Edge Davao 7 Issue 208

VOL. 7 ISSUE 208 • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015

P 15.00 • 20 PAGES

www.edgedavao.net

EDGEDAVAO Serving a seamless society

BUSTED. Drug suspect Allan Tee Yap, 46, is restrained by police upon his arrest yesterday afternoon along Bonifacio Street, Davao City. Photo courtesy of Ang Balita Davao

P400-K BUST Police arrest big-time pusher in buy-bust operation

By FUNNY PEARL A. GAJUNERA

P

OLICE arrested a bigtime drug pusher in a buy-bust operation along Bonifacio Street, Davao City yesterday afternoon, seizing almost P400,000 in shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) from the suspect

Police identified the suspect as Allan Tee Yap, 46, a resident of Hillside Subdivision, Davao City.

Police said Yap was in his white Avanza car with plate number LGR 486 when he was apprehended by the au-

thorities along Bonifacio Street.

Police said Yap owns several cars that he used in peddling illegal drugs.

San Pedro Police Station commander Inspector Ronald Lao

said they have been monitoring Yap for more than a month although he had been identified as a drug pusher for quite some time now.

Reporters tried to interview Yap but he refused to answer questions.

Authorities recovered from his possession four sachets of shabu, his driver’s license, PhilHealth ID, cellphone, P2,000 in marked money, and other documents.

Police will file a case of

FP400-K, 10

INSIDE EDGE THE WAITING GAME

Manny just waiting for Floyd to sign contract

SPORTS page 15

2 THE BIG NEWS EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 7 ISSUE 208 • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015

JUST A LITTLE RAIN. Dabawenyos seeking assistance from the City Mayor’s Office (CMO) shield themselves with umbrellas against a sudden downpour while waiting for their turn along City Hall drive on Monday afternoon. Lean Daval Jr.

Napocor to control Agus even under Bangsamoro

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

T

crc@edgedavao.net

HE state-run National Power Corporation (Napocor) will still manage, operate, and maintain the Agus Hydroelectric Power Complex in Lanao del Norte even when the proposed Bangsamoro is created by the second semester of the year.

Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) director for Investment Promotion, International Relations and Public Affairs Romeo Montenegro made the comment during last Monday’s Kapehan sa Dabaw in response to speculation that

the Bangsamoro government will control one of Mindanao’s main sources of power.

Napocor operates six hydropower plants in the Agus Complex. It is one of Mindanao’s major sources of cheap and renewable power supply that has an installed capacity of 727 megawatts (MW).

Earlier, lawyer Al Jukilfi, a member of the legal team assisting the Philippine Government in peace talks with Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), said the proposed Bangsamoro parliamentary

Firm wants to put up 20-story gov’t center

A

PHILIPPINE-BASED private firm is interested in developing the area fronting Rizal Park where the City Building Office and City Engineer’s Office, among others, are located.

Davao City Investment and Promotion Center (DCIPC) officer Ivan C. Cortez said the company, which he did not yet identify, is eyeing to develop the area where most old buildings are made of wood.

“The old buildings in the area are already fire hazards and it would be better if they are replaced,” he said.

The development includes

the construction of a 20-story building that will be called the government center.

“Based on initial talks, about four to six floors will be allotted for city government offices while the rest will be for commercial use,” Cortez said.

He said the center will serve as one-stop shop of different city government offices for the city’s constituents seeking various government services.

Another four floors will be used as a condotel for visitors of the city government.

“The city government will

FPRIVATE, 10

government cannot control the power plant because it supplies power to the whole Mindanao grid and not only to the proposed Bangsamoro area.

“Only power plants inside the area generating power to the proposed Bangsamoro area will be under its jurisdiction,” Jukilfi said.

He cited the annex on the revenue generation and wealth sharing of the Framework on the Bangsamoro (FAB) which says the Bangsamoro “shall have authority and

control over existing government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) and financial institutions operating exclusively in Bangsamoro territory, after the determination of an intergovernmental fiscal policy board of its feasibility.”

Jukilfi said consumers should not expect a power rate hike once the Bangsamoro is created in the second quarter of this year because it will still be the Energy Regulatory Board (ERB) that will determine any change in the power

FNAPOCOR, 10

Dayanghirang: Don’t cut down Dacudao trees

By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

C

abf@edgedavao.net

OUNCILOR Danilo Dayanghirang yesterday urged the city government to drop the proposal to cut down trees along Dacudao Avenue, saying it is “a direct contravention to our constitutional policy of conservation and protection on a balanced and healthful ecology.”

In a privilege speech in yesterday’s regular City Council session, Dayanghirang cited section 16, article 2 of the Constitution which says the state “shall protect and advance the right of the people to balanced and healthful ecology in accordance with the rhythm and harmony of nature.”

He said the reconstruction of sewerage system in Dacudao to prevent flood in the nearby areas does not entail the cutting of trees.

“In applying the aforesaid constitutional provision and jurisprudential rule, it is very clear that cutting of tress must be avoided,” he said.

Dayanghirang said there other ways to reconstruct the drainage without cutting down the trees if the intention is to rehabilitate it to prevent flood.

“Cutting of trees is akin to a sacrificial lamb,” he said.

Taks Force Drainage chair

leagues for the support they gave him especially in times when he found it difficult to express his sentiments as he conveyed the concerns and issues of the IPs in the city.

Mambo-o had earlier said the TWG also will help evaluate the selection process of the next tribe that will represent the IP, which is the Kagan tirbe.

He said the Kagan tribe has six aspirants to be the next IPMR. The whole tribe will have a consensus on who their representative to the City Council will be.

Last month, Mayor Ro-

drigo R. Duterte said he had already identified the next Indigenous People (IP) representative to the City Council.

“Naa na koy natarget (I already have someone in mind).

But I will divulge his name in the proper time,” the mayor said.

Duterte, however, confirmed the earlier statement of Mambo-o that the next IP representative will be from Kagan tribe.

“Ilis-ilis ng mga IP representative. Iniikot yan… Para makapahimulos tanan (The IP representative post is rotated

FDAYANGHIRANG, 10

IP rep to be chosen today T

HE next Indigenous People Mandatory Representative (IPMR) to the Davao City Council will be revealed today as the technical working group (TWG) meets to choose its new representative.

In a privilege speech in yesterday’s regular session, outgoing IPMR councilor Berino L. Mambo-o Sr. said the TWG will conduct their selection process for the next IP councilor of the city.

“I hope you will extend to (the next IP representative) the best accommodation like what you did to me and sup-

port his programs and aspirations,” he said.

Mambo-o was attending his last session as councilor as his term will end on January 10.

Mambo-o said in his three years as a member of the Council, he learned and experienced the essence of being a public servant.

“I have exerted my best efforts to protect the ancestral domain of the Indigenous People and pursue self-governance, self-determination, social justice, human rights, and their cultural identity” he said.

Mambo-o thanked his col-

FIP, 10

VOL. 7 ISSUE 208 • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015

NEWS

EDGEDAVAO

3

Kin of cops held by NPA want troops to pull out

T

HE wives and relatives of three policemen who were snatched by the New People’s Army in Surigao del Norte almost two months ago on Monday asked the military for a troop pullout from the province’s hinterlands to facilitate the safe release of their loved ones.

“I’m asking the military to abide by the Suspension of Military Operations for the quick and safe release of our husbands because news reports said military operations are still ongoing. We’re afraid that our loved ones would be endangered and this (operation)

is preventing the release of the captives,” Matosalem L. Polvorosa, wife of PO3 Democrito Polvorosa Jr. said in Cebuano.

PO1 Jonry Amper’s wife, Christine, and relatives of PO1 Marichel Unclara Contemplo, another captive policeman, aired a similar appeal.

Amper was taken in Malimono town last Nov. 12 while Polvorosa and Contemplo were seized in Alegria town last Nov. 16.

Amper was driving his XRM Honda motorbike in Barangay Bunyasan in Malimono town at 9:45 a.m. on Nov. 12

FKIN, 10

Most firecracker injuries in SoCot due to piccolo

B

ANNED firecracker piccolo emerged anew as the leading cause of firecracker-related injuries in the recent Christmas and New Year revelries in South Cotabato province.

Dr. Rogelio Aturdido Jr., South Cotabato Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) chief, said Tuesday they recorded a total of 89 injury cases due to piccolo out of the 112 firecracker-related injuries recorded in the area during the holidays.

He said such figure was based on the monitoring conducted by the IPHO’s epidemiology and surveillance unit from Nov. 30 to Jan. 5.

“Piccolo was again the number one cause of injuries and the victims were mostly children aged 10 years-old and below,” he said.

Aturdido said their monitoring showed that the total firecracker-related injury cases in the province increased by eight percent in the recent holidays, specifically to 112 from the previous 104.

He said majority of the cases involved children aged three to 10 years-old, followed by those within the 11 to 21 years-old age range.

The youngest victim was a three year-old boy, who was injured due to piccolo explosion, and the oldest was a 60 yearold man.

A 43 year-old resident of Surallah town lost a finger on Christmas Eve due to an accidental explosion of the whistle bomb firecracker.

A 13 year-old boy from Barangay Namnama in Koronadal City lost two fingers and suffered serious burns due to an explosion of collected firecracker powders.

Aside from piccolo, Aturdido said six residents were injured by accidental explosions of kwitis or sky rocket and four others by pla-pla and flying tiger firecrackers.

Koronadal City posted the most number of injuries with 27, followed by the municipalities of Tupi with 21 and Polomolok with 17, he said.

FMOST, 10

I’M LISTENING. Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s executive assistant Christopher “Bong” Go listens to the problems of people seeking assistance from the City Mayor’s Office (CMO) at City Hall on Monday afternoon. The mayor was out for an important appointment at the time. Lean Daval Jr.

Rody warns against bribing city workers

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

D

crc@edgedavao.net

AVAO City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte warned business owners, especially real estate developers, not to bribe any city government employees during this period when business permits are being renewed.

“Giingnan nako ning mga developers – Ayala, Megaworld – na mabalitaan gani nako na nagahatag sila ilabay nako ilang applications sa basurahan (I told real estate developers like Ayala and Megaworld that I will trash their applications if I hear that they bribe any government employee to fast-track the process),” Duterte said during last Sunday’s Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa, his Sunday morning program.

Duterte said he also told other millionaire entrepreneurs operating in the city to “not corrupt the employees of the city government.”

At the same time, the mayor warned city employees that they will be dismissed outright if they are found guilty of extortion. He said he will personally file extortion cases against erring employees.

Curiously, Duterte turned softer when it came to fixers.

“I’m OK with fixers because there are enterprises, mostly the small ones, that don’t have ample time to process their business renewal,” he said.

Earlier, Business Bureau officer-in-charge lawyer Lawrence D. Bantiding said

about 35,000 business establishments are expected to process their permits at the Kadayawan Hall of NCCC Mall of Davao in Matina and lobby area of the City Council Building from January 3 to January 20.

Business owners can have their permits renewed in both venues in the following schedules: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on January 3 and 4 and January 10 and 11 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on January 5 to 9 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on January 12 to 16 and 19, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on January 17 and 18.

Bantiding said businesses can process their renewals during the last day of renew-

al on January 20 at the NCCC Mall from 8 a.m. to midnight.

Requirements for the renewal of the business permits are: original copy of previous mayor’s/business permit, notarized list of all employees, authority to transact the renewal of the business permit with the Business Bureau, clear photocopy of valid ID of all signatories and the transacting person, original copy of barangay clearance, certified copy of proof of exemption, if any, and available financial statement of the previous year.

He said that businesses that will not be able to renew their business permits on January 20 will be fined with a 25 percent penalty upon renewing their permits.

PARABLE OF THE ROAD BOULDER

Alquiza tells gov’t workers: Make problems opportunities

G

FAREWELL. Councilor Berino L. Mambo-o gestures as he delivers his farewell speech during the City Council’s first regular session of the year at the Sangguniang Panlungsod building yesterday. The three-year term of Mambo-o as indigenous people’s (IP) representative to the City Council officially ends on January 10. Lean Daval Jr.

OVERNMENT workers should not be discouraged when they encounter difficulties and problems in rendering public service. This was the admonition of Regional Director Mariano Alquiza of the Department of Public Works and Highways during the joint flag-raising ceremony of national government agencies at the People’s Park in Davao City Monday morning.

Alquiza delivered a pep talk to some 100 fellow government officials and workers attending the flag ceremony as president of the Association of Regional Executives of National Agencies in Region 11 (ARENA 11).

He cited the parable of the big boulder blocking a road that prevented the passing of people and good in a certain

kingdom.

Instead of doing something to improve the situation, as decreed by the king, the people just folded their arms akimbo and stayed on the sidewalk looking at the big stone helplessly.

Then, a peasant came and started pushing the boulder with all his might with none of the bystander doing something to help him.

When the peasant succeeded in removing the big stone from the road, the people, with their automobiles, carriages and horses rushed to the road and continued their journey leaving the peasant without thanking him.

Then the peasant notice a big box right where the stone used to be. When he opened

FPARABLE, 10

4 ECONOMY EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 7 ISSUE 208 • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015

Torotot Fest ushers in Visit Philippines Year T

HOUSANDS of Dabawenyos blew their horns at the stroke of midnight on January 1 to welcome not just the New Year but also Visit Philippines Year 2015 (VPY2015) during the 2nd Davao Torotot Festival in Davao City.

During the countdown, Department of Tourism (DOT) Assistant Secretary Art Boncato Jr. said the Philippines is all set to become an even more exciting destination in 2015 with VPY2015.

He urged the revelers to join the DOT in inviting visitors to the country to experience the enduring promise of the worldwide tourism campaign “It’s more fun in the Philippines.”

A short clip showed “15 Ways to Have Fun in the Philippines” that started the countdown revelry.

During the formal launch of the VPY2015 in September 2014, DOT Secretary Ramon

R. Jimenez Jr. said the campaign aims to highlight different regions in the country.

“DOT is applying very sharp pressure to move tourism out of Manila and for people to go to Bohol, Davao. Kung saan masigasig ang local, doon malakas ang turismo,” he said.

The Davao region received close to 1.8M visitors in 2013 and the DOT is confident of an increase in 2014 with numbers to be finally tallied at the end of January 2015.

To drive further growth during VPY2015, the Davao Region has registered major events in the VPY2015 calendar like the Visit Davao Fun Sale, Mt. Apo Boulder Face Challenge, and Visit Samal Islands.

To find out what’s happening around the Philippines and how to actively support the campaign this year, log on to visitph2015.com.

HE Palace on Monday said the decision to increase the fares of Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 and Light Rail Transit (LRT) Lines 1 and 2 may not be popular but it must be done.

“This is not a popular decision insofar as the MRT-riding passengers are concerned, but we are doing this because this is the right thing to do,” Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda told reporters during a press briefing in Malacañang.

Lacierda said the government has not completely cut its subsidy for the mass transport system but has merely reduced the subsidy from P12 billion last year to P10 billion this year.

“We did not take away the subsidy. The subsidy is still there,” he said.

He noted that President Benigno Aquino has already explained that the subsidy for the MRT/LRT fares needs to be reduced so that the government could allocate its re-

SC asked to stop Transco’s P0.04/kWH power rate hike

MRT/LRT fare hike must be done: Palace T T sources to regions that do not benefit from the MRT/LRT service.

“So, of the P2 billion that we can save, we are going to allocate the resources to other areas like Visayas and Mindanao,” Lacierda said.

He pointed out that the increased MRT/LRT fares are still lower than air-conditioned or regular bus fares.

An air-conditioned bus traversing the Monumento-Taft Ave route via EDSA charges P42, an ordinary bus

P37, and an FX taxi P40. The MRT meanwhile charges only P28 for the same route.

Lacierda assured the public that the government will continue to improve the services of the mass transport system.

“We can assure the MRT-riding passengers that rehabilitation is forthcoming. Rehabilitation has been planned this year. We are going to improve the services of the MRT,” he said. (PNA) CTB/ PND/SSC

HE Supreme Court (SC) was asked on Tuesday to stop the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) from implementing its order allowing the National Transmission Corp. (TransCo) to charge its clients with an additional P0.04 per kilowatt hour (kWh) in their electric bills starting January 2015 to shoulder the cost of renewable energy (RE) under the Feed-In Tariff (FIT) scheme.

The P0.04 per kWh will eventually be passed on starting this January to all electricity consumers like the subscribers of the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) customers in Metro Manila and the

nearby provinces.

Named respondents in the petition are the ERC, Department of Energy (DOE), TransCo, National Renewable Energy Board (NREB), and Meralco.

In his petition, lawyer Remigio Michael Ancheta told the SC that the FIT rules and regulations insofar as they implement the FIT Allowance (FIT-ALL) of P0.0406 per kWh and the ERC order dated Oct. 7, 2014 which granted TransCo’s application for a provisional FIT-All are unconstitutional.

With the ERC’s order, distribution utilities like Meralco are mandated to adopt the necessary modification in their

FSC, 10

Businesses urged to move cargo from Manila ports for Papal visit

T

FRUIT SNACK. A customer buys inexpensive snacks at a fruit stall along City Hall Drive in Davao City. Fruit stands like these are mushrooming all over the city, giving rise to health concerns. Lean Daval Jr.

HE government is appealing to importers and cargo owners to withdraw their cargoes from the Manila ports ahead of the Feast of the Black Nazarene on Friday and the Pope’s arrival in the country next week.

“Our appeal is: Saturday and Sunday gamitin po natin and kung pwede, move as much of your containers out of the port before the Feast of the Poong Nazareno on Friday and then resume Saturday before the Pope’s arrival on Thursday,” said Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras in a Palace press briefing.

Almendras said they expect a disruption on the normal flow of traffic across the metropolis during these two big events, thus affecting the flow of goods from the ports.

“All the government offices are open to make sure that you have the opportunity to pull it out,” he said.

Almendras particularly cited the significant increase in refrigerated vans or reefers that are not being pulled out from the ports.

“There is not enough space in the port for refrigerated vans of the volume that we are now seeing. As a matter of fact, we have doubled the number of refrigerated vans in our Port of Manila today than is normal,” he stressed.

Almendras said that even as the country does not expect export cargoes to be brought to the pier, the government is moving out as much empty containers during the threeday holiday due to Pope Francis’ visit. (PNA)

VOL. 7 ISSUE 208 • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015

EDGEDAVAO

5

6 THE ECONOMY

EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 7 ISSUE 208 • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015

Gov’t reaches full-year inflation target for 2014 C

UTBACKS in the prices of petroleum and electricity with lower increases in the price of most food items brought headline inflation down to 2.7 percent in December 2014 from 3.7 percent in the previous month, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said.

This is the fourth consecutive month that headline inflation slowed down, which pulled average inflation for full-year 2014 to 4.1 percent.

Thus, the government stayed within its inflation target of 3.0 to 5.0 percent for 2014.

“The lower inflation outturn in December bodes well for consumption growth in the fourth quarter of 2014. Also, this shows that government policies remain supportive of a manageable inflation rate,” Economic Planning Secretary and NEDA Director-General Arsenio M. Balisacan said.

Core inflation, which excludes selected volatile food and energy prices, also eased to 2.3 percent from 2.7 percent in November 2014 and

3.2 percent in December 2013.

For full-year 2014, it averaged 3.0 percent.

Meanwhile, December 2014 recorded contractions in the price indices of petroleum electricity, gas and other fuels (-8.3% from -2.6%) and operation of personal transport equipment (-6.0% from -1.2%).

“Electricity rates were lower year-on-year in December 2014 after a decline in generation and transmission charges was noted on the back of improved availability of power plants and lower cost of fuel,” Balisacan said. Meralco charges were down anew in December 2014 by 13 percent, equivalent to a reduction of P0.73 per kilowatt hour.

Moreover, the sharp decline in Dubai oil prices, which fell to its lowest levels since 2010, translated to lower domestic petroleum prices. Price reductions were recorded in December 2014 for unleaded gasoline prices (-19%), diesel (-26%), kerosene (-23%) and in liquefied petroleum gas or

LPG (-32%).

Also, despite the holiday season, year-on-year food inflation in December 2014 slowed to 5.5 percent from 6.5 percent in the previous month.

This is mainly due to high food prices in the same period of 2013 partly arising from typhoon Yolanda which hit the country in early November.

“The absence of new major economic shocks, which could considerably affect food supply, as well as the normalization of supply chain of other food products in part resulting from the augmentation of rice stocks from imports and the lifting of the expanded truck ban in September 2014, may have also contributed to the decline in inflation in December 2014,” Balisacan said.

Despite the low inflation figures, the government is still wary of possible inflation risks for 2015 such as pressures associated with higher water rates at the start of 2015 and the impact of destructions brought by typhoons “Ruby” and “Seniang” on prices of ag-

ENATOR Paolo Benigno ‘Bam’ Aquino IV on Tuesday promised to support government’s bid to add more teeth to the Consumer Act to protect consumers against substandard goods and services.

“Strengthening the Consumer Act will further empower our citizens in their purchase of goods and services,” Aquino, chair of the Senate committee on trade, commerce and entrepreneurship, said.

Recently, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)

called for amendments to Republic Act (RA) 7394, also known as the Consumer Act of the Philippines.

“Our consumers have worked hard to earn a living and they deserve to get value for their money,” Aquino said.

Aquino said his committee will act immediately once it receives a draft bill from the DTI that contains the needed amendments for the Consumer Act. “This must not wait because consumer protection is paramount and should be prioritized,” he stressed.

Aquino said his office has been receiving different consumer complaints, ranging from substandard quality of products and inefficient service.

Some of the amendments being eyed by DTI are the inclusion of heavier penalties for violators of the Consumer Act, increasing the minimum penalty of P500 to P50,000 and the maximum fine of P300,000 to P1 million.

The DTI also seeks to expand the membership of the private-public National Consumer Affairs Council to

Balisacan ricultural commodities.

“Given the lingering possibility of El Nino occurrence in the first quarter of 2015, we should intensify efforts to implement programs that will help the areas that are highly and moderately vulnerable

to the adverse impact of a dry spell,” he said.

Balisacan also noted that logistical issues continue to pose risks of inflation. “While the easing of the truck regulation in Manila’s ports may have possibly contributed to the

moderate inflation outturn, it is critical to continue exploring a more lasting solution to the congestion problem to avoid future disruptions in the domestic supply chain that could result in higher transportation costs,” he explained.

NEW general manager for the Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT-3) was appointed on Monday, a day after the implementation of the controversial MRT fare increase.

Engineer Ramon Buenafe, who is also a businessman, replaced Renato San Jose who was appointed as officer-in-charge last September.

The latter remains as the MRT director for operations.

“(Buenafe) was appointed and took his oath this morning,” Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said.

Buenafe is a graduate of the Philippine Science High School and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of the Philippines.

(PNA)

Bam backs changes to Consumer Act New MRT general manager named S A make it more effective in policy framing and addressing the needs of consumers.

The department is also proposing the inclusion of online commerce-related practices in the scope of the law and the regulatory duty of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) over all financial transactions.

The Senate recently passed its first pro-consumer measure in the 16th Congress, the Philippine Lemon Law which protect car buyers from defective vehicles.

(PNA)

All posts to implement 100% Balik Manggagawa online

I

TOP IT OFF. An S&R New York Style Pizza kitchen staff member puts on the garnishing on one of its famous pizzas at the newly-opened outlet at Abreeza Mall in Davao City. Lean Daval Jr.

N a one-on-one meeting with all labor attaches shortly before the close of 2014, Department of Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz said she had extracted a pledge that all the overseas posts of the DOLE will make sure that the Balik Manggagawa (BM) online system will be fully implemented in 2015.

“I hold them accountable to this promise of 100 percent implementation of the BM online system,” Baldoz said, as she expressed confidence the online system will make the usual long queue of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) at the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) counters and at overseas posts waiting for the processing of their overseas employment certificates (OECs) a thing of the past.

Baldoz, citing a report from POEA Administrator Hans Leo J. Cacdac, said BM online has already earned praises from many vacationing OFWs for making their OEC transactions more convenient, particularly for those who are returning to the same employers.

With an operational BM online, OFWs returning to the same employer can log on to the POEA website where they can fill out forms and submit the document for processing.

If the name of the employer indicated in the form matches the name of the employer in the POEA database, the system will readily approve the returning OFW’s “new record.”

“The balik manggagawa needs only to proceed to pay the fees electronically and print out the OEC either at the comfort of their homes or

FALL, 10

7 ENVIRONMENT

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 7 ISSUE 208 • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015

Mount Pinatubo eruption (from Wikipedia)

Getting ready for natural disasters

By HENRYLITO D. TACIO

“The calamity that comes is never that one we had prepared ourselves for.”

-- Mark Twain

T

HERE is increasing evidence that natural disasters will be more frequent, intense, and costly in the coming decades.

“Every year, between 600 and 800 natural disasters occur, some small and localized, others affecting several countries and many thousands of people,” writes Bob Hansford, disaster risk management advisor at Tearfund, a Christian relief and development agency.

Climate change has significantly contributed to these disasters. “Climate change is expected to lead to more intense typhoons, higher sea levels, and storm surges,” says the World Bank report, Turn Down the Heat: Climate Extremes, Regional Impacts and the Case for Resilience.

The regional office of the Department of Science and Technology issued this statement during the recent “Iba Na Panahon: Science for Safer Communities”: “(The) Philippines has experienced different kinds of natural calamities for the past few years.

In December 2012, typhoon Pablo (Bopha), the strongest tropical cyclone to ever hit Mindanao in Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley, left thousands of homeless and hundreds of fatalities.

“In October 2013, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake shocked the whole province of Bohol and nearby provinces including Cebu. A month later, the deadliest super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), flattened the Visayas area, destroying hundreds of houses, trees, buildings and other properties, leaving a thousand of dead people.”

Environment Secretary Ramon Paje has urged Filipinos to accept the increasing numbers of natural calamities lashing the country as a way of life. As he said in a television interview: “There is nothing we (can) do but adapt to climate change, and the only way we could be prepared for the impact of climate change is to accept that these recent developments in our country, like intense weather disturbances, heavy rainfall, as well as (the) long dry season, are now the ‘new normal.’”

“The Philippines is one of the most disaster-prone places on Earth,” says Kathleen Tierney, director of the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado. “They’ve got it all. They’ve got earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, tropical cyclones, landslides.”

“When disaster strikes no one is indispensable,” says Wilhelm Suyco, the regional officer-in-charge of the Department of Interior and Local Government in Davao region. “We need to be prepared for the worst impacts of the natural calamities brought by climate change,” urges the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services (PAGASA).

The World Wide Fund for Nature, in its edict titled Business Risk Assessment and the Management of Climate Change Impacts, recommends that Davao City be ready for the possible calamities that will befall the country’s largest city.

“Davao City is likely to face the impacts of sea level rise, increases in sea surface temperatures, ocean acidification, and inter-annual variability of rainfall. It is also likely that Davao will become the refuge of many migrants – a trend, which has already begun,” the study says.

In a speech delivered during the Davao workshop, Dr. Mario Montejo, the Secretary of Department of Science

and Technology (DOST) said he believes science can be used “to better understand and improve our disaster planning and preparations at the national and local community levels.”

His science-based formula in dealing with natural calamities: “Early warning leads to early action. Early action minimizes loss. Therefore, reduced amounts of loss leads to early recovery.”

Based on the lessons of Super Typhoon “Yolanda,” the DOST has come up with a 4-point agenda to guide community disaster preparedness: (1) increase local risk knowledge, (2) capacitate hazards monitoring, (3) test warning and communications protocol, and (4) build response capability in communities.

“Filipinos should make it like a part of their lives. They should be like Japanese who are always prepared; in fact, they have some survival kits which have already become a part of their day-to-day activities,” said Dr. Teofredo T. Esguerra, a flight surgeon who is an expert on emergency medical services, when asked how Filipinos can respond to disasters.

Indeed, preparedness is the key to reduce the impacts of disaster. On November 8, 2013, super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) battered Tulang Diyot, a 1.5-kilometer long by 500-meter-wide island in Camotes group of islands, levelling the houses to the ground.

With more than 1,000 people, no casualty was reported.

A day before Yolanda hit Eastern Samar, former mayor Alfredo Arquillano told the residents to evacuate to higher grounds with no ifs or buts. “It’s a good decision,” he says. “It’s fair to say it saved everyone’s life. There is not one house left standing on the island; everything was wiped out.”

His secret: he heeded the warnings of government agen-

cies like the weather bureau.

“It just shows that preparedness pays,” he says. “We have been working for years on early warnings, evacuations.

The awareness level of the community was so high that it went well.”

The world’s weather has completely changed. Filipinos should not be complacent when it comes to disasters.

Senator Loren Legarda, who chairs the Senate Committee on Climate Change, reminds us: “There will be many more

A house destroyed by an earthquake in Bohol (from Wikipedia)

Yolanda aftermath (Photo by Darrell Blatchley)

Flooding (Photo courtesy by Dr. Ted Esguerra)

typhoons, earthquakes and other natural hazards that will come our way. But, let us not be content in having beautiful systems for disaster response and relief. The challenge at hand is to do more and to do better in prevention and risk reduction.”

8

EDGEDAVAO

VANTAGE

VOL. 7 ISSUE 208 • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015

EDITORIAL The Philippines is not just Metro Manila

W

E’VE said this once before in this space, but the matter bears repeating in light of the current opposition and even protests to the newly implemented fare hike in the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) and Light Rail Transit (LRT). Even a number of lawmakers – among them Senators Francis “Chiz” Escudero and Grace Poe – are questioning the move, with Poe going so far as saying the implementation of the increase was “treacherous” on the part of the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC). In the grassroots level, average train riders are going all over social networks to post their “selfies” in protest of the fare hike. And of course, the matter has actually been brought to the Supreme Court, with former Iloilo Rep. Augusto Syjuco urging the high court to issue a restraining order to halt the implementation of the fare increases.

What can we say to all these but that those in Metro Manila obviously believe that the taxes of the entire country should be used only for their benefit? Few apparently know that the train rides they enjoy on a daily basis comes at a cost, and that 60 percent of this cost is shouldered by the government

EDGEDAVAO

Providing solutions to a seamless global village.

Printed by Zion Accuprint Publishing Inc. Door 14 ALCREJ Building, Quirino Avenue, 8000, Davao City, Philippines Tel: (082) 224-1413 301-6235 Telefax: (082) 221-3601 www.edgedavao.net editorial@edgedavao.net marketing@edgedavao.net

which, in turn, uses the people’s money to subsidize the operations of the MRT and LRT. Ultimately, it is the average working person living far away who labors long and hard to make sure the good folks up in Metro Manila get to take their train rides at a highly subsidized rate.

As pointed out by DOTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya, the subsidy is not being pulled out completely. Riders, however, will pay a fare that is closer to the actual cost, and that would leave P2 billion in savings that government can use for projects outside Metro Manila. This is equivalent to 8,240 classrooms, 82 kilometers worth of farm-to-market roads, or 11,440 hectares’ worth of irrigated farmlands. To put it another way, not raising the MRT and LRT fare would actually deprive the people in other regions of 8,240 classrooms, 82 kilometers worth of farm-to-market roads, or 11,440 hectares’ worth of irrigated farmlands. And all for what? So that Metro Manila residents can enjoy their cheap train rides? It’s time for those in the capital to look at the plight of the people in the other areas of the country. The Philippines, after all, is not just Metro Manila.

ANTONIO M. AJERO Editor in Chief

NEILWIN JOSEPH L. BRAVO Managing Editor

AGAPITO JOAQUIN JR. Associate Editor

KENNETH IRVING K. ONG ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR. CHENEEN R. CAPON BAI FAUZIAH FATIMA SINSUAT AMBOLODTO Reporters MEGHANN STA. INES AQUILES Z. ZONIO NIKKI GOTIANSE-TAN LEANDRO S. DAVAL JR. FUNNY PEARL GAJUNERA Lifestyle Photography CHA MONFORTE JOSEPH LAWRENCE P. GARCIA Correspondents ARLENE D. PASAJE Contributing Photographer Cartoons MUNDA • HENRYLITO TACIO • MA. TERESA L. UNGSON • EDCER C. ESCUDERO AURELIO A. PEÑA • MARY Columnists: CARLOS MA. TERESA L. UNGSON • EDCER C. ESCUDERO • AURELIO A. PEÑA • ZHAUN ORTEGA • BERNADETTE “ADDIE” B. ANN “ADI”• C. QUISIDO • LEANDRO B. DAVAL SR., • NICASIO ANGELO AGUSTIN • VIDA MIA VALVERDE • Economic Analysts:• ENRICO BORBON MARY ANN “ADI” C. QUISIDO • LEANDRO B. DAVAL SR., • NIKKI GOTIANSE-TAN • NICASIO ANGELO AGUSTIN EMILY “GICO” G. DAYANGIRANG • JONALLIER PEREZENRICO “GICO” G. DAYANGIRANG • JONALLIER M. PEREZ ZEN CHUA • CARLOS MUNDA EconomicM. Analyst:

PHILIPPINE PRESS INSTITUTE

the national association of newspapers

GENERAL OFFICE SANTOS CITY CAGAYAN DE ORO MARKETING OFFICE CAGAYAN DE ORO MARKETING OLIVIA D. VELASCO JOCELYNRICHARD S. PANES C. EBONA SOLANI D. MARATAS OLIVIA D. VELASCO SOLANI D. MARATAS MARKETING OFFICE | Marketing Manager General Manager of Sales SpecialistFinance General Manager DirectorAdvertising FinanceLEIZEL A. DELOSOLEIZEL A. DELOSO | MarketingFLORENCE ManagerS. VILLARIN

RICHARD C. EBONA AGUSTIN V. MIAGAN JR Circulation Marketing Supervisor

Unit 6, Southbank Plaza Velez-Yacapin Sts. Unit 6, Southbank Plaza Velez-Yacapin Sts. Marketing Specialist Cagayan de Oro City c/o PZ Villarin Marketing Cagayan de Oro City Tel: (088) 852-4894

Tel: (088) 852-4894

Salvani St., Oringo Brgy. City Heights Tel: (083) 303-2215

MANILA MARKETING OFFICE

ANGELICA R. GARCIA | Marketing Manager Blk. 1, Lot 10, La Mar Townhomes, Apitong St., Marikina Heights, Marikina City Tel: (02) 654-3509

EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 7 ISSUE 208 • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015

9

In pursuit of happiness

A

S an entrepreneur, best-selling author and peak performance trainer, Singaporean Adam Khoo has traveled to various parts of Asia. On a plane to Kuala Lumpur, someone came to him and with a shocked look inquired, “How come a millionaire like you is traveling economy?”

Without much ado, he replied, “That’s why I am a millionaire.”

His answer baffled the man – along with others who have read his Secrets of Self-Made Millionaire. Oftentimes, they wondered, “What’s the point in making so much money if you don’t enjoy it?”

In his blog, Khoo posted this timely thought: “The thing is that I don’t really find happiness in buying branded clothes, jewelries, or sitting first class. Even if buying something makes me happy, it is only for a while, it does not last. Material happiness never lasts, it just gives you a quick fix.”

When it comes to materials things, happiness is elusive. In fact, a study done in the United States showed that happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have. The result, which appeared in Psychological Science, found that people can grow accustomed to their possessions and thereby derive less happiness from them.

The researchers claim that people can

P

VANTAGE POINTS

continue to want the things THINK ON THESE! they have and that those who do so can achieve greater happiness.

“Simply having a bunch of things is not the key to happiness,” said Henrylito D. Tacio Texas Tech U n i v e r s i t y henrytacio@gmail.com psychologist Jeff Larsen, who headed the study. “Our data show that you also need to appreciate those things you have. It’s also important to keep your desire for things you don’t own in check.”

Who doesn’t know Abraham Lincoln, one of the most beloved American presidents? At one time, he said, “Most people are about as happy as they choose to be.”

I couldn’t agree with him more. He should know. He went through much anguish in his life – the death of his fiancée, lost elections, the Civil War, and other major disappointments. But he chose to be happy and obtained inner joy and peace in those last years before he was assassinated.

In a recent survey I conducted, family, health, and religion are the top three most important things that make Asians happy.

This is particularly true in the Philippines, according to a study conducted by the National Statistical Coordination Board. The study showed that Filipinos ranked family as the most important source of happiness, giving it a score of 9.45 on a scale of 1 to 10. Health came next, with a score of 8.95, while religion ranked third with 8.59.

Clarence C. Martinez works in a ship building company about 60 kilometers away from his home in Cebu City. “I go home only on weekends or on Wednesday evening,” says the Filipino executive. “So after a long work at the office, I drive almost two hours and honk the horn of my car to announce my arrival and also as a signal to open the driveway. You can just imagine my happiness when I see my son coming out and hugging me.”

Some Asians find inner joy from their work. “Examining newborn babies” is a dose of happiness for Professor Zulkifli Ismail.

“Babies are so lovable and I am grateful that my job actually lets me look at and cuddle them everyday,” says the pediatrician at the Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur.

His work also tops the list of Dr. Gerard

Chuah, a senior consultant eye surgeon at the Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre. “Being able to save someone’s eyesight and allow them to lead a normal life – that gives me a sense of fulfillment and lets me feel my existence on this planet.”

People become happier with age, according to findings from a three-decadelong survey conducted in the United States.

“With age comes happiness,” wrote University of Chicago sociologist Yang Yang, who wrote a report published in the American Sociological Review.

When asked what makes her happy the most, Dr Emmanuela L. Gutierrez said it was being 70 years old, healthy, and her senses still intact. “I can still read and comprehend, see the beauty of nature, hear well, smell the aroma of foods and flowers and plants, and can talk and feel,” explained the Filipino physician who now lives in the United States.

Really, happiness is a matter of choice.

An ancient proverb suggests: “Dance as if no one were watching, sing as if no one were listening, and live each day as if there were no tomorrow.”

And remember, “Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence,” the philosopher Aristotle reminds us.

Tend to your community now, not later!

RACTICALLY everyone claims to want good governance for the country, for their province, their city, and so on down the line. Yet bad governance persists, on most levels—wrongful, corrupt governance.

It’s not as if people don’t know what good governance means; it’s just another term for good management—conducting the affairs of a jurisdiction responsibly, efficiently, profitably for all, and in accordance with law.

Despite its obvious meaning, however, the long dominance of traditional politicos (trapos) has distorted the view of our citizens about governance. It developed in them the habit of relying on pretentious officials to make vital decisions for the community without involving, consulting, or even informing its members. A colonial hangover.

Officials are public servants but the trapos manage to redefine the term “servant” to mean the opposite, enabling them to dictate how government goods, services, and benefits are distributed and to whom. Trapo governance has institutionalized dependency, and mendicancy, among the masses, deepening the root of corruption at the foundation of our Republic. ***** Unless the educated sectors of the community do something to neutralize this pernicious trapo influence upon the grassroots, there is no way we can arrest our country’s downward slide to the status of a failed state.

The professionals in our society—educators, churchmen, lawyers, etc.—are a vital sector of the grassroots, being ba-

THE WORM’S EYEVIEW

BY MANNY VALDEHUESA rangay citizens themselves, but they seem to be in denial. Either they deny that they are also barrio folks, or they just ignore the unmistakable signs of creeping anarchy at the base of the Republic and the worsening scale of corruption in our institutions.

These A and B socioeconomic category of barangay citizens seem unconcerned about the future of the Republic and democracy itself. They show no appreciation for the role of the grassroots as the determinant of stability and progress, oblivious to the effect of their apathy, unconcerned that their smug non-involvement in the affairs of their community will ultimately undermine what privileges they enjoy at present, that such detachment could become the occasion for enemies of society to take over. ***** Their non-involvement is unfortunate, for it’s their leadership or at least their show of interest for the wellbeing of the community that society needs in order to neutralize and avert the malicious efforts of trapo elements to exploit the weaknesses of the grassroots.

It is they who can show everyone the essential role that citizens must perform to safeguard the Republic in the face of multiple threats, local and alien. There’s simply no substitute for good governance in the community to keep the nation stable and able to progress.

Without their active participation, the masses cannot shake off the habit of relying

upon trapos that exploit them in exchange for patronage and dole out. Reliance upon corrupt local officials makes them highly vulnerable to corruption—to the extent of allowing their votes to be prostituted.

The urgent need for political education at grassroots level can no longer be ignored; it needs to be undertaken now, not later. But not the formal sort. What’s needed is education that flows from edification, or the concrete demonstration of a citizen’s role—affirmative action. ***** Such edification must be led and provided by the pace-setters and movers of the community. The objective must be to establish a regime of good governance in the barangay—which is the prime conditioner of good governance at upper levels.

If corruption and bad governance persist in the barangay, the same will be replicated at upper levels. One must keep in mind that upper level officials are elected by barangay votes—which barangay officials manipulate if left undisturbed (as in the past).

There are attitudes and practices to change, including the common misapprehension even of educators and professionals that the powers of government are performed exclusively by the bureaucracy and the elective or appointive officials in it.

Most people are unaware of the unique nature of governance in a barangay—where the citizens have an essential role, a role that must be performed if there is to be good governance. ***** This role is most important at the lowest level of government in accordance with

principle of subsidiarity—which requires that citizens must tend to their community (its arrangements, its development, its governance) and not surrender said responsibility to public servants or to upper levels.

Towns, cities, and larger jurisdictions are primarily the concern of officials elected to administer them, but the barangay is the direct concern and responsibility of its citizens.

Everyone needs to be reminded that the battle for the presidency and all other positions is won in the barrios, among the impressionable masses.

Unless sensible citizens tend to the wrong attitudes and practices of their neighbors, this country will be deluged next year by trapos pushed up by the ignorant and corrupt voters of the 42,000-plus barangays. We shall then have more Lito Lapids and Manny Pacquiaos in Congress, along with the likes of Jojo Binay and his unscrupulous style of governing.

Thus the time to be attentive is now, not during the election period. It’ll be too late by then; the trapos and big-money interests are already out snaring the votes of the masses through patronage and deception even now.

(Manny is former UNESCO regional director for Asia-Pacific; secretary-general, Southeast Asia Publishers Association; director, Development Academy of Philippines; member, Philippine Mission to the UN; vice chair, Local Government Academy; member, Cory Government’s Peace Panel; awardee, PPI-UNICEF outstanding columnist. He is president/national convenor, Gising Barangay Movement Inc. valdehuesa@gmail.com)

10

NEWS

P400K... FFROM 1 violation of Republic Act (RA) 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drug Act of 2002 against Yap. The buy-bust operation was the fourth this year and had the biggest drug haul for the police.

Davao City Police Office (DCPO) Director Senior Superintendent Vicente Danao Jr. said the series of buy-bust operations shows that police

are serious in their campaign to eliminate illegal drugs in the city.

“This is also a response to the call of our City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte on his campaign against illegal drugs, knowing that our Mayor is a known advocate against illegal drugs,” Danao said.

Danao also vowed that the police will continue to operate against drug pushers.

rate in Mindanao.

He said the issue on the control of the Agus complexes arose during the conduct of public consultations in different areas in Mindanao by the 75 members of the ad hoc committee of the House of the Representatives from September to December 17 last year.

Another issue is the wealth sharing that will be generated from Lake Lanao, the country’s second largest lake and main source of the water for the operation of the Agus Complex.

In an earlier report, Driza Liningding of the Bangsa Moro Peace and Development Council said that Napocor “pays the local government units one percent of their gross sales or receipts every year as stipulated by Section 291 of the Local Government Code of 1991.”

Liningding added that the town of Saguiaran in Lanao

del Sur, where Agus Hydro 2 plant is located, receives P2 million per quarter while Marawi City with its Agus 1 receives P800,000 She said the creation of the Bangsamoro will hopefully provide a solution on this issue, adding that it will protect the Lake Lanao from becoming overused.

However, businessmen from different parts of Mindanao issued a resolution last September during the Mindanao Business Conference in General Santos City for the exclusion of Lake Lanao from becoming exclusive to the Bangsamoro.

The resolution said the complex’s vital role in Mindanao makes it necessary for the government to “retain control not only of the complex but also of its water source, Lake Lanao, in order to achieve a reliable, sustainable, and affordable power regime for Mindanao.”

billing and collection systems in order to enforce the Fit-ALL as a separate line item in the billings of consumers and remit the same in accordance with the FIT-All Guidelines.

The petition cited that a residential Meralco customer consuming 200 kWh a month should expect an additional charge of P8.12 under the FIT system.

The FIT-All is a uniform charge similar to the universal charge that is imposed on all on-grid electricity consumers who are supplied with electricity through the distribution or transmission network.

It is essential to the implementation of the FIT system that was set up under Section 7 of Republic Act No. 9513, or the “Renewable Energy Act of 2008 (RE Law)”.

The funds generated by TransCo will enable it to exercise its duty as a fund administrator and pay the RE developers on time their entitled FIT rate, thereby allowing continued production of RE electricity.

The petition added that the FIT Rules and Guidelines erroneously provided an advance collection to pay the RE developers.

It argued that under the RE Law, the establishment of FIT System is for electricity produced from wind, solar, ocean, run-of-river hydropower and biomass.

The petition said that the ERC committed grave abuse of

discretion when it issued the FIT Rules and FIT Guidelines that expanded the implementation of the RE Law. With the abuse committed by the ERC, electricity consumers are now being compelled to pay in advance considering that the plants covered by the FIT program have yet to operate or have yet to be constructed.

“Otherwise stated, the public would be made to pay for electricity that has yet to be generated,” the petition said.

It said that based on TransCo’s 2015 forecast on national sales of 68.01 trillion kWh, the FIT-All fund would be P 230.12 million a month or about P2.7 billion this year.

“Unless this Honorable Court strikes down this unreasonable and oppressive attempt to collect from the public an amount that they can otherwise use for basic necessities, the consumers will be required to bear the burden by the start of the year 2015,” the petition said.

“The Department of Energy (DOE) and ERC chose means that are beyond what is necessary to achieve the purpose of the law to the prejudice of the public i.e., by mandating the advance collection of the portion of the payment to the FIT-eligible RE developers even before actual electrical energy is produced by them and transmitted to the grid,” it said. (PNA)

Napocor... FFROM 2

SC... FFROM 4

EDGEDAVAO

Private... FFROM 2 be able to save a lot if it will have its own accommodation facility instead of sending them to hotels here,” Cortez said.

He said parts of the planned building will be allotted for private offices and for business process outsourcing (BPO) firms.

Aside from offices, the investor is interested in constructing a basement where employees and non-employees of the city government can park their vehicles.

“At present, there are a lot of vehicles parked outside the vicinity that sometimes results in traffic congestions in nearby streets,” Cortez said.

He said the project has an

estimated cost of P2 billion and will be implemented under a public-private partnership scheme.

This will be similar to the government center located in Calamba, Laguna inaugurated last December 3 worth P2.5 billion.

Cortez said the company started conducting the feasibility study in November last year. He would not say, however, when the project will start.

Cortez said the city government is still assessing the actions that will be taken on business establishments operating within the vicinity of the area that will be developed.

[CRC]

Yusof Jimlani had earlier said based on the initial report of the technical working group (TWG) that conducted a tagging of the trees located along Dacudao Avenue, a number of trees need to be cut and pulled to allow personnel to clean the Dacudao canal.

Jimlani had said the trees fence off the canal, giving his team a hard time cleaning the silt along the canal.

He said the alternative plan is to cut some trees and replant them later or buy machinery capable of siphoning the silt in the creek.

He said all 10 towns and lone city of the province recorded cases of firecracker-related injuries, with Tampakan posting the least with four.

As early as November, the IPHO launched a massive advocacy and awareness campaign against the use of firecrackers and fireworks in various parts of the province.

The campaign is mainly focused on children and teenagers that posted the most number of firecracker-related

injuries in the area in the previous Christmas and New Year holidays.

In the previous Christmas and New Year holidays, the province posted a total of 104 firecracker-related injury cases, 50 of which involved children aged 2 to 10.

Piccolo caused the most injuries with 78 victims, followed by kwitis with 10, fivestar with four and, pulbura and sparklers with three each.

(MindaNews)

wherever they are conducting the online transaction,” Baldoz explained.

The OEC print-out containing a special bar code will be presented to the immigration officer at the airport upon departure. As soon as the immigration officer opens the POEA database and finds the balik-manggagawa’s “new record,” the OFW will be cleared for exit.

According to Administrator Cacdac, around 70 percent or approximately 500,000 returning OFWs are expected to benefit from the BM online initiative, and he encouraged OFWs who have benefited from the BM online’s convenience to help the POEA spread the word.

“We at the POEA could benefit from an assist or two from OFWs who could share their experience in the BM online with a friend or fellow OFW,” he said.

The POEA chief, in his travel to the Middle East last year to accompany Secretary Baldoz during the latter’s visit to eight POLOs, brought with him a “props” announcing the BM online system. The props was a hit among OFWs who posed in photos with Cacdac with the announcement.

Administrator Cacdac said the appointment system (personal processing at the POEA

Central Office) will only apply to the following: * Returning OFWs who are changing employers (match could not be found in the POEA database) * OFWs who have not passed through POEA (e.g., visit visa holders or ASEAN tourists) * Household service workers “However, OFWs still have the option of not going through the appointment system at the POEA Central Office and instead secure their OECs from our Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLOs) or POEA regional and satellite offices,” Cacdac said.

But more importantly, it is in the POLOs that the BM online system should already be in place this year, or as early as the first quarter, Baldoz said.

“The BM online system not only speeds up the process of securing OECs, but more significantly, it provides convenience to our vacationing OFWs. Many of our workers will be able to accomplish this transaction from any location where there is online connection,” the labor and employment chief said.

“This will also provide timely updating of the OFW and employer database of POEA,” she added. (PNA)

Dayanghirang... FFROM 2

Most... FFROM 3

All... FFROM 6

VOL. 7 ISSUE 208 • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015

IP... FFROM 2

so that all tribes have equal opportunity),” he said.

Duterte said he will also reveal next year the name of the person who will assume the seat left by city administrator J. Melchor Quitain, who was councilor only from July to September 2013.

Duterte said he will select someone from the Muslim sector to replace Quitain.

“Ang ako man gud…. Kung mahimo lang kanang ang tanan nga sector nay representante (What I want is for all sectors to be represented),” he said. [ABF]

it, he discovered that it was full of gold coins with a note from the king that the peasant could have the treasure as a reward for the role that he played in removing the road obstacle.

Driving lesson from the parable, Alquiza said that workers should consider problems and difficulties as opportunities to work harder and an

inspiration to discover creative solutions.

He asked his listeners to try his advice and assured them of positive results.

It was learned that the joint flag-raising ceremony and convocation is done by the government workers every first Monday of the month.

AMA

when he was flagged down by at least eight heavily armed suspected NPA members. He was believed to have been brought to the mountainous part of Barangay Tinago, also in Malimono.

The rookie cop was conducting discreet surveillance on reports that unidentified armed men were roaming in Bunyasan.

Four days after, Polvorosa and Contemplo were abducted on the way to Barangay Pungtod aboard a patrol car supposedly for a meeting with personnel of the Department of Social Welfare and Development and local residents for the Pantawid Pampamilyang Pilipino Program.

In an email sent to MindaNews on December 21, National Democratic Front-Mindanao said they will release all the nine “prisoners of war” they were holding at the time.

Of the nine captives, only the three police officers from Surigao del Norte have remained in the hands of the NPA, said Jorge “Ka Oris” Madlos, spokesperson of NDF-Mindanao.

Madlos told MindaNews during the 46th Anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines on December 26 in Marihatag, Surigao del Sur that military operations in Surigao del Norte continued despite the SOMO declaration preventing the release of the remaining captives.

He said government forces were still deployed in Claver, Gigaquit, Bacuag, Placer, Tubod and Alegria towns and some parts of Agusan del Norte.

The government issued a unilateral declaration of ceasefire from the Christmas season to the visit of Pope Francis this month.

The NDF on the other hand declared a shorter truce, from Dec. 24-26, Dec. 31-Jan. 1 and Jan. 15-19.

“We ask the government to be sincere in their declaration of suspension of military operations and the suspension of police operations from December 18, 2014 to January 19, 2015 to pave the way for the safe release of the captives in as soon as possible,” Madlos said.

On Tuesday, MindaNews

called Lt. Col. Arsenio Sadural, commanding officer of 30th Infantry Battalion based in Bad-as, Placer, Surigao del Norte but he failed to answer the call.

Sadural also did not reply to a text on the alleged presence of troops in the mountains around Surigao del Norte.

Bishop Rhee Timbang, of the Philippine Independent Church in Surigao del Norte said his group also called on the military higher-ups for a troop pullout.

Timbang heads the third party facilitators that successfully negotiated for the release of four policemen abducted by the NPA also in Alegria town in July last year.

“We made this call since the military itself admitted its continued presence in mountain communities for its Community Organizing for Peace and Development program,” he said.

Minutes after he said this, a military official from of the 4th Infantry Division called the bishop via his mobile phone to assure there would be no movements of troops.

The bishop responded that he and his group would look into it.

Other personalities also called for a troop pullout in the area for the safe release of the captives.

Former Surigao del Norte provincial board member Atty.

Victor Bernal said had the military suspended their operations and had the Provincial Crisis Management Committee acted decisively, the captives would have been long released.

“In short, the Provincial Crisis Management Committee and the military which is always pursuing the captors are the ones who don’t want the release [of the captives]. If possible, Governor [Sol] Matugas should ask the Philippine Army in Bad-as to stop the military operations,” Bernal said in Cebuano.

He urged Matugas to convene the committee to convince the military to stop their operations.

The governor did not reply when asked by MindaNews through text to comment on Bernal’s statements. (Roel N. Catoto/MindaNews)

Parable... FFROM 3

Kin... FFROM 3

11 COMPETITIVE EDGE

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 7 ISSUE 208 • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015

Smart Infoboard as an emergency communications tool gains traction Bicolanos, like most Filipinos, have always turned to the radio for information prior to, and during disasters.

For broadcast journalist Pio Fernandez of DZGB-AM Legazpi, having his listeners rely on his radio program to disseminate information needed for their safety is a task he takes seriously.

Fernandez is one of the recipients of the short messaging service (SMS) blast from the Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office (APSEMO) on any information about an incoming typhoon or any other hazard that puts the safety of the public into question.

The SMS blast is done via the Infoboard, a web-based SMS solution developed by Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) to help facilitate effective, fast, and efficient dissemination of information to target communities.

“Through the years and through many disasters, our radio station has helped guide our listeners to safety based on information provided us

by APSEMO, which we then ‘translate’ to be easily understood by our listeners. We get important tips from APSEMO morning, noon, and evening even when there are no disasters. These are discussed on air, and these have helped further educate our listeners on the importance of preparedness and safety during disasters,” said Fernandez.

DZGB, the biggest radio station in Legazpi, is heard throughout Bicol, and worldwide on webcast, making it an

effective channel with which to reach the most number of people and bring them to safety during disasters.

“The Infoboard provides us with significant communication support specifically to our warning and evacuation bulletins as a means to achieve zero casualties. It allows us to disseminate timely emergency advisories and weather bulletins directly to the barangay level. It also helps us circulate report and press releases for media updates, and public information and awareness,” said Dr. Cedric Daep, executive director of APSEMO. “Disaster message alerts are most effective when they’re used by a disaster preparedness organization executing a preparedness plan because the messages are sent to identified individuals who have been trained in this plan and therefore understand or know the meaning of the messages being sent to them,” said Ramon R. Isberto, head of Public Affairs at Smart.

“A specific concern for mobile messaging is that messages are short at only 160 characters. Without proper training, short messages can be misunderstood or misinterpreted. But with proper training even short messages can trigger life-saving actions because the people who receive them know what to do,” added Isberto.

The Infoboard offers various SMS facilities with different functions and capabilities catering to the needs of a community, including customized SMS solutions, and text broad-

Smart recently turned over the Infoboard service to the Archdiocese of Palo in Leyte for their internal and disaster communications. In photo are (from left) Fr. Chris Arthur Militante, Archdiocese of Palo’s Information and Social Communications Officer; Archbishop John Du of the Archdiocese of Palo; and from Smart Public Affairs, Sally Aldaba, department head for corporate communications, and Atty. Jane Paredes, senior manager for PA VisMin. cast to pre-registered Smart and Talk ‘N Text subscribers.

It allows various government agencies such as the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (DOST-PAGASA), the Philippine Information Agency (PIA), and the Office of Civil Defense to send free

alerts to their respective disaster preparedness networks.

For instance, in preparation for Typhoon Ruby, the NDRRMC, PAGASA, the Region 8 (Tacloban) office of PIA and the provincial governments of Albay, Cebu, Southern Leyte, Bohol, and Batangas, and the city governments of Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Danao, and Malabon sent out close to a million messages for free to its disaster preparedness net-

is designed to give more Filipinos the opportunity to try out, experience, and enjoy the benefits of the Internet.

To avail of the free mobile internet offer, Sun Cellular subscribers must maintain a balance of P1 and must register each day, by simply sending “FREE” to the number “9999.”

Wearable tech within everyone’s reach In an effort to empower more Filipinos with the latest technology trends, Sun Postpaid offered wearables through insanely affordable and value-laded packages.

Through the light-on-thepocket Sun Plan 499 or Plan 649, Sun Postpaid subscrbers can now get their hands on these incredible wearables,

which also come with a smartphone, plus unlimited Sun calls and texts, texts to other networks, mobile surfing and unlimited music streaming via Spinnr. For just P499 a month, one can choose from either the Alcatel Boomband with the Alcatel Pop D5 smartphone and the Polaroid Pogo smart watch with the Polaroid Prof 700. While for P649 a month, one can get the Nokia Treasure Tag, with the Nokia Lumia 630.

Future-proofing SMEs To empower more small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to be ASEAN-ready, Sun Business together with PLDT SME Nation, Smart Enterprise ushered in the convergence of its fixed and wireless ICT solutions, including robust access solutions and value-added connectivity packages, geared to enhance the competitiveness and capabilities of SMEs in the country.

Now, SMEs can enjoy the best of everything—from expert offerings of PLDT, innovative solutions by Smart Enterprise, to value-rich tools from Sun Business. With the PLDT Group’s world-class ICT solutions under one roof, it is much easier for the SME sector to communicate to the market, to respond to customer demands, and to future-proof their businesses with a greater level of competitiveness and efficiency.

works.

A week before Ruby struck, about 3,000 students of Leyte Normal University (LNU) in Tacloban City had been receiving preparedness tips and updates on the typhoon’s track on their mobile phones from the school administrator.

Dino Amascual, LNU chief administration officer, said the Infoboard was useful in reaching students.

“Majority of our students are based in Tacloban but their homes and families are dispersed in the provinces of Leyte and Samar. The Infoboard provides us with an efficient communication tool for preparedness and warning during disasters. It has become part of our standard operating procedure (SOP) to send out safety tips prior to typhoons and during disasters,” said Amascual.

A year of good choices from Sun ICTSI names head I

N 2014, Sun Cellular remained steadfast in delivering on its commitment to provide best-value services that Filipinos have come to know and love. The year marked significant Sun Cellular milestones and offers that further empowered the increasingly mobile Filipino.

Sun-powered connections--anytime, anywhere in the Philippines The backbone of every mobile service is its network and Sun Cellular focused on expanding its network reach to various regions within the country. With stronger signals reaching even the farthest regions of the Philippines, Filipinos can enjoy the benefits of Sun Cellular’s expanded

coverage areas outside the Metro, including Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Mindoro Islands, Romblon, and Sorsogon in Southern Luzon; Apayao, Ilocos Sur, Isabela, Cagayan, La Union, and Mountain Province in Northern Luzon; Capiz, Aklan, Bohol and Southern Leyte in the Visayas; Bukidnon, Agusan del Sur, Misamis Occidental, Davao del Norte, Davao Oriental and North Cotabato in Mindanao. #FREEInternet With the unrivaled network capacity of parent-firm, PLDT, Sun Cellular, together with Smart and Talk ‘N Text, in an unprecedented move, provided free Internet access to postpaid, prepaid and broadband subscribers. The service

HISTORY. At the Miss World Philippines pageant, Sun Cellular made history by being the first telco to launch a text-voting service which enabled Sun subscribers to vote for their favorite candidates with just a few clicks on the mobile phones. The crowned beauties made rounds of Sun Shops after the pageant.

for Australian unit I

NTERNATIONAL Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) has announced the appointment of Anders Dommestrup as Chief Executive Officer of its Australian subsidiary, Victoria International Container Terminal Ltd. (VICTL).

VICTL is a subsidiary of ICTSI, an international operator of common-user container terminals serving the global container shipping industry. ICTSI is the largest port operator in the Philippines and has a portfolio of 29 container terminal operations in 21 countries across six continents “We are extremely pleased to welcome Mr. Dommestrup into the ICTSI Group. With his extensive and leading industry experience and expertise, we believe that he can provide exceptional leadership to our new project at Webb Dock East in the Port of Melbourne,” said Christian R. Gonzalez, ICTSI Head of Asia-Pacific and the Subcontinent.

Prior to ICTSI, Domme-

strup was Chief Operating Officer of Modern Terminals Ltd. (MTL). Since 2005, he had been overseeing the operation and business development of MTL’s operations in Hong Kong and in the mainland Chinese ports of Taicang in Shanghai and Dachan Bay in Shenzhen.

Before this, he was part of the AP Moller Group from 1989 to 2005 in various capacities.

Dommestrup brings to ICTSI industry leading skills in port project development and container terminal management honed from over 25 years of experience in the ports and shipping industry.

Dommestrup’s track record includes not only the successful involvement, management, and operations of some of the largest and most modern container terminals in the world but also considerable experience in the Liner industry. Apart from his native Denmark and China, his work has taken him to Dubai, Singapore and Malaysia where he served in local or regional capacities.

12

CLASSIFIED

There’sa betterway toget attention.

Advertise

EDGEDAVAO

Call: 224-0733 • Tionko St., Davao City

with

Billiard Supplies

EDGEDAVAO CLASSIFIEDS

Phone Nos.

Cell Nos.

VOL. 7 ISSUE 208 • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015

INdulge!

VOL. 7 ISSUE 208 • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015

EDGEDAVAO

WOMEN

Giving resolutions an attitude AT THIS TIME of the year, every year, most of us find ourselves scribbling on brand new planners, jotting down resolutions. From yesterday’s disappointments and long list of shoulda, woulda, coulda’s, we come up with a list on how we wish to redirect our lives for the better --- starting with bullet points that summarize in detail goals that are to be achieved within a span of 12 months.

There are quite a number or resolutions we commonly hear of. Leading the pack are weight loss, savings, travel and keeping away from stress. Some even plan on doing something crazy. My friend joked that we should be wise in choosing our adventures because, after all, “You only YOLO once.”

Looking back, how many of those resolutions were you able to check off your bucket list? Try as we might, we cannot deny that, come middle of the year, we tend to lose as much interest in keeping those commitments as we enthused over listing them down during the first month. Have you ever asked yourself why?

I turned to my husband for sound advice and he pointed out, that, maybe, everyone should either give those resolutions a different approach or trim the list down to realistic (not idealistic) goals.

Majority of the problem

lies on that fact that we treat those goals as remedies to a tired soul. We aim at a “grand” change instead of accepting a gradual one. By doing so, you limit your happiness only to big things you achieve. Our mere fixation with this doesn’t ignite any motivation in us to look at different ways of making a happier life, one step at a time.

My husband suggested, “You shouldn’t put undue expectations on yourself.

Focus on personal growth rather than milestones beyond your control. You can simply start by com-

your environment. For example, you can change the way you respond (not react) to a stimuli or stressor. That minimal shift can already save you

Majority of the problem lies on that fact that we treat those goals as remedies to a tired soul. We aim at a “grand” change instead of accepting a gradual one. By doing so, you limit your happiness only to big things you achieve. mitting to start fresh this year. Don’t forget that attitude and disposition also affect how you eat (some eat their emotions away), how much you spend (retail therapy, girls) and how defiant or vulnerable you are to stressors.”

I’m no expert in self help, but I believe a simple shift in mindset and perspective can actually alter the way you live in

from bingeing on gazillion of calories. You have the power to minimize the impact of any stressor or be it a toxic person. Try being a “good finder” instead of a “fault finder.”

We also have to keep in mind that resolution takes two things: acceptance and action. They have to meet half way. You can never aptly motivate yourself to making things

happens by acting on something you’re not sure of. Once you acknowledge your feeling/s, you’re able to make conscious choices on how to address your needs, wants and dislikes.

From these realizations and choices come a chain reaction which pushes us closer to our bigger goals.

“I don’t have budget to travel --- I’ll try to save more.”

“I can’t breathe in my pants --- I’ll exercise and watch what I eat.”

“I’m easily irritated --maybe I need to get the right amount of sleep.”

“I’m sickly --- maybe I’m not eating the right food.”

Let’s all start the year right. Let’s resolve to pay attention to our emotional well-being. Our attitude and behavior are keys to creating a life that we long for. Leave old baggages, consider the glass half-full, learn to breathe through difficult times and consider living an attitude of gratitude.

Happy New Year, everyone!

EDGEDAVAO

A2 INdulge!

VOL. 7 ISSUE 208 • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015

UP AND ABOUT

International media summit in Cebu to tackle citizen media, freedom of information, digital security, and internet activism A two-day international summit that will be held in Cebu City on January 24-25, 2015 will tackle some of the latest issues on citizen media, freedom of information, digital security, indigenous languages and multilingualism online, and internet activism.

Global Voices, an international citizen media network founded in 2004 at Harvard University, will be holding the Global Voices Citizen Media Summit in time for the organization’s 10th anniversary, at the Cebu Provincial Capitol.

Over a hundred international bloggers, citizen media advocates, and tech experts from over 60 countries across the globe will gather for the event which will highlight talks, panels, and workshops on the relations between open Internet and social movements around the

world.

Leading the summit discussions are Global Voices cofounders Ethan Zuckerman and Rebecca MacKinnon. Zuckerman is also director of MIT’s Center for Civic Media while MacKinnon is the author of the book Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle for Internet Freedom.

The first day of the summit will open with a talk, led by London-based Media Legal Defense Initiative Legal Director Nani Jansen, on protecting the open internet against government policies and corporate practice imperil Internet users’ rights of free expression and privacy.

There will be a session on Freedom of Information Laws, featuring experts led by Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism Executive Director Malou Mangahas who will share their first-hand experience using these policies for greater trans-

End of Season Sale is on at SM City Davao HOLIDAY SHOPPING frenzy is not over yet. SM City Davao runs its End of Season Sale with up to 70% off on great selections on until January 11!

Great finds at best deals await everyone at SM City as joyful holiday shopping continues. Gear up for 2015 at SM City Davao’s End of Season Sale!

For inquiries, please call 297.6998.

Like SM City Davao on Facebook or follow @smcitydavao on Twitter and @SMDavao on Instagram for event and promo updates.

What better way to welcome the year than a SALE! Enjoy great discounts from participating brands at Abreeza from January 2 to January 18.

parency and accountability.

Among others, there will be a panel on how Filipino Citizen Media has been used in mobilizing street protests and coordinating disaster relief and response efforts along with barriers it face from the cost and quality of internet connection to online regulations.

The second day of the summit will open by bringing the spot-

light on indigenous language digital activism, including a session on Filipino Indigenous Languages in Citizen Media which will explore the ways indigenous languages are being promoted online.

Some of the panel discussions would include one on digital security and privacy, online censorship and freedom of speech worldwide, and a roundup of

Magna Carta of Internet users from all over the world.

Like in the past Global Voices Summits in the UK, India, Hungary, Chile and Kenya, the Global Voices Media Summit 2015 promises to be a productive site for inspiring fresh ideas, sharing experiences, and forging crossborder collaborations.

Members of the public can register to attend the event at http://summit2015.globalvoicesonline.org. The cost of admission for the two days is PHP 2,000 for Filipino residents, with a special student rate of PHP 1,000.

The Global Voices Summit 2015 is sponsored by the Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Google, the Province of Cebu, Knight Foundation, Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, Sun Star Publishing, Open Society Foundations,Yahoo, and PRWorks.

Smart Free Internet promo now available until February 5, 2015 WIRELESS SERVICES leader Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) has announced that its Free Internet offer for all Smart, Talk ‘N Text and Sun Cellular subscribers is now available until February 5, 2015.

Through the Smart Free Internet promo, all 69 million Smart, Talk ‘N Text and Sun Cellular subscribers all over the country, can use their dataenabled cellphones to access the Internet without data charges, for up to 30MB daily.

“The positive response to the Smart Free Internet promo -- a real game-changer in the industry in that it introduced mobile Internet to more people than ever before -- gave us a very strong indication of Filipinos’ propensity for mobile data use,” according to Charles A. Lim, head of wireless consumer business at Smart Communications and Sun Cellular.

“This is why we are very pleased to extend it and continue providing our subscribers -- many of whom already have the mobile devices capable of accessing the internet but have yet to use them to go online – the opportunity to try out and experience the Internet. This way, Smart can truly push ‘Internet for all’ and spread the benefits of the Internet in the fastest and most effective way possible,” Lim added.

Increased mobile data traffic

Alongside the extension, Smart also announced that its network is ready for the expected surge in mobile data traffic in 2015, as the increasing affordability of data-hungry smartphones encouraged more Filipinos to snap up devices in the last few weeks of 2014.

Over a fourth of Smart and Sun Cellular’s combined over 69 million subscribers are already using smartphones, helping drive a robust 112% increase in mobile data traffic within the network, equivalent to 27,000 terabytes worth of data exchanged from January to September 2014, compared with just 13,000 terabytes of data for the same period last year.

“We can only expect these volumes to increase exponentially in the months ahead,” Lim added.

Through the Smart Free Internet promo, all 69 million Smart, Talk ‘N Text and Sun Cellular subscribers just need to register by texting FREE to 9999, to start using their dataenabled cellphones to access the Internet without data charges, for up to 30MB daily. It is available across all network platforms – from 2G to 3G to 4G speeds in the country.

Smart continues to have the largest mobile network in the country today, with a total of 24,938 cellular/ broadband base stations, including 9,946 active 4G/HSPA+/Long-Term Evolution (LTE) base stations, supported by more than 90,000 kilometers of fiber-optic cables around the

country.

Fully modernized network

“We have prepared and fully modernized and expanded our network for this uptrend, in terms of reach and availability. Beyond that, we are also accelerating our data capacity build-out, as part of our continuous efforts to future-proof our network in light of increased demands in mobile data for the coming months and years,” said Ramon Isberto, head of Public Affairs at Smart and PLDT. Smart and Sun Cellular’s parent company PLDT reported in November higher capex levels for 2014, projected to be approximately P34.5 billion, compared to an earlier projected number of P32 billion. This capex is expected to be carried over into 2015, given the market’s continued appetite for data services, as more Filipinos start using smartphones.

According to the latest smartphone sales tracking report from Gartner, released in December 2014, worldwide sales of smartphones grew 20 percent in the third quarter of 2014 – with much of the growth attributed to emerging markets in Asia and Africa. This mirrors Philippine data, showing smartphone sales in the country growing by about 22 percent in the same period, according to a report released in October 2014 by Singapore-based research firm GfK.

VOL. 7 ISSUE 208 • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015

EDGEDAVAO

INdulge! A3

ENTERTAINMENT

15 fun facts about the 2015 Golden Globe Nominees

AWARDS SEASON shifts into high, booze-soaked gear Sunday when Tina Fey and Amy Poehler return to host the 72nd Annual Golden Globe Awards. While the Globes may not have quite the same prestige as the Academy Awards, they still have a storied history and stat lines all their own. And like the Oscars, they really, really, really love Meryl Streep. Here are 15 fun facts to wow guests at your own soiree for Hollywood’s biggest party of the year.

1. Meryl Streep has an absurd amount of Golden Globe nominations.

If you thought Streep had a lot of Oscar nominations (18), that’s nothing compared her Golden Globe tally. Her Best Supporting Actress nod for Into Woods makes 29 nominations total from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Twenty-nine! (She has translated those nods into eight wins.)

2. Helen Mirren has the second most nominations among this year’s movie contenders. The dame (nominated for The Hundred Foot Journey) now has 13 total for her television and movie work.

She has won three times, for her first nomination (the 1996 TV movie Losing Chase), as well as the 2006 double play for The Queen and the TV movie Elizabeth I. 3. Robert Duvall has the second most wins among this year’s movie contenders. The Judge appointee Robert Duvall has a not-too-shabby four previous Globe wins (for Apocalypse Now as well as three TV movies) in six prior noms.

4. Reese Witherspoon dropped out of one Globe-nominated movie for another. The Walk the Line winner knows how to pick ‘em. Witherspoon left another project in order to play Pacific Crest Trail hiker Cheryl Strayed in Wild, which could very well land her another trophy. The project Witherspoon was originally attached to (along with Ryan Reynolds): Tim Burton’s Big

inees in the movie categories, only two are people of color: David Oyelowo, who plays Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, and Quvenzhane Wallis, who plays the titular orphan in Annie. (By comparison there were five last year, but only one the year before.)

14. The Jolie-Pitt clan will still be represented.

Though Angelina Jolie was doubly snubbed by the HFPA, for both her villainess turn in Maleficient, and, more surprisingly, for directing and producing Un-

Eyes, which itself racked up three Golden Globe nominations, including one for Amy Adams, who took over the role of painter Margaret Keane.

5. Benedict Cumberbatch is a distant relative of Alan Turing. Cumberbatch is quickly proving to be one of the best performers of his generation, but he may have also had genetics on his side in making for such a convincing Alan Turing in The Imitation Game. Researchers from the genealogy website Ancestry claim they’re related. Well, 17tgh cousins to be exact, but still…

(Cumberbatch is also reportedly related to King Richard III. Do we smell another biopic in his future?)

6. There are three double-nominees this year.

Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, and Bill Murray will all have twice the chance of winning Sunday. Moore is up for two movie categories (Best Actress, Drama for Still Alice and Best Actress, Musical or Comedy for Map to the Stars); Ruffalo (Foxcatcher, The Normal Heart) and Murray (St. Vincent, Olive Kitteredge) represent in both big- and small-screen

categories.

7. Jake Gyllenhaal has the best injury story. The Nightcrawler nominee suffers for his art. Not only did he drop 20 pounds to play super-creep Louis Bloom, he also became so entangled in his character’s psyche that at one point during production he punched a mirror, breaking it, and landing him in the hospital for stitches.

8. Fake noses equal awards gold. Best Actor, Drama nominee Steve Carell (Foxcatcher) is the latest in a long line of actors who wore prosthetic noses on the way to garnering Golden Globe nominations. Others include Nicole Kidman (who won for The Hours), Will Smith (nominated for Ali), Robin Williams (won for Mrs. Doubtfire), Al Pacino (nominated for Dick Tracy), Steve Martin (nominated for Roxanne), and Robert De Niro (won for Raging Bull).

9. Acting in biopics helps, too. Among the 10 nominees in the lead drama categories, six are up for playing real people: Felicity Jones (Jane Hawking in The Theory of Everything), Reese Witherspoon (Cheryl Strayed in Wild),

Steve Carell (John du Pont in Foxcatcher), Benedict Cumberbatch (Alan Turing in The Imitation Game), David Oyelowo (Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma), and Eddie Redmayne (Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything). Let’s all be glad that Louis Bloom is not a real person.

10. Obama votes Boyhood. If the commander in chief had a say, Richard Linklater’s 12-years-in-themaking opus would take home the night’s top prize, Best Picture, Drama. The president recently called it his favorite film of the year.

11. Meryl Streep is on a roll. Yep, another Meryl Streep tidbit. The awards queen owns the longest streak of consecutive Globe nominations.

Into the Woods marks her fourth in a row after August: Osage County, Hope Springs, and The Iron Lady.

There are also two actors who’ve now been nominated three years running: Joaquin Phoenix (Inherent Vice, Her, The Master) and Amy Adams (Big Eyes, American Hustle, The Master).

12. It’s Hulk vs. Ex-Hulk in Best Supporting Actor.

The man who currently plays Bruce Banner, Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher), will smash against predecessor Edward Norton (Birdman) in this category. Unfortunately neither stands a great chance against the heavily favored J.K. Simmons (Whiplash), who also dabbled in the superhero realm as J. Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy.

13. It’s not a great year for diversity. (File this one under not-so-fun fact.)

Among the 29 acting nom-

broken), her other half still has a dog in this race. Brad Pitt is one of the producers of Selma, nominated for Best Picture. (Jolie’s father, Jon Voight, is also up for the TV series Ray Donovan.)

15. Among the 29 movie nominees, 8 are firsttime Globe nominees.

Welcome to the club, Felicity Jones, Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl), David Oyelowo, Eddie Redmayne, Quvenzhane Wallis, Ethan Hawke (Boyhood), Mark Ruffalo, and J.K. Simmons.

January 1-7, 2015

ENGLISH ONLY PLEASE Derek Ramsay, Jennylyn Mercado PG 13

12:40 | 3:00 | 5:20 | 7:40 | 10:00 LFS

FENG SHUI 2 Kris Aquino, Coco Martin PG 13

1:00 | 3:15 | 5:30 | 7:45 | 10:00 LFS

KUBOT: THE ASWANG CHRONICLES 2 Dingdong Dante, Isabelle Daza PG 13

R-16

1:00 | 3:15 | 5:30 | 7:45 | 10:00 LFS

THE AMAZING PRAYBEYT BENJAMIN Vice Ganda, Richard Yap PG 13

12:40 | 3:00 | 5:20 | 7:40 | 10:00 LFS

EDGEDAVAO

A4 INdulge!

VOL. 7 ISSUE 208 • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015

STYLE

Romance with a hint of Marsala

By Kenneth Irving Ong

A

NEW YEAR means a new Pantone colour for the year and this 2015, Pantone’s colour of the year is the naturally robust and earth wine red, Marsala.

Impactful, elegant, and seductive, Marsala is a grounded statement colour that pops and is a strong accent to many other colours as well as a rich hue that stands out on its own.

Drawing on the sophisticated hue, Plains & Print’s newest collection features pops of Marsala to spice up the festivities of a new year.

Plains & Print’s latest collection is available at all Plains & Prints outlets. In Davao Plains & Prints is located at Chimes Specialty Store Sales, SM City Davao, and Abreeza Mall.

VOL. 7 ISSUE 208 • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015

EDGE DAVAO Serving a seamless society

WANTS YOU!

ZION

ACCUPRINT PUBLISHING, INC.

MACHINE OPERATOR (Printing Press)

Qualifications:

Account Executives (2) - Male / Female, not more than 30 years old - Candidate must posses a Bachelor/ College Degree in any Business field.

- Willing to work under pressure, flexible, persuasive, can speak fluently and computer literate - A team player - With Basic Salary, Transportation, Communication, allowance + Commission For interested applicants, you may send your resume to: HR Department EDGEDavao

Doors 13 & 14 Alcrej B;dg., Quirino Ave., Davao City Tel. No. (082) 221-3601 Email: edgedavao@gmail.com

13

EDGEDAVAO

- At least high school graduate, not more than 30 years old - Physically and mentally fit - Can handle minor repairs of the machine - Has the ability to be cool under pressure of deadlines and complex projects - Experience of at least one year Door 14 Alcrej Building, Quirino Ave., 8000 Davao City, Philippines E-mail: marketing@edgedavao.net zion_publishing@yahoo.com Telefax: (082) 2213601 Website: www.edgedavao.net

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES REGIONAL TRIAL COURT 11TH JUDICIAL REGION OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF COURT-SHERIFF DAVAO CITY

HOME DEVELOPMENT MUTUAL FUND Or PAG-IBIG FUND, Mortgagee -versus-

EJF-REM CASE NO. 14,959-14

ARNULFO S. LUMANLAN, married to VIRGINIA S. LUMANLAN, Mortgagor/s x- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -x NOTICE OF EXTRA-JUDICIAL SALE

Upon extra-judicial petition for sale under Act 3135, as amended, filed by HOME DEVELOPMENT MUTUAL FUND OR PAG-IBIG FUND against ARNULFO S. LUMANLAN, married to VIRGINIA S. LUMANLAN with postal address at LOT 319-B, BLK.00 55 ROLLS ROYCE ST., DAVAO EXECUTIVE HOMES, MATINA, DAVAO CITY to satisfy the mortgage indebtedness in the total amount of ( P 731,495.84 ) Philippine Currency, inclusive of interest and penalty charges, as of April 28, 2014 plus attorney’s fees equivalent to TEN ( 10%) of the total indebtedness plus other legal expenses incident of foreclosure and sale; the undersigned Sheriff IV of the Regional Trial Court, Davao City, will sell at public auction on January 16, 2015 at 10:00 A.M. or soon thereafter, at the main entrance of Hall of Justice, Ecoland,Davao City to the highest bidder for Cash or MANAGER’S CHECK and in Philippine Currency, the following real property mentioned and described below together with all the improvements thereon, to wit: Transfer Certificate of Title No. T- 146-2010009723

“A parcel of land (LOT 379-B-2-C-1-D-1-0, PSD -11-020047, XXX) situated in the Barrio of Matina , City of Davao, Island of Mindanao…xxx Containing an area of ONE HUNDRED FIFTY (150) SQUARE METERS, more or less” All sealed bids must be submitted to the undersigned on the above-stated time and date.

In the event the public auction should not take place on the said date,it shall be held on FEBRUARY 13, 2015, without further notice.

Prospective buyers are hereby enjoined to investigate for themselves the titles herein described real property/ies and the encumbrances thereon, if any there be.

Davao City, Philippines, DECEMBER 02, 2014

FOR THE EX-OFFICIO PROV’L SHERIFF:

Noted by:

(SGD.) ROBERT M. MEDIALDEA Sheriff IV

(SGD) ATTY. EDIPOLO P. SARABIA, JR. Clerk of Court VI & Ex-Officio Provincial Sheriff (1/7,14,21)

14

SPORTS

EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 7 ISSUE 208 • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015

UNDER ARMOURED. Murray has played in black and white kit from Under Armour, who were founded by Kevin Plank. The ACCESSORISING. Murray’s new kit has been colour coordinated with his trainers - which football player turned enterpreneur has become a billionaire thanks to the brand’s success. are still adidas as Under Armour are currently working on their own footwear for the star.

UNDER ARMOUR-ED Andy Murray wears new kit for new season Republic of the Philippines Department of Transportation and Communications LAND TRANSPORTATION FRANCHISING AND REGULATORY BOARD Regional Office No. XI Davao City

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

Petition for Renewal of a Certificate of Public Convenience to operate a PUJ Ordinary Regular Service

Petition for Approval of Sale and Transfer with Renewal of a Certificate of Public Convenience to operate an AIRCONDITIONED UV EXPRESS Service

JEEPY D. ANDOYO, Petitioner

JOCELYN L. FUENTES, Petitioner-Vendor

Case No.2011-XI-00851 x- - - - - - - - -- - - -----x

SECOND NOTICE OF HEARING Petitioner is a grantee of a Certificate of Public Convenience issued in this case authorizing the operation of a PUJ Ordinary Regular Service on the route: MA-A-AGDAO with the use of ONE (1) unit, which certificate will expire on February 17, 2015. In the petition filed on June 17, 2014, petitioner request authority to extend the validity of said certificate to operate along the same route with the use of the same unit previously authorized.

NOTICE, is hereby given that this petition will be heard by this Board on FEBRUARY 4, 2015 at 09:00 a.m. at this office at the above address.

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

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

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

WITNESS the Honorable BENJAMIN A. GO, CESO V, Regional Director, this 10th day of December 2014 at Davao City.

TERESITA DELA PEÑA-YÑIGUEZ Chief Transportation Development Officer

JERWIN A. PIZON, Petitioner-Vendee

Case No.2014-XI-00981 (2011-XI-00552) (2012-0408) x- - - - - - - - -- - - -----x

NOTICE OF HEARING Petitioners request authority for the Approval of Sale and Transfer executed by JOCELYN L. FUENTES in favor of JERWIN A. PIZON of a Certificate of Public Convenience with Equipment issued in this case authorizing the operation of an AIRCONDITIONED UV EXPRESS service on the route DAVAO CITY-BUTUAN CITY AND VICE VERSA with the use of ONE (1) unit, which Certificate will expire on March 24, 2015. In the same petition filed on November 26, 2014, petitioners likewise request authority to extend the validity of said certificate to operate along the same route with the use of the same unit previously authorized.

NOTICE, is hereby given that this petition will be heard by this Board on FEBRUARY 3, 2015 at 09:10 a.m. at this office at the above address.

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

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

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

WITNESS the Honorable BENJAMIN A. GO, CESO V, Regional Director, this 26th day of November 2014 at Davao City.

TERESITA DELA PEÑA-YÑIGUEZ

Chief Transportation Development Officer

A

NDY Murray has taken to the courts of Abu Dhabi and Perth in the past few days in a stylish new range of sportswear from his latest kit sponsor Under Armour.

The former Wimbledon champion has signed a fouryear contract - estimated to be worth £15m - with the lesser known American brand after his deal with adidas came to an end.

And it looks like the new clothing could breathe new life into the British number one’s game as he emerged as the victor of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship.

His winning streak continued today as he beat Frenchman Benoit Paire in the Hopman Cup mixed-team event in Perth, Australia.

The victories comes after Murray, 27, had a lacklustre sporting year in 2014 as he failed to build on his grand slam success as Wimbledon champion in 2013 thanks to coming back from shoulder surgery.

Murray won his latest title after world number one Novak Djokovic withdrew through illness ahead of the final.

While Murray did not have to play to win the exhibition match, he proved his form has improved by beating Rafael Nadal to reach the final, which should give him a confidence boost ahead of this month’s Australian Open.

Murray showed off garments from his new kit sponsor when he collected his trophy on court on Saturday.

He wore a flattering, grey zip-up long-sleeved top by the brand, which was founded in 1996 by former University of Maryland football player Kevin Plank.

The Scot was later pictured wearing the same top as he landed in Perth, Australia, for the Hopman Cup in which he will team up with fellow Brit Heather Watson to play in the mixed team tournament.

Murray was accompanied by his mother, Judy, who is back on the tennis circuit following her appearance on Strictly Come Dancing. The 55-yearold has become accustomed to glamorous ballgowns and glitzy dresses during her time on the BBC show but was back in comfortable jeans and a floral top as she arrived in Australia.

While playing, Murray will wear Under Armour’s technical

T-shirt that has been developed to provide compression to athletes’ muscles and wick perspiration off the skin.

The brand, who do clothing for men and women, say the T-shirt ‘works with your body to regulate temperature and enhance performance.’

The tennis star played in black and white versions of the lightweight shirt in Abu Dhabi.

And he certainly put the fabric technology to the test today as he played in temperatures reaching 44 degrees in Perth.

His white T-shirt was saturated with sweat by the end of the match and the Scot joked afterwards that the conditions were not what he was used to growing up in Dunblane, Scotland.

He said: ‘It was a bit of an eye-opener when we arrived at the practice court this morning and it was 44 degrees outside.

I’m from a small town in Scotland and the weather is not quite like that there.’

When he signed his contract with Under Armour, Murray said: ‘I am very honoured and excited to be joining Team Under Armour and to help them tell their story globally.

‘They are committed to providing innovative apparel, accessories, and footwear, with an unmatched focus on training and performance.’

Murray is the most famous British sports star to be sponsored by the U.S. brand who also have American football players, skiers and snowboarders on their books.

They have already made inroads into promoting themselves in the UK by sponsoring football team Tottenham Hotspur.

The brand’s story is a classic ‘rags to riches’ tale. Plank went from selling T-shirts from his grandmother’s house to becoming the U.S’s second bestselling sportsbrand behind Nike a decade later.

He started the business with just $15,000 (£9,800) savings plus as much money as he could loan from credit cards.

Of those early days, Kevin told The Washington Post: ‘It was a challenge, and I had to learn to really focus on my business. But acting like a professional company and running it out of a residential neighborhood is not the easiest thing to do.’

EXPANSION. The sports brand state that they started out with the ‘simple plan to make a superior T-shirt’ and are now sponsoring global stars like Murray, whose contract is estimated at £15 Million.

His big break came when Under Armour became the official supplier to the American football NFL Europe League.

Now the football player turned entrepreneur is a self-made billionaire thanks to the rise and rise of his brand.

Speaking of his success, Plank said: ‘Success doesn’t happen quickly. It happens from doing the same thing over and over, becoming great at it, and delivering great value to consumers. It takes time, and that’s w h y I’m

such a n advocate for, if you have an idea, get it out there, find out if it can sell, and i f does, move t o ve r s i o n two, move t o version three, and find a way.’

While well-known in their home country, signing global stars like Murray will propel them to even greater heights.

The tennis player will be a brand ambassador and feature in major marketing campaigns.

On signing Murray, Ryan Kuehl, Under Armour said: ‘Signing Andy is really a special moment for the brand, as we continue to elevate and diversify our athlete roster and expand our international presence. Andy’s remarkable character, competitive spirit and unmatched ability make him the perfect fit for our family.’

The sports brand state that they started out with the ‘simple plan to make a superior

T-shirt’ b u t have since

branched into making other sporting clothing and accessories.

However, they have y e t to develo p tennis shoes for Murray so he will continue to wear adidas trainers until they have developed footwear specifically for him - a process which is estimated to take at least six months.

The brand showed a flair for fashion by matching the colour of his shorts to his adidas shoes.

Murray will be hoping to improve his form in 2015 after he dropped to a year-end ranking of number six in the world.

However, while 2014 may not have been a vintage year for him in terms of sporting achievement, it was a special one for him in his personal life as he popped the question to long-term girlfriend, Kim Sears, 26.

VOL. 7 ISSUE 208 • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015

SPORTS

EDGEDAVAO

15

Go take charge anew as CMO takes 2-0 lead

C

HRISTOPHER “Bong” Go came up big once again as the City Mayor’s Office blasted Everball Columbia Computer Center, 102 – 82, in Game 2 of their 2015 Basketball Friendly Series at the Davao City Recreation Center Almendras Gym on Saturday night.

Go delivered a barrage of raining three pointers from all angles to propel CMO to a 2 – 0 series lead.

The sweet-shooting trusted-aid of Mayor Rodrigo Duterte finished the game with 43 points, accounting nine baskets from behind the arc that mostly came over the outstretched arms of an Everball Columbia defenders.

After a tight opening period, the City Hall went into scoring spree in the second frame to grab a commanding edge that peep CMO to take another dominating win.

Everball Columbia continued to play below par as a team in the final half as CMO never threatened the rest of the way.

Macarandan scored team-best 18 points as leading-scorer Rico Kwan Tiu tossed 17 for Everball Columbia.

Mcatabog had 16.

Joel Aberilla contributed significantly for CMO with 14 points so did Warren Cloriblel and Rhodelio Poliquit who had 13 and 10 points respectively.

Go, who had 51 points in Game 1, was two triples shy of tying his season opening game output of 11 treys that towed CMO to a 113-72 decision.

CMO won six straight games before Everball Columbia managed to score its first win last season.

(Rico Biliran) Box scores: CMO – 102 – GO 43, ABERILLA 14, CLORIBEL 13, POLIQUIT 10, LABOR 6, FLORES 6, REYES 4, SUMAGANG 4, PELOTON 2, APOSTOL 0, ROSAL 0.

EVERBALL COLUMBIA – 82 – MACARANDAN 18, KWAN TIU 17, MACATABOG 16, MALIGRO 10, MENDING 6, ANGSINCO 6, SUAREZ 4, BAMBI 4, CABALLERO I 1, DEVEZA 0, CABALLERO J 0.

I’M WAITING. WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines, during his recent world welterweight title boxing match against WBO junior welterweight champion Chris Algieri of the U.S. at the Venetian Macao in Macau. Pacquiao has called out Floyd Mayweather to a fight but has yet to see the flamboyant American make a tangible response. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

THE WAITING GAME Manny just waiting for Floyd to sign contract

M

ANNY Pacquiao bared that he’s just waiting for Floyd Mayweather to sign the contract for their mega-fight.

Days after Pacquiao’s adviser Michael Koncz confirmed to Ring Magazine that negotiations are indeed ongoing, the eight-division and current WBO welterweight champion posted on his

Instagram account that the ball is on Mayweather’s court.

“Floyd brags about his lifestyle and everything! I don’t care! I’m just waiting here for him to sign the contract! #fightpacquiao,” posted Pacquiao.

The negotiations between the Mayweather and Pacquiao’s camps have remained mostly silent. Previously, the two

camps discussed details of the contract in the open including the purse split and the drug testing protocols.

However, no news has come out of either camp regarding the details of the negotiations.

After beating Chris Algieri via wide unanimous decision last November, Pacquiao openly challenged Mayweather

NU sacks coach, tabs former Ateneo mentor

W

SACKED. NU head coach Ariel Dela Cruz (above photo) instructs his players during the match between University of the East (UE) and National University (NU) of the UAAP Women’s Volleyball Season 77 games, held at the San Juan Arena on 7 December 2014. Dela Cruz has been sacked

by NU and replaced by former Ateneo coach Roger Gorayeb (below photo). (Dante Diosina Jr/NPPA IMAGES)

to a fight. Weeks after, the undefeated American said he too wants the mega-fight to happen and suggested May 2 as the date.

There were rumors that Mayweather was siding towards a rematch against Miguel Cotto instead of fighting Pacquiao but the Puerto Rican’s camp denied that they have received any offers.

ITH a disappointing performance so far in the ongoing UAAP Women’s Volleyball Tourament, the National University Lady Bulldogs have reportedly replaced head coach Dante Dela Cruz and tapped the services of veteran coach Roger Gorayeb, the former head coach of the Ateneo Lady Eagles and the current head coach of the San Sebastian Lady Stag in the NCAA. The move was first announced on Twitter on Monday mid-afternoon.

During his five-year stint (2008-2013) in the UAAP with Ateneo, Gorayeb, also the current athletic moderator of San Sebastian College, piloted the Lady Eagles to back-to-back Finals appearances in Seasons 74 and 75. Gorayeb was also the predecessor of current Ateneo head

coach Tai Bundit.

Moreover, Gorayeb was also known as the mentor of Ateneo’s “Fab Five” of Fille Cainglet Cayetano, Gretchen Ho, Dzi Gervacio, Jam Ferrer and Aillysse Nacachi.

After manning the helm at Ateneo until 2013, Gorayeb went back to San Sebastian College, his alma mater, to focus on its volleyball team.

In addition, Gorayeb also served as the head coach of the PH Women’s Volleyball team during the 2014 FIVB Women’s World Championship Qualification held in Khe Sanh, Vietnam. He also called the shots for PLDT in the Shakey’s V-League last year.

Currently at sixth place and with a dismal 2-3 record, the Lady Bulldogs will be squaring off against the UST Golden Tigresses this coming January 7 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

16 EDGEDAVAO Sports

VOL. 7 ISSUE 208 • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015

Another Haro comes along

By NEILWIN JOSEPH L. BRAVO

R

EMEMBER the tennis-playing Haro sisters?

Early in 2000, Joyce and Jessica used to rule the tennis courts, not just in the region but in the entire country as well, with consistency much like the vaunted Williams sisters.

Both are no longer active in competitions but they have not left tennis entirely. Joyce

has become a teaching pro and younger sister Jessica a teacher.

While Joyce hits balls to train tennis aspirants, Jessica hits balls these days with a special student—one on one.

She has in fact signed herself up as personal coach of this young boy.

Lucky lad, he must be.

The kid’s name is Kurt Jer-

MOTHER-SON TANDEM. Former top-ranked age group tennis campaigner Jesicah Haro with son Kurt Jerick.

ick and his family name rings a bell—Haro. Yes, Kurt Jerick, don’t call him by his initials (KJ), is Jessica’s 11-year old son.

If you think Jerick is made to be a tennis player, think again. He did not wield a racquet until he was eight—by tennis standards, a not so very early age to hit balls if you have the DNA of a champion.

But Jessica swears he did not impose tens on Jerick.

“He just picked it up one day and we went to the court,” said Jessica.

Jerick started learning tennis at a summer camp in 2013.

“That was his first lesson and he said he liked it,” she told Edge Davao.

After a year, Jerick started joining age group tournaments in Davao City. His biggest achievement so far is when he advanced to the finals of the qualifying tournament for the 2015 Davao Regional Athletic Association (DAVRAA) meet where he placed runner-up in boys singles, losing only to John David Velez.

Not bad if you know who Velez is. He is just the reigning no.1 junior netter in the under 12 category in the entire Philippines.

“Kulang pa po sa exposure

pero at least progressing naman po,” said Jessica.

Jerick has not won a boys title yet but he has consistently reached quarterfinals in his age group.

“Baguhan pa po talaga siya kaya hanggang quarterfinals pa lang inaabot niya,” said Jessica who is patiently working on her son with a regular training regimen.

The mother-son tandem are high o n their prepar a tions for the 2015 DAVRAA meet set in Mati, Davao Oriental next month.

Jessica is excited to return to Mati City where she has won several titles in the past as an age group campaigner along with sister Joyce. However, this time she will relegate herself to the sidelines blurting out instructions and cheering his son on.

She now takes a backseat as another Haro comes along.

THE SON RISES. Kurt Jerick Haro hits the ball during training.