Edge10 issue84 July 28-29,2017

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NEW ESTABLISHMENT. President Duterte is given a tour inside the Rizal Park Hotel in Manila during its grand opening on Wednesday night. Touring the President is Rizal Park Hotel Chairman Simon Paz. SIMEON CELI JR./PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

Duterte’s vow to strengthen AFP in 2 years welcomed

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he Armed Forces of the Philippines lauded President Rodrigo Duterte’s announcement that he will make the military strong and credible in two year’s time.

This plan will allow the 125,000-strong AFP to carry out its mandate of protecting the country against external and internal security threats, military spokesperson Brig.

Gen. Restituto Padilla said Thursday.

“We strongly appreciate this proposal by the President as strengthening of the AFP will allow it to perform much better and efficiently its mandate,” he said in Filipino.

During a press conference after his second State-of-the-NationAddress (SONA) Monday, the Chief Executive said he is pushing for the recruitment of 20,000 soldiers and 10,000 to 15,000 Special

DUTERTE’S10

Sarangani capital town declared‘drug-cleared’

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uthorities declared on Wednesday the entire municipality of Alabel, Sarangani Province’s capital, as “dug-cleared.”

Gil Cesario Castro, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Region 12 director, said the municipality’s 13 barangay are considered “cleared” of illegal drugs and related activities based on regulations set by the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB).

He said the declaration came after a series of assessments conducted by PDEA-12, Sarangani and Alabel police and concerned stakeholders.

The official said all barangays in Alabel

underwent thorough evaluation as provided for in DDB Board Regulation No. 3, series of 2017 or “Strengthening the Implementation of Barangay Drug-Clearing Program.”

“They all satisfied the parameters for declaration as drug-cleared barangays,” Castro told reporters following the ceremonial declaration held at the municipal gymnasium on Wednesday afternoon.

He specifically cited the provisions of Section 8 of DDB Board Regulation No. 3, which set 14 requirements for concerned “drug-affected barangays.”

Castro said the most

SARANGANI10

Sara backed in ending P40-B coastline project

Better plans in place that will consider social issues

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arious groups have thrown support behind the decision of City Mayor Sara Duterte to terminate the joint venture agreement that her father, then city mayor and now President Rodrigo R. Duterte, signed with Mega Harbour Port Development, Inc. last year for the P40-billion worth 200-hectare Davao Coastline and Port Development Project.

Interface Development Interventions acting executive director Chinkie Pelino-Golle told MindaNews that she believes the mayor has better

plans for the development of the city that will take into consideration social issues and ensure environmental sustainability.

“We have been apprehensive of this proposed project because of the social and environmental implications in which were not addressed in the committee hearings and content of the ordinance passed by the city council,” she said.

Golle lauded the local chief executive for taking the time to review the project’s economic viability and environmental sustainability.

“After all, she is the mayor of the city and she should decide for the people and for the future of this city. I believe she has studied this carefully and found valid reasons for her to decide like this. I trust her statement that her decision is for the benefit of the majority of the Dabawenyos,” she added.

Last Tuesday, Duterte announced that she reached out to the proponent, Mega Harbour Port and Development Corporation, that the city will no longer proceed with the project.

“The decision came after

about more than a year of careful review and study of the available documents and after weighing out the intentions of the project against its commercial viability, legal and social implications, and the project’s possible effects to the environment,” the mayor said.

Duterte said the decision to terminate the joint venture agreement is coupled with a resolve so “Davao City can really move forward and answer the call of economic growth by implementing highly sustainable projects, both commercially and

rose when torrential rains hit southern Mindanao last week.

It continued to rise since the other parts of Mindanao continue to experience rains brought by inter-tropical convergence zone and water cascaded downstream via the heavily silted Maguindanao marshland.

Affected families, some moved to evacuation areas while others in relatives’ homes, have been provided with emergency food packs

and drinking water.

The city, home to about 300,000 inhabitants, has served as catch basin of flood waters from the marshland before go to the seas.

During high tide, water rises further, inundating more communities in the city.

When rising water was noticed last week, Mayor Sayadi immediately directed all village chairperson, activates the barangay risk reduction and management

council and ordered all village officials to ensure nobody is harmed due to floods.

She also directed the city disaster risk reduction and management council to immediately disperse ready to eat food when local residents noticed the water rising fast and that they have to move. ”We waste no time and our disaster workers immediately hauled the residents to safer grounds,” she told repoters.

SARA 10

Cotabato City under state of calamity due to floods

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ith 25 of 37 villages under water affecting about 100,000 residents, the local government today placed the entire city under state of calamity.

Mayor Cynthia GuianiSayadi said the city council has passed a resolution putting the city under calamity to allow the ease release of funds needed in helping thousands of affected residents.

The flood water slowly

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Kadayawan village underway for festival

By ANGIE SAVERON he first Kadayawan Village is currently under construction at the Magsaysay Park as one of the highlights of this year’s Kadayawan festival.

The village is composed of 11 tribal houses representing the indigenous ethno-linguistic populations off Davao City.

Festival Director GatchiGatchalian told I-speak forum held at Saging Repablik on Thursday, he is optimistic that it’ll be ready before the opening of the festival.

The village is located at Magsaysay Park and will be launched on the opening of Kadayawan festival on August 14, 2017.

“Angpartisipasyonpong 11 tribes yunpoangpinag-

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mamalakinamin at ang Tribal Village,” said GeneroseTecson of the City Tourism Office.

The houses in the village approximate authentic tribal houses, because they are made by the people of each tribe. There were ritual done prior to the construction and the houses are actually based on their culture and traditional architecture.

“This is a very good opportunity not only for the tourist but also for the Dabawenyos to learn and appreciate the Davao Tribes” said Gatchalian.

The village is also seen as a good tourist spot where the tourist guides will be able to bring and educate the tourists

PRIMING UP. Kadayawan sa Davao 2017 festival director Gatchi Gatchalian (left), together with City Tourism Office head GeneRose Tecson, provides the details of the activities and events for this year’s Kadayawan festivities during I-Speak media forum at Saging Repablik in Davao City on Thursday. Lean Daval Jr.

BOC destroys P9.4M Security of Kadayawan smuggled cigarettes T T KADAYAWAN 10

By ANGIE SAVERON

he Bureau of Customs destroyed closed to P10 million worth of smuggled cigarettes seized in this city, a BOC official announced Thursday.

Lawyer Halleck Valdez, BOC district collector, told the Philippine News Agency that the cigarettes consisting of 1,185 cases were soaked with water first before it was crushed by a steam roller.

Valdez said the confiscated cigarettes were destroyed Wednesday afternoon at the sanitary landfill of this city in Barangay Salaan.

Valdez said the 1,185 cases of cigarettes they destroyed have an estimated worth of P9.4 million.

He said the cigarettes were

confiscated since last year for violation of Section 119 of the Tariff and Customs Laws of the Philippines.

He said the cigarettes were seized by BOC personnel in coordination with other law enforcement agencies like the coastguard and navy.

“These (cigarettes) had been there (in the warehouse) for quite sometime and then it was abandoned (by the owners). So I issued an abandonment and seizure order and after that I issued a condemnation order,” he said.

He said the destruction of the cigarettes should serve as lesson to traders from engaging into illegal business “because we will not allow smuggling in this part of the country.” (Ely E. Dumaboc/PNA)

his is the safest Kadayawan Festival the city will be having because of the Martial Law and the security measures that the organizers prepared.

The Extension of Martial Law is seen as an additional security measure to ensure the safety of the tourists, participants and locals during the celebration of Kadayawan. “There is a wrong perception and that is what we are trying to remove because ayaw nating isipin nila na magulo ang sitwasyon dito sa Davao.” said Gatchi Gatchalian, Festival Director of Kadayawan 2017.

Mid july the Executive committee of the kadayawan festival already started to promote the celebration. They used the social media as one of their initial platform of promotion and were able to reach thousands of people. Then soon they will be launching their nationwide campaign in promoting the Kadayawan through the billboards in different areas in the Philippines namely: Cebu, Edsa , Zambuanga and Ilo-ilo He also mentioned that through the posts about the current situation of Davao city on social media it helped gain the confidence

of the people outside Davao to visit the city.The people are encouraged to join the celebration because there are so many activities that they can do here which will start on the 14th of August.

Gatchalian said that Davao is prepared for the influx of tourist in these coming days

From the very beginning the Executive Committee worked hand in hand with the Security Forces in fact they are also a member of the Executive Committee.

“So everytime na nag pplano pa lang ni rereffer lahat sa kanila.” said Genrose Tecson from the City Tourism Office.

During their last ExeCom meeting they presented their

Aside from the official events that the city will be hosting, there also other events that such as parties and rave so to ensure the safety of the people that will be attending this events they required the organizers to present their security plans and hire extra guards, this is to guarantee the people that the security forces of the city

SECURITY 10

Muslim preacher named Marawi City police chief

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ILLICIT TRADE. Lawyer Barbara Mae Flores of Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) talks about the state of human trafficking in the region and gives some details of the agency’s programs during I-Speak media forum at Saging Repablik in Davao City on Thursday. Lean Daval Jr.

plan to the security forces for them to make a security plan but to their surprise the security forces already had something ready. Hon. Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio ordered the ExeCom to ensure the safety before anything else.

hief Supt. Reuben Theodore Sindac, police regional director for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (PRO-ARMM), today announced the designation of a noted Muslim preacher as the new police chief for Marawi City.

Supt. Ebra Moxir Al Haj has assumed office Tuesday facing a gargantuan challenge of bringing peace and normalcy in the city stilled besieged by jihadists Abu Sayyaf and Maute Groups.

Sindac said Moxir served for 22 years in the Philippine National Police Chaplain Service and a commissioned officer of the Philippine Army.

His being religious will help bring back the glory days of police in Marawi City.

Supt. Moxir, currently the president of the Imam Council of the Philippines, was welcomed by his subordinates and other police officers from PRO-ARMM

when he assumed office at the Camp Bagong Amai Pakpak in Marawi City. ”Let us bring back the rule of law,” he told members of the Marawi City PNP, majority of whom he knew personally being and native of the city. ”Let us be an instrument to bring back the peace that was lost in Marawi due to the Maute and Abu Sayyaf attacks,” he added.

Sindac said aside from being a full bloodied Maranao, Supt. Moxir was one of the best among police superintendents there is in the organization. He holds a masters’ degree in public management major in development studies and master in public administration.

Sindac hoped that Moxir will bring back the glory days of the PNP in Marawi City whose main objective is to serve and to protect the people. (EOF/PNA)

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Senate hearings to query agencies on fund usage

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o confirm if there was indeed underspending in the government’s budget utilization, a senator on Thursday said that the upcoming 2018 national budget hearings in the Senate will find out if the government is on track on spending its annual allocations.

Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto made this remark following reports quoting officials of the Duterte administration saying that the previous administration failed to spend or delayed the spending of an estimated P1 trillion in appropriations.

Recto said that he wanted to know if the Duterte administration has solved the problem of its predecessor noting that he was given

a preliminary estimate that unreleased appropriations reached P185.8 billion in 2016, on top of unobligated allotments of P410.8 billion.

“Of these amounts, how much was due to the election ban on public works and other expenditures, and how much can be pinned on inefficiency, to transition, to lack of plans?” Recto said in a press statement.

He further said measuring the government’s “spending velocity” would lead to the discovery of bottlenecks in the implementation of projects.

“We can find out what is the problem and the corresponding legislative or administrative remedies can be applied,” Recto noted.

(PNA)

NEW AIR ROUTE. Cebu Pacific corporate communications director Charo Logarta-Lagamon (leftmost), Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang (2nd from left), Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo of Dumaguete City (2nd from right) and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) Davao head Agnes

Udang pose for a photo during the ceremonial exchange of mementos on Thursday’s Davao-Dumaguete and Davao-Tacloban routes launching of Cebu Pacific held The Marco Polo Davao on Thursday. Lean Daval Jr.

Davao City reviews T own Incentive Code T

PH retail industry to grow strongly despite Marawi crisis

he city government is reviewing the 23-year-old Davao City Incentive Code so that packages are harmonized with current development.

The review will be facilitated by Price Waterhouse Cooper (PWC) thru Isla Lipana, the Philippine member-firm of PWC UK. Davao City Investment and Promotion Center chief Lemuel Ortonio said the review team will arrive in Davao City next month to discuss with them the process and funding component; then agree on the terms of reference.

The city government

and the PWC partnership came about when the latter assisted DCIPC developed a guide book on holding investment road shows.

Davao City is among the six cities that PWC assisted with the guide book. The other cities were Cagayan de Oro City, General Santos City, Cebu, Iloilo and Bacolod.

The incentive code was approved in 1994. It was in 1995 when the city government granted tax incentives.

From then on until this year, the city already granted tax packages to 235 firms. Four of them will graduate this year or were fully complet-

ed the incentive package.

Ortonio said the grantees were of mix industries but a majority of them are engaged in agri-business, tourism facilities, and property development.

He said that two companies were granted incentive for the first quarter this year. One of them is a low-cost housing project Apo Highlands in Cataluna Grande, and an infrastructure and green project - the Apo Agua in Calinan. In 2016, housing project developer and a feed mill investor in Toril were granted tax package.

The current incentives

granted to investors is a package on fees for three years while the real property tax exemption of 70 percent for two years. It covers fiscal and non-fiscal incentives for investments falling under the preferred investment areas.

Ortonio pointed out the incentive code is not the gauge of the investors to invest but it helps or gives them perks.

Meanwhile, Ortonio said they are also in the process industry profile list-up of the preferred industry areas. They already completed the agri-business profile.

(Digna D. Banzon/PNA

he city government is preparing for the deployment here later next month of the Department of Science and Technology’s (DOST) locally-developed “40-meter train-like bus” dubbed Hybrid Electric Road Train (HERT).

City Councilor Dominador Lagare Jr., chair of the city council’s committee on transportation, said they received confirmation from the agency that the HERT would be arriving in the city before the first week of September.

He said the train will be transported to the city through a chartered vessel or barge after it completes its six-month technology demonstration or test run in Cebu City.

It has been serving commuters in Cebu City and the neighboring areas for free since Feb. 15 as part of the test run.

The HERT, which was launched by DOST in 2015, was designed by Filipino engineers and made with locally available parts, an agency briefer said.

It said the “40-meter long train-like bus” can run at a maximum speed of 50 kilometers per hour and is mainly powered by hybrid diesel fuel and electric-powered battery.

The electric train was designed as energy-efficient vehicle and does not need electricity and suspended cables to operate.

“We’re expecting its delivery before the city’s Tuna Festival on Sept.

5,” he said in a privilege speech during the city’s council’s regular session.

The city government, through Mayor Ronnel Rivera, earlier signed a contract of commodatum with the DOST’s Metals Industry Research and Development Center (MIRDC) for the use of the HERT. Commodatum is a “gratuitous contract” that allows a certain party to loan specific chattels for use, with the obligation to return them after an agreed period.

Lagare said DOSTMIRDC officials and engineers had conducted an ocular inspection of the city’s roads and assessed the viability of using the HERT in the area.

The official said the

local government will utilize the train to serve the Lagao public market to the city airport route in Barangay Fatima.

It will pass through the national highway and the city’s circumferential road, and will pick up passengers in designated waiting areas, Lagare said.

“Once the bypass road from the city airport to the fishport complex is completed and opened, we will extend the route there,” he said.

Citing the agreement, Lagare said the city will use the train for free for at least five months under the supervision of the DOST-MIRDC. He said project engineers will train the city

he country’s retail industry is expected to grow strongly this and next year, as consumer confidence increases on the back of effective government policies despite armed conflict in Marawi City.

“So far, the Mindanao issue is being confined basically to the Marawi City and immediate environment. So far, that has not affected consumer confidence elsewhere in the Philippines especially in Luzon and Visayas,” said Philippine Retailers Association (PRA) President Paul Santos in an interview.

Santos is optimistic of the sector’s continued growth, noting the Duterte administration is in a better position to build on policies laid down by previous administrations.

“I think they are in a better position to tweak these policies because they have

the benefit of hindsight meaning, they know from the experience of the previous administrations what does works, what doesn’t,” he said.

Santos cited results of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) latest consumer expectations survey showing that consumer confidence in the Duterte administration was still solid.

“I suppose we can infer from that people have their full faith and confidence in the new administration and these translate into a robust shopping environment. So for as long these conditions continue, I think you will not see any decline in consumer confidence in the administration and this translates to confidence to spend,” he added.

Santos identified other drivers of growth in the

The House of Representatives panel has approved on third and final reading a measure mandating the appointment of a cooperatives officer in every local government unit to ensure that the concerns of cooperatives match the sustainable economic development plans of the government.

With 236 affirmative votes, the lower chamber unanimously approved House Bill 5682, or the proposed “An Act Making The Position of A Cooperatives Officer Mandatory in the Municipal, City And Provincial Levels, Amending For the Purpose Republic Act

No. 7160, otherwise Known As The Local Government Code of 1991.”

COOP NATCCO Partylist Rep. Anthony Bravo, one of the bill’s authors, said cooperatives promote the “fullest participation of all people” and facilitate a more equitable distribution of the benefits of globalization.

Bravo said that while RA 7160 allows for the appointment of cooperative officers, the letter of the law remains ambiguous.

“However, the words of the law were vague and the implementation became optional on the part of the

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DOST to pilot hybrid train in General Santos Coop officer in every T LGU gets House nod

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Taiwan firms eyeing RP as expansion hub T ACCOMODATING. Indonesian Consul General Berlian Napitupulu obliges to the request of Tabula Rasa artists to have him as a model of an impromptu sketching session during Seda Abreeza hotel’s Kadayawan Festival kick off on Wednesday evening. Lean Daval Jr.

aiwanese manufacturers are eyeing the Philippines as site of their expansion projects, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry President George Barcelon said.

At the sidelines of the 25th Metro Manila Business Conference here Thursday, Barcelon said a group of manufacturers from Taiwan was set to visit the country on Sept.

28 to look for business opportunities.

The PCCI chief added that the manufacturers were mostly engaged in electronics sector while some others joining the business mission were in agriculture and pharmaceuticals.

“They find the cost of production in China as inching up,” Barcelon said pertaining to the increasing labor cost in the East Asian country.

“And the currency, down the line for the research and development -- chances are -will appreciate. Having that in mind, they find the Philippines would be a good hub for them to expand their business,” he

PH loses 1.9M farmers in 2 years to other jobs

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amar Congressman Edgar Mary Sarmiento today warned that the Philippines is losing at least one percent of its work force in the agricultural sector every year and the country might become fully dependent on food imports in 20 years time if the pattern is not reversed.

Sarmiento said attributed this to the declining number of young men and women who pursue careers in agriculture as they would rather work in call centers and do odd jobs in fast food chains and department stores.

Sarmiento said that from 2013 to 2015, there is a steady decline of an average of .53 to 1.39 percent on the country’s agricultural employment rate based on census conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

He noted that in 2013, there were at least 31.06 Million male and female Filipinos involved in agriculture but this shrunk to 29.14 Million in 2015. This means that at least 1.92 Million Filipinos who used to contribute in food production have passed on or have moved to other forms of livelihood in just 2 years.

Sarmiento is also deeply concerned with the shrinking space for agricultural lands, which have been converted into industrial and residential real estates and the dwindling production capacity of the remaining farmlands due to the damaging effects of climate change. “ This is very alarming. We are losing, not hundreds but tens of thousands of work force involved in food production every year.

Add that to the diminishing number of farm lands and

the country will definitely plunge into a severe food crisis within 20 years. We should reverse this pattern before it is too late,” Sarmiento said.

Sarmiento said that it is time for the government to perk up the interest of the youth to go into farming through increased educational subsidies and scholarships for students who want to pursue a career in the agricultural sector.

He added that agricultural colleges and universities should be also modernized to allow the country’s new breed of farmers to learn the world’s most advanced technologies in agricultural production.

“We should start dismantling the stigma that farming is hard, dirty, financially unrewarding and suited only for the uneducated. In other countries, farmers are high-

ly respected and very well off. If we can modernize our farming industry, our farmers will never feel the need to look for other means of livelihood and our country will become really self-sufficient in its food requirement. Food security is a national security issu ,” Sarmiento said.

Sarmiento said agricultural courses and related fields should be fully subsidized to encourage the sons and daughters of farmers to carry on with the profession of their parents.

“We have an oversupply of nurses, teachers, criminologists and IT professionals and they mostly end up in call centers or they go overseas. On the other hand, the people who toil our soil are rapidly disappearing.

We should go back to basic and start reinvigorating our agricultural profession,” Sarmiento pointed out.

inance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III has issued an order dismissing from the service the municipal treasurer of the town of Burdeos in Quezon for committing acts of grave misconduct and dishonesty.

Dominguez also ordered the suspension without pay for one year of a revenue officer of the Bureau of Internal Revenue for making incomplete and untruthful declarations in her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth (SALN) and for traveling overseas without the proper authority from the Department of Finance.

Another municipal trea-

surer from Sagbayan, Bohol was also suspended without pay for one month and one day for simple neglect of duty.

Dominguez also ordered the dismissal from the service of Nilda Salazar, the municipal treasurer of Mayantoc, Tarlac; and Wilfredo Alidon, municipal treasurer of Minglanilla, Cebu for various offenses.

These series of directives were implemented by the DOF on orders of the Office of the Ombudsman, which had conducted separate investigations on the erring officials.

In a separate case, Naime Ayuma, the municipal treasurer of Burdeos, Quezon, was ordered dismissed from the ser-

vice and punished with accessory penalties such as cancellation of eligibility, perpetual disqualification from holding public office and forfeiture of retirement benefits, after his appeal to reconsider the Ombudsman’s ruling against him was denied.

The Ombudsman also ordered Ayuma indicted for the criminal offense of malversation of public funds.

Ayuma’s case stemmed from the double reimbursement claims of P3,780 on his official travel.

The Ombudsman also ordered the one-year suspension without pay of Revenue Officer III Evelyn Ramirez with

a “stern warning that a repetition” of her offense “will warrant a more severe penalty.”

Ramirez admitted to having made omissions and inconsistencies in her SALN for various years starting in 2004 up to 2013. She also admitted going overseas in her personal capacity without securing travel authority from the DOF. Ramirez was found liable for committing acts prejudicial to the best interest of the service and violating reasonable office rules and regulations.

Anita Pacheco, the municipal treasurer of Sagbayan, Bohol was meted with a lighter

noted.

Moreover, Barcelon said that he met a Taiwanese electronic producer, who is a member of Taiwanese counterpart of PCCI, planned to almost double its work force in the Philippines.

The electronic goods manufacturer currently employs 8,000 workers and it hopes to increase its workforce to 15,000 starting next year.

Barcelon said the company is scouting 30 hectares of land in southern Luzon for its future expansion projects in the country.

He said that based on previous investments of the Taiwanese manufacturer, the firm might reinvest some USD30 million, or about PHP1.5 billion for expansion.

Meanwhile, data from Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the country’s major investment promotion agencies approved a total of PHP352 million worth of investments from Taiwanese companies in first quarter of 2017. (Kris M. Crismundo/PNA)

Mall operators to help Marawi MSMEs: DTI

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rade Secretary Ramon Lopez said Thursday that mall operators will help micro, small, and medium enterprises from Marawi City to get back to business immediately.

In a text message to reporters, Lopez said the country’s leading mall operators, such as SM and Robinsons malls, have agreed to support the affected MSMEs in Marawi by providing them space in their establishments for their products.

“For malls around Marawi or in Mindanao, (they will) allocate space in their malls, say 300 sq. meters, for Maranaw traders who are now evacuees, to get back to business even while the war in Marawi is not yet over,” he said.

“They will still pay the rent but malls can offer a special package while waiving the usual six-month advanced rental and also perhaps discounted lease rates for one year.”

The trade chief noted that this support is on top of the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) livelihood kit and micro funding program, Pondo para sa Pagbabago at Pag-uwi for Maranaw MSMEs, who have evacuated to other parts of the country to escape the ongoing clashes between government troops and a terror group in Marawi City.

“We shall include this as part of our Bangon Marawi programs, to provide market access,” Lopez said. (Kris M. Crismundo/PNA

he Department of Trade and Industry is eyeing to mandate supermarkets to allocate 5 percent of their shelf space for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez told reporters Thursday that this initiative would provide the country’s MSMEs greater market access.

“This is a new initiative for MSME support. SM (is) open to partner on this. We can also mandate others, as being done in Indonesia, (as) we heard,” Lopez said.

DTI is aggressive in giving support to MSMEs as the sector accounts for 99 percent of business establishments in the country, and more than 50 percent of the total employment.

Among DTI’s programs that support MSMEs are Negosyo Centers; trainings and capacity building through the SME Roving Academy, Philippine Trade Training Center, and Design Center of the Philippines; shared service facilities; Go Lokal! Stores; and Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso (P3) as a microfinance program. (KMC/PNA

DOF issues directives versus erring officials DTI to ask supermarkets to allot space to MSMEs F T DOF 10

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Nothing will stop Davao

Festival seen as the loudest, grandest and biggest

By ANGIE SAVERON

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othing will stop Davao in creating a very grand celebration. Despite of the extension of Martial Law in Mindanao, the Kadayawan Festival 2017 will push through as scheduled, according to festival Director Gatchi Gatchalian.

He described this year’s Kadayawan festival as the loudest, the grandest and the biggest Kadayawan festival.

There will be 17 events throughout the week-long celebration and 10 of which are new namely: Habi sa Kadayawan, Mugna sa kadayawan , Pitik sa kadayawan, Kadawan dragon boat festival, Kadayawan fruit market, Tunog Kadayawan, Sayaw Kadayawan, Kaondayawan, Bantawan Nightly and the Kadayawan Village. The regular events like IndakInkdak sa kadalanan and Pamulak sa Kadayawan are still included in this year’s celebration.

“Dahil sa dami ng activites ngayon, and a bigger celebration, from 7 last year

to 17 now the budget is also bigger right now at P32 million,” said Genrose Tecson of the City Tourism Office.

She said the activities have been screened very well by the festival director and the whole Executive Committee.

She said P13 million will be coming from the trust fun intended for the Kadayawan Celebration and the City Government will be adding P4 million to it, with the 15 million to be raised by festival partners.

Gatchillan also thanked Captain Ronald Go, President of Davao City Chamber of Commerce for the chamber’s support and the festival partners for making the event possible.

The Indak- Indak, Pamulak sa kadayawan and Pitik sa kadayawan will be held at the Kadadyawan Dome which will be located at the San Pedro Square which is 18 ft by 200 ft tent. “We are calling it Kadayawan Dome and we are making sure that the entrance looks like a

dome.” said Gatchalian. This will cover the entire area from Chowking until the end of San Pedro Cathedral.

There are also bleachers available so that the audience will be comfortable.

The stage will be an arena style where in the participants will be performing in the 4 sides of the stage. The judges will also be spread out in the different sides.

There are certain changes in this year’s celebration; Pamulak sa Kadayawan will be much louder event because of the Pitik sa Kadayawan which is a Drum Beaters Competition. The Competitors of Pitik sa Kadayawan will be in between the Pamulak Floats. Habi sa Kadayawan is a fashion accessory design competition open to all students, designer, hobbyist and professional. They need to come up with any fashion accessory inspired by one of Davao tribes. “Dito po natin makikita ang creativity ng mga Dabawenyo.”

said Gatchalian. Tunog Kadayawan which is a song writing completion sayaw sa kadayawan which is a interpretative dance competition inspired by the 11 tribes. Mugna Kadayawa which is a dooddle art competition, this was made possible in cooperation with some of the Art students in University of Mindanao.

This will be held at the Kadayawan Village. The art works will also be displayed the kadayawan Village. Hiyas Kadayawan will have a bigger venue which will be held at USEP Gymnasium and Cultural Center which can accommodate 5000 people. This event is free for the public.

Dula Kadayawan will be held at People’s Park.

The committee requested the organizers of the Dula Kadayawan or the Tribal games if they could include some of the tourists in playing the games. They are still in discussion but they are hopeful to make it possible.

This year’s edition seen As the safest festival yet

By ANGIE SAVERON his year’s Kadayawan Festival also promises to be the safest because of the Martial Law and the security measures that are in place.

The extension of Martial Law is seen as an additional security measure to ensure the safety of the tourists, participants and locals during the celebration of Kadayawan.

“There is a wrong perception and that is what we are trying to remove because ayaw nating isipin nila na magulo ang sitwasyon dito sa Davao.” said Gatchi Gatchalian, festival director of Kadayawan 2017.

The Executive committee of the had started to promote the celebration the middle of July. It initially used social media as a platform of promotion and was able to reach thousands of people.

It will launch its campaign nationwide campaign through the billboards in different areas in the Philippines such as Cebu, Edsa , Zamboanga and Iloilo He also mentioned that through the posts, the current situation of Davao city has been clarified helping boost the confidence of the people outside Davao to visit the city.

The people are encouraged to join the celebration because there are so many activities that they can do here which will start on the 14th of August. Gatchalian said that Davao is prepared for the in-

T

UCPB opens all its branches on Saturday, July 29

U

Child evacuees from Marawi City now sheltered at an evacuation camp in the municipality of Balo-i in Lanao del Norte photo by FERDINANDH CABRERA

flux of tourist in these coming days From the very beginning the Executive Committee worked with the security forces to keep them abreast of the preparations.

“So everytime na nag pplano pa lang ni rereffer lahat sa kanila.” said Genrose Tecson from the City Tourism Office.

The ExeCom was also surprised that security forces had included the festival in their security plan.

Aside from the official events that the city will be hosting, there also other events that such as parties to ensure the safety of the people that will be attending this events they required the organizers to present their security plans and hire extra guards, this is to guarantee the people that the security forces of the city won’t be stretched out. The Public Safety and Security Command Center will approve their security plan.

There are participants that will be coming from the different provinces and they there doing are extra security measures. The organizers of each event is required to provide the official list of the participants with the corresponding Ids’ and corresponding endorsement from their corresponding Local Government Unit. The participants will be escorted by the Philippine National Police going to Davao city.

CPB has announced it will open all its 188 branches nationwide on Saturday, July 29, 2017, to allow its clients to claim their new, EMV chipequipped VISA Debit Cards as the Bank’s non-EMV ATM cards are set to be deactivated on Tuesday, August 1, 2017.

“This is actually the fifth time we’re opening our branches on a weekend for this purpose. We also opened our branches on all Saturdays of June to accommodate the release of EMV cards to our clients” said UCPB Vice President and Marketing Group Head Charina D. Balanquit. “We’re doing the de-activation of non-EMV ATM cards to protect our cardholders from fraudulent transactions. At the end of the day, our cardholders will benefit from this exercise.”

The Bank began its efforts to replace its existing magnetic-striped cards as early as October last year with the launch of its UCPB VISA Debit/EMV Card. The UCPB VISA Debit/EMV card is powered by EMV technology, the global standard in payment card security. Aside from increased security, the card also makes it easier and convenient for clients to pay for their local and international purchases at stores or online merchants and minimizes the cardholder’s need to go to an ATM terminal to withdraw cash.

Traveling is also made more convenient with the UCPB VISA

Debit/EMV Card as withdrawals of foreign currencies abroad can now be made from any VISA-affiliated ATM. UCPB completed the migration of its systems to be able to issue and process EMV chip-enabled cards in compliance with the mandate of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) for all banking institutions to adopt the EMV technology for cards and card-accepting devices. UCPB has been certified by BancNet to be EMV-compliant.

Should clients fail to replace their old ATM cards by the time UCPB deactivates the magnetic-striped cards, the Bank will accommodate over-the-counter and inter-branch withdrawals. Clients who are located far from their maintaining branches may also arrange for the release of their EMV cards at a UCPB branch nearest to them.

Close to 50 percent of UCPB cardholders have already claimed their new cards. All replacement cards have been produced and need only to be claimed by cardholders at UCPB branches nationwide.

For more information, please visit any UCPB branch; call UCPB Customer Relations Center: (632) 811-9111; Toll-free: 1-800-1-8889777; or connect through various online platforms: Email: crc@ ucpb.com, Facebook:/ucpb.connect, Twitter: #ucpb_connect, and www.ucpb.com.

8 VANTAGE EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 10 ISSUE 84 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, JULY 28 - 29, 2017

EDITORIAL

False evidence appearing real

I

t is not enough that loud chants and the usual rhetrics are uttered saying it proved to be for the masses. against Martial Law. It is time people get real and factual with Martial The PNP and the military stressed how peaceful and stable the region has been in the 65 days of ML implementation. The aim of the police Law. and military basically is to prevent a spill-over of the Marawi conflict, to While militants continue to hurl protest slogans and other anti-Martial effectively shield the region from other threats and to observe the rule of Law rants, it is no longer generating an impact to the society especially law and human rights. those in Mindanao who are first hand to experience the 65-day old Martial Do people have any complaints here of the ML implementation?

Law declaration by President Rodrigo Duterte.

Nothing. The fact is that people felt more secure. Which makes the claims In the protest actions during the State of the Nation Address (SONA) last of protesters in Manila outlandish.

Monday, the rallyists have nothing to prove as to substantiate claims of any Martial Law violations. If there are any as they would claim it must be set Really, if you have nothing to fear, why fear Martial Law? forth in the open and proven. The protesters are from Manila and it is clear as day they have not set foot in Marawi City or any part of Mindanao as to Remember this: “Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger, back their claims. anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.”

Meantime in Davao City, the regional police office has expressed And yes, fear is actually an acronym which means “false evidence satisfaction and elation over the 65-day implementation of martial law, appearing real.”

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A

s early as 1901, American efforts to introduce cotton farming in Davao were already in effect. Imported cotton goods cost $7 million, a princely amount that was nearly one-fourth of the total merchandise brought to the country from the US, United Kingdom, Spain, British east Indies, and Germany that same year.

In fact, the US, given the abundance of water in the islands, had already projected the possible development of the country into a major source of cotton for the Asian continent. Achieving this goal, though, was not just about planting the crop but also getting the patronage of the natives and local residents.

The holding of cotton farm tests was reported in the December 1902 Monthly Summary of the Commerce of the Philippines (No. 2, Series of 1901-1902) which the Division of Insular Affairs of the US War Department issued the previous year: “Experiments in growing cotton from seed procured in the United States have been made in the province of Davao in Mindanao with such success that the culture of cotton will be tested fully, and if the results proved as successful as the persons interested in the trial believe, the consequences will be far reaching

P

rophet Muhammad said, “Wealth is not the abundance of material possessions.

Real wealth is the inner wealth.” Narrated by Imam Al Bukhari and Imam Muslim.

He also said, “Be in this world like a stranger or a wayfarer.” Narrated by Imam Al Bukhari.

Prophet Muhammad has stressed enough through different sayings that life in this world isn’t like the way our modern commercialist society portray the ideal life.

A common stereotype we have on success is driving a Ferrari or being married or engaged to a supermodel while living in a multimillion dollar mansion. The commercialist society dictates us that we live in order to get rich or die trying.

THE MORAL INFLUENCE OF COMMERCIALISM Our commercialist society has equated happiness with one’s ability to afford the latest gadgets, cars, fashion and everything that is shown on TV as necessities one shouldn’t live without when in fact all they were are luxuries that we can easily do without. We are in an endless rat race. Like a hamster in a wheel cage living each day in order to afford things by often being in debt spending money that we do not have in order to afford things that we do not really need in order to impress peo-

VOL. 10 ISSUE 84•FRIDAY-SATURDAY, JULY 28-29, 2017

Davao’s cotton industry

in their effect upon the future cotton trade of the Orient.”

A 1901 report published in Manila Times, the country’s oldest newspaper daily, disputed the adaptability of the crop to local conditions. But a letter from a Bagobo native who was asked to plant cotton seeds acquired a year earlier from the US showed the crop was growing satisfactorily, saying the plant was “as fair a sample as one in the bottoms of the Mississippi.”

This account, which appeared in the same monthly summary, gave rise to optimism “the soil of the Philippines, from seed imported from America, adds still more to the vast and almost unlimited potentials lying hidden in this archipelago.

That same year, Philippine Exploration Company, with a capital stock of US$500,000, �iled its Articles of Incorporation, with US$180,000 in subscribed stocks. The incorporation was a prelude to the “formation of a company of millionaires with a capital of $250,000,000.”

Aside from mining and agricultural ventures, the �irm, which should have an initial capitalization of US$6.9 billion in 2017 �igures, was also into colonization.

“The principal objects of the concern will be to colonize the is-

ple that we do not really like.

Life has become a chore of becoming always ahead of other people in material possessions. Although our conscience often whisper to us to reconsider our purchases of material goods in order to keep us on track and be away from being spendthrifts, our desires whisper back that we should give in and give ourselves a break by letting us believe that happiness depends upon it.

In a consumerist society the utmost priority at the expense of other important things in life such as relationships, spirituality, and even morality.We became slaves of the dollar so to speak. We are willing to steal, kill or be killed for top dollar and nothing else matters leading us to numerous corruptions overshadowing our morals, values and virtues as human beings.

Social media has ampli�ied this phenomenon by letting us have a channel through which we could show off and compare ourselves to others. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others have given us a platform or an arena in which to compete.

Some of us even go to great lengths and effort to sport every material thing we could get our hands to through often senseless sel�ies and over engineered posts of our gadgets, travels, clothing and others.

Most of us have become mindless beings whose sole existence is to

FAST BACKWARD Antonio V. Figueroa land of Mindanao, the largest of the Philippine group, build trading posts, acquire lands for agricultural and mining purposes, build railways, erect sugar and other manufactories, construct water works, and to inaugurate a steamship line between San Francisco [USA] and the [Philippine] islands.”

The 1901 War Department report identi�ied the board of directors of the mammoth company as: William H. Crocker, millionaire banker; William G. Henshaw, an Oakland banker; ex-Congressman T.J. Clunie, and F.M. Smith, principal owners of

the street railway system of Oakland. The stockholders included Stuyvesant Fish, of New York; F.F. Watts, of Chicago, and former Mayor T.D. Phelan, of San Francisco.

Curiously, nothing came out positively of these encouraging developments.

Over a century later, encouraged by the growing global demand for cotton products, especially shirts and other apparels, interest in cotton was revived. For instance, Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M), the world’s second largest fashion retailer, started looking for partners in the country to sustain its cotton requirements for its garments in 2013.

Two years thereafter, Cotton USA, a popular garment brand, came out with its grand plant to grow 5% in the country. The idea here is for products to be produced locally and carry indigenous labels. USA Cotton was �irst introduced its products to garment manufacturers and consumers in the country in 1994.

The Cotton Council International ASEAN reported the Philippines consumes an average of 40,000 metric tons (MT) of lint every year, which is valued at PhP3 billion ($66.57 million). Ninety-seven percent of the cotton it uses is imported mainly from the US.

A 2015 report that appeared in Rappler.com underscored the major setback the Philippine cotton industry has been confronting: “Although the Philippines has a favorable soil and climate to grow cotton, the local industry has been enduring a major setback because of several socio-economic and technical factors, such as the cotton bollworm issue. Bollworm is any larva or moth that attacks the fruiting bodies of certain crops, especially cotton. Thus genetically-engineered Bt cotton was introduced to reduce the use of synthetic insecticides in �ighting such pest.”

A decade earlier, Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), a partnership between the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and major clothing brands, introduced cotton to reach farmers and taught them how to farm this water-wasting crop, using less pesticides and water.

The Initiative de�ines ‘better cotton’ as a crop that adopts a sixpoint agenda, namely: to minimize the harmful impact of crop protection practices, use water ef�iciently and care for the availability of water, care for the health of the soil, conserve natural habitats, care for and preserve the quality of the �ibre, and promote decent work.

would ever wish to end all these?

Weren’t they happy. We thought one would be happy because of these things because these have become our goals in life.

Or maybe we were wrong.

Maybe happiness really wasn’t about all these. Maybe happiness is really in something that is within us all along waiting to be nourished but we have consciously abandoned because of materialism.

Happiness is but one word but the mere mention of it lights up the heart and tickles us to smile. Even the smallest suggestion for us to be happy in any other way will light up our hearts. It is the primary reason for our efforts. That is why if family makes you happy you’d dedicate all your effort to their comfort and well-being. And if material possession makes you happy then one would dedicate his effort to gain it.

ISLAM SIMPLIFIED HAPPINESS Allah said in the Quran, “We did not create the Jinn and Humans except to worship Me.” Quran 51:56.

In utmost simplicity, Allah has informed us of our primary goal in life which if realized will give us real sense of ful�ilment and bring us the evasive happiness that we all wanted. In islam, happiness is found in the worship of Allah and nowhere else. You may �ind this too limiting because people tend to mis-

understand worship as things that are done only inside the church or things pertaining to prayer.

But worship in Islam isn’t. A Muslim worships Allah through his prayers but a Muslim also worships Allah by being good to his parents and family and all the people in general whether Muslims or Non Muslims. A Muslim worships Allah by doing good deeds that will bene�it any creation of Allah whether they are humans, plants of animals. Any good deed done for the pleasure of Allah is a form or worship and he is rewarded for such. This knowledge and certainty that this good deed however small will be rewarded plentifully by Allah will give the Muslim a sense of achievement, a ful�illed purpose that will give him happiness.

You will �ind this as some sort of over simpli�ication of Islam on the complex issue of happiness and how to gain it but this is something you will �ind in the testimonies of Muslims particularly reverts. You will �ind them testifying that the reason they embraced Islam is because they found happiness in Islam and in it they have found answers to everything that they have been contemplating upon all their lives. From the physical to the metaphysical.

From the material to the spiritual.

Have you been seeking happiness?

True happiness

UNDERSTANDING ISLAM

Mujahid Navarra

show off not only the things we have or we can afford but also the things we don’t have or cannot afford. Some of us are even willing to lie and deceive in order to get that most coveted likes in social media.

HAPPINESS IS OFTEN ILLUSIVE We have been this way for quite some time now. The intrinsically rich, the well off, or even the poor amongst us vie in order to have a piece of this happiness that we have equated to material things such as possessions and popularity.

We’ve been vying until the recent news of celebrity suicides had us thinking. Why would someone successful, attractive, rich, and famous

VANTAGE POINTS

10 NEWS

EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 10 ISSUE 84 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, JULY 28 - 29, 2017

everyone who wishes to be a part of the celebration. This brings a different experience to the people and with this; it’ll show that despite of the differences of each tribe they can be united as one.

Aside from the 11 tribes,

there will be other tribes that will be joining the celebration they are the Mansaka tribe of Comval, Mandaya of Davao Oriental, Blaan of Davao Occidental and Banguingui Tribe are also interested to be a part of the celebration.

won’t be stretched out. The Public Safety and Security Command Center (PSCC) will approve their security plan.

There are participants that will be coming from the different provinces and they there doing are extra security measures. The organizers

of each event is required to provide the official list of the participants with the corresponding Ids’ and corresponding endorsement from their corresponding Local Government Unit. The participants will be escorted by the Philippine National Police going to Davao city.

retail industry, including improved incomes, the growing business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, which is building the middle-income class, and remittances of the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) which are fueling growth of consumer spending.

“With these factors, plus what I would call the growth in income from Filipinos working domestically, these factors indicate that Philippines retailing will grow strongly for some more years to come,” he added. (Leslie D. Venzon/PNA)

government’s personnel on the proper care and maintenance of the train.

But he noted that the DOST is currently “contemplating” on eventually donating the train to the city effective next year.

“We are getting the unit itself, that is, if we want it. We will have the time [during the test run] to decide if we really want to have the road train staying in our midst for good,” he said.

City officials pushed for

the deployment of the HERT in the city as it continues to study various alternatives to ease the area’s traffic problems.

The city council is currently working on the passage of the city’s comprehensive transportation ordinance or code “From what we’ve seen so far, [the train] could be a solution to transport problems all over the country, especially here in the city,” he added. (MindaNews)

LGUs, resulting in either LGUs with cooperatives officers who serve other functions or no cooperatives officers at all,” Bravo said.

“In the long run, the cooperatives sector will be left to suffer

by this inverse proportional line towards success,” he added.

HB 5682 provides for the mandatory appointment of a cooperatives officer in every municipality, province, and city.(PNA)

penalty of suspension for one month and one day without pay after she admitted to have failed in liquidating P43,731.89 in cash advances on time because of work pressures, aggravated by the fact that the required documents were lost during the 2013 Bohol earthquake.

In another case, Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) OIC Executive Director Niño Raymond Alvina recommended to Secretary Dominguez the filing of administrative charges and a lifestyle check against the municipal treasurer of Porac in Pampanga after P17 million in the town’s funds was found missing last March.

In a report to Dominguez, Alvina said Porac municipal treasurer Maria Luisa Vitug has been relieved and replaced by an acting municipal treasurer, Bernadette Duya, to “ensure continuous local government operations” in this town.

The BLGF learned of Vitug’s case when Porac Mayor Condralito

Dela Cruz forwarded the Letter of Demand issued to Vitug by the Audit Team Leader of the Commission on Audit, Region III, for incurring a cash shortage of P17 million to BLGF Regional Office in Pampanga, which then ordered the immediate relief of Vitug and replaced her with Duya.

Vitug was likewise “instructed to close the book of accounts and transfer her accountabilities to the incoming acting municipal treasurer, but Ms. Vitug failed to appear on the said turnover despite the notice,” Alvina said in his report coursed through DOF Undersecretary Antonette Tionko.

On March 27, the BLGF Regional Office under OIC Regional Director Divina Corpuz received Vitug’s letter tendering her irrevocable resignation. In response, the Regional Office advised Vitug to immediately report to her official station ‘as it appeared that there was no proper transfer of accountability” on her part. (PNA)

SECURITY... FROM 4

PH... FROM 5 INVITATION. Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo of Dumaguete City proposes a sisterhood ties between Davao City and Dumaguete in his speech during Cebu Pacific’s launching of Davao-Dumaguete and Davao-Tacloban routes held at The Marco Polo Davao on Thursday. Lean Daval Jr.

SUCCESSFUL... FROM 1 Guinea and East Indonesia.

“They want me to set a meeting with Jun Escalada who is now the administrator of the National Housing Authority because they really wanted to look at the opportunity in the Socialize Housing Program in the Philippines,” he said.

He said the company is not only interested in Mindanao but also in other parts of the Philippines as well.

Already, seven British companies are exploring

possibilities into investing in beauty products here. This is in addition to two companies that are already operating after the trade mission by the British Chamber of Commerce this March.

Another British group has been mentioned by Chris Nelson, Executive Chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce that is interested in investing in agriculture. The company is in discussion with ANFLOCOR.

DUTERTE’S... FROM 2 Action Force members for the Philippine National Police counter threats like insurgency and terrorism which are threatening to make foothold in the country.

As of this posting, the entire AFP, consisting of the Army, Navy and Air Force, has 125,000 officers and enlisted personnel.

Aside from additional troops, Duterte said he is planning to acquire all the needed weapons and equipment to further strengthen the AFP in its security role.

“Right at the very start of his tenure, the CinC assured the AFP that ‘he has our back.’ He has shown this many times and continues to do so this very day. He was on countless occasions

genuinely shown his concern for our wounded and heroes and the families left behind,” Padilla added.

Aside from additional troops and equipment, Duterte also vowed to provide for the families of troops wounded or killed in the line of battle.

Assistance are in the form of shelter, healthcare, education and employment.

“It is not surprising then to hear the CinC announce the additional benefits for our fallen heroes’ widows and we are truly grateful. The AFP assures the Nation and the CinC of our continued dedication to serve and protect our country and our people,” the AFP spokesperson stressed.

(Priam F. Nepomuceno/ PNA)

environmentally.”

She said the city government is ready to answer the various legal repercussions over her decision.

“I assure you, all Dabawenyos, that in coming up with this decision, the paramount consideration has been your welfare and the future of Davao City,” Duterte said.

Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc.

(DCCCII) president Ronald Go said he believes the mayor acted in a manner wherein they felt that the best interests of the city and its people will be upheld.

“I can only speculate that several issues were considered here. Environmental concerns, possible future traffic problems and limited area given to the city in exchange for the approval of the project,” he said.

In a statement Wednesday,

SARA... FROM 2

Progressive group Bayan secretary-general Sheena Duazo also lauded the decision to terminate the JVA with Mega Harbour.

“Bayan, along with urban poor organization Kadamay and Panalipdan SMR, have been consistently opposing the said project due to threats of demolition of communities along coastal areas,” she said.

She said they feared that if the project pushes through, it will result in massive displacement of the urban poor that would also mean displacement from their

livelihood.

“Our utmost concerns about environmental effect were also considered by Mayor Sara in terminating the project, which is a welcome move,” Duazo said.

“The move to terminate this project is also a wake up call to all our legislators and government agencies who approved this project. They must foremost ensure that amidst and above all big business interests, environmental interest must not be gambled,” she added. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)

difficult among the requirements was the clearing of the barangays of users and pushers but noted that Alabel was able to hurdle it.

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

Prior to the declaration, barangay

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

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

about the culture of the different tribes.

The Deputy Mayors of each tribe are looking forward for this event even as they lauded both the Executive committee of the Kadayawan festival and the City government for making the village a part of the festival.

Majority of houses in the village reflects the Palace or House of the Executive of each tribe. This is the place where important matters are discussed and this could also be the venue of important events such as wedding.

Deputy Mayor HadjaEstrellitaTanjili-Mahamud of the Sama tribe said the village will also showcase their livelihood, so that the people will see and understand their culture.

Deputy Mayor DatuRoel Arthur Ali Sr. of the Ata Tribe said that he is very thankful to Mana-

ma (Supreme Being) that throughout the years the culture of the 11 tribes of Davao city arestill alive.

“This always starts as a dream. Ito naman ay nag umpisa sa dream na magkaroon tayong kahit maliit naKadayawan Village as a start.” said Gatchalian. The people can actually go inside and interact with the people from different tribes. There will be a display of their weapons, the tourists can also learn how to weave or play the native musical instruments and they can also try their native delicacies. “It is the best way to learn their culture without really going to their location.”

Gatchalian added The focus of our Kadayawan festival is the people of the different tribes of Davao. This thanksgiving celebration has always been celebrated to unite not only the tribal people but also the Muslims, Christians and

SARANGANI... FROM 2

KADAYAWAN... FROM 4

DOST... FROM 5

COOP... FROM 5

DOF... FROM 6

INdulge!

VOL. 10 ISSUE 84• FRIDAY-SATURDAY, JULY 28 - 29, 2017

EDGEDAVAO

ARTS AND CULTURE

An artistic ode to banana paper

IF THERE ARE THINGS TO BE SAID ABOUT DAVAO, much of its development came thanks to the trading of abaca in the the 1920’s and banana in modern times.

Which is why the artist members of the Davao Watercolor Society recently opened their fourth group exhibit featuring works using banana paper.

“We wanted to use banana paper as the canvas of the groups works to showcase the material, as well as challenge our members.” said Davao Watercolor Society president Lito Pepito. A quick chat with the artists reveal the challenges on using the medium.

“Banana paper is really absorbent, making it difficult to spread the watercolor pigments,” said artist Joyce Mariscal. “I had to use a lot of pigment to ensure that my works are bright and get the colours that I want.” The use of mediums for the event were not limited to watercolor however, as some artists chose to use tempera, acrylic and event oil instead to overcome the challenges brought about by the medium.

“We did not limit the medium to watercolor for this exhibit as long as the artist uses banana paper as their canvas,” shared Lito. And the artists truly stepped up to the challenge of creating works of art on an indigenous canvas, creating a kaleidoscope of colours and subjects.

The exhibit is can be viewed at Basti’s Brew and runs until the middle of August just before Kadayawan. Congratulations to the artist members of the Davao Watercolor Society on elevating banana paper into unique works of art.

A2INdulge!

UP AND ABOUT

EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 10 ISSUE 84• FRIDAY-SATURDAY, JULY 28 - 29, 2017

Rocky’s man Wesley Tyrone Yap TO BE A GREAT LEADER, ONE MUST BECOME A FOLLOWER. To make it to the top, one must start from below. These are just a couple of maxim we hear on how to be successful businessman.

For 36-year old Wesley Tyrone Yap, running W-Industries as the head of the company also entails working as its salesman.

It’s an 8 to 5 job for Wesley, starting the day at the office followed by visits to his clients and checking on the job sites. Work extends to dinner meetings when required.

“I am the company President but at the end of the day, I consider myself very much

a salesman,” said Wesley.

Established in 2011, W-Industries is a design and construction company. It specializes in interior finishing and fitouts, steel fabrication, aluminum cladding supply and installation, and visual display merchandising for commercial and residential applications.

The company has done projects for malls like SM and NCCC,

mall-based stores like National Bookstore, 7-11, companies like Teleperformance, MTS and Mega Harbor.

Having all these brands and establishments in W-Industries’ roster of clients is quite impressive for a young company— and the list is growing. For all these projects, Wesley is grateful, most especially to NCCC Mall.

“I would like to say that the projects we did for NCCC best define what W-Industries can do. They gave WIndustries our first break. I will always be thankful that they gave the ‘little guy’ a shot,’” confessed Wesley.

Perhaps the other key to success this “little guy” employs is

how he values relationships with clients.

“I deal with the company’s clients directly.

Most of them become friends. Relationship is a top priority for me,” said the presidentsalesman, who takes charge of projects from sales pitch to aftersales service.

“How essential is grooming for me?

Very. How you are and how you present yourself to anyone shows how you respect them.

Plus, it does not hurt to look good,” he said as he flashed his winning smile.

Wesley runs to Rocky’s every three weeks for grooming, and when asked when he started patronizing Rocky’s, his reply was, “Holy cow. I can’t even remember exactly, but I know my suki barber was Toni in Victoria Plaza when it first opened, after which, I have Mario cutting my hair for several years now.”

“What I like about Rocky’s is the environment. All its shops are clean and simple, and

I feel like I’m visiting a friend when I visit my barber.”

The friendship between client and barber now involves his son, Kael (named after Superman). “Kal-el had his first haircut at Rocky’s. He goes regularly, too.”

Wesley admits that the visits to Rocky’s is also one of their bonding moments and somehow has become a tradition.

“Kal-el and I just shaved our heads together last summer.

We were laughing the whole time,” the dad said.

Yes, for Wesley business is good but his greatest accomplishment is his being a father.

“I take my son with me as much as I can even on client calls or to meet up with my friends. I’d like him to experience new things first hand with me. Everyday is an adventure us.”

On his personal adventures, “I am always up for anything that gets my adrenaline up. I have been blessed with friends who have crazy toys for big boys—fast cars and motorcycles.

They let me join them all the time. I’ve started to learn to fly ultralight planes three years ago and working on a schedule to get in all my hours and be able to do my first solo.”

Wesley’s escapades best describe the essence of Rocky’s new fragrance, Adventure.

Its scent perfectly embodies the young modern Rocky’s Man— daring, fresh and full of optimism. It bears a light and fresh citrus, woody marine fragrance with lime and bergamot for top notes, cedar wood for middle notes and grey amber and musk for base notes.

Adventure perfume, from Rocky’s new fragrance line, is available in all Rocky’s Barbershops at Victoria Plaza, Abreeza Mall, GMall, SM City & SM Lanang Premier in Davao City, and Centrio Ayala Mall and SM City in Cagayan de Oro City. PR

INdulge!

VOL. 10 ISSUE 84• FRIDAY-SATURDAY, JULY 28 - 29, 2017

EDGEDAVAO

ARTS AND CULTURE

An artistic ode to banana paper

IF THERE ARE THINGS TO BE SAID ABOUT DAVAO, much of its development came thanks to the trading of abaca in the the 1920’s and banana in modern times.

Which is why the artist members of the Davao Watercolor Society recently opened their fourth group exhibit featuring works using banana paper.

“We wanted to use banana paper as the canvas of the groups works to showcase the material, as well as challenge our members.” said Davao Watercolor Society president Lito Pepito. A quick chat with the artists reveal the challenges on using the medium.

“Banana paper is really absorbent, making it difficult to spread the watercolor pigments,” said artist Joyce Mariscal. “I had to use a lot of pigment to ensure that my works are bright and get the colours that I want.” The use of mediums for the event were not limited to watercolor however, as some artists chose to use tempera, acrylic and event oil instead to overcome the challenges brought about by the medium.

“We did not limit the medium to watercolor for this exhibit as long as the artist uses banana paper as their canvas,” shared Lito. And the artists truly stepped up to the challenge of creating works of art on an indigenous canvas, creating a kaleidoscope of colours and subjects.

The exhibit is can be viewed at Basti’s Brew and runs until the middle of August just before Kadayawan. Congratulations to the artist members of the Davao Watercolor Society on elevating banana paper into unique works of art.

INdulge!

VOL. 10 ISSUE 84• FRIDAY-SATURDAY, JULY 28 - 29, 2017

EDGEDAVAO

ARTS AND CULTURE

An artistic ode to banana paper

IF THERE ARE THINGS TO BE SAID ABOUT DAVAO, much of its development came thanks to the trading of abaca in the the 1920’s and banana in modern times.

Which is why the artist members of the Davao Watercolor Society recently opened their fourth group exhibit featuring works using banana paper.

“We wanted to use banana paper as the canvas of the groups works to showcase the material, as well as challenge our members.” said Davao Watercolor Society president Lito Pepito. A quick chat with the artists reveal the challenges on using the medium.

“Banana paper is really absorbent, making it difficult to spread the watercolor pigments,” said artist Joyce Mariscal. “I had to use a lot of pigment to ensure that my works are bright and get the colours that I want.” The use of mediums for the event were not limited to watercolor however, as some artists chose to use tempera, acrylic and event oil instead to overcome the challenges brought about by the medium.

“We did not limit the medium to watercolor for this exhibit as long as the artist uses banana paper as their canvas,” shared Lito. And the artists truly stepped up to the challenge of creating works of art on an indigenous canvas, creating a kaleidoscope of colours and subjects.

The exhibit is can be viewed at Basti’s Brew and runs until the middle of August just before Kadayawan. Congratulations to the artist members of the Davao Watercolor Society on elevating banana paper into unique works of art.

11 HEALTH EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 10 ISSUE 84 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, JULY 28 - 29, 2017

By HENRYLITO D. TACIO

I

t is bad enough that people are dying of AIDS, but no one should die of ignorance.” – Hollywood actress Elizabeth Taylor William, who grew up in Davao City, was only 18 when he went to Metro Manila to study in one of the country’s most prestigious schools. His parents wanted him to be a lawyer. He was an outstanding student during his first year. But after meeting some friends, everything changed.

His friends brought William to a pub one evening.

There, the young man was introduced to a beautiful guest relation officer. And the rest, as they say, is history. Since then, William was picking up girls here and there.

Lately, however, he started suffering from a chronic cough that lasted for more than a month. He also experienced itching in several parts of his body, aside from having swollen lymph. William decided to see a doctor and told him his problem.

After hearing his woes, the doctor asked William about his sexual lifestyle.

Quite surprised at the question, the young man told his story just the same. After conducting several blood tests on William, he was asked to return a week later.

“I am sorry to tell you this William,” the doctor told him when he returned, “but you are positive of HIV.” The doctor is referring to human immunodeficiency virus, an infectious particle that is too small to be seen with the naked eye or even a conventional light microscope. Bacteria are 1/1000 of a millimeter and can be seen with a light microscope. But with its HIV, it is 1/10000 of a millimeter in diameter and can only be seen with an electron microscope.

HIV causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), “a specific group of diseases that result from suppression of the immune system related to infection with the virus.” Actually, HIV is a relatively weak virus

outside the human body. But once it is inside, HIV cannot be killed.

The first case of HIV infection in the Philippines was reported in January 1984. But it was not until in 1992 that Filipinos came to finally see a person with HIV when Ma. Dolzura Cortez told Philippine Daily Inquirer how she got the dreaded virus.

Ceres P. Doyo, author of the series, won a Science and Technology Journalism Award from the Philippine Press Institute. In 1992, Cortez died and the following year, her life was made into a movie, “Dahil Mahal Kita: The Dolzura Cortez Story,” starring award-winning thespians Vilma Santos and Christopher de Leon.

In the beginning, having HIV was considered a death sentence. Most of those who were infected in the early years of the disease died almost a year or two after they had been diagnosed.

The origin of AIDS is still a mystery. Several theories have been forwarded but none so far have been proven. As former Zambian president Kenneth Kaunda puts it: “It is not important to know where it came from but rather where it is going.”

AIDS was first clinically observed in 1981 in the United States. Medical science was baffled of the epidemic of Pneumonoycustis carinii, a rare opportunistic infection, among injecting drug users and homosexual men in Los Angeles, California. In New York, there was also an epidemic of a rare skin disease called Kaposi’s sarcoma among homosexual men.

As it was a new disease, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) coined the phrase “the 4H disease” as it seemed to affect heroin users, homosexuals, hemophiliacs and Haitians. The general press, however, used the acronym GRID which stood for gay-related immune deficiency.

It was not until in 1982

HIV: From death sentence to lifetime treatment

the name AIDS came into existence. The CDC defined it as “the presence of reliably define diseases that are due to an underlying immune deficiency and where the immune deficiency is not due to other known causes.”

In 1983, Dr. Luc Montagnier from the Pasteur Institute in France isolated a virus from the blood of AIDS patients which he called lymphadenopathy associated virus (LAV). In 1984, Dr. Robert Gallo and his fellow workers at the US National Cancer Institute isolated a virus that they called the human T cell lymphotrophic virus (HTLV III).

The two above viruses were found to be the same and in 1986 an international committee agreed to rename the virus as human immunodeficiency virus. The original virus was called HIV 1 while the second one was given the name HIV 2.

“It was found that there could be a period of up to 10 years between being infected with the virus and developing the symptoms of AIDS,” wrote John Hubley, author of “The AIDS Handbook: A guide to the understanding of AIDS and HIV.” “For each person with symptoms of AIDS, there could be more than 100 others who were

carrying the virus but did not have the disease. These ‘HIV antibody positive persons’ – sometimes called ‘HIV positive,’ ‘seropositive’ or ‘carriers’ – showed no signs of AIDS at that point in time but were able to infect others.”

HIV is spread through the exchange of body fluids with high viral load like cerebral fluid, amniotic fluid, blood, semen, cervical and vaginal secretions and breastmilk. The virus is transmitted by sexual intercourse (vaginal, penile and in some instances oral), blood and blood products (through transfusion) and shared needles.

A woman infected with HIV may spread the virus to her child during pregnancy, during birth or shortly after birth, and through breastfeeding.

In the late 1980s and early 1990S, most Filipino journalists were indignant about it. In addition, information about it was miniscule and mostly not factual but based on hearsay. In the National Media Practitioners’ Symposium on AIDS in those days, a publisher of a Visayas-based newspaper reportedly asked if rice from Thailand could cause the spread of HIV in the country. At that time, the Philippines was importing rice from Thailand because of rice shortage.

In Thailand, a good number of people are positive carriers of HIV,” the publisher was quoted as saying.

“Now, I would like to know if it was good to import Thailand rice considering the situation.”

Because of this, the AIDS Society of the Philippines conducted an AIDS media contest among journalists from print, television and radio. The story I wrote for Mod Magazine, “Who says AIDS doesn’t matter?” won the Best Feature Story in Print, which necessitated me to attend the AIDS Conference in Asia and the Pacific in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

It also paved way to attend two more international

gatherings: in Melbourne, Australia and Durban, South Africa. It was in the latter that I had an opportunity of meeting in person the Nobel Peace prize laureate Nelson Mandela.

At the said conference, one of the most controversial issues was the belief of then South African President Thabo Mbeki that AIDS was caused by poverty and not HIV. Several Nobel laureates signed a manifesto telling the world that HIV is the cause of AIDS. During the closing ceremony, Mandela asked his countrymen to support their President and his scientific enquiry, saying, “The President of this country is a man of great intellect who takes scientific thinking very seriously and he leads a government that I know to be committed to those principles of science and reason.”

Stressing the need for the world not to indulge in mud-slinging and worthless arguments, he reiterated, “The ordinary people of the world, particularly the poor – who on our continent will again carry a disproportionate burden of this scourge – would wish that the dispute about the primacy of politics or science be put on the backburner and that we proceed to address the needs and concerns of those suffering and dying. And this can only be done in partnership. History will judge us harshly if we fail to do so right now.”

Mandela further said, “Wasting words and energy in worthless ridicule distracts us from our main course of action, which must be not only to develop an AIDS vaccine, but also to love, care for, and comfort those who are dying of HIV/AIDS. A vaccine shall only prevent the further spread of HIV/AIDS to those not already infected; we must also direct our concern towards those who are already HIV positive.” (To be continued)

12 ENVIRONMENT EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 10 ISSUE 84 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, JULY 28 - 29, 2017

Sustainable land management is key to combat degradation

By HENRYLITO D. TACIO

T

he Mekong Delta, situated in the South of Vietnam, is one of the biggest and most fertile deltas in Southeast Asia. The region provides 50% of the country’s rice production, of which 90% are exported to other countries.

The Lonely Planet described it as the “rice bowl of Vietnam.”

It said: “The delta is carpeted in a dizzying variety of greens. It’s a water world that moves to the rhythms of the mighty Mekong (River), where boats, houses and markets �loat upon the innumerable rivers, canals and streams that crisscross the landscape like arteries. The bustling commerce of its towns contrasts sharply with the languid, almost-sopori�ic pace of life in the countryside.”

The Mekong River is the main source of water used for irrigation and household needs. Some people do �ishing in the river. As it is home to �loating markets, the river is also one of the region’s tourist attractions.

About 31.5% of Mekong Delta’s soil is considered as alluvial as they have a silt-clay to clay texture. Because of the delta’s �lat area, the soil is poorly drained.

That can be both an asset or a liability.

However, the single cropping of rice or low investment in crop diversi�ication, imbalanced fertilizer application, changing land use, and increasing mechanization have resulted to land degradation causing crop yield losses.

It is for this reason why a team of researches has identi�ied it as one of the three study sites of a study to �ind the constraining and facilitating factors on adoption of sustainable land management (SLM) practices in the country.

The said study, a collaborative effort of the ELD (Economics of Land Degradation) Initiative and Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA), was conducted by Mau Dung Nguyen, head of the Hanoi University of Agriculture’s Department of Economics and Rural Development.

Aside from the Mekong Delta, the two other study sites were the northwest mountain region which is undergoing serious and extensive human-induced land degradation and the coastal region which also suffer from land degradation due to long dry seasons and short but heavy rainfalls.

The United Nations Convention to Combat Deserti�ication (UNCCD) has identi�ied SLM as one way to mitigate environmental damage caused by land degradation. SLM practices “help close yield gaps and enhance resilience of land resources and communities that directly depend on them while avoiding further degradation.”

In the Mekong Delta, the government introduced the crop restructuring program where areas grown with rice are planted to upland crops like corn and mung beans. “The model

of rice then upland crop and then rice was shown to result in soil quality improvement and thus can be considered as the SLM model in the region,” wrote Prof. Mau Dung.

In the northwest mountain region, several SLM practices have been introduced.

But the most appropriate technology identi�ied was the agroforestry model of cash crop rotated with beans. “(The model) can reduce soil erosion, contribute to environmental improvements and ensure food self-suf�iciency for the farmers,” Prof.

Mau Dung wrote.

In the coastal region, crop diversi�ication has been proven to prevent land degradation in the areas affected with soil salinization and land erosion.

Interestingly, most farmers (82.7%) who were included in the study said they were aware of the problem of land degradation in their farms. But perceptions among the three regions differ.

“While most farmers in the mountainous and coastal regions (82.7% and 100% respectively), only one-third (30%) of farmers in Mekong delta believed so,” Prof. Mau Dung reported.

Most farmers also identi�ied “decline in land fertility” as an indicator of land degradation. “Around 80% of the farmers surveyed agreed that crop yield reduction was one of the indicators re�lecting land degradation and 12.8% thought this was the most important in-

dicator,” Prof Mau Dung reported.

The farmers surveyed in the study listed the following as the causes of land degradation in their farms: inappropriate farming techniques (more than 80%), and overuse of chemicals (around 80%), lack of knowledge (more than 70%). In the mountainous region, the most important reason was deforestation (94.5%).

The study found out also that income was one of the most important factors considered when adopting SLM practices. “Our analysis show that high income households appear to adopt SLM more than low and medium income households,” Prof. Mau Dung wrote. “While 61.2% of the high income adopted SLM, only 46%-48% of the medium and low income households did so.”

In his study, Prof. Mau Dung urged that support services be provided.

“Agricultural credit and training and extension

Photos courtesy of Prof. Nguyen Mau Dung

services are essential to enable farmers to adopt land management practices at least initially,” he wrote.

As mass and local media plays an important role in disseminating SLM practices, Prof.

Mau Dung urged that “more radio bulletin and television news that introduce the SLM practices and their bene�its” which are designed for each speci�ic region.

He also recommended that government and policymakers to focus on improving the skills of extension staff who are involved in the promotion of SLM practices.

Since poor infrastructures were also identi�ied as a drawback in SLM adoption, Prof. Mau Dung also recommended that the government consider investing programs for upgrading the road system in mountainous areas. Also, more investment for irrigation systems for central coastal region.

Credit loans should also be considered.

“Many households reported that the cost for SLM adoption was high and the delayed return on investment from agroforestry model was a constraint for adoption” and credit loan may able to help those farmers who will adopt SLM practices.

Prof. Mau Dung also recommended that social organizations be enhanced. “The local government should have speci�ic plans to mobilize the active participation of these organizations for SLM promotion program,” he wrote.

These recommendations must be heeded if land degradation has to be halted. “Land degradation, as a major environmental threat for food security, is mostly caused by inappropriate land management,” Prof.

Mau Dung concluded.

“Sustainable land management plays an important role in mitigating land degradation.”

VOL. 10 ISSUE 84 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, JULY 28 - 29, 2017

EDGEDAVAO

PHILFILTER... FROM 15 Perez was introduced to weightlifting at the age of nine by Samuel Alegada, who has won medals for the country when he was a member of the national team.

Perez has competed in the Asian Youth Championships in Qa-

tar, and the qualifying tournament for the Nanjing Youth Olympics in China in 2014. Last year, she went to Uzbekistan for the Asian Junior Championships, and Japan for the Asian Youth and Junior Championships. (PNA)

Emanuel Armendariz last June 3.

Another Filipino Silvester Lopez (28W-13L), a former WBC Asian Boxing Council Continental featherweight champion will also see action in the undercard against Ibrahim Balla (11W-1L) of Australia.

The boxing event is promoted by Lynden Hosking of Hosking Promotions under the Professional Boxing and Combat Sports Board of Victoria.

Stuart Duncan of DMS Boxing is the matchmaker. (PNA)

TABUGON... FROM 15

EDGEDAVAO Serving a seamless society

is in need of

4 REPORTERS Submit application letter and resume to: Mr. Antonio M. Ajero, Editor-in-Chief or Mr. Jimmy K. Laking, Associate Editor Edge Davao Review Publishing Inc. Door 14 ALCREJ Bldg., E. Quirino Avenue, Davao City Or email at edgedavao@gmail.com

NEWS13

Muslimpreachernamed Marawi City police chief C hief Supt. Reuben Theodore Sindac, police regional director for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (PRO-ARMM), today announced the designation of a noted Muslim preacher as the new police chief for Marawi City.

Supt. Ebra Moxir Al Haj has assumed office Tuesday facing a gargantuan challenge of bringing peace and normalcy in the city

stilled besieged by jihadists Abu Sayyaf and Maute Groups.

Sindac said Moxir served for 22 years in the Philippine National Police Chaplain Service and a commissioned officer of the Philippine Army.

His being religious will help bring back the glory days of police in Marawi City.

Supt. Moxir, currently the president of the Imam Council of the Philippines, was

welcomed by his subordinates and other police officers from PRO-ARMM when he assumed office at the Camp Bagong Amai Pakpak in Marawi City. ”Let us bring back the rule of law,” he told members of the Marawi City PNP, majority of whom he knew personally being and native of the city. ”Let us be an instrument to bring back the peace that was lost in Marawi due to the Maute and Abu Sayyaf attacks,” he added.

Sindac said aside from being a full bloodied Maranao, Supt. Moxir was one of the best among police superintendents there is in the organization. He holds a masters’ degree in public management major in development studies and master in public administration.

Sindac hoped that Moxir will bring back the glory days of the PNP in Marawi City whose main objective is to serve and to protect the people. (EOF/ PNA)

14

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VOL. 10 ISSUE 84 • SATURDAY-SUNDAY, JULY 28-29, 2017

EDGEDAVAO PARTNER ESTABLISHMENTS Serving a seamless society

Advertise with

EDGEDAVAO Serving a seamless society

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

Advertise with

EDGEDAVAO Serving a seamless society

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

VOL. 10 ISSUE 84 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, JULY 28 - 29, 2017

SPORTS 15

EDGEDAVAO

Half Pinay fencer leads US to silver

By NEILWIN JOSEPH BRAVO

BIG WIN. Half-Pinay fencer Lee Kiefer (right) celebrates after winning her match.

Half-Filipina fencer Lee Kiefer anchored the United States women’s foil team to its highest-ever finish at the 2017 FIE Senior World Championship on Monday as the American contingent snared silver as the tournament’s No. 3 seed.

The FIE Senior World Championships came to an end Wednesday with the conclusion of team competition, with Kiefer and two other former University of Notre Dame fencers taking home medals.

According to a report on Notre Dame’s website, after the U.S. defeated Argentina in the opening round, Kiefer, daughter of a Dabawenya doctor, led the team with 22 touches against China in the quarterfinal to set up a meeting with second-seeded Russia.

In that match, Kiefer, the world no. 1 foil fencer who recently graduated from Notre Dame, anchored

the team to clinch a tight 45-42 victory. The U.S. met top-seeded Italy in the championship, falling 45-25.

On Wednesday, American Gerek Meinhardt and Poland’s Ewa Nelip snared medals for their respective teams as well.

In men’s foil, Meinhardt and the U.S. cruised through the first four rounds, defeating Guatemala 45-12, Poland 45-24, Korea 45-34 and Russia 45-29.

That set up a tryst with Italy in the final, but the U.S. gave up a seven-point lead and ultimately fell 45-41 to claim silver.

Nelip anchored Poland’s women’s epee squad en route to a bronze medal. Poland defeated Finland 45-18, Ukraine 37-31 and upset No. 3 Russia 45-41 to earn the third seed in the semifinal.

There, the team fell to eventual champion Estonia 37-27. Poland went on to defeat Korea 33-28 in the bronze medal match.

Also in women’s epee, Kelley Hurley and Courtney Hurley finished seventh with the United States.

Tabugon, Sonsona fight in Melbourne

S

tablemates Raymond Tabugon and Lolito Sonsona of the Sanman Boxing Club from General Santos City will be challenging the Australian twin brothers Andrew and Jason Moloney for the WBA Oceania titles on August 19 at the Function Centre of Melbourne Park in Victoria, Australia.

Tabugon will fight the still unbeaten Andrew Moloney for his WBA Oceania super flyweight title while Sonsona will chal-

lenge Jason Moloney of his WBA Oceania super bantamweight title.

Tabugon, a former International Boxing Organization (IBO) Inter-Continental light flyweight champion, previously stopped Jetly Purisima in the 7th round last May 12 at the Waterfront Insular Hotel in Davao City.

Sonsona, on the other hand, captured the vacant World Boxing Federation (WBF) International super flyweight crown by

a UD win over Renren Tesorio in his last fight held February 26 at the Lagao Gym in Gensan.

Andrew Moloney, 26 had successfully retained his crown in his third and last title defense against Mexican Aramis Solis via a 3rd round knockout on June 3 at the Function Centre.

Jason Moloney also remained unbeaten in his 4th title defense via a 5th round technical knockout victory over Mexico’s TABUGON 13

PH lifter wins bronze in Nepal

FLYING V CAGEFEST. Intense action during the ongoing 2017 Flying V basketball tournament at the Flying V RMC Gym. Dariel Manliguez of Ateneo takes a jumper as felow Blue Knight Ion Angeles looks on. Boy Lim

B

oholano Elien Rose Perez bagged three bronze medals in the women’s 53 kg. category of the Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships at the Army Training and Sports Complex in Lagankhel, Kathmandu, Nepal last Tuesday.

Perez, a native of Tagbilaran City, lifted 73 kg. in snatch, 93 kg. in the clean and jerk, for a total of 166 kg. in the junior competition.

China’s Hongyan Gan pocketed the gold medals in snatch (83 kg.), clean and jerk (108 kg.), and total (191 kg.).

Thailand’s Surodchana Khambao took the silver medals in the snatch (75 kg.), clean and jerk (95 kg.), and total (170 kg.).

A total of 241 athletes are participating in the tournament, which will run until July 29.

Perez won three golds in the 53 kg. event of this year’s Private Schools Athletic Association Sports Foundation, Inc. (PRISAA) National Games at the Zambales Sports Complex.

The 18-year-old athlete from Tagbilaran City lifted 73 kg. in the jerk and 95 kg. in snatch for a total of 168 kg. in her new weight category.

Perez, a third year Criminology student from the University of Bohol, dominated the 48 kg. category in the PRISAA held in 2015 (Iloilo) and 2016 (South Cotabato). PH LIFTER 13

16 EDGEDAVAO Sports

VOL. 10 ISSUE 84 • FRIDAY - SATURDAY, JULY 28 - 29, 2017

HEADTO HEAD Davao Aguilas take on Meralco at home on Saturday

T

he home crowd in nearby Tagum City in Davao del Norte can expect another exciting match this Saturday as the home team - Davao Aguilas FC (DAFC), collides with FC Meralco Manila (FCMM).

Match time is 4:00 p.m.

The last time these two teams tangled at the Davao del Norte Sports Complex in June 22, the match ended in a 2-all draw as the Aguilas p’ut a dent on what was then the immaculate record of FC Meralco Manila.

In the lead up to the Meralco setto, the Aguilas bolstered its lineup by adding new players such as Matthew Hartman, Nick O’ Donnell, Australian striker Harrison Sawyer who all shirted in their previous match against CeresNegros FC last week at Panaad Stadium in Bacolod City.

HOME GAME. The Davao Aguilas hope to take one win at home against heavy favorite FC Meralco Manila.

For this Saturday’s match, fans might be able

to see new signings such as Tagum native and National U22 player Raymart Cubon, Jorrel Aristorenas, Azkal mainstay Simone Rota and former Azkal Jason De Jong.

Match will be held at the Davao del Norte Sports Complex. Tickets are available at the stadium.

Davao Aguilas Football Club (DAFC), was established earlier this year as a professional football club, based out of Tagum, Davao del Norte, in Mindanao. Its mission is to help develop football in Davao and the entire region.

The coaching staff is headed by Gary Philips, an Australian football veteran, while DAFC’s Chairman is Jefferson Cheng.

The club’s lead sponsor is San Miguel Corporation (SMC). Other club partners include Roadhouse Cafe, City Mall Davao and PAGGS Lounge.