Edge Davao 6 Issue 98

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EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 6 ISSUE 98 • WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2013

www.edgedavao.net

Serving a seamless society

DONE DEAL MOAs on Paquibato mining signed in 2011 IVORY BLOCKS? No, these are not mahjong blocks neatly piled. These are recycled plastic containers used for cooking oil sold in bulk at one of Davao City’s oil distribution outlets. The containers are piled on the side of the road prone to pollutants. Lean Daval Jr.

By EJ DOMINIC FERNANDEZ

T

ejf@edgedavao.net

HIS one’s for the record. The mining concession in Paquibato has been settled between the applicants and leaders of the Lumad communities as early as 2011.

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) regional office yesterday dropped the bomb on the City Council’s plan to block the two mining permit applications in Barangay Paquibato and Malabog saying that the Lumad chieftains and barangay captains in Paquibato district had signed memorandums of agreement (MOA), with Albertos Gold Corp and Penson Corp allowing the mining firms to explore certain parts of their areas.

MGB 11 Mine Management Division chief Wilfredo G. Moncano divulged the existing agreements in an interview with Edge Davao in the aftermath of the City Council’s stand to disallow mining in the area.

Moncano said that, if the Davao City Council wants to junk the applications of the two mining firms in the two barangays both in Paquibato district, it should pass a resolution opposing such applications right away.

ALTERNATIVE RIDE. This lady prefers to take her bike to work yesterday as an alternative means of transportation amidst growing traffic woes in Davao City. Lean Daval Jr.

FDONE DEAL,10

INSIDE: My ‘pork’ is scam-free Pope Francis: ‘Who am I to judge’ gays?

AAK Davao bets win 5 golds

2 4 14

2 THE BIG NEWS EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 6 ISSUE 98 • WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2013

Security, climate change: Rody’s top two priorities

By GREGORIO G. DELIGERO

T

greg@edgedavao.net

HE development direction of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte’s current administration has peace and security and disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation as the leading priorities.

“We have to ensure the peace and security of every law abiding citizen of our city by dedicating all necessary efforts and essential resources to make our city the most livable place for our families,” said city planning and development coordinator Mario Luis J. Jacinto before visiting town officials of Magpet, North Cotabato at the city council conference

room yesterday.

For the next three years, Jacinto said that Duterte’s other items on his agenda are social development services, support of business and economic activities and promoting good governance and sound fiscal management.

As for climate change adaptation, Jacinto said the city government is putting in place measures to avoid or mitigate risks to the lives and properties of the people by improving the flow and holding capacities of waterways and drainage systems and continuing to asses settlements and areas susceptible to flooding, landslide, mass

FSECURITY,10

FRANCHISE AWARD. Phoenix Petroleum AVP for Retail Sales Metro Manila and South Luzon Joey Cruz, VP for external affairs, Business Development, and Security Raymond Zorrilla, and VP for Sales Mindanao Edgar Alerta receive the award for Phoenix Petroleum as Top Outstanding Franchise Com-

Ungab insists:

My ‘pork’ is scam-free

By NEILWIN JOSEPH L. BRAVO njb@edgedavao.net

AT A GLANCE:

D

• ‘Not a centavo is lost’- Sid • Claims he does not know Napoles personally • Confirms funds was turned over and duly received

AVAO City 3rd District Rep. Isidro T. Ungab became the latest legislator whose name is linked to the socalled “Pork Barrel Scam.” Just as quickly, he dismissed the re-

ports as false insisting that his “pork” is scam-free. In an earlier statement to national media Ungab the money is not part of his PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund)

In a statement texted to Edge Davao, entitled “Statement of Cong. Isidro Ungab re: SARO No.G-11-01589 July 30,” Rep. Ungab said “This project, which

FMY ‘PORK’, 10

pany from Entrepreneur Philippines Editor-in-Chief Leah del Castillo (L) and Publisher Aurora Mangubat-Suarez (R) during the awarding held on July 22, 2013 at Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila, Pasay City.

Pres. Aquino confirms Minbizcon attendance

By EJ DOMINIC FERNANDEZ

P

ejf@edgedavao.net

RESIDENT Benigno S. Aquino III has confirmed his attendance to the 22nd Mindanao Business Conference (Minbizcon) in Davao City on August 8-10 2013 at SMX Lanang.

This was bared yesterday by Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (DCCCII) head Daniel Lim, who also confirmed that key cabinet secretaries will accompany the president her during the event.

Lim said the president and his key cabinet members will “personally address us on our issues raised in the different Mindanao regional policy consultations that we had.”

Lim said they are expecting 1,000 participants during the event.

The 22nd Minbizcon

will focus on preparing the business community in Mindanao with the right tools and information for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Integration on 2015.

During last month’s Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM Annex, Lim told members of the media, “we will bring up issues on Mindanao, one of which is the looming power shortage which is among the seven issues that we will be taking up in the plenary portion.”

Minbizcon is hoping to accelerate the development of integration by pushing policies and agendas concerning infrastructures, connectivity, logistics, trade and product development, including tourism and human resource development.

Rody to transport groups, LTFRB: ‘Stop it, or else!’

UPDATES. Dr. Jordiana P. Ramiterre, Davao City Reproductive Health and Wellness Center (RHWC) head, left, reveals that at least 70 people died of HIV-AIDS in Region 11 from 1993 to April 2013 during Kapehan sa Dabaw

at SM City Davao Annex on Monday. With her is Mindanao AIDS Advocacy Association, Inc. president Nidgie B. Tindoc, an HIV positive for 10 years.

Lean Daval Jr.

“S

TOP IT!” This was the demand of Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte to transport groups and the Land Transportation and Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB)-Davao concern-

ing their quarrel which allegedly led to the death of two transport leaders.

The killings this year of transport leaders Antonio “Dodong” Petalcorin and Emilio Rivera had made members of

FRODY, 10

3 SUBURBIA

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 6 ISSUE 98 • WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2013

DAVAO DEL NORTE

Regional disaster summit held G

OVERNORS and mayors in the Davao Region gathered in Tagum City, Davao del Norte for the two-day Regional Summit on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) starting yesterday for the local chief executives (LCEs).

According to retired BGen. Loreto Rirao, regional director of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) 11, the conference seeks, among others, to increase the knowledge of the LCEs on their role on DRRM, as well as, their responsibilities in the effective and efficient delivery of government services during and after the onslaught of disasters.

He said the summit aims specifically aims to equip the local officials with the right tools to attain the vision for safer, adaptive and resilient communities.

In his keynote address, Governor Rodolfo del Rosario cited the subtle but significant role of the heads of the LGUs. Aside from being policy initiators and administrators, the governor said the LCEs also assume the captain-of-the-ship role during emergencies, assuring their constituents

that they are on top of the situation.

As he put it, the LCE further takes the role of a “mourner-in-chief” in the aftermath of every disaster. He said that before rebuilding the homes of his people, a leader should comfort them first, feeling their grief and listening to their sad stories.

“They also need to see us to see their pains and despair in their hearts,” he said.

He also revealed the province of Davao del Norte has mainstreamed DRRM to the six-point development agenda of his administration, known as P.E.O.P.L.E., in order to instill the culture of safety in every household.

Topics that were discussed in the confab include knowledge on the DRRM tools and protocols, particularly on the DRRM phases of prevention and mitigation, preparedness, response, and rehabilitation and recovery; learning experiences and challenges from excellent local DRRM councils; and presentation of the regional DRRM plan, and the likes.

As an output, the LCEs are expected to affix their signatures in order to signify their declaration

GENERAL SANTOS CITY

TOKEN. Retired general Loreto Rirao, Office of the Civil Defense Region 11 director, hands over to Gov. Rodolfo del Rosario a token for keynoting the Re-

gional Summit on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management for LCEs at the Bulwagan ng Lalawigan, Mankilam, Tagum City. (Noel Baguio/DavNor-PIO)

of commitment to the local DRRM and regional DRRM plans at the end of

retary Luwalhati Antonino will keynote the closing ceremonies of the first

the summit.

Mindanao Development Authority Chair Sec-

TAGUM CITY

DRRM summit hosted by Davao del Norte. [Noel Baguio]

Body proposed to ensure steady power supply Gay summit opens T

HE General Santos City council is pushing for the creation of a special body that will initiate measures to address the city’s power supply problems and ensure the availability of “quality, reliable, secure and affordable” power resources for the area.

Vice Mayor Shirlyn Bañas-Nograles filed a proposed ordinance on Tuesday seeking the establishment of a local power resource planning and advisory board that will be composed of city officials and private stake-

holders.

She said the move was an offshoot of the severe power shortage experienced by the city during the first half of the year that resulted in daily rotating brownouts lasting seven hours for nearly three months.

The power outages, she said, have “unreasonably constrained local industries to a near meltdown, while the costs of electricity went up.”

Under the ordinance, the vice mayor said the advisory board will be tasked to formulate the

city’s local power resource management program.

It will be tasked to examine, whenever appropriate or necessary, the financial statements of any electric cooperative and private-owned distribution utility that are doing business within the city, she said.

“It will check, at the instance of any private or public complainant, on the propriety of any demand side management measure being implemented by any electric cooperative or private-owned distribution utility concerned

within the city,” she said.

Nograles said the board will enjoin any electric cooperative or distribution utility concerned towards the proper management and placement of all power grid and distribution systems located within the city, including all necessary components, to ensure that these facilities are neatly kept intact at all times and that these do not pose any obstruction to traffic or threaten public order, health or safety. [Allen V. Estabillo/ MindaNews]

the medium-built bombing suspect, estimated to be between 36 and 40 years old and 5’4” to 5’5” in height did not stay long.

Deloso said that less than five minutes after the suspect left Kyla’s Bistro, the bomb exploded killing three persons on the spot and injuring over 40 others. The five other fatalities died in the hospital.

“Our witnesses described him as very cool.

The suspect never spoke in a complete sentence. ‘Sige, San Mig Light’ were the only words the suspect spoke,” the police official said.

Police released Monday two cartographic sketches in Cagayan de Oro and three in Manila based on the testimonies of witnesses and the images of the suspect caught

in five CCTV cameras at the LimKetKai Rosario Arcade.

Police also did a reenactment and a reconstruction of the crime scene after Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas scolded them for allowing the restaurant owners to clean the blast site less than 24 hours after the incident.

[Froilan Gallardo/MindaNews]

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY

‘Blast suspect calm and cool, spoke few words’ T

HE man suspected to have acted alone in the blast that has so far claimed eight lives appeared calm and cool when he walked into Kyla’s Bistro at the LimKetKai Rosario Arcade, picked a table and ordered a bottle of San Miguel Light from a waiter last Friday night, police said.

Supt. Michael John Deloso of the city police said

E

XACTLY 37 Colorful costumes with headdress, an exquisite display of raw gay talents and fun marked the opening day of this city’s first-ever Gay Summit last July 29 which aims to highlight the role of the gay sector in the community.

The city government of Tagum under the leadership of Mayor Allan L. Rellon, in line with his EAGLE WINGS program, threw full support to the festival as a way of extolling the gay community in the city.

In his message of support, Rellon stressed the need to sustain the city’s festivals like the Gay Summit as he believes that this become an avenue to achieve, unite and recognize each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

He assured the Tagumeños to preserve this partnership for the in-

coming festivals as well as to embrace opportunities, skills, talents and creativity in all aspects to achieve positive changes which his administration advocates.

Rellon said the gay community has a big part of the success in the city that they should not be criticized but instead they must be embraced in the social order.

“We count you as our partner in Tagum’s progress and development,” Rellon said.

Harmonized by the festival’s theme Embrace, Encourage, Empower, the three-day festival aims to celebrate the so-called gay power, raise awareness against discrimination, and to foster unity among them.

The Tagum City Gay Summit is organized by the Tagum City Tourism Office and the Tagum City Gay Association, Inc. [Gleiza Delgado/CIO Tagum]

4

EDGEDAVAO

NATION/WORLD

VOL. 6 ISSUE 98 • WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2013

VATICAN CITY

Pope Francis: ‘Who am I to judge’ gays?

P

OPE Francis reached out to gays on Monday, declaring that it is not his place to judge them -- while also condemning the Vatican’s reported gay lobby as a “serious problem”.

The remarks to journalists as he flew back to Rome from a high-profile trip to Brazil appeared to be more conciliatory towards homosexuals than his predecessor Benedict XVI. “If someone is gay and seeks the Lord with good will, who am I to judge?” the pope asked.

“The problem is not having this orientation, it is lobbying. That’s the most serious problem.”

The pope had admitted in June that there was a “gay lobby” in the Vatican’s secretive administration, the Roman Curia, according to a Latin American Catholic website.

It followed earlier Italian media reports claiming that a secret report by cardinals investigating Vatican leaks included allegations of corruption and blackmail attempts against gay clergymen, and on the other hand, favouritism based on gay relationships Francis also fielded questions about Battista Ricca, who was appointed by the pontiff to a key po-

MANILA

sition at the troubled Vatican bank but is embroiled in allegations that he had gay relationships with male prostitutes.

The pope said he had ordered a “brief investigation but we found nothing on him”.

“I have not seen anyone at the Vatican who is registered as gay on his identity card,” he said, adding however: “We acknowledge that there are (gays).”

Nevertheless, “the catechism of the Catholic Church says clearly that we must not marginalise these people who should be integrated in the society,” he added.

The Italian weekly L’Espresso this month reported that Ricca had gay relationships during his time at the Vatican embassy of Montevideo in Uruguay as well as an affair with a Swiss guard which ultimately saw him sent back to Rome in disgrace in 2010.

Because of an internal bid to cover up Ricca’s activities, Francis apparently was unaware of his past before appointing him as his personal representative at the scandal-hit bank this year.

Gay rights groups had voiced hope on Francis’s appointment that the Argentinian pope would be friendlier to homosexuals

WORLD YOUTH DAY. Pope Francis waves at people standing along the beachfront in Rio de Janeiro as hundreds of thousands of Catholic pilgrims attending World Youth Day (WYD) wait for him at Copacabana beach for the

final mass on July 28, 2013. Pope Francis declared on Monday that it was not his place to judge homosexuals and said they should not be marginalised but condemned the gay lobby as a “serious problem.”

than his predecessor.

Benedict had angered the gay community with his suggestion in 2008 that homosexuality was as much of a threat to the survival of the human race as climate change.

Also Monday, the pope said John Paul II, a beloved predecessor, would not be canonised in December as

Francis also said Monday he was moving forward with reforms of the Vatican adminstration, or Curia, saying he faced no “resistance” while recognising that the Holy See was embroiled in scandals.

“There are saints in the Curia, loyal people,” he said. “And if there’s re-

previously mooted.

He said the pencilled-in date of December 8 would not suit pilgrims of modest means travelling to Rome by bus from John Paul II’s native Poland.

The 78-year-old pontiff hailed the Polish pope as a “great missionary, a Saint Paul.”

CEBU CITY

sistance, I haven’t seen it yet.”

As Latin America’s first pontiff, he was given a rock star’s welcome on Rio de Janeiro’s legendary Copacabana beach, with a sea of faithful waving flags, dancing and chanting “long live the pope!” on the crescent-shaped shoreline.

M worth of counterfeit Philippines may move warships to Subic P2money seized in Cebu T O HE Philippines may shift key air and naval assets to a former US naval base to boost its response time to waters contested by China, officials said Monday.

Subic Bay, which faces the strategically important South China Sea, was a major US naval facility until 1992 when it was converted into a busy freeport by the Philippine government.

“The discussions are preliminary, but utilising Subic for our local navy could ideally be very strategic,” said Navy spokesman Lieutenant Commander Gregory Fabic. “It is a natural deep sea port that can accommodate the warships.”

Department of Defense spokesman Peter Paul Galvez also confirmed the plan, which would include the transfer of two

key warships acquired from the US. He said the naval headquarters near Manila would soon be privatised, while an airport near Subic that was being used by the air force was to undergo expansion soon.

“With this, Subic has been determined as the best alternative for the planned transfer,” Galvez told AFP. “Subic has a deep water port for the two (warships), it has an existing runway and airport facilities,” he added.

The Philippine military, considered one of the weakest in the region, has been relying on excess US military articles to boost its capability.

In 2011, it acquired a decommissioned US Coast Guard cutter, and transformed it into its naval flagship called Gregorio del Pilar. A

sister-ship, the Ramon Alcaraz is to arrive later this week.

Both are the most modern of the Philippine fleet, and are mainly to be used to patrol sea borders to counter perceived Chinese military build up in the region.

The Philippine government last month also said it was drafting a plan allowing joint use of its bases with the United States and Japan, another country that is separately locked in a bitter sea dispute with China.

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, even waters close to its smaller neighbors. The dispute has long been considered a potential flash point of conflict in the region.

The Chinese have effectively gained control of Scarborough Shoal after the Philippine navy backed down fol-

lowing a stand off last year.

The shoal is near Subic and lies just 230 kilometres (140 miles) west of the main island of Luzon. “(The move to) Subic is to address all our security and defence concerns in Luzon and surrounding maritime domain,” Galvez said.

Subic, along with the nearby Clark Airbase, were key facilities for the United States during World War II. They provided logistical support during the Vietnam War in the 1970s, and remained of strategic importance during the Cold War. Clark closed down in 1991 after nearby Mount Pinatubo volcano erupted, covering the base in ash and making it unusable.

The last US ship sailed out of Subic a year later.

VER 2 million pesos worth of 1,000-peso and 100-dollar fake bills were seized in Cebu City on Monday.

Cebu City Police Director Mariano Natu-el and Investigation and Detective Management Branch chief Aileen Recla said the fake bills were seized during a buy-bust operation in Banilad, Cebu City.

The fake bills were seized from 65-yearold Richard Uy, who apparently has a pending case with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) – Region 7 for the same charges.

The operation yielded some P2 million worth of fake 1,000 peso and 100 US dollar bills. According to Natu-el, this is the biggest amount of fake money seized under his term.

Also seized were a computer unit, printer, scanner, and a seal stamp believed to be used in producing the

counterfeit money. Uy admitted he uses Adobe Photoshop software in editing and producing fake bills.

The buy-bust operation was launched following a series of complaints being received by police stations from various establishments.

The complaints prompted the Cebu Police to conduct a one week surveillance to trace the origin of the fake bills.

Natu-el said most of Uy’s customers would go to Malaysia to convert the fake bills into ringgit.

Uy admitted that he has been running the illegal activity for nearly 2 years but he clarified that no politician has ever tried to order thousand of fake bills from him.

Authorities are convinced that Uy is responsible for the sudden prevalence of fake money in the city.

Uy is detained at the CCPO. Charges were filed against him yesterday.

THE ECONOMY 5

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 6 ISSUE 98 • WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2013

Battery of speakers slated at Mindanao Exporters Congress

A

battery of speakers are slated to talk on pertinent issues aimed at boosting Mindanao’s export industry during the forthcoming 1st Mindanao Exporters Congress (MEC) on August 1-3 at the SMX Convention Center at SM Lanang Premier.

Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Proceso J. Alcala will talk on the readiness of Mindanao agri-export sector towards the ASEAN Integration while Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo will discuss the ASEAN integration, opportunities and prospects The 10 member states of Asean including the Philippines are slated to integrate their economies by 2015.

Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Secretary Luwalhati R. Antonio’s topic is strengthening the enabling environment for Mindanao’s export growth.

Other speakers on the event include Alberto Lim of the Lina Group of Companies (Air 21).

He will talk about the logistics system on export; Rick Quinn to talk about how to export foods and beverages to the USA; Raf Vlummens, founder of Entrepreneurial Coach BETA-Business & Entrepreneurial Training Academy to talk about European investments; Lizabel “Wit” Holganza to talk on leveraging on ICT for export competitiveness; Mr. Summith Ponnamperuma of the Control Union Sri Lanka, certifier for organic certifications will talk on the improved value chain through organic certification and Euclides Forbes to talk about technology, research and innovations.

Issues affecting the banana and cacao industry will also be highlighted at the conference and these issues will be tackled by Edgar Bullecer, co-founder and CEO of Paglas Group Philippines and Ireneo Dalayon, president Cacao Industry Development Association of Mindanao (CIDAMI), respectively. [PhilExport 11]

MINBIZCON. Mindanao Development Authority (MinDa) director for investment, promotions and public affairs Romeo Montenegro (left) and Davao City Chamber of Commerce past president and trustee John Gaisano Jr. say that they expect at least 11 cabinet secretaries will attend the 22nd

Mindanao Business Conference (Minbizcon) slated on August 8-10, 2013 at SMX Convention Center during Monday’s Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Davao Annex. Lean Daval Jr.

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

7.1 1st Qtr 2013

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

7.8 1st Qtr 2013

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

USD 3,741 million Feb 2013 USD 4,708 million Feb 2013 USD -967 million Feb 2013 USD -640 million Dec 2012 P 4,964,560 million Feb 2013

8. Interest Rates 4/

2.4 % Mar 2013 P113,609 million Mar 2013 P 5,281 billion Mar 2013

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

P 41.14 Apr 2013

12. Stocks Composite Index 6/

6,847.5 Mar 2013

13. Consumer Price Index 2006=100

132.8 Apr 2013

14. Headline Inflation Rate 2006=100

2.6 Apr 2013

15. Core Inflation Rate 2006=100

3.1 Apr 2013

16. Visitor Arrivals

418,108 Feb 2013

17. Underemployment Rate 7/

20.9% Jan 2013

18. Unemployment Rate 7/

7.1% Jan 2013

MONTHLY AVERAGE EXCHANGE RATE (January 2012-April 2013) Month Average December November October September August July June May April March February January

2013

2012

2011

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

VOL. 6 ISSUE 98 • WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2013

EDGEDAVAO

Lower prices partly affect imports growth in May ‘13

T

HE National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said that lower payments for capital goods, mineral fuels and lubricants mainly accounted for the imports performance in May 2013 despite more inward shipment of selected capital goods.

This statement came after the National Statistics Office (NSO) reported that merchandise imports contracted to US$5.3 billion in May 2013 from US$5.4 billion a year ago, or by 2.4 percent.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Baliscan noted that payments for imported capital goods declined by 21.8 percent for the same period due to lower import bills in three commodity groups: telecommunication and electrical machinery; aircraft, ships and boats; and photographic equipment and optical goods.

“However, the decline in the import value of these three commodity groups may be due to price effects, as import volume of these capital goods actually grew by 8.0 percent (telecommunication and electrical machinery), 27.3 percent (aircraft, ships, and boats), and 2.5 percent (photographic equipment and optical goods), respectively,” he said.

Balisacan added, “The more

robust importation of telecommunication and electrical machinery, as well as aircraft, ships and boats, in terms of volume may have resulted from the ongoing modernization program of a major telecommunication company and the delivery of a new Boeing 777 which is for the route expansion of Philippine Airlines.”

The Cabinet official, who is also NEDA Director-General, expects improvements in the foreign purchases of capital goods in the near-term as businesses, particularly in the mining and quarrying subsector, continue their expansion plans.

Balisacan also noted that imports of raw materials and intermediate goods amounted to US$2.2 billion in May 2013, which is higher by 13.3 percent compared to US$2.0 billion in May 2012.

“This favorable performance mainly reflected the broadly upbeat sentiments of the business sector in the second quarter of 2013. Based on the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP)’s Business Expectations Survey, firms cited expansion of businesses, new product lines, brisker business and seasonal uptick in demand as the factors behind their buoyant outlook,” he said.

Semi-processed raw mate-

rials, which accounts for about 87 percent of total raw and intermediate goods, expanded by 11.1 percent, and this was driven primarily by materials/ accessories for the manufacture of electrical equipment (20.6%), manufactured goods (13.2%), embroideries (211.5%), and an-

imal feeds (10.6%), according to the NSO. Balisacan said that the rebound in importation of materials/accessories for the manufacture of electrical equipment may have been due to the anticipation of a higher global demand for electronics.

lion from the P5.8 billion a year ago.

The country’s largest bank in terms of assets cited strong business in its 143% profit

growth in the first 6 months, already hitting two-thirds of its 2013 target of P20.4 billion.

Despite the market volatility in June, BDO scored made

gains from trading and foreign exchange.

Here is a summary of the bank’s financial performance at end-June 2013: • Gross customer loans – P806.6 billion, up by 12% • Total deposits - P1.02 trillion in low-cost deposits, up by 17% • Net interest income - almost P20 billion, up by 14% • Non-interest income - P20.3 billion • Operating expense - stable at 9% • Gross non-performing loan (NPL) ratio - down by 2.4% • Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) and Tier-1 Capital ratio - 18.3% and 15.6%, respectively. [Rappler.com] In a disclosure to Philippine Stocks Exchange on Monday, July 29, BDO said the early redemption of the bank’s Tier-2 Capital Series 3, 4 and 5, amounting to P18 billion, has been approved by its Board.

The redemption date for each series is yet to be announced.

[Rappler.com]

BY THE NUMBERS Traffic to/from Davao City urb an area from/to surrounding are as is

27,000

vehicles per da y SOURCE: DPWH

BDO profits soar 143% to P14-B in Jan-June B

DO Unibank Inc., the banking arm of the Syled SM Group, has more than doubled its earnings in January-to-June to P14.1 bil-

TIRE PROVIDER. Tire Smart recently opened its outlet along Lanang, Davao City. Tire Smart is a local distributor of various tire brands.

as of May 2013 Cebu Pacific Daily Zest Air Daily Cebu Pacific Daily Philippine Airlines Daily Philippine Airlines Daily Cebu Pacific Daily Cebu Pacific Daily Cebu Pacific Daily Cebu Pacific Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri/Sun Philippine Airlines Daily Cebu Pacific Daily Cebu Pacific Thu

5J961 / 5J962 Z2390 / Z2390 5J593 / 5J348 PR809 / PR810 PR819 / PR820 5J394 / 5J393 5J599 / 5J594 5J347 / 5J596 5J963 / 5J964 PR811 / PR812 5J595 / 5J966 5J965 / 5J968

5:45 5:45 6:00 6:10 7:50 7:50 8:00 9:10 9:40 11:30 12:00 12:55

Manila-Davao-Manila Manila-Davao-Manila Cebu-Davao-Iloilo Manila-Davao-Manila Manila-Davao-Manila Zamboanga-Davao-Zamboanga Cebu-Davao-Cebu Iloilo-Davao-Cebu Manila-Davao-Manila Manila-Davao-Manila Cebu-Davao-Manila Manila-Davao-Manila

6:15 6:25 6:30 7:00 8:50 8:10 8:30 9:40 10:10 12:20 12:30 13:25

Cebu Pacific Tue/Wed//Sat 5J965 / 5J968 13:35 Silk Air Mon/Sat MI588 / MI588 13:35 Silk Air Wed/Sun MI566 / MI566 15:20 Silk Air Thurs MI551 / MI551 12:05 Cebu Pacific Mon/Tue/Wed/Fri 5J507 / 5J598 15:00 Philippine Airlines August 15:55 Mani2Mani 16:50 Zest Air Daily Z2524 / Z2525 16:05

Manila-Davao-Manila Davao-Singapore Davao-Singapore Davao-Singapore Cebu-Davao-Cebu

14:05 18:55 18:55 15:45 15:30

Cebu-Davao-Cebu

16:45

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 6 ISSUE 98 • WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2013

SCIENCE/ENVIRONMENT

7

Like humans, dolphins have unique names A

NIMALS continue to surprise us by exhibiting traits traditionally believed unique only to human beings. Anyone who’s ever had the fortune of owning a pet or spending a lot of time with animals will attest to this. Dogs can experience love, hopelessness and depression. Some bird species mate for life, while others cheat on their partners. And cats… well, cats are cats.

Now, researchers at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland have conducted a study that reveals dolphins give each other special names in order to identify each other. Exactly like what humans do.

According to the BBC and iO9, the subjects in

question were bottlenose dolphins, the most wellknown and common of this species of marine mammals. The study’s findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, support previous research that identified the animals’ unusual whistles, which were then believed to play a role in their communication.

A ‘role’ call, under the sea!

To better comprehend the role of these calls, Dr. Vincent Janik and his fellow researchers recorded a variety of signature sounds a group of wild dolphins used in their particular population. Using underwater speakers, the team then played these

sounds back to the dolphins.

“We played signature whistles of animals in the group, we also played other whistles in their repertoire and then signature whistles of different populations – animals they had never seen in their lives,” said Janik.

It was discovered that specific individuals within the group responded to specific calls. When an individual heard a particular call, it acknowledged it by sounding the very same whistle back.

When the team played back calls that were unfamiliar to the group, however, the dolphins gave no reaction.

The team believes the

dolphins are behaving just like humans: they answer when they hear someone call them by their own name, and they ignore those who do not call them by this name.

Whistles as identifiers of particular individuals According to previous research, these sounds are used often in dolphin communities. Dolphins within the same group are able to learn and then reproduce these unique whistles or calls.

As for why dolphins would use such a technique to identify each other, Janik has a theory.

Dolphins “live in this three-dimensional environment, offshore without any kind of landmarks and

they need to stay together as a group,” he explained.

“These animals live in an environment where they need a very efficient system to stay in touch. Most of the time they can’t see each other, they can’t use smell underwater, which is a very important sense in mammals for recognition, and they also don’t tend to hang out in one spot, so they don’t have nests or burrows that they return to.”

In other words, dolphins could have developed this “naming” process as a workaround to the distinct problem that their vast watery habitat does not give them many other ways to identify each other. This, in turn,

helps the group stick together.

This is the first study that has demonstrated that dolphins create, learn, and respond to unique calls for the purposes of labeling individuals with unique identifiers and preventing the group from dispersing.

Janik believes understanding how this skill evolved in different groups of animals could give us more clues as to how communication developed in humans.

Aside from dolphins, the parrot may be the only other animal that has been observed to use its own equivalent of the regular human practice of naming individuals.

ANILA-- The environment department and its partners will extend to more qualified public and private recipients nationwide grants for helping replace inefficient chillers with environment-friendly, energy-efficient and have refrigerants with low or no potential to deplete the ozone layer that protects Earth from the sun’s harmful ultra-violet rays.

The environment department gave such assurance as it spearheaded Monday afternoon in Metro Manila ceremonial turn-over of the PhP1.3 million grant to five-star hotel The Peninsula Manila which applied for, and is the first recipient of, the Philippine Chiller Energy-Efficient Project subsidy for facilitating

such shift to more efficient chillers.

“I hope all hotel chains in the Philippines can follow what The Peninsula Manila did,” environment chief Ramon Paje said during the event.

He extended the same call to chiller-using players in other industries.

PCEEP is backed by USD2.6 million and USD1 million funding from DENR’s partners Global Environment Facility and the Multilateral Fund, respectively.

Such funding is projected to cover replacement of at least 53 inefficient chiller units, DENR said.

Refrigerants with ozone-depleting substances are found in older, inefficient chillers, DENR noted.

The project’s task team

leader Viraj Vithoontien from World Bank said the grant covers 15 percent of cost for a chiller that’ll replace an inefficient one.

Such subsidy will be granted upon completion of the replacement chiller’s installation, he noted.

The funding assistance will end in December 2014 so interested chiller owners must submit their respective applications to Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources as soon as possible for consideration, he said.

DENR and its partners came up with PCEEP, noting shifting to more efficient chillers will reap environmental gains for the Philippines and help the country better comply with its obligations under the Montreal Protocol.

(PNA)

Loren: Manage our environment Availment of anti-ozone depletion grants sought well towards a better economy M

S

ENATOR Loren Legarda today said that the country should work on improving the state of the environment to include the Philippines among the top 20 economies over the next four decades.

Citing a prediction of international bank HSBC, Legarda, Chair of the Senate Committee on Environment, said that the Philippines would leapfrog 27 places to become the 16th largest economy in the world by 2050, driven by an increasing and productive population – up to 70% more people by 2050.

“However, if we do not manage our environment well, and make

our urban and land use planning risk sensitive, this increase in population and economic activity would translate to an equivalent increase in exposure to disasters,” Legarda noted.

“Our environment and the ecosystem services it provides support human life and provide the basic materials for our economy, such as food, fuel and clean water. It also sequesters carbon emissions, regulates erosion and landslides and reduces floods,” she added.

Legarda said that air pollution affects the productivity of citizens as it poses threat to human health. Small particles inhaled can damage lung

tissue, aggravate existing cardiovascular diseases and lung problems or even cause cancer.

“The air quality of our country is still dirty but gradually improving. In 2004 the total suspended particulates (TSP) in our air was 145 micrograms per cubic meter. By 2011 the TSP level was 99,” she noted.

Meanwhile, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, of the country’s total land area of about 30 million hectares, only 7.168 million hectares, or 24.27 percent, are forest covered.

The ideal should be at least 12 million hectares or 48 percent of the total land area.

8 VANTAGE EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 6 ISSUE 98 • WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2013

EDITORIAL

Paquibato mining covered by MOAs

I

T earlier looked like the two mining companies applying for exploration permits in Paquibato and Malabog would be up against an insurmountable wall of opposition.

On Monday, Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang, chairman of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, put up that wall in the form of a declaration that he would block the two mining permit applications.

Dayanghirang went as far as wanting to know why the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) endorsed the applications to its central office in Manila.

Somebody may have spoken too soon.

As early as February 18, 2011, there were already memorandums of agreement (MOAs) between tribal chieftains and barangay captains in Paquibato and applicants Albertos Gold Corp. and Penson Corp. The MGB regional office was furnished copies of the MOAs prompting the agency to endorse the applications to its national office as a matter of its ministerial duty.

The MGB said it did not take the indigenous people (IP) for granted. In fact, its endorsement was made after confirming that the mining firms had gotten the consent of the IP communities to proceed with getting the needed permits. The MOAs stipulated certain conditions, including the giving of financial assistance to the IP communities concerned.

According to its MOA, Penson agreed to give a total of P200,000, broken down as follows: P30,000 financial assistance for supplies of the tribal hall, P15,000 for a certain annual ritual, P50,000 for health and medical

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assistance, P50,000 for educational assistance and P55,000 for livelihood programs.

Albertos also agreed to give a P170,000 windfall consisting of P20,000 financial assistance for supplies of the tribal hall, P15,000 for a certain annual ritual, P50,000 for health and medical assistance, P30,000 for educational assistance and P55,000 for livelihood programs.

It is not confirmed, though, if money actually changed hands as stipulated in the MOAs. There was also no public hearing conducted by the past city council after the then chairwoman of the Environment and Natural Resources Committee Marissa Salvador-Abella inhibited herself reportedly because she has a quarrying concession. That means, everything went on quietly the past two years until the current 17th Council when Dayanghirang learned about the applications.

The problem now is that representatives of the IP communities are saying they signed the MOAs without understanding the documents because they were written in English.

Now, this matter is worth looking into. There’s a virtual goldmine in the transactions and that is where discussions on this issue should begin. If the MOAs were signed as long ago as two years and five months, money must have changed hands. How much, and whose hands? Mr. Dayanghirang perhaps is eager to know.

At any rate, this development bears watching. The virtual goldmine could also be a virtual time bomb ready to explode in some people’s faces.

Abangan.

ARLENE D. PASAJE Cartoons

RAMON M. MAXEY Consultant

GREGORIO G. DELIGERO Associate Editor

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

EJ DOMINIC C. FERNANDEZ • CHERRY MAE D. PALICTE Reporters

AQUILES Z. ZONIO Correspondent

Columnists: MA. TERESA TERESA L.L.UNGSON UNGSON• EDCER • EDCER C. C. ESCUDERO ESCUDERO • AURELIO • AURELIO A. PEÑA A. PEÑA • ZHAUN • ZHAUN ORTEGA ORTEGA • MARY • BERNADETTE ANN “ADI” C.“ADDIE” QUISIDOB.• BORBON LEANDRO• B. MARY DAVAL ANN SR., “ADI” • NIKKI C. QUISIDO GOTIANSE-TAN • LEANDRO • NICASIO B. DAVAL ANGELO SR., •AGUSTIN NIKKI GOTIANSE-TAN • VIDA MIA VALVERDE • NICASIO• ANGELO EconomicAGUSTIN Analysts: ENRICO • EMILY ZEN “GICO” CHUA G. DAYANGIRANG • CARLOS MUNDA • JONALLIER EconomicM. Analyst: PEREZENRICO “GICO” G. DAYANGIRANG • JONALLIER M. PEREZ

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EDGEDAVAO

A

Inexpensive consumer economy

THRIVING SMALL-SCALE LONG-ESTABLISHED BUSINESS – There are good reasons that once in a while we have to refrain from indulging too much on political issues, and instead focused more on our usual subject, which is economic motivations – they are a way of life.

This time amid the flourishing large-scale business undertakings there is still evident progress in the small-level retail business.

Retailing just might be the smallest segment of the economic bunch but for now it continues to proliferate. Small but smart businessmen mostly locals who were euphorically looking for better future embarked in retailing cheaper consumer-based and food products. If one wants to look at what’s really fueling an inexpensive consumer economy, in Davao City for example, just drive over on any given day to the city’s busy thoroughfares and bustling commercial areas such as San Pedro Street, C.M. Recto Avenue, Ilustre street, Magsaysay Avenue and the rest of the Chinatown commercial district. Actually, it doesn’t matter wherever you go in the city since the cost-effective business scheme is very visible.

There are plenty of small-scale retail stores that dotted the different eventful streets of Davao City, and probably throughout the metropolis, so if you go spending or looking for affordable consumer-based products and reasonable food items, chances are good that you ll find yourself in a place like antique shops, variety stores, corner café joints, bakery and pastry shops, side street fast-food joints and eateries, traditional accessory shops,

W

VANTAGE POINTS

beauty parlors, ‘ukay-ukay’ (used clothing) stalls, among others. While other small entrepreneurs of Chinese descent embarked on the retailing of different merchandize imported from China and Taiwan, and their Indian counterparts leading the low-cost consumer-based products merchandizing scheme, all I can say is that the line of businesses I’ve mentioned other than the latter undoubtedly are traditionally Filipino.

Certainly, in purely economic term, this mode and manner of business – low-margin trading venture is pleasing and astonishing for middle-class and low-income bracket consumers and good for the economy therefore the locals who thrived in this kind of long-established business rightly deserve the reputation for being conscientious. Many of these stores couldn’t be more picturesque with worn concrete floors and shelves. In all, it seems like a quaint harmless slice of the timeworn retail era. But fair enough, the prices are quite reasonable because the retail outlets are built into the way small independent product retailing and food vending works. However, it can’t match the product and food selection, service, buying power and merchandizing savvy of large-format convenience store

chains and fast-food centers.

Even in other advanced and industrialized countries typical retailers or the so-called ‘mom-and-pop’ shops are niche operators making up, for example, a large portion of retail employment. They are, as a matter of fact, still the way the nation sold things. And they are wonderfully productive generating a big percentage of the output of the average retail store. The brighter outlook is largely due to the fact that affordable prices and high consumer satisfaction average consumers encounter everyday has spurred a never-ending cycle of increased demand and high growth. As much as the local citizens value tradition, the small-scale and low-margin product retailing and food vending outlets have survived by being flexible even when it meant that stakes are high and the economy striving.

Most of city’s old-fashioned and lowcost retailing business and food venture, the same as in other bustling cities, and perhaps throughout the country are run by ‘mom-and-pop’ operations and believe to have emanated from anthills of small adroit family shops. The traditional trading practices have to be patterned on what is generally accepted by the middle-class and low-budget consumers. As a result, the retailing business have been growing fast and with the people’s income gradually increasing, cheaper consumer-based products and affordable food stuffs found a more sizeable market. All what we can say is that the small-scale retail business environment in the city’s different busy commercial accesses will stay for good.

Daang matuwid is crooked governance?

HAT matuwid na daan is Pnoy talking about?

It’s hard to reconcile the concept of a forthright or straight-forward brand of governance with the use, misuse, or abuse of public funds.

The huge pork barrel allocations Pnoy places at the disposal of people elected to the Legislative Branch of Government— who then insist on doing what properly belongs to Pnoy’s Executive Branch (e.g. infrastructure, social services) violates the separation-of-powers ordained by the Constitution.

No matter what Pnoy and his mouthpieces say, no matter what they or the recipient lawmakers do to justify Pork Barrel allocations, it is still misuse of taxpayer money. It is bad Governance! Why would they allocate P200 million per senator per year, and same amount for the vice-president, plus P70 million per congressman and party-list representative per year—in addition to their salaries and operating budgets for their offices? Billions are eaten up by these patronage allowances while millions of Filipinos hardly eat or survive because of the rampant corruption engendered by these patronizing trapo practices.

“Patronage” means support or favor given by a patron. Why would a president—any president—want to turn all congressmen and senators and the vice president into patrons of Filipinos they’re to be the servants of? Why would he want sovereign citizens (from whom he derives his power and authority) reduced to beggary, beholden to people who are supposed to be at their beck and call?

To dispense government funds and official favors to the electorate is in a real sense to turn public resources into private goods and benefits to serve personal inter-

WORM’S EYEVIEW

BY MANNY VALDEHUESA ests.

It is BAD GOVERNANCE in a real sense.

Is this what MATUWID NA DAAN is all about?

Why would anyone want to transmogrify the idea of public service into a sinecure and a nesting place of oligarchs and plutocrats? This misplaced generosity to elected officials accounts for the spiraling number of political wannabes that run for office on all levels. Even as I write this, truckloads of youngsters, 15-20 years old, are being bused to Comelec registration centers so they will vote for the Pork-favored candidates during the barangay elections in October. It is an obscene spectacle at the base of our Republic, the grassroots.

No less than the president of the senate, Senator Franklin Drilon, is on record that the Pork Barrel, and its alias, Priority Development Assistance Fund, should be scrapped. But Pnoy would rather heed the siren song of House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte—who is a consummate user of Pork to achieve his ends. Like Jose de Venecia before him, He knows how much more powerful money is in the art and craft of political persuasion.

Belmonte knows how much easier it is to dispense allowances in order to forge alliances—especially the unholy sort—than to win hearts and minds over to a worthy cause. He gained mastery over this Machiavellian skill way back when he was still Lord Mayor of Quezon City—where he made great use of patronage for his own purposes and for the purposes of his allies in the QC Council. (For an idea of how he did this, walk or drive around Quezon City

today and behold the markings on sidewalks and street signs where his name and his favored councilors’ are emblazoned as if they owned them.)

It is flabbergasting that the president himself gives away the taxpayers’ money to congressmen and senators—and to the vice president—for them to use as capital for their personal agendas and political objectives. Is this the good governance envisaged by MATUWID NA DAAN? It is bad governance to keep such people in office at the expense of the taxpayers regardless of their competence, motives, or sense of duty.

Much of this money is used to advance the fortunes and political stock of ambitious family members. Thus the Pork not only supports the rise of political dynasties but entrenches them more firmly as they rule indefinitely. Check out the Binays of Makati, Belmonte’s daughter in QC, and the family members in office in the dynasty-plagued administrations throughout our archipelago. Dynasties suck out and weaken our citizenry’s political will as they feed parasitically on its resources.

Would Bam Aquino become a senator without the money and campaign support of Pnoy and his clan? Would the Cayetanos be able to play the Game of Thrones in Taguig City without their humongous pork barrel allowances? Ditto for the Macapagal-Arroyos in Pampanga and Camarines and the Ejercito-Estradas in the senate and San Juan and now Manila.

That’s how obscene Pork Barrel Politics has become. That’s how insidious a subterfuge the so-called Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) is! [MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. Manny Valdehuesa is the president and national convenor of Gising Barangay Movement Inc. He can be reached at valdehuesa@ gmail.com.]

9

What’s in a name

T

H E passport is one definitive official document that we can own. It is that one identification we bring when we cross international borders.

It says something about who we are. Not everything; but something.

I went to the Department of Foreign Affairs office in Davao City to have my passport renewed. Though I am happily married, I have chosen to retain my surname. It is a perfectly legal right of the woman to choose to retain her surname or take on her husband’s. When the clerk at the DFA required an affidavit to explain why I have not changed my name, I flatly refused. She said something about tradition, the best argument she can come up with. I raised my eyebrows in exasperation. There is no need to explain what is covered by the law, never mind feminist philosophy. But sadly, such reasoning is lost on the DFA clerk. I was fuming and had to ask help from a DFA luminary to clear things up. In the end, the document that was asked from me was an affidavit of retention of maiden surname. As the lawyer in the DFA Davao office was drawing up the affidavit, he was having a hard time crafting the proper words. He confessed that it was the first time he came across such a request. I had to put in the right words for him and spoke of the woman’s legal and moral right to maintain her individual identity.

True, my life would be so much easier if I just unquestioningly follow tradition and take up my husband’s surname. I remember thinking back in high school that it was unfair for a woman to change her name because she gets married. That could have just been a capricious thought for a young girl. But as I grew older and established a strong sense of self, I knew I would not subsume my identity with another. I believe that we do not lose our identity in marriage but that we actually do more and become more. I am very aware of and schooled in the teachings of sacrament and tradition; how man and woman are one in marriage, etc, etc.

I love and respect my husband. I recognize him as head of the family just as Christ is head of the Church. As with any issue in a marriage, we truly dialogued about my surname. Apparently, it was a non-issue for him even if it was an issue for his parents. As a compromise, Jun had to tell them that I do the hyphenated last name. He further offered that retaining my surname will be our tribute to my father, Pruds, who is a very good man.

When my husband freely expressed that, I knew I was very blessed to have him. It takes a very strong and enlightened man to take such a stand especially when he is also known for his ego and macho street smarts. It takes a very generous, ballsy, and intelligent man to just let me be even when being me is difficult and inconvenient.

I cringe when I get the occasional “Mr. and Mrs. Jun Surname” address. I feel it is too patriarchal and archaic. One can contend that these are just words but words are very telling of the level of consciousness and sensitivity. A Jesuit priest validated my stand when he explained that in the Old Testament there were many specific directions for acceptable behavior but in the New Testament the directive is to love. And I love.

Jun and I will travel the world with passports and plane tickets showing different surnames. But we will dance and revel in every destination as husband and wife faithfully committed to each other for life. And that is what matters.

10

VOL. 6 ISSUE 98 • WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2013

Done deal..FFROM 1

My ‘pork’.. FFROM 2

This renders practically moot and academic the question on whether the MGB acted prematurely on the endorsement of the two mining applications to MGB central office.

Moncano said their endorsement was merely a ministerial duty after they have received all required documents for a mining permit application.

Moncano said the MOA also contained provisions on compensation.

He said MGB 11 is not against the opposition of the city council to the exploration permits of Albertos Gold Corp and Penson Corp.

“However, as far as our office is concerned, we have already endorsed the applications for exploration permits of the two mining companies to the central office in Manila,” Moncano said, adding that their office did not take the people of Paquibato for granted since there is evidences that the indigenous people gave their consent to the mining firms to do exploration through a MOA signed on February 18, 2011.

Tribal chiefs, datus and barangay captains signed a MOA with each of the two companies allowing them to explore in Paquibato and Malabog under certain conditions.

In the MOA, Pensons agrees to give P30,000 financial assistance for

supplies in the tribal hall, P15,000 for holding a certain annual ritual, P50,000 for health and medical assistance, P50,000 for educational assistance and P55,000 for livelihood programs.

Or a total of P200,000 worth of assistance.

Albertos, on the other hand, also agreed to give P20,000 financial assistance for the supplies of a tribal hall, P15,000 for a certain annual ritual, P50,000 for health and medical assistance, P30,000 for educational assistance and P55,000 for livelihood programs or a total of P170,000 But in a sudden twist of events, tribal leaders and barangay officials admitted that they had signed the MOA without fully understanding its contents which are in the English language.

The chieftains and barangay captains are now opposing the application permits because they said, they did not understand the agreement, because it was in the English language,” Moncano said.

He said, “they think an application for exploration means the act of mining right away.”

There are actually six stages for application according to the Philippine Mines Act; 1st is the Exploration, 2nd feasibility study, 3rd Development, 4th Production, 5th mine-closure, 6th post-mine closure.

“The two mining firms are not even at the first stage yet, since they are still applying for permits to explore,” Moncano said.

“Exploration means they still have to scientifically assess the areas for any minerals such as gold and copper,” he said.

“It takes a maximum of eight years for a mining firm to conduct exploration, but they can choose to proceed to the next step, which is the feasibility study, in a couple of years if they are confident that there really are minerals in the area.

In 2012, there was no hearing on the two mining firms in Paquibato since Councilor Marissa Salvador-Abella, who was then the chair of the City Council committee on environment and natural resources, inhibited herself because she has quarry businesses of her own, according to Moncano.

In current chair of the City Council committee on environment and natural resources Councilor Danilo Dayanghirang, in the Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM Annex Monday said he will strongly oppose the application of the two mining firms to exploit Paquibato and Malabog, since it is mayor Rody Duterte’s pronouncement that he is against mining operations in Davao City.

movements and other geo-hazards.

“We make our people, the communities and our institutions aware of, and prepared to face these possible threats to lives and properties. We embark on a continuing community-based information campaign, disaster management trainings and enhancement of communication facilities and rescue equipment,” he said.

“We make sure that responsible officials and responders are attuned to the changing conditions affecting our communities and adopt essential measures and enhance capabilities to monitor evolving threats and potential disasters,” Jacinto added.

As for the social development agenda, Jacinto cited that city

government’s “rationalization” of local resources for sustainable livelihood and employment and the integration of local initiatives on interrelated sectors such as health, education and social services.

“We promote the welfare of our children.

It is our obligation that they shall be properly fed, clothed, afforded shelter and educated,” he said.

Jacinto said the current administration has also committed support to private sector initiative in business and economic activity.

“The private sector will to continue to spearhead the business and economic activities in our city and the city government will play a strong supportive role to their initiatives. With-

in the limits of the city’s resources, we will accelerate the development of off-site infrastructure in production areas and intensify our efforts to promote our city as a wholesome tourist destination and as a viable place for investments,” he said.

Jacinto said the city government will rationalize the permitting systems and will have a zero tolerance to corruption and institute measures to promote and ensure transparency in local government transactions.

“We will continue to strengthen the city’s institutional capabilities and systems and expand the tax base on the basis of existing revenue laws and ordinances rather than new revenue generating measures,” he said.

Security.. FFROM 2

EDGEDAVAO

my office supported for and on behalf of my constituent-farmers in the 3rd District of Davao, coursed through, budgeted and implemented by the Department of Agriculture Office of the Secretary, is legitimate, valid and above board.

The project was authenticated and went through the legal and proper procedure as practiced by the House of Representatives, Commission on Audit and Department of Agriculture (implementing agency). We have the best intentions and acted in good faith in granting the said project for the benefit of our constituent-farmers, trusting fully in the competence and capability of the implementing agency, the Department of Agriculture Office of the Secretary. My office always ensures that all the projects we undertake are fully implemented and executed, as in this case, we were in close coordination with the DA when each phase of the project (such as delivery of materials; inspection of the said materials and distribution) was being executed.

More importantly, the appropriation was fully liquidated, documented by the DA as the implementing agency, and the project was fully implemented and delivered to its intended and actual beneficiaries.

I personally attended the distribution of the farming implements and materials to the actual beneficiaries. I was there during the implementation. I personally distributed the farming implements/ supplies to the iden-

tified beneficiaries of this project.”

“Everything is in order. The money was transferred, the Commission on Audit approved it, and the Department of Agriculture also approved it,” Ungab said.

Reports surfaced the other day that Rep. Ungab, a member of the ruling Liberal Party and now the chairman of the powerful Committee on Appropriations, used P5 million of his pork barrel funds to implement livelihood projects for his constituents. The said amount reportedly went to Kaupdan para sa Mangunguma Foundation which was reported to be among 20 bogus non-government organizations (NGOs) allegedly created by businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles.

On Tuesday, Rep. Ungab told the ABSCBN News website that he is unsure if he gave funds to an allegedly fake NGO controlled by Napoles.

Ungab denied the NGO is bogus. “It’s an accredited NGO by the Department of Agriculture,” he told this paper.

The ABS-CBN News online reported that Rep. Ungab has asked his staff to check on a newspaper report linking him to Napoles.

A whistle-blower said the money went to Kaupdan para sa Mangunguma Foundation, which is one of 20 bogus NGOs allegedly created by Napoles.

“Actually po may mga pumupunta sa atin sa office pero hindi ko po alam yung NGO na yun is part of that na sinasabi ngayon na Napoles group,” Ungab said in an ear-

lier radio interview with DZMM. Ungab said he had no idea if any of his priority development assistance fund went to a bogus NGO. “Sa totoo lang, I acted all in good faith.

I had no idea. Ngayon ko lang nalaman na ganun pala.”

“Pina-pa-check ko pa ho sa aking mga staff. Wala daw hong sumasagot. I will get all the documents sa Department of Agriculture to check ko yun lahat.”

Ungab said he does not know Napoles personally or even a certain Willie Ang, which was identified in the Inquirer report as the coordinator for a project to cultivate high-value crops.

The same Inquirer report said Ang was a gardener in Napoles’ mansion at Forbes Park village in Makati City.

Ungab said anyone can check the records of the Commission on Audit and the Department of Agriculture to see how his projects were implemented.

“Nai-deliver po and they can check the records with COA and DA at kahit isa-isahin nila yung mag recipients kung nakatanggap, nakatanggap po talaga. I was present nung inamimigay yung assistance sa farmers,” he said.

“I am very sure, one thing sure na sinusundan ko kaya na na-implement ang aking projects. That’s what I did with all my projects. I made sure na implemented po lahat.

Wala po akong ghost delivery, ghost projects. Wala,” he added.

With a report from ABS-CBN News.

transport groups fear for their lives and ask the mayor to intervene.

In an interview with the mayor Monday afternoon, he said he already has a suspect behind the killings, although he needs more evidence to prove it.

“I know you have your fingers pointed at someone since that person is the most probable suspect, but having been a prosecutor for 10 years, I know there is a need for evidence to prove in court be-

yond reasonable doubt that person‘s guilt,” the mayor explained, adding that the dispute between transport groups and LTFRB-Davao has been going on for quite some time, and that what triggered it are the “irregular” franchising fees, and that he wants them to stop “f ***ing” it, or else!”

He did not explain.

He told members of transport groups and his executive assistant Bong Go, to arrange a meeting with LTFRB-Davao Director Benjamin Go to

address this issue once and for all.

Just last July 5, in a press conference at the wake of Petalcorin, National Confederation of Transport workers’ Union Network of Transport Organization (NCTU -NETO) Secretary General Francisco Kempis tagged transport group leader Toto Cirilo as the “missing link” in the solution of Petalcorin’s murder, since they had the same “dealings” and documents with the LTFRB.

Rody.. FFROM 2

11 COMPETITIVE EDGE

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 6 ISSUE 98 • WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2013

Senarillos new USEP Rotaract President A

STHON Jhon Senarillos, a sophomore taking up entrepreneurship at University of SouthEastern Philippines, was inducted club President of the Rotaract Club of South Davao, USEP Chapter, a schoolbased club sponsored by the Rotary Club of South Davao, District 3860.

Rotary Club of South Davao Pres. Don Elecci Torno sworn into office the incoming Officers and Directors on July 12, 2013 in the University Social Hall at the Obrero Campus.

Ash, as he is fondly known, will serve as club President for Rotary Year 2013-2014. He will be guided by the global theme “Engage Rotary Change Lives” of Rotary International Pres. Ron Burton. Ms Susan Vicente Villarante, Student Affairs Director, has accepted to be the Club Adviser.

The other elected officers who took their oath of office were Pres-Elect Mildred Baguio, VP Ian Paul Batolare, Secretary Maybelen Aguilar, Treas.

Mikkie Saligon, Auditor Kristele Sasola and PIO

OATH OF OFFICE OF USEP ROTARACTORS. Rotary Club of South Davao Pres. Don Elecci Torno administers oath of USEP Rotaract Club officers led by Pres. Ash Senarillos ((8th from right) at their induction rites at the USEP social hall in Obrero Campus. Photo by Scott Nimmo.

Renna Jean Diana.

The Directors were Maricar Baguio - Club Administration, Jeralyn Rellon - Membership, Vinice Lorraine Ibanez - New Generations, Kelvin Bulanhagui - Club Service, Edmark Dumaulao - Service Projects, Liregine Cayme - Community Service, and Joven Lozada - International Service.

Rotarians who witnessed the induction rites included Past District Governor Leoncio Vil-

la-Abrille, District Scholarship Chair & Immediate Past President Scott Nimmo and International Publisher Ingmar Bertelsen.

An active Rotaractor, Ash rose to become club president after serving as president-elect during the term of President Angelo Gian Gianan. Last year, he was also the club international service director.

Two years ago, Ma. Ira Louise Santos was president and over-all distas chair as well when the

USEP Rotaract Club hosted the District Assembly.

Early on, Ash was already active in student publications. He was staff member of “The Cordial” in Cor Jesu College and a cartoonist and layout artist at USEP’s “The Collegiate Headlight.” A multi-Awardee in art contests while at Saint Michael’s School of Padada, he was also an outstanding Youth For Christ in high school.

An eldest child of Ed-

great travel deals available out there, and we aim to stimulate the travel industry further by offering travel companies efficient means of communicating and reaching their clients,” says Tina Mariano, concurrent Group Head for Sun Business and Smart Global Access.

Mariano elaborated particularly on the Message Cast Solution which lets users broadcast messages to multiple recipients in just a single send.

“Travel companies

can use this solution to inform their clients of their latest packages and promotions, and even intensify their communications by sending after-sales reminders.” she explains.

Mobile Ticketing is another business solution that allows for twoway text messaging.

“This can primarily function as a helpdesk for customer concerns and inquiries. Travel companies may also opt to use it for promos for their customers.” Maria-

no elaborates.

“These solutions were especially designed to help companies improve efficiency in their business processes and manage operational costs,” she adds.

For more information on the broadcast solutions of Sun Business and on its varied enterprise offerings, visit www.sunbusiness.com.ph or call (02) 395-8PRO (8776).

Sun Business is powered by Sun Cellular, a member of the PLDT Group.

Sun Business backs travel industry through corporate solutions

W

ITH the continuous boost in tourism, Sun Business intensifies its support for the travel industry by partnering with key players and offering its cost-efficient corporate solutions.

Joining this year’s Travel Madness Expo 2013 which was held at the SMX in Pasay, Sun Business showcased its specialized solutions for broadcast messaging like the Message Cast and Mobile Ticketing.

“There are plenty of

AERO CAM. An ‘Aero Cam’ technician tries out the P1.2M multi-copter during the Davao Cyber Expo 2013 at the Annex of SM City Davao over the weekend.

Lean Daval Jr.

gar and Nicesia Senarillos, and a brother to Ma. Elizabeth Senarillos, he is a native of Northern Paligue, Padada, Davao del Sur, where he completed primary at Mariano Sarona Elementary School.

Ash, a highly motivated leader, envisions to continue providing services to the less unfortunate and to the community in general. Feeding the street children in the school neighborhood will be one project to be

implemented under his leadership. With the involvement of the officers and club members alike, Pres. Ash aspires to make the club the best in the campus .

Surely, with his past trainings as President-Elect, Ash can adequately handle the task.

The leadership, motivational, self-development, financial and literacy seminars he had previously attended would greatly help him in his presidency.

Cebu Pacific acquires Airbus A320 Door Trainer

T

HE Philippines’ leading carrier, Cebu Pacific Air (PSE:CEB) recently took delivery of an Airbus A320 Door Trainer from Spatial Composite Solutions, a Dubai-based manufacturer of crew training equipment for the civil aviation and aerospace industries.

The A320 Door Trainer, which has been installed at CEB’s crew training facility in Manila, incorporates the latest technology to facilitate cabin crew training on all normal and emergency door operations.

CEB is the only airline in the Philippines to use a state-of-theart Door Trainer for its cabin crew. Its features include an A320 replica fuselage, a functional passenger door, an over wing exit, a functional panel with oxygen drop out masks, and an emergency lighting system.

It represents an investment of USD350,000.

“Safety has always been CEB’s primary priority. We have been working hand in hand with Spatial Composites for over a year now to develop and refine the Door Trainer’s specifications. This will provide our crew with the best and latest training opportunities through a full range of safety training

scenarios,” said CEB VP for Marketing and Distribution Candice Iyog.

“We are very pleased to have had the opportunity to work with Cebu Pacific on this exciting project, which will enable the airline to further carry out its safety and emergency door training procedures in Manila,“ said Joseph McKeever, C.E.O. of Spatial Composites. “We believe this is the first A320 cabin crew training device to be installed anywhere in the Philippines. CEB has clearly raised the bar for safety training of cabin crew with this investment and set the standards for others to follow.”

Those interested in being a CEB cabin crew may email their credentials to recruitment@ cebupacificair.com. The detailed job descriptions and qualifications can also be found on www. cebupacificair.com or CEB’s page on jobstreet. com.ph .

Aside from the A320 Door Trainer, CEB also has a joint venture with Canada-based CAE, a world leader in aviation training, called the Philippine Academy for Aviation Training (PAAT).

PAAT is an Airbus A320 type-rating and recurrent training center for pilots in the region.

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14 SPORTS

VOL. 6 ISSUE 98 • WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2013

EDGEDAVAO

AAK Davao bets win 5 golds A

AAK WINNERS. AAK Davao’s Gabriel Quinones (left photo) receives his first place gold medal in the Cadets Division. Right, AAK Davao manager Rommel

Tan (extreme right) with his wards Gabriel Quinones, Darlene Maramara, Denzel Maramara and Alyssa Danya Paquil.

AK Davao backed

by TKS Petron won five gold medals and two silver medals in the SM Milo Super Karate Kids Age Group Championships held last Sunday at SM City Marikina.

AAK Davao fielded four entries only and all of them won gold medals in an outstanding display of dominance. Leading the assault for AAK Davao are 2014 So Kim Cheng Sports awardees Gabriel Quinones of Brokenshire College and Darlene Maramara of Tecarro College.

Quinones bagged the gold in the Cadets 14-15 years old category while Maramara took the 1213 years old girls. Denzel Maramara took the 16-17 juniors and Alyssa Danya Paquil of University of the Immaculate Conception took the 14-15 cadets.

Darlene Maramara also won the gold in kata and kumite. She took the gold in kumite by defeating a karateka from MASK (Manila Shito Ryu Karate) with a score of 5-0, she then defeated a karateka from AAK SM Megamall in the finals of kata.

Quinones won the gold in kata by defeating Amir Ranema of La Salle Greenhills. However, Quinones fell short of a medal in kumite after bowing to Ven Lawrence Silangil of La Salle Greenhils who eventually won the gold

medal in their category.

Danya Paquil won the gold in kata by defeating a karateka from MASK in the finals, she won the silver medal in kumite after bowing to a karateka from Team Athena.

Denzel Marara won the gold in kata by defeating a karateka from Jose Rizal University in the finals, he won the silver medal in kumite from veteran karateka Alwyn Batican of La Salle Greenhills.

“This is the first time that we fielded four karatekas and all won gold medals, I was really surprised and very happy on the result, knowing that it’s very hard to win gold in the said competition. Eight teams and 80 karatekas joined the said event,” AAK Davao Chapter manager Rommel Tan told Edge Davao.

“The team is now preparing to compete in Hanoi, Vietnam on August, we are just waiting the go signal from AAK Honbu Dojo to compete there” said Tan. The AAK Davao is sponsored by TKS Petron, Engr. Mike Te and Esther Te, Beefit Gym, University Of Immaculate College (High School Department), Mr. and Mrs Diosdado Maramara, Mrs. Jovita Quinones, Engr.

Celso Manaois, Benjade Construction of Architect Ben Lim.

World boxing icon Manny Pacquiao (Front) visits to the Great Wall on Monday (China Time) in Beijing, China. Manny Pacquiao and Bran-

don Rios will embark on a 23,722mile media tour around world.

(Photo by Feng Li/Getty Images)

INdulge!

VOL. 6 ISSUE 98 • WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2013

EDGEDAVAO

STYLE

Margarita Isabel: Fashion Club Baby

So THE great photographer Mark Nicdao branded this little one the title #fashionclubbaby. In case you haven’t followed any of the Instagram posts of celebrity stylist Pam Quiñones, then let me be the first to tell you that pretty baby Mia made her debut in the fashion league at only 3 weeks old, and with no less than the who’s who in Philippine fashion gushing about her utter cuteness and long limbs.

Margarita Isabel “Mia” Chua Quiñones is the first born of power couple Apple and Mark. Her mom is part of the stylish elite who have made a name herself because of her unwavering career, colorful personality, passion for fashion, and love of life. Her dad, Mark, is a scene stealer himself with his good looks and manly physique. Both make a good combination and it all comes out in the form of this newly baptized baby.

The glowing mom recalls the day she gave birth to Mia. “While my friends were busy adorning the walls of my hospital room with buntings, garlands pinwheels, pink balloons and fresh flowers to welcome

me and Mia, I was already experiencing a 2-hour dry labor (as result of induced labor). With me inside the Lamaze room were my mom, mother-in-law, and Mark. They became the source of my strength. Mia didn’t give me much of a hard time and came out after just one push. I remember I was welcomed by my husband with a glass of champagne and a gift for a job well done. Since I opted for a natural childbirth (meaning without the aid of pain killers), I had the energy to entertain guests after. It was heartwarming to see friends when we were finally transferred to our own room.”

Now, close to 3 months old, Mia finally made her public debut.

Her christening at Sta. Ana Church gathered few of the influential personalities in fashion. Aside from Davao’s own stylish crowd, there was no less than Pam Quiñones, who is Mark’s younger sister, who stood as one of the godmothers.

Then there was designer Mark Bautista, who is best known for his out of the box fashion ideas and

exceptional talent. Jing Monis, hairstylist to the stars, is also one of the godfathers, but wasn’t able to make it to the eventful day because of prior commitments.

Other godparents present in the scene were Edward Duy, Jono Quioc, Allee Lee, Jansen Quiñones, Reagan Carr, Redmond Carr, Bryan Mendoza, Carlvon Kiel, Vanessa and Sharon Ong, Chiche and Florence Alejandre, Ayen Infante, Elaine Carr, Sandy San Pedro-Dicdiquin, Jen Rosales, Mary Ann Romero, and Maricel Banal.

The reception, which was held in a popular Chinese restaurant, was styled and transformed into a European-Asian café by event specialist, Ninang Florence Alejandre. The cake, made

by Joel Rodriguez of Os-

valdo’s, looked too pretty to eat. Ninang April and Sandy also shared their talent by making customized invites

and cupcakes. Little Mia, being the star of the event, was dressed in a beautiful baptismal gown by Rajo

Laurel, given to her as a gift by her loving Ninang Pam. A baby definitely brings

FMARGARITA ISABEL,A4

EDGEDAVAO

A2 INdulge!

VOL. 6 ISSUE 98 • WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2013

Up And AboUT

Liz Uy and what keeps her moving

ShE’S TinSEL Town’S nEwEST iT-girL. And ShE’S EvErYwhErE— from biLLboArdS To gLoSSiES To ThE bLogoSphErE, Liz UY conTinUES To fAScinATE wiTh hEr EYE for ALL ThingS STYLiSh. from bEing A mAgAzinE EdiTor And cELEbriTY STYLiST, Liz hAS bEcomE A STAr on hEr own wiTh A mULTiTUdE of EndorSEmEnTS UndEr hEr hAT.

The search is on for the next Holiday Superbodies Photos by Niel John Luayon

during a hectic day with a schedule of a celebrity stylist, Liz needs an efficient smartphone partner and a reliable data connection to keep up with the demands of her fast-paced lifestyle. both of which, she found in blackberry z10 and globe Telecom. describe your day. on a typical day, as soon as the alarm rings, i check my blackberry z10 to review my to-do list for the day. Then, i get ready, usually i try and keep it pretty structured with some comfort since my day ahead involves meetings, pullouts, and shoots; coordinating with my team and so on, so i like to find outfits that will take me through the day. After work, i make time to work out and stay fit. what are some of your current favorite things? work and swim. Yes, work is my favorite thing to do. it’s addicting. i work all the time using my blackberry z10. i approve everything through bbm, and i’m constantly checking my email for samples, pullouts, or sites with a huge SALE signage! i also use it to take photos of people i’ve styled for my site.

The z10’s got a great camera for my photo addiction and its unique Time Shift feature allows me to find the best shot of my subject by toggling within the photo- it’s so great! i never have to retake a photo again! why do you use globe powerSurf for your blackberry z10? i’m always moving so my car has become like a dressing room on wheels. Since i’m always on the go, i need an internet plan that will keep up with me and my lifestyle. globe powerSurf works really well for my blackberry z10, because it gives me the ability to stay online as long as i want. it also allows me to use the best features of the z10. with globe powerSurf, tweeting, liking photos, and posting facebook statuses and updates become non-stop. no rest for the wicked, as they say. how do you stay connected?

The voice note feature on the z10 is my favorite! my nephews in the States sing to me via bbm. it’s a great little feature on the phone that allows me to stay connected with my family and friends abroad, amidst my jampacked schedule. how do you keep yourself updated?

To keep in the loop with fashion and style trends, i follow a lot of designers on instagram, go through Twitter feeds, and check style blogs. i also use my z10 to check bbc Tv to be in the know with current events. what’s the best thing about your blackberry z10 paired with globe powerSurf? i love how sleek the z10 is, and the capabilities of the phone are great. it’s really nice to explore the new operating system and my globe powerSurf does not restrict the activities i do online, so i’m free to choose whatever i want to do. with my z10, i’m social media-connected, which is what everyone should be these days. The z10 and globe powerSurf are really a great combo.

Ladies month

Sm Accessories has a special treat just for the ladies. celebrate ladies’ month with us and avail up to 50% off on selected items, plus get a multi-purpose body bag with your Sm Advantage, Sm prestige, or bdo rewards card, for

EvEnTS

a p1000 minimum single receipt purchase at the Ladies’ Accessories department. promo period is from August 1 to August 31 only, so hurry and visit Sm Accessories department, located at the upperground floor.

The holiday gym and Spa will be holding the latest iteration of their holiday Superbodies search this August 1 at the Abreeza mall Activity center.

This year’s search is even bigger than before with 30 candidates who were presented to the media at the holiday gym and Spa last July 19. The candidates of this years search are all current members of holiday gym and range in age and careers, from the a 19 year old college student to 30-year old single mom / career woman.

The search aims to look for role models embodying the mission of holiday gym. The participants of the search shall be judged not only on appearance and physique, but also based on their willingness to campaign for healthy living and an active life-

style, as well as knowledge on health, fitness, intelligence and over-all appeal.

The top two male and

top two female contestants will be chosen to be the holiday Superbodies and shall each receive a

p20,000 cash prize, oneyear gym membership at the holiday gym and Spa, as well as gift packs.

Archipelago 7107 by Barrio Fiesta opens at SM Lanang Premier barrio fiesta’s proud food tradition continues and will be rediscovered through its new outlet Archipelago 7107 set to open today at Sm Lanang premier.

Located at the second level of the fountain court Area, Archipelago 7107 promises to bring favorite filipino dishes reinvented the barrio fiesta way. grand opening is at 6 p.m. in the evening. for inquiries, contact 2850943 loc. 135-138. Like Sm Lanang premier on facebook and follow @SmLanangpremier on Twitter for news, promos and event updates.

VOL. 6 ISSUE 98 • WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2013

EDGEDAVAO

EnTErTAinmEnT

La Greta not shocked by Claudine-Raymart split Actress gretchen barretto said she is not surprised by the latest controversy involving her sister, claudine.

on monday, claudine filed a temporary protection order against her estranged husband, raymart Santiago.

Asked for comment about the issue, gretchen said: “no. i was not shocked. with many things happening, i am only concerned with my self-preservation.”

She added that she and their brother, Jay-Jay, are hoping that the truth will prevail. gretchen said she is excited over her new projects, which include the cinemalaya movie “The diplomat hotel” and the AbS-cbn series “huwag Ka Lang mawawala,” which stars Judy Ann Santos.

She made her first appearance as a lawyer in Santos’ soap on monday.

“Abogada niya ako. Akala ko professional na ako, pero mas pa pala si Juday. i learned so much from her,” gretchen said. meanwhile, the lawyer of claudine barretto made it clear that the actress is not seeking publicity when she filed a temporary protec-

tion order against her estranged husband, actor raymart Santiago, on monday.

A t t y. fe r d i n a n d Topacio stressed that barretto was initially reluctant to file the Tpo, saying that this may greatly affect her children.

“Alam niyo kung ito ay gimik na katulad ng ibang nangyayaring gimik, ay maaring maniwala tayo, pero iba ito. Unang-una, ito ay tungkol sa marriage nila na talagang si claudine ay ginawa niya ang lahat para isalba ang marriage na ‘yon. pangalawa, kung gimik ito, si claudine, hindi ito siguro gagawin ni claudine dahil malaki ang epekto nito sa kanyang anak,” Topacio said in an interview on monday

night. “pero ito ay makakaapekto sa mga anak nila, ‘yung fall out nito from the news, ‘yung mga komento, sa mga classmates,” he added. “Actually she was very reluctant to do this until the very last minute na sabi ko, ‘sige ikaw ang bahala kasi i cannot decide for you.’”

Jolie, 38, made headlines earlier this year when she revealed she had a double mastectomy after learning she had inherited a high risk of breast cancer. “maleficent” will be released next summer.

The celebrity mother, who has three biological and three adopted children with her fiancé, actor brad pitt, rose from third place on 2012’s list.

Jennifer Aniston, whose newest movie “we’re the millers” will be released in US theaters next week, captured fourth place with earnings of $20 million and Emma Stone, who appeared in “The Amazing Spider-man” with real-life boyfriend Andrew garfield was no. 5 with $16 million. forbes talked to agents, managers and other people with knowledge of the film industry to compile the rank-

ing based on estimated earnings from June 2012 to June 2013.

Sandra bullock, who was third in last year’s list, dropped to no. 7 with estimated earnings of $14 million and Julia roberts slipped from sixth to 10th place this year, taking home $11 million. oscar-winner bullock wowed audiences with the female buddy comedy “The heat.” her 2009 film “The blind Side,” who which she won a best actress Academy Award, earned $309 million on a budget of $30 million, according to forbes. mila Kunis, at no. 9, was a newcomer to the ranking this year with earnings of $11 million. Two films she starred in, “Ted” and “oz: The great and powerful,” earned a combined $1 billion at the global box office. reuters

Gretchen Barretto

Jolie highest earning actress Angelina Jolie, who will next be seen on the big screen in the film “maleficent,” is hollywood’s highest paid actress with estimated earnings of $33 million in the last year, according to forbes.

She easily surpassed this year’s best Actress oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence, who came in second with $26 million, and pushed Kristen Stewart of the “Twilight” series, who topped the list last year, into third place with earnings of $22 million. “hollywood hasn’t shied away from Jolie. She’s still one of the few actresses who can demand a paycheck north of $15 million for the right movie — like disney’s retelling of the old Sleeping beauty story, maleficent,” reporter dorothy pomerantz, wrote on forbes.com.

Angelina Jolie

INdulge! A3

A4 INdulge!

EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 6 ISSUE 98 • WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2013

STYLE

Margarita Isabel.. FFROM A1 EDGEDavao Davao Partners

a couple closer. News of Apple’s pregnancy broke shortly after Mark’s very romantic proposal. He proposed marriage to Apple on their 7th year in an exclusive beach resort. Forty of their closest friends stood as witness as the teary-eyed Mark knelt and held out a sparkly engagement ring to Apple. They tied the knot a few months after, a quiet / intimate wedding ceremony in a fine dining restaurant, which most only heard of through a couple of Instagram posts.

When I first heard about her baby news, the first question that came into my head was how Apple will marry fashion with pregnancy. I chanced on seeing her with the baby bump for only a few times, and it was during the early months of her pregnancy.

Apple discloses the rest to me. “I never took my baby bump into new style heights. I’m glad I was able to retain my personal edgy style, wearing mostly menswear, black loose ensemble with less or no accessories at all. The only time I wore a figure skimming dress was when my friend, designer Martin Bautista, gave me one on my 5th month of pregnancy.”

“I’m lucky that I didn’t feel any dramatic and terrifying ordeals during pregnancy. I ate well. I spent holidays with friends. I continued working. I had no out of this world cravings. No mood swings. The weight gain didn’t bother me at all. With my husband, family, and friends by my side, I remained a happy and optimistic pregnant woman.”

I’ve known Apple to be a social butterfly, seeing her in countless of events since the time we met. Now I ask, how much and what has changed since Mia came into your life?

“Mia’s presence didn’t create a major change in my life mainly because I had her at the time I was ready and prepared to settle down. What is more noticeable now is how our family has become closer.

Mark’s sister, Pam, comes home more often than before. My brother Erik, after working abroad for 3 years, decided to come home and is now considering staying here for good to take over our family business. Mia’s arrival reminded everyone that family should always come first.”

“My two month maternity break gave me the best chance to be hands on with Mia. Now that I’m back at work, I make sure that every little time I have with her every day is well spent.

I make sure that I bathe and feed her, play and sing to her. I even hold her hand in prayer before I head out. Every night, when I come home from work to a sleeping Mia, I would ask the midwife to give me a moment alone with my daughter. I would lock the door and just stare at her, whispering to her how grateful I am that she came into our life.”

SPORTS 15

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 6 ISSUE 98 •WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2013

FIBA ASIA. Coach Chot Reyes (left photo) answers questions from the media. Right photo, (L-R) Sonny Barrios (Executive Director - Samahang Basketball nang Pilipinas), Manny Pangilinanan (Chairman - Samahang Basketball nang Pilipinas), and Hagob Khajirian (Secretary General FIBA ASIA). PBA Images

PHL hosts FIBA-ASIA after 40 years

A

SIA’S best men’s basketball teams led by defending champion China comes off the wrap on August 1 at the Mall of Asia Arena—the biggest so far since the Philippines last hosted it in 1973 as the Asian Basketball Confederation Championship.

The Philippines’ Gilas Pilipinas on Aug 1 battle it out against 14 other national teams for the three berths at stake for next year’s qualifier to the World Basketball Championship in Spain.

Gilas Pilipinas opens its campaign against Saudi Arabia at 8:30 pm in a seven-game list aired live at the MOA. The Philippines leads Group A with Jordan, Chinese Taipei and Saudi Arabia while Group B has Japan, Hong Kong and Qatar while Group D is bannered by Kazakhstan, Thailand, India and Bahrain.

Group C has a powerhouse gathering composed of Iran, China, South Korea and Malaysia.

The 6 p.m.hustlings between India and Bah-

rain will be at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium So many changes took place since 40 years ago with the country playing host and winning the ABC crown via a 10-game sweep.

Then China took over to become the most dominant titlist in the FIBA-Asia history with 15 championships in all then the emergence of South Korea and the Middle East block Iran, Lebanon, Jordan, Qatar as major powers.

The Chinese have the tallest lineup and ban-

nered by former NBA player Yi Jianlian along with veteran Wang Zhizhi China, and Iran are the only two teams that won the title in the last 14 years.

Iran named ex-NBA player Hamed Haddadi, Samd Bahrami, Hamed Afagh, Mahdi Kamrani and the promising Rouzbeh Arghavan to boost their chances.

In a press briefing at MOA, coach Vincent “Chot” Reyes said, “Everyone has the chance to become the FIBA-ASIA champion. There have been transfer of technology and change of players and coaches and naturalization of foreign players for better performance in most countries.”

None of the 15 participants wanted to name the top three teams to watch for, claiming that all is even and that it would take the best of strategists by the coaches and luck in the 10-day tournament with the absence of player injuries which could hamper any of them in the hard court.

The coaches agreed the jousts will be very,

very tough and that they should first aim for the semis.

From thereon, upends, upsets and unexpected happenings could move or block any team’s progress towards the semis proper and the finals which is the crowning glory.

Reyes , however, some hinted on the possibility of two of his players- still suffering from injury.

But he is glad he has added height and talent from Marcus Douthit who must play doubly hard since the other center may not be able to play. ”What’s more, the venue and the local crowd which could be considered the sixth man for Gilas will be to our advantage,” said Reyes.

The Filipinos’ longer preparation and the overwhelming help from the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas headed by business tycoon Manny V Pangilinan, Peak, Molten, Tissot, Turespan and Intersport, Bodog and Smart was encouraging.

(PNA)

Jaworski tells PHL five: Go out for people and country

“Y

OU can do it, go for it for yourself and out our people and country.”

This was the inspiring message imparted by basketball’s living legend Robert Jaworski to members of the Philippine basketball team that will be vying for top honors in the FIBA-Asia Championship scheduled to open shop tomorrow at the Mall of Asia Arena.

In a surprise visit to the Gilas-Pilipinass’ practice session Monday night at the Moro Lorenzo gym inside the Ateneo campus in Quezon City, Jaworski, mainstay of the national squad that regained the Asian Basketball Confederation crown the last time the country hosted the biennial championship 40 years ago, urged the Nationals to “believe in yourself, and enjoy the game.”

“Make this great op-

Pacquiao, Rios starts promo tour

M CHINA TOUR. Top Rank Promoter Bob Arum announces the Manny Pacquiao-Brandon Rios fight in Beijing, China.

portunity given you to be great,” he stressed.

He said: “Remember, life is about memories, good and bad. This is your chance to make good memories, grab it, treasure it.

“The highest point in my basketball career is representing the county in international competitions. It’s a rare privilege.”

He added: “In the coming FIBA-Asia you will be the most visible personalities, not only in this country. It’s an international event that gives you a chance to represent the country in the world championship, too.

“The Olympics is coming, maybe you can also put the country back in the Olympics again.

“Actually, no one invited me to come here.

I came here because I wanted to try out for the team. (PNA)

ANNY Pacquiao and Brandon Rios are in China on business, to promote their Nov. 24 pay-per-view bout. But that didn’t stop the star boxers from doing a little sightseeing when the 23,722-mile press tour stopped in Beijing.

Trailed by a pack of media and fans, Pacquiao and Rios first stopped on Monday at the Great Wall of China, and the two raced up the steps briefly.

Pacquiao, who will meet Rios at Cotai Arena in Macau in a welterweight bout, found it difficult to make the climb up the wall.

“Now I know that I’ve got my work cut out for me after racing against Brandon up those steps,” Pacquiao said. “He’s already in good condition! This is my third visit to Beijing and it always seems so new to me. It’s a great cultural experience that is saturated in history.”

Later in the day, they visited Tiananmen Square and posed for photos together.

Rios joked that the traffic is Beijing is worse than the 405 freeway in Southern California, where he lives. But he marveled at the experience he’s gotten early on the tour.

16 VOL. 6 ISSUE 98 • WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2013

EDGEDAVAO Sports

SAND BABE. After last week’s successful staging of the World Series of Beach Volleyball in the United States, the game is sure to find a regular home on American sand.

BACK TO THE BEACH

on the sand between the skyscrapers of downtown Long Beach and the Pacific Ocean over the past week provided a significant opportunity for Southern California to reclaim a share of the sport’s hoopla.

“This was definitely the most significant beach volleyball event to be held in the United States, ever,” Klewan said.

The most recent international beach volleyball tournament held inside the United States took place in Carson in 2003. The sport made its Olympic debut at the Atlanta games in 1996.

The World Series of Beach Volleyball also has a four-year deal with Asics, the event’s title sponsor and Klewan’s vision is for the event to be around longer than that deal is in place.

Long Beach tourism boosters would also like to see the World Series of Beach Volleyball become a perennial event, said Steve Goodling, CEO of the Long Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Goodling said early word from the Parker’s Lighthouse and Yard House Restaurant, as well as the Hyatt Regency Long Beach and Shoreline Village shopping center has it that the volleyball tournament attracted customers to shoreline businesses over the past week.

“It was a great weekend,” Goodling said.

Beach Volley World Series returns to US L

ONG BEACH--Beach volleyball fans may not have to wait another 10 years for international competition to return to the United States.

The World Series of Beach Volleyball, which concluded Sunday after nearly one week’s worth of action, was the first sanctioned beach volleyball tournament to take place on American sand since 2003. Although attendance estimates were not available on Monday, a key organizer declared the event to be a triumph for the sport and that he has no doubts the World Series of Beach Volleyball will be back next year to fulfill promises of another international tournament in Long Beach.

“The event itself was an overwhelming success. We couldn’t be happier with the turnout. We couldn’t be happier with the feedback,” said tour director and general manager Dave Klewan The FIVB (International Volleyball Foundation), based in Switzerland, is the international governing body for beach volleyball and although world tour events have been rare along the Southern California beaches where the sport was born, its schedule includes events in some of the world’s biggest cities. After Long Beach, the FIVB tour goes to Berlin, Moscow and Beijing before concluding in Sao Paolo.

In other words, the temporary arena that was set up for the World Series of Beach Volleyball