Edge Davao 10 Issue 56, June 20, 2017

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VOL. 10 ISSUE 56 • TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2017

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Serving a seamless society

THINNING OUT. A worker of an establishment selling rice refills his display of NFA rice at Agdao Public Market in Davao City on Monday. The National Food Authority has announced that stocks at government-owned warehouses hit critical levels, with three days worth of supply left over the weekend. Lean Daval Jr.

DRUG MONEY P

Duterte says money from drugs sustained Maute build-up

RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday said the Marawi Crisis was not a case of failure of intelligence but a case of connivance of politicians and warlords who allowed the Maute Group to stockpile firearms and ammunition in Marawi City that “could match even the firepower of the Armed Forces (of the Philippines).”

Later, Duterte told reporters that politicians provided the Maute Group money to

buy these arms “but what fueled yung gyera talaga dito sa Marawi is the drug money of the Maute.”

As the Marawi Crisis entered Day 26 on Saturday, Duterte told reporters in Butuan City, that the Maute Group does not seem to run out of bullets (“walang kaubus-ubusan ang bala”), conceding that the government’s only advantage is its air assets “pero on the ground, they (Maute Group) do not run out of bullets.”

He did not name the politicians or warlords. But two former mayors were among those named in Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana’s Arrest Orders No. 1 and 2, one of them, Fajad Umpar Salic, arrested at a checkpoint in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental at around 7:30 p.m. on June 7.

Addressing soldiers of the 401st Brigade under the 4th Infantry Divisions’ advance command post in Bancasi, Butuan City, Duterte acknowledged that government “ad-

opted a very soft policy towards rebels” in view of the peace processes with the Moro National Liberation Front and Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Some of those bearing arms, he said, would claim they were from the MILF or MNLF and the standing order to government security forces was to talk with them to avoid trouble.

“We took it (issue on firearms) for granted” because

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EDGEDAVAO Sports

PADDLE POWER

Mati paddlers see action in Bugsayan Festival

2 NEWS EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 10 ISSUE 56 • TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2017

CURIOS. Elementary students check out the wreath offered by the city government of Davao on the monument of Dr. Jose Rizal during the commemoration of the National Hero’s 156th birth anniversary at Rizal Park in Davao City on Monday. Lean Daval Jr.

BI deports woman fraudster to China

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HE Bureau of Immigration has deported a 44year old Chinese woman, who is wanted for fraud by authorities in China.

According to BI Commissioner Jaime Morente, Fan Wenxin, was escorted by a representative from China’s Interpol bureau and two Chinese policemen on her Xiamen Airlines flight to Fuzhou, China last June 13.

The fugitive was apprehended last June 10 upon her arrival aboard a Malaysian Airlines flight from Singapore at the Mactan International Airport in Cebu.

The Chinese consulate in Cebu was informed about the arrest and immediately issued her a travel document so she

can be sent back to China to stand trial for her crime.

BI Port Operations Division Chief Marc Red Mariñas said that the Chinese woman was barred from entering the country and was issued an exclusion order for being an undesirable alien.

“She also failed to present an onward return ticket, which is required of all foreign tourists who visit the country,” the BI official said in a statement.

He added that the foreigner, who is a naturalized citizen of St. Kitts and Nevis, also reportedly presented a Vietnamese passport under the assumed name of Troung An Lan which she apparently used to conceal her real identity. (Ferdinand G. Patinio/PNA)

German found dead in Zamboanga home

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OLICE are conducting a thorough investigation to determine the cause of death of a German in the province of Zamboanga del Norte.

Chief Insp. Helen Galvez, Police Regional Office-9 information officer, on Monday identified the German as Harold Mol Ruphus, 60, a resident of Barangay Ubay, Polanco, Zamboanga del Norte.

Galvez said Ruphus was found dead by his brother-in-

law and neighbors around 2 p.m. Sunday in his residence.

She said before he was discovered dead, the victim’s brother-in-law wondered why Ruphus’ house was still closed and “it is unusual of him not to open it early.”

The brother-in-law informed their neighbors when he peeked through the window and saw Ruphus seated on a chair “with his mouth wide open.” (TPGJR/PNA)

RODY SAYS

‘What you see...’is my state of health

“M

Y state of health is what you see is what you get,” President Rodrigo Duterte told reporters in Butuan City late Saturday afternoon where he visited troops at the 401st Brigade, dismissing speculations he suffered a stroke.

The President had no public appearance from Monday to Friday, skipping what would have been his first ever Philippine Independence Day celebration as President last Monday, June 12. his right arm was paralyzed and that he had been vomiting.

But Duterte was in his usual combative mode on Saturday, visiting first Cabadbaran

City for the 50th foundation day of Agusan del Norte before proceeding to the advance command post in Bancasi.

He rendered snappy salutes and shook hands using his right hand and spoke before a huge crowd in Cabadbaran, addressed his troops in Bancasi and answered media’s queries, including those about his health.

“You want me to explain my absence?” Duterte asked, before answering he was “resting, actually.”

He then proceeded to play along, confusing reporters in Butuan whether or not he was joking about having gone out of town “for a visit somewhere else” in Mindanao that

he could not divulge because he went there incognito.

“Confidential but I said I travelled like a private citizen para lang maka-abot doon sa gusto kong puntahan. ‘Yun lang. (That’s all),” Duterte joked.

Before the June 17 visit to Cabadbaran, Duterte’s last public appearance was at the Villamor Air Base on June 11 to pay his respects to the Marines slain in Marawi City. He was back in Villamor late afternoon of June 15, for his flight to Davao City.

Apparently addressing critics who had wished him dead, Duterte narrated an imaginary visit to a funeral parlor at the wake of a friend’s

child where he told them to make the funeral arrangements while he asked to be left alone in the morgue, slept and woke up horrified to find he was in a capsule undergoing MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), much later realizing it was he who was mistakenly put inside the casket.

“Paggising ko, may salamin sa harap ko tapos naka-ganon si Roxas, tumatawa.

Sigaw ako ng sigaw. ‘Yan ang gusto ninyo?” (When I woke up, there was a glass in front of me and there was (Liberal Party Presidential canddiate Mar) Roxas looking down, laughing.

I screamed and screamed. Is that what you want?” he asked

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Foundation Inc. (MISFI) Academy accused soldiers and Alamara members of blocking and threatening their teachers and students they would be shot if they went back to their community.

MISFI Academy is located in Sitio Muling, Barangay Gupitan, Kapalong, Davao del

Norte and has around 100 students.

Balilid, Association of Community Educators vice chairperson said they reported the incident to the local government of Kapalong and to the Department of Education division office in Tagum City early this month but there has

been no response yet.

He called on President Rodrigo Duterte for help.

“We want President Duterte to go to the communities and negotiate with them just like he did before. We want negotiation to happen among the people, soldiers, and the

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Soldiers accused of preventing Kapalong school to hold classes

EACHERS and students of a school for Lumad in Davao del Norte have been prevented from holding classes since June 5 by soldiers and paramilitary men, one of the teachers said.

In a press conference Monday, Ricky Balilid, a teacher at Mindanao Interfaith Services

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NEWS 3

Duterte: Remain vigilant as gov’t restores public order in Mindanao

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RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte urged Filipinos to remain vigilant amid terror attacks in Mindanao.

“As fellow Mindanaoans, I ask for your continued vigilance as we express essential measure for the safety of our people and for the restoration of public order in communities affected by terrorism,” President Duterte said in his speech during the 50th founding anniversary of the Agusan del Norte province held at the University of Cabadbaran.

The President said the crisis in Marawi City is an ongoing battle of every citizen who wants prosperity and asked the public’s cooperation in the fight

against all forms of corruption and criminality.

“Do not allow other people, other tribes, with the foreign or radical extremists. Don’t let them enter... so that there won’t be any trouble. Assume a neutral stance,” President Duterte said.

He also said there must be “no fighting” among the tribes, saying: “we can all just live together peacefully, nobody’s fighting against you.Together, we will work relentlessly in overcoming these obstacles on our way to become a more inclusive and progressive society.”

Duterte also reminded the public to avoid terrorism and asked everyone to report any

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House ready to free 6 held Ilocos officials P250M worth of shabu,

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HE House committee on good government and public accountability will hold an emergency hearing on Tuesday, June 20, to give the six detained executives of Ilocos Norte one last chance to come clean and tell all on the alleged fraudulent use of P66.45 million in public funds representing the province’s share of excise tax collections from locally manufactured Virginia type cigarettes.

“We will set them free right away, once they decide to tell the truth about the anomaly. We are really hoping they will change their minds by Tuesday, both for their sake and for the sake of public interest,” Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel, committee chairman, said.

“They’ve actually refused to be served notices, so we may have to bodily carry them to the (third) hearing at

1:30pm on Tuesday,” Pimentel said.

Ilocos Norte treasurer Josephine Calajate, accountant Edna Batulayan, budget officer Evangeline Tabulog, bids and awards committee head Pedro Agcaoili as well as Genedine Jambaro and Encarnacion Gaor of the provincial treasurer’s office have been detained since May 29 at the House, after they were cited in contempt by Pimentel’s panel.

Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas said they would continue to hold the officials “until they stop their contemptuous act of giving evasive answers, tantamount to refusal to answer” questions about the money meant for the benefit of tobacco farmers, but misused as cash advances for the purchase of motor vehicles sans the benefit of competitive public biddings.

UNDERSCORING. Redcop Region 11 spokesperson Dr. Maria Teresa Bad-ang discusses ways to prevent kidney diseases while promoting National Kidney Month 2017 with Philippine Society of Nephrologists – Mindanao chapter president Dr. Jannette Ybiernas during Kapehan sa Dabaw at the Annex of SM

IMPRESSIVE WEAPONRY. National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon (center), Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Jesus Dureza (left) and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana inspect the recovered firearms from local terrorists in Marawi City over the weekend. PRESIDENTIAL PHOTOGRAPHERS

4 guns seized in Marawi

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ROOPS engaged in clearing Marawi City of the remaining Maute Group members recovered 11 kilograms of shabu, with an estimated street value of P110 million to P250 million, and four high-powered weapons early evening Sunday.

This was based on reports by 1st Infantry Division commander Brig. Gen. Rolando

Bautista forwarded by the military’s 4th Civil Relations Group Monday.

The illegal drugs and four high-powered weapons were recovered by troopers of the 49th Infantry Battalion led by 1st Lt. Emerson Tapang during clearing operations Sunday.

Soldiers spotted men in black emerging from a cluster of houses that prompted

troops to maneuver. The terrorists put up a fight but fled while carrying items taken from one of the houses.

The estimated street value of the seized high-grade shabu is between P110 million to P250 million.

It may be recalled that numerous sachets of shabu were recovered by troops in the fighting positions of the Maute

and Abu Sayyaf terror group since the first and second week of the Marawi siege.

Troops in the frontlines stated that they are facing drug crazed individuals in the ongoing battles.

Bautista also scored the terrorists for their continued use of mosques as battle positions and the use of illegal drugs. (PNA)

ror groups, clashes between government troops and the New People’s Army rebels continue, leaving two soldiers dead and six others wounded

in Davao Region on Sunday (June 18).

The Army’s 10th Infantry Division spokesperson Capt.

Rhyan Batchar said the sol-

diers were killed and wounded in an encounter between the 71st Infantry Battalion and more or less 35 NPA reb-

HE House of Representatives has set up a fund drive to help extend relief to the victims in Marawi City and a total of PP13 million has so far been raised by lawmakers.

House Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas bared on Monday that at least 200 lawmakers have donated to provide humanitarian assistance to the families affected by the Marawi siege through a fund-raising spearheaded by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.

Fariñas said the fundraising cropped up last May 28 to 31.

To recall, Alvarez urged his colleagues during his sine die

adjournment speech to generate funds for the recovery of the besieged Marawi and the money raised will be placed in a trust fund.

“We have to do our part in sharing the heavy burden of what happened in Marawi City.

To this end, may I inform you that the House of Representatives has taken the initiative to create a trust fund to aid in this mission,” Alvarez said.

Similarly, Deputy minority leader and Kabayan Partylist Rep. Harry Roque has proposed a PHP10-billion supplemental budget to fund the rehabilitation of Marawi City through the filing of House Bill No. 5874 or the Tindeg Marawi Bill. (Filane Mikee Cervantes/PNA)

2 soldiers, 6 others hurt in clashes with NPAs

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MID calls from the National Democratic Front and the government to stop offensives and focus attention to ter-

City Davao. The month-long celebration aims to spread awareness to reduce impact and frequency of kidney disease and its associated complications.

Lean Daval Jr.

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Solons raise P13M for Marawi victims T

4 ECONOMY EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 10 ISSUE 56 • TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2017

LGUs all out for tax reform BOI crafts program They said TRAIN will shift burden from poor to rich

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HE country’s association of local government accountants and an umbrella group of over 400 public sector labor unions have joined the growing number of organizations that have expressed their full support for the proposed Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act (TRAIN), which, they said, will put more money in people’s pockets while significantly improving revenue collections and shifting the tax burden from the poor to the rich.

According to the Philippine Association of Local Government Accountants, Inc. (PHALGA), tax reform will help realize President Duterte’s goal of “tunay na pagbabago” or real positive change” as “manifested by a comfortable life for all, improved public

services, more better jobs, and more money in people’s pockets towards a safe, healthy, and peaceful community.”

PHALGA president Arlene Rio Villar said in a statement the President’s goal of reducing poverty incidence to 14 percent in 2022 and transforming the country into a high middle-income economy by that time “needs an urgent response to shift the country’s growth from consumption to production, by heavily investing in improved social services, such as public health and education systems, and in better infrastructure to improve connectivity and raise productivity.”

These programs, said Villar, requires an additional funding of P1 trillion in the long term that can only be

raised by enacting the tax reform bill into law.

In a separate position paper, the Public Services Labor Independent Confederation (PSLINK), said TRAIN, the first package in the Duterte administration’s Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP), will increase the take home pay of government employees while “tax[ing] the rich [and] business professionals who have been beneficiaries of a faulty and porous tax system that allowed them to pay pittance amount of taxes.”

PSLINK comprises 403 public sector unions and sector federation from national government agencies, state universities and colleges, local government units, government owned and controlled corporations, barangay work-

ers and the Government Union for the Integration of Differently Abled Employees (GUIDE) in Metro Manila, Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.

This labor alliance also noted that TRAIN will “simplify [the] taxation system, and help eliminate [the] wide latitude of discretion and arbitrary decision making of tax administrators/revenue authority/ clever taxpayers/tax dodgers.”

TRAIN also has a “liberating and redistributive capacity to target, fund, and focus use of tax revenues to health, education, social services, housing, and social protection programs” and “review/ remove tax free, tax incentives and various exemptions that denied the government of col-

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to modernize PUVs

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HE Board of Investments is crafting a program to support the supply side of new jeepneys, as the government is pushing for public utility vehicle (PUV) modernization.

Trade Undersecretary and BOI Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo told reporters Sunday the program aims to encourage local manufacturers to produce eco-friendly jeeps by providing government support, in which fiscal incentive may be an option.

“The contribution of DTI would be to provide the manufacturing solution for the EcoPUV Program,” Rodolfo said.

“There is a big opportunity for local manufacturing and job generation,” he added noting that domestic players can supply the new jeeps and create new jobs instead of importing the vehicles for the modernization program.

The official noted that under the program, DTI will determine the standards for the new jeeps and the accredita-

tion process for the program’s participants.

He explained the need to standardize the new vehicles in order to establish economy of scale while ensuring that the program’s participants have access to technology.

Rodolfo said the program model will be the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) Program, however, the elements may not be the same.

Under the CARS Program, the government provides fixed incentive and variable incentive support to participating car makers which can produce 200,000 units over the six-year program period.

The government is allotting USD200 million per car maker. The CARS Program can accommodate up to three car manufacturers, but to date, only two car makers -- Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp.

(MMPC) and Toyota Motors Philippines (TMP) -- were approved by the DTI to participate in the program. (PNA)

Lawmaker wants paternity leave extended by 5 days

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STREET COME-ON. An elementary student and an office worker purchase sliced fresh fruits from a street vendor along R. Magsaysay Avenue in Davao City on Monday. Lean Daval Jr.

12 agencies to help create new ad for DOT campaign

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HE Department of Tourism on Monday said that at least 12 advertising agencies have expressed interest to create a new campaign advertisement for the department after it terminated its contract with McCann Worldgroup last week.

“Twelve have expressed interest,” DOT Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Frederick Alegre told the Philippine News Agency in a text message.

“We met some today. We are meeting stakeholders tomorrow and more agencies on Wednesday,” he added.

Alegre, however, said that he could not name the agencies that have expressed interest at the moment.

Last June 15, the DOT an-

nounced that it has decided to terminate its contract with McCann Worldgroup for producing an ad that had “glaring similarities” to a South African ad in 2014 which also featured a blind retiree.

The DOT also expected a public apology from the ad agency after the ad received backlash mostly in social media.

The department, meanwhile, reopened the procurement process for a new advertising agency to create new advertising campaign material.

“We will reopen the procurement process for the production of a new advertising material which will be consistent with the current slogan ‘It’s More Fun in the Philippines’,” Alegre said in an earlier

press conference.

Alegre said that the DOT would be partnering with a new agency that would provide material for them “one at a time”.

“We’re going to look at the agency that can create one material at a time, it will vary depending on the terms of reference. This time it’s not bulk,” Alegre said.

McCann Worldgroup, for its part, said that it respects the DOT’s decision to end their contract.

In a statement, McCann said that it regretted the decision of the DOT to discontinue their partnership but acknowledged that “it is in the best interest of all parties to discuss a sensible resolution to this matter.”

McCann also thanked the department for their short stint and wished them continued success.

Meanwhile, several reports showed the wife of the blind Japanese retiree -- whose life story inspired controversial ad story -- expressed surprise that the ad was accused of “copying” another ad.

Kukai Nye, the Filipino wife of Mr. Uchimura, claimed that what was shown in the ad actually happened in real life.

(Azer N. Parrocha/PNA) The Philippine News Agency is a web-based newswire service of the Philippine government under the supervision of the News and Information Bureau (NIB) of the Presidential Communications Office (PCO).

N administration lawmaker at the House of Representatives wants to extend the week-long paternity leave granted to married male employees to 15 days.

According to a statement on Monday, Quezon City Rep. Alfred Vargas has filed House Bill 5353, which seeks to amend Republic Act 8187 or the Paternity Leave Act of 1996.

“The Paternity Leave Act was enacted by Congress in recognition of the husband’s role in providing care for his wife before, during, and after the birth of their child. However, the law is still inadequate in addressing the necessities of the Filipino family,” said Vargas.

The proposed legislation seeks to lengthen the leave period from seven days to 15

days and expand the law’s coverage by granting paternity leave to all married male employees regardless of the nature of employment.

HB 5353 also provides eligible employees an option to extend their paternity leave to 15 days more, without pay.

Another provision states that the paternity leave shall not be deducted from the employee’s annual leave credits.

“Fathers who take paternity leave are more likely to take an active role in child-care tasks, therefore establishing strong relationships with their children and inciting active involvement in their lives,” Vargas said.

“Also, the early father-child interaction has long-term benefits for a child’s learning abilities,” he added. (Filane Mikee Cervanes/PNA)

DOTr observes strict bidding, procurement process of projects

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EPARTMENT of Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade has reiterated Monday (June 19) that strict observance of bidding and procurement process shall be enforced in the department.

Tugade also stressed that he will not intervene in transactions that are being conducted by the Bids and Awards Committee.

“The BAC should be an independent body from the Secretary. I will not allow anyone to discuss with me projects that are undergoing procurement. I will only be open to official discussions once the

procurement process has been finalized, and complete documentation is already on my table. We will be stricter in our processes so that it will not be tainted by corruption,” the transportation secretary said in a statement.

Tugade likewise appealed to the public to monitor and observe the agency’s bidding and procurement proceedings and to report any anomalous incidents.

“I am serious with my no-corruption campaign inside the DOTr. I encourage everyone to remain vigilant in

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DOF to hold vital forum on tax reform awareness

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THE CHEAPER THEY COME. Bargain hunters gather in front of a store offering big discounts on its shoes and bags along R. Magsaysay Avenue in Davao City on Monday. Lean Daval Jr.

LGUs urged to craft laws on tobacco ad ban sale T

Davao City ordinance cited as model

HE Department of Health on Sunday urged local government units to include the ban on point-of-sale tobacco advertisements in ordinances they will create.

“We really hope that our LGUs will include the ban on point-of-sale in their local ordinances,” said DOH Secretary Dr. Paulyn Ubial in an interview.

Ubial said promulgation of ordinances among LGUs will be a good response to President Duterte’s Executive Order banning smoking in all public places.

Ubial added that LGUs

are vested with the power to put more teeth in the administration’s tobacco control efforts by crafting and approving ordinances that will determine penalties to be imposed to violators.

She added that LGUS at the same time can also use the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control of the World Health Organization as their basis.

“They can make their local ordinances based on the FCTC, where it is provided that even point-of-sale ads are not allowed,” said Ubial.

She cited as an example about the Davao City ordi-

nance, which bans pointof-sale tobacco advertisements, including those in sari-sari stores.

Article 13 (Tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship) of the FCTC provides that parties are urged to impose “a total ban on any display and on the visibility of tobacco products at points of sale, including fixed retail outlets and street vendors”.

The Philippines had ratified the FCTC in 2005.

The Health Chief added that LGUs political will in protecting their constituents should be tapped

because of the limitations of Republic Act 9211 and Executive Order 26 on the issue of point-of-sale advertisements.

Under RA 9211, outdoor tobacco advertising shall be prohibited as no leaflets, posters, and similar outdoor advertising materials may be posted, except inside the premises of point-of-sale retail establishments.

One of the provisions of EO 26 includ prohibitions to place any form of tobacco advertisement outside of the premises of point-ofsale retail establishments.

(Leilani S. Junio/PNA)

percent to hit 101 Saudi riyal (26.93 dollars).

Earlier in the day, Fahad Al-Turki, chief economist at Riyadh-based Jadwa Investment said by email for the biggest GCC economy, “We forecast overall GDP growth to be 0.1 percent in 2017 (compared to 1.4 percent in 2016) due to a sharp decline in oil sector GDP, by minus 1.2 percent (compared to 3.4 percent in 2016).”

According to Dubai-based economist Dr. Nasser Saidi, last week “oil prices posted a fourth consecutive weekly loss (the longest stretch of weekly losses since 2015) to the low-

est close in seven months,” he said. “The catalyst for the slippage were U.S. inventories that fell less than expected (keeping supplies more than 100 million barrels above the fiveyear average) and the news that Libya will boost its output by one million barrels per day at the end of July.”

On positive note, Al-Turki said “we forecast non-oil GDP to reach one percent during the same period (compared to 0.2 percent in 2016).”

The ongoing diplomatic rift between a Saudi-led group of nine Arab and Islamic countries and Qatar which denies Saudi charges of sponsoring

“extremist groups and terrorists,” kept the Qatar Exchange 30 Index at bay.

The Qatari stock index lost 0.75 percent (after gaining 0.74 percent last Thursday), finishing at 9,188.09 on light trading. All sector indexes with the exception of the transport segment ended in the red.

Economist Saidi said in his weekly emailed market commentary, “Qatar’s central bank governor stated that there were no disruptions to domestic or international transactions. He also mentioned that central bank had enough foreign currency reserves to meet all requirements.” (PNA)

Volatile oil price, growth hurdles keep Gulf Arab markets unstable

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TOCK price indices in the Gulf Arab countries started the Islamic week on Sunday with diverse performances as the Gulf crisis around Qatar and revised economic outlooks by analysts dominated the sentiment on trading floors from Riyadh to Dubai.

In Saudi Arabia, the Tadawul All-Share Index gained 0.89 percent to hit 6,881.39, representing a 10-day high.

The gauge was boosted by shares of the consumer services sector and capital goods in particular. Shares of Sabic, the world’s biggest producer of petrochemicals, surged two

HE Department of Finance will conduct a forum next month to heighten public awareness of, and support for, the Duterte administration’s proposed Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act (TRAIN) that aims to benefit 99 percent of Filipino taxpayers and help sustain the government’s accelerated spending on infrastructure, education, health and social protection programs.

Some 300 participants are expected to attend the event, titled “1 with the 99: A Forum on Tax Reform,” that will be held at the EDSA Shangri-la Hotel on July 5 starting at 9 AM. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III is expected to deliver the opening remarks at the forum.

The event dubbed “1 with the 99” alludes to the TRAIN’s intended beneficiaries—99 percent of taxpayers, including the working and middle class such as teachers, clerks, call center agents, police officers, soldiers and medical personnel—and the top 1 percent comprising the richest households who will help invest in the country’s future by paying higher taxes.

“We would like our fellow Filipinos to know more about how this priority program of President Duterte would benefit them. We will tell them that

this tax reform package is truly pro-Filipino and pro-poor that will help fund the Duterte administration’s 10-point socio-economic agenda for high--and inclusive--growth,” Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick Chua said.

“This is an investment of each one of us in our country’s stable and vibrant future,” he said.

According to Chua, the forum will be followed by a sustained campaign bia social media and on the streets through billboards and banners “to further generate appreciation of, and support for, the tax reform program.”

The DOF, represented by Chua and Assistant Secretary and spokesperson Paola Alvarez, will explain at the forum how the TRAIN is expected to help fund the “DuterteNomics” strategy of enabling the government to sustain the Philippines’ growth momentum, support the golden age of infrastructure, attract investments and create jobs, achieve economic inclusion and transform the Philippines into a high middle-income country by 2022, by which time poverty incidence will have been reduced to 14 percent.

If “DuterteNomics” is sustained over the medium term, the government envisions the Philippines to be a high-income economy in one generation or by 2040. (PNA)

Singapore sees digital economy priority for ASEAN stewardship

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INGAPORE has identified e-commerce and other initiatives relating to the digital economy as potential key priorities for its chairmanship of Association of Southeast Asian Nations next year, said Senior Minister of State of Trade and Industry Koh Poh Koon Monday.

Koh said at the Digitize ASEAN Conference that the country will work with the rest of ASEAN to streamline regional trade rules governing e-commerce to promote greater digital connectivity and lower operating barriers to entry.

“That will enhance the regional trade architecture for e-commerce, realize freer movement of e-commerce goods across Southeast Asia and support the regional expansion of companies based in ASEAN,” he said.

Koh added that the digital economy is a new focus area under ASEAN Economic Community 2025, and there is interest among ASEAN member states to develop their e-commerce capability. He forecasted that the digital economy in ASEAN has the potential to grow to USD 200 billion over the next decade, with e-commerce accounting for USD 88 billion.

Robert Yap, Chairman of ASEAN Business Advisory Council Singapore, said that ASEAN possesses the fundamentals to be the leader in fast moving global digital economy, as it has a GDP of USD 2.5 trillion growing at 6 percent, literate population of more than 600 million, and smartphone penetration of around 35 percent.

He called on companies in ASEAN to start embracing digital technology into their business mode to remain relevant or to jumpstart the competition through digitization.

How to deal with the job reduction brought by digitization and other technological advance becomes a hot topic at the conference.

Chua Soon Ghee, partner and head of Southeast Asia at AT Kearney, told Xinhua at the conference’s sideline that the key for governments to achieve inclusive growth in the fourth industrial revolution is strengthening laborer training.

“People need new skills and new knowledge to get new jobs,” he said. “It is not a long-term solution for governments to protect people from losing old-school jobs that may influence the development of enterprises.” (Xinhua)

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On Saturday morning, Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte visited the wake of Cafgu Reynante Fernandez in Brgy. Datu Salumay, Marilog District. Fernandez was killed on June 12, while the country was commemorating Independence

Simangan elected BSP board member

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ANILA Bulletin’s Vice President for Circulation Dante Simangan has been elected as National Board Member of the Boy Scout of the Philippines at its National Headquarters in Manila, last Friday.

Serving as BSP Board Member of Davao City Council since 1995, Simangan was added to the national leadership of BSP together with 14 newly elected Board Members.

Simangan, who hails from Davao City, who has been consistent in serving the BSP for the past 22 years, said “with the recent problems now involving the youth offenders, I strongly believe that one of the avenues in reducing, if not eradicating the problem, is by way of introducing scouting not only in schools, but also in the communities.”

He said, “the programs and activities being conducted by the BSP are very effective

in making the youths more responsive to the needs and development of the communities, so that if scouting values and skills are imparted to the young people, they will surely become good citizens of our country.”

Along with Simangan, elected into office as sectoral board members were: Former Vice President Jejomar Binay; Mayor Franco Calida of Hagonoy; Surigao del Norte Governor Sol F. Matugas; Pepito M. Carpio; Efren Edgar Dieta; Cedrick Train; Francisco Abayari, Jr.; Jimmy A. Ang; Henry Dy; Rene Relampagos; Atty. Emilio B. Aquino; Jose Eduardo Delgado; Iligan City Councilor Petronilo G. Pardillo and Gerry Ong Tan. The board members will elect among themselves their executive committee and national officers currently headed by its president Atty. Wendel Avisado, on June 30 this month.

Misamis Oriental beefs up security

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ISAMIS Oriental Governor Yevgeny Vincente Emano has directed the provincial police command to strengthen inbound and outbound security measures in Misamis Oriental.

In a directive addressed to Supt. Sukarno Alvarez, of the provincial police command, Emano instructed the police command to strengthen checkpoints at the boundaries of Misamis Oriental and Agusan Del Norte in the east, and the boundaries of Misamis Oriental and Lanao Del Norte in the west.

“It is preferable to thoroughly check all vehicles – private and government vehicles

– to ensure the security of the people in the province and elsewhere in Misamis Oriental,” Emano said.

Emano also appealed to the commuting public to cooperate and extend support to government authorities during checkups in designated military and police checkpoints in Misamis Oriental.

The provincial government has stepped up its security after military and police intelligence in Cagayan De Oro City arrested last week an alleged bomb expert of the Maute group in Marawi City.

Three other alleged members of the Maute group who

F MISAMIS, 14

Day, in an encounter with communist rebels in Brgy. Buda, Marilog -- while the victim was manning a checkpoint intended to prevent the possible entry of terrorists in Davao. Davao City Information Office

Farmers in Zambo Norte town pin hopes on cacao enterprise project S INDANGAN, Zamboanga del Norte – When Isabelo Paculanang retired from public service in the late 90s he turned back to farming, trying out government programs on agriculture even though some have faced sustainability issues.

“Farmers are always on a ‘wait and see’ attitude,” he said, adding that a reliable market has always been the challenge.

But with a new enterprise in their town under DA’s Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP), he is hopeful on the prospects of propagating cacao as a viable commodity.

“We are made to understand that there is a big, global market for cacao. So when you are able to produce cacao, it would be a viable venture that would help farmers,” he added.

Paculanang is referring to the P32-million Cacao Production and Marketing Enterprise project, which will be managed

by Sindangan FACOMA Community Multipurpose Cooperative as lead proponent group.

“The objective of the cacao project is improving the lives of our farmers that is why we became interested in this project,” FACOMA Vice Chairman Perla Bermudez said.

She added that there is now a great interest with the project, as the enterprise is seeing increase in farmers engaging in cacao.

Currently, the enterprise project is now undergoing procurement processes to jumpstart project operations particularly in the production side, according to Dexter Patron, FACOMA’s cacao enterprise manager.

“Among the equipment being acquired are postharvest facilities like dryer and construction of a warehouse for FACOMA and POEMCO, a cluster member cooperative, while PIMCO, another cluster member is in charge for the cacao nursery and vermicast,”

he said.

As lead PG, FACOMA will be in charge of marketing where it will buy cacao beans from its member-farmers.

“The marketing aspect of the enterprise would boost the income of the farmers as coop would be buying coco beans at the price of dried beans. This way the project would be able to help the farmers augmenting their income,” Patron said.

Another member-farmer Gondino Umos, who has already started planting cacao is positive on the success of the enterprise in their town.

“With the technology that we have for cacao, farmers can already harvest after two years wherein one tree of cacao can produce 12 pods equivalent to 1 kilo,” he said.

Umos said that cacao can provide additional income for farmers since it can be intercropped with coconut and banana, which are also common crops in the town.

“One hectare can accom-

modate 600 cacao trees, which can generate around P15,000 pesos per month,” he said.

Zamboanga del Norte is ranked seventh in the top cacao-producing provinces in the Philippines with a production of 69.64 metric tons with a total of 225 hectares area planted. Region 9 has a total 103.51 metric tons production volume.

“The proposed project is in line with the province’s Provincial Commodity Investment Plan (PCIP) which listed cacao as an emerging commodity in the province and sees it a vehicle to combat poverty and attain inclusive growth not only the traders but the farmers as well,” PRDP Mindanao’s Planning Head Cerenio Tila said.

Recently, government agencies in Region 9 signed a Memorandum of Agreement that aims to institutionalize interagency support on cacao as its emerging commodity. (Jay M. Rosas/PRDP Mindanao)

laude graduates.

The academic programs and their graduates as follows: BA Communication Arts has 28 graduates; BS Biology has 25; BS Food Technology has 24; BS Applied Mathematics has 20; BS Agribusiness Economics has 20; BS Computer Science has 14; BS Architecture has 13; BA English (Creative Writing) has 6; BA Anthropology has 5; the Master

in Management program has 16 graduates.

Each of the graduates has individually completed either a research paper in the sciences or communication arts, an architectural design, a special problem in applied mathematics or computer science, an anthropological field manuscript, or a strategic paper, as a final requirement for their respective degrees.

Two new novels, “The House in Apokon” and “Stay Here”, as well as short fiction, essays, and poetry are among the creative theses produced by the BA English (Creative Writing) class.

The Chancellor’s Medals for Academic Excellence, for Leadership, and for Culture and the Arts will be awarded respectively to deserving graduates.

Three magna cum laude lead new UP-M graduates

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HE 20th COMMENCEMENT EXERCISES of UP Mindanao will be held on June 23, 2017. A total of 171 graduates will be honored in the ceremony.

The Class of 2017 is led by Reu Zandro Enguito, BS Biology magna cum laude, with Danica Mae Manubag and Viena Monterde, both BS Food Technology magna cum laude.

They are followed by 38 cum

7 COMPETITIVE EDGE EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 10 ISSUE 56 • TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2017

DCWD bares water service interruptions in three areas

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AVAO City Water District has scheduled three separate sets of water service interruption to give way to completion of separate service improvement projects.

First set is on June 22, 2017 from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM affecting the entire Doña Luisa Village Phase 2. This water service interruption is needed for the tapping of pipes for the mainline improvement in the affected area. Once completed, the project will allow for accommodation of additional service connections.

Second set will also be on June 22, 2017 from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM affecting some Baliok areas, particularly, the entire Rosalina Village III and Mindawide Relocation. This water service interruption will give way to the tapping and looping of pipes for the mainline improvement at Susana Homes III to Rosalina Village III in Baliok which is a component of Dumoy Production Well No. 39 Project. The entire project, once completed, will improve the water supply in certain areas served by Lubogan Water Supply System.

Third set is from 9:00 PM of June 22, 2017 until 9:00 AM of June 23, 2017 affecting the entire Bago Gallera, particularly, Lumansoc Compound, Purok Bayanihan Bago Gallera Settlers Assn., Inc. (BAGASA), Villarubia Compound, Suhai Village, Small Communal Farmers Assn., Inc. (SCFAI), Sitio Nalum in Baliok, Samantha Homes Subd., Spring Valley Village, Mega Homes,

Kaliraya Subd., Gallera de Oro Subd., Davao New Town Relocation, Carmelo Porras Subd., Reldo Village, San Lorenzo Village, Kabataan Center Assn., Toscana Subd., Amiya Residences, Sitio Durian, and Upper Rapnaga and some Bago Aplaya areas: Saavedra Neighborhood Assn Inc., Purok 13 Seaside, Bavnai Village, and Catotal Subd. This water service interruption will give way to the tapping, interconnection, and looping of various pipes as part of the preparation works for the Davao City Bulk Water Supply Project of DCWD which upon completion in 2019 will improve water supply in Davao City.

On behalf of the DCWD management, general manager Engr. Edwin V. Regalado asks for the understanding and cooperation of would-be affected customers and advises them to store enough water prior to the scheduled water service interruptions.

Water supply may be restored earlier if work goes smoothly or later if unforeseen problems arise.

The general public may visit DCWD website (www. davao-water.gov.ph) and official Facebook page (www. facebook.com/davaowater) or call the Central Information Unit / Call Center through the 24-hour hotline 297-DCWD (3293) and press “1” on their phone dial for the latest daily water updates. Contact 09277988966, 0925-5113293, and 0908-4410653 for other updates, complaints, queries, and matters pertaining to DCWD services. (Katrina Belen M. Roble)

APEC dialogue on sustainable tourism opens in Vietnam City

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HE Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation High Level Policy Dialogue on Sustainable Tourism opened in Ha Long City, the northern province of Quang Ninh, Vietnam on Monday as part of the eventful 2017 APEC year.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam Nguyen Ngoc Thien chaired the Dialogue, which gathers 150 delegates from APEC economies, tourism enterprises and experts from tourism related international organizations, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported.

Tourism has been one of key factors in cooperation between APEC member economies, said Thien at the opening ceremony, adding that it is an opportunity for APEC member economies to realize current situations and discuss specific measures to foster tourism cooperation in the bloc, he noted.

The minister said the Dialogue is an initiative of Vietnam to realize the APEC Strategy for Strengthening Quality Growth and contribute to the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development set by the United Nations.

During the event, representatives will discuss and share experiences to promote the sustainable tourism development policy in the Asia-Pacific region.

The event also consists of a dialogue with APEC business community on sustainable tourism development.

Established in 1989, APEC comprises 21 economies namely Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the US and Vietnam. (Bernama)

DENR bares initiatives to lure foreign investors

E

NVIRONMENT Secretary Roy A. Cimatu has assured foreign investors that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources will continue to push for clean and green energy, promote proper management of water resources and solid waste, and ensure responsible mining.

Speaking at the gathering of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) on Thursday in Makati City, Cimatu also said that the DENR remained committed to its role in facilitating the ease of obtaining environmental clearances for investors.

Cimatu gladly told ECCP members that the DENR has

introduced some improvements in the implementation of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIA) system, as well as in the processing and issuance of tree cutting permits for development projects.

“One, we have provided facilities for on-line application for environmental compliance certificate to shorten the process,” Cimatu said.

He added: “Two, authority to issue cutting permits of planted trees has been delegated to the regional office.

Further delegation to the PENRO (Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office) and CENRO (Community Environment and Natural Resourc-

DAVAO ICON UPDATES. Arturo M. Milan, trustee of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. , presides over a meeting of committee chairpersons, moderators and team members of the skated July 22-24 4th Davao Investment Conference (ICon) at the SMX Convention in Lanang, Davao City. The Davao ICon is expected to be attended by some 700 domestic and foreign captains of industries, top business executives and potential

T

es Office) is being considered.”

The environment chief disclosed that the streamlining of issuance of water permit is also being undertaken.

In pushing for clean and green energy, Cimatu said the DENR fully supports the Department of Energy in the implementation of Republic Act No. 9513, or the Renewable Energy Act of 2008.

Cimatu said the agency has been actively promoting the deployment of clean and green energy sources through the implementation of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and the recently signed Joint Credit Mechanism (JCM) between the Philippines and Japan.

CDM is a financial mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol which enables developed countries, such as ECCP member countries, to implement cost-effective emission reduction projects in developing countries.

By virtue of Executive Order No. 320, the DENR has been designated as the national authority for CDM, with its Environmental Management Bureau as the secretariat.

So far, there are a total of 119 CDM project applications received, of which 70 projects have been successfully registered comprising of 21 large-scale and 49 small-scale projects. Most of these are renewable energy initiatives.

investors interested in the business investment potentials of the Davao Region. Beside Milan is DCCCII president Ronald C. Go, who just received the “Ulirang Ama” (Model Father) in Business in Manila over weekend.

Yesterday’s meeting was also attended by DCCCII honorary lifetime chair Sebastian L. Angliongto and some DCCCII officers. Antonio M. Ajero

NGCP does not need SSS’6.5-ha land

HE Social Security Commission (SSC) on Monday said the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) does not need to expropriate as much as 6.5-ha of land in Pasay City owned by the state-run pension fund to construct its 230kV substation.

SSC Chairman Amado D. Valdez said consultations with energy industry experts revealed that NGCP may still construct its Pasay substation with even less than a hectare of land.

“Various consultations with our friends in the energy sector showed that NGCP have constructed a bigger substation with 900mV before and did not use more than two hectares of land.

People in the industry are wondering why need a land

which is more than what is required for that purpose,” Valdez said.

Valdez was referring to the Doña Imelda Substation formerly known as Araneta Substation in Quezon City.

A power industry expert explained that the said substation with 900 mV capacity was employed with gas insulated switchgear (GIS) technology with power circuit breakers installed indoor due to space constraints so it only consumed approximately 2,000 square meters of land.

“If they use the GIS [for the 230kV substation], it’ll be less than a hectare. It’s just a bit costly,” the energy industry expert said.

Valdez also warned NGCP that they may lose their land acquisitions prior to its move to expropriate the pension

fund’s property in Pasay City if the Supreme Court (SC) will decide in favor of SSS. Valdez said that if the SC will decide in favor of SSS and grant its petition, NGCP runs the risk of losing its prior land acquisitions which may have been acquired defectively.

“Aside from losing the property of ours that they wish to expropriate, if the SC decide in our favor, I think other land acquisitions made by them should also be reviewed,” Valdez said.

SSS, earlier through the Office of the General Corporate Counsel (OGCC), filed a Petition for Certiorari with prayer for the issuance of Status Quo Ante Order and/or Writ of Preliminary Mandatory Injunction with the SC. SSS’ action was prompted by the issuance of a Writ

of Possession by Branch 108 of the Regional Trial Court of Pasay City over its prime property consisting of 60,872 square meters located at Diokno Avenue owned by its 34 million members.

SSS raised the issue of the propriety of NGCP, a private corporation, to expropriate public property already devoted to public purpose.

Valdez said that the action of NGCP is ill-timed considering SSS is now ready to construct its new Corporate Headquarters in the subject area which will house both the SSS and the SSC under one roof.

“This case would put into test the power of expropriation which belongs to the national government being exercised by a private corporation,” he added.

8 VANTAGE EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 10 ISSUE 56 • TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2017

EDITORIAL Not an easy battle

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O it’s drug money that fueled the firepower of the extremist Maute Group that sieged Marawi City. The battle with government forces has been ongoing for the past 26 days and yet, the group is still out there fighting.

President Duterte himself acknowledged the firepower of the Maute warriors for keeping up toe to toe with the military saying they have enough bullets on the ground. This leaves the air firepower as the only advantage of the military. Likewise, the Maute Group can disguise themselves as MILF or MNLF militiamen taking advantage of the ongoing ceasefire with the government. So it’s not an easy battle, contrary to some perceptions by critics and armchair analysts.

This war is not yet over, and definitely not an easy one. The dru-

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glords have created a monster in the Maute Group and now it’s hard to stop them.

It is easy to go to court and petition on the Martial Law declaration in Mindanao but that is not what seems to be the urgent concern now. The Martial Law in Mindanao has been proven to be far from being the same as its predecessor and has not by far hurt any.

This Maute, funded by drug money, is the most pressing trouble and it needs the cooperation and support of the Filipino people. Lives of our brave soldiers have been lost in this battle and we cannot just take that for granted now. The Mautes are the enemy--let that be very clear. It is not President Duterte, nor the AFP or the PNP. The monster that is Maute tells us never to underestimate the power of illegal drugs trade.

AGUSTIN V. MIAGAN JR Circulation

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EDGEDAVAO

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OR close to a decade, the medical needs of Davao region was mainly dependent on the services of the Davao Mission Hospital (DMH), founded in 1908 by the Protestant mission, and five of its dispensaries, the equivalent of today’s barangay health centers.

Although this sectarian medical facility was primarily intended for the indigents and the underprivileged, it was compelled to admit foreigners, mostly Japanese entrepreneurs and Chinese merchants, who were willing to pay for the treatments that were not available anywhere else. Earnings from these patients helped the DMH in terms of maintenance and supplies.

In 1917, the district engineer’s office decided to open a sick ward to care and treat sick laborers, in particular the sacadas hired by plantation owners from Luzon and the Visayas. The following year, on the strength of the Special Act passed by the Philippine legislature two years earlier, a 25-bed Davao Public Hospital (DPH) was built on a 2.2-hectare site donated by Francisco Villa-Abrille where the Davao Mental Hospital stands. The medical facility was inaugurated on September 1, 1918. Dr. Eugenio de Jesus, the district health officer, was chosen chief of the new facility, which was the first public hospital in the region.

In the Report of the Philippine Health Service for 1919, admission in the gov-

“T

O be poor and be without trees is to be the most starved human being in the world. To be poor and have trees is to be completely rich in ways that money can never buy.” -- Clarissa Pinkola Estés, author of The Faithful Gardener: A Wise Tale About That Which Can Never Die *** On June 25, the Philippines will observe Arbor Day. When I told my 8-year-old nephew about it, he inquired: “What’s arbor?”

I thought since he is still a kid, he never knows what arbor means. So, I told my friends but surprisingly they have the same question as my nephew.

Arbor comes from the Latin word which means “trees.” Arbor Day, first celebrated in the small Spanish village of Villanueva de la Sierra in 1805, is an age-old tradition where groups are encouraged to plant and care for trees in their respective communities.

“Today, many countries continue to follow this tradition,” a “Manila Times” editorial reads. “Though usually observed in the spring, the date of Arbor Day varies around the world, depending on climate and the suitable planting season.”

In the Philippines, Arbor Day has been commemorated since 1947 when its practice was instituted through Proclamation No. 30. However, it was revised by Proclamation No. 41, issued in the same year.

VOL. 10 ISSUE 56 • TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2017

VANTAGE POINTS

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Davao’s first public hospital ernment medical facility that year reached 486, while ninety-six patients died under treatment, or a high of nearly 25 percent of mortality. In that same year, there were five major operations and there were ten minor surgeries. Collections from September to December 1918 reached PhP1,199.92.

Supporting the functions of the hospital were two Davao laboratories, which, reported having conducted tests on 3,474 requests in 1919. These tests were divided as follows: 176, blood; fifty-nine, urine; 1,651, stools; thirty-nine, sputum; and 1,568, discharges.

Comparatively, the total tests performed in 1918 totalled only 1,952 examinations, which covered only four months. In 1920, the Davao laboratories registered a lower number of tests conducted, with only 1,766. In 1932, a 10-bed annex pavilion was constructed to accommodate the growing number of patients.

During the Japanese occupation, the hospital was occupied by the Japanese Imperial Army. When the war was over, the U.S. forces took over and occupied it, and put up the 25th Station Hospital for use of the U.S. Armed Forces. It was only on August 23, 1945, after the liberation, that the entire unit of the Davao Public Hospital, later renamed in 1957 to Davao General Hospital (DGH), was temporarily transferred to the Philippine Constabulary (PC).

FAST BACKWARD Antonio V. Figueroa Not too long thereafter, the sanatorium became a national hospital with an authorized capacity of 200 hundred beds. June 22, 1957, through the efforts of Rep. Ismael Veloso and Dr. Manuel P. Babao By 1958, DGH, under Republic Act No. 1859, became the Davao Regional Medical and Training Center (DRMTC). Four months later, on September 24, President Carlos P. Garcia led the cornerstone-laying of its new building.

On Nov. 28, 1958, with the issuance of Department of Health Order 100, series of 1958, the hospital was designated as training hospital for resident physicians, nurses, and midwives. For

the purpose, an initial P1 million was released from June 24 to October 1960; this is part of the long-term P3-million earmarked for the training center.

That same year, on July 18, the Out-Patient Clinic was organized in compliance with Department Order No. 163, series of 1960. On January 3, 1961, the Medical Social Service started.

The following month, on February 11, a ground-breaking ceremony was held to signal the construction of the medical center for the Nervous Diseases Pavilion. Two months later, on April 7, a pilot plant, the Limb and Brace Shop, was established.

Through the decades, its transformation was phenomenal. On December 12, 1964, the new medical center, a three-story building located at Bajada, was inaugurated. Two years later, patients from the old hospital building were gradually transferred to the Davao Regional Training Center (DRMTC) edifice built on a 12.8-hectare site. Apprised of the burgeoning volume of patients flocking to the institution, the Bureau of Medical Services Office under the DOH increased the bed capacity from 200 to 350.

In May 1966, DRMTC became fully operational after all the patients and equipment from the old Davao General Hospital was transferred. On June 3, 1966, one hundred ninety-eight (198) mental patients from the National Men-

tal Hospital in Mandaluyong City, excluding the medical staff, arrived and occupied the old hospital building.

On December 8, 1970, under DOH Administrative Order No. 157, the hospital was officially designated as the “Medical Center for Mindanao and Sulu”.

The following year, it was accredited for the affiliation of medical interns, and later by graduates of Nursing, Psychiatry, Dietary, Psychology, Medical Social Services, Midwifery, Dentistry, and lately Physical Therapy. On September 13, 1977, the Supreme Court ruled with finality that the 12.8-hectare site of the medical institution was a government property.

In 1986, the Davao Mental Hospital, an extension of the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH), was placed under the control of DRMTC. At that time, the hospital was renamed Davao Medical Center (DMC) and its bed capacity improved to 600. The name Davao Regional Hospital and Training Center was later given to the then Davao del Norte Provincial Hospital.

Under Republic Act No. 9792 approved on November 19, 2009, the hospital was renamed Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) and its bed capacity increased from 600 to 1,200. The SPMC premises also host the Mindanao Heart Center, which was established in 2007, and the Burn Unit, the only one of its kind outside Metro Manila.

tons of carbon dioxide.”

This is the reason why the Therma South, Inc. (TSI), a subsidiary of the Aboitiz Power Corporation, launched the Carbon Sink Management Project (CSMP) in denuded Marilog district, some 50 kilometers away from the heart of Davao City.

The project, which started in 2015, is set to plant one million trees within 10 years. It has tapped the help of the Matigsalug, whose claim to their ancestral land covers some 40,000 hectares.

“More than just the typical environmental corporate social responsibility program, the CSMP goes beyond the idea of lessening detriments to the nature,” a briefer explained. “It makes itself different by creating stronger and relevant ties with its immediate communities who will become the steward of the trees and the carbon sink.”

The briefer adds that through CSMP, “the compatibility among multiple uses of forests – for biodiversity protection, watershed management, carbon sequestration and other ecosystem services – for the benefit of the local communities” can be demonstrated.

Denudation happens not only in Marilog district but in other parts of the country as well. If Filipinos will not do something now, it would be the first country in Asia to completely lose its forest cover soon. Cebu is a case in point: It has a “zero-forest cover,” said environment officials.

“Most of the country’s once rich forests are gone,” says the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) study entitled, “Sustainable Forest Management.”

As of 2010, only 6.84 million hectares of forest cover remains – that’s about 23% of the country’s total land area of 30 million hectares. Over the last 100 years, we were losing about 150,000 hectares of forest cover every year, according to a 2005 study.

But through the National Greening Program, we were able to increase our forest cover by 1.7 million by the end of 2016. That’s according to the Forest Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

It’s time for all of us to plant trees.

“Planting trees, I myself thought for a long time, was a feel-good thing, a nice but feeble response to our litany of modern-day environmental problems. In the last few years, though, as I have read many dozens of articles and books and interviewed scientists here and abroad, my thinking on the issue has changed.

Planting trees may be the single most important ecotechnology that we have to put the broken pieces of our planet back together,” wrote Jim Robbins in The Man Who Planted Trees: Lost Groves, Champion Trees, and an Urgent Plan to Save the Planet.

There’s one saying that goes this way: “Plant a tree even at the end of the world.”

Commemorating Arbor Day

Wikipedia gives us further details: “In 1955, the commemoration was extended from a day to a week and was moved to the last full week of July. Over two decades later, its commemoration was moved to the second week of June 25 per Proclamation No. 396. The same proclamation directed ‘the active participation of all government agencies, including government-owned and controlled corporations, private sector, schools, civil society groups and the citizenry in tree planting activity.’ The following year, it was again revised by Proclamation No. 643.”

In 2012, the tree planting events “as a yearly event for local government units” was revived by enacting Republic Act 10176.

Why there is so much ado about tree planting? Well, let me count the ways.

For one, without trees, we may cease to live. “Let’s face it, we could not exist as we do if there were no trees,” said Steve Nix, an American forestry expert. “A mature leafy tree produces as much oxygen in a season as 10 people inhale in a year. What many people don’t realize is the forest also acts as a giant filter that cleans the air we breathe.”

For another, trees slow water runoff during a storm. “Flash flooding can be dramatically reduced by a forest or by planting trees,” Nix wrote. For instance, in Colorado, a blue spruce, either planted or growing wild, can intercept

THINK ON THESE!

Henrylito D. Tacio

more than 1000 gallons of water annually when fully grown. Underground water-holding aquifers are recharged with this slowing down of water runoff.

But most importantly, trees can help mitigate climate change. Science tells us that to produce its food, a tree absorbs and locks away carbon dioxide in the wood, roots and leaves. Carbon dioxide is a global warming suspect. A forest is a carbon storage area or a “sink” that can lock up as much carbon as it produces.

This locking-up process “stores” carbon in the form of wood and not released as a “greenhouse gas.”

Scientists call trees as carbon sink.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, “one acre of forest absorbs six

10 NEWS Soldiers... FROM 2

EDGEDAVAO

paramilitary,” he said in the vernacular.

He said the four MISFI teachers could not hold classes for fear of their lives and are staying, for the meantime, at their office in Barangay Indangan in Davao City while waiting for the Alamara and soldiers to move out.

“Before you enter the community in Muling, you have to pass through the Alamara.

I have experienced being approached by them,” he added.

Maj. Ezra Balagtey, public information officer of the Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom), said that they sought permission from the tribal leader before entering their community.

He maintained that the soldiers ensured they conform to the Lumad’s tradition and sometimes would even offer rituals, if necessary.

“We undergo a process before entering the ancestral domain, we coordinate with the tribal leaders,” he said.

He said the teachers should formalize their complaints by reporting it to the military, so that it can be addressed in the “proper “forum”.

Jong Monzon, secretary general of Pasaka Confederation of Lumad Organizations in Southern Mindanao, said members of the paramilitary group are Lumad who are armed by the military.

Balilid said the military continues to label their school and their teachers as that of the New People’s Army (NPA).

But he maintained that the school is run by the Lumad to educate the children of the indigenous community. (Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews)

reporters.

Duterte said he was just resting in bed. “Sa kama man lang ako… Kama. Coma. Kung na-coma ako, hindi ako andito para mam****** i**” (It was just bedrest for me. Kama (bed) not coma. If I were in coma, I would not be here to say f__k you).

The President reiterated that in case something happens to him, there is a Vice President who is the constitutional successor.

“Do not worry. There is the Vice President who will take over. My state of health is immaterial,” Duterte said, stressing the importance of a successor.

There is an “institutional succession,” he said, “you follow it.”

“I am good while I am alive but do not worry about a one day, two days absence. Baka nasanay na kayo kay Marcos noon ‘no, na na-operahan, may

sakit lupus tapos he could not appear for so many days. Ano na lang. Sabihin mo nalang doon sa mga kalaban ko na magdasal na lang kayo para ma…” (You’re probably used to Marcos before who was operated on for his lupus and could not appear for so many days. Just tell my enemies to pray so that…), Duterte said but did not complete his sentence. (Carolyn O. Arguillas / MindaNews)

els in Barangay New Barili, Maco, Compostela Valley province.

The names of the casualties are still being withheld.

Batchar said the wounded soldiers are undergoing treatment at the Army’s hospital.

Meanwhile, a security patrol by the combined elements of the 60 and 70 Infantry Battalions (IB) on Sunday led to the arrest of the NPA’s alleged supply officer identified as Randy Martin Magadan, who was captured with one improvised explosive device.

Magadan, who is also known as Andrew, is reportedly the supply officer of the NPA’s Pulang Bagani Command (PBC4) - South Mindanao Regional Command. He is 24 years old and a resident of Purok 7, Barangay Bollucan, Laak, Compostela Valley.

The military said Magadan was trying to plant the IED along Km 26, Barangay Kidawa in Laak town.

He was turned over to the Laak Municipal Police Station for blotter procedure and filing of case.

In Davao City Sunday, the NPA’s Pulang Bagani Command 2 (PBC2) - South Regional Command 3 (SRC3) ambushed the scout platoon of the 3rd Infantry Battalion while passing along the national highway in Pagan

Pequino, Barangay Tamugan in Marilog District.

The Army platoon pursued the attackers leading to almost an hour firefight. No casualty was reported.

In Davao Occidental, troops belonging to the 73rd Infantry Battalion were attacked by armed men believed to be NPA rebels while conducting patrol in the vicinity of Sitio Mamacao, Barangay Marabatuan in Jose Abad Santos, Davao Occidental. No casualty was reported.

In Davao Oriental, two

encounters between government soldiers and the NPA rebels occurred in the towns of Cateel and Banaybanay.

On June 17, a 30-minute encounter between the soldiers of 67th Infantry Battalion and NPA took place in the town of Cateel.

Cateel Municipal Police Station commander Senior Insp. Butch Kevin Rapiz bared that around 7 a.m., the 67th IB encountered more or less 10 members of the NPA at Sitio 35, Barangay Taytayan in the said town. (PNA)

Rody... FROM 2

2 soldiers... FROM 3

UNRESOLVED. PASAKA secretary general Jong Monzon (center), together with Association of Community Educators spokesperson Ricky Balilid (left) and Salugpongan Lumad Organization council member Kailo Bontulan, calls for a halt to the alleged harassments by military and paramilitary group

EXTRA-JUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF ESTATE

Notice is hereby given that the estate of the late MIGUEL R. ABELLANA has been the subject of an Extra Judicial Settlement with affidavit of claim with waiver of rights executed among his heirs, per Doc. No.261; Page No.53; Book No. XXX; Series of 2017, of the NOTARY PUBLIC ATTY. RICHARD D. TUMANDA.

Republic of the Philippines Department of Transportation and Communication LAND TRANSPORTATION FRANCHISING AND REGULATORY BOARD Regional Office No. XI Davao City

Petition for RENEWAL of a Certificate of Public Convenience with DROPPING and SUBSTITUTION OF UNIT to operate an AIRCONDITIONED UV EXPRESS Service.

Case No. R11-EVUV-2017-6-483 (2002-XI-00483) (WITH Dropping & Substitution of Unit)

MELENCIO P. SILVERON, JR., Petitioner x- - - - - - - - - - - - - - --x

NOTICE OF HEARING Petitioner is a grantee of a Certificate of Public Convenience issued in this case authorizing the operation of an AIRCONDITIONED UV EXPRESS service on the route: DAVAO CITY – BAGANGA (DAVAO ORIENTAL) AND VICE VERSA with the use of ONE (1) unit, which Certificate will expire on June 11, 2017. In the petition filed on June 9, 2017, petitioner requests authority to extend the validity of said Certificate. In the same petition, petitioner likewise requests to DROP the authorized unit and to SUBSTITUTE the same with another unit bearing Chassis No. JTFJT02PXH5009669 to operate along the same route.

NOTICE, is hereby given that this petition will be heard by this Board on JULY 17, 2017 at 08:30 a.m. at this office at the above address.

At least, TEN (10) days prior to the above date petitioner shall publish this Notice once in a one (1) daily newspaper of general circulation in Mindanao Parties opposed to the granting of the petition must file their written opposition supported by documentary evidence on or before the above date furnishing a copy of the same to the petitioner, and may if they so, desire appear on said date and time.

This petition will be acted upon by this Board on the basis of its records and the documentary evidence submitted by the parties, unless the Board deems it necessary to receive additional documentary and/or oral evidence.

WITNESS the Atty. TERESITA DELA PEÑA-YÑIGUEZ, Regional Director, this 1s day of June 2017 at Davao City.

Atty. CATTLEYA B. ACAYLAR Attorney IV

VOL. 10 ISSUE 56 • TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2017

called Alamara against teachers and administrators of Lumad schools in Talaingod, Davao del Norte, during Kapehan saDabaw at the Annex of SM City Davao on Monday. Lean Daval Jr. Republic of the Philippines Department of Transportation and Communication LAND TRANSPORTATION FRANCHISING AND REGULATORY BOARD Regional Office No. XI Davao City

Petition for Extension of Validity of a Certificate of Public Convenience to operate a PUJ DUAL Ordinary Regular Service

Case No. R11-EVPJ-2017-F-291 (2002-XI-00291-DP)

LOMIE C. PLALE, Petitioner

x- - - - - - - - - - - - - - --x

Republic of the Philippines Department of Transportation and Communication LAND TRANSPORTATION FRANCHISING AND REGULATORY BOARD Regional Office No. XI Davao City

Petition for Extension of Validity of a Certificate of Public Convenience to operate a PUJ DUAL Ordinary Regular Service Case No. R11-EVPJ-2017-6-004 (2015-XI-00004)

ANTIPAZ M. AMIGO, Petitioner

x- - - - - - - - - - - - - - --x

NOTICE OF HEARING

NOTICE OF HEARING

Petitioner is a grantee of a Certificate of Public Convenience issued in this case authorizing the operation of a PUJ Dual Ordinary Regular service on the route: DAVAO CITY – TALAINGOD (DAVAO DEL NORTE) AND VICE VERSA and for cargoes as dual service from said route to any point in Region XI with the use of ONE (1) unit, which Certificate will expire on September 25, 2017. In the petition filed on June 2, 2017, petitioner requests authority to extend the validity of said Certificate to operate along the same route with the use of the same units previously authorized.

Petitioner is a grantee of a Certificate of Public Convenience issued in this case authorizing the operation of a PUJ Dual Ordinary Regular service on the route: LASANG VIA BUHANGIN and for cargoes as dual service from said route to any point in Region XI with the use of ONE (1) unit, which Certificate will expire on June 28, 2017. In the petition filed on June 7, 2017, petitioner requests authority to extend the validity of said Certificate to operate along the same route with the use of the same units previously authorized.

At least, TEN (10) days prior to the above date petitioner shall publish this Notice once in a one (1) daily newspaper of general circulation in Mindanao

At least, TEN (10) days prior to the above date petitioner shall publish this Notice once in a one (1) daily newspaper of general circulation in Mindanao

This petition will be acted upon by this Board on the basis of its records and the documentary submitted by the parties, unless the Board deems it necessary to receive additional documentaryand/or oral evidence.

This petition will be acted upon by this Board on the basis of its records and the documentary submitted by the parties, unless the Board deems it necessary to receive additional documentaryand/or oral evidence.

NOTICE, is hereby given that this petition will be heard by this Board on JULY 12, 2017 at 9:40 a.m. at this office at the above address.

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

WITNESS the Atty. TERESITA DELA PEÑA-YÑIGUEZ, Regional Director, this 5th day of June 2017 at Davao City.

Atty. CATTLEYA B. ACAYLAR Attorney IV

NOTICE, is hereby given that this petition will be heard by this Board on JULY 5, 2017 at 8:30 a.m. at this office at the above address.

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

WITNESS the Atty. TERESITA DELA PEÑA-YÑIGUEZ, Regional Director, this 8th day of June 2017 at Davao City.

Atty. CATTLEYA B. ACAYLAR Attorney IV

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VOL. 10 ISSUE 56 • TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2017

EDGEDAVAO

TRAVEL

The Summit Ridge Tagaytay.

Enjoying the view of Taal Lake from my room’s balcony.

Cool times at

Tagaytay IT IS NICE TO BE BACK IN TAGAYTAY. Almost two years after my last visit, my latest trip to Southern Luzon’s summer capital together with the people of Cebu Pacific and Summit Hotels is still, literally, a breath of fresh air.

I had stayed for the night at Tagaytay before but this recent trip was my first to stay at the posh 108-room Summit Ridge Tagaytay. Located along Gen. Aguinaldo Highway, the property sits right on the ridge of Tagaytay, ensuring a spectacular view of Lake Taal and the famous Taal Volcano, and given that the Summit Ridgeview has breezeway corridors, every room and suite of the hotel has a view of the lake.

Each room comes with comfortable beds, premium bath toiletries,

bulalo. There are many things to taste and experience in Tagaytay.

Millennials will want to swing by Bag-o-beans not just for their hearty breakfast fare, but also for their charming shabby-chic spaces.

One of the many retreat chapels in Tagaytay. A quiet corner at Bag-o-beans. Breakfast at Bag-o-beans.

The rooms at the Summit Ridge Tagaytay are modern and comfortable with breathtaking views of Taal Lake. At the Ridge Spa. air conditioning, free WiFi, rainshower head showers, and 40” LED cable TV. There is also a private balcony to really maximise your Tagaytay experience. A tour of the property reveals recreation facilities such as an infinity pool, an in-house gym, and basketball and badminton courts. There are also state-of-the-art

function halls for meetings and conventions.

Cool beyond the hotel Of course a trip to Tagaytay should not all be spent at the hotel. A stone’s throw from the Summit Ridge Hotel is the Summit Ridge Promenade where one can shop and dine among the many options offered by

the mall.

There are also many interesting spots which are just a short ride from the Summit Ridge. Nature lovers will want to visit the Nurture Wellness Village. From the spa, to the organic food and the wellness farm, the Nurture Wellness Village is one good way to enjoy some rest and

recreation.

For those who want to want peace and quiet, Tagaytay is also famous for its many charming retreat houses where guests can relax, meditate and rekindle their faith.

For me though, Tagaytay is a treasure chest of food. From their famous mountain pineapples, crispy tawilis, and fatty

Back to the Summit After a full day of exploring Tagaytay, I found it truly refreshing to relax and unwind back at the Summit Ridge Tagaytay with a massage at the hotel’s Ridge Spa located at the second level. Of course for the ones who are feeling a little bit lazy, the spa can arrange for an in-room massage instead.

Dining at the Summit Ridge Tagaytay is also set to become more exiting this June with a new dining concept to be opened

by Chef Menoy Jimenez of Tito Chef Restaurant and All Things Culinary.

A big thank you to Summit Hotels and Cebu Pacific for the new and cool experiences in Tagaytay.

Summit Ridge Hotel Tagaytay is located at Km. 58 Gen. Aguinaldo Highway, Maharlika West, Tagaytay City. For more information and room reservations, you can visit www.summithotels.ph.

EDGEDAVAO

A2 INdulge!

TRAVEL

VOL. 10 ISSUE

School time flatne

JUNE BRINGS IN A NEW SEASON TO MOST. It’s back to school those who haven’t jumped on the academic calendar shift. For others, the start of the rainy season with anticipation of cooler nights.

While for me and a few of my friends, June signals the flat season where the waves significantly get smaller until you couldn’t ride them anymore.

This may be a good thing for those who aren’t fond of strong waves crashing on the shore. Those who love lounging by the shore without worrying if you’ll be swept away by the incoming waves then June, July, August and probably early September will be perfect for you to visit Dahican in Davao Oriental and other east coast beaches in Mindanao.

If you’re wondering what causes a once raging beach like Dahican to become flat like a lake at certain times of the year, it’s because of Habagat (southwest monsoon).

It’s wind that brings heavy rainfall, sometimes storms that results in flooding during the wet season. Also, the direction of the wind changes when it’s Habagat and it no longer hits the areas where it’s needed to produce big waves.

Despite the absence of bigger waves for surfing, this incoming flat season has a lot to offer for mermaids and beach lovers alike. The number of

water activities you can are more than when there bigger waves.

What comes to mind tially are the following:

Skimboarding This is similar to sur except a skimboard is u to glide across the wa surface to meet an inco ing breaking wave, and it back to shore. A skimbo is much smaller than a s board and doesn’t have fins underneath.

As long as there is a smo sandy area along the sh you can still skim. Altho

INdulge! A3

E 56 • TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2017

ess

for it’s

n do e are ini-

rfing used ater’s comride oard surfany

ooth hore, ough

most of the experienced skimboarders would prefer bigger waves because they can do amazing things on their skimboard with crazy waves.

Beginners would enjoy the safety of friendly, small waves while practicing their balance and rhythm on a skimboard.

Mermaiding / Freediving This has to be my favorite thing to do in the water if there aren’t any waves. Mermaiding is simply, the art of being a real-life mermaid. Grab a monofin or the regular fin if you don’t have any

and head to the deeper part of the beach to try touching the sand and going back up.

At the start, you’ll have to get used to swimming like a dolphin (or a mermaid) while holding your breath. It can be tiring but definitely rewarding.

The calm waters make it perfect for underwater photos because the sand isn’t moved as much when there are big waves so you can clearer photos.

Aside from being a great abs exercise, mermaiding is a fun way to explore the underwater scenes without having

to spend much. All you need are snorkeling gear like a mask and fins plus a whole lot of skill in breath holding which you can learn through practice. Just remember a few things before you go into the water: 1.Always have a dive buddy. Never go alone.

It’s not only for safety but isn’t it always more fun if you’re with someone?

2.When in doubt, don’t go out. This applies to all water sports and activities. If you don’t feel comfortable or if you feel uneasy, best to wait it out on the shore or in the boat. Our inner sense of foreboding or peace usually is a God-given gift to foreboding events.

3.NEVER PANIC. This is the most important rule again not only in watersports or activities but maybe in life. Panic does not do us any good.

It only exacerbates the negativity inside us and blocks us from thinking and doing things that could otherwise safe our live or other’s lives.

What else can we do during this season?

Check out next week’s issue to find out more. In the meantime, head over to the blog: www.millennialmermaid.com for more stories!

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT. FIRST TIME to have lessons on a skimboard, student Mara Panganiban is all set to have another. GOODBYE WAVES. It’s almost nearing flat season. Dahican local surfer Mark Bucong slides through the last remaining swell before school starts. Photo by Dandan Consigna.

SMALLER WAVES. More children can go out and play with the beach if the waves get smaller.

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EDGEDAVAO

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VOL. 10 ISSUE 56 • TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2017

EDGEDAVAO PARTNER ESTABLISHMENTS Serving a seamless society

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EDGEDAVAO Serving a seamless society

Tel No. 082.221.3601/224.1413 Email: edgedavao@gmail.com marketing@edgedavao.net

11 SCIENCE EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 10 ISSUE 56 • TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2017

Are biotech crops safe to eat?

Text and Photos by HENRYLITO D. TACIO

A

RE biotech crops, which are spliced with genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), safe to eat?

Opponents, mostly composed of private individuals, non-government organizations, and international activists, says they are not.

Proponents – who are mostly scientists (including Nobel Prize winners), health officials and United Nation agencies – claim they are!

Now, the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) just released its newest report, “Global Status of Commercialized/Biotech GM Crops: 2016.” ISAAA brief is considered as one of the most cited references in the field of modern agri-biotechnology due to its credibility and accuracy.

“Biotech crops have now had an unblemished record of safe use and consumption for over 20 years,” the report pointed out. “Future generations can benefit more from wide choices of biotech crops with improved traits for high yield and nutrition as well as safe for food use and environment.”

Biotech crops are products of biotechnology, defined as “any technique that uses living organisms to make or modify a product, to improve plants or animals, or to develop microorganisms for specific uses.”

The methodology seems like a work of fiction. Listen to the words of Dr. Frank A. Shotkoski, an adjunct professor at the Cornell University in the College of Life Science Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics: “Traditional methods of crop improvement require the mixing of genes by making specific crosses, observing and selecting for specific phenotypes (traits) in the offspring.

This has been a very effective tool for crop improvement and our ancestors have been quite successful in using these techniques to develop the productive, tasty and nutritious crops that we have today.”

But modern biotechnology completely changes that.

“Biotechnology allows us to introduce genes into crops that could never be achieved using traditional/conventional methods because the gene tied to a specific trait (i.e. insect resistance, disease resistance, herbicide tolerance, etc.) doesn’t exist in species,” Dr. Shotkoski explains. “Often traits of interest can be introgressed into a crop much faster using biotechnology tools such

Dr Vivencio Mamaril

“We may not all be so assiduous in guarding our rights in this situation, but what about on the food we eat? Are we always concerned with the safety of the food we consume? Is food quality in terms of safety our parameter in choosing what we eat? Do we read labels or are we more concerned with the price of the product we buy? These are the many questions that most consumer behavior researchers undertake,” asked Dr. Mamaril, who is also the director of the Philippine Agriculture and Fisheries Biotechnology Program.

as marker assisted breeding, gene transformation and/or gene editing.”

In recent years, modern biotechnology – through genetic engineering – has been used to increase plant and animal food production, to diagnose disease, improve medical treatment, produce vaccines and other useful drugs and to help dispose of industrial wastes.

Against hunger “There is a lot that happens around the world we cannot control,” American Congressman Jan Schakowsky once said. “We cannot stop earthquakes, we cannot prevent droughts, and we cannot prevent all conflict, but when

we know where the hungry, the homeless and the sick exist, then we can help.”

Hunger is the physical sensation of desiring food. When politicians, relief workers and social scientists talk about people suffering from hunger, they usually refer to those who are unable to eat sufficient food to meet their basic nutritional needs for sustained periods of time.

But with the continuous number of people added annually to the current population, it is more likely that hunger will be a rule rather an exception. “Population growth is going crazy,” pointed out Dr. Shotkoski. “From 2 billion in 1935, it doubled to 4 billion in 1975. By 2000, the world was

home to 6 billion.

In 2030, there will be about 8 billion people inhabiting this planet.”

In addition, there are the issues of climate change: rising temperatures and changing precipitation patterns.

“Climate change is a major challenge for agriculture and food security,” said Dr. Randy Hautea, ISAAA global coordinator.

Biotechnology is seen as a probable solution. “I see biotechnology as an important component of the many technologies and choices that we have available to provide food security, human nutrition and health for an ever-expanding population,” said Dr. Shotkoski.

“This is especially important for agriculture where farmers are faced with many biotic and abiotic constraints, most of which can’t be dealt with using conventional technologies.”

In 1994, Calgene’s delayed-ripening tomato became the first GM food crop to be produced and consumed in an industrialized country. In 1995, GM cotton and GM corn were subsequently commercialized. Soon to be introduced in the country are the following: GM eggplant and the vitamin A-rich golden rice.

A consumer advocacy group in United Kingdom reported that GM soya can be found in bread, biscuits, baby milk, baby foods, breakfast cereals, margarine, soups, pasta, pizza instant meals, meat products, flours, sweets, ice creams, crisps, chocolate, soy sauce, veggie-burgers, tofu, soya milk and pet foods.

In the Philippines, Filipinos may be eating GM foods, such as potato chips, corn cereals, or soya milk. Love it or loath it, transgenic food is

set to become a bigger part of what people eat.

Health concerns But Greenpeace, an anti-biotech organization, continues to take a preventive stance.

It cautioned that consumers can never be absolutely sure of the safety of biotech crops since this is only determined by decades of data and study.

Here are some concerns of those who opposed GM crops: Allergies: Dr. Romeo Quijano, of the Department of Pharmacology of the University of the Philippines College of Medicine, said GM food are hazardous commodities because they carried new proteins that may cause allergy.

The National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (BIOTECH) and its team have this answer: “Contrary to common perception, it is natural foods, not additives and artificial flavors, which account for majority of food allergies like nuts, shrimps, crabs and others. In fact, any food that contains proteins has the potential to cause allergic reactions depending on individual susceptibility.

“Furthermore, extensive food safety evaluation has been implemented to minimize the possibility that allergenic proteins are introduced into commercialized genetically modified crops. There is no single commercialized genetically modified plant that is known to cause any significant risks of allergenicity.”

Cancer: People eating GM food are likely to be susceptible to cancer. This was discovered in a study conducted by Dr. Arpad Pusztai of the Rowett Institute on genetically engineered potatoes on rats. In his research, he fed rats on two strains of potatoes: one with genetically engineered with lectin from snowdrop bulbs

F SCIENCE, 12

12 NEWS DRUG... FROM 1

“we never knew at that time kung sino ba talaga ang kalaban. Yun bang mga politiko na nag-aaway. nagri-rido sila or itong mga private armies ng politicians” (who among them are fighting. Was it the politicians involved in rido or the private armies of these politicians?).

Duterte noted that the Maute Group took advantage of the situation by “bringing firearms surreptitiously” into Marawi City.

“All the while, itong Maute, with the connivance of the politicians there, ‘yung mga warlords, were stockpiling.

Kaya ni hindi maubos ‘yung M-203 na bala at napakarami (That is why they don’t run out of M-203 grenade launchers. They have so many).

Government fires one, they will fire back five, Duterte said of the seemingly “endless supply when Maute rose to fight against government.”

He estimated the military build-up of the Maute Group in Marawi at around three years.

MindaNews sources in Marawi said it is no secret that families store firearms in their houses and terrorists could easily add up to their firepower by using the firearms inside the houses and

EDGEDAVAO

buildings inside the conflict zone.

Duterte told his troops that the Maute Group was merely waiting for a “bikil,” a reason for them to fire back and that reason was the service of the warrant of arrest against Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon on May 23.

He refers to the foreign fighters in Marawi City as a “conglomeration of ISIS fighters from Syria, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Arabs.”

Duterte announced the Marawi Crisis was “winding up but at the cost of so many soldiers also.”

ABS-CBN News Channel on Saturday reported the deployment of 400 Iloilo-based soldiers bound for Marawi.

At least 59 government forces and 300 others injured as of June 15, according to military spokespersons. At least 26 civilians were reported killed by the terrorists. The military claimed at least 225 terrorists have been killed and 208 of their firearms seized.

As of 6 p.m. June 15, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) reported a total of 332,582 person (68,109 families) displaced by armed conflict in Marawi, most of them from

95 of 96 barangays in Marawi.

The President and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines warned soldiers to watch out for these terrorists because “mahirap kalabanin yun taong gustong mamatay” (it’s difficult to fight somebody who wants to die).

Violent extremists, he said, have “so corrupted the name of God in the form of religion to kill mainly innocent persons and to destroy for nothing.”

He told reporters the Maute Group “was already infiltrated by the ISIS” and that they are in Marawi to “kill, kill, kill for no reason at all, to destroy, burn, pillage, rampage, for no reason at all.”

He said Marawi’s leaders knew there was already a military buildup on the part of the Maute Group and should have reported it to authorities.

He said traditional political leaders and the moderates who do not want Marawi turned into a wasteland are desperate to end the crisis but “I am not apologizing for anything there because they brought the problem to themselves.” ( CAROLYN O. ARGUILLAS/MINDANEWS)

EDGEDAVAO Serving a seamless society

is in need of Lay-out Artist Qualifications: • Male / Female • Knowledgeable in Adobe Photoshop and Indesign application • Willing to work under pressure

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Duterte... FROM 3

VOL. 10 ISSUE 56 • TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2017

suspicious incident to policemen and military troops, while encouraging everyone that martial law during his administration is different from the Marcos martial law.

“Basta iwasan (or huwag) ninyong papapasukin ang terrorismo, ireport niyo kaagad sa pulis kasi wala na akong pakialam sa pagpapatakbo ng pulis.

Sa kanila na yan. Yung nakaranas

ng martial law noong panahon ni Marcos, ano talaga ‘yun. Ang akin, basta martial law, maniwala lang kayo, maglalakwatsa kayo at walang bawal,” he said. (PND/ PNA)

and another with ordinary potatoes.

The result of his study: immune systems and brains, livers, kidneys and other vital organs of the rats fed with lectin-spiked potatoes were damaged while those fed with ordinary potatoes showed no damage at all.

“There is no evidence that the technologies used to produced-genetically modified foods are inherently harmful,” BIOTECH and other institutions concluded. Referring on the study done by Dr. Pusztai, they said it was debunked by the Royal Society of London. They found the Pusztai study as “flawed in experimental design, execution and analysis.”

Antibiotic resistance: Dr. Quijano said a scientific data indicate that “the emergence of new diseases, the rapid evolution of virulence and the widespread occurrence of drug and antibiotic resistance are associated with the rise of genetic engineering.”

The BIOTECH team claims otherwise: “The possibility that antibiotic resistance genes built into genetically modified plants could be transferred to bacteria harmful to humans has been thoroughly studied. To date, no reliable and stable transfer has been reported. In fact, there are no known mechanisms for effective transfer of genes from plant to bacteria under natural conditions.

“The probability of this occurring has been calculated as less than one in 1018,” the team said. “That is less than the chance of winning first prize in lotto three times in a row.”

Besides, antibiotics are used only in the laboratory during development process of the biotech crops. These, they claimed, do not produce antibiotics nor do they require application of antibiotics in the field.

food safety process called Codex Alimentarius Risk Analysis of Foods Derived from Modern Biotechnology under which these foods are not found to be risky to human health.

“GM foods currently available on the international market have passed risk assessments and are not likely to present risks for human health,” said the UN health agency. “No effects on human health have been shown as a result of the consumption of such foods by the general population in the countries where they have been approved.

Continuous use of risk assessments based on the Codex principles and, where appropriate, including post market monitoring, should form the basis for evaluating the safety of GM foods.”

Last year, the premier American Medical Association issued this statement: “Bioengineered foods have been consumed for close to 20 years and during that time, no overt consequences to human health have been reported and/or substantiated in the peer-reviewed literature.”

The Royal Society of Medicine, an independent educational organization for doctors, dentists, scientists and others involved in medicine and health care in England, said: “Foods derived from GM crops have been consumed by hundreds of millions of people across the world with no ill effects (or legal cases related to human health) despite many of the consumers coming from the most litigious of countries, the United States.”

Here’s the findings of the European Commission, the executive body of the European Union: “The main conclusion to be drawn from the efforts of more than 130 research projects, covering a period of more than 25 years of research and involving more than 500 independent research groups, is that biotechnology and in particular GMOs are no more risky than conventional plant-breeding technologies.”

everywhere. Unlike street food items that are not regulated, GM crops have been subjected to extensive testing under a biosafety framework regarded as one of the strictest in the world.

This made him wonder why those anti-GM campaigners have been blasting away at GM crops but keeping silent on the safety concerns for street food. It may be because, he surmised, street food items are so common that no one bothers to ask if they are safe and nutritious for hundreds of thousands of pupils and students who consume them daily in spite of threats of microbial contamination.

“We may not all be so assiduous in guarding our rights in this situation, but what about on the food we eat? Are we always concerned with the safety of the food we consume?

Is food quality in terms of safety our parameter in choosing what we eat? Do we read labels or are we more concerned with the price of the product we buy? These are the many questions that most consumer behavior researchers undertake,” asked Dr. Mamaril, who is also the director of the Philippine Agriculture and Fisheries Biotechnology Program.

“Take for example, why are there so many street foods being sold in front of schools and many other busy places? Is the selling of street foods regulated to guard the safety of consumers? The answer maybe is no.

And why is this so? It could be because the types of food sold are those known to be commonly consumed. Examples are animals’ innards that are processed as fried, smoked or are skewered, eggs wrapped in flour, fish balls, chicken balls, squid balls, taho, and many others. The food quality concern in these kinds of foods could be microbial,” he said.

Now on the other side of the coin. As for GM products, food safety is a real concern.

“Under our existing rules and regulations on GM crops, food safety is one the major concerns before such crops are given a biosafety permit. Other biosafety concerns are animal feeds and environmental safety,” Dr. Mamaril pointed out.

If you are given a choice, will you eat GM food or not?

One sage puts his answer this way: “A man who has enough food has several problems. A man without food has only one problem.” Or as Horace puts it: “Only a stomach that rarely feels hungry scorns common things.”

SCIENCE... FROM 11

Support Now, let’s take a closer look at those organizations which fully support the transgenic crops for human consumption.

“Foods produced using genetic modification is as safe as foods produced using conventional breeding techniques,” assures the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “Genetically modified foods are as safe as other foods available on the market.”

The Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO) declared that different GM foods go through the global

Safer than street foods Meanwhile, Officer-in-charge Vivencio R. Mamaril of the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) claims those foods that contain GMOs are safer to eat than those being sold in the streets.

The reason: transgenic crops undergo stricter tests and environmental assessments and could be much safer and more nutritious than street food consumed daily

13 ICT HUB EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 10 ISSUE 56 • TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2017

First in the Philippines:

Starmobile begins local assembly of UNO B208 featurephone

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ILIPINO technology company Star Telecom Alliance Resources, Inc. (STAR, Inc.), the parent of smartphone brand Starmobile, announced today the start of its mobile phone production efforts in the Philippines as it starts assembly of 20,000 units of the UNO B208 featurephone in a facility in Calamba, Laguna.

This ground-breaking effort officially makes Starmobile the first Filipino brand to assemble mobile phones locally.

“Since we started five years ago, it has been the company’s goal to contribute to the local economy and provide employment by assembling phones in the Philippines,” said Starmobile COO Michael Chen.

“Aside from bringing us a step closer to our dream of building up the Philippines an important player in the global tech scene, this will also benefit our bottom line, as it will result in more cost and time-efficient logistics and shipment around the country. In addition, because we will have parts and an assembly facility

locally, we expect this to improve our after-sales support for our customers.”

While smartphones are more popular than ever in the Philippines, the demand for basic calland-text feature phones still thrives in the country.

Their affordability allows them to be great daily drivers for a large segment of the population, while their focused call-andtext services and compact screens allow them to be very power efficient.

The Starmobile UNO B208 is a dual-SIM feature phone with an FM radio, camera with flash, expandable memory, flashlight, multimedia playback, and a battery life of up to two days. It is available in red, blue, or black.

Learn more about Starmobile devices by visiting facebook.com/starmobilephones, instagram. com/happymanph, twitter.com/happymanph, and www.starmobile.com.ph Five Awesome Years Established in 2011, Starmobile is the mobile devices division of Star

A worker boots up a pair of Starmobile UNO B208 units for inspection

Gerry Torres of Starmobile’s Quality Control Team oversees the inspection of the UNO B208

Telecom Alliance Resources, Inc. (STAR, Inc.). It is founded by telco industry experts with extensive experience in retail and product development.

Since it first offered Android devices, Starmobile has officially become the winningest Philippine smartphone brand with a slew of innovation awards from reputable media outfits. The company’s flagship KNIGHT series, has won top awards since 2013—a feat that has not been replicated by any local device company.

Learn more about Starmobile and its line of smartphones and tablets by visiting www.starmobile.com. ph or log on to facebook. com/starmobilephones.

14 MOTORING EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 10 ISSUE 56 • TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2017

Motul, Subaru Toyota PH exemplifies strengthen partnership environment consciousness S

O

NE Toyota is sold in the Philippines every four minutes—an amazing feat since they already corner a good 45 percent market share.

With such a huge impact to all sectors of society, it’s just about right that Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation (TMP) would serve a responsible role when it comes to environmentally-conscious motoring. But what’s even more surprising is how Toyota has become the leader in environmentally-conscious manufacturing as well.

For the last 44 years, the Japanese automaker has been celebrating “Toyota Environment Month” by dedicating the whole month of June to rallying employees to take action in their communities by organizing and participating in activities related to environmental awareness and conservation.

Coinciding with this global celebration, TMP launched the 2017 Eco Fair which highlights the company’s environmental initiatives throughout its value chain as aligned with the Toyota Environmental Challenge (TEC) 2050.

The TEC 2050 serves as Toyota’s guide in achieving zero environmental impact in all aspect of its operations, and create a net positive impact to contribute to a better society. After Toyota Motor Cor-

poration globally launched it in 2015, TMP took on the challenge of further minimizing its carbon footprint by reducing emissions in operations and spreading awareness about creating a society in harmony with nature.

The 4th Generation Prius was highlighted in the exhibit, as part of Toyota’s efforts in achieving Challenge 1: New Vehicle Zero CO2 Emission. The Prius uses hybrid technology, which uses two power sources: the internal combustion engine always operates at maximum efficiency, and the electric motor provides backup and recovers surplus energy. TMP has made the Prius available to the market, giving customers a choice to purchase eco-friendly vehicles.

To ensure proper environmental management, TMP requires all of its suppliers to abide by Toyota’s Green Purchasing Guidelines. Suppliers are encouraged to continuously enhance their respective environmental performance and introduce initiatives that reduce carbon dioxide= emission in their own operations, contributing to the achievement of Challenge 2: Life Cycle Zero CO2 Emission. For example, International Wiring Systems Philippines Corporation (IWSP), TMP’s wiring harness supplier for Vios and

Innova, committed to reduce their energy consumption and CO2 emission by at least 6 percent in relation to production volume. To achieve this target, IWSP implemented several improvements, which includes installation of energy-saving devices in air conditioning units and transition from conventional lighting to a more efficient and environment-friendly lighting in their facilities.

As part of Challenge 3: Plant Zero CO2 Emission, TMP remains committed in lowering CO2 emissions in its operations. TMP installed the Boiler Feedback Controller in Painting line’s 2 boilers. This mechanism ensures optimum efficiency in boiler combustion by automatically adjusting airto-fuel ratio. As lesser fuel is used, the boilers now function with lesser CO2 emissions.

TMP also highlighted its Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) as one of its initiatives in achieving Challenge 4: Minimizing and Optimizing Water Usage. The WWTP treats water coming from TMP’s manufacturing plant and offices to ensure that the water discharge is safe. Safe water coming from the WWTP is used to water the plants and refill the manmade lagoon, while the rest is released to Laguna Lake. TMP also introduced the use of Biochemical Treatment in the

painting sludge pool. Its effectiveness resulted in generation of less waste water and correspondingly, a decrease in water volume necessary for replenishment.

In its efforts to contribute to Challenge 5: Establishing a Recycling-Based Society, TMP established its very own Green Home model. TMP’s Green Home is made of 51 percent recycled materials. The furniture and fixtures inside the house were fabricated from Toyota manufacturing plant’s scrap materials such as metal and wooden pallets used for packaging, tubes, wire rollers, plastics, pipes, excess tiles, and crushed glass. The Green Home features environment-friendly solutions such as natural and LED lighting, natural ventilation, green roof, and rainwater harvesting.

TMP directly contributes to Challenge 6: Establishing a Future Society in Harmony with Nature through its various tree-planting initiatives.

Located inside the Toyota Special Economic Zone (TSEZ) is the Toyota Forest where TMP Team Members annually plant trees. Likewise, members of TMP’s value chain annually troop to its adopted forest located inside the Makiling Botanic Gardens in Los Banos, Laguna for tree-planting activities.

UBARU and its motorsports division, Subaru Tecnica International or STI strengthened its partnership once more with lubricant specialist Motul. Already being used by STI for their Super GT challenger, the BRZ GT300, Motul was chosen once more for Subaru’s three-peat bid at the 24-Hour Nürburgring Challenge.

This year marks a milestone year for STI since it will be their 10th consecutive participation in the grueling endurance race (they started racing here after their pull out of the World Rally Championship). And though this year’s WRX STI successfully out qualified the Lexus RC and Audi TTRS in the SP3T category, it failed to finish the grueling race due to an engine fire at the 21st hour.

Despite its non-finish, Motul did rise up to the chal-

LGUs... FROM 4

lenge and worked flawlessly despite rising engine temperatures (it was so hot that at one point, the fuel in the lines was boiling). As the first lubricant manufacturer to use ester technology resulting in its line of 100 percent synthetic car oils, Motul used the motorsports 300V engine oil and specialist brake fluids in the 2017 Nürburgring Challenge car.

Subaru and Motul’s partnership extends even off the racetrack with a specially engineered co-branded motor oil designed for Subaru.

Available in both 1-liter and 5-liter size, it offers optimum protection and reliability for Subaru’s turbocharged Boxer engines.

In the Philippines, Motul is distributed by Autoplus Sportzentrium. Contact them at 02-726-0399 for more information.

lecting taxes needed for funding services, production of public goods and development of social infrastructures,” said PSLINK, as represented by its president Annie Geron.

“PSLINK strongly believes that the proposed [comprehensive tax reform (CTR)] will substantially and significantly address the current faulty, porous, and regressive tax system. Let us give CTR a fair chance, pass CTR now,” Geron said.

Meanwhile, at the recent Senate ways and means committee hearing chaired by Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, the Clean Air Philippines Movement Inc. (CAMPI) reiterated its support for the TRAIN. “[We should take] into consideration that 80 percent of air pollution is emitted by the cars and utility vehicles, private and public running in our roads,” said CAMPI president Dr. Leo Olarte at the hearing. (DOF)

our fight against corruption,” he emphasized.

Last month, the DOTr has started its online livestreaming of procurement processes for all projects of the department to promote transparency, accountability and good governance.

Since its activation, DOTr

has livestreamed a total of twenty-nine projects, twenty-one of which were covered during the Pre-bid Conference, while eight projects were covered during the Opening of Bids. The online livestreams can be seen in the official DOTr Facebook page. (Aerol B. Patena/PNA)

were collared in Iloilo City on Sunday (June 18) were turned over to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) here for the filing of appropriate charges.

The three suspects reportedly breached the security of the local port area here,

prompting them to board an inter-island passenger vessel, which has a stopover in Iloilo City.

Alert military and police intelligence tracked the three suspects in Iloilo City, which lead to their arrest, the police said. (Ercel Maandig/PNA)

DOTr... FROM 4

Misamis... FROM 6

SPORTS 15

EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 10 ISSUE 56 • TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2017

Pam Lastimosa of Sta. Lucia Realty goes hard against Laizah Bendong of Cherrylume Danika Gendrauli of Sta. Lucia Realty defies this Cherrylume during their game yesterday in the Rebiscodefense during their game yesterday in the Rebisco-Philippine Mary Ann Mendres of Cherrylume tries to score against this Sta. Lucia Realty defense during their game Philippine Superliga Philippine (PSL) AllSuperliga Philippine (PSL) All-Filipino Conference at the Filoil yesterday in the Rebisco-Philippine Superliga Philippine (PSL) All-Filipino Conference at the Filoil Flying Filipino Conference at the Filoil Flying V Center Flying V Center in San Juan.

V Center in San Juan. in San Juan.

F2 wins anew, meets Duterte, IBP cagers play to a draw Cherrylume today I Games Tuesday (Filoil Flying V Center)

3 pm – Petron vs Generika-Ayala 5 pm – F2 Logistics vs Cherrylume 7 pm – Sta. Lucia vs Cocolife

F

2 Logistics kicked off its second round campaign on a sizzling note as it clobbered Cocolife, 25-16, 2512, 25-16, in the Philippine Superliga (PSL) All-Filipino Conference on Saturday at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan.

Majoy Baron, the reigning UAAP Most Valuable Player, spearheaded the assault to tow the Cargo Movers to their second victory in four starts in this prestigious club league bankrolled by Gold’s Gym, Belo and Rebisco with TV5 as official broadcast partner.

With the win, the Cargo Movers have to nail their next two assignments against Cherrylume and Sta. Lucia Realty to gain a good position in the crossover quarterfinals of this tourney that also has Mikasa, Senoh, Mueller, Asics and Grand Sport as technical sponsors.

The survivors in the quarterfinals will figure in the semifinals with the victors advancing to the best-of-three title showdown starting July 11.

“Ang goal namin ay mag-number one sa group namin para kahit papano yung las sa kabilang bracket ang makalaban namin,” said F2 Logistics coach Ramil de Jesus, adding that his wards played well despite facing a squad bannered by former La Salle star Michele Gumabao.

“Sana magtuloy-tuloy yung ganitong galaw. Although marami pang errors pero maganda pa din ang pinakita namin.”

Baron delivered nine kills, a block and an ace for 11 points to topscore for the Cargo Movers, whose domination reflected in the attack department, 35-23.

Earlier, MJ Phillips waxed hot at the attack zone to lift Sta. Lucia Realty to an emphatic 2520, 21-25, 25-17, 25-16 victory over Cherrylume.

A power-hitting Filipino-American, Phillips erupted with 23 attacks and a pair of aces for a total of 25 points for the Lady Realtors, who nailed their first win after three luckless starts.

Pam Lastimosa delivered 13 hits while Janine Navarro and Danika Gendrauli chipped in nine markers apiece for Sta. Lucia, which displayed red-hot offense and solid services with Phillips at the helm.

“We served really tough and passed really well,” said the 6-foot Phillips, who was born in Zambales but was raised in Carson, California before seeing action for Juniata College in the Division III of the US NCAA. “We’re still a work in progress, but we really wanted to win.”

The Lady Realtors gained the upper hand on offense with 52 attacks compared to the Iron Lady Warriors’ 30. They also had more blocks (6-4) and more aces (12-11) to underscore their dominance on both ends despite giving their young and inexperienced foes their first set victory of the tourney in the second set.

But after that second set meltdown, where they fell to a maze error in the crucial stretch, the Lady Realtors sprung back to life in the third with Phillips punching holes at the defensive blanket of the Iron Lady Warriors, whose average age is just 19 years old.

Sta. Lucia was nursing a two-point lead, 18-16, before Cherrylume committed three service errors in the final stretch of the third set that set the tone for yet another heart-crushing setback.

Mary Ann Mendrez again served as a lonely soldier on offense with 16 kills for a teamhigh 18 points for the developing Cherrylume side, which suffered its fourth consecutive setback.

BP fell short once again to clinch its first win as the lawyers settled another draw, 95-95, against Team Duterte in Game 12 of their basketball friendly series over the weekend at the Genesis 88 Gym. Team Duterte stayed undefeated in the series as victory remained elusive for the IBP which is now trailing 9-0 in the series.

This is the third game in the series that settled in a deadlock following Game 8 and 10.

IBP played its patented type of game anchored on a more balance attack.

Five players finished in double digits led by Chok Cadiogan who scored 22 points.

Contributing significant numbers for IBP were Dapaong (15), Baguio (14), Ongkiko (10) and Ciudadano (10).

Sec. Christopher “Bong” Go led the way for Team Duterte with 33

points game high points.

Go, the special assistant to President Duterte, shot seven triples.

Chan and Aberilla added 18 amd 14 respectively for Team Duterte.

The game was close all throughout with both teams traded rallies.

IBP were fighting hard to secure its first win in the series but in some games breaks went against its favor.

In Game 8, IBP appeared to be on its way to secure its first win in the series leading as much as 17 points.

But Team Duterte staved it off came with great resolve anchored on Sec. Go’s timely baskets down the stretch.

Sec. Go finished the game with 50 points with 8 treys.

HOT HANDS. Sec. Bong Go.fired 50 points in Game 12.

George leaving Indiana

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HE Indiana Pacers’ timeline for making a decision on star forward Paul George just kicked into overdrive.

George’s camp has informed the Pacers that the fourtime All-Star intends to leave in the summer of 2018 when he becomes a free agent, two people with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Sunday night. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because neither side publicly discusses unresolved personnel matters.

George has spent all seven of his NBA seasons in Indiana, emerging as one of the league’s top players. He averaged a career-high 23.7 points and shot 46 percent last season, but the seventh-seeded Pacers were swept by Cleveland in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The steady decline in competitiveness of the franchise, and LeBron James’ dominance of the conference, has led George to look elsewhere as he nears free agency next summer.

The Pacers’ chances of keeping George also took a big hit when he was not voted to one of the three All-NBA teams

after this season. Had he been voted in, George would have qualified for a super-max contract worth about $210 million over five years, a staggering sum that may have been too much to turn down. Instead, the Pacers are able to offer him around $177 million.

George’s declaration puts the Pacers on the spot. They can either try to trade him this summer in hopes of getting a package of players and draft picks that can at least help them try to make up for the loss of a foundational star, or they can try to keep him for this season, make some other moves around him to improve the roster and hope they can change his mind.

It’s quite a test for Kevin Pritchard, who took over as the chief decision-maker in the Pacers front office after Larry Bird abruptly stepped down after the season concluded. Pritchard is well-respected across the league and has considerable experience from his time running the show in Portland. He also spent several years under Bird in Indiana, which gives him the familiarity of the roster and George to make an informed decision.

Loreto dedicates title fight to Mindanaoans

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ORMER world champion Rey “Hitman” Loreto is dedicating his upcoming world title-fight to the people of Mindanao, especially to those affected by the on-going crisis in Marawi City.

“Inaalay ko po ang laban kong ito sa mga kapwa ko Pinoy na naiipit ngayon sa gulo sa Marawi at siyempre sa lahat ng mga Pinoy sa buong mundo, Mindanao at Davao (I’m dedicating his fight to my fellow Filipinos who are affected by the problem in Marawi and of course to all Filipinos around the world, Mindanao and Davao),” said Loreto, who is a native of Davao City.

Loreto, who is a former

International Boxing Organization (IBO) World light flyweight champion, is challenging the undisputed World Boxing Association (WBA) minimumweight champion Thammanoon Niyomtrong also known as Knockout CP Freshmart of Thailand on July 15 in Chonburi, Thailand.

“Naawa po talaga ako sa mga tao lalo na sa mga batang walang kamalay malay na nadadamay sa gulo ngayon.

Sana po matatapos na agad at bumalik na ang katahimikan doon,” (I really pity the people especially the children who are affected by the crisis now) said Loreto, who used his savings to build a house for his parents in Davao.

16 EDGEDAVAO Sports

VOL. VOL.10 10ISSUE ISSUE56 56••TUESDAY, TUESDAY,JUNE JUNE20, 20,2017 2017

PADDLE POWER

Mati paddlers see action in Bugsayan Festival PADDLER. Surfing babe Iyay Magbago of Team Amihan from Mati City is joining the 1st Mayor Tina Yu Bugsayan Festival on June 23 to 25 in San Isidro, Davao Oriental.

T

EAM Amihan of Mati City is seeing action in the 1st Mayor Tina Yu Bugsayan Festival slated on June 2325 in San Isidro, Davao Oriental.

Team Amihan, coached by Jun Plaza, will be powered by Winston Plaza, Iyai Magbago, Peter Ocdenaria, Mani Dalamas, Ronald Paulino, Lang-Lang Apordo and Ebebz Cose.

They will be seeing action in the Male Singles, Female Singles, All-Male Tandem, All-Female Tandem and Mixed Tandem categories of the kayaking competition.

Other teams seeing action are CARE Group and Team Hadams of Digos City, Gabon, Trimmoc, LAPUK and Team Mosaca from Davao City.

Aside from their showdown, the four dragon boat teams from Davao City – Hiraya M i nokawa, Base Camp, Kampilan and Dragon Warriors -- will also be joining the Mixed Tandem only accord-

ing to director Danilo “Jhune” Bacus, president of the organizing Bugsay Dabaw.

Bugsay Dabaw and the Municipal Government of San Isidro is staging the 3-day boat paddling event featuring races on recreational kayaks, Bangka and Vinta boats.

The banka race is exclusively for residents of San Isidro only. It will have a Tandem for Couple, Male Single and Female Single while the Lawig Vinta is open to all. Cash prizes and trophies are up for grabs.

The other events are the Lutong Baybayon (open cooking contest), Kite Flying (Tabanog ni Sidro) and the Search for Ginoong and Binibining Bugsayan.

Registration fee is P200 per head with entitles already the participant to join in all categories and competitions. The entry fee includes a singlet, activity ID, one meal and snack onJune 24 and 25. There is also a live band during the socials with one free bottle of beer.

The event is back up by the Mindanao Mountaineering Community (MMC), Mountaineering Federation of Southern Mindanao (MFSM) and the Hamiguitan Mountaineering Club (Hamocs) of San Isidro.

It is supported by Zabama Rhum, Nature’s Spring Water, Municipal Tourism of San Isidro, The Boatman, Mulatto, Base Camp, Ripwave, Mountain Gear, House of Lord Anthony, Philippine Retirement Authority, Reponte Chorizo, Tukad Outdoors, Higherground, Forest Outdoors, Deboho Davao, MOB Production Ads, DSPECS, Ely Wahig, Trail Outdoors, Bothammock, PDG, Brgy. Kap. CS Tiongco and Onyol Prints. For more inquiry, call Bacus at 09083286061.