Edge Davao 6 Issue 34

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EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 6 ISSUE 34 • THURSDAY, MAY 02, 2013

Serving a seamless society

IF SMILES COULD SELL. This kitemaker flashes his toothsome smile while peddling colorful kites at the junction of E. Quirino Avenue and Jacinto extension in Davao City yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

Smile, an everlasting smile...

INdulge

Page A1

Passionate Cuisine

KMU slams DOLE

By Che Palicte

Sports

Page 16

Starry, starry night

T

hE yearly celebration of Labor Day manifests a divided cause as to who truly represents the interests and welfare of ordinary workers and laborers. This year was no different.

The militant Kilusang Mayo Uno ((KMU) in Davao slammed the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in region 11 for what it calls a cheap trick in announcing that it is considering giving workers non-wage benefits to counter the demand for a new round of wage hike in the region.

DOLE and the National Wages and Productivity Commission (NWPC) have announced that they are studying the possibility of giving workers non-wage benefits instead of a wage hike on Labor Day. The benefits would include the granting of assistance for affordable housing via PAGIBIG and DOLE; a P20,000 educational loan per semester from the Social Security System or SSS; and a broader coverage by Philhealth.

FKMU SLAMS DOLE, 10

POSTER BOYS. Traffic enforcers settle on a shaded sidewalk to escape yesterday’s blistering summer heat along Palma Gil Street in Davao City. Lean Daval Jr.

2 THE BIG NEWS

VOL. 6 ISSUE 34 • THURSDAY, MAY 02, 2013

EDGEDAVAO

DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS. Left, a young person with disability (PWD) enjoys a moment with his brother who willingly pushes his wheelchair at the Annex of SM City Davao. Right, an elderly woman uses a monobloc chair as walker as she crosses a street while a lady passes by not minding her condition at all. Lean Daval Jr.

‘Nagkaisa’ nixes contractualization

UM SURVEY:

Wide lead for Karlo, I slim for Mylene

By Che Palicte

By EJ Dominic Fernandez

R

EELECTIONIST Rep. Karlo Nograles is leading over Luis Bonguyan in the first district congressional race while Mylene Garcia has a slim lead in the second district against Joji Ilagan Bian in the Institute for Popular Opinion of the University of Mindanao (IPO-UM) survey two weeks ahead of the 2013 elections.

The survey was conducted from April 15 to 24 with 1,200 randomly chosen respondents with a three percent margin of error and 95 percent confidence level.

Team PNoy bets Loren Legarda, Chiz Escudero, and Peter Cayetano topped the survey on senators.

IPO-UM director, Ma, Linda Arquiza reported yesterday in the business forum at Seda Abreeza that the senators who topped their survey gained advantage from the controversies swirling around them with 65percent for Legarda, 64 pecent for Escudero, and 63 percent for Cayeta-

no.

In the first district of Davao City, Nograles has 67 percent, more than twice of Bonguyan’s 29 percent.

According to Arquiza, one of the possible reasons for this is that the first district welcomes the presence of the camp that is opposed to Davao City’s seat of power and discourages monopoly of rule.

In the second district, the report showed Garcia leading the congressional race with 49 percent against her opponent Bian, who has 41 percent.

Meanwhile, 74 percent will vote for the unopposed Isidro Ungab for congress in the third district, according to the report.

The rest of the senatorial candidates who made it to the magic 12 are Grace Poe with 60 percent, Nancy Binay 58 percent, Juan Ponce Enrile Jr. 57 percent, Benigno “Bam” Aquino 56 percent, JV Ejercito-Estrada 56 percent, Jamby Madrigal 47 percent, Antonio Trillanes 43 percent, Koko

Pimentel 43 percent while Migs Zubiri and Lisa hontiveros are tied with 40 percent.

Those who did not make it were Edgardo Angara, 37 percent, Cynthia Villar, 36 percent and Bro. Eddie Villanueva, 29 percent.

According to UM-IPO specialist on economic, government and political issues, Adrian Tamayo, a lot of senatorial candidates made it in the national surveys but were not chosen by Dabawenyos and there were some (senatorial candidates) who did not make it in the national surveys but made it in Davao’s survey, “maybe because the Dabawenyo’s psyche vie for the underdog.”

According to UM-IPO specialist on culture and peace Rey Cuizon, the survey they conducted also measures the voters’ psyche in how they chose their candidates on four dimensions: personality factor, achievement factor,

physical factor, and the communication factor.

For the personality factor, the characteristics that voters look for in a candidate are being principled, easily visible, accommodating, cordial, service-oriented, intelligent, humble, pro-poor, merciful, future-oriented, fair, honest, takes care of the government’s wealth, has concern for the environment, is family-oriented, religious, has high degree of education, has talent, is rich and member of a political family.

Voters want candidates who have received many awards, being supported by his or her family, and have good reputation.

Dabawenyos also want candidates who are physically-fit and good looking.

For the communication factor, voters want candidates who are eloquent, stand courageously, and able to articulate his/ her position or opinion even if it is against popular views.

N line with the 110th celebration of Labor Day today, a labor union group dubbed “Nagkaisa” is calling for the abolition of the 10-year contractualization license designed by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

DOLE Department Order No. 18-A series of 2011, also known as “Rules Implementing Articles 106 to 109 of the Labor Code, was made public on December 4, 2011.

The department order seeks to differentiate

“legitimate” from “non-legitimate” contractors and subcontractors and lays down requirements for legitimate ones.

Among the requirements to be a “legitimate” contractor and subcontractor are: owning a distinct and independent business; readiness to take full responsibility for performing a job, work or service; has substantial capital or investment; commitment to comply with labor laws; and registered with DOLE

FNAGKAISA, 10

Council bet killed in North Cotabato

A

candidate for councilor in Banisilan, North Cotabato was shot dead Sunday night after a campaign rally in the town center, a police official said.

Senior Supt. Danilo Peralta, provincial police director of this province identified the victim as Gaspar Omar, who ran under the United Nationalist Alliance.

Peralta said they have witnesses who pointed to a 14-year old boy as

the assailant. “he was fixing some of their paraphernalia and equipment and was about to board his vehicle when the suspect opened fire behind him. he died immediately,” he said.

Chief Inspector Ritczel Alucilja, the town police chief said it was the third attempt to kill the victim.

“The first was in 2008, followed in 2010 but on Sunday night he didn’t escape death”, he said.

The official said three

FCOUNCIL, 10

SUBURBIA

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 6 ISSUE 34 •THURSDAY, MAY 02, 2013

Kalahi-CIDSS

3

DILG, DSWD to sign MOA with ComVal T

hE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will be signing a Memorandum of Agreement

(MOA) with Compostela Valley Governor Arturo T. Uy today, May 2, 2013.

The MOA signing will be for the pilot testing of the enhancement of the provincial local government unit (PLGU) engagement

in Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (Kalahi-CIDSS).

Kalahi-CIDSS is one of the three core poverty alleviation programs of

the DSWD. It utilizes the community-driven development (CDD) approach, a strategy that gives citizens the opportunity and responsibility to analyze their poverty-related problems, generate solu-

Moro Islamic Liberation Front Chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, Luiza Carvalho, resident coordinator of United Nations and Ousmane Dione of World Bank in a ceremonial exchange of letters to launch the Facility for Advisory Support for Transition Capacities (FASTRAC) on April 29, 2013 at Camp Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat town in Maguindanao. Mindanews photo by Toto Lozano

tions, and prioritize and implement their projects.

The results of the pilot testing, which is expected to run for 20 months, is meant to provide information on how to enhance the involvement of the PLGUs in the National Community-Driven Development Program (NCDDP).

The NCDDP, which is the scaling up of Kalahi-CIDSS, will increase the current coverage of the program from 367 to 900 municipalities. This expands the current coverage from from 50% to 100% of the poorest municipalities in the country.

Compostela Valley is among the PLGUs that have demonstrated innovations in adopting the CDD approach in the past through their implementation of Kalahi-CIDSS. In 2010 to 2011, it implemented the Assistance Towards Unity for Progress thru Empowerment, Accountability, Cooperation, and Efficiency (ATU-PEACE) initiative, which was based on Kalahi-CIDSS and uses CDD in implementing small-scale projects, with financial support from the PLGU. According to Governor Uy, Kalahi-CIDSS is one of

the best programs of the national government because it addresses the actual needs of the communities. “It is not only what the barangay officials or what the barangay captains need or want,” he said, citing that the CDD implementation prevents politicians from dictating what subprojects will be implemented, thereby allowing residents to have direct control over their community decisions and resources. he added, “If it is the whole community that decides the project, it must be the priority of that community. That is why I adopted the Kalahi-CIDSS concept.” By utilizing the CDD approach through ATU-PEACE, he said that the PLGU was able to prioritize which subprojects were truly needed by the communities.

Compostela Valley is also a recipient of the Seal of Good housekeeping from the DILG. Aside from Compostela Valley, Albay was also chosen as one of the pilot sites for the PLGU engagement. The MOA signing with Albay Governor Joey Salceda was held on March 24 in Legazpi City. [DSWD]

the Spanish era. Opening ceremonies on said events will be on May 4, Saturday, 5 P.M. at Parish Christ the Eucharistic King ground, Rizal St. This will feature the Flores de Maria, which will teach children and youth to embrace the Catechetical teachings of the Church, offer flowers and sing songs of praise to Mother Mary and recite the holy Rosary. A chamber choir concert-competition with a solo performance aptly dubbed, as “harana Kay Birhen Maria” shall also unfold on May 24 at the Rotary Park-Open Space. highlighting the month-long festivity on

May 25 is the Santacruzan de Tagumeño, which is a procession of 26 Sagalas along the city’s major thoroughfares.

Come May 17-26, 2013, the heat of sports competition coincides with the heat of the summer sun in the 7th Edition of Summer Sports Festival.

Sports enthusiasts from all over Mindanao will converge in the city to land a sweet spot of victory in the following events: arnis, badminton, beach volleyball, 6-men volleyball, chess, dart, dog agility, football, lawn tennis, sepak takraw, softball, table tennis and taekwondo. [Louie Lapat/CIO Tagum]

DSWD 12 gears Tagum offers triple treat this summer for end of 4Ps T

T

hE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Region 12 is working for the implementation of various support interventions in preparation for the conclusion of the national government’s conditional cash transfer program in three municipalities in the region.

Gemma Rivera, DSWD Region 12 assistant director, said they are presently assisting the crafting of municipal transition plans to properly prepare the local governments and beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps once its support eventually ends.

She said the implementation of the 4Ps, which is part of the national government’s threepronged anti-poverty strategy, will finally wind up in December in the towns of Maasim and Malapatan in Sarangani and on April 2014 in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato.

“This is to make sure

that the local government units (LGUs) concerned will be able to sustain the program’s impact and help further improve the current socio-economic condition of the beneficiaries,” Rivera said in a statement.

The official said they initially held a series of consultations with officials of the three municipalities to discuss the details of the transition plans.

She said they are helping the LGUs come up with plans that would indicate or reflect efforts that will help sustain the program’s support and interventions.

“We need to ensure that there will be continuity in terms of support to the beneficiaries so they will not revert to their previous socio-economic status,” Rivera said.

She said the municipal transition plans will be integrated in an inter-agency plan that will help synchronize various poverty reduction efforts in the area. [Allen V. Estabillo/MindaNews]

hE City Government of Tagum together with the City of Tagum Tourism Council has lined up several activities in time for summer ranging from arts to sports, making the City of Palms as a prime destination this time of the year.

Dubbed as Tagum City’s Summer Trio Events, the said line-up of activities aims to celebrate the arts, rekindle the tradition of fiestas and to showcase the value of sportsmanship and camaraderie. headlining these events is the 5th Earthfest Summer Workshop, which offers workshops for kids and teens in theater, mu-

sic, visual and dance art forms. The workshop’s grand recital is scheduled on May 5, Sunday, 4 P.M. at the Gaisano Grand Mall of Tagum.

In line with the festival’s advocacy of caring, preservation and rehabilitation of the environment, the participants of the said festival will conduct a tree planting activity in the LGU-developed accretion area in Barangay Magdum on May 5.

As the month of May kicks off, the 5th installment of the Flores de Tagumeño also rolls in, seeking to revive the Roman Catholic tradition of fiestas introduced during

DISPLACED. Davao del Norte Gov. Rodolfo del Rosario addresses over a hundred indigenous women of the Mandaya tribe in a gathering held Tuesday that was organized to clarify issues pertaining to the land they are currently occupying. They are originally from

Davao Oriental but are now residing in Tagum City with 300 more households due to typhoon Pablo. In response to their concerns, the governor directed the provincial social welfare office to extend technical assistance.

4 T

EAM PNoy senatorial candidate Risa hontiveros filed a letter complaint yesterday in the Department of Justice against the New People’s Army for committing election offenses, saying that the rebel group’s use of election violence and extortion is reminiscent of Marcos’ martial law hooliganism.

“The checkpoints, the extortion through the so-called permit-to-campaign and permit-to-win, and the use of violence remind me of the machinery of coercion that Marcos established to subvert the will of the people, the same violent tool deployed by the Ampatuans to kill and bury their enemies,” hontiveros said.

“Whether it is Palparan, Ampatuan, or the NPA, election violence should have no space in our democracy. We should reject coercion from NPA with the same intensity as our condemnation of military abuse. Kung ayaw natin ng pangongotong ng abusadong pulis, dapat ayaw din natin ng pangongotong ng NPA,” hontiveros said.

In her letter com-

VOL. 6 ISSUE 34 • THURSDAY, MAY 02, 2013

EDGEDAVAO

Investigate NPA’s election abuses, Hontiveros asks DOJ

ABSENTEE VOTER. An absentee voter signs before casting a vote during the absentee voting for teachers at Kapt. Tomas Monteverde Sr. Elementary School along Ponciano Reyes Street in Davao City Monday afternoon. Lean Daval Jr.

plaint, hontiveros said that the NPA’s extortion activities and use of violence violate election laws.

“These acts are clear violations of our election laws, which prohibit the use of threats, intimidation, terrorism and other coercive

tools to influence the conduct and the result of elections,” hontiveros explained, as she urged Justice Secretary De Lima to investigate these incidents.

She said that the attack against Guingoog City Mayor Ruthie Guingona and the NPA’s

collection of ‘fees’ from candidates manifest a pattern of abuse and gangsterism that threatens the chance to effect social change through democratic, peaceful and clean elections. “We have encountered cases of human rights abuses

tatives, the following stand out for having been adopted by the legislature or signed by the President into law: 1. Republic Act (RA) No. 10445 nationalizing the Bango high School in Barangay Ngan, Compostela; 2. RA No. 10252 creating two additional Regional Trial Court branches for Compostela Valley Province to be stationed in the municipalities of Mabini and Compostela; 3. RA Nos. 10147, 10155 and 10352 or the General Appropriations Acts for FY 2011, 2012 and 2013, respectively; 4. RA No. 10149 or the Government-Owned and

-Controlled Corporations Governance Act of 2011; 5. RA No. 10156 conferring civil service eligibility to Members of the Sanggunian Bayan, Panlungsod and Panlalawigan under certain circumstances; 6. RA No. 10361 or the Kasambahay Law; 7. RA No. 1015 or the Mandatory Kindergarten Education Act; 8. RA No. 10354 or the Reproductive health Law; 9. RA No. 10351 or the new law on Excise Taxes governing alcohol and tobacco products; and 10. house Concurrent Resolution No. 22 urging the President to create a

Presidential Task Force for Typhoon Pablo victims.

The lady lawmaker is optimistic that other proposals she pushed for, including the establishment of the Compostela Valley State College, creation of the ComVal Department of Education Schools Division, the new K to 12 Basic Education Program, universal Philhealth coverage—all of which are either pending with the Office of the President for signature or awaiting enrolment for executive action— will also be passed into law before the adjournment of the 15th Congress.

Ms Zamora is unopposed in her re-election bid.

committed by the NPA against civilians who engage in peaceful and democratic approaches to achieve change,” hontiveros pointed out.

“We have to demand accountability from the NPA for their human rights abuses, and correcting

human rights abuses should be universally applied,” hontiveros added. “Civilians who engage in electoral politics should be protected from all forms of threats and coercion, whether they’re from state or non-state actors such as the NPA.”

Rep. Zamora bares Congress scorecard Legarda: We shall

W

ITh her first term as district representative about to end and her second looming large in the horizon, Compostela Valley Rep. Maria Carmen Zamora bared what she termed as her “humble contribution to lawmaking” in the 15th Congress.

“We may not be as vocal as other legislators in pushing for our advocacies and priorities but, in our modest reckoning, we have sufficiently and diligently done our sworn duties and responsibilities as the representative of our people,” she said.

Among the many bills and resolutions she authored and co-authored in the house of Represen-

thrive in democracy

W

E all seek to preserve, not destroy life, by making it less difficult for the poor, our women, and their children to access health services.

This was the statement of reelectionist Sen. Loren Legarda as she thanked the Purple Ribbon for Rh for endorsing her candidacy along with selected senatorial candidates.

“Experience has shown that we cannot always agree on every issue. That is part of a thriving democracy. I am certain, however, that as Filipinos, we all share the desire to make democracy work in favor of those who have lesser in life,” Legarda said.

She said she remains committed to the cause

of women’s rights, including freedom from violence, quality healthcare, education, and access to jobs. “I look forward to continue working with you on these issues,” she added.

Legarda is credited with passing laws to protect the rights of women and promote their welfare such as the Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act, the Magna Carta of Women, and the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act. Purple Ribbon for Rh is made up of supporters of the Rh law, including NGOs, civil groups, business groups, former government officials, private institutions, youth, writers, artists, and celebrities.

5 THE ECONOMY

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 6 ISSUE 34 • THURSDAY, MAY 02, 2013

Aboitiz Power logs 1M safe working hours T

hE construction of the AboitizPower’s 300-MW 24/7 baseload coal power plant in Davao

City logged its first one million hours of accident-free work, taking it closer to its 2015 completion date.

The achievement was reached by contractor First Balfour Inc., one of the major contractors working on the project,

which aims to bring a long-term solution to the ongoing Mindanao power crisis, Benjamin A. Cariaso, Jr., Pres. and

SOLD. A man unties a recently sold goat he just sold outside the Sta. Ana Wharf along R. Magsaysay Avenue, Davao City yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

COO of Aboitiz Power subsidiary Therma South Inc., said.

“Safety is of paramount importance to AboitizPower and with the help of our contractors like First Balfour, we have shown that we can build a world class power plant in Davao City and Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur,” Cariaso said.

The 1-million hour mark without total lost time due to injury (TLI) is the first ever achievement by any construction project in the Davao region according to the Department of Labor and Employment.

The power plant, which will utilize the latest circulating fluidized bed technology, is targeted for completion in 2015 an will add much needed relief to the hard up Mindanao grid. As of Wednesday shortage in the Mindanao grid hovered around 150 MW. More than half of the power plant’s capacity had been signed up by distribution utilities and electric cooperatives in Mindanao. The

power supply contracts will be submitted to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for review.

Manuel M. Orig, Therma South first vice president for government and community relations, said the milestone reflects the hard work and dedication of the whole construction team.

AboitizPower is investing more than P35 billion to add more than 300 MW of power to the Mindanao grid.

Subsidiary hedcor has started construction of its Tudaya 1 and 2 hydro power project in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur to add 13 MW by 2014. hedcor also recently received approval from host communities for its 52-MW hydro project in Manolo Fortich in Bukidnon.

In the short term, subsidiary Therma Marine supplies 200-MW of power to 23 electric cooperatives and distribution utilities to cushion the effects of the power shortage.[PNA]

6 THE ECONOMY Stat Watch 1. Gross National Income Growth Rate (At Constant 2000 Prices)

5.4 4th Qtr 2012

2. Gross Domestic Product Growth Rate (At Constant 2000 Prices)

6.8 4th Qtr 2012

3. Exports 1/ 4. Imports 1/ 5. Trade Balance 6. Balance of Payments 2/ 7. Broad Money Liabilities

USD 3,969.51 million Dec 2012 USD 5,135.46 million Nov 2012 USD -1,585 million Nov 2012 USD -209 million Mar 2012 P 5,171,689 million Dec 2012

8. Interest Rates 4/

3.6 % Jan 2013 P155,308 million Nov 2012 P 5,381 billion Nov 2012

9. National Government Revenues 10. National government outstanding debt 11. Peso per US $ 5/

P 40.67 Feb 2013

12. Stocks Composite Index 6/

6,242.7 Jan 2013

13. Consumer Price Index 2006=100

132.4 Feb 2013

14. Headline Inflation Rate 2006=100

3.4 Feb 2013

15. Core Inflation Rate 2006=100

3.8 Feb 2013

16. Visitor Arrivals

352,438 Nov 2012

17. Underemployment Rate 7/

20.9% Jan 2013

18. Unemployment Rate 7/

7.1% Jan 2013

Average December November October September August July June May April March February January

EDGEDAVAO

Smart mobile internet app hits 1 million users A

locally-developed application for mobile internet users on a budget has been downloaded more than one million times already, marking the first time that a homegrown app has breached and moved past the one-million-user level.

This was learned from Smart Communication executives who said in an email sent on Tuesday that the app, called SmartNet, only two years since its first deployment, has gained the admiration of more than a million mobile internet users in the country.

The SmartNet app allows budget conscious Filipinos to surf the internet and explore its many potentials safely and at a price that executives said is truly affordable.”This is a major milestone in our efforts to promote mobile internet usage in the country,” Orlando B. Vea, Smart’s chief wireless advisor, said.

According to Vea, the mobile app is available on Android, iOs and Windows operating systems and works very well for Filipinos who love to surf the internet knowing that the service would not cost an arm and a leg for the user. he said the app was introduced only in 2011 but has proven popular among the budget

conscious because the platform incorporates such widely used applications as Twitter, Facebook, Facebook chat and Yahoo!

Messenger for free.

It also allows users to browse Smart’s news aggregator service headlines, and use Yahoo! search and email services on their mobile phone without added data charges, Vea quickly added.

A key innovative feature of SmartNet is a widget called Safe Zone, which serves as the platform’s anti-bill shock solution.

By simply pressing the widget’s “Internet button,” users can turn “off” all applications outside of the SmartNet suite of applications.

“By giving subscribers full control of their internet usage, SmartNet gives them greater confidence to actually use more web-based services,” Vea explained.

Smart developed this mobile application platform to overcome a major obstacle standing in the way of more people being able to use mobile internet services.

The average monthly revenue per subscriber in the Philippines is below US$ 5, providing little headroom for Filipinos to

LOBE Telecom’s rollout of its 4G LTE (long-term evolution)- hSPA+ service, which caters to the expected growth in mobile data usage, is expected to support revenue growth this year.

“We are rolling out additional fiber optic capacity in order to support our growing 4G LTE-hSPA+ service. Thus, we can easily cater to more mobile data traffic when demand is there. We expect this endeavor

DavaO by thE nUMbErs The total number of employed persons in Davao Region reached

1.85 million this year,

21.1 percent of whom have expressed desire for additional job or longer working hours.

Source: BLeS

spend on mobile internet services.

“We developed SmartNet to address the unique needs of Filipinos. Pinoys are a social media-savvy people – there are 30 million of us on Facebook and 10 million on Twitter – but many of us are hesitant to use mobile internet for fear of bill shock. Through SmartNet, we are making the internet and so-

cial media more accessible to Filipinos,” Michael Padua, Smart head for internet product management, said.

SmartNet can be downloaded for free from Google Play, Apple iTunes, and Windows Marketplace. It is also available via mobile web (http://m.smartnet.ph) for feature phones and mobile browsers, and via PC Web (www.smartnet.ph). [PNA]

to help generate revenue support this year,” Globe Telecom President and CEO Ernest Cu said, noting that priority areas include Metro Manila, Metro Cebu and Metro Davao.

According to Cu, revenue in-

crease from mobile data usage will be driven by customers’ growing bandwidth requirement as more and more people are engaged in social networking even when they are on the go.

The company’s rollout of more LTE and hSPA+ sites also bodes well with projections that the number of smartphone users in the country will accelerate over the next several years. Projections indicate smartphone penetration could reach 50% over the next three years, from latest estimate of 18% as of last year, Cu said. he said the projected upsurge in smartphone penetration will be fuelled by more attractively priced smartphones and changing consumer usage of mobile phones as network coverage becomes more pervasive.

“The growing preference for smartphones will increase the use of mobile internet which, in turn, will help fuel our revenue growth,” Cu said, noting growth in demand for mobile data services, ranging from prepaid daily variants to postpaid unlimited mobile browsing.

2013

2012

2011

Globe Telecom 4G LTE-HSPA+ rollout to help support revenue growth G

40.67 40.73

42.23 41.01 41.12 41.45 41.75 42.04 41.91 42.78 42.85 42.70 42.86 42.66 43.62

43.31 43.64 43.27 43.45 43.02 42.42 42.81 43.37 43.13 43.24 43.52 43.70 44.17

SUMMER FUN. Department of Tourism 11 Director Art Boncato flashes the thumbs up sign to the guests of yesterday’s One Summer Fun Davao launching at the Seda Hotel along J.P. Laurel Avenue, Davao City. Lean Daval Jr.

MONTHLY AVERAGE EXCHANGE RATE (January 2012-February 2013) Month

VOL. 6 ISSUE 34 • THURSDAY, MAY 02, 2013

It figures

15

WORTH of jewelry collection of Rep. Imelda R. Marcos, former first lady of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, which the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) plans to be put on display this year.

4

THE Supreme Court has dismissed four Cebu City judges and several Court administrative personnel accused of involvement in civil marriage solemnization rackets and irregularities. Dismissed were judges Anatalio Necessario, Gil Acosta, Rosabella Tormis and Edgemelio Rosales of the Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) Branches 2, 3, 4 and 8.

9,743

HONDA Cars Philippines Inc. (HCPI) on Thursday said it is recalling 9,743 units of Honda Civic 2001 to 2002, and CR-V 2002 models because of a faulty inflation device for the front passenger airbag. BusinessMirror, April 12-13, 2013

49.8

MISS KRIS AQUINO, youngest sister of President Noynoy Aquino, paid P49.8 million in income tax, making her the No.1 top individual taxpayer in the country, as against the richest Filipino businessmen listed in Forbes magazine.

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 6 ISSUE 34 •THURSDAY, MAY 02, 2013

Eww!

SCIENCE/ENVIRONMENT 7

Earth smelled like rotten eggs K

IDS like to taunt each other with the cry, “Last one there is a rotten egg!” In Earth’s case, that might be more true of the first ones there, according to a new study suggesting that millions of years ago, the planet emanated such a stench.

The research, published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, finds fossil evidence of microbes snacking on other microbes, a form of feeding called heterotrophy. heterotrophs can’t make their own organic nutrients, so they have to eat other life forms. This is in contrast with autotrophs (think plants), which can synthesize their own food from sunlight or inorganic chemicals.

Researchers suspected that organisms have been eating other organisms for a very long time — about 3.5 billion years, said study researcher Martin Brasier, a professor at Oxford University’s department of earth sciences. The new study clarifies the process about 1.9 million years ago. [Extreme Life on Earth: 8 Bizarre Creatures]

“In this study, for the first time, we identify how it was happening and ‘who was eating who,’” Brasier said in a statement. “In fact, we’ve all experienced modern bacteria feeding this way, as that’s where that ‘rotten egg’ whiff of hydrogen sulfide comes from in a blocked drain.”

Early Earth may also have been purple, according to a 2007 study that found that ancient microbes may have shone a purplish hue.

Brasier and his colleagues analyzed fossils of a bacterium called Gunflintia. These fossils measured just 3 to 15 microns in diameter; in comparison, the eye of a needle is about 1,230 microns across. Compared with other bacterial fossils, the tubular outer sheath of Gunflintia were more likely to show perforations, a sign that other bacteria had been snacking on them.

Another clue that early Earth was a bacteria-eat-bacteria world was the discovery of iron sulfide replacing some segments of the Gunflintia sheaths. Iron sulfide, the compound that makes up fool’s gold, is a waste product of cer-

EarthClose-up of 1.9 billion-year-old Gunflint chert, which contain tiny fossilized evidence of microbes consuming other microbes in the black zones. [LiveScience.com] tain heterotrophic bacteria that breathe sulfate.

These sulfate-reducing bacteria, which ultimately produce sulfides, date back 3.5 billion years, according to previously researched fossils.

“Whilst the Gunflint-

ia fossils are only about half as old, they confirm that such bacteria were indeed flourishing by 1,900 million years ago,” researcher David Wacey, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Western Australia, said

Soaring demand for metals calls for rethink of recycling practices T

hE growth in demand for metals, which could see needs rise by almost ten times current levels, calls for a rethink of recycling practices in order to address negative environmental impacts, according to two reports released today by the UNEP-hosted International Resource Panel.

Launched during a high-level dialogue on Resource Efficiency and Sustainable Management of Metals in Berlin,Environmental Risks and Challenges of Anthropogenic Metals

Flows and Cycles provides an overview of the environmental challenges of metals and the potential contribution of recycling to mitigate them. Metal Recycling - Opportunities, Limits, Infrastructure outlines improvements required to metal recycling systems in the 21st century.

“As populations in emerging economies adopt similar technologies and lifestyles to those currently used in OECD countries, global metal needs will be three to nine times larger than all the metals currently used in the world,” said

UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.

“A far more sophisticated approach is urgently needed to address the challenges of recycling complex products, which contain a broad variety of interlinked metals and materials,” he added. “Product designers need to ensure that materials such as rare earth metals in products ranging from solar panels and wind turbine magnets to mobile phones can still be recovered easily when they reach the end of their life.”

Metals are an essential part of the global economy as core raw materials for infrastructure. Demand is expected to remain strong in the future: in developing countries because of rapid industrialization, and in developed countries because of modern technologies.

While renewable energy technologies-as part of the transition to an inclusive green economy-cut greenhouse gas emissions from metals production, they are likely to increase demand as they are more metal-intensive than fossil-fuel energy sources. [UNEP]

Opportunities exist for tackling environmental challenges through increased recycling of metals from old products.[UNEP]

in a statement, referring to the fossils from this study. “And that they were also highly particular about what they chose to eat.”

The sulfate-breathers may not have been the only ones chowing

down. The researchers also found clusters of 1-micron-sized rod and sphere bacteria in the Gunflintia fossils that may have died while in the process of consuming the larger microbes.

[LiveScience.com]

Asia Pacific has surpassed the rest of the world in its consumption of materials and will continue to dominate world material flows, according to a new UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report released today.

The region’s trade balance indicates that the current rate of exploitation of its resource base is no longer sufficient to support the region’s fast-growing economies and changing lifestyles. From 1970-2008, consumption of construction minerals increased 13.4 times, metal ores and industrial minerals consumption 8.6, fossil fuels 5.4, and biomass 2.7 times.

The data indicates that, at this rate, the region will be increasingly dependent on imports and unable to sustain its economies and lifestyles. The current rate of consumption is also having a negative impact on the environment.

The report, Recent Trends in Material Flows and Resource Productivity in Asia and the Pacific, presents an insight of the 2011 Resource Efficiency: Economics and Outlook for Asia and the Pacific (REEO) report on material

flows and resource productivity in Asia and the Pacific.

It brings together data extending the latest reported year up to 2008 and thus includes the onset of the global financial crisis.

The report highlights the region’s material intensity - consumption of materials per dollar of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - as an area of serious concern, as this will increase pressures on the environment and exceed the region’s rapid growth. Currently, material intensity for Asia Pacific is three times the rest of the world.

“Each dollar of GDP requires increasing amount of materials,” said Dr. Park Young-Woo, Regional Director of UNEP Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.

“The findings do not give signs of decoupling material consumption and natural resource use from economic growth in the region.”

“Resource efficiency needs to increase rapidly to offset material growth in the Asia Pacific region, which needs systems innovations in urban areas, transportation modes, energy production and economic structure,” he added.

[UNEP]

Asia overtakes rest of the world in consumption of materials

8 VANTAGE POINTS

VOL. 6 ISSUE 34 • THURSDAY, MAY 02, 2013

EDGEDAVAO

Are shareholder bonuses incentives or bribes?

ANAlYSIS

By John C. Coffee, Jr.

T EDITORIAL

Voting factors

S

O unique, that’s the way Dabawenyos are choosing their candidates.

A few insights which surfaced from the two recent surveys in Davao tell us that the more controversial the candidate, the more they attract votes and that the ‘underdog factor’ is still very much alive.

The ‘controversy factor’ is reportedly working for Chiz Escudero who surged consistently to second place of the surveys after being mired in a controversy involving his romance with celebrity heart Evangelista. Dabawenyos must be too cheesy when it comes to Romeo-Juliet love affair that they gave Chiz a resounding preference.

In the local front, the ‘balancing factor’ gave re-electionist Karlo Nograles the overwhelming lead over Louie Bonguyan, the anointed candidate of Vice Mayor Rody Duterte. Dabawenyos prefer a sort of balance in the political landscape according to the University of Mindanao’s Institute for Popular Opinion, hence their preference for more players in the political front.

The IPO-UM survey also supported

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the view that voters want candidates who have received many awards, being supported by his or her family, and have good reputation. Dabawenyos also judge candidates by their appearance from being physically-fit to being good looking.

It’s a different story in the heated fight over at the second district where the survey shows a slim edge by incumbent Mylene Garcia over Joji Ilagan-Bian.

Again, the ‘balancing factor’ is taking its toll plus the growing clamor for a change in the leadership over in District 2. The Garcias have been in power for decades and it did not help that the current torchbearer of the Garcia family is not the most eloquent and most visible member of the household.

The UM survey did not differ from the survey made by Ateneo de Davao University which also revealed a similar trend.

Both surveys show that political backers of candidates do not necessarily translate to votes. In the final reckoning, Dabawenyos are so unique because they vote according to the true worth of candidates, not on who is backing up whom.

ARLENE D. PASAJE Cartoons

RAMON M. MAXEY Consultant

GREGORIO G. DELIGERO Associate Editor

LEANDRO S. DAVAL JR. • JOSEPH LAWRENCE P. GARCIA Photography

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

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(1st of two parts)

hIS is the heyday of institutional investor activism in proxy contests.

Insurgents are running more slates and targeting larger companies. They are also enjoying a higher rate of success: 66 percent of proxy contests this year have been at least partially successful.

The reason is probably the support that activists have received from the principal proxy advisors: Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis & Co. According to a recent New York Times Dealbook survey, ISS has backed the insurgent slate in 73 percent of the cases so far in 2013.

All this may be well and good.

Shareholders certainly have the right to throw the incumbents out at underperforming companies. But there may also be a dark side to this new activism.

This year, two activist investors, Elliott Management Corp. and Jana Partners, have run minority slates of directors for the boards of hess Corp. and Agrium Inc., respectively, and each has offered to pay special bonuses to its nominees (and no one else). Elliott will pay bonuses to its five nominees measured by each 1 percent that hess shares outperform the total rate of return over the next three years on a control group of large oil industry companies. A ceiling limits the maximum payment to a nominee director to $9 million. In the case of the Agrium proxy fight, which Jana narrowly just lost, Jana offered to pay its four nominees a percentage of any profits that the hedge fund itself earned within a three-year period on its Agrium shares.

Both hess and Agrium have objected that these bonuses are intended to incentivize these nominees to sell the company or promote some other extraordinary transaction in the short run. The activists and their defenders respond that there is no conflict because all shareholders will benefit if the new directors cause each company to outperform its peers.

This claim that incentive compensation aligns the nominees’ interests with those of the shareholders ignores much. First, there are timing conflicts. Two years from today, a bidder might offer a 50 percent premium ($60 for a $40 stock). But for these bonuses, the directors might all believe it was better to decline this offer, because the company’s long-term value in two or three more years was expected to exceed the current premium. Second, there may be disagreements over risk: Leveraging the company up to its eyeballs may raise the short-term stock price, but also expose the company to failure in the next economic downturn. Finally, special bonuses may balkanize the board, creating suspicion and tension.

Among academics, the currently trendy theory is that activist investors are the true champions of shareholders and should not be limited in the tactics by which they seek to maximize value.

Unquestionably, share ownership has reconcentrated over the last two decades.

Today few if any barriers remain to the ability of institutional investors to enforce their will. Staggered boards are being eliminated and poison pills redeemed across the face of Corporate America.

Yet, given their new power, activists do not need the additional ability to bribe their nominees into compliance with their wishes. Rather, with greater power should come greater responsibility and a decent sense of restraint.

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 6 ISSUE 34 •THURSDAY, MAY 02, 2013

T

A prophetic President Bush

hIS week, various political luminaries gathered in Dallas, Texas, to celebrate the presidency of George W. Bush, who presided over one of the most tumultuous periods in modern American history. Among liberals, Bush is considered a uniquely awful president, having led the United States into the ill-fated invasion and occupation of Iraq and having passed into law deep tax cuts that contributed to America’s present-day fiscal crunch.

Conservatives are more conflicted.

Some dismiss him as a big-government conservative who failed to heed the wisdom of Goldwater and Reagan. Others, including many who served in the Bush administration, believe that as time passes, he will be lauded for his achievements.

The complicated truth is that for all his flaws, George W. Bush had a better understanding of the challenges facing Republicans than most Obama-era conservatives. his rocky tenure is best understood as a testament to how difficult it will be to modernize the GOP. Many hero-worshipped Bush during the early days of the war on terror, seeing him as a humble Christian leader who was always willing to take the hard road rather than the easy one. But as the public turned against the Iraq War, and as his efforts on behalf of Social Security reform and immigration reform engendered a fierce political backlash, a growing number of conservatives came to see Bush as

Y

VANTAGE POINTS

COMMENTARY By reihAn SAlAm

(1st of two parts) an apostate who expanded Medicare and the federal role in education while failing to roll back the growth of government.

The Bush administration’s response to the 2008 financial crisis alienated conservatives even further, as the ominously named Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), engineered by Treasury Secretary hank Paulson, struck many as a hardly-any-strings-attached Wall Street bailout. The Tea Party movement arose in no small part as a repudiation of Bush and his fitful efforts to transform the GOP. Bush administration veterans, meanwhile, remain convinced that their president has gotten a bum rap. Keith hennessey, who served as director of the National Economic Council during Bush’s second term, recently described Bush’s keen intelligence, and in doing so worked the former president’s liberal detractors into a frenzy. Among my friends and acquaintances who served in the Bush White house, the general view is that while Bush had solidly conservative instincts on domestic policy matters, he was hemmed in by the demands of the war on terror and the recalcitrance of Republican lawmakers. When the admin-

istration pressed for reform of Medicaid and, later on, changes in the way employer-sponsored health insurance would be treated in the tax code, congressional Republicans hardly ever gave him in inch.

President Bush had little leverage, as he needed congressional Republicans to approve military spending and to defend his administration in the endless controversies over enemy combatants and surveillance that sapped its strength.

One of the ironies of the Bush presidency is that for all its failures, it was rooted in a clear-eyed diagnosis of the challenges facing Republicans. The end of the Cold War and the success of the Clinton-era Democrats’ centrism had badly undermined the GOP, which by the late 1990s risked irrelevance. Newt Gingrich’s efforts to shrink government were successfully countered by President Bill Clinton’s protean progressive centrism, and so George W. Bush, as governor of Texas, identified an alternative way forward.

During his first presidential run, Bush famously lambasted congressional Republicans for “balancing their budget on the backs of the poor,” and he touted his various efforts to raise literacy and math scores for black and Latino students in Texas. Bush recognized that Republicans needed to be seen not as opponents of government but rather as its reformers, and his moderation was essential to his razor-thin, hotly contested 2000 victory.

Chinese crave slow living

U Naisheng loves taking photos of landscapes. After moving to Bama, a mountainous county in south China, he now has the opportunity to take photos of landscape sunsets as often as he wants.

“It is precious for me as I am from a city full of high-rises,” said the 33-year-old, who runs a small family hotel in Bama, known for having the most centenarians in China. his life was totally different two years ago.

Yu was operating a factory in Shenzhen, an industrial city north of hong Kong. “I was stuck in a traffic jam every day, and my temper got worse and worse,” he recalled.

In 2011, Yu went on a road trip. One day, he went to Bama in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and loved the beautiful lake, clean air and the vibrantly-healthy local people.

“I talked to my wife over the phone, and we decided to move here,” he said.

Yu, like many Chinese people, was tired of the fast-paced life after years of worshipping speed and efficiency, which has taken China to second place in the global economy.

“In Tibet and Yunnan, there are many people like me. Most of the small hotel owners have had similar experiences,” said Yu.

SPECIAl FEATURE By hAn QiAo Tibet and Yunnan are both well known for beautiful natural scenery.

Every morning in Bama, Yu has a big breakfast of locally-produced sweet potatoes, corn and congee.

“When I was in Shenzhen, I often missed breakfast.”

Unlike Yu, many Chinese people lack the bravery to move or simply cannot afford to completely leave their city life behind. In order to relax and take a break from their busy lives many travel or develop hobbies.

Ma Lei, 33, a public servant with the Ministry of Culture, often goes hiking.

Over the past five years, she and her husband have travelled to almost all of China’s provinces.

“We often hike 20 kilometers a day. Even though we are very tired, our minds are relaxed,” said Ma. “As long as you can forget about work, it does not matter if you are sunbathing on the beach or hiking in the mountains, you are slowing down,” said Ma. Yang Shiyu, 30, a father of a one-year-old girl in Shenyang City of northeastern China’s Liaoning Province, took up wood carving as a hobby.

“Every evening after my daughter goes to sleep, I will take out the wood and work with it for a while.”

Yang makes knife handles. “I spend three nights carving. Then I spend another two nights polishing them with sandpaper. When I am working with the wood I feel so relaxed and forget about all the frustrations of being a new father.”

Yang purchased his wood from the Nanyueju shop on Taobao, China’s biggest online shopping website.

The shop sells wood scraps from furniture factories. The number of sales at the store has reached 1,864 in the last 30 days. Other customers have also taken up wood carving, making bracelets, combs and pen holders among other things, according to the shop.

It seems Chinese people are turning to either exercise or creativity to slow down from the speed of everyday city life.

Gao Guoxi, a professor with Fudan University, said a slower-paced life involves patience, care and deliberation, which will help relieve stress and tension.

“Besides, a relaxed mind will help nurture more creative ideas.

You may find better ways to tackle problems in work and life after slowing down for a while.” [PNA/ Xinhua]

9

Market euphoria misreads the signals COMMENTARY

By AnAtole KAletSKy

F

(1st of two parts)

INANCIAL markets, which balance judgments from some of the world’s most highly paid and best-informed analysts, are often uncannily right in anticipating unpredictable events, ranging from economic booms and busts to elections and terrorist attacks. But markets can sometimes can be spectacularly wrong, especially when it comes to politics. A classic case was the slump on Wall Street after last November’s election in the United States. This week’s market action in Europe may offer an even clearer example of market confusion about two fascinating but byzantine political entities – the Italian government and the European Central Bank.

European stock markets have rebounded strongly this week in the face of deteriorating economic and financial fundamentals from across Europe on the basis of two political events: the reluctant agreement by Italy’s 87-yearold president. Giorgio Napolitano, to serve another seven-year term because nobody else could be found to do the job; and hints from ECB council members that they might vote to cut interest rates from 0.75 percent to 0.5 percent next Thursday.

Neither of these events remotely justified investors’ euphoria. The ECB case is straightforward. First, the ECB may well disappoint next week, since several influential decision makers oppose a rate cut. Second, even if the ECB does act, a quarter-point cut will do nothing for growth. Third and most importantly, such a tiny rate cut, if it happens, will simply underline the ECB’s refusal to follow the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan, the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank in expanding the money supply or taking other “unconventional” measures that could potentially have a much greater financial impact than any marginal fiddling with interest rates. So much, then, for the silly idea in Europe that “bad news is good news” because economic weakness will force the ECB to cut rates.

Italian politics is, as ever, more interesting and convoluted. The apparent winners from this week’s events were the strongly pro-euro President Napolitano and his new center-left prime minister, Enrico Letta. In fact, they were the losers. The real winner was Silvio Berlusconi, the nemesis of Napolitano and other responsible Italian politicians and a totemic hate figure for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, along with most other respectable European leaders.

To understand this counterintuitive conclusion, which is widely shared by the financiers and business leaders I met in Italy this week as the election drama unfolded, let us begin with what most investors and responsible politicians across Europe interpreted as this week’s good news. Napolitano’s re-election, denounced by comedian Beppe Grillo’s populist Five Star movement as an “elite coup d’etat,” has allowed the aging president to appoint a politician from the center-left Democratic Party (PD), which secured the largest share of votes in last February’s election, to head a pro-euro technocratic administration likely to be modeled on the outgoing government of Mario Monti. Thus, Italy will now have a functioning democratic government, and one that will stick to most of the Monti policies approved by Brussels and Berlin. Moreover, this government is likely to be stable for at least the next six months, since all the established parties have agreed that a new electoral law must be prepared before the next election to prevent a repeat of the present chaos and to try to block Grillo’s advance.

10

VOL. 6 ISSUE 34 • THURSDAY, MAY 02, 2013

KMU slams DOLE...

But for Elmer “Bong” Labog, chairperson of KMU, the non-wage benefits being bragged about by DOLE are welcome but are not enough to give workers the needed immediate relief from their current miserable situation.

KMU recently called on the government for an increase in wages to help the country’s workers who have been suffering from meager wages and high prices for years.

“The granting of these benefits is a desperate attempt of the Aquino government to pacify workers’ outrage over its policy of cutting and freezing wages,” Labog said. he added that the government cannot fool workers with non-wage benefits that have “in fact been denied us for so long” which are actually basic benefits that are mandated by law and should really be given to workers.

Every May 1, the country’s premier labor agency, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), boosts of programs, projects and wage increases intended to benefit ordinary workers while some groups signify support of such claims and assertions.

On one hand is a labor organization, Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) that contradicts the assertions of DOLE, particularly on the state of the Philippine’s labor sector. The KMU says it fights for the interests of Philippine labor.

Data released by KMU disclosed that the average daily wage in the Philippines is P317.44 or roughly $8 dollars a day, a pay which is less than 1/3 of the estimated family living wage at P1, 033 per day.

KMU said that workers in the agriculture sector continue to suffer most as an ordinary agricultural worker only receives an average of P156.81 per day and the fisher folk P178.43 daily.

Worst of all, KMU stressed, the Aquino government continues to push for the implementation of the Two-Tiered Wage System, a scheme that is geared to further press down wages by introducing a floor wage, that is usually lower than the existing minimum wage, and institutionalizing productivity-based pay in companies.

KMU has been pressing for a P125 across-theboard wage increase nationwide but the same has consistently been rejected by the Aquino government, Labog stressed.

The government has been entertaining the idea of massive layoffs and inflation once the big capitalists accept the proposed P125 across-the-board increase.

Such impression runs

FFROM 1

contrary to the results of the study in April of 2012 conducted by independent think-tank Ibon Foundation that said the P125 across-the-board wage hike only amounts to 12 percent reduction in capitalists’ profits.

As Labor Day comes today, May 1, KMU said, “We are confronted by the following figures in terms of labor and employment situation in our country; unemployment has remained above 7 percent; the number of unemployed grew by at least 200,000 from July 2010 to January 2013 despite the claimed inclusive growth by the government, the highest in Southeast Asia; Further, KMU added, more than half of new jobs generated from 2010 to 2013 are in the non-productive segments of the service sector such as real estate, business process outsourcing, wholesale and retail trade while jobs in the agricultural sector shrunk by 6.27 percent.

The number of underemployed Filipinos, or those looking for additional work, rose to 7.92 million in January 2013 from 6.5 million in July of 2012; the current underemployment rate is at 20.9 percent, a figure signifying that 1 of every 5 Filipino workers are looking for additional work due to insufficient compensation in the face of rising cost of living.

The group stressed that holding job fairs on Labor Day is a bad move of the Aquino administration because they continue to pit employment against wages by saying that Filipinos need jobs more than a significant wage hike.

Instead, the group calls for a significant wage increase that will bring the current wage levels closer to the living wage; an end to contractualization and the upholding of workers’ security of tenure; the defense of workers’ rights to form unions, strike and collectively bargain; safer wo+rking conditions for the country’s workers by ensuring that standards on occupational health and safety are observed in workplaces; and the full provision of social protection of workers and the complete granting of benefits specified by law.

KMU also urges the government to generate decent jobs through the crafting and implementation of a program for national industrialization and land reform; end the policies of privatization, deregulation and liberalization; the increase in government spending for social services; the upholding of the urban poor’s rights to housing and livelihood; and the promotion of women workers’ rights.

Nagkaisa... regional offices.

Jojo Ibanez, head of Alliance of Progressive Labor, Sentro ng mga Progresibong Manggagawa (APL-SENTRO), told media yesterday at a press briefing at the Trade Union Congress Party (TUCP) office on Roxas Boulevard, Davao City, that contractualization includes giving workers a three to five month work contract, even in jobs that are considered as essential to a company’s nature

Council...

EDGEDAVAO

FFROM 2 of business and not just the janitorial or maintenance services.

“The tens of thousands of contractual workers employed in big companies are reportedly working on contractual and not on regular basis. hindi ito makatao at hindi makatarungan,” he explained. he added that the labor department’s order only allows employers to implement labor-only contracting once they are granted registration as

job contractors.

Randy Ponteras, spokesperson of Anakbayan, said that they are pushing what is due to the workers and they will fight for the worker’s rights.

“Contractualization has made it easy for just about any firm to be registered as a job contractor. Other companies, meanwhile, resort to “outsourcing” or forming third party companies that hire contractuals for

them,” he said.

Alfredo Punay Jr., board director of Sama Coke Union bared that the contractualization scheme does not give assurance to employees for it only discriminates for workers who have the skills and qualified to be regular workers.

The group is hopeful that the current administration would somehow grant their request and also respond to the cry of the workers.

escort Sergeant Bernie Jornillo were wounded in an ambush on their way to a sortie in Barangay Busaon.

Peralta identified the suspects behind the ambush as Bacbac Sultan and Tanda Kedong.

Peralta said rido was also seen as the root of conflict.

On January 15, village chair Sonny Kadil of Barangay Pantar was wounded while his two companions, Takanada Mamukao and Muslimen

Ampuan, died in an ambush in Midsayap town.

The attackers were linked to Kumander Faron of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front Kumander Faron.

The victims said they and Faron have a longstanding land feud and leadership dispute.

The Commission on Elections has not declared Banisilan as an area of immediate concern in the coming polls. (Ferdinandh Cabrera/MindaNews)

FFROM 2

political groups held rallies in the town that night and his he had no enough personnel to provide security to all candidates. he said that while they conducted patrols at the rally sites the assailant may have taken advantage of the brownout.

The whole province has been experiencing frequent power outages.

Local police said either politics or rido (clan feud) could be the

motive behind the killing.

Alucilja said the election has made politicians who have unresolved conflicts with other clans vulnerable to attacks because they tend to be more exposed to the public.

The killing was not the first election-related incident in this town this year.

On March 30, the official start of the campaign for local positions, town councilor Bobby Rajamuda and his army

Popular Opinion of the University of Mindanao (IPO-UM) 2013 Election Survey Senatorial Candidate

2013 Senatorial Candidates %

Ranking (+/-3)

64

1

60

2

Legarda, Loren (Independent)

65

Cayetano, Peter (Team Pnoy)

63

Escudero, Chiz(Independent)

Poe, Grace (Independent) Binay, Nancy (UNA)

58

Enrile, Juan Ponce Jr (UNA)

57

Ejercito Estrada, JV (UNA)

56

Aquino, Benigno (Team Pnoy) Madrigal, Jamby (Team Pnoy)

Trillanes, Antonio (Team Pnoy) Pimentel, Koko (Team Pnoy) Zubiri, Migs (UNA)

hontiveros, Risa (Team Pnoy)

Angara, Edgardo (Team Pnoy) Villar, Cynthia (Team Pnoy)

Villanueva, Bro. Eddie (BangonPilipinas)

56 47 43 43 40 40 37 36

29

1

1 2 3 3 3 4 5 5 6 6 7 7

8

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 6 ISSUE 34 •THURSDAY, MAY 02, 2013

NATION/WORlD11

Arab League seems to soften Israeli-Palestinian peace plan A

RAB states appeared to soften their 2002 peace plan on Monday when a top Qatari official said Israel and the Palestinians could trade land rather than conform exactly to their 1967 borders.

Sheikh hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister, made the comment after he and a group of Arab officials met U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to discuss how to promote Israeli-Palestinian peace.

Speaking on behalf of an Arab League delegation, Sheikh hamad appeared to make a concession to Israel by explicitly raising the possibility of land swaps, although it has long been assumed that these would be part of any peace agreement.

“This news is very positive,” Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni told Army Radio on Tuesday.

“In the tumultuous world around ... it could allow the Palestinians to enter the room and make the needed compromises and it sends a message to the Israeli public that this

P

is not just about us and the Palestinians.”

Kerry has made no secret of his hope to revive peace talks, which broke down in 2010, but it remains unclear whether U.S. President Barack Obama will decide to back a major U.S. effort.

In convening the group, Kerry is trying to ensure that a new peace process would have the backing of the Arab states, who, if they were to offer Israel a comprehensive peace, hold a powerful card that could provide an incentive for Israeli compromises.

“The Arab League delegation affirmed that agreement should be based on the two-state solution on the basis of the 4th of June 1967 line, with the (possibility) of comparable and mutual agreed minor swap of the land,” he told reporters after the meeting at the Blair house, the U.S. president’s guest house.

Monday’s talks included the Bahraini, Egyptian, Jordanian and Qatari foreign ministers as well as officials from Lebanon, Saudi Arabia,

Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheik Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani. [AFP] the Palestinian Authority and the Arab League.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden also attended part of the meeting.

The Arab League proposal offered full Arab recognition of Israel if it gave up land seized in a

1967 war and accepted a “just solution” for Palestinian refugees.

Rejected by Israel when it was originally proposed at a Beirut summit in 2002, the plan has major obstacles to overcome.

Israel objects to key points, including a return to 1967 borders, the inclusion of Arab East Jerusalem in a Palestinian state and the return of Palestinian refugees to what is now Israel.

The core issues that

need to be settled in the more than six-decade dispute include borders, the fate of Palestinian refugees, the future of Jewish settlements on the West Bank and the status of Jerusalem.

[AFP]

treatment beginning 30 hours after birth.

Series of tests showed decreasing hIV presence in the infant’s blood until it became undetectale 39 days after birth.

This is seen as a “functional cure” which meant that the baby need not undergo anti-retroviral medication for a lifetime, unlike most hIV patients.

Also in the Time 100 was the report’s lead author, John hopkins Children’s Center virologist Deborah Persaud, and University of Mussissippi Medical Center associate professor of pediatrics hannah Gay, who administered treatment to the baby.

“We are honored and humbled that our work has been considered influential,” Luzuriaga was quoted in the University of Massachusetts Medical School website as saying.

“Our hope is that this will help to communicate the power and potential of scientific investigation for optimizing health outcomes for children,” she added. [Yahoo!]

ecretary-GenerAL of Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Le Luong Minh said that foreign ministers of ASEAN member countries will have a meeting with their Chinese counterpart in Beijing to further discuss peaceful settlement on territorial disputes in the South China Sea. “The meeting between ASEAN foreign affairs ministers and Chinese foreign affairs minister has been scheduled in August or September this year in Beijing,” Minh told Xinhua on the sidelines of a media briefing on the results of the recent high-profile ASEAN Summit held in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. he said that during the summit, all ASEAN members agreed to assign their foreign ministries to continue to work actively with China on the way forward for early conclusion of a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) on the basis of consensus.

In his briefing, Minh said that ASEAN leaders

reaffirmed the importance of peace, stability and maritime security in the region. They also underscored the importance of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), ASEAN’s six-point Principles on the South China Sea and the Joint Statement of the 10th anniversary of the DOC. “In this regard, we reaffirmed the collective commitments under the DOC to ensuring the peaceful resolution of dispute in accordance with universally recognized principles of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea without resorting to the threat or use of force, while exercising self-restraint in the conduct of activities,” Minh said in the briefing. he added that ASEAN is looking forward to continued engagement with China in implementing the DOC in a full and effective manner, including through mutually agreed joint cooperative activities and projects. [PNA/Xinhua]

The other Filipino in Time’s 100 most influential S

RESIDENT Benigno Aquino III was the easiest Filipino to spot in Time Magazine’s latest list of the world’s 100 most influential people.

But there was one other Filipino in the highly celebrated list, lauded

for her work that led to a breakthrough in human immunodeficiency virus (hIV) treatment.

Katherine Luzuriaga, who was born to a Filipino father, was among the three female doctors acknowledged for the first “functional cure” in an

MOST INFLUENTIAL. Yahoo! Southeast Asia Newsroom - Katherine Luzuriaga, who was born to a Filipino father, was also among Time Magazine’s list of 100 most influ-

hIV-infected baby.

Luzuriaga, a professor of pediatrics and medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, headed laboratory investigators on the discovery.

The cured baby was born to an hIV-infected mother and received

ential people in the world in 2013. [Photo from the University of Massachusetts Medical School website]

ASEAN, Chinese FMs to discuss territorial disputes

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VOL. 6 ISSUE 34 • THURSDAY, MAY 02, 2013

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3) 3,831 sq m lot along Matina Diversion Road. 4) 41,408 sq m commercial/industrial lot at P800/sq m along the National Highway, Bunawan. 5) 7,056 sq m at P1,200/sq m commercial/residential lot along Indangan Road, Buhangin District. 6) 27,411 sq m commercial/industrial lot along the National Highway in Bincungan, Tagum City. 7) 116.15 to 245.92 sq meters , at P5.5M to P12.3M commercial/ office condo units in Bajada, Davao City. 8) 699 to 1,117 sq m at P4,100/sq m commercial lots at Josefina Town Center, along the National Highway, Dumoy, toril. 9) Ready-for-Occupancy Residential Properties: 4BR/3T&B in a 240 sq m lot with 177.31sqm floor area (2-storey) at P4.8M in an exclusive beachfront community in Dumoy, Toril.; 3BR 2-storey in a 71.25 sq m 2-storey in a 143sq m lot in an exclusive flower village in Maa, Davao City; 180 sq m lots with 71.25sqm to 126.42 sq m floor areas, priced at P3.751M to P5.773M in an exclusive mountain resort community along Matina, Diversion Road. 10) 1BR/2BR residential condo units located in Bolton, Maa, Obrero, Davao City.

11) FOR ASSUME (RUSH): 1BR res’l condo unit in Palmetto, Maa. P600K negotiable. Note: Items 1-9 can be paid in cash, in-house or bank financing.

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EDGEDAVAO VOL. 6 ISSUE 34 •THURSDAY, MAY 02, 2013

T

COMMUNITY SENSE13

GenSan public schools get PC units from LGU

hE General Santos City government has delivered a total of 790 personal computer (PC) sets to local public schools in the last 20

months as part of the implementation of its expanded school computerization program.

Percival Pasuelo, information and communication tech-

nology division head of the city mayor’s office, said Tuesday the new PCs were distributed by the local government to 58 speech and computer

laboratories that it upgraded and established in various public elementary and secondary schools in the city from July 2011 and until last month.

CLEAN UP. Construction workers remove debris and unused soil away from a street where a new concrete pavement will be constructed along Porras Street in Bo. Obrero, Davao City yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

“Each of these laboratories was provided with 10 to 20 PCs, depending on the school’s population,” he said in a statement.

Under the program, Pasuelo said schools with over 1,000 students received 20 PCs while those with less than 1,000 students got 10 PC units.

Aside from the computers, he said they provided the recipient-schools and students with the necessary software, reference materials and trainings through the city’s enhanced ShEEP-Computer Literacy Program (CLP). he said they also established electronic libraries or e-Libraries in all public elementary and secondary schools within the city’s 26 barangays to provide students and teachers with wider access to various educational references and related learning materials.

ShEEP stands for Social Transforma-

tion, human Empowerment, Economic Diversification, Environment Security and Regeneration and Participatory Governance and Transparency, which are the city’s main development thrusts.

The city government earlier launched the CLP as a major component of the ShEEP program’s education-related initiatives.

Pasuelo said the city’s school computerization program started in 1999 with Labangal National high School as initial beneficiary.

Labangal National high School, which serves students belonging to the “poorest of the poor,” was prioritized then for the first 20 PC units delivered by the city government, he said.

In 2000, he said the local government expanded the initiative to 16 public high schools, with each getting 20 PCs. The program covered elementary schools by 2001. [Allen V. Estabillo/ MindaNews]

14 SPORTS

VOL. 6 ISSUE 34 • THURSDAY, MAY 02, 2013

Is Howard leaving the Lakers?

L

GOODBYE? Dwight Howard will be a free agent this summer.

EDGEDAVAO

OS ANGELES – Dwight howard took an early exit on Sunday in the final chapter of the Los Angeles Lakers season. With 9:51 remaining in the third quarter of Game 4 against the San Antonio Spurs, howard was ejected following his second technical foul. As howard slowly walked off the floor at Staples Center, he slapped his teammates’ hands, offered some words as he walked by general manager Mitch Kupchak and headed to the locker room in perhaps his last moments in a Laker uniform.

“It’s like a nightmare,” howard said after Los Angeles suffered a 103-82 defeat that swept it out of Round 1 of the playoffs.

“It’s like a bad dream and we couldn’t wake up out of it. That’s what it felt like.

“It seemed like nothing could go right, right from the start, injuries and all that stuff. We get an opportunity to get some rest for guys who are injured. A chance to rehab and think about what we can all do to better ourselves.”

When asked if the last part of that statement reflected optimism toward returning, howard said: “You’re reading too much into it.” howard will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. The Lakers can pay him more than anyone else with a five-year, maximum $117.9 million contract. By departing to the likes of the houston Rockets, Atlanta hawks or Dallas Mavericks, which have the salary cap space, howard would take a pay cut with a four-year, $87.6 million max deal. howard is just 27 years old and could potentially make up a lost $30 million of his contract down the road.

But who walks away from $30 million, especially someone still recovering from major back surgery?

“I’m going to step away from everything for a couple of weeks,” howard said. “I’m going to clear my head before I do or talk about anything as far as next season. I think I deserve that and that’s what I’m going to do.” howard averaged 17.1 points per game this season, his lowest average in five years, but led the league with 12.4 re-

bounds in 35.8 minutes per game. Even with howard’s injury concerns, the Lakers can’t afford to lose him for nothing.

“Coming back super early from a major surgery was tough,” howard said. “I tried to give everything I had and leave it on the floor. I was in pain for the whole season. I just wanted to try to play through it, fight through it. Even though I’m hurting, I’m still standing and I’m just going to keep fighting.”

The Lakers have numerous roster decisions to make and an amnesty clause to use, if needed.

Uncertainty is at every corner, and that’s assuming Bryant is back healthy from an Achilles tendon injury. Pau Gasol, no stranger to trade discussions, could’ve played his last game as a Laker, too. he was given a standing ovation Sunday when he came out for good in Game 4. howard is expected to exercise his due diligence in free agency in large part due to the uncertainty with the Lakers’ roster, said an NBA source close to the situation. “he’s going to sign a long-term deal,” the source said. “It has to be the right spot, the right commitment. There is no clear choice. The Lakers choice has longevity. They’ve won a lot of championships. But at the same time, that’s not where they’re at any more.”

Other factors in howard’s decision are whether he can co-exist with Bryant and coach Mike D’Antoni’s up-tempo system. howard and Bryant aren’t best friends, but they don’t hate each other either. The two All-Stars have grown to respect each other after enduring this horrible campaign and appear to have become closer since Bryant suffered his injury.

“We had a pretty good relationship before I got here,” howard said about Bryant. “I think a lot of people have twisted a lot of things. The fake fights.

Arguments we supposedly had. We’ve maintained a pretty good relationship. I want to continue to be there for him throughout the process he has to go through recovering from his Achilles.

INdulge!

VOL. 6 ISSUE 34 • THURSDAY, MAY 02, 2013

EDGEDAVAO

FOOD

Cuisine more passionate The main dining area of Passions.

Pork face and asparagus.

PaSSIon as defined by the dictionary, is a term applied to a very strong feeling about a person or thing. In my case, my passion is all about discovering something new, experiencing things that are different, and of course eating.

Passions are what make a person unique and stand out. Much like King Mongkut from the musical King and I, Passions, the Chinese restaurant located at Maxims at Resorts World Manila, stood out from the crowd.

Featuring an array of Chinese cuisines from Szechuan to Cantonese styles of cooking, the restaurant clearly stands out from the crowd as Passions is like a slice of China all crammed into a corner of Manila’s only integrated lifestyle and entertainment hub.

For starters we had an appetiser plate that was crammed full of Chinese

Appetiser platter.

Szechuan-style chicken. roast meats and pickles. as always, I attacked the jellyfish, but the winner of the platter was the delicious and fatty roast duck. The skin was crisp, with a layer of duck fat and the meat was tender and moist. a tender roast chicken followed after the decadent

platter just in case anyone needed more roast meat.

In typical lauriat fashion, the entrees arrived one after the other. From prawns all the way to crabs and garoupa, everything served was a delight to the palate.

The dishes that stood out for me that evening were the crisp crystal shrimp and broccoli, and

Different roast meats in the window.

Cantonese-style crystal shrimp. the Szechuan style chicken that was spicy and served over ho-fan noodles and century eggs. The flavour of the chicken was enhanced by the sauce of the dish as well as the savouriness of the century eggs.

I also loved the tofu hotpot which was a welcome break from all the rich and heavy dishes that preceded it.

Fujian-style braised tofu in a hotpot.

The dinner ended with some fresh tropical fruits and a bowl of cold Taro Sago Soup which was lightly sweet but not too sweet as to overpower the natural flavour of the taro.

Follow me on Instagram or of Twitter @kennethkingong for more travel pics, foodie finds and happenings in, around and beyond Durianburg.

Roast chicken.

Taro sago cold soup.

EDGEDAVAO

A2 INdulge!

UP AND ABOUT

Sun Cellular backs specialized seminar for special ed professionals Mobile phone operator Sun Cellular furthers its ongoing efforts for social development as it backed the recent Autism Spectrum Integrated Play Group Seminar attended by special education professionals and individuals who relate to children with autism and other developmental disorders.

Initiated by the Occupational Therapy Association of the Philippines and the Ateneo de Manila University’s Fr. Bulatao Psychological Center, this seminar tapped industry experts and international techniques in the hopes of addressing common communication and socialization needs of children with disorders and of their affected families.

“Given the already challenging nature of molding young minds, we take this opportunity to spark further developments in the field and create a specialized dialogue which will address current issues of our child psychologists, special education teachers and parents of children diagnosed with autism,” says Anthony Grecia, President of the Occupational Therapy Association of the Philippines.

As its brand continues to stand for unlimited services and customer empowerment, Sun Cellular extends its services to helping various academic and developmental institutions achieve their operational goals through project tie-ups and through its provisioning of best-value mobile solutions.

“Beyond our usual offerings, we also make it a point to fulfil our bigger role in bridging distances through reliable communications and in fuelling up community building through our strategic partnerships with civic organizations for developmental causes,” relays Reuben Pangan, Sun Cellular’s Official Spokesperson and Vice President for Customer Service Operations of Sun Cellular.

Sun Cellular is a member of the PLDT Group.

VOL. 6 ISSUE 34 • THURSDAY, MAY 02, 2013

i-Witness celebrates 14th year, releases new DVD

The country’s most awarded and longestrunning documentary program, I-Witness, celebrates its 14th anniversary with the release of “The Best of IWitness Volume 6.”

The DVD compilation includes eight documentaries from four of the country’s top documentarists – Kara David, Jay Taruc, Sandra aguinaldo and howie Severino. howie travels to some of the poorest rural areas in the country and walks barefoot with children who can’t even afford to buy new slippers in Saplot; while in Daloy, howie and his team join a kayak journey traversing the water trail from the rapids of Pagsanjan to Manila Bay. The documentary Gintong Putik, recipient of the 2011 Golden Screen TV awards for outstanding Documentary Program, features Kara’s search for a boy she met ten years ago in the mining town of Par-

acale in Camarines norte.

In Liwanag sa Dilim, hope lights up for the Mangyans as Kara journeys back to Sitio Dyangdang in Bansud, oriental Mindoro to help provide solar energy.

Jay unveils the poignant stories of burn victims ago-

nizing over long-healing wounds at the Mindanao Burn Center in Lapnos, winner of the Silver World Medal for Documentary at the 2012 new York Festivals. and in ahon, he revisits Cagayan de oro during the aftermath of Typhoon

possible for customers but also for our employees,” Globe Telecom President and Chief executive ernest Cu said. While the company pushes its employees towards common goals, the company en-

tion would not be possible without all of the people at Globe,” he said, referring to all-time high revenues, record-breaking subscriber acquisitions and various accolades bestowed on the company. “one of my

sures it does not forget to recognize the hard work, loyalty and exemplary performance of its employees, he said. high level of employee satisfaction come on the heels of the company‘s network and IT modernization program.

“It’s a bold move but we could not have done it if we did not believe in the people who will be executing this transformation. one of the things we pride ourselves at Globe is that we work as a team. Truly, what makes this company special is the people,” Cu said. “our growth and the success of our transforma-

proudest moments is our ability to attract and retain good talent,” he said. as part of its goal of building a culture of happiness at work, fun activities and gatherings are organized by the company, guided by “work-life balance and fun environment.” Such activities are aimed at improving the personal growth and wellbeing of Globe employees, including the retirees and extending up to family members.

Following the implementation of this program, a total of 90.46% of Globe employees agree that Globe is a fun and enjoyable company to work for.

Sendong to witness inspiring tales of survival even in the darkest of storms.

In Pasan-Pasan, Sandra shares the stories of families who redefine the word “burden” in a tale of unconditional love and dedication to their physically-challenged children.

The documentary was recognized as the outstanding Televised Feature on Youth and education in the 2011 Lasallian Scholarum awards and as the Best educational Program in the 2011 Catholic Mass Media awards. In Kalam, Sandra gets to experience how it is to go hungry as she lives for three days with one of the poorest families in Western Samar.

Manufactured by GMa Records and GMa Marketing and Productions Inc., “I-Witness Volume 6”—with english subtitles– is available in all odyssey, SM Music and Video, astrovision, and astroplus branches nationwide at P550 per copy.

Globe sets all-time high, employee satisfaction index Bento boxes now at eMPLoYee satisfaction index at Globe Telecom jumped to an all-time high in 2012 The White house Fusion Cuisine and Wine following the leading Lounge introduces new and affordable box telecommunications sets featuring your favourite Japanese dishes company’s endeavors to provide the most and delectable side dishes.

Take a bite of our Chicken Teriyaki Bento served with Cali- satisfying work experifornia Rolls, Yasai Itame, Sushi Garai and Apple Tempura for ence for its employees.

The White House

only Php280 net or go for crispy and tender with our Tonkatsu Bento with a choice between Chicken or Pork Tonkatsu, Kani Salad, Takwan, Steamed Japanese Rice and Pineapple Mango Tart for only Php360 net.

Go surf and turf! Tempura lovers will love the Tempura Bento with ebi Tempura, Yasai Itame, Takwan, Steamed Japanese Rice and Fresh Pineapple for Php435 net while steak aficionados will love the Steak Bento featuring our famous hanging Tender Steak, Mixed Salad Greens, hijiki, Steamed Rice and Apple Tempura for only Php500 net.

All bento boxes are available all day long for dine-in or you can have your bento box delivered right to your doorstep for just a Php50 delivery charge.

Call The White house Fusion Cuisine now at 2824540.

Globe employee satisfaction index (eSI) rose by three-percentage points to 75.3% in 2012 vs 2011 amid company programs to honor and recognize its most prized asset—the employees. The company has been conducting an annual employee satisfaction survey since 2009. among all employee engagement drivers measured in 2012, highest satisfaction ratings were in work relationships, vision, clarity and alignment, and job enrichment. at the same time, the employee response rate jumped to 97.1%, a two-percentage point improvement from a year earlier. This demonstrates employees’ heightened involvement in expressing his/her satisfaction in working at Globe.

“The Globe culture is not simply making things

In 2012 alone, Globe had 22 employee programs which improved the personal growth and wellbeing of all employees with an objective to build a culture of happiness at work.

Its annual Globe excellence awards was crafted to recognize exemplary exhibition in the categories of leadership, customer service and outstanding achievement. also, Spot Recognition Program was institutionalized across the entire organization with customized implementation at group level following common criteria and guidelines anchored on the Globe Way, which is the company’s values and ideals. Further, the Globe Longevity awards Program gives recognition to employees who have served an appreciated period of time in the company or for a period of at least five years. “at Globe, we strive to continuously work towards a more transparent, collaborative and participative environment to make employees happier and more productive at work,” Cu added.

VOL. 6 ISSUE 34 • THURSDAY, MAY 02, 2013

EDGEDAVAO

INdulge! A3

eNTeRTAINMeNT

Spice Girls reunion! Emma Bunton and Melanie C. dress as Baby Spice and Sporty Spice for costume party

The Spice Girls taught us two things: (1) If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends (we’re still not positive what that means exactly); and (2) friendship never ends.

The latter of which was clear when emma Bunton and Melanie C. reunited for comedian Leigh Francis’ 40th birthday party dressed as Baby Spice and Sporty Spice, respectively.

“Baby and sporty are back!!!!” emma tweeted alongside the above photo, showing Sporty in a soccer jersey that she actually wore during her Spice Girls days and Baby rocking her signature pigtails.

The costumes were so on

APRIL 25, 2013

1 2 : 6 + 2 : , 1 *

11:45 2:45 5:45 8:45

IRON MAN 3 2D (GP)

11:30 2:40 5:50 9:00

IRON MAN 3 2D (GP)

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IRON MAN 3 2D (GP)

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point that even former girl bander Geri halliwell was confused.

She said so herself: “Confused ?is this u now?!” she asked.

Geri attended the same party, but opted out of her Union Jack dress and red go-go boots.

12:15 3:15 6:15 9:15

IRON MAN 3 2D (GP)

IRON MAN 3 2D (GP)

IRON MAN 3 3D (GP)

Instead, she dressed as German Spice.

No sign of Victoria Beckham, who has basically transformed Posh Spice into her everyday persona, or Mel B, who was probably waiting at home in her cheetah one-piece waiting for her invitation.

Michael Fassbender to star in Macbeth film IT looks like the stage-to-film trend isn’t stopping with last year’s Les Misérables.

Michael Fassbender is set to star in the upcoming film adaptation of Macbeth, according to reports.

The latest version of the famous Shakespeare play will be spoken in the original Scottish language and

will feature a “visceral” Fassbender.

While no casting announcements have been announced for Macbeth’s costar, it will undoubtedly be an A-list hollywood actress.

Production is set to begin later this year and will be directed by Justin Kurzel.

Do you think Fassbender will make a good Macbeth?

Neil Patrick Harris joins Instagram

IRON MAN 3 Robert Downey, Jr. , Gwyneth Paltrow GP

ThANKS to Neil Patrick harris, Instagram just got a whole lot better.

The how I Met Your Mother star officially joined the social media site just four days ago and has already amassed nearly 39,000 followers with just three photos, proving the page is equally as awesome as his Twitter.

Of course, the funnyman put the spotlight on his

12:50 | 3:20 | 5:50 | 8:20 LFS

IRON MAN 3 -3D adorable twins in his second official shot, posting a sweet pic of son Gideon and daughter harper, who kill us with cuteness as they hold hands and smile for the camera.

Neil also posted a recent pic with partner David Burtka in full Sherlock holmes and Dr. Watson garb after the pair attended a pal’s nuptials, “At our great friends, Becky Baeling & Kris Lythgoe’s murder mystery

wedding. The game, as they say, is afoot,” he captioned the silly shot.

NPh is no stranger to social media—he has nearly 6 million Twitter followers and is very active on the microblogging page.

You can follow him @ instagranph, where his bio reads, “Welcome to the world as seen through my eye holes.”

Which, inevitably means more kiddie pics. Can’t wait!

Robert Downey, Jr. , Gwyneth Paltrow GP

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IRON MAN 3 Robert Downey, Jr. , Gwyneth Paltrow GP

01:40 | 4:10 | 6:40 | 09:10 LFS

R-16 IRON MAN 3 Robert Downey, Jr. , Gwyneth Paltrow GP

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EDGEDAVAO

A4 INdulge!

FOOD

VOL. 6 ISSUE 34 • THURSDAY, MAY 02, 2013

Discovering Hot Plate YeS, I am a proud daughter of Cotabato City. I have always taken pride of that and will forever be proud of being one.

Despite the negative connotations that surround my hometown, I am one to believe that people who have not stepped within the bounds of the City will never understand and discover the truth behind the façade.

Going home has always been one of my most anticipated trips. amidst the fact that I have lived in Davao for more than a decade, I always am one to get all giddy and excited whenever I am back home. Well, yes, I still feel the homesickness despite the fact that I get to talk to my parents everyday and of course, my yaya has always been by my side – grumpiness and all.

It is not a secret but I have a family that appreciates a good eat. We love to cook – my dad is Gordon Ramsay and my mom is Jamie oliver in the kitchen. Traditional cooking is what they are good at while I opt for experimental recipes and dishes.

My last trip back home was for the graduation of my nephews and cousins.

Imagine having to attend parties after another with sleep as your only getaway? Despite the weekend turned gastronomical feast, my parents decided to bring me to one of the newest café/restaurant in the city.

Quaint as a boutique (I found out from my Mom that it used to be a boutique), it sits quietly alongside the main road towered by the buildings that surrounds it. Though small, it is not easily missed – with a giant red and yellow signage, you are surely to see it.

With its name alone, you will not wonder of its house specialty, right? over and above, they serve dishes over a sizzling hot plate. Yes, they have everything served in a hot plate – from meat dishes to seafood fixes, you are sure to find what your tummy is craving for.

Straight from the menu, my Dad had their Sizzling Tuna with freshly cracked egg and pieces of minced onion. he was feasting on it as soon as the waiter served it. It had a balanced taste to it – not to salty and

peppery. It was just right.

I personally love the gastronomical feel in my palate – the tuna pieces made a medley of sea goodness with every bite. on the other hand, my mom opted for their Sizzling T-Bone Steak which she recalls as soft and tender to the bite. She being picky on her ‘steaks’, was pleased of how it was served. The gravy added a notch higher to the already sumptuous steak.

More so, the steak was meat filled and not boned to the core. You see, TBone steaks tend to be all bones and less meat, but this one, it was all meaty and less bone. on my end, I ordered

their Sizzling Boneless Chicken Breast with a generous amount of gravy.

Being a chicken lover (yes I am), I was surprised in how tender and juicy the chicken was. We all know that a chicken breast could get all dried up, this one, was an exception. Despite the drying up of the gravy, it was still juicy and you could certainly see the juices oozing out with every slice.

Paired with their creamy and fruity mango shake, the mean was all together one of the best I have had in my hometown.

Serving more than sizzling plates, they offer a wider variety of choices

that could fill in every nook of your hungry tummy. Try their noodle and vegetables dishes and you will surely end up craving for more. one tip though, get there early as the place tends to get all packed.

So, when you are in Cotabato City, do not miss hoT PLaTe and Caterer along Parang Road, Cotabato City (few meters away from McDonalds).

Do you want to be a part of Davao’s Thursday habit?

Send me your recipes, questions, suggestions and comments and be featured. If you are interested, then email me at leebai@chefroyale.com or visit www. chefroyale.com for more recipes. Happy Cooking!

SPORTS 15

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 6 ISSUE 34 •THURSDAY, MAY 02, 2013

Not OK at OKC h

OUSTON (AP) -The houston Rockets escaped playoff elimination with a 105103 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night.

Chandler Parsons scored 27 points and Patrick Beverley added 16 points with point guard Jeremy Lin out with a bruised chest muscle. houston avoided a fourgame sweep in the best-ofseven series.

The Rockets led in the fourth quarter of each of the last two games only to end up losing. And it almost happened again Monday.

Kevin Durant scored five quick points to cut the Rockets’ lead to two. James harden missed two shots for houston after that and the Thunder had a last chance.

Reggie Jackson missed a jump shot and Serge Ibaka grabbed the rebound, but missed a layup at the buzzer.

A stunned Ibaka fell to the court after the miss and covered his face with his hands.

Durant scored 38 points in Oklahoma City’s second game without injured All-Star guard Russell Westbrook.

The victory kept houston from being swept in the playoffs for the first time since 1996. Game 5 is Wednesday in Oklahoma City. harden scored 15 points, but also had 10

turnovers. he had two chances to extend houston’s lead with less than a minute left, but missed both of them, including shooting an air ball. he picked up his fifth foul with about seven minutes remaining, sending him to the bench. A dunk by Jackson seconds later cut houston’s lead to 98-94.

Jackson got the Thunder within 100-98 with a 3-pointer a couple of minutes later. his 3-point attempt on the next trip down the floor rattled in and out of the basket. houston scored four quick points to extend the lead to 104-98 before harden returned to the game with about three minutes left.

Derek Fisher made a 3-pointer to cut houston’s lead to 104-101 with less than three minutes remaining. It was reviewed a few seconds later and the points were taken away because replays showed the shot clock had expired.

Jackson finished with 18 points in his second start in place of Westbrook, and Kevin Martin added 16. houston got 17 points from Omer Asik and 13 from Carlos Delfino.

Oklahoma City’s DeAndre Liggins received a technical foul with :07 left in the third quarter for arguing the call on a jump ball. Delfino made the free throw, but Durant hit a jump shot at the buzzer to get the Thunder within 91-84 entering the fourth quarter.

BLOCK. Houston Rockets’ James Harden (13) shoots as Oklahoma City Thunder’s Serge Ibaka defends during the first quarter of Game 4 in their first-

Nets cut Bulls lead 3-2 N

KOREAN BEAUTY. Na Yeon Choi is fast emerging in the LPGA Tour as one of the pretty maidens of golf.

round NBA basketball playoff series Monday (Tuesday PHL Time), April 29, 2013, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

EW YORK (AP) -Flourishing instead of fading in the fourth quarter, the Nets extended their first season in Brooklyn.

They need one more victory to set up the biggest game here yet.

Brook Lopez had 28 points and 10 rebounds, Deron Williams added 23 points and 10 assists, and the Nets beat Chicago 110-91 on Monday night, cutting the Bulls’ lead to 3-2 in their first-round playoff series.

Recovering from a collapse two days earlier that sent them home on the brink of elimination instead of tied, the Nets battered the Bulls on the boards and forced Chicago into being the team

that wilted down the stretch. ‘’We came out very aggressive, as we have the past few games. I think the difference was just we sustained it for essentially a full 48 minutes tonight,’’ Lopez said.

Andray Blatche scored 10 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter and Gerald Wallace had consecutive baskets in the finishing surge as the Nets finally pulled away in a game they led most of the way, but never by too much.

Two days after rallying for a 142-134 triple-overtime victory, the Bulls were outscored 15-1 at the finish and failed to set up a second-round series with Miami. Instead they will host Game 6 on Thursday.

‘’It was just a lot of mental mistakes. A lot of mental mistakes,’’ Bulls center Joakim Noah said. ‘’I feel like we had our chances. We beat ourselves.

They played well. You’ve got to give credit when credit is due and now it’s on us to come back and be ready for Game 6.’’

If the Nets win that one, they would host Game 7 on Saturday.

Nate Robinson had 20 points and eight assists starting in place of point guard Kirk hinrich, who bruised his left calf in Saturday’s game. ‘’For us, I knew it was going to be tough; it was going to be a challenge,’’ Robinson said. ‘’At the same time, we’ve been here before playing with a guy short. It’s something

we’ve got to do. We’ve just got to muster something and bring that energy and continue to play like we’ve been playing.’’

Only eight NBA teams have overcome a 3-1 deficit, but the Nets remained confident after Saturday’s collapse, feeling they had outplayed the Bulls for long stretches during the series. They have led by double digits in four of the five games. ‘’I believed that we would respond,’’ Nets interim coach P.J. Carlesimo said. ‘’We’ve bounced back all year too well, and as disheartening a loss as that was on Saturday, there’s still been enough good minutes in this series. Neither of us are getting away from each other.’’

16

EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 6 ISSUE 34 • THURSDAY, MAY 02, 2013

PBA ALL-STARS IN DIGOS

Starry, starry night

By Neil Bravo

D

IGOS City in Davao del Sur rolls out its red carpet for the biggest show in town—the 2013 PBA All-Star Weekend which officially began on Wednesday.

The All-Stars presscon launch will be held this afternoon followed by the tree planting activity at the Davao del Sur Coliseum grounds, a hospital visit at the Davao del Sur Provincial hospital and a mall tour at Gaisano Mall Digos.

A referees clinic will be held tomorrow with some 50 pre-picked participants.

The much-awaited slam dunk competition featuring the pro league’s most vicious rim-rattlers will be contested among top favorites Arwin Santos of Petron and rookies Calvin Abueva of Alaska and Chris Ellis of Ginebra. Also joining them are Cliff hodge of Meralco, JC Intal of Barako Bull, Rey Guevarra of Meralco, and Elmer Espiritu of Ginebra.

In the 3-point shootout, James Yap of San Mig Coffee will lead the marksmen with stiff opposition from Mark Caguioa of Ginebra, Nino Canaleta of Air 21, JV Casio of Alaska, Marcio Lassiter of Petron, Willie Miller of Globalport, Ronjay Buenafe of Meralco, Chris Tiu of Barako Bull and Mark Macapagal of Meral-

co.

In the Skills Challenge, Chris Ellis of Ginebra will lead the contenders with JV Casio, Jonas Villanueva of Barako Bull, Simon Atkins of Air 21, Willie Miller, Ronjay Buenafe, Ronald Tubid of Petron, Paul Lee of Rain or Shine, Mark Barroca of San Mig, and Pamboy Raymudo of Talk N Text.

The big night on Saturday will feature the PBA Stalwarts against the PBA Greats in the aperitif before the main game featuring the PBA AllStars playing against the Smart Gilas Pilipinas national team.

The Stalwarts will rely on active players Buenafe, Tubid, Tiu, Intal, Sol Mercado and Jervey Cruz, and former PBA stars Glen Capacio, Dicki Bachmann, Kenneth Duremdes, Art dela Cruz, Topex Robinson and Benjie Paras. The Greats will be bannered by Dondon hontiveros, Mark Cardona, Mike Cortez, Josh Urbiztondo, Peter June Simon, Joe Devance, Noli Locsin, Johnedel Cardel, Rodney Santos, Vince hizon, Jerry Codinera and Bong hawkins.

Playing for the AllStars are Yap, Caguioa, Abueva, Santos, Ellis, Canaleta, Alex Cabagnot, Jay Washington, Cyrus Baguio, Casio, Lassiter and Beau Belga.

The Gilas, mentored by Chot

Reyes, will parade Sonny Thoss, Ryan Reyes, LA Tenorio, Larry Fonacier,

Gary David, Jared Dillinger, Japeth Aguilar, Ranidel de Ocampo, June Mar Fajardo, Jimmy Alapag, Gabe Norwood, Kelly Williams, Jeff Chan, Marc Pingris, and Jason Castro.

Tickets for the All-Star Saturday are pegged at P500 for Upper Box, P1,000 for Lower Box, and P1,500 for Courtside.

THE STARS ARE COMING. Chris Ellis (top) of Ginebra and Calvin Abueva (below) of Alaska will be showing their wares on Saturday in Digos City for the 2013 PBA All Stars.