am informing the public that if anybody tries to transact business with you using my name and office, you can call my landline number 2220855

local 428 for confirmation,” he said.

Last year, several criminals has also used the name of Mayor Sara Duterte to allegedly gather money for the victims of the September 2, Roxas night market bombing.

The Mayor also denied asking moneys from several personalities for the benefits of the bombing victims.

to be approved by the two sides. However, the latest act of violence by the New People’s Army (NPA) at the Del Monte plantation strongly indicates not only the lack of coordination between insurgents on the ground and their political counterparts based overseas, but also the lack of sincerity by the communist group to forge genuine peace with the government.

According to the report

by Police Senior Insp. Merlito Tubog of the Davao City Police, some 30 NPA members led by Rolando Sagcaan (a.k.a.

Ka Lando) and Roberto Rosete (a.ka. Kumander Bobby) burned two tractor-type boom harvesters worth some P4 million at the Del Monte plantation and ran off with an Armscor shotgun worth P20,000 is-

sued to the security guard on duty at the time of the attack.

A frustrated businessman said, “Government should rethink their peace efforts if it will work or just wage an all out war, which apparently is the only language the NPAs understand.”

The incident at the Del Monte plantation is only the latest in the series of attacks perpetrated by the NPA on Mindanao’s pineapple and banana plantations. Such attacks have intensified over the past few weeks even while backchannel talks to get the peace negotiations restarted were being held between the government panel and the NDF. President Duterte had called off the peace talks last Feb. 4 after many government

soldiers died in attacks perpetrated by the NPA, which continued to ignore aceasefire that was then ongoing between the government and the communist group.

Agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) based in Mindanao have expressed alarm over the heightened series of attacks by NPA rebels on banana and pineapple plantations, saying that these could jeopardize the country’s dollar earnings from its top fruit exports and place at risk its standing as one of the world’s biggest banana exporters.

Latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show the Philippines produced 9.1 million metric tons (MT) of bananas in 2015.

The cavendish variety, a top

NPAs burn equipment of Davao’s pineapple farm Attack copters emerging as less than a week after PHL gov’t, NDF agree on truce F ASG, 10

reliable assets against ASGs

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HE attack version of the AgustaWestland AW109 “Power” helicopter is now becoming a reliable ground support aircraft for the military engaged in flushing out Abu Sayyaf Group bandits and other lawless elements.

On April 11, Philippine Air Force attack AW-109s provided covering fire for troops engaged with the band of ASG sub-leader Muanmar Askali alias “Abu Rami” invaded Sitio Ilaya, Barangay Napo, in Inabanga, Bohol. reliable In the said operation, the AW-109s conducted several airstrikes, demoralizing the

bandits who were then forced to retreat from their enclaves leaving four of their members, including Askali, along with four high-powered firearms.

The attack versions of the AW-109s was also used in the series of airstrikes against the Maute Group in Lanao Del Sur early this year, causing severe casualties among the brigands.

The aircraft was also utilized in maritime patrols off Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi waters, foiling several ASG piracy attacks in the past months.

The first two PAF attack AW-109s were commissioned on Aug. 17, 2015 while the re-

F ATTACK, 10

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OMMUNIST insurgents have torched some P4 million worth of farm equipment at a pineapple plantation owned by Del Monte Philippines in Davao City less than a week after government negotiators and the National Democratic Front (NDF) agreed on an interim joint ceasefire agreement.

Police reports said the incident occurred at Barangay Gumalang in the Baguio District around 10:15 PM on April 9, or only four days after the government peace panel was able to secure a deal on an interim ceasefire with the NDF during the fourth round of their talks in The Netherlands.

The interim ceasefire, technically, has yet to take effect, given that its guidelines and ground rules are still

F NPAS, 10

VOL. 10 ISSUE 14 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 21 - 22, 2017

NEWS 3

EDGEDAVAO

Winning photo pays tribute to Davao elderly

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FOR ERRING EMPLOYEES. Lawyer Enrique Bonocan of the City Legal Office says an internal investigation committee has been created to receive and address complaints raised against city government of Davao employees. Bonocan made the statement during the I-Speak media forum at City Hall on Thursday. Lean Daval Jr.

photo of aged women was chosen from among the close to 200 entries in the Hulagway photo contest for the Araw ng Dabaw 2017.

“Kaway Nanay”, a photo by veteran photographer Jesus Tinapay, paid tribute to elderly Dabawenyos as they took the centerstage during the celebration held last March.

Tinapay braved the scorching heat during the Parada Dabawenyo last March 16 to be able to capture the moment.

The photo also perfectly captured the central theme of the celebration -- Davao City’s journey the past 80 years.

Tinapay will receive a cash prize of P 15,000 for his winning photo.

Second prize winner is Climaco Cane’s entry “Dabawenya Beauties” while third prize winner is John Francis Angeles for his entry, “Lipay, Leap High

Davao!”

Cane and Angeles will receive P 10,000 and P 5,000, respectively.

Mayor Inday Sara Duterte, meanwhile, chose the photo Malipayong Dabawenyo by photographer Jerson Flores.

He will receive P 3,000 cash for the special prize.

Aside from the three top winners, 17 runners-up were also named, each receiving a cash prize of P 1,500.

Photographers and enthusiasts who joined the contest had to showcase the beauty and grandeur of the 80th Araw ng Davao celebration.

The three judges chose the top three best photos based on composition (30 percent), creativity (30 percent), originality (30 percent) and relevance to the theme (10 percent).

The winners will be officially notified through text and/or email as to when and how to claim their prizes. CIO

City hall creates internal investigating committee Body probes 50 erring

By JECIA ANNE OPIANA

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NTERNAL investigation committee has been created to receive and address complaints raised against plantilla local government employees inside Davao City Hall.

Executive Order No. 6 series of 2017, signed last February 22, 2017, is an order creating the investigating committee and its secretariat, and identifying the special administrative prosecutors, and defining the respective powers, functions and duties thereof.

The investigating committee will be in-charge of conducting administrative proceedings relative to complaints made against employees of the City Government.

It will be composed of Atty.

Osmundo P. Villanueva Jr. as the chairman, Atty. Lawrence D. Bantiding of the City Legal Office and Erwin Alparaque of the Human Resource Management Office as members.

During the Ispeak Conference held at the Davao City Hall on Thursday, Atty. Enrique Bonocan said that the possible punishments which will be given to the employee, if proven guilty, could be suspension for certain number of days up to dismissal from service, depending on the gravity of his/her offense. Grave offenses include embezzlement of public funds.

The EO said that the committee has the power to con-

Bid for separation of GenSan as lone district gains ground

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FFICIALS here are pushing for the passage by the House Representatives next month of a bill that seeks the creation of a lone congressional or legislative district for the city.

South Cotabato 1st District Rep. Pedro Acharon Jr. said Thursday the support for House Bill (HB) 5162 has been gaining ground and it could be approved on third and final reading when their sessions resume on May 2.

HB 5162 mainly provides for the separation of the city from the first legislative district of South Cotabato to constitute a lone legislative district.

It substituted HB 4678, which was filed by Acharon on Dec. 13 last year and immediately referred by the House committee on rules to the committee on local govern-

ment.

The bill was endorsed by the committee on local government, which is chaired by Acharon, on Feb. 28 and was approved at the House plenary on second reading on March 8.

“It’s now lined up for final approval at the (House) plenary,” Acharon told reporters.

Once transmitted to the Senate, he said Senator Juan Edgardo Angara has signified to sponsor and facilitate the passage of its counterpart measure.

Acharon, who is a former city mayor, noted that the separation of the city as a lone congressional district is “long overdue.”

He said the city had long been qualified to have its own district and seat in the House of Representatives.

Being an independent

duct investigations pursuant to the Rule 8 of the Revised Rules on Administrative cases in the Civil Service, and Section 86 of Republic Act 7610 otherwise known as the Local Government Code of the Philippines, and thereafter submit the findings and recommendations to the city mayor upon the conclusion of the same.

They will also be conducting necessary proceedings, conferences, hearings and other lawful processes to appropriate individuals relative to a complaint filed against an employee of the City Government.

The EO also identified special administrative prosecutors who shall prosecute

administrative actions in the person of Atty. Enrique J.A. Bonocan, Atty. Marlisa A. Gallo and Atty. Janis Louis Esparcia.

Since the signing of the EO last February 22, 2017, the investigating committee has received around 15 reports, some includes falsification of Daily Time Records by city hall employees.

According to Atty. Bonocan, in the past administration when President Rodrigo Duterte was still the city mayor, the City Legal Office has dismissed ten (10) plantilla employees, mostly coming from the City Treasurer’s Office, on the ground of money embezzlement.

City Hall employees

By FUNNY PEARL A. GAJUNERA

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T least 50 erring city hall employees are under investigation by the newly-created investigating committee.

This after Mayor Sara Duterte signed the Executive Order 06 series of 2017 reviving the investigating committee that aims to investigate complaints against government officials.

Lawyer Enrique Bonocan of the City Legal Office said that since Duterte took office as mayor of the city they have received at least 50 complaints, most f it are attendance related offenses

filed by their superior.

Bonocan said that anyone can file their complaint through writing a complaint letter addressing to the office of the mayor.

The investigating team will then validate the complaint and make an investigation against the erring employee.

“Anyone can just file their complaint, if they want to be anonymous we will respect, we will even provide them a lawyer,” he said.

After validating the complaint, the investigating team will classify it if it

FBODY, 10

FOR POSTERITY. Junior Chamber International Asia and the Pacific vice president Anthony Leung pose for a photo with a beneficiary during the JCI Kadayawan

FBID, 10 project launching of Pinay Power: Kaya Ko, Kaya Mo, Kaya Natin at the White House Fusion Cuisine and Wine Lounge on Thursday. Lean Daval Jr.

4 ECONOMY EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 10 ISSUE 14 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 21 - 22, 2017

Consultation to enhance OFWs reintegration held O

Mindanao co-op seeks assistance of MinDA

By JERMAINE L. DELA CRUZ

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O further contribute to efforts in enhancing the Re-integration Programme for Overseas Filipino Workers (ERPO) a sectoral consultation concerning migration and development, and crisis management frameworks, was conducted at Grand Regal Hotel, Davao City on Thursday.

Hosted by the Department of Labor and Employment and its attached agencies, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and National Reintegration Center for OFWs the oneday consultation is the first among the series of conferences leading to the National

(OFW) Reintegration Summit in June 2017.

The consultation was conducted in partnership with the International Organization for Migration.

Since 1987, OWWA has been partnering with Land Bank of the Philippines in the reintegration program which provides opportunities for OFWs to engage in business as alternative to overseas employment.

To further enhance these efforts, on March 2017, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was inked by DOLE and IOM, a United Nations (UN) agency, to implement a two-year project

on the adoption of a national master plan for migrant reintegration.

This will be carried out through the National Reintegration Summit declaration; and adoption of relevant department order, administrative circular or implementing guidelines on reintegration.

In an interview, Ricardo R. Casco, National Programme Officer of IOM Philippines said the objectives of the gab are to derive recommendations for policy reforms, service programme initiatives, delivery system improvement and concrete ideas for migrant entrepreneurship, reemployment,

and skills training.

“The reason for this consultation is to realize that the work has significance on President Duterte’s aim to lure OFWs to come home,” said Casco.

According to Casco, based on the agreement, IOM functions by providing technical expertise on financial literacy, training reintegration counselors, production of reintegration services duty bearers’ handbook, which covers products and services of relevant institutions, and reintegration services menu for migrant returnees and their families.

FCONSULTATION, 10

NE Mindanao Energy Cooperative has sought the help of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) for the approval of their proposed hydropower project in Agusan.

OMEC chairperson Edgardo P. Silagan said they submitted their proposal and Letter of Intent in September 2016 to the Office of the Cabinet Secretary, the Department of Energy and the Office of the President thru the Presidential Management Staff.

“We personally handed the copies to the three government departments but until now we haven’t gotten any reply from them,” Silagan said.

He said they have sought the help of MinDA to facilitate response from those agencies regarding the status of their proposal.

Silagan said they are hoping the project will earn the support of President Rodrigo Duterte as the “hydropow-

er plant is geared towards the equitable distribution of wealth, peace and prosperity in Mindanao.”

OMEC is composed of 35 cooperatives, mostly operating in Mindanao, with three primary cooperatives as anchors namely the Model Cooperative Network (MCN) based in Davao City, Federation of People’s Sustainable Development Cooperative of Quezon City, and the Mindanao Funeral Services Cooperative.

Silagan said the “35 cooperatives have about a million members with total combined assets of PP20 billion.”

He said these cooperatives have good standings and passed the stringent standards set by the Cooperative Development Authority.

Once they get the approval from government, Silagan said they also plan to bid for the operation of the Agus-Pulangi hydropower plant.

(PNA)

Mighty Corp. facing more cases for over P27-B tax liabilities: BIR

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Halal committee. Philippines Tourism Congress chair and Universal Islamic Center president Marilou Ampuan says the creation of a Davao City Halal Industry Development Council by Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio is a welcome development as it will ensure the marketability of halal-certified products

in the domestic markets and in the countries in the Association of southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN). Ampuan graced I-Speak media forum at City Hall on Thursday. Lean Daval Jr.

3 big-ticket Mindanao infra part of 36 program package T

HREE of the 36 big-ticket infrastructure projects of the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” program are in Mindanao: the expansion of the airports in Davao City and Laguindingan in Misamis Oriental, and the 105-kilometer first segment of the Mindanao Railway dubbed TDD for Tagum in Davao del Norte, Davao City, and Digos in Davao del Sur. Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said the “Build, Build, Build” program is “the most ambitious infrastructure program in history” and quoted Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno’s pronouncement in July last year that the next six years will be the “golden age of

infrastructure” in the country.

“This is the time to move decisively. Fortunately we have a leader capable of much audacity,” Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said at the Duternomics Forum at The Conrad Hotel in Pasay City on April 18.

Dominguez noted that “in the decades when we neglected our infrastructure, we lost out on competitiveness.” non-peak hours along the national highway in Matina, Davao City on April 19, 2017.

It’s bumper to bumper during peak hours. Residents of Tagum, Davao and Digos, however, will have another means of transport by end of 2021 — the 105-killometer segment of the MIndanao Railway.

MindaNews noted that the three Mindanao projects cost a total of P86.7 billion: P40.57 billion for the Davao City airport, P14.6 billion for the Laguindingan airport and P31.54 billion for the TDD segment of the Mindanao Railway.

The project development phase of these three started under the Aquino administration: January 1, 2012 for the Davao and Laguindingan airports and October 28, 2015 for the Mindanao Railway project.

A preview of the 36 big-ticket projects was presented at the Dutertenomics Forum convened by the Department of Finance, Presidential Communications Operations Office, and the Center for Strategy Enterprise and

Intelligence.

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea said the forum, , was intended to “foster awareness on President Duterte’s economic and development blueprint for the Philippines.”

The “Build, Build, Build” portal (www.build.gov.ph) was also launched at the forum.

Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella refered to it is a “real-time tool where projects are monitored and tracked with relevant information made available to everyone …. to ensure that all these projects will be corruption-free.”

Mindanao Railway’s TDD segment The Mindanao Railway’s

F3 BIG, 11

ELEAGUERED cigarette manufacturer Mighty Corp. is facing a string of additional criminal complaints involving tax liabilities of over P27 billion for the alleged possession and use of fake internal revenue stamps, according to initial assessments made by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

BIR Commissioner Caesar Dulay has pointed out that the P9.5-billion criminal complaint it filed against Mighty last month involved only one raided warehouse in San Simon, Pampanga, which the Bureau of Customs (BOC) had found to be storing some 60,000 master cases of Mighty cigarette brands with fake tax stamps, and does not yet take into account the separate inspections done on its other facilities in General Santos City and Bulacan.

“The case we filed involving the San Simon warehouse, we estimated the amount at [over] P9 billion. Now, the Bulacan warehouse is three times bigger than the San Simon warehouse, so we’re looking at times three, about P27 billion.

We used basic assessment and penalties,” Dulay told reporters in an interview earlier this week.

Dulay recalled that the BOC also did surprise inspections on a warehouse in General Santos City that yielded around 18,000 master cases of Mighty cigarettes with fake tax stamps, and the other in Bulacan, which was the biggest haul at about 160,000 master cases.

“So we’re also working on that and hopefully within the month or even earlier we can complete the documentation and the gathering of the evidence,” Dulay said.

Last March 22, the BIR

filed a P9.5-billion criminal complaint against Mighty Corp. before the Department of Justice (DOJ) for unlawful possession of articles subject to excise tax without payment of the tax, and for possession of false, counterfeit, restored or altered stamps.

Dulay said the BIR is readying several sets of similar complaints against Mighty involving the warehouses in Bulacan and General Santos City and also another facility in Zamboanga.

Asked by reporters over the possibility of canceling Mighty’s license to operate given the massive number of fake tax stamps uncovered by authorities, Dulay said the BIR is “already working on that,” and noted that the Bulacan warehouse was found to be operating without a license.

“We’re looking at that possibility, cancellation of the license. To begin with, the warehouse in Bulacan, there’s no license. You have to have a license to operate that warehouse. On the manufacturing, we’re firming it up, firming up our evidence on that,” Dulay said.

On the possibility of shutting down Mighty’s operations altogether, Dulay said: “That’s a possibility. If you don’t have a license to manufacture, well, then….”

Dulay recalled that the BOC earlier cancelled Mighty Corp.’s license to import raw materials, which would constrain the company’s ability to manufacture its brands.

“You could imagine that within the next two or three months if you don’t have a license [to import], there’s no importation of raw materials, how do you manufacture your cigarettes?” Dulay stressed.

(PR)

VOL. 10 ISSUE 14 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 21 - 22, 2017

EDGEDAVAO

ECONOMY 5

DOLE stresses LGU role in reintegration

By JERMAINE L. DELA CRUZ

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HE National Reintegration Center for OFWs, an attached agency to the Department of Labor and Employment has urged local government units to include reintegration strategies on their local development plans.

As defined by International Labour Organization, reintegration refers to the process of

going back to one’s country of origin, including preparation and implementation, in which the return may be voluntary or enforced.

Speaking during the Enhancing the Reintegration Programme for Overseas Filipino Workers island consultation Mindanao leg on Thursday at Grand Regal Hotel, N ‎ CRO Su-

Duterte set to attend China’s Belt & Road Forum in May

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HILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte is set to return to China next month upon invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping to attend the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has confirmed that President Duterte is one of the 28 state and government leaders who will participate in the Forum set to be held on May 14 and 15 in Beijing.

According to the top Chinese Foreign Ministry official, President Duterte will join fellow leaders from Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) who already confirmed attendance in the two-day forum which President Xi will host.

They are Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Myanmar

pervising Labor and Employment Officer Geronico M. Herrera stressed the importance of linkages among stakeholders especially at the “grassroots level”.

“There is a need for synergy among various stakeholders in the academe, private, non-government & civil society organizations, and

State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Lao President Bounnhang Vorachit, and Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang.

In October last year, President Duterte made his first four-day visit in China, a move that revived the Philippines-China relation that was affected by the South China Sea dispute.

President Duterte’s trip has also resulted in USD 24 billion worth of investments pledges and infrastructure projects.

Last March, Wang said President Duterte’s appropriate handling of the Southeast China Sea will benefit not only

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cal Working Group.

The four-day visit, which started on Tuesday, is mainly aimed to determine the status of the program’s implementation on the ground as well as various issues and concerns, she said.

Taha said the results of the inspection will eventually be consolidated by the NAC for the setting of corresponding policy recommendations and operational improvements.

“This is part of the continuing efforts to strengthen the program’s operational mechanisms and institutional arrangements among partner agencies,” she said.

On Wednesday, the official said the team initially visited

several villages in Malapatan town in Sarangani and held interactions with local implementers and beneficiaries.

The coastal municipality has around 5,000 active 4Ps household-beneficiaries.

Malapatan was among the pilot beneficiaries in the country of the World Bank-supported socio-economic program Kapitbisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services or Kalahi-CIDSS, which is also being implemented by DSWD. Juliet Clavel, DSWD-12’s 4Ps program coordinator, said NAC members are specifically looking into the transition

including the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), North Korean issue and terrorism which is “becoming more and more frequent.”

RCEP aims to link ASEAN, an economic powerhouse with a market of 600 million people, to its six partner countries, creating a bigger market of 3.5 billion people. These are Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand, with which ASEAN has free trade agreements.

It targets for an FTA in goods and services as well as liberalizing flow of investments among the 10 ASEAN members and its FTA partners.

Bolivar said leaders of ASEAN members will discuss

wide-ranging cooperation, including those in the economic sphere, including RCEP, when they meet here next week.

The country will host the 30th ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings from April 26 to 29. The summit proper will be held on the last day at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC).

The Philippines chairs the ASEAN Summit 2017, which marks ASEAN’s 50th founding anniversary. It will also host the 31st ASEAN Summit in November.

ASEAN groups the Philippines, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. (PNA)

FDSWD, 10

ASEAN keen on early conclusion of RCEP pact

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HE Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) remains committed to conclude the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership deal at the soonest possible time, said the Department of Foreign Affairs .

“In fact, there is an ASEAN commitment to really fast track RCEP. It’s more just ASEAN, we have to deal with our external partners to complete the negotiations,” DFA spokesman Robespierre Bolivar told reporters.

Bolivar said there was impetus to finish the regional agreement amid current developments.

He identified current issues important to the region,

empower Public Employment Service Office (PESO) and Migration & Development (M&D) centers,” said Herrera.

According to the NCRO official, these points were taken from the sectoral consultation in Manila led by DOLE last month.

Meanwhile, in an interview with Overseas Workers Wel-

fare Administration (OWWA) Director for Policy and Program Development Albert Q. Valenciano, he disclosed that for this year, OWWA has allocated a total of PhP123.4 billion for the reintegration program, PhP60 million of which is to fund the agency’s Balik-Pinas! Balik-Hanapbu-

FDOLE, 11

FDUTERTE, 11 FOR A CHANGE. Park goers try out electronic foot massager for P25 per 26 minute-session at Rizal Park in Davao City on Thursday. Lean Daval Jr.

DSWD inspects 4Ps rollout in Region 12 HE Department of Social Welfare and Development is studying several measures in a bid to strengthen the continuing implementation of the government’s flagship conditional cash transfer program in Region 12.

Bai Zorahayda Taha, DSWD Region 12 director, said Thursday a team from their central office is currently in the region to inspect the rollout of the program, which is also known as Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps. She said the team, which is led by DSWD Undersecretary Ma. Lourdez Turalde-Jarabe, is composed of members of the program’s National Advisory Committee (NAC) and Techni-

government in order to create a well-defined reintegration program for Overseas Filipino Workers,” said Herrera.

Herrera also pointed out LGUs must study reintegration models from cities with active Barangay OFW Migrant Desk such as Iloilo, Naga, Dagupan, and La Union.

“There is also a need to

6 COMPETITIVE EDGE EDGEDAVAO

Great deals, awesome treats at SM Davao’s 3 - Day Sale

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HE biggest sale in the south is back. On April 28 to 30 with an extra day on May 1st, SM City Davao once again opens its gates to the season’s greatest sale event in the region.

On Friday, April 28, Prestige cardholders get to enjoy first dibs with up to additional 10% discount on all items at participating SM affiliate stores. For the early shoppers, awesome prizes and freebies await them at selected stores.

When shopping with SM Advantage and BDO Rewards cards on Saturday, April 29, additional discounts may be availed at your favorite SM affiliate shops. The SMAC Exclusives happens from 9AM to 12NN. Hataw Dabaw street dancing competition will be staged on Sunday, April 30, 4PM at the Annex Event Center as part of the city’s Visit Davao Fun Sale

campaign.

On Monday, May 1, things get more exciting with the Balloon Drop of Treats at the Event Center, 4PM. Shoppers only need to show a single receipt of P500 dated April 28 to May 1, from any mall tenant to join the thrilling balloon frenzy. Up for grabs include cellphones, gift checks and more exciting surprises.

Three-Day-Sale shoppers not only get to avail up to 70% prize reductions. They can also win 1 of the 4 Suzuki Raider R150 in the raffle with a single proof of purchase amounting to P1,000. Raffle redemption booths are located at the main mall main entrance, at the entrance near PetCo, as well as the ground floor of the Annex.

Catch the grandest sale event at SM City Davao on April 28 to May 1. Mall hours are extended until 11 PM on Friday and Saturday.

Cebu Pacific partners up with Davao Tourism in Visit Davao Fun Sale 2017

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HE Philippines’ leading airline, Cebu Pacific (CEB), boosts its presence in the largest travel event and tourism campaign in the Davao region, the Visit Davao Fun Sale (VDFS). Now on its fourth year, the partnership between CEB and VDFS takes on an advocacy angle, in an effort to promote Davao and peripheral areas in Southern Mindanao as safe, enjoyable and exhilarating travel and adventure destinations for both local and foreign tourists.

As part of the seven-week activities for VDFS, CEB is flying-in top adventure travel bloggers and digital influencers from Singapore, Japan and South Korea to visit Davao and check out attractions such as the beaches in Mati City, Aliwagwag Falls and Eden Eco Adventure Park; go dolphin-watching off the coast of Mati, white-water rafting in the Davao River, pub-crawling in Davao’s city center, or shopping at the Aldevinco Center.

“CEB takes pride in having the most flights to and from Davao. But more than the flights, we need to do our part to help entice tourists to fly to Davao and experience what the region has to offer.

Davao and adjacent provinces have so much to offer tourists from all walks of life—from thrill-seekers to laidback travellers; families on vacation; barkadas on a getaway and even solo backpackers,” said

Atty JR Mantaring, Vice President for Corporate Affairs of Cebu Pacific.

Cebu Pacific has the most extensive domestic route network among Philippine carriers, with direct, inter-island connections to major tourist destinations. Operating a hub in Davao, CEB has 141 flights to and from Davao, with six direct domestic routes (Cebu, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo, Zamboanga and Manila); and a direct flight to Singapore.

The airline’s extensive network covers over 100 routes and 66 destinations, spanning Asia, Australia, the Middle East, and USA. Launched in 2014, the Visit Davao Fun Sale is a partnership between local governments in the region, the Department of Tourism, other national government agencies and private enterprises to promote tour packages and unique experiences to tourists such as food and delicacy must-tries, as well as leisure and wellness activities. This year’s tours include special packages for Davao City, Island Garden City of Samal, Sta. Cruz in Davao del Sur where one of the trails to Mt. Apo is located, and the Hamiguitan Range and Wildlife Sanctuary. Since its launch, VDFS has helped push tourism growth in the region to double-digit levels, capping 2016 with 100,000 tourist arrivals. VDFS 2017 runs from April 16 to May 31, 2017. (PR)

VOL. 10 ISSUE 14 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 21 - 22, 2017

PRDP to fast track review of projects T

HE Mindanao Project Support Office (PSO) of DA’s Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) has committed to fast track the review process of pipelined and proposed subprojects through the conduct of joint technical reviews and joint inspection activities that will enjoin teams in the national, regional and provincial levels.

This was among the major recommended actions pushed by the local government units (LGUs) during the month-long forum-caravan in various regions conducted by PRDP Mindanao that aims to re-orient implementing LGUs of its commitments and PRDP’s project deliverables.

“In collaboration with the Regional Project Coordinating Office (RPCOs), the PSO will strengthen the conduct of joint inspection especially for infrastructure projects which composed the bulk of PRDP’s investment portfolio,” PRDP Mindanao deputy project director Araceli Morano said.

She added that joint technical reviews will also cover proposals and pipelined enterprise development projects.

“The project management will strive to simplify processes and review the requirements so as not to have a piecemeal review, taking into account that we have service standards to follow,” Morano added.

The forums, which were

PRDP PROJECT. Bukidnon Gov. Jose Ma. Zubiri raises his comments and recommendations on the implementation of PRDP during the Regional Forum with local chief executives (LCEs) in Region 10 held in Cagayan de Oro

attended by Local Chief Executives (LCEs) and their Provincial/City Project Management and Implementing Unit (P/CPMIU) aims to provide updates and implementation status of various PRDP subprojects in in the region and to get the concerns as well as solicit recommendations that will fast track accomplishments of their respective subprojects.

Morano also said that the PRDP will assist in the forging of inter-agency convergence mechanisms to mainstream investments to the City and Provincial Commodity Investment Plan (C/PCIP).

“PRDP continues to advocate making PCIP as a major reference for planning and

budgeting,” she said.

Convergence mechanisms have been piloted in Region 9 for cacao and Region 10 for coconut.

Emphasizing the timeline for PRDP from 2014 to 2020, and the coming midterm evaluation, Morano encouraged everyone to elevate their concerns so this can be solved at once and hasten completion of their project.

“These recommendations and proposed next steps that we have gathered will be documented and presented during the upcoming World Bank Implementation Support Mission in May,” she said. (Rosie Paasa/DA-RPCO 10 and Marriez Torreliza/PSO Min)

City. With him are PRDP Mindanao deputy project director Araceli Morano (center) and DA 10 Assistant Regional Director Roxana Hojas. (Photo by Rommil Nuñez/PRDP Mindanao)

DSWD leads gender responsive case mgt training

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HE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in partnership with National Association for Social Work Education, Inc. (NASWEI) and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) recently conducted a Training on Gender Responsive Case Management for Untrained

Bachelor of Science in Social Work (BSSW) Faculty of NASWEI. The training aimed at: 1] advancing Gender Responsive Case Management as a practice model in managing cases of violence against women (VAW); and 2] guiding social work students in the application of various

perspectives, concept principles, and tools in managing VAW cases and/or any form of gender-based violence.

Some 30 BSSW faculty of NASWEI school members from Mindanao and Visayas areas attended the five-day capacity building session at Apo View Hotel.

Resource persons were

NASWEI-trained BSSW faculty members and Board Members with technical assistance of DSWD Program Management staffs and UNFPA representatives.

Participants were welcomed by Rebecca A. Santamaria, Assistant Regional Director for Operations, DSWD. (DSWD/jbc)

ers and those whose jobs expose them to flu viruses, such as responders during disasters, Montalban said.

“We should get it every year because the virus varies and comes in different forms,” she said, explaining that strains of the flu virus differ each year.

She assured that flu shots are safe for pregnant women and can even prevent the onset of complications.

Dr. Luningning Villa, PFV director for project development, meanwhile said that flu infections occur anytime of the year but peak from June to November during the rainy season, “when we usually stay

together in one place, allowing the virus to thrive longer”.

She noted that a person could contract the virus by inhaling droplets from the sneeze and cough of infected people or from surfaces they touched, such as tables and door knobs.

“Influenza is also airborne because (flu viruses) can remain suspended in the air,” she said, reminding that there are several ways to protect others from catching flu, such as by covering the nose and mouth with tissue, handkerchief or sleeves when sneezing, and disposing of soiled tissue properly.

Dr. Sally Gatchalian, vice

president of the Philippine Pediatric Society (PPS), for her part, noted that flu can be contagious, even a day after symptoms manifest.

“An ounce of prevention is better than (a pound of) cure,” Gatchalian said, noting that people better prepare for flu by getting vaccinated.

The vaccine is estimated to cost nearly PHP1,000 but is given by the health department for free to indigent senior citizens.

Based on data from the Department of Health’s National Center for Disease Prevention and Control, one in 100 Filipinos get sick of influenza every year. (PNA)

Health experts: Prepare for flu, get vaccinated

F

LU is in the air and people, especially those vulnerable to the disease, better get themselves vaccinated, several health experts said Wednesday.

Flu vaccination should prioritize the elderly, pregnant women, and patients with chronic medical conditions, such as diabetes, heart, liver, kidney and lung diseases, president of the Philippine Foundation for Vaccinations (PFV), Dr. Cecilia Montalban, said during the health forum dubbed “Trangkaseason”, held at the Dusit Thani Hotel.

It is also recommended for caregivers, health care work-

7 SUBURBIA EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 10 ISSUE 14 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 21 - 22, 2017

CDO village officials urged to do waste segregation

A

RESCUE VOLUNTEERS GRADUATE. Rescue volunteers in Maitum, Sarangani completed the three-day training on Basic Emergency Response. The training produced 29 volunteer-rescuers from different barangays in Maitum to

Family of slain ophthalmologist in Cotabato City seeks Duterte’s help

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HE family of slain ophthalmologist Dr. Sajid “Jaja” Sinolinding in Cotabato City appealed Wednesday to President Rodrigo Duterte to look into his murder as well as the alleged corruption in a state college in North Cotabato.

Dr. Kadil Sinolinding, health secretary of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said his slain sibling was a “collateral damage” after another brother, Professor Harris Sinolinding, survived an ambush last year after he exposed corruption at the Cotabato Foundation College of Science and Technology (CFCST) in Arakan, North Cotabato.

Dr. Jaja was shot dead by a gunman while he was attending to a patient inside his clinic at the second floor of the Cotabato Doctors’ Clinic, which is along along Sinsuat Avenue here, at around 11 a.m. Tuesday.

The gunman also shot dead Dr. Jaja’s armed security

FINANCIAL SUPPORT. Compostela Valley Gov. Tyron Uy turns over the P500,000 worth of check to Surigao City Mayor Ernesto Matugas in Surigao City on April 18, 2017. The city suffered huge damage during

escort and fled casually amid the commotion.

Dr. Kadil said the family was dismayed and bothered to learn that the medical facility’s CCTV cameras failed to capture the events before and after the murder.

Dr. Kadil said he was told “that all other events inside the clinic were recorded except the minutes or seconds before and after his 37-yearold brother was killed at around 11:10 a.m.”

Senior Inspector Alexander de Pedro, police station 2 chief and city police spokesperson, admitted the CCTV failed to capture the face or how the gunman entered the building and into the victim’s clinic.

The younger Sinolinding and his armed escort, Mohammad Esmael, both died on the spot after they were shot by the gunman who posed as a patient. The ophthalmologist was shot in the face while he was examining another patient.

an earthquake with a 6.7 magnitude last February. The governor was also warmly welcomed during their Execom meeting. (Maryel Lasaca, IDS ComVal)

local official in Cagayan de Oro City warned village officials of possible charges at the anti-graft court for failure to implement waste segregation in their villages.

Edwin Dael, the head of the city’s environment and natural resources office, issued the warning as the city opened the new P300-million sanitary landfill in the outskirt village of Pagalungan, 23 kilometers southwest of the city, last Monday.

He said that with the opening of the new landfill, it is now the duty of the village officials in the city’s 80 rural and urban villages to segregate their waste as stipulated

in Republic Act (RA) 9003 also known as the Solid Waste Management Act. The act provides for a “comprehensive ecological solid waste management program by creating the necessary institutional mechanisms and incentives, appropriating funds, declaring certain acts prohibited and providing penalties,” Dael said.

The new sanitary landfill would accommodate the estimated 500 tons of garbage that this capital city of Northern Mindanao churned every day.

Dael said that under RA 9003, all village residents are required to segregate house-

are approved. This is to ensure that the money is intended for business and the borrower will also be able to pay back in the agreed terms and conditions.

Lacking of this requirement, however, are the usual reason that the loan applications are denied. This is because feasibility studies or proposal preparations require special skill and knowledge. The loan applicant will have to hire competent professionals to prepare the FS, usually for a considerable amount. For ordinary MSMEs, this is a costly and tedious process in order to avail a loan. In most cases, the MSME will no longer

avail loans from the banks because of this requirement.

The MASICAP II program, a revival of the successful MASICAP I program, has been helping MSMEs in other provinces in Mindanao avail loans from banks and financial assistance form government agencies.

MASICAP offers for free the preparation of FS and other required documents to qualified MSMEs for their loan applications.

Urged by members such as Land Bank of the Philippines, DOST, and DTI, the Provincial MSMED Council passed a resolution to have the MASICAP II in the province. The hiring of MASICAP

scholars to serve the MSMEs in the province was made possible with the cost sharing of the Provincial Government of Compostela Valley and DTI Compostela Valley.

To avail the services of the MASICAP scholars, MSMEs will just have to visit to DTI Compostela Valley in Nabunturan for initial identification and assessment. DTI will then endorse the MSME to the MASICAP scholars to facilitate their documentary requirements for loan application. DOST, LBP and DOLE loan/financial assistance applicants can also avail the free service provided by the MASICAP scholars. (KIM EVANGELIO, DTI Comval)

and Cotabato.

“This is a continuing effort and we will not stop until all our barangays here in Region 12 are cleared from illegal drugs,” Galgo said.

Based on the DDB’s regulations, a barangay may be declared as “drug-cleared” through recommendations from the local police, local government unit and stakeholders.

Prior to the declaration, barangay anti-drug abuse councils or BADACs are required to conduct drug-clearing operations within their areas of responsibility and later undergo inspection by police personnel.

The city or town’s chief of police should then issue a certification attesting the status of the barangay while the concerned barangay council should pass a resolution declaring their area as drugcleared.

These are then subjected to further evaluation by the program’s regional oversight committee.

ANTI-DRUG ABUSE SYMPOSIUM. The Department of Health recently hosted a symposium on the municipal anti-drug abuse campaign in Kiamba town, Sarangani province. Mayor Raul C. Martinez addressed the participants from different LGU agencies, police, barangay captains and municipal councilors. DOH Region 12 non-communicable disease cluster head Dr. Adimelca Gangoso also provided an input on the drug abuse situation in the country and urged the participants to cooperate with the government agencies and the community to help treat and rehabilitate drug users who surrendered and make this nationwide effort a success. (AR Camposano-JP Belmonte/KIAMBA INFORMATION OFFICE) In South Cotabato, deputy municipal and city governprovincial police chief Supt. ments and local police units.

Joedelito Guisinga said 106 of He assured that they have the province’s 199 baragays been implementing “honest are now considered “drug- to goodness” barangay drug cleared.” clearing operations in the He attributed such ac- province in close coordinacomplishment to the collabo- tion with local stakeholders. rative efforts of the BADACs, (PNA)

prevent further casualties and damages from disasters and educate people about the importance of preparedness during calamities. (John James I. Doctor/MAITUM INFORMATION OFFICE)

FCDO, 10

MSMEs now have better access to banks in ComVal M

ICRO Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Compostela Valley province will now have a better chance that their loan applications in banks will be approved with the Medium and Small Scale Industries Coordinated Action Program (MASICAP) services available in the province.

MSMEs who wanted to expand or set up a start-up business needed additional capital thru loans from financial institutions. Loan applications with commercial banks usually require applicants to submit feasibility studies (FS) or business proposal before their loans

Nearly 50% of villages in Region 12 now‘drug-cleared’

A

T least 569 barangays (villages) in Region 12 are now considered “cleared” from illegal drugs, police officials said on Thursday.

Supt. Romeo Galgo Jr., public information officer of the Police Regional Office-12, said the concerned barangays have all passed the parameters set by the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) in line with the government’s enhanced barangay drug-clearing program.

He said the barangays that are so far considered “drug-cleared” is nearly half of the 1,195 barangays in the entire Region 12.

Of the remaining 626 barangays, the official said 18 were listed as “not affected” and the rest were “affected” by the illegal drug problem.

Also known as Soccsksargen, the region comprises the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and North Cotabato, and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan

8 VANTAGE EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 10 ISSUE 14 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 21 - 22, 2017

EDITORIAL

Thanks but no thanks

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RESIDENT Duterte has turned down the controversial honoris cause degree as proposed by the Board of Regents of the state-run University of the Philippines.

The President cited he is not into awards even from way back in his days as city mayor of Davao.

As a public servant, President Duterte has been “honored” in many ways--from being called “The Punisher” to being poster boy of many international publications.

All those plaques of recognition, he probably lost count or never even touched them as they were merely received by his representatives.

His son, Vice Mayor Paolo Z. Duterte, attested to that on Wednesday saying his father is not the type who would fret about copping life’s grandest awards.

So amidst all the expression of disapproval from the UP community, the President politely turned it down. No hard feelings, no harsh words. It’s a poetic justice for a man who responded to the mob reaction with a simple “thanks, but no thanks.”

Duterte is not alone in this world who turned down an award. The legendary John Lennon of the Beatles fame turned down knighthood, the highest award bestowed in the United Kingdom.

In turning down the conferment of knighthood, Lennon spelled out his reasons in a letter to the Queen: “Your Majesty, I am returning this in protest against Britain’s involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam and against Cold Turkey slipping down the charts. With Love, John Lennon of Bag.” It is said that of all the honors that the Queen of England bestows on her subjects, a knighthood is easily the most coveted. To British citizens, few titles could be greater than having a “Sir” or “Dame” in front of their name.

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Another artist David Bowie turned down the knighthood honor in 2003, saying “I would never have any intention of accepting anything like that,” he said. “I seriously don’t know what it’s for. It’s not what I spent my life working for.”

Alfred Deakin, the Australian statesman turned down a knighthood in 1887, when Australia was still a colony of Great Britain. He went on to become one of Australia’s founding fathers (it became a nation in 1901) and serve as Prime Minister three times. It seems that his refusal of a knighthood was due to a combination of humility (he would turn down several honors) and his preference for Australia becoming a republic, severing the last of its political links to the British Empire. Australia continued to award knighthoods (conferred by the Crown) after winning independence from Britain, even though many saw them as a remnant of the colonial past. Though it has still not become a republic, Australia finally stopped awarding knighthoods in 1983.

And there was Nobel laureate Doris Lessing. When she was young, the Nobel Prize-winning author was an ardent communist, rebelling against the monarchy and the British political system. In 1993, at the age of 74, she refused to be made a Dame.

“Surely,” she said, “there is something unlikable about a person, when old, accepting honors from an institution she attacked when young?” Some years earlier, she had turned down an OBE, as the honor came from a “non-existent empire.” In 2000, however, she accepted a Companion of Honor (CH), claiming to prefer it because “you’re not called anything.”

If President Duterte turned down UP’s version of knighthood, it is not because of the wild reaction of the maroon community to his selection.

Some men just do their work without having to crave over awards. Like Bowie, the honorary degree is not what Duterte is working for and is spending his life for.

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EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 10 ISSUE 14 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 21 - 22, 2017

VANTAGE POINTS

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Pedestrian safety: Tyranny of thoughtless planning (1) “Man follows the line of least resistance, and it is this prime law that has to be understood and regarded in all questions relating to the improvement of traffic.

Any scheme not in accordance with this primary law may be put aside.”

(H.W.D. Stone, Principles of Urban Traffic, 1916, p.6)

C

ITIES are created by people and made up of people and all things attached to it dependedon people; without them cities are nothing but an abstraction and certainly will not exist. A city grows, progresses, and develops because of them – the pedestrians. Pedestrians are the most important component in city building and significant consideration in place-making. They are the huge foot traffic that fills the restaurants, diners, shops, supermarkets and department stores, schools, public transports, public markets,carenderias during noon brakes, food stands, government and private

L

IGUASAN Marsh in the Mindanao River basin – with 220,000 hectares of which 30,000 are known game refuge and bird sanctuary – is one of the major marshlands in the Philippines.

About 1,000 hectares of the marsh will soon be planted to bamboo that will supplied by the Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (ERB) as part of the National Greening Program (NGP), according to a press release.

The government-backed development project “hopes to bring peace to residents” in the area that has been described as “conflict-ridden.”

Moh Saaduddin, in a news report published in The Manila Times, noted: “Liguasan Marsh has been isolated from major development projects partly because of the presence of rebels and lawless elements, that roost in the area.”

The press release said that Secretary Regina L. Lopez of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources launched the Sustainable Integrated Area Development (SIAD) in Liguasan Marsh. “(SIAD) is a one-of-a-kind partnership with the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front), military, the Radjah Buayan town and the Maguindanao provincial government and their communities,” the press release

offices, and for some purposes they serve as eye on the streets for reason of safety to mitigate barbarism on the roads.

Sadly, these human beings who are the primary actors and providersof vitality to urban centers such as Davao City are the least of the concerns of city planners and private profiteers. They conspicuously ignore the safety of pedestrians – the people who serve as the essential element in city building – and relegate their significance to the sidelines.

Obviously, despite being a virtually crime-free city, the people on the city streets in any given time are unmindfulof the dangers they constantly face.

The adage “if no one complains, then there’s nothing to fix”seems to be the guiding mantra of knee-jerk government planners.

As a general rule in urban traffic management, both ends of a pedestrian crossing must be free from any obstruction to ensure of unimpeded and free flow of people crossing the street. Quite a number of locations

explained.

Bamboo, the poor man’s timber, has been identified as a major plantation crop in the project. “The development of 1,000 hectares in Radjah Buayan is part of the department’s endeavor to develop one million hectares of bamboo nationwide,” said Dr. Henry A. Adornado, the ERDB Director who appointed as overall coordinator of SIAD. “Bamboo was chosen because of its economic, ecological environmental contributions and its potential to provide sustainable benefit to the farmers,” said Adornado, adding that there is a high return on investment and faster payback in bamboo.

Based on studied plantations in Central America, The REDD Monitor placed bamboo’s return on investment at 26%. REDD stands for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation.

Planting bamboo is environment-friendly, so to speak. It can help address the problem of climate change, which has been wreaking havoc all over the world now. Some studies showed that bamboo plants can sequester 12 tons of carbon dioxide per hectare per year.

Not only that. Bamboo is an effective tool in addressing soil erosion, landslides, and flooding.

The ERDB said in a statement: “It

URBAN STREET GAZER

BY BY DARIO G. PAMPANGA, PH.D. ofcrossing lanes in the city are either anti-pedestrian or utterly unsafe characterized with thoughtless planning. The placement of pedestrian crossing located along the junction of JP Laurel Ave./Sta. Ana Ave. is an extreme example of disservice and sheer disregard to pedestrians, yet hundreds of people use this lane every hour. Knowingly or unknowingly, the 5 giant electrical posts of Davao Light including a traffic light post ,which are located right smack at the one end of the lane, and the provision of a movable metal barrier which is right next to the posts,are horrendously unsafe to pedestrians.

It would be prudent for the city traffic agency to either remove the electrical posts (which I doubt if they can) or the most workable design would be to provide a wider pedestrian refuge at the center island and

move the pedestrian crossing (at the northbound lane) with one meter distance from the electrical posts.

This would even add aesthetics to the otherwise uninteresting roadway.

The third choice is to close the crossing lane by permanent metal barrier and direct all pedestrians to use the pedestrian overpass. Any scheme among the three options would necessarily be justifiable. Doing any of these options is really an expression of putting the pedestrians first in terms of traffic safety. In this instance, it is safe to say that the “line of least resistance”was properly observed even in this minutest yet very significant episode in urban traffic planning and management in Davao city.

This altruistic attitude towards the pedestrians is replicated in most city streets. This case is just one of the numerous acts of thoughtless planning about how pedestrians suffer from road space inequities. If one has patience and time to stroll around the city, there are some more pedestrian crossings with the same

case given above; some pedestrian crossings that ends up facing high concrete fences and walls with no elevated sidewalks,some are obstructed with iron stand announcing the barangay officials, and some inner city thoroughfares that do not have established pedestrian crossing yet every hour hundreds of people are crisscrossing those roads. The least of the things that these issues can be addressed is to simply re-design these pedestrian crossings to create an environment of livable streets to the benefit of the city builders – the pedestrians.

Davao city is fast transforming into an automobile city due tounrestrained urban expansion and real estate development in sub-urban areas as well as in rurban (rural-urban) locations. Conceivably, it is a prodigious time for the city government to address these issues and other related concerns in both transport planning and traffic management before these dynamic transformation and developments take the past city.

awan, Mangrove Forest in Bohol, and the Ecotourism Areas in Pangasinan.

“The community in these areas are now benefitting the fruits of a green economy without destroying the environment and their respective organizations do now have millions in their bank accounts,” Lopez said.

It must be recalled that the Society for the Conservation of Philippine Wetlands Inc. (SCPW) had pushed for a “National Wetlands Policy.” After all, more than 30 inland wetlands have been identified as priority sites for conservation by the Philippine Biodiversity Priority Setting.

Under the Ramsar international wetland conservation treaty, wetlands are defined as follows: Article 1.1: “… wetlands are areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six meters.”

Article 2.2: “(Wetlands) may incorporate riparian and coastal zones adjacent to the wetlands, and islands or bodies of marine water deeper than six meters at low tide lying within the wetlands.”

In simpler terms, wetlands occur where water meets land. They

include mangroves, peatlands and marshes, rivers and lakes, deltas, floodplains and flooded forests, ricefields, and even coral reefs.

The Ramsar Convention is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for the conservation and wise of wetlands and their resources.

In the Philippines, there are six wetlands of international importance; these are Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary in Mindanao, Naujan Lake National Park in Oriental Mindoro, Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary in Cebu, Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park in Palawan, the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park in Sulu Sea, and the Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area.

Although there are many laws and action plans that seek to conserve these, there is no overall national policy on wetlands in the Philippines.

“There are 316 fish species (in these wetlands) of which 121 are endemic and 76 are threatened. (Also found are) numerous species of waterbirds, aquatic plants and a majority of amphibians and semi-aquatic species such as the highly-endangered Philippine crocodile (Crocodylus mindorensis),” the SCPW said.

Bamboo for peace

THINK ON THESE!

Henrylito D. Tacio

is envisioned that with SIAD, Radjah Buayan will become a bamboo capital of the Philippines, reducing the municipality’s poverty level which is currently at 35%.”

The SIAD, Lopez said, is one of the government’s way of helping the residents of the Liguasan Marsh.

In addition, Lopez urged government, private, and civic groups to put up “integrated area development” (IAD) models.

She said that IADs showcase best practices while sustaining the integrity of the ecosystem. Among the initiatives that have worked include those for the La Mesa Eco Park in Metro Manila, the Ugong Rock in Pal-

10 NEWS

EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 10 ISSUE 14 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 21 - 22, 2017

BURNED... FROM 1 ment. He died at 7:00 in the morning of April 18. His children Christy, Crystal, Christine, Crisito, Jr. and a seven-month old unborn baby all died just hours after the fire. April Joy, Fuerte’s common-law wife, is currently in a critical state at the hospital.

During a press conference on Wednesday, Fire Inspector Brananola said investigations showed that the point of origin of the fire was inside the Gas Petronas warehouse, most likely caused by gas leakage.

Estimated damage of the said property was placed at P1Million.

Among other establish-

ments near the LPG warehouse that were damaged were three videoke bar houses (After Six, Chocomilky and Suileta Videoke Bar), another warehouse and an office space rented by Warehouse and Office of GTI Armory.

It can be recalled that on April 11, at about 10:10 in the evening, a fire exploded coming from Petronas Gas Tank located at Km.7, Bangkal, Davao City and was declared under control at about 11:40 in the evening.

Rescuers immediately rushed the victims to the hospital where the couple’s children died one after the other.

government.

Sahiron is the leading figurehead of the ASG in Sulu after most of the founding leaders of the group were killed.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has set a USD1 million reward for the capture of Sahiron.

Sobejana said that one of the conditions they set is that the ASG chief should also convince his followers to surren-

der also.

The total number of surrendered Abu Sayyaf members has reached 16, following the order of President Rodrigo Duterte to finish off the bandit group in six-month period. The deadline will lapse on June 30.

There are over 40 Abu Sayyaf members who have been killed in the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi since January. (PNA)

export, accounts for half or 4.57 million MT of the total production.

Philippine fresh bananas are exported to South Korea, Iran, Hong Kong, Singapore, Russia, New Zealand, San Diego in the United States, Japan, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, China, Mongolia, Ukraine, Turkey, Iraq, Egypt, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and niche markets in Europe.

NPA rebels have resorted to burning equipment and facilities in fruit plantations in Mindanao to force companies to pay them “revolutionary taxes.”

President Duterte had earlier hesitated in resuming talks with the communists, saying that they should first stop with their extortion activities, release all captives and resist from claiming any territory.

Eduardo Maningo, a spokesman for the Mindanao ARBs, has called on the government to step up its efforts to protect farm workers and agribusinesses vulnerable to NPA attacks.

“The safety of our families and our livelihood are threatened. If the government fails to address this problem, businesses can leave and we will

lose our jobs,” Maningo said.

“Our industry is already hampered with problems. We have low productivity because of pests and diseases, drought, flooding…but the insurgency is most alarming. We are scared for our lives,” he added.

Communist insurgents have focused their attacks in Mindanao’s lucrative fruit farm businesses, with the aim of paralyzing their operations by burning or destroying equipment if their owners refuse to pay “revolutionary taxes.”

Their attacks have resulted in killings, arson and the disruption of business operations.

Among the facilities that the communists have destroyed include Dole’s cold storage plant and other equipment in Barangay Sinawal in General Santos City last March 30; a banana processing plant in Pantukan, Compostela Valley last Feb. 5; a pineapple plantation in Bukidnon on Feb. 25; and three container vans loaded with fruits in Maragusan, Compostela Valle y on March 25.

The following day, the NPA opened fire on a spray plane in Tagbina, Surigao. The insurgents continued with their attacks in Sumifru (Philippines) in Malaybalay, Bukidnon on March 27.

of the exiting or “graduating” beneficiaries.

She said they are also determining implementation concerns involving household-beneficiaries with children enrolled in senior high school.

At the end of the visit on Friday, she said the team is expected to gain better appreciation of the implementation of 4Ps and its complementary

programs, with particular focus on the transition of exiting beneficiaries.

The program presently serves around 250,000 “poorest of the poor” households in Region 12, which comprises the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and North Cotabato, and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan and Cotabato. (PNA)

ASG... FROM 2

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PRO-HEALTH. Bystanders check out organically grown plants on display at Rizal Park in Davao City on Thursday. Lean Daval Jr.

Attack... FROM 2 maining six were formally accepted for PAF service on Dec. 5 of the same year.

The Philippines signed an eight-unit attack AW-109E order with AgustaWestland in 2013 for PHP3. 44 billion.

The eight attack AW-109es will remedy the dwindling number of MG-520 attack helicopters primarily used for close-air support missions.

Two attack models are also being operated by the Philippine Navy aside from the three units dedicated for utility and recon purposes.

The naval AW-109s were delivered in 2013 and 2015 and is worth PHP3.4 billion.

The AW-109 “Power” is a three-ton class eight seat helicopter powered by two Pratt and Whitney PW206C engines.

The spacious cabin is designed to be fitted with a number of modular equipment packages for quick and easy conversion between roles.

The aircraft’s safety features include a fully separated fuel system, dual hydraulic boost system, dual electrical

systems and redundant lubrication and cooling systems for the main transmission and engines.

The AW-109 has established itself as the world’s best selling light-twin helicopter for maritime missions.

Its superior speed, capacity and productivity combined with reliability and ease of maintenance make it the most cost effective maritime helicopter in its class.

For shipboard operations the aircraft has a reinforced-wheeled landing gear and deck mooring points as well as extensive corrosion protection measures.

The ability to operate from small ships in high seas state enables the AW-109 to perform its mission when many other helicopters would be confined to the ship’s hangar.

Over 550 AW-109 “Power” and AW-109 light utility helicopters have been ordered for commercial, parapublic and military applications by customers in almost 50 countries. (PNA)

The IOM representative noted that the integration information campaign of the government is useless if it fails to provide an enabling environment for the OFWs once they come home.

“Our OFWs have many fears such as the ease of doing business, the concerns on climate because we are always typhoon-hit, the peace and order, will they be a part of the supply or value chain, if they can compete with big businesses in the country, access to farm to market roads, things like that,” said Casco.

Geronico M. Herrera, representative of NRCO, highlighted some of the key results of the sectoral consultation on ERPO in Manila last March.

He pointed out, there is a need for synergy among various stakeholders in the Private, Non-government & Civil Society Organizations, and Govern-

ment stakeholders in order to create a well-defined reintegration program for Overseas Filipino Workers.

“We don’t even have a concrete and accurate data on the number of OFWs,” he said, calling for the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to improve their databanking techniques.

The Mindanao leg of the island consultation has gathered around 200 stakeholders from private, non-government & civil society organizations, and government agencies.

As defined by International Labour Organization, reintegration refers to the process of going back to one’s country of origin, including preparation and implementation, in which the return may be voluntary or enforced.

The Luzon and Visayas consultations are slated on April 27 and May 9 respectively.

Consultation... FROM 4

Body... FROM 3

is a light, less grave or grave misconduct coming from the city hall employee. One can also be dismissed from the service if proven guilty.

Bonocan however, stressed that a complainant can only file one complaint at a time.

“We will not let a complainant file several cases at a time, he can only file one and wait until the case is finished before he can file for another one,” he said.

Bonocan also said that if the case is filed first to the investigating committee, then they will take the jurisdiction of the case.

During the term of Pres-

ident Rodrigo Duterte as Mayor of the city, atleast 10 erring employees were dismissed from their office after the investigating committee found them guilty of the case file against them.

Most of the dismissed employees came from the City Treasurers Office with a case of embezzlement of public funds.

It can also be remembered that when the older Duterte heard that there was a rumored corruption in the Business Bureau office here, he immediately changed all the employees from the department head to the janitor.

chartered city, he said the local government had not been reporting to the governor (of South Cotabato) but directly to the President “Just like the city’s independent status, it should stand alone as a congressional district,” he said.

Vice Mayor Shirlyn BañasNograles reiterated her support for the passage of HB 5162.

Nograles, City Councilor Franklin Gacal Jr. and Sangguniang Panglunsod Secretary Atty. Rosendo Roque had represented the city in the committee hearings.

“For over 21 years, the city council has passed numerous resolutions requesting Congress to pass a law for the creation of a lone district for the city,” she said.

Based on the 2015 Census on Population and Housing, the city had a population of around 594,000 and posted an annual average population growth rate of 1.91 percent since 2010.

With the creation of a lone

district for the city, Acharon said the present composition of South Cotabato’s first congressional district would be reconfigured.

The first district presently comprises this city and the municipalities of Tupi, Tampakan and Polomolok in South Cotabato.

If this city will become a legislative district, Acharon said the three remaining towns will comprise the first district. A bill was earlier filed seeking the conversion of Polomolok into a component city of South Cotabato.

In the 15th Congress, Acharon filed HB 6038 or “an act reapportioning the composition of the first and second legislative districts in the province of South Cotabato and thereby creating a new legislative district from such reapportionment.”

But the measure failed to get past the preliminary discussions at the committee level until the congressional recess for the May 2013 elections. (PNA)

hold garbage into solid, recyclable and organic wastes.

He said that recyclable materials like bottles, plastics

and cartoons could be sold at village redemption centers that would be established by village officials. (PNA)

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ARTS AND CULTURE

A CUBIC PERSPECTIVE

IF YOU ARE AN ARTIST, you are highly advised or inclined to think outside the box; but if you are a great artist, you reinvent the box and endow it with different perspectives. Cubism has been considered the most influential avant-garde art movement of the 20th century, pioneered by the Spaniard Pablo Picasso and the Frenchman Georges Braque. A cubist painter’s aim is to levitate the two-dimensionality of a canvas instead of just copying and representing nature as is and applying traditional techniques of perspective.

A Davao artist and teacher, Mr. Donn Manguilimotan is a cubist whose works I could really not forget when I saw him at the “About” art event at People’s Park. “I am self-taught and very thankful for this wonderful God-given talent. It grows along with me as I also develop as an artist from being motivated by other painters in my community since I know there are better painters out there than me; but what inspires me the most is still Maestro Vicente Manansala’s cubic line faded technique,” Donn humbly states.

Evocative of Manansala’s works, Donn portrays Filipino life and scenes that is mostly highlighted at celebrations/fiestas and the feeling of light happiness. “Even though my technique is of modern

cubic style, I depict traditional subjects and settings on my canvas—it is still a Barrio-style fiesta or a provincial event with Filipinos wearing vintage clothing—I guess it is my way of merging opposing poles together to make tradition more aesthetically appealing,” the artist shares.

What came first—the chicken or the egg? What came first, abstract art or cubism? Unlike the for-

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ENTERTAINMENT

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The joy of giving back as told by GMA Artist Center stars GMA ARTIST CENTER STARS Bianca Umali, Paolo Contis and Sef Cadayona play their part in spreading love by celebrating their birthdays with their chosen charities.

As the newest World Vision Youth Ambassador, Bianca Umali flew all the way to Cebu last March 7 to share the love for learning. Bianca enjoyed the gettogether with the child beneficiaries of the organization as they busied themselves with hand painting, gift-giving, as well as a few dance numbers.

Bianca believes that learning can be both work and play, which is what she wants the children to realize. “It’s nice to see them have fun and learn at the same time.

I want to encourage the children to read and gusto kong maranasan nila ‘yong childhood na cre-

ative through reading.”

For Paolo Contis, he considers having the opportunity to help as the biggest gift he received this year. He spent a day with the abandoned and orphaned kids of Boys Town in Marikina City on March 8, and the touching stories of these children made him commit to this advocacy.

“I’ve been meaning to see my own kids, but they are currently in Cebu so I really have to plan when to visit. In the meantime, I’m glad to have met these children, kasi parang nakalaro ko na rin ang mga anak ko,” the Kapuso star shared.

Meanwhile, the students of Wawa National High School in Rodriguez, Rizal welcomed Meant To Be starrer Sef Cadayona with screams as he entered their campus last March 14. The

students claimed to be avid fans of his primetime show and he expressed his gratitude for the support they’ve been getting from the viewers.

As annual practice, he celebrated his birthday by giving back, and this year he donated electric fans to the school. These Kapuso stars en-

joy the fulfilment of giving back and they hope that their followers see them as a good example in inspiring compassion for many people.

EDGEDAVAO PARTNER ESTABLISHMENTS Serving a seamless society

VOL. 10 ISSUE 14 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 21 - 22, 2017

ARTS AND CULTURE THEKATCLOSET A1

mer, age-old question, the answer is clear that cubism is actually not just another facet of abstract art, but directly influenced it in the 20th century. In Analytic Cubism, portions of the same subject is dissected and reassembled again to symbolically show a more three-dimensional space or illu-

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sion for a more attentiongrabbing painting.

“Being a painter, I use my hand and mind to create new things and discover concepts that reflect my artistic personality.

As a cubist, my painting is literally a relation of all sides and corners of my subject that I piece together to try and replicate its wholeness in real life,” Donn says.

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The artist’s colors are mostly glowing and joyful just like the subject and events he is drawing vision from—and just like real-life Filipino fiestas and celebrations, his works seem to have a feeling of disarray of hues and elements but at the same time it is light and wellorganized on the eyes that

counter intuitively give out an impression of jubilant calmness.

What is most interesting in the cubism technique is its attempt in breaking past rules of space and time to give a fuller and detailed explanation of the subject and I think everyone who truly appreciates cubism have a deeper

understanding and relation of it with life itself— it’s about seeing the same things or situations in different perspectives and piecing together minute parts of our lives that we deem we learned something good from, and then piecing it all together to form a better and more fascinating human being.

Panacan well to serve some Cabantian WSS areas

A

S part of Davao City Water District’s continued efforts to improve the Cabantian Water Supply System (WSS) situation, it will source water from its Panacan WSS to accommodate 850 service connections in D’Leonor Inland Resort, Green Valley, Illumina, Aspen Heights, Doña Trinidad, Blue Diamond, Catitipan Homeowners Assn., and Puroks 5 and 6 in

Brgy. Communal.

DCWD has started the pipelaying works from Panacan Production Well No. 1 to Purok 6 in Brgy. Communal and anticipates the completion of said project by the end of May 2017.

The DCWD management assures that the water supply is fairly distributed among the service connections dispelling earlier concerns that some commercial

establishments are getting more share of water.

In addition, the DCWD management ensures that areas served by Panacan WSS will not be compromised as another water source, the Panacan Production Well No. 2 expected to generate 4,900 cu.m. of water per day, is targeted to be completed by the end of May 2017. (Winston Ajero)

Panacan well to serve some Cabantian WSS areas. DCWD has started the pipelaying from its Panacan Production Well No. 1 to Purok 6 in Brgy. Communal.

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COMMUNITY SENSE 11 EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 10 ISSUE 14 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 21 - 22, 2017

ACQ int’l children day is all set for April 25th

3 big... FROM 4

project name specifies the areas that will be served first: “Mindanao Railway: Tagum-Davao City-Digos (TDD) Segment.”

Tagum City is in Davao del Norte, Digos City is in Davao del Sur and Davao City is the home of President Rodrigo Duterte, the first Mindanawon to lead the nation. Duterte served as city mayor for 22 years, first district representative for three years and vice mayor for four and a half years (18 months as OIC vice mayor).

The Mindanao Railway project will begin with the first segment, TDD for Tagum City in Davao del Norte, Davao City and Digos in Davao del Sur. Courtesy of www.build. gov.ph The project is described in the Build portal as “a 105-kilometer segment of the larger 830-kilometer Mindanao Railway network.”

The network is envisioned to connect major cities, seaports, economic zones, “allowing for faster transportation of passengers and freight.

Two figures had earlier been reported on the length of the railway network: 1,500 kilometers and 2,000 kilometers.

The website said the TDD segment is expected to serve “over 100,000 passengers daily in its opening year.”

The project cost is estimated at PhP 31.54 billion.

The project development phase started on January 1, 2012 and will end on My 31 this year.

It said Schema Consult, Inc., Engineering and Development Corp of the Philippines, and Pacific Rim Innovation and Management Exponents, Inc. conducted the study as commissioned by the National Economic Development Authority.

The next phase of the project is procurement and the third is implementation. There is no mention yet when the procurement phase will start.

On the category of funding partner, the website says it will be from the General Appropriations Act although earlier reports said it could be a public-private partnership (PPP).

China had earlier signified interest in helping fund the Mindanao Railway and the Davao Airport projects.

S

The Mindanao Railway project has been promised by all administrations since Ferdinand Marcos, Sr.

Davao Airport The Davao Airport – Operations, Maintenance and Development Project seeks to develop the Francisco Bangoy International Airport, also known as the Davao International Airport, into a “world class domestic and international hub.”

The Davao airport is the third largest airport in the Philippines in passenger traffic and is one of 11 international airports in the country.

Expected to cost P40.57 billion and funded through PPP, the project involves “opening up of the operations and maintenance of the airport to topnotch operators, undertake immediate expansion of various facilities and undertake required capacity augmentation at the airport that may be required to cater to future demand.”

Once expanded, the current capacity of the Passenger Terminal Building of 3.20 million is expected to increase to 6.70M in 2025, 10.90M in 2035 and 17.90M in 2045.

Passenger traffic in the Davao airport was at 0.96 million in 2001.

The passenger terminal building was completed in late 2003. The old terminal building is now being used by the Mindanao Development Authority.

The airports’ Project Development phase started on January 1, 2012 and ended on March 1, 2014. Its Procurement phase began on December 1, 2016 and will end by December 1, 2018 while the Implementation phase will start on December 1, 2018 until December 1, 2021

Laguindingan airport The Laguindingan Airport – Operations, Maintenance and Development Project is estimated to cost PhP14.6B through PPP. The project involves development, operations and maintenance of the existing Laguindingan Airport facilities and expansion or construction of new passenger terminals, along with all associated infrastructures, facilities and equipment.

ONSHINE Land, another name for the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KJC) compound in Davao City, is now ready for the biggest children’s birthday part in the country, the ACQ International Children’s Day (ACQ-ICD).

Running for the 12th year now, the big day is on April 25, which falls on the natal day of international evangelist, KJC Executive Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy.

The ACQ-ICD, which will be a whole-day event dedicat-

ed to the millions of poor children, will feature Disney Princesses, famous cartoon characters, colorful and huge parade floats, the largest dance mob, free amusement rides, free unlimited food for children and adults, drinks and toys and surprises for kids.

The celebration will involve the Children’s Joy Foundation, Inc,. an institution founded by Pastor Quiboloy, to serve the interest and welfare of the country’s indigent children.

This is part of the realization of Pastor Quiboloy”s “covenant that when the Almighty Father blessed him, bulk of his humanitarian work will help uplift the suffering children in the country,” saying that “once a child is shown and experienced goodness, that goodness will stay in him forever.”

The grand celebration’s main character is Apollo, The Serpent Slayer. In the latest storybook of Pastor Apollo’s life. This storybook aims to help children (and adults) un-

derstand his calling. Etched with illustrations, the book recalls the story in the Garden of Eden, explains the significance of Cross in Calvary, and now the relevance of Pastor Quiboloy’s training as he was isolated in the mountain for years.

The most awaited event is also the Children’s Joy Foundation, Inc.’s “token of love to the thousands who benefited from CIJI’s scholarship, residential care, home and countless other projects.” AMA

Agravante, TSSD Chief Paul V. Cruz and the DOLE Davao del Norte Field Office chief Erlinda G. Mamitag .

Comval Provincial Jail is currentlysituated temporarily at the Davao del Norte Provincial Government Center - Tagum City. The facilityhouses 622 inmates/detainees wherein38 of them are political prisoners.

The DOLE visiting team

was welcomed by Jail Warden Jose Melvin Coquillaand some jail officers and staff. A short program was prepared wherein UsecMaglungsod gave a short message in front of the inmates highlighting possible livelihood intervention to be implemented for detainees and their dependents.

Before the jail visit, the team paid a courtesy callon Davao del Norte Provincial

Gov. Anthony G. Del Rosario who was represented by Provincial Administrator Samson J. Sanchez.

Also accompanying during the visit are Ms. Gloria Excel S. Pamugas, Regional PESO League President, Mr. Miles A. Atugan, Comval Senior Labor Officer and the livelihood focals of DOLE Comval and Davao del Norte. LymRelampagosOngoy/DOLE11-DNFO

DOLE officials visit ComVal detainees T

AGUM CITY – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Undersecretary Joel B. Maglungsodvisited the some 600 inmates and detainees of Compostela Valley Provincial Rehabilitation Center located in Mankilam, this city on April 11.

UsecMaglanugsod was accompanied by DOLE11 Regional Director Raymundo G.

DOLE Undersecretary Joel B. Maglungsod gives a message before the inmates. (LRO/DOLEXI-DNFO)

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hay program, a non-cash livelihood assistance with the aim to provide immediate relief to returning OFWs member; and PhP63.4 billion for the skills and livelihood training of the returning OFWs. “We see the importance of this program because our country is now experiencing shortage of skilled workers due to migration,” said the OWWA official.

OWWA-XI Regional Director Ed Bellido disclosed that under the OFW Reintegration Program in partnership with Land Bank of the Philippines, out of the PhP2 billion grant, PhP19M has been allocated for the region which will fund 53 projects.

“As of March 2017, we

It also seeks enhancement/development, operations and maintenance of landside facilities (new and existing terminals) and air-

Jail Warden Jose Melvin Coquilla warmly welcomes the DOLE visiting team together with some of his jail officers and staff. (LRO/DOLEXI-DNFO)

already have organized 182 OFW Family Circles (OFC) with 5600 members including family members,” he said.

He added, on the PhP15M grant from DOLE’s Integrated Livelihood and Emergency Program, 37 community enterprises have been established.

With these figures, Ricardo R. Casco, National Programme Officer of IOM Philippines, a United Nations agency that recently tied up with DOLE to enhance the reintegration program, expressed his hopes that more success stories and integration advocacies will be reported by stakeholders from mass media to further support the aim of President Duterte to lure OFWs to come home to the Philippines.

side facilities (including apron, runway and taxiway).

Air traffic control and air navigation services are not included in the project scope.

Duterte... FROM 5 the people of the Philippines but the entire Asian region.

He said since President Duterte visited Beijing last year, over 1,000 Chinese tourist groups have visited the Philippines and China has imported over 2,000 tons of tropical fruits from the country.

President Duterte’s attendance in the Belt & Road Forum is expected to improve further the Philippines and China’s bilateral trade which remains stable after volume trade reached USD 47.2 billion or a 3.3 percent increase from previous year.

Wang has announced that 28 heads of state and government including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip The Build website said the project “aims to decongest the airport which is currently operating beyond its capacity, enhance operating efficiency,

Erdogan will participate in the forum.

He said over 80 leaders of international organizations, 100 ministerial-level officials, as well as 1,200 delegates from various countries and regions will also attend the Belt and Road’s highest level of international forum.

Other government leaders who confirmed attendance include Presidents Doris Leuthard of Switzerland, Mauricio Macri of Argentina, Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, Michelle Bachelet of Chile, Milos Zeman of Czech, Nursultan Nazarbeyev of Kazakhstan, Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya, Recep Tayyif Erdogan of Turkey, and Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekstan. (PNA) safety and security, improve customer amenities and expand the networking and marketing of the airport.” (Carolyn O. Arguillas / MindaNews)

12 ENVIRONMENT EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 10 ISSUE 14 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 21 - 22, 2017

All-out war against land degradation

land farming system of the Ifugao consists of the payoh (rice fields), the muyong (forest) and the uma (swidden lands). These components interact with each other, with Ifugao culture and with landscapes and ecosystems at lower elevations.

“Over the years, most attention has focused on the rice terraces themselves,” Serrano pointed out. “It is only recently that outsiders have come to recognize and appreciate the critical roles of the muyongs in sustaining the land-use system of the Ifugao, and their lives and culture. Muyongs are an essential part of the agroforestry system in the steep mountainous region – protecting lower farmlands from runoff and erosion.”

TEXT AND PHOTOS BY HENRYLITO D. TACIO “Land is the foundation for all life-sustaining processes on the planet. It provides us with food and water. It helps us manage environmental risks such as floods and drought. It supports natural processes such as soil formation and nutrient cycling.

And it offers opportunities for social and cultural activities. In economic terms, land benefits billions of people, including a large proportion that depends entirely on farming and forest products for their livelihood. For all these reasons, it’s imperative to maintain sustained and productive use of land.” – Global Environment Facility

I

N the early 1970s, American missionary Harold Ray Watson – then the director of the Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center (MBRLC) – received several complaints of low and declining farm income from upland farmers in barangay Kinuskusan of Bansalan, Davao del Sur. Watson recalled that in one area, corn production had dropped from 3.5 tons per hectare to about only half a ton per hectare in a span of ten years.

Other crop yields had

also

dropped 60%-80% during the same period.

An agriculturist by profession, Watson did his own investigation of the situation in the area.

He came to conclusion that the main culprit for these low yields

was the depletion of soil and nutrients through erosion.

“Soil erosion is an enemy to any nation – far worse than any outside enemy coming into a country a conquering it because it is an enemy you cannot see vividly,” said Watson, who received the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1985 for international understanding. “It’s a slow creeping enemy that soon possesses the land.”

Soil erosion is one form of land degradation, considered to be a continuing serious problem in the Philippines. “Land degradation includes any form of land deterioration that affects the integrity of the ecosystem and encompasses both a reduction of land productivity and of its native biological richness and maintenance of resilience,” Dr. Zenaida M. Sumalde, a professor of economics at the University of the Philippines at Los Baños (UPLB).

As form of land degradation, soil erosion is the sternest, according to Dieldre S. Harder, a researcher with the Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA). “(Soil erosion) affects 63% to 76% of the country’s total land area, particularly in the upland regions,” she pointed out.

Upland areas In the Philippine context, the uplands are rolling to steep

lands, with slopes ranging upward from 18%.

About 60% of the country’s total land area of 30 million hectares are classified as uplands.

“Around 74% of sloping upland area is cultivated for subsistence farming, which has implications on food security,” wrote Harder in her policy report which was part of the cross-country re-

search project, “Sustainable Land Management: Adoption and Implementation Constraints.”

In terms of severity, 5.2 million hectares and 8.5 million hectares of the country’s total arable lands are severely eroded and moderately eroded, respectively, according to the report.

In 1989, the World Bank estimated the annual value of on-site fertility losses due to unsustainable upland agriculture in the country to be around US$100 million – that equal to one percent of Philippine gross domestic product per year.

Most of the uplands teemed with forests in the past. By 1969, only 10.4 million hectares of forests were left. This figure further decreased to about 7.5 million hectares in 1980. At the end of 1990, only 6.64 million hectares remain.

Most of those who live in the uplands belong to the “poorest of the poor.” A study commissioned by the National Research Council reported: “The inhabitants are primarily farming families in dire poverty and insecurity. Subsistence food production, rather than forestry, is their overriding priority.”

Food insecurity Soil erosion threatens food production. “We are hardly aware of this enormous loss which is progressively eroding away our most fertile soil and thus our ability to produce food for an expanding population,” the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) noted in a pastoral letter more than two decades ago.

Studies have shown that loss of a few centimeters of topsoil can reduce the productivity of good soils by 40% and poor soils by 60%. “No other soil phenomenon is more destructive worldwide than soil erosion,” wrote Nyle C. Brady in his book, The Nature and Properties of Soil.

Soil erosion does not only affect those in the lowlands but even the coastal ecosystem.

“During rains, runoff carries eroded soil down to the rivers that deposit it in the sea. This siltation smothers reefs and kills or drives away to inhospitable areas

the fishes that feed and shelter among the corals,” explains the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), a line agency of the Department of Agriculture.

The Philippines has about 27,000 square kilometers of coral reefs. They produce about four times more fish per unit area compared to the coastal trawl fisheries. Unfortunately, most of them are on the verge of extinction.

Lester R. Brown and Edward C. Wolf, authors of Soil Erosion: Quiet Crisis in the World Economy, said the immediate effects of soil erosion may be economic but in the long run, its ultimate effects are social.

“When soils are depleted and crops are poorly nourished, people are often undernourished as well,” the two authors wrote.

“Failure to respond to the erosion threat will lead not only to the degradation of land, but to the degradation of life itself.”

Chemical use In lowland agriculture, degradation due to chemical use is a serious environment concern.

Since the Green Revolution in the mid-1960s, intensive crop cultivation has resulted to increasing nutrient deficiency leading to a decline in fertilizer use efficiency over time. “Intensification of agricultural land use without compensating investments in soil structure and fertility can lead to land degradation,” Harder wrote.

Chemical fertilizers are very popular among Filipino farmers because they increase crop yields.

But agricultural savants claim that continued use of these chemicals causes organisms present in the soil to die. Without soil organisms, chemically saturated land will eventually lose its capacity to nourish healthy and fruitful crops, until finally the soil “dies.”

“We are facing not merely a vexing problem,” Watson said.

“We are facing certain destruction and even death if we continue to destroy the natural resources that support life on earth.”

Sustainable land management Recognizing the threat of land degradation to food security,

the government launched several sustainable land management (SLM) practices. These include the promotion of organic farming that was supported by the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010, the adoption of agroforestry or treebased farming techniques popularized by the World Agroforestry Center, and contour farming that includes the Sloping Agricultural Land Technology (SALT) developed by Watson and his Filipino counterparts.

“SALT establishes a stable ecosystem,” reports Roy C. Alimoane, the current director. “The double hedgerows of leguminous trees and shrubs between land strips prevent soil erosion and maintain water flows.”

When a hedge is 1.5 to two meters tall, it is cut back to a height of 40 centimeters and the cuttings are placed in the strips between the alleys to serve as organic fertilizer (green manure).

“The hedgerows provide permanent vegetative cover which help conserve water and soil. Likewise, they improve soil and air temperature to levels which favor growth of different agricultural crops,” Alimoane says.

A study conducted at the MBRLC showed that a farm tilled by a traditional farmer has an erosion rate of 1,162.4 metric tons per hectare per year over six years, whereas a SALT farm has an erosion rate of only 20.2 metric tons per hectare per year during the same period.

Agroforestry As a land-use system, agroforestry has been practiced in the Philippines since time immemorial. It combines the planting of perennials such as forest trees and/or horticultural crops (fruit trees, coffee, cacao, and coconut, among others) in addition to cash crops (rice, corn, root crops, etc.).

The Ifugao rice terraces provide a clear example of it. Dr. Rogelio C. Serrano, who has studied the Ifugao for a number of years, refers to their farming system as “… an ancient spatial version of the new science of agroforestry.”

Seen from a wider perspective, the totality of the up-

Organic farming One of the banner programs of the Department of Agriculture, organic agriculture is “an agricultural production system that avoid or largely excludes the use of synthetically compounded fertilizers, growth regulators, pesticides, livestock feed additives, and genetically modified organisms and products.”

Located right at the back of a mall in the heart of Victorias City, the Peñalosa Farm is one of the top agri-tourism destinations in Negros Occidental. “We can address the problem of poverty by teaching people about farming,” said Ramon Dayrit Peñalosa, Jr., the owner of the farm.

“Mr. Organic,” the moniker Peñalosa earned for venturing into organic farming and stuck to it like a glue, really never thought of becoming an agripreneur.

When his former business, bus transport system, closed down, he was left with a property that was used before as garage and repair area for vehicles.

“We had to think of something that would make our property into something productive,” recalled organic guru and pillar of organic farming in Negros Island and Western Visayas. “So, we tried something far off from bus lines.”

In the beginning, he planted kangkong in the property, particularly near the water-logged areas. Later on, the whole area was swamped with kangkong.

He decided to raise pigs, which he found out to be viable. He added more pigs and before he knew it, he was already raising 40 pigs all in all. He thought of raising tilapia, ducks and chickens. He planted fruit trees and vegetable crops.

From a swamp area where mechanics dumped trash to a place teeming with vegetable crops, fruit trees, herbs, ornamentals, livestock, fish and poultry today, the Peñalosa Farm has gone a long, long way indeed.

Constraints But despite the many policies the government has done and the availability of technologies to combat land degradation, implementation of various SLM seems not to be moving forward. What must be the reasons?

So, a study was conducted by the EEPSEA in cooperation with the Economics of Land Degradation (ELD) Initiative in the Philippines along with three other countries: Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. The aim was to evaluate past and on-going SLM projects in these countries and how can these be widely adopted to support.

The study in the Philippines showed several constraints (policy, legal, technical, social, economic and institutional) on why Filipino farmers are not adopting the projects that promote soil and

FALL-OUT, 13

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All-out... FROM 12 water conservation measures.

According to the study, the country has several relevant policies that can address the land degradation issues. But these are not fully implemented “due to weak enforcement” as well as there are overlapping and consistent provisions of some policies which result “in conflicting decisions and actions.”

Farmers, who are the direct beneficiaries of the projects, have some complains themselves.

Take the case of organic agriculture. While most farmers are aware of the health benefits of this practice, they complain of decrease in yield during the conversion from inorganic to organic practices. They also find the production of organic fertilizers and concoctions to be laborious.

Money-wise, organic farming is not profitable. “It’s a labor-intensive undertaking and the monetary return is not that attractive as only a few people are healthy food conscious,” comments Edelito Sangco, the municipal agriculturist of Socorro, Surigao del Norte. “If you sell in market stalls those organically-produced vegetables along with those grown inorganically, the prices are the same.”

Part of RA 10068 is a stumbling block in itself. Section 17 specifically declares that “only third-party certification is allowed (for agricultural produce) to be labeled as organically produced.” Farmers find this as a limiting factor to organic agriculture adoption.

In addition, the cost of certification is another limiting factor. It ranges from P42,000 to P150,000 “depending on the number of scopes being certified” and “if certification is for an individual

farmer or for a group of farmers.”

In contour farming, labor is also an issue. The hedgerows need to be trimmed regularly in order for them not to shade the crops planted along the alleys. Studies have shown the trimming requires more than 30 person-days per year. Another reason: reduction of 20% to 30% of the farm area as these are occupied by hedgerows.

Low availability of planting materials for contour hedgerows also limit adoption. Not to mention are the pests and diseases which vegetative contour barriers have been observed to host.

As for agroforestry, adoption constraints include credit sourcing from traders and/or middlemen and profitability of annual cash crops. “Filipino Farmers these days want quick-fix or quick outputs,” says Janoz Laquihon, an agriculturist who shares some farming techniques through his radio program called “Balik Kita Sa Uma” (Back to the Farm).

“They don’t care about climate smart agriculture.”

Recommendations The EEPSEA study provided some recommendations on how those constraints can be addressed. In “Review of policies and programs: Reforms needed for the stronger implementation of sustainable land management,” written by Samuel M. Contreras and Florentino O. Tesoro, the recommendations have been laid out.

For one, it suggested that a unified land use law be made.

It must “address the complexities of problems on land use and land-related issues.” Once realized, “this will provide the strong foundation for the effective imple-

mentation of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) of municipalities and cities.”

Another suggestion: strengthen SLM within the framework of existing laws. While waiting for the enactment of a strong land use policy law, “the Department of Interior and Local Government should monitor the integration of SLM provisions in the municipal CLUP as well as implementation of SLM projects.”

Establishment of more SLM technology demonstration farms is another doable suggestion.

These technologies should be specific natural and human environments (that is, land use, nature of degradation being addressed, rainfall pattern, soils, land forms, tenure status and land holding.

More importantly, forest boundary must be delineated.

“To reduce land conflicts and conflicting land uses as well as encroachment and illegal occupancy of forestlands, a law defining the final forestland limits should be enacted,” Contreras and Tesoro suggested.

The Bible says, “For sin pays its wage… death” (Romans 6:23). “When man sins against the earth, the wage of that sin is death or destruction,” Watson explained. “This seems to be a universal law of God and relates to all of God’s creation.

“We face the reality of what man’s sins against the earth have caused,” Watson further added. “We see land degradation expressing itself in destruction of forests, loss of topsoil, pollution of streams and even the air we breathe. We are facing not a mere problem; we are facing destruction and even death if we continue to destroy the natural resources that support life on our planet.”

14 EDGEDAVAO Sports

VOL. 10 ISSUE 14 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 21 - 22, 2017

MINDANAO PRIDE Mindanaoan Pinoy champ Tapales ready to defend title in Japan

W

BO world bantamweight champion and Mindanao pride Marlon ‘The Maranding Nightmare’ Tapales faced the local media in a public workout at the Green Tsuda Boxing Gym located at Shinfukae here Wednesday afternoon ahead of his title defense against Shohei Omori this Sunday, April 30, at the 8,000-capacity Edion Arena in Osaka, Japan.

Tapales, from Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte, answered pointed questions from the Japanese media including representatives from the Yumuri Shimbum and Kyodo News Agency. After answering questions, Tapales went on to do rounds on the punching bag, skipped ropes and did the mitts with trainer Fernando Ocon.

EXPLOSIVE. Russel Westbrook fired 51 points but that wasn’t enough to lift the OKC Thunder who dropped 0-2 to the Rockets

Tapales told the local media that he expects a much improved Omori whom he knocked out in the 2nd round during their first meeting on Dec. 16, 2015 which allowed Tapales to face and dethrone then Thai world champion Pungluang Sor Singyu on July 29, 2016 in Thailand.

“Omori may want to get my title but I’m also determined to keep it,” Tapales told one reporter.

Asked whether his long layoff would affect his performance, Tapales said, “Before I fought Omori in 2015 I also had a long layoff and I knocked him out. It won’t affect me this time also.”

The local media here sees the Tapales-Omori fight as a big event and expects a crowd of 5,000 to 8,000 who will troop to Edion Arena this Sunday.

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Rockets overcome Westbrook’s 51

AMES Harden s c o re d 35 points and the Houston Rockets overcame 51 points from Russell Westbrook in the highest-scoring triple-double in playoff history, beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 115111 on Wednesday night to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round Western Conference playoff series.

Westbrook set a franchise playoff scoring record and added 13 assists and 10 rebounds. It was the sixth career playoff triple-double for Westbrook, who had an NBA-re-

J

READY FOR DEFENSE. Marlon Tapales faced the media during an open workout in Osaka, Japan.

cord 42 in the regular season.

But he shot just 4 for 18 in the fourth quarter as the Rockets clawed back from a double-digit deficit to surge ahead before holding on.

Game 3 is Friday night in Oklahoma City. he game was tied before Houston scored 10 straight points with 3-pointers from Harden, Patrick Beverley and Eric Gordon to make it 114-104 with 1:22 remaining.

Westbrook had four straight points to start a 7-1 run after that, but the Thunder wouldn’t get any closer.

This was a much different game than the series opener, when Houston routed the Thunder 118-87. On Wednesday night, Houston trailed

by as many as 15 and didn’t take a lead until the fourth quarter.

The Rockets benefited from a balanced scoring attack, with Lou Williams adding 21, Gordon scoring 22 off the bench and Game 1 star Beverley chipping in 15.

The Rockets used a big run early in the fourth quarter to go on top for the first time in the game with about eight minutes remaining.

Harden’s 3 about three minutes latermade it 104-100.

Andre Roberson added a tip-in layup for the Thunder before two free throws by Westbrook tied it at 104-all with about 3 minutes left.

The Thunder led by three entering the fourth quarter and scored the first five points of the period,

highlighted by a 3-pointer from Doug McDermott, to make it 94-86.

Oklahoma City went more than three minutes without scoring to allow Houston to take the lead. The Thunder had missed seven straight shots when Westbrook got them back on track with a layup with about eight minutes left.

The Thunder led by seven with about nine minutes left in the third quarter before Westbrook made four quick points to extend the lead to 79-68. Houston scored the next six points, but Oklahoma City answered with seven points in a row after that, with five from Westbrook, to extend the lead to 8674 with about 3 minutes left in the quarter.

said.

The backup big man made all seven of his field-goal attempts and delivered several more of his signature alley-oop dunks as Durant watched with a strained left calf he hurt in the playoff opener Sunday. ‘’Sometimes we get caught up in looking for him too much when he’s not open because we feel he can do something spectacular above the rim,’’ Stephen Curry said.

Draymond Green put together another fantastic all-around game, getting 12 rebounds, 10 assists,

six points and three more blocked shots after swatting five in Sunday’s win.

Curry went 6 for 18 for 19 points and also had six assists and six rebounds. Klay Thompson was 6 of 17 with 16 points and CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard were hardly were the dynamic scoring duo for Portland they’d been combining for 75 points only three days earlier.

Again, Golden State did it on defense - holding the Blazers to 12 points in the third.

Warriors win without Durant

AVALE McGee has made a name for himself catching lob passes and reliably slamming them home to the pure delight of his teammates, and oh did those matter for the short-handed Golden State Warriors a s they moved one win closer to another NBA championship.

The typically spot-on Splash

Brothers weren’t hitting consistently. Kevin Durant wasn’t on the court at all, nor Shaun Livingston.

McGee shined on a night none of the usual stars found their steady shooting strokes and sparked Golden State off the bench with 15 points, and the Warriors beat the Portland Trail Blazers 110-81 in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series Wednesday night as Durant sat out injured. ‘’That’s my whole thing, I just try to be efficient out there,’’ McGee

VOL. 10 ISSUE 14 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 21 - 22, 2017

EDGEDAVAO

SPORTS 15

Nietes fight officials named Donnie Nietes

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LA Promotions’ Pinoy Pride 40: Domination, which features the world flyweight championship of between longest-reigning Filipino Donnie “Ahas” Nietes and IBF ranked #4 Komgrich Nantapech, announces the bout’s officials assigned by the IBF. Referee Gerard White from Detroit, USA will join judges Gregorio Ortega (Phils.), Somsak Sirianant (Thailand), and Katsuhiko Nakamura from Japan.

Filipino Fritz Gaston will be flying to Cebu to supervise the fight on April 29 at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel

and Casino.

Featured in the co-main bouts are two of Philippines’ most promising fighters: WBO International Featherweight champion Mark “Magnifico” Magsayo and knockout artist Jeo “Santino” Santisima. Magsayo takes on Tanzanian veteran Issa Nampepeche while Santisima fights hard-hitting Master Suro from Indonesia.

Completing the card are some of the county’s young prospects: Virgil “Valiente” Vitor from Tagbilaran, Bohol, Cebuano amateur sensation Junrel Jimenez, Kenneth Gen-

tallan from Tagbilaran, Bohol, Sultan Kudarat native Esneth Domingo, and Christian Bacolod from Cebu City.

Tickets are available at the venue from Mondays through Sundays, selected RD Pawnshops, ALA Fitness Gyms Parkmall, BTC, and Paseo, and the ALA Promotions Talamban Office. Ticket prices start at PHP 5, 000.00, Php 4, 000.00, Php 3, 000.00, Php 2, 000.00 to Php 1, 000.00 for VIP’s 1st-5th row. Gold seats are priced at Php 700.00, while Ballroom and Balcony tickets are sold at Php 500.00 and Php 300.00 respectively.

saw its 4-0 start snapped.

On the other hand, Phoenix saw a 17-point lead vanish and lost in the end to Rain Or Shine four nights later.

Calvin Abueva, however, is questionable for Friday as he suffered a busted lip during Gilas practice at the Kerry’s Sports Gym in Taguig and was not present during the succeeding training nights back at the Meralco Gym in Pasig and even at the

Aces’ practice at the nearby Gatorade Hoops Center in Mandaluyong.

In the nightcap at 7 p.m., GlobalPort looks to build a winning run as it goes up against TNT. With Terrence Romeo slowly regaining his form following a typhoid fever, the Batang Pier will try to establish a winning streak as they battle the KaTropa, who have won four straight. (PNA)

Alaska takes on Phoenix

Cavs’Smith to miss Game 3 E

VEN after practice ended, J.R. Smith didn’t stop.

He jogged, sprinted and did everything possible to test his sore left hamstring. The Cavaliers starting guard spent the entire second half of Game 2 on the bench and doesn’t want to be there again if he can help it. ‘’I don’t like sitting out,’’ he said Wednesday. ‘’Sat out enough.’’

Smith is listed as questionable for Game 3 on Thursday night at Indianapolis as the Cavaliers look to take a 3-0 lead over the Indiana Pacers.

Smith, who hurt his leg at some point in the first half of Game 2, said he’ll ‘’absolutely’’ be ready for Game 3. However, the Cavs aren’t willing to go that far just yet and will likely wait until game time before clearing him. Smith said an MRI ‘’came back fine’’ and that treatment should help him heal.

If Smith can’t play, Iman Shumpert, who came off the bench to replace him Monday night and gave Cleveland

F

OR the last 35 years, Steve Sur Grandeza has been training in the Philippines and abroad to keep on learning from other martial artists and competing in various tournaments.

Time just flies so fast and I did not notice, 35 years has also passed.

He has been training since he was five years old and has been very busy lately with training new students at the

a lift, likely will start. Shumpert stepped up after being benched in the series opener, a demotion that seemed inevitable after his late-season struggles and coach Tyronn Lue’s tightening of his rotation in the postseason.

Smith and Shumpert have swapped roles before. When Smith missed 36 games following thumb surgery, Shumpert filled in for the defending champs.

Shumpert limited Indiana star Paul George to just four points in the third quarter Monday when the Cavs built a 19-point lead. He also dropped a 3-pointer and gave Cleveland energy. ‘’He came in, played great defense, forced a couple turnovers, hit two big shots for us,’’ Smith said. ‘’He stayed professional during the whole process, which is all you can ask because that’s a tough task to grasp. Starting at one point during the season when I was hurt and playing well, then not playing Game 1 and then not

playing the first half and still able to go out there and perform, you’ve got to take your hat off to him.’’

Lue has confidence that Shumpert, who made 31 starts during the regular season, will deliver if called upon again. ‘’It’s been our mentality all year - next man up - and Shump has been playing all year,’’ he said. ‘’Just one game he didn’t play, so in a big game like the other night he was ready to play and ready to go in a big playoff game.’’

As for Smith, the hamstring injury is just a blip in what has been a personally challenging season.

In January, Smith’s wife, Jewel, gave birth to their daughter five months prematurely. The baby remains in the hospital, but earlier this week Smith got to give her a bottle for the first time. ‘’She’s doing good,’’ he said. ‘’We can’t complain. ... We just have to take it day by day and hopefully one day soon she’ll come home.’’

A

FTER almost two weeks, Alaska will return to action in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup as the club takes on Phoenix at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday, April 21.

The Aces will battle the Fuel Masters in the 4:15 p.m. game with both teams trying to bounce back from painful defeats.

Alaska fell prey to Meralco on April 8 that eventually

TIGHT GUARDING. LA Tenorio of Ginebra goes one on one with Kevon Alas of NLEX during thePBA Commissioners Cup match on Wednesday, April 19, between Ginebra and NLEX at thew Cuneta Astrodome.

Learn from our own master Steve Grandeza

Red Knights Gym along Mt.Apo Street.

In some months, master Steve conducts one-on-one training and coaching to young adults and professionals including Ms. Earth Philippines Eco Tourism’s Charinna Gamaya Barro.

You see, the Grandeza Martial Arts or Gan Soo Do has come a long, long way starting from his grandfather, the legendary founder Chingi

CLEAN SLATE

By MOSES P. BILLACURA

Grandeza in Bacolod City. Master Chingi has started the practice in the 1950s and competed

locally and abroad until grandmaster Hwang Kee, founder of Moo Duk Kwan in Korea, took notice. Then came the birth of the Philippine Moo Duk Kwan Tang Soo Do, which he started for the Grandeza clan.

Yet, master Chingi has continued to practice Gan Soo Do simply because it is his brand of martial arts.

Hi grandson master Steve grew up on its principles and philoso-

phies and he himself has tried all forms of martial arts and tested its knowledge and skills in competitions.

Probably unknown to many, master Steve fought and won the World Kickboxing Federation (WKBF) International World Welterweight title in Dubai and has tested his newly-learned skills in the MMA and PXC events in the country.

Each day is a learn-

ing process for master Steve and students at the Red Knights gym is just so lucky to have one dynamic teacher of martial arts who can demonstrate the art form at its finest and tell them stories of its creation.

Would you like to learn from our own Bruce Lee? Call or text 09228092028 and look for master Steve or visit him at his Red Knights gym, just fronting the Cariaga Law Office.

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VOL. 10 ISSUE 14 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 21 - 22, 2017