Edge Davao 7 Issue 234

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VOL. 7 ISSUE 234 • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015

EDGEDAVAO Serving a seamless society

LOVE IS IN THE AIR. An elderly couple, seemingly in a Valentine mood as they are wearing red, spend quality time in one of the concrete benches at Quezon Park in Davao City yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

19 COPS CHARGED

Sta. Cruz police charged over deadly grenade blast

By FUNNY PEARL A. GAJUNERA

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HARGES of grave misconduct have been filed against 19 personnel of the Sta. Cruz Municipal Police Station in Davao del Sur for failing to detect a grenade carried by an arrested suspect, resulting in an explosion that killed a retired police officer and ending with the suspect being shot dead.

Regional Internal Affairs Services (RIAS) 11 Chief Senior Superintendent Pedro Cabatingan said the 19 personnel, including station commander Chief Inspector Grace de Castro, violated

operational procedures when they arrested Reynaldo Salang on January 22.

The incident began when fellow passengers saw Salang carrying grenades as he alighted from a bus in Zone 4, Poblacion.

The police were alerted, resulting in a short chase that ended with Salang’s apprehension.

Police took four hand grenades, a .45 caliber pistol, and five live bullets from Salang’s possession.

Inside the police station, however, Salang told police he

still had two grenades that had not been detected.

Retired police officer David Bacon, who was a friend of Salang’s, tried to negotiate with the suspect but the latter exploded one of the grenades, killing Bacon and injuring retired police officer Noeh Casas, Senior Police Officer (PO)3 Rey Navarro, a certain PO3 Pantaleon, and a certain PO2 Taban.

A source told Edge Davao that two police officers, apparently afraid that Salang would reach for another grenade, shot the suspect dead.

It later turned out that Salang had no more grenades in his possession.

Yesterday, Cabatingan said RIAS 11 was “able to establish probable cause to charge the 19 personnel of Sta. Cruz Municipal Police Station for grave misconduct and other administrative cases.”

“We know that the suspect ( Salang) was placed under arrest but there was no thorough search, and it happened that the suspect managed to hide one of the grenades, and this was not

F19 COPS, 14

INSIDE EDGE

THE 5 C’S OF VALENTINES Indulge A1

2 THE BIG NEWS EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 7 ISSUE 234 • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015

MALL VALENTINE. A huge heart-shaped figure is the center of SM City Davao’s Valentine-themed welcome signage, attracting mall-goers to take Valentine selfies. Lean Daval Jr.

Cop to challenge failed drug test

By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

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abf@edgedavao.net

AVAO City Police Office (DCPO) spokesperson Senior Inspector Milgrace C. Driz yesterday said the police officer who failed a surprise drug test last Monday will challenge the result of his test.

Speaking in yesterday’s AFP-PNP Press Corps briefing at The Royal Mandaya Hotel, Driz said Senior Police Officer (SPO)1 Librado Nalzaro Jr. of the Mobile Patrol Group

was told to submit his drug test result to a Department of Health (DOH) laboratory in Manila for confirmatory examination.

Driz said this is part of the due process being extended to Nalzaro.

“The confirmatory test should be witnessed by the person from the crime laboratory here in Davao City who conducted the test,” she added.

Driz said Nalzaro can apparently afford the expenses since he will be the one to shoulder the airfare of the crime laboratory representative.

“If he can afford it, why not? The test needs to be proven if it is positive or negative,” she added.

Driz said Nalzaro was already relieved from his post and temporarily assigned at the DCPO Holding and Ac-

counting Office.

She earlier said Nalzaro was removed from the service in 2000 because of alleged involvement in illegal drugs but was reinstated in 2010 due to his appeal from the national office.

Driz said Nalzaro was appointed as a police officer in 1986 under the Police Constabulary-Institute of National Police (PC-INP).

For his part, Regional In-

ternal Affairs Service (RIAS) 11 regional director Senior Superintendent Pedro Cabatingan said if a police officer is found positive in a random drug test, he should undergo a second test for a second opinion.

“If it happens that in the second test he will be found negative, for the benefit of the doubt, he will not be charged. If he is positive again on the second test, he will be

subjected for a pre-charge investigation and evaluation process, which will then be elevated to the hearing proper,” Cabatingan said.

He said that a police officer found guilty of any criminal case stipulated in the Revised Penal Code or special laws will automatically face a case of grave misconduct which carries a maximum penalty of dismissal from the service.

ways, psychological or economical,” she said.

Librado-Yap said in many areas in Southern Mindanao, specifically in the countryside where there is heavy deployment of military troops, many women and children, especially Indigenous Peoples and peasants, have been victims of militarization, abuse, extrajudicial killings, threats, harassment, and intimidation.

To express opposition to violence against women, Librado-Yap urged the public to join the One Billion Rising (OBR) this February 14 at Rizal Park.

“We rise through dance to express joy and community and celebrate the fact that

we have not been defeated by this violence,” she said.

“We rise to show that we are determined to create a new kind of consciousness – one where violence will be resisted until it is unthinkable,” she added.

Librado-Yap said participation among the barangays, especially in the first district, is expected to be high this year as the campaign has been gathering support for two years.

She said last year around 5,000 participants joined the campaign and stood for a society where women are not abused and exploited.

“In this campaign for justice, we made visible, volatile and impacting connections between

violence against women and economic, environmental, racial, gender injustice. We formed new and hopefully lasting coalitions between groups and individuals not only between existing groups and individuals, not only within the women’s movement but also between people’s movements covering diverse sectors,” she said.

OBR is a global campaign against violence to women which was launched over hundred countries.

Participants from all walks of life, particularly women will stage a dance to give attention to women, students and the injustice against disaster victims.

Armando B. Fenequito Jr.

MILF presence ‘not Strengthen campaign vs VAW: Librado-Yap a threat in Region 11’

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HE Eastern Mindanao Command (EastMinCom) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) gave assurance that the presence of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Davao Oriental is not a security threat in Region 11.

EastMinCom acting public information officer Major Ezra Balagtey told Edge Davao yesterday that the MILF members in the province are not combatants but are regular members who are also natives of Davao Oriental.

“These members of the MILF do not want any fight and they are being engaged by the local government of Davao Oriental,” Balagtey said.

Davao Oriental Police

Provincial Office (DOPPO) provincial director Senior Superintendent Jose Carumba had earlier said the police are monitoring the activities of the MILF in the province following the deadly January 25 incident.

Carumba said MILF members are present in the province particularly in the town of Tarragona, but the DOPPO does not consider them a security threat since the peace process is still ongoing.

Carumba also said the DOPPO is coordinating with the MILF commanders and vowed to help them monitor security threats in Davao Oriental. Armando B. Fenequito Jr.

D

AVAO City Councilor Leah A. Librado-Yap asked the local government to strengthen the campaign against violence against women.

In an interview, LibradoYap said the women of Davao City are not exempt from violence despite the gender programs of the city.

“Base sa atong statistics kung diha lang pagutanon sa akong opisina, naa gyud kada-adlaw, minimum gyud na tulo hangtod lima, mo reklamo na gikulata sila or gi abuso sila (Based on the statistics or even if we just look in my office’s data, every day at least three to five women report that they were battered or are being abused) in other

VOL. 7 ISSUE 234 • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015

NEWS

EDGEDAVAO

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CHED to put up research resource center in Tagum

By CHENEEN R. CAPON crc@edgedavao.net

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CHALLENGE. Davao City Police Office (DCPO) spokesperson Senior Inspector Milgrace C. Driz tells reporters that Senior Police Officer (SPO)1 Librado Nalzaro Jr., the police officer who failed a surprise drug test last Monday,

will challenge the result of his test through a confirmatory examination in Manila. Driz was a guest in yesterday’s AFP-PNP Press Corps briefing at The Royal Mandaya Hotel. Lean Daval Jr.

DOH confirms MERSCoV case

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HE Department of Health (DOH) confirmed Wednesday that it is currently treating a patient with MERS-CoV (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus) admitted at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Alabang, Muntinlupa.

“Three confirmatory testing which yielded positive result was done on the 32-year-old nurse who came from Saudi Arabia from Saudia Plight 860 last February 1,” said DOH Undersecretary Nemesio T. Gako during a briefing at the DOH Media Relations Unit (MRU) in Tayuman, Manila.

Gako, who relayed the statement of DOH Acting Secretary Janette Garin who is currently out of the country, said the patient, along with her husband who had the closest contact, are undergoing observation as part of the protocols on contact tracing.

Gako added that other family members will also be placed under observation to ensure that the virus will not spread. He assured that DOH health care facilities designed for emerging diseases are in place or ready to extend treatment.

“The patient is currently confined in a negative pressure room of RITM where she is being treated and sub-

ject for daily observation and monitoring,” DOH spokesperson Dr. Lyndon Lee-Suy added.

Dr. Lee Suy said the patient was asymptomatic and did not shown signs or symptoms of MERSCoV upon arrival. He said the thermal scanner at the airport did not detect any signs of fever that could manifest in a MERSCoV patient.

Lee Suy added that a day after arrival at their residence, the patient (nurse) noticed she was exhibiting flu-like symptoms similar to MERSCoV so she immediately went for a check-up and treatment from a private hospital which then recommended her to undergo confirmatory test at RITM. On Feb. 10, test results revealed that she is positive with MERS-CoV. The DOH assured the patient is being given the utmost care and currently under stable condition but will stay at the facility until such time that she will be declared negative from MERS-CoV. He said the DOH is currently starting its contact tracing of other passengers from the Saudia 860 flight with around 225 passengers.

The agency is now appealing to other plane passengers to voluntarily seek consultation and testing if they notice exhibiting symp-

toms of MERSCoV. “While we are saying that the possibility of other passengers on the plane being infected is low, still we recommend them to seek testing,” Lee Suy said.

Meanwhile, Gako said the testing will prioritize those passengers seated near the patient.

He said the testing will be conducted in RITM which is known for its capability in treating emerging infectious diseases.

Gako further appealed to the public to stay calm and refrain from panicking as he assured the readiness of the hospitals in treating MERSCoV cases.

During the briefing, World Health Organization (WHO) country representative Dr. Julie Hall said that they will be sending the patient’s sample to a WHO collaborating laboratory in Hong Kong for “additional confirmation,” which is part of the international protocol for MERS-CoV. The first case of MERSCoV was recorded in Saudi Arabia in 2012.

Some of its common symptoms are fever, cough, and shortness of breath.

It may take 14 days upon exposure to a patient with MERSCoV to develop the symptoms. (PNA)

HE Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Region 11 will establish this year a resource center in Tagum City where research and development studies from all colleges and universities in the region will be placed and will be made available to the public.

“CHED 11 will seal a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the provincial government of Davao del Norte for the housing of all researches in the region in the Tagum City Provincial Library,” CHED 11 regional director Raul C. Alvarez Jr. told Edge Davao in an interview at San Pedro College (SPC) last Tuesday.

Alvarez said establishing the resource center will give better access to research studies made by students taking undergraduate and graduate studies in all higher education institutions (HEIs) in Davao Region.

At present, researches

are housed in school libraries, limiting the access of government agencies, non-government organizations, and advocacy groups to research studies that might help them in crafting developmental programs and plans for the society.

Alvarez said more than 2,000 research studies from HEIs in Davao Region will be housed by the resource center, which will be located at the provincial library of Davao del Norte in Tagum City.

“Even though the center will be located the provincial library of Davao del Norte, it will be for the whole Davao Region,” he said.

Alvarez also said research and development studies of students from colleges and universities in Region 12 will be included in the center.

“Most of the copies will be in hard copy, but we will also provide soft copies that

FCHED, 14

4 NEWS

EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 7 ISSUE 234 • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015

SIDEWALK PARKING? Pedestrians walk past a vehicle that had been parked by its owner at a sidewalk along E. Quirino Avenue in Davao City yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

Wounded SAF men finished off: Espina

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EARS rolled down as Philippine National Police (PNP) officer-in-charge Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina recounted the medico legal report during Wednesday’s joint hearing of House committee on Public Order and Safety; and Peace, Unification and Unity.

Espina, who was forced to stop as he tried to control his emotions, said he had

sleepless nights after learning from the medico legal report that one of his men, who was slightly wounded, was shot at close range.

“This is overkill,” Espina told the joint panel investigating the death of 44 Special Action Force (SAF) members in Mamasapano on Jan. 25.

Espina recounted how he found out that members of the SAF involved in the

Maranaos donate money for MILF ‘martyrs’

A

T first, the money came in trickles. Coins, P20 bills, then P50 bills.

Then as suddenly as it started, everyone was throwing bills of P100, P500, and even P1,000 to the striped blue, green, and white tarpaulin laid on the ground of Plaza Cabili in Banggolo in the heart of downtown Marawi.

As a group of women hurriedly counted the money, cries of “Allahu Akbar” rang through out the park by hundreds of young boys, girls and residents who have trooped to the plaza to participate in the Bangsamoro Nation-

al Day of Mourning rally on Tuesday.

“They are our Shaheed (martyrs). They died for us and the Bangsamoro,” rally organizer Achmad Lao said of the 18 Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters and four civilians who died in the Mamasapano clash, wherein 44 Philippine National Police Special Action Force (PNP-SAF) troopers also died.

Lao said they collected P50,000 and several thousands more in pledges during the three-hour rally.

He said a similar fund

FMARANAOS, 14

Mamasapano clash were alive and without fatal injuries when shot in the head by enemy forces.

He said the junior officers were only wounded in the leg but “enemies of the state” approached and two more shots were fired, hitting the policemen in the head.

“The shots were fatal.

Buhay na buhay pa ang mga tao ko (My men were still

very much alive),” Espina said before the House investigation on the incident.

He added that medico legal findings showed that at least two officers were shot at close range.

Sacked SAF chief Police Director Getulio Napeñas, who was also in tears, immediately stood up and approached his immediate superior and hugged Espina to calm him down. (PNA)

Ph protests China land reclamation

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HE Philippines has protested Chinese land reclamation at a disputed reef in the South China Sea, saying it violates Manila’s exclusive economic zone.

Foreign Affairs Department spokesman Charles Jose said Tuesday a diplomatic protest was handed to a Chinese Embassy representative on Feb. 4 urging Beijing to stop the land reclamation at Panganiban Reef, also called Mischief Reef.

China occupied the reef in 1995, and later expanded

stilt structures into a concrete building several stories high.

The Philippines protested both moves at the time.

Jose said it appears China is constructing an artificial island at the reef.

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea, resource-rich waters where the Philippines and other neighboring nations also have claims.

Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines have separately protested Chinese land recla-

positions. You’ve got the likes of, for instance, Chairman Grace Tan, who has established a very sterling reputation. So, you would like to have someone who has the same level of integrity and reputation as Chairman Grace Tan,” he explained.

“Because this is a public position, certainly, we are looking at everyone who is qualified, so the bottom line is we are looking at a person who will lead the commissions in a manner that have

been left behind by those who led them previously,” he added.

Regarding the case of Department of Health Acting Secretary Janette Garin, Lacierda said there is no decision yet if she will be appointed as chief.

“We will just wait for the official announcement. Wala pang final word and we cannot make any statement other than what would be official and conveyed to us,” he said.

(PNA)

FPH, 14

Palace still looking for right people to head Comelec, COA, CSC

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ALACAÑANG is still looking for the right people to replace the heads of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), Commision on Audit (COA), and Civil Service Commission (CSC), Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said Wednesday.

“Pinag-aaralan ‘yung mga appointments – kung sino ang papalit doon. These are very sensitive positions. As you know, we are looking at the heads of independent consti-

tutional commissions. So, we are looking for the right people for the job,“ Lacierda said during the daily press briefing.

Last week, Comelec chairman Sixto Brillantes retired after his seven-year term ended while COA chair Grace Pulido Tan and CSC Commissioner Francisco Duque III have both resigned.

Lacierda said it will take time to fill up the vacant posts.

“It certainly will take time to find the right people who just vacated these important

5 ECONOMY

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 7 ISSUE 234 • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015

VDFS 2015 drawing more restaurants

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

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crc@edgedavao.net

OURISTS will have a longer list of dining clusters and restaurants to try as more restaurants are expected to join the pack of establishments that will offer special discounts during the Visit Davao Fun Sale (VDFS) from April 3 to May 17.

The VDFS has a dining component with Restaurant Owners Association of Davao headed by Benjie Lizada taking the lead in sprucing up different dining clusters from north to south of Davao.

“Among new participants were Vikings, White House and the rows of restaurants along Sandawa like Yellow Fin, amongothers,”Lizada told Edge Davao Wednesday.

Lizada said not only home-grown restaurants are interested to take part in the city-wide sale, which is bigger than last year because the participation of the whole tourism industry in Davao City, but also restaurants coming from Manila.

Earlier, Lizada said the association has listed an initial of 106 restaurants from North to South of Davao City grouped into 12 clusters that will participate the eight week fun sale.

The 12 clusters are Matina Town Square, Damosa Gateway, Phoenix Mega Station,

The Peak of GMall of Davao, Lanang Business Park, Bricklane and Obrero, Victoria Plaza Carpark, Rizal Street, Torres Street, Roxas Street (with Aldevinco Souvenir Center), Eden Nature Park area, and Calinan area (Malagos Mountain Resort and Philippine Eagle Center).

Discounts and freebies can be presented by presenting VDFS passports that are available in designated booths in participating malls, partner hotels and in the airport.

The agency said it will also launch a smartphone application version of the passport, which can be downloaded for free.

Lizada said these restaurants will offer a minimum of 20 percent discount on a minimum of a single item on their respective menus per day.

However, SM Lanang Premier’s Vikings will offer up to 25 percent discount to a group of four diners who will be able to present a VDFS passport.

“Vikings is offering one passport holder free for every group of four, so effectively 25 percent yun,” Lizada said.

The 2015 VDFS is an offshoot of the Big Davao Fun Sale (BDFS). This year’s fun sale is a collaborative effort between the Davao City Tour-

FVDFS, 14 BUSY SEASON. A florist gets busy arranging flowers in preparation for the influx of people who will buy flowers for loved ones for Valentine’s Day. Lean Daval Jr.

6 THE ECONOMY

EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 7 ISSUE 234 • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015

DCCCII okays Davao ICON revival

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HE DAVAO CITY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, INC. will revive this year the Davao Investment Conference believed to be highly successful when it was held successively in 2011 and 2012, during the watch of Dr. Ma. Lourdes G. Monteverde as DCCCI president and Sebastian L. Angliongto as chairman of the chamber board of trustees.

This was learned from current DCCCII president Antonio dela Cruz, who told Edge Davao that he has appointed Lim to be the conference director of the ICON. Lim is a past president of the chamber and is now on his second term as executive vice president. He was once involved in the staging of the Davao Agriculture and Trade Exposition (DATE), Mindanao’s biggest expo

and a flagship project of the chamber.

Upon request of Lim, Angliongto will now be an adviser for the Davao ICON 2015. Angliongto said he supports the revival of the ICON as it has been proven to be not only a financial success in 2011 and 2012, it has also helped Davao City, the Davao Region and even Mindanao strengthen their positions as tourist and investment destinations.

Lim said the ICON is tentatively scheduled in July in time with the observance of the MSMED (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development) Week.

To start the ball rolling, Chairman John Gaisano Jr. called for an initial organizational meeting for Davao ICON last week. The meeting was attended by Lim, Gaisano, chamber executive

DAVAO ICON REVIVAL. Officers of the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (DCCCII) hold an organization meeting for the revival of the successful Davao Investment Conference (Davao ICON). In photo are DCCCII vice president for industry Wilfred “Evoy” Teves, DCCCII professional

management team (PMT) industry lead RC Mae Gonzales, DCCCII executive director Marie Antonette Doromal, DCCCII Chairman John Gaisano Jr. and Davao City Investment Promotion Center (DCIPC) chief Ivan Cortez. (Contributed)

director Marie Antonette Doromal, RC Mae Gonzales, chamber Professional Management Team Industry

lead; Kristine Jane Maghuyop, PMT Agribusiness lead, and Ivan Cortez, head of the Davao City Investment Pro-

motion Center.

Cortez represents the Davao City Investment Board headed by Mayor

cacao seedlings to farmers in Mindanao this year.

During the Cacao Inter-Agency and Stakeholders Convergence last year, Turtur said Mindanao has the potential to increase its cacao production and become a major cacao producer five years from now if both stakeholders will exert effort for the development of the cacao industry.

At present, Mindanao is already a major player in the Philippine’s cacao industry but its production still falls short to domestic demand.

Turtur noted that the country’s contribution to the global market is only less than one percent.

In 2014, it was recorded that Mindanao contributed

90 percent of the Philippines’ 4,800 MT total production, with Davao Region contributing 77 percent, followed by followed by Northern Mindanao with 12 percent, Caraga Region with five percent, Zamboanga Peninsula and Eastern Visayas with 3 percent each.

For this year, the cacao industry sees a national production of 19,600 MT, most of which will come from Davao Region with a total of 13,700 MT. However, Turtur said this year’s projected total cacao production is still not significant compared to other cacao-producing countries like those in West Africa.

The Mindanao 2020 project of the cacao industry

stakeholders and government will help in increasing the cacao production of Mindanao five years from now, according to him.

Under the program, Philippines’ total cacao production is targeted to reach up to 100,000 metric tons (MT) by 2020.

To meet the demand, farmers will have to plant 50 million trees, covering a huge area of at least 100,000 hectares.

Aside from Cidami and MinDA, the Department of Agriculture (DA) andPCA, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is also targeting to plant cacao seedlings in 62,500 hectares.

as loans likewise increased by 17% to P194 billion. These resulted in the Bank’s total assets increasing by 14% to P397 billion by the end of 2014. Shareholders’ capital increased by 15% to P 47 billion. The loan-to-deposit ratio was 78%.

Asset quality remained firm and healthy with net non-performing loans (NPL) ratio at 0.28% -- among the lowest in the Philippine banking industry. NPL reserve cover stood at 200% as of December 31, 2014, likewise among the highest in the industry.

Despite the challenges of margin compression, net inter-

est income increased by 33% year-on-year to P11.2 billion.

Net interest margin (NIM) was 3.4%. Core revenues – comprised of net interest income, fee-based income, and trading gains attributable to customer flows – grew by 26% to Php 13.6 billion. Fee-based income was P1.7 billion, 8% higher versus previous year. Over-all trading gains were at P3.6 billion.

Security Bank’s total operating income increased by 36% year-on-year to P16.8 billion. Operating expense growth (excluding provision for probable credit losses and impairments) was 17% due to investments in people, branches, re-branding and retail bank transformation. The cost-to-income ratio was 47%.

During the year, Security Bank launched its Better Banking re-branding initiatives in conjunction with its retail bank transformation.

The bank opened 12 new branches in Metro Manila and key cities in the provinces which increased total network to 256 branches as of December 31, 2014, including 39 branches of thrift bank subsidiary Security Bank Savings; launched the operating lease business through SB Rental Corporation, wholly owned subsidiary of SB Capital; and entered into banc assurance partnership with FWD Life, which was subsequently approved by BSP in January 2015. In October 2014, Standard & Poor’s assigned to Security Bank a credit rating of BB+.

On January 27, 2015, Security Bank completed its inaugural offshore issuance of USD 300 million senior unsecured notes, oversubscribed almost 6 times. The proceeds will be used to extend term liabilities and expand the foreign curren-

Cidami, MinDA to revitalize cacao industry

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

T

crc@edgedavao.net

HE Cacao Industry Development Association in Mindanao (Cidami) is joining hands with the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) in revitalizing the cacao industry by planting cacao seedlings to over 50 hectares in Mindanao this year.

Cidami executive director Valente Turtur told Edge Davaop yesterday that cacao seedlings will be intercropped with coconut trees in areas identified by Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA).

Turtur, however, did not specify an area in Mindanao that will be planted with cacao seedlings.

Instead, he said that Cidami and MinDA will be distributing a total of 20 million

Security Bank ‘14 net income up 43% to P7.2B for 16.3% ROE

S

ECURITY Bank Corporation (PSE: SECB) achieved P 7.2 billion in net income in 2014, representing 43% year-on-year increase resulting to a 16.3% return on shareholders’ equity (ROE).

Deposits rose by 20% year-on-year to P247 billion

Villarosa

FSECURITY, 14

Rodrigo Duterte, which has been extending financial and material support to the holding of Davao ICON. AMA

Surigao City faces fish supply shortage

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ISH vendors and consumers here are now facing the dilemma over the enforcement of the city ordinance prohibiting the sale of any kind of fish beyond the price ceiling of P280 per kilo.

Due to the implementation, common fishermen and fish brokers are selling their fish supplies to other areas outside Surigao City.

Albert Lustiva, supervisor of the Surigao City Public Market, said all 166 fish vendors and the consumers in the city are now affected by the enforcement of the ordinance.

“Fishermen and fish brokers do not deliver their yield to the city because they would be forced to sell at lower price,” he said.

Lustiva said there was no fish being delivered at the fish landing area since Tuesday last week.

The enforcement by the city ordinance took effect after the public expressed their sentiments on the high prices of marine products in the public market despite the huge drop of prices of petroleum products.

City ordinance number 399, which was passed and approved in 2012, regulates the distribution and sale of marine products in the city.

The ordinance said fish sold in the market must not exceed P280 per kilo.

Prior to its implementation last week, some “first class” fish – like sail fish locally known as “liplipan,” blue marlin, bariles, tangigue, langog, among others – were usually selling between P300 and P400 a kilo.

This irked the consumers and expressed outrage.

City Councilor Baltazar Abian told MindaNews that the problem is not the fishermen and the fish vendors.

“The fish brokers are to blame for the high prices of marine products,” he pointed out.

Abian said fishermen in the neighboring islands usually sell their fish from P100 to P120 a kilo. Then a series of fish brokers buy the fish, and by the time these reach the market, they now cost P300 or more.

Abian said they are studying how to eliminate the fish brokers, whom he accused of profiting exorbitantly, to bring the price of fish down.

Some fish vendors, like Lawrence Deserto, are forced to get fish supplies from General Santos City.

This reporter visited the market last Sunday and saw fewer than usual fish being sold.

“This is the first time that there’s this few fish being sold here,” Deserto said. (Roel N. Catoto/MindaNews)

7 CULTURE&ARTS

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 7 ISSUE 234 • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015

The wonders of love letters

By HENRYLITO D. TACIO

“

IF you must reread old love letters, better pick a room without mirrors.” – Mignon McLaughlin in “The Second Neurotic’s Notebook” (1966) *** Shortly before Senator Benigno Aquino was gunned down at the Manila International Airport on August 21, 1983, he penned this love letter to his wife, Corazon (whom he called as “my beloved Cory”): “In a few hours I shall be embarking on an uncertain fate, which may well be the end of a long struggle.

I slept well last night for the first time since I left Boston — maybe because I’m just plain tired or I’m really at peace with myself. I want to tell you many things but time is running out and I do not have any machine. After a few more paragraphs, my penmanship will be illegible.

“All the things I want to tell you may be capsulized in one line – I love you! You’ve stood by me in my most trying moments and there were times I was very hard on you.

But if anyone will ever understand me, it is you, and I know you will always find it in your heart to forgive — and unfair and ironic as it is — it is because of this thought and belief that I often took you for granted.

“Early on I knew I was not meant to make money — so I won’t be able to leave anything to the children. I did what I thought I could do best, which is public service, and I hope our people in time will appreciate my sacrifices. This would be my legacy to the children. I may not bequeath them material wealth but I leave them a tradition which can be priceless.

“I realize I’ve been very stingy with praise and appreciation for all your efforts — but though unsaid — you know that as far I’m concerned, you are the best.

That’s why we’ve lasted this long. There will only be one thing in the world I will never accept — that you love me more than I love you — because my love for you though unarticulated will never be equaled.

“If all goes well I should be back in my cell before sundown. Should I be detained do not rush to get home. Take your time and enjoy a side trip to Europe with the girls.”

Ninoy (the senator’s nickname) ended his love letter with those note: “I’ll try to call you tonight if the authorities will allow me. Otherwise just remember me in your dreams.”

Today’s generation may consider love letters these days as so “baduy” and out of vogue. After all, you can always say what you want to your special someone through text messages, phone calls, facebook account, electronic mails, and even twitter. And you can do that in a matter of seconds.

A love letter is a romantic way to express feelings of love in written form. Generally, it may be anything from a short and simple message of love to a lengthy explanation of feelings. Love letters may “move through the widest range of emotions – devotion, disappointment, grief and indignation, self-confidence,

Examples of love letters (Photos from the net)

ambition, impatience, self-reproach and resignation.”

Some stationery companies produce paper and envelopes specifically for love letters. Some of these are scented – “ground up lavender...a whole new sensory experience in letter reading” – though most people prefer to spray them with their own perfume. This emphasizes, in the receiver’s mind, the physical connection that occurred between them in this form of communication and thus may strengthen the overall impact of the letter.

“The love letter is probably almost as old as written civilization itself,” Wikipedia says. Examples from Ancient Egypt range from the most formal to the down-to-earth: “let me bathe in thy presence, that I may let thee see my beauty in my tunic of finest linen, when it is wet.”

The Middle Ages saw the formal development of the art of the love letter, from opening to close. For salutations, the scale in love letters is nicely graded from “To the noble and discreet lady P., adorned with every elegance greeting” to the lyrical fervors of “Half of my soul and light of my eyes...greeting, and that delight which is beyond all word and deed to express.”

A s with any l e t t e r, a love letter could be written in any structure or style.

One historically popular method is as a sonnet

or other form of poem. The sonnets of British playwright William Shakespeare are often cited as good examples of how to write emotional themes.

Structure and suggestions of love letters have formed the subject of many published books, such as the anthology “Love Letters of Great Men.” After reading hundreds of love letters for her collection “The Book of Love,” Cathy N. Davidson confesses, “The more titles I read, the less I was able to generalize about female versus male ways of loving or expressing that love.”

In a love letter (dated December 5, 1893) written to Sophia Hawthorne, Nathaniel Hawthorne poured out his feelings: “I wish I had the gift of making rhymes, for methinks there is poetry in my head and heart since I have been in love with you.”

Nathaniel compared Sophia to a poem: not an epic (“Mercy on me, no!”) nor a sonnet (“that is too labored and artificial”). He wrote: “You are a sort of sweet, simple, gay, pathetic ballad, which Nature is singing, sometimes with tears, sometimes with smiles, and sometimes with intermingled smiles and tears.”

Love letters are always worth re-reading. Take, for instance, this letter written

by Byron Caldwell Smith to Kate Stephens: “(M)y eyes moistened yesterday with your dear, dear letter in my hand. Was it foolish to kiss the senseless paper, to clasp it with the involuntary laugh of uncontrollable emotion?

Don’t you think one could go mad of pure longing?”

In 2011, Joseph Lariosa of GMA News Online reported that our national hero Jose Rizal’s 100 love letters and poems have inspired a Filipino-American group in Chicago to stage a musical play titled, “Sweet Stranger: Untold Stories of Mrs. Jose Rizal.”

The play reportedly focused on Rizal’s relationships

with different women. According to excerpts from the book, “Filipinos in History (Volume 1),” a publication of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP), Rizal was linked to Gertrude Beckett, Susanne Jacoby of Belgium, O Sei-san of Japan, Nellie Bousted of France, Consuelo Ortega of Madrid, Leonora Valenzuela of Intramuros, Leonor Rivera of Tarlac and Segundina Katigbak of Batangas. The woman he married, however, was Josephine Bracken, an Irish woman, whom he lived with during his exile in Dapitan.

Like true lovers, the two exchanged love letters. In her letter of August 13, 1896, she wrote to her beloved, “Love, I will love you ever, love, I will leave thee never, ever to me precious to thee, never to part, heart bound to heart, or never to say goodbye.” If you have seen the movie “Rizal sa Dapitan,” that was the letter quoted.

Why write love letters?

Because through love letters, you get to know the real feelings of the person to whoever caught his fancy. In addition, love letters may mean good investment.

For instance, a collection of letters sent by Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger to his secret lover in the summer of 1969 sold for around $300,000 at a London auction recently, according to a news report. It said: “Purchased by a private collector over the telephone, the letters sold for £187,250 (about $301,000 or 231,000 euros) at a Sotheby’s auction.”

The letters were written to then 23-year-old American singer Marsha Hunt (she starred in the original London cast of hit musical “Hair” and was the poster girl of the “Black is Beautiful”), while Jagger was filming the movie “Ned Kelly” in Australia. The letters were presented as a window into a different side of the rock-and-roll legend.

“We are delighted with the result of today’s sale which reflects the great significance of these letters, written at such a vivid moment in social and musical history,” Sotheby’s books specialist Gabriel Heaton was quoted as saying.

“There has been enormous international interest in the letters, which depict Mick Jagger, not as the global superstar he is today, but reveal him as a poetic and self-aware 25-yearold with wide-ranging intellectual and artistic interests.”

Finally, here’s a story of a love letter that seems to come out straight from a movie.

But unlike in the 2001 film “Amelie,” this decades-old love letter is for real. This story has never been told until on March 31, 1952, Dick Hauck sent a love letter to his future wife, Arlene. The couple had written endlessly nearly on a daily basis while Dick was serving in the U.S. Army. It so happened that this particular letter, wherein Dick formally proposed marriage to Arlene, never reached its final destination until it was found.

Arlene Hauch told a television network that she had a box of letters from him. While contract workers were renovating Arlene’s childhood home, they found Dick’s letter and gave the letter to the couple who are both still alive and married to each other, nearly 60 years after Dick first proposed.

The lost letter brought back memories. He was only 21 years old at the time he wrote the letter. In that letter he described the wedding ring he had bought for Arlene. The woman still wears the ring up to this date. “I got your ring today, I sure hope you will like it,” the letter reads. “I wish I could have gotten it long ago darling.”

Ah, the wonders of love letters. “There must be millions of people all over the world who never get any love letters,” Charlie Brown said. “I could be their leader.”

8

EDGEDAVAO

VANTAGE

EDITORIAL

VOL. 7 ISSUE 234 • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015

Rogue cop

Y

ESTERDAY’S local headlines indicated how incensed Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte was over the fact that a member of the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) tested positive during a surprise drug test initiated by DCPO Director Vicente Danao Jr. last Monday.

The mayor was quoted to have asked the subject police officer to resign now and not wait to be butchered, or words to that effect.

The erring cop was identified as one Senior Police Officer (SPO)1 Librado Nalzaro Jr. of the Mobile Patrol Unit.

Nalzaro tested positive for shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride). This was not the first time Nalzaro got himself into trouble because of illegal drugs. He was removed from the service 15 years ago (2000) also due to involvement in illicit drugs but was reinstated in 2010 after appealing his case before the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Manila.

The anger of Mayor Rody is understandable. All his life

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as government official – starting as a city prosecutor up the time he became vice mayor for a short time, mayor for several terms, and briefly as member of Congress – has been dedicated to the campaign against drug abuse.

All that is lost to Nalzaro who had been police officer since 1986, about the time Duterte was appointed OIC vice mayor, which signaled the start of his long service as local government unit (LGU) officer whose passion against illegal drugs is widely known even outside the Davao Region.

In a way, the erring officer’s deep involvement in illegal drugs was an insult to Duterte.

Unlike the other members of the national police like the 44 fallen Special Action Force (SAF) commandos in the Mamasapano massacre, and the town police chief and his deputy in a town of Bukidnon who sacrificed their lives in the service of their country, here was the incorrigible Nalzaro insisting in his self-destructive drug dependence.

How undeserving can he get!

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VOL. 7 ISSUE 234 • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015

Love is stranger than fiction

WELL-KNOWN American physician has listed several emotions which produce disease in human beings. Heading the list is fear, followed by frustration, rage, resentment, hatred, jealousy, envy, self-centeredness, and ambition.

The one and only antidote that can save people from these, he says, is love.

As Carl Menninger puts it: “Love cures people – both the ones who give it and the one who receive it.” According to Frank Jones, love in tennis is nothing; but in life, love is everything. “When love is felt,” Jim Vanus points out, “the message is heard.”

But love, like truth, is stranger than fiction. Moses Mendelssohn, the grandfather of the noted German composer, was not handsome. He had a grotesque hunchback. One day, he visited a merchant in Hamburg, who had a lovely daughter named Frumtje. Moses felt hopelessly in love with her. But she was repulsed by his misshapen appearance.

When it came time for him to leave, Moses gathered his courage and climbed the stairs to her room to take one last opportunity to speak with her. After several attempts at conversation, Moses coyly asked, “Do you believe marriages are made in heaven?”

She answered affirmatively and asked him, “And do you?” He answered, “Yes, I do.” He went to explain: “You see, in heaven at the birth of each boy, the Lord announces which girl he will marry.

When I was born, my future bride was pointed out to me. Then, the Lord added, ‘But your wife will be humpbacked.’ Right then and there, I called out, ‘Oh, Lord, a humpbacked woman would be a tragedy. Please, Lord, give me the hump and let her be beautiful.’”

Then, Frumtje looked up into his eyes and was stirred by some deep memory. She reached out and gave Mendelssohn her hand and later became his devoted wife.

If that story doesn’t put you in the mood for loving, here’s another. Sir Thomas More, an Irish poet, married early in life a beautiful girl. Her beauty was such that no one looking at her could fail to take note of her flaming red hair and green eyes.

The two were very happy, experiencing the heights and probing the depths of their intimacy on every level.

At one time, Sir Thomas went to a distant place. It was at this time also that his lovely wife contracted the contracted the dreaded disease called smallpox – which left some scars in her face.

She was horrified seeing herself in the mirror. She was also fearful that Sir Thomas won’t love her anymore. She then decided to keep herself in her room and had heavy drapes fitted for the bedroom to block out all the rays of the sun.

When Sir Thomas returned home, he was informed by the household staff what happened to his wife. He went to their bedroom, came to the

B

door, opened it, entered, and be- THINK ON THESE! gan to move in the direction of the bed. She recognized his footsteps and said, “No, Thomas, come no nearer.

I have resolved that you will never see me again by the light of the day.” Sir Thomas Henrylito D. Tacio stopped, hesitated, and without henrytacio@gmail.com saying a word turned and left the room.

He descended and moved to the music room where he sat at the piano working on the words of a poem. Through the night he labored, until the early in the morning he folded the piece of paper, placed it in his vest, and returned to the stairs. He came to the door of the bedroom, pushed it open, and there in the hallway he read the poem: “Believe me, if all those endearing young charms, / Which I look on so fondly today, were to pass in a moment, / And flee from my arms like fairy dreams fading away, / Thou would’st still be adored, as this moment thou art. / Let thy loveliness fade as it will; / And around that dear visage each throb of my heart / Would entwine itself verdantly still.”

This one happened in the United States. Clarence took his girlfriend for a picnic at a nearby lake. He was typically dressed in a suit with a tight, high collar. She wore a long dress with about a dozen petticoats and carried a parasol. As Clarence rowed laboriously in the hot sun, his girlfriend relaxed beneath the shade of her parasol, looking sweet and feminine. As he rowed, he drank in the aroma of her perfume.

Despite the hot sun and the sweat on his face, Clarence became hypnotized by his girlfriend’s beauty as he watched her smile. They finally reached their destination, a small island in the center of the lake. Clarence dragged the boat onto the shore and then helped his girlfriend out of the boat.

After he placed their picnic beneath a shade tree, she started speaking to him in soft whispers. He loved her voice and listened intently. She whispered, “Honey, you forgot the ice cream.” “Ice cream,” muttered Clarence, finally remembering that they’d planned on ice cream for the dessert.

He got back into the boat and rowed to shore. He found a grocery store, bought the ice cream, and made his way back across the lake. He got out of the boat and trudged up to the shade of the tree.

She looked at the ice cream, batted long eyelashes

over her deep blue eyes and purred, “Honey, you forgot the chocolate syrup.”

Love makes people do strange things. So, Clarence got into the boat, rowed across the lake, went to the same grocery store, bought the chocolate syrup, returned to the boat, and began to row in the steaming, afternoon sun. He rowed about halfway across and stopped. He sat there for the rest of the afternoon thinking there must be a much better way. By the end of that hot, summer afternoon, Clarence Evinrude had invented the outboard motor!

Love is lovelier the second time around, so goes a saying. At the remarriage of Dorothy Parker and her ex-husband screenwriter Alan Campbell, someone remarked that most of the guests at the reception hadn’t spoken to one another in years, “including the bride and groom,” quipped Parker.

Actually, the Campbells had been divorced for three years after their first marriage, which lasted 14 years. Although the couple again separated, the second marriage lasted legally until Campbell’s death in 1963.

All is fair in love and war. But that’s not always the case. When Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman left her husband for 12 years for Italian director Roberto Rossellini, America was shocked. Cries of outrage were heard from Hollywood to Washington, D.C., where Senator Edwin C. Johnson delivered an impassioned speech over an hour long from the Senate floor. He called the actress “a freelove cultist,” “a powerful influence of evil” and “Hollywood’s apostle of degradation.” The birth of their son, Robertino, in February, 1950, brought new outcries of damnation.

Finally, here’s a love story that reached beyond death. In the 1780s, the life of a young man named Pierre Fragonard was going well. He had a thriving taxidermy and veterinary practice. But the thing most near and dear to him was his lovely fiancée, Elise.

Shortly before their wedding day, however, the girl died suddenly. Mad with despair, Pierre refused to surrender her body to the authorities and instead locked all the doors to his shop, threatening to kill anyone who entered.

For the next few days, Pierre worked frantically around the clock embalming and preserving the body of his beloved while at the same time he embalmed a horse. Today, the incredible “Horseman of Death” — as it is now called — can be viewed at the French Palace of Discovery. But while his statue of the lady and the horse lives on, Pierre has been lost in the pages of history.

Kahlil Gibran states: “Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself. Loves possesses not nor would it be possessed; for love is sufficient unto love.” And Karen Sunde assures, “To love is to receive a glimpse of heaven.”

no fisherfolk or MY TWO CENTS’ lumads claiming ancestral domains.

I wonder if Makati has a City Agriculture Office?

As Makati Mayor and MMDA Chair, Binay has never had to deal with NPA rebels or other John Tria insurgents, ecisouth@gmail.com and never felt the pressure to ensure stable food and water supply for his constituents. Davao, on the other hand, has 244,000 hectares in its territory, and almost 1.59 million residents compared to Makati’s halfmillion population in a dense 21 square kilometers or 2,157 hectares. Davao City is half the size and 3 times the population of Brunei Darussalam and a third the size of East Timor. It has the world’s largest Chinatown and is host to a kaleidoscope of cultures and faiths unseen in the rest of the country. It can feed, water and clothe itself with the coming 200 plus megawatts of power coming from hydroelectric power and other sources, and has a deep water port and an international airport with coming upgrades through which direct trade

with neighboring countries can take place. Davao is virtually a self-supporting country where almost a hundred Makatis can fit.

Having limited experience, Metro Manila mayors like Binay are relegated to ensuring proper garbage collection (a task which many even fail to achieve), street lighting and beautification, and free entertainment every election day, everything else that gives life to its constituents is up to MMDA and Malacañang.

Binay never had to deal with peace negotiations and release of captives from the hands of rebels. Duterte’s history, on the other hand, is filled with the successful negotiation of released captives. Score another for Digong.

Binay’s lack of any response on the Mamasapano incident shows us his limited experience in this important field. Of late, he and his children are busy defending themselves against alleged corruption in the Senate and in the media.

Sad to say, the Binay family and its history is shaping up as the major election issue in this country sadly stuck in personality politics and intrigue.

On this note, I recall John Kerry in the middle of 2004 US presidential election campaign when his experience, personality, fitness, and commitment to leadership was the focus of discussion that dragged down his poll numbers. George W. Bush, in spite of his lack of eloquence and the unpopular war in Iraq, regained poll numbers and eventually won over the favored Kerry by a small margin.

Kerry became the issue, and Kerry lost.

Comparing Binay and Duterte’s experience

OTH have been local chief executives for long, and have children in public office. Both began their political careers after EDSA ‘86, and both of them won their first elections in 1988.

Both served under five Presidents since, and both have led local governments. Both have never lost an election.

The comparison, however, ends there.

Duterte has the distinction of having served as a Congressman in the House of Representatives, while Binay has not one day of service in either the lower house or the Senate. Binay, however, served in the Aquino cabinet and was one time chairman of the Metro Manila Development Authority. On this note, Duterte surpasses Binay due to the former’s legislative experience.

A look at Binay’s Makati and Duterte’s Davao shows us a larger backdrop in comparing the two. Binay’s supposed success in Makati is clearly the result of having inherited it as the financial center of the country upon his assumption into office. He has just allowed it to continue. It cannot grow any further as a city. Duterte’s Davao, on the other hand, is a Southeast Asian success story almost similar to the rise of Singapore under Lee Kuan Yew. Both Davao and Singapore rose from violence and dirt into the clean and safe cities they are today.

Regarding current challenges, Makati sees no need to produce food or ensure steady water supply, and to my knowledge, has no rebel fronts, NPA kutas or other forms of insurgency. There are

VANTAGE POINTS

9

He who hesitates is lost EDGEWISE

BY JESUS QUITAIN

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HE SAF plans to get Marwan and Usman in Mamasapano had the usual safeguards 1. Exit and alternate escape routes, 2. Back up teams, 3. If the backup team is hit, bigger units fully briefed about the operation will come in. The SAF slaughter led some to compare it to the charge of the light brigade.

In 1854, Britain and France went to the war against Russia and landed in Crimea. The two nations had three cavalry forces, a French and two British brigades. On October 23,1854 British General Raglan ordered the 678 horsemen of the Earl of Cardigan’s British Light Brigade to charge the Russians.

Raglan, through negligence or incompetence, did not tell Cardigan, that there were Russians also on the left and right side of the valley. It was massacre: only 198 of the 678 broke through the encircling Russians.

Lord Tennyson, then Britain’s leading poet, read a London newspaper article about the carnage while on his work, and immediately wrote the tragic poem charge of the light Brigade.

As usual in a military bureaucracy, the soldiers grumbled but no one in the high command was shot, dismissed, or suspended although the British press and public’s outrage on the military ignorance/stupidity lasted for months.

Like Leonidas and the Spartans, the light Brigade was almost wiped out. Thus “not though the soldiers knew, someone had blundered “Ours is not to reason why, ours is but to do and die into the mouth of hell into the jaws of death. “When can their glory fade oh, the wild charge they made, honor the light Brigade, Noble six hundred.”

The theme of the poem does not apply to Mamasapano massacre. The top officers, the ground commanders, and the SAF attack team knew why they were there, what they should do, plus options if they ran into strong defense or ambush or counterattack.

All possibilities or options were completely discussed during the yearlong planning (2014-2015). All the top leaders had to do was choose from the available options and push the button so the ground commanders will do what they were told to do especially the support and backup units.

The question as to why for more than 10 hours, while the teams were calling for help and being slaughtered, the high chain of command did nothing will be answered nine ways because there are nine investigating bodies (some out to protect their own roles, some to white wash, some not to go deeper because it might open more cans of worms, some to appease/please/ obey outside influences).

Too many cooks will spoil the soup. Military hesitation and indecision sometimes cause very bad effects. Wake Island was a US airbase with 500 Marines. On December 8, 1941 Japan attacked all American bases. On December 10, it captured Guam. On December 11, its big landing forces were defeated in Wake Island. Marine Colonel Devereaux radioed Pearl Harbor for help. Admiral Pye sent a big aircraft carrier and powerful; cruisers to go to Wake. The US Navy could have destroyed Japan’s invasion fleet which has more transport that warships. However, while nearing to Wake, Admiral Pye ordered the fleet to return to Pearl. On December 23, Japan forces landed and captured Wake. The retreat was kept hidden until the war ended in 1945. Pye was removed and never given any command again. America’s fightingest admiral, Halsey, on learning about Wake, said “Before I wanted a smart officer, now I just want an officer who will fight.”

10 ICT HUB EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 7 ISSUE 234 • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015

China ex-premier’s daughter had $2.48M in HSBC account L

I Xiaolin, daughter of a former Chinese premier known for his support of the bloody military crackdown on the 1989 democracy movement, held as much as $2.48 million in a secret HSBC account in Switzerland, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has found.

The revelation, gleaned from a cache of leaked files that have been dubbed “Swiss Leaks,” adds to the list of families of Chinese senior politicians who amassed huge wealth in the past couple of decades and stashed some of it in overseas accounts that can help them avoid detection by authorities back home.

Li did not respond to requests by the ICIJ for comments. People who answered phones Tuesday at a stateowned utility where she is chairman declined to forward calls to her or give information about how to reach her.

Despite the Chinese Communist Party’s roots in socialism, party officials have lev-

LET HACKERS IN

eraged their power to place family and friends in key positions of major industries such as energy, communications and banking, providing tremendous payoffs in what critics say comes at the expense of improving lives of the working masses.

In 2012, Bloomberg reported that the relatives of Chinese President Xi Jinping held investments in companies with total assets of $376 million, an 18 percent indirect stake in a rare-earths company with $1.73 billion in assets, and a $20.2 million holding in a publicly traded technology company, although no assets were traced to Xi himself, his wife or their daughter.

Also in 2012, The New York Times reported that relatives of former Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao had controlled assets worth at least $2.7 billion.

Last year, the ICIJ found through leaked documents that children of Chinese senior officials, known as the

princelings or the Red Aristocracy, had stashed away wealth in offshore companies and accounts. Among them, Li Xiaolin was the director of two British Virgin Islands companies registered in 2005, according to the ICIJ. The ruling party’s own anti-corruption campaign launched by Xi after he took control of the party in late 2012 has uncovered numerous cases involving millions of dollars by party officials, their family members and associates. Allegedly corrupt cadres have been charged with taking bribes as well as using their positions to seek huge benefits for others.

Li Xiaolin, the only daughter of Li Peng, China’s premier between 1987 and 1998, is the chairwoman of the stateowned electricity giant China Power International Development Ltd. She is widely known among the Chinese public by the nickname “Power Queen.”

She has asserted that her family background has had

no bearing on her success.

Li had a reputation for expensive tastes in luxury clothes, though she has switched to more modest attire and has even been seen using a reusable shopping bag since Xi took office.

In 2013, The Telegraph reported that Li brokered secret deals to help Zurich Insurance gain a major stake in the private insurer New China Life, before foreign investment in the insurance sector was allowed in China.

Li denied the allegation, saying she had had no personal relationship with any insurance company.

On Monday, the ICIJ said Li and her husband were beneficial owners of a client account linked to five bank accounts that held as much as $2.48 million in 2006 and 2007. The accounts were held under the name of Metralco Overseas S.A., a Panama-registered company that was dissolved in 2012, the ICIJ said. DIDI TANG, Associated Press

industry itself must overcome skepticism it’s flogging another illusion of security.

According to U.S. cybersecurity company FireEye, 229 days is the median length of time attackers lurk inside their victim’s computers before being detected or revealing themselves, underscoring the weakness of conventional tools in identifying sophisticated intruders.

The traditional defenses must “have a description of the bad guys before they can help you find them,” said Dave Merkel, chief technology officer at FireEye Inc. “That’s just old and outmoded. And just doesn’t work anymore,” he said.

“There’s no way to guar-

antee that you never are the victim of cyberattack.”

Merkel said in the worst case he knows of, attackers hid themselves for years.

Experts aren’t recommending organizations stop deploying perimeter defenses such as antivirus software or firewalls that weed out vanilla threats. But they say a strategy that could be likened to laying traps is needed to counter the sophisticated hacks that can cause huge losses.

The weakness of relying on a firewall is that it’s like building a fence around a housing complex but not hiring a guard to patrol the interior streets, said Ed Amoroso, chief security officer at AT&T. The hackers who targeted

Anthem, the second biggest U.S. health insurer, and accessed personal information of 80 million customers, may have been inside its system for more than a month before being detected, according to the company.

In the famous Sony Pictures hack, the attackers who breached the Hollywood studio’s network went unnoticed until computers were paralyzed and a mountain of data was dumped on the Internet.

The amount of data copied and removed from Sony’s systems should have set off internal alarms long before Sony workers found their PCs taken over by malware, said Mike Potts, CEO of Lancope, a network security company based in Alpharetta, Georgia.

The cybersecurity industry characterizes such longterm intrusions as advanced persistent threats or APT. They are often sponsored by states and target valuable commercial and military information.

In South Korea, where government agencies and businesses have come under repeated attacks from hackers traced by Seoul to North Korea, several security firms have jumped on the growing global trend to develop systems that analyze activity to detect potentially suspicious patterns rather than scanning for known threats.

Kwon Seok-chul, CEO at computer security firm Cuvepia Inc., said it has been tough to convince executives that it’s more effective to catch bad guys after they’ve infiltrated a network instead of trying

SECRET ACCOUNT. In this March 4, 2011 photo, Li Xiaolin, chairperson of the state-owned electricity giant China Power International Development Ltd., attends the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in Beijing. Li, daughter of former Chinese Premier Li Peng known for his support of the bloody military crackdown on the 1989 democracy movement, held as much as $2.48 million in a secret HSBC account in Switzerland, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has found. (AP Photo)

Experts say traps better than walls

E

VER since the Internet blossomed in the 1990s, cybersecurity was built on the idea that computers could be protected by a digital quarantine. Now, as hackers routinely overwhelm such defenses, experts say cybersecurity is beyond due an overhaul.

Their message: Neutralize attackers once they’re inside networks rather than fixating on trying to keep them out.

First they need to convince a conservative business world to gamble on a different approach. And having sold generations of defensive systems that consistently lagged the capabilities of the most advanced hackers, the

HACK THE HACKERS. Kwon Seok-chul, CEO at computer security firm Cuvepia Inc., presents “Kwon-ga,” a real-time monitoring solution that detects hackers during an interview at his office in Seongnam, South Korea. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

to keep them out, which he believes is impossible anyway.

Kwon said his company’s latest monitoring product keeps a log of all activity, dividing it into authorized users and possible attackers. When certain conditions are met, the program sounds an alarm.

A response team, he said, can sit back and watch what hackers copy and respond before damage is done. The security team can cut the hacker’s connection or trick the intruder into stealing empty files.

“Because hackers are in your palm, you can enforce any measures that you want,” said Kwon, member of an advisory board for South Korea’s cyberwarfare command.

In one case, the security team at one of Kwon’s clients “enjoyed” watching for about an hour as a hacker scanned its network and installed tools to unlock passwords and counter antivirus programs.

He said that for skilled hackers, it usually takes about 20 minutes to lay out the initial steps of the attack that allow them to stealthily roam a network. Normally the security team would counterattack within a few minutes after gathering intelligence about the hacker’s tools. But in this case, the hacker was not sophisticated and employed well-known programs mostly made in China.

Eventually, the security team severed the hacker’s connection to the victim’s computer based on the unique ID of the program that Cuvepia’s software showed the hacker was using.

According to FireEye’s

Merkel, there is a rise in awareness in the U.S. and growing interest in Asia in modern approaches to information security that include using automated programs to scan for unusual network activity, encryption and segregating sensitive data in special “domains” that require additional credentials to access.

But many companies are in denial about their vulnerability or are reluctant to spend more on cybersecurity, he said.

In the financial industry at least, part of the reason is greater concern with meeting regulatory requirements for security than improving security itself.

When encryption is used, South Korean courts have limited the liability of companies that faced lawsuits from customers over stolen data, said Hwang Weoncheol, a former chief information security officer at a South Korean financial institution. That reinforces the security strategy centered on compliance with regulation, he said.

Protecting high value information often comes with a high price tag.

Installing Cuvepia’s cheapest monitoring product on 1,000 computers for a year costs 450 million won ($410,000). That is many times the cost of installing antivirus software though the cost drops significantly after the first year.

The answer for executives, said Kwon, is to see cybersecurity as an investment not a cost. YOUKYUNG LEE, AP Technology Writer

11 COMMUNITY SENSE

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 7 ISSUE 234 • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015

Housing assistance continues to benefit Pablo-hit areas S

OME 1,840 families in the three typhoon Pablo-hit areas in Davao Oriental became recipients of this year’s first distribution of permanent shelters held on February 3, 2015.

Implemented under the Modified Shelter Assistance Program (MSAP), the massive housing project is a joint venture between the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) which provides the funds and the provincial government which shoulders the acquisition of resettlement sites.

Based on the report from the MSAP Office on the recent ceremonial turn over of houses, Baganga town received 920 shelters, Cateel 770, and Boston town 150.

DSWD 11 assistant regional director for operations Rebecca A. Santamaria said she is optimistic that all remaining houses targeted for construc-

tion will be completed by the end of March.

To date, about 13,780 housing units have already been implemented on the ground, offering typhoon survivors opportunity for a fresh start.

During the recent turnover ceremony, Santamaria said the strong partnership forged between the DSWD and the provincial government caused the quick delivery assistance to the typhoon victims.

She added that partnership has always been at the core of what DSWD does, and the provincial government’s active role in this partnership has what made this joint ven- TURNOVER. Davao Oriental Governor Corazon Malanyaon hands over a certificate of ownership to a beneficiary during simple ceremonies on February 3, 2015. ture a reality.

She said this resiliency provinces when it comes to tional community has made needs and help the province She also made positive remarks on the resiliency coupled with the socio-eco- disaster response and rehabil- her province grow stronger build resilience.” and resilient, knowing that “Without partnerships showed by the people of Davao nomic developments here had itation.

For her part, Governor despite the mounting chal- and convergence, this evident Oriental amidst the hardships made the province of Davao they have tackled in the wake Oriental a model in develop- Corazon N. Malanyaon said lenges, “there are still people development on three hard-hit of the disaster that shattered ment and became one of the the outpouring of support with generous and kind hearts towns would be impossible,” country’s most benchmarked from the local and interna- that will help meet the urgent Malanyaon said. PIO their homes and lives.

DSWD continues to empower IPs T

HE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) joined other line agencies in empowering some 150 Indigenous People Mandatory Representatives (IPMRs) from different regions in Mindanao through the recent 1st Higher Ground, Longer Vision - Federating Mindanao Lumad Legislators Seminar at Waterfront Insular Davao Hotel.

Headed by Mindanawon Initiatives for Cultural Dialogue executive director of Albert E. Alejo, S.J, the activity was conducted in coordination with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP).

“Our goal is to train IP

leaders for greater effectivity and to form a federation of Mindanao Lumad Legislators,” DAP vice president and managing director Alan S. Cajes said.

Boosting IP participation To date, there are a total of 30,709 Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiaries, 51,595 Kalahi-CIDSS (Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services) participants, and 17,639 Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) participants, the three core programs of DSWD. Audrie B. Perez, IP Focal for Pantawid Pamilya, emphasized the importance of providing correct and relevant information to boost participation from the IPs.

“Some of the participants here are DSWD beneficiaries.

We want to break the barriers that hinder our IPs, particularly those in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDA), from enjoying the full benefits of what the agency can give them,” Perez said.

Along with Perez, Kalahi-CIDSS Monkayo Area Coordinator Joel B. Quiño and Anna Maria B. Raymundo of SLP-DSWD Cental Office also discussed the other core programs of DSWD. In an interview, Alejo shared how indigenous communities are confronted with complex challenges such as discrimination and exclusion.

“This event is formed so that IPs will have a say in the conduct of development in their community. The government must accompany our IP brothers and sisters in their struggle to self-determination,” he said.

Quiño said the activity enhances the leadership traits of IPs in DSWD-targeted communities. This creates a huge space of op-

portunity for them to learn and engage with different agencies.

IP volunteer of Kalahi-CIDSS from Monkayo, Compostela Valley Honorio M. Erica, 62, expressed his appreciation on the effort of DSWD and its partner agencies for the continuous support in promoting and protecting the rights of the IPs. “Nagpasalamat mi sa tabang sa gobyerno. Tungod sa ilaha, nagkahiusa ang mga lumad ug daghan nakat-on sa mga proyektong ilang gipatuman (We thank the government for the help which made the IPs united. We have learned so much from the projects implemented),” Erica said.

In 2012, Alejo and NCIP and DAP started to conduct trainings for IPs dubbed SALIG LUMAD – Strengthening Advocacy of Lumads in Government, an advocacy that strengthens the capacity of IPMRs in Region XI on local legislative council.

The Department of Health (DOH), Department of Education (DepEd), Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), Mindanao Development Authority (MINDA), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and the Philippine National Police (PNP) are also involved in this development. DSWD/Julie Ace Brandon F. Ramos

He said they have allocated an initial P2.6 million for the production of the armchairs that would cost P700 each.

Last week, the city government delivered some 128 armchairs to the Upper Labay Elementary School.

The school is the first recipient this year of the armchairs program among the city’s 95 public elementary

and high schools.

The city government started delivering armchairs to local public schools in October 2013 in partnership with the RD Foundation Inc., which is operated by the mayor’s family.

The project is a component of the Alay sa Kabataan Lahat ng Alaga at Talino (AKLAT) program of the city may-

GenSan producing 7,000 more armchairs for public schools

T

HE city government is targeting to deliver around 7,000 armchairs to local public schools this year in a bid to further reduce the shortage of armchairs in the area.

City Mayor Ronnel Rivera said Tuesday they have contracted the production of additional armchairs to address the deficit and projected needs of

various public elementary and secondary schools in the city for the upcoming school year.

He said the production of the armchairs is already ongoing through the city’s flagship “Edukasyon Mo, Kabuhayan Ko” program.

“We will be distributing an additional 3,720 school armchairs by the end of March,” the mayor said in a statement.

FGENSAN, 14

F

Pantawid Pamilya holds gender gabs

ORTY-FIVE couples from the municipalities of Tarragona, Manay, and Caraga in Davao Oriental participated in a recent Gender Dialogue conducted by the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) through its Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program.

The one-day activity provided the participants with the basic input on Sex and Gender and Manifestations of Gender Biases in the Gender and Development (GAD) perspective.

For the couples to better understand the topic discussed, an audio-visual presentation titled “Impossible Dream” which depicts different manifestations of gender biases in the household and the community was shown.

A Focus Group Discussion was also conducted to generate experiences and issues along gender outcomes as to personal, family, and community following engagement with the Pantawid Pamilya program.

An assessment tool was utilized as well to determine whether the Pantawid Pamilya implementation ushered women empowerment and gender equality at the household level.

“Malipayon kaayo mi nga nakaapil ani nga panagtigom.

Mas nasabtan namo kung unsa kaning ginatawag nga Gender and Development ug unsa amoang partisipasyon niini.

Diri pud nako first time nga nadunggan ang mga pamatasan nga na-angayan ug wala na-angayan sa akoa sa akong bana.

Mas nasabtan namo karon ang importansya sa kanunay nga komunikasyon sa magtiayon (We are so happy that we were able to attend this gathering. We were able to understand and appreciate Gender and Development and our participation in this endeavor. It was also my first time to hear my husband’s perspective on my negative and positive traits. We were also able

to understand better the importance of open communication between married couples),” shared Analiza Gogo of Barangay Mercedes, Caraga, Davao Oriental.

The gender dialogues held in Tarragona, Manay and Caraga were among the 11 gender dialogues conducted all over Davao Region. Over 160 couples from the municipalities of Laak in Compostela Valley; Talaingod in Davao del Norte; Don Marcelino, Jose Abad Santos, Malita, Sta. Maria and Sarangani in Davao del Sur; Davao City; and recently in Tarragona, Manay and Caraga in Davao Oriental were able to participate.

“Women is one of the key target groups of Pantawid Pamilya. The improved health condition of pregnant women and education of school girls as direct beneficiaries are among the paramount consideration of the program. Also, the conditional cash transfers directly granted to mothers provided them not only recognition of women’s unpaid labor but as well as help them increase women’s bargaining power within the household.

These all ushered our beneficiaries to the path of empowerment, thereby achieving gender equality in the households and in the community,” emphasized Ella Charise M. Antepasado, Regional GAD Focal Person for Pantawid Pamilya.

Pantawid Pamilya is a poverty-reduction strategy of the national government that provides cash assistance to identified poor households in the country. Family beneficiaries comply with certain health and education conditions in order to receive their cash grants.

At present, Pantawid Pamilya covers 43 municipalities and 6 cities in Region XI benefitting over 200,000 families in 1,101 barangays. DSWD/Sheryll Jane S. Fernandez

12

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EDGEDAVAO

FOOD

A box of colorful and delectable candies (photo from Pinterest).

The

5

C’s of

Valentines

HAPPY Valentine’s Day! As we celebrate the most romantic day of the year, here are 5 of the most common but sweetest gifts you can give to your significant other, family member, friend, or self. Remember, it’s always the thought that counts!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Said to have originated in the United States, the chocolate chip cookie has definitely come a long way.

For starters, it contains tiny chocolate chips that add a heavenly flavor to every bite. Also, it’s just so addicting that you cannot help but associate it with happiness and comfort.

Today, there are a number of varieties available.

From nutty to gooey, the chocolate chip cookie is a sure fire way to make someone smile. There are a number of delicious brands available in the market. Nonetheless, if you want to make it extra special, you can always bake a batch for your significant other.

Chocolate Lollipop

Top: Go with a chocolate basket this year (photo from Pinterest).

Left : A beautiful heart centred cake (photo from Pinterest).

Chocolate lollipops are made using melted chocolate (dark one’s make the best lollipops!) poured into candy molds, and are then frozen. All over the metro, different chocolate varieties are available, thus no need to worry.

You just need to use your imagination as you go!

If you are planning to make a batch, customize.

Use edible balls or dusts to make it festive or you can

even mold letters and express your love. . . lollipop style!

Cake

Bake a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies the night before (photo from Pinterest).

Cakes may be common but nothing says I LOVE YOU better than a gooey moist cake. Scout the area of the best tasting cakes or buy one that is her or his favorite. Make an effort and show that you care.

If you are in the mood, make a batch of her or his favorite. Whip up a no bake cheesecake or a chocolate cake with toppers of your choice. It’s never too late to learn to love the kitchen and the magic that happens inside it. Whatever your choice may be, effort makes a big plus and so go and explore.

Chocolate basket If chocolate is your thing, do something dif-

ferent. Tired of the same chocolate bouquet? Make a basket of favorites. From the minutest of bars to the most expensive you can afford, nothing could make anyone smile with glee more than a basket of chocolates on Valentine ’s Day. The key here is your effort and not the receipt.

Chocolate liquer Though considerably hard to find, Davao has a lot of specialty shops and online sellers who have a bottle (or two) stacked somewhere. Buy a bottle and taste the difference it adds to your cakes, pastries and even cheesecake.

A small amount truly goes a long way.

Candies Sweets and candies never go out of season.

However, come Valentine’s Day, find one that is not in your usual repertoire. Explore the many flavors of candies together and make memories as you taste one after another.

Happy Anniversary to my Daddy and Mama! I may not always be in the same zip code as you but I love you to the moon and back. I am forever grateful for your love, support and care. I love you!

Make #TheRoyalChef your Thursday habit! Follow and tag me on instagram (herroyalheiress) for your delicious pics and food finds!

A2 INdulge!

UP AND ABOUT

Lotus Court’s Chinese New Year celebration WELCOME the Year of the Wooden Sheep at Lotus Court, Marco Polo Davao’s premier Cantonese restaurant. This February 18, 2015, enjoy a buffet spread of Roast Peking Duck, Roast Pig, premium seafood items and Chinese sweet cakes.

Witness the majestic lion dance and cultural performances to attract positive energy and prosperity.

Our Special dinner buffet is priced at Php 1, 300.00 net for adults and Php 650.00 net for kids.

For reservations, please call 221 0888 local 7232 or 7233.

EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 7 ISSUE 234 • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015

BELO MEDICAL GROUP

expands in Mindanao Love never felt so good at the Waterfront Hotel THE most romantic day of the year is just around the corner, and Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao is ready for its celebration with Black is the New Red: A Valentine Gala.

For only P1,350 nett per person, couples and group dates can enjoy a dreamy ambiance at our Grand Agila Ballroom and indulge in a special culinary spread that would inspire anyone’s appetite for passion and romance. Headed by our new Executive Chef, Chef Victor D. Barangan, our Food & Beverage team will be preparing mouthwatering dishes, like U.S. Beef Ribs in Jack Daniels and Callos Mediterania. Topping off a meal of gastronomic delights is a little bit of sinful desserts. There won’t be any room for diets once presented with the selection of delicious sweets. And it won’t just be your tummies that will be in for a treat. Savor the rich and melodious tones to favorite love songs played by instrumentalists to get that passionate vibe going. And the buck doesn’t stop there. Be prepared to be entranced by the Broadway excerpts of the Songspell Philippines Inc. Their renditions of songs from Miss Saigon, Phantom of the Opera and the like will surely leave you breathless and inspired.

Should you wish to turn it into a romantic getaway, you do so with our room package for only Php 5,500.00nett. Treat your loved one to an overnight stay in a Deluxe Room with Buffet Breakfast for 2, inclusive with tickets to the event. Love and passion will truly be manifested during this month of hearts at the Waterfront Insular Hotel.

For inquiries and reservations, call us at (082) 233 2881 or 300 8881 or email us at wd.sales@waterfronthotels.net. You may also visit our website at www.waterfronthotel.com. Like us also on Facebook at www. facebook.com/waterfront.davao.

C E L E BR AT I NG 25 YEARS of pioneering the latest innovations in dermatological and cosmetic surgery, Belo Medical Group (BMG) continues to strengthen its efforts in making beauty available to the rest of the people in the country. The top beauty center opens its Belo Davao clinic which marks its 11th branch in the Philippines and the first branch in Mindanao. This glorious milestone is a byproduct of the vision “to make every Filipino beautiful, one

person at a time” that originated from the hardworking BMG founder and medical director, Dr. Vicki Belo.

Located at Abreeza Mall in Davao City, the new clinic aims to make top-notch beauty expertise more accessible to the growing clients residing in Mindanao. Belo is the country’s premier choice when it comes to beauty as it continues to provide worldclass quality service. The Belo Davao clinic is proud of its elegantly crafted lush interiors which displays sophistication and luxury that a true VIP deserves. It offers a wide range of signa-

ture treatments for the face, skin, body contouring and anti-aging solutions that helps retain one’s beauty in full glory.

As the first and only Philippine medical-aesthetic clinic with a National Accreditation Board of Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) International accreditation, Belo guarantees to provide an outstanding experience that clients can find “Only in Belo”.

For more information, call 819-BELO (2356) or email at info@belomed.com.

Belo Davao is located at Level 2 Abreeza Ayala Mall, J.P. Laurel Avenue, Davao City. Tel No. (082)296-2356

Smart perks, prizes up for at country’s largest trave

Get a chance to win premium travel gears, gadgets, concert tickets, and mor EXCITING perks and prizes await loyal and new Smart subscribers at the 22nd Travel Tour Expo, the country’s biggest and longest running international travel fair in the country, from February 13 to 15 at the SMX Convention Hall in Pasay City.

Organized by the Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA) with Smart Communications, Inc. as official mobile partner, the 22nd Travel Tour Expo is expected to draw over 80,000 attendees in search of jaw-dropping deals from more than 400 travel agencies, airlines and hotels.

Prizes, freebies at the Smart Lounge Up for grabs for loyal and new

no he to for ser pin mo tou the

Smart subscribers are premium travel gears, gadgets, One Direction tickets, and a chance to win P25,000 in cash for every subscription to, or purchase of, products and services at the Smart Lounge.

In special segments of the Travel

Tour Expo, Smart ambassadors are also dishing out tips and advice on travelling smart and getting the most out of one’s getaway.

Da 24 P5 in Mi Sm da su in

Stay connected abroad with Smart As the leader in providing Filipi-

Sm ww

VOL. 7 ISSUE 234 • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015

r grabs el expo

re at the Smart booth

os with meaningful connections ere and abroad, Smart is also set showcase its latest suite of afrdable roaming products and ervices geared toward giving Filino travelers a much easier and ore affordable way to stay in uch with their loved ones while ey are on the road.

Smart currently offers the Allay Surf Abroad, which provides 4 hours of mobile surfing for only 550 per day in key destinations Asia, Oceania, Europe, Africa, iddle East and the United States. mart also offers the country’s first ata roaming product for prepaid ubscribers for only P500 per day top Asian destinations.

For more information about mart’s international services, visit ww.smart.com.ph/international.

EDGEDAVAO

INdulge! A3

ENTERTAINMENT

Vilma supports ABS-CBN’s film restoration project

STAR for all Seasons Vilma Santos showed her full support for ABS-CBN’s film restoration project after she graced the special “V x 3” screening held at the University of the Philippines Film Institute (UPFI) Cine Adarna recently, wherein three of her most remarkable and award-winning films were showcased for the first time in high definition format.

The event, organized

by ABS-CBN Film Archives in partnership with UPFI, screened the digitally restored and re-mastered copies of “Anak,” “Kapag Langit ang Humatol,” and “Bata, Bata, Paano Ka Ginawa?”

“It’s a such an overwhelming feeling to again watch films that you are truly proud that were made even better now that it’s in HD format. ABS-CBN is giving viewers, especially the younger generation, this great opportunity to witness these restored titles, which I believe truly

mirrors the lives of Filipinos,” said Gov. Vi. Aside from Gov. Vi, original directors of the said films Rory Quintos, Laurice Guillen, and Chito Rono also graced the special screening together with “Bata, Bata” leading man Albert Martinez and co-star Cherrie Pie Picache, director Olivia Lamasan, and Star Creatives head Malou Santos.

The solid Vilmanians also weren’t left behind as they flocked to the Cine Adarna and lined up as early as morning just to show their support for their idol.

Meanwhile, ABS-CBN Film Archives head and the brain behind the restoration project, Leo Katigbak, felt very overwhelmed by the very warm reception given by Gov. Vi and even by the general public.

“It feels great to hear the thunderous applause from the audience. Just like a blockbuster hit complete with screaming fans. But it’s more rewarding when the audience shares

their thoughts and opinions on the restored films. This shows they are already invested in what we are doing and this response has been recurring more with our recent screenings. We are touching their hearts and minds little by little,” Leo explained.

Next to be showcased on the big screen is the restored version of the classic film “T Bird at Ako” that marked the first team up of VIlma Santos and Superstar Nora Aunor.

Drew and Iya conquer Mt. Pulag this Friday VALENTINE’S DAY will get a lot mushier for all biyaheros as Biyahe ni Drew airs a much-anticipated special episode featuring host and professional traveller Drew Arellano and his wife, Iya VillaniaArellano. The celebrity couple, who just celebrated their first wedding anniversary, set out to summit the 3rd highest peak in the Philippines, Mt. Pulag in Kabayan, Benguet.

Along the way, Mr. and Mrs. A encounter the varying terrain and gorgeous scenery that makes Mt. Pulag a mustvisit for all nature-lovers and hikers.

Drew and Iya also taste the best local cuisine and experience the warm-hearted hospital-

February 12-17, 2015

JUPITER ASCENDING/ *THAT THING CALLEDTADHANA PG13/ *PG13

Mila Kunis, Channing Tatum/* Angelica Panganiban, JM De Guzman 12:30 | 3:00 | 5:30 LFS / *8:00 | 10:00 LFS

FIFTY SHADES OF GREY Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan R18

11:40 | 2:15 | 4:50 | 7:25 | 10:00 LFS

PADDINGTON / *EVERLY

ity of their guides and fellow climbers.

At the summit of Mt. Pulag, Drew and Iya witness the famed “sea of clouds” that simply takes

one’s breath away.

Do not forget to catch Biyahe ni Drew’s Valentine special airing this Friday, February 13, 8pm on GMA News TV.

Hugh Bonnevilles, Xian Lim (Voice of Paddington) / * Salma Hayek

R-16

PG13/ *R16

12:25 | 2:00 | 4:15 LFS / *6:10 | 8:05 | 10:00 LFS

THE WEDDING RINGER Kevin Hart, Josh Gad R13

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

EDGEDAVAO

A4 INdulge!

VOL. 7 ISSUE 234 • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015

FOOD

Finding Yakitori heaven at

TORI GRILL

THERE was a time in the 90’s when the food scene in Durianburg consisted of majority of restaurants serving meat on a stick. From pork, chicken, and fish, the city was gaga over anything skewered and grilled that even today form the backbone of Dabawenyo street food.

Upon the invitation of photographer and fellow foodie Jojie Alcantara, I made my way to a new hang-out where the food was served on a stick, Tori Grill. The brainchild of Philip dela Fuente, Tori Grill takes the Dabawenyo’s love for grilled meats, cheap eats, and Japanese flavours and fused it into a delicious food concept.

Located along Quirino Avenue corner General Luna Street, Tori Grill is a nice and cozy hole-in-thewall that serves a variety of ‘Kushiyaki’ which in Japanese means anything skewered and grilled. Given that it sounds simple, but the variety of kushiyaki being served at the Tori Grill is anything but simple.

From everyone’s favourite Yakitori (grilled chicken), Butabara (pork belly), Negima (chicken thigh), Tsukune (chicken meatballs), to Okura Bacon (bacon-wrapped okra), Tori Grill’s wide variety of grilled items is sure to tempt every hungry Juan.

My personal favourites were the Aspara Bacon

(bacon-wrapped asparagus) as well as the Uzura Bacon (bacon-wrapped quail egg), both of which were grilled to perfection.

What makes eating at Tori Grill even more delightful is the relatively affordable price of the food. One can order meals consisting of four assorted skewers and rice for starting from just Php84. Ala carte skewers can be bought with prices ranging from Php10 for the grilled chicken skin to Php35 for the pricier Uzura Bacon, Aspara Bacon, and Chicken Meatballs.

The Japanese street eats don’t stop at just the stick though as Tori Grill also serves Furikake Onigiri (Japanese rice balls), Tebasaki (chicken wings), and Salmon Teriyaki.

There are also a couple of pasta dishes for those who insist on not having rice.

For those who love anything grilled as pulutan with some alcohol, Tori Grill also serves beer and sake.

Tori Grill is open daily from eleven in the morning to ten in the evening on weekdays and is open until midnight on weekends.

Follow me on Instagram or on Twitter for more foodie finds in, around, and beyond Durianburg.

Clockwise from left: Salmon Teriyaki, Alio Olio pasta, Furikake Onigiri.

Many different kids of Kushiyaki stacked on a plate.

VOL. 7 ISSUE 234 • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015

13

EDGEDAVAO

DOH order may cost thousands of blind people their jobs

By JAKE SORIANO, VERA FILEST

I

N December last year, blind massage therapists from Zamboanga City traveled all the way to Cagayan de Oro to undergo licensing exams.

They took thenearly 500km journey because their jobs were on the line.But typhoon “Ruby” (Hagupit) struck, and they were told to go home.

No exams meantno licenses. Now they are in danger of losing their jobs because an administrative order on licensing issued by the Department of Health (DOH) way back in 2010 is now in force.

DOH Administrative Order 2010-0034imposes a blanket licensing requirement for all wanting to be massage therapists, whether blind or sighted.

The intentions may be good, but advocates call it a violation of the law and protest its implications for thousands who are blind and without adequate livelihood opportunities, and who look to massage therapy as their source of income.

“Yung mga therapist, nangangambaposila (Blind massage therapists are worried),” JojoMaraguinot of the Zamboanga City-based Vision Impaired Society Towards Advancement Inc. said in a phone interview.

According to the administrative order (AO), no license means no job. But to secure that license, one needed first to enroll in a DOH-accredited training center. That training would of course cost them money.

“They are afraid na bukas makalawa, wala na silang trabaho (They are afraid of losing their jobs),” Maraguinot said.

“Yung iba nanatatakot talaga, naghanap ng paraan. Nag-resort sila sa lending, nalubog sa utang (There were some who incurred debts just to be able to secure their licenses).”

Costly training, inaccessible centers Signed by former Health Secretary Enrique Ona in December 2010, AO 2010-0034 aims to “improve the quality of health service delivery of governing massage facilities providing massage services.”

To achieve that goal, the department imposed a sweeping requirement on all persons wanting to become massage therapists to secure licenses first. They are to undergo a two-part examination, a theoretical test and then, should they pass this, a practical test.

But before one can even apply for the exam, certain qualifications have to be met,

most notably having a certificate of training from a DOH-accredited training provider, where they are expected to learn about the basics of massage therapy, as well as anatomy, physiology and microbiology.

Maraguinot said this setup already creates problems, particularly for the marginalized blind people whomay not be in a position to apply for a license.

“In Mindanao, tuition alone costs P8,500 or more,” he said, adding that a massage therapist is lucky to have an income of P3,500 a month.

There is as well the issue of availability and accessibility of training and exam centers. Accredited trainers come all the way from Davao City, and applicants wait for slots in other cities in order to take the exam, which is what happened to those who traveled to Cagayan de Oro. The health department order sets only one day in June and another day in December as examination dates, except in extraordinary cases.

“Not everyone can comply with the order, especially the unschooled and the marginalized,” Maraguinot said.

“Threatening siya sa liveli-

hood. Instead na matulungan iyong mga blind … ma-discourage na sila kasi high expense na siya eh (It really threatens livelihood opportunities for the blind. Instead of helping them become massage therapists, it might be a deterrent because of the expenses involved),” he said.

Full implementation this year The licensing requirement was issued in 2010 and was to take effect in January 2011, butDr. Josephine Hipolito of the DOH Committee of Examiners for Massage Therapy (CEMT) said the lack of licensed massage therapists (LMT) back then made them defer its implementation.

“Because most of the spas did not have LMTs yet, we have issued a resolution to have atransition period of until December2014 for compliance with the said AO,”she said.

The order is set to be fully implemented this year.

It “applies to all who desire to practice the profession, whether sighted or blind, college graduates, high school graduates or those who have not entered schooling but in the massage industry for more than five years,” Hipolito said.

CEMT has the power to is-

sue, as well as deny or cancel, licenses to massage therapists.

It is also tasked to investigate complaints against massage therapists, and accredits institutions or massage trainers.

The country now has 8,900 LMTs while 5,600more are undergoing examinations, Hipolito said.

Thousands of blind massage therapists, however, may just lose their jobs, said PWD leader Ronnel del Rio, calling the DOH order a violation of Presidential Decree 856 or the Code on Sanitation of the Philippines.

“The violation has resulted in several abuses of the department and one of them is the threat to more than 5,000 Filipino blind massage therapists,” said del Rio, who is a United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) Promoter for Making the Right Real for PWDs. He instead proposed the recall of the AO and the “re-strategizing (of) measures on how to improve the practice of massage therapy in the Philippines.”

Blind massage therapists should have representatives in DOH committees that formulate policies on the practice,

del Rio said.

“Massage therapy is the No. 1 income-generating opportunity for Filipino blind; hence, our concerns and issues must be part of the total regulation of the industry,” he said.

Equalize playing field In support of blind massage therapists, AGAP Partylist Rep. Rico B. Geron filed in November House Resolution 1691 urging the DOH to exempt from the order those from the sector provided they are legitimate members of cooperatives.

“DOH deliberately deprived the blind massage therapists their right to a decent occupation,” the resolution read.

The same document said while blind massage therapists would like to comply with the DOH directive, “they cannot, because it requires that only sighted individuals can act in accordance with the said order.”

The DOH, Hipolito said, has no objection to the House resolution.

“However, we would like to raise the issue on who will be liable or accountable if and when these blind therapists would encounter untoward in-

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mation at a number of reefs in the Spratly Islands, fearing they could be used for air, naval or logistic bases to bolster China’s territorial claims far from its mainland.

Two other diplomatic protests made on Feb. 4 were earlier announced. They in-

volved the alleged ramming of three Philippine fishing boats by a Chinese coast guard ship at Scarborough Shoal and the reported collection of endangered giant clams by Chinese fishermen which also destroyed coral outcrops at the shoal. AP

drive was simultaneously launched in the nearby town of Baloi, Lanao del Norte.

“Kahit piso-piso lang we can gather enough money to the families of the slain MILF fighters and civilians who died in the Mamasapano clash,” Lao said, pointing to a group of children giving their “baon” to the cause.

“We cannot afford the millions that is given to the SAF 44 but we want to tell the families of our martyrs they are not forgotten,” he said.

Lao said they will also give money to the two slain members of the raiding PNPSAF team who are Muslims.

Hundreds of Marawi residents participated in the peace rally.

Speaker after speaker urged for Congress to hasten the passage of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) which they said has became one of the casualties of the Jan. 25 Mamasapano clash.

“This is our last stand to peace. We urge Congress to hasten the passage of the proposed BBL. It should not be a casualty of the Mamasapano incident,” Marawi community leader Agakhan Sharief said. Sharief has earned the moniker “Bin Ladin” not just because of his moustache and beard, but

also because of his stance on issues confronting the Moro people.

He warned that the delaying of the passage of the BBL will further increase the prospects of a full-blown war between the military and the MILF. He said the BBL is the only chance for peace and they appealed to Congress to see its reason.

Sharief and other leaders also reiterated that Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan was not hiding in Lanao del Sur as alleged by the police and military.

Sultan Nasrodin Adu, of the Royale house of Mindanao, said the PNP-SAF came to their town in Butig, Lanao del Sur in 2013 but did not find Marwan.

He said he is saddened with the wave of anti-Muslim sentiments following the clash in Mamasapano.

“We also lost a few. The SAF was not alone,” Adu said.

Simultaneous rallies urging Congress to pass the BBL were held in the key Mindanao cities of Tacurong, Cotabato, Davao and General Santos.

Similar rallies were also held in the towns of Pikit in North Cotabato, Baloi in Lanao del Norte, Bongao in Tawi-tawi, and Jolo in Sulu. Froilan Gallardo MindaNews

ism Office, Office of Councilor Al Ryan Alejandre, Department of Tourism (DOT), and the tourism sector stakeholders, comprised of the travel and tour agencies, hotels and resorts, restaurants and en-

tertainment groups, malls and shopping centers, Mice (meeting, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions) Organizers Ventures (Move) Davao, and the Davao Wellness Association (DavWell).

cidents,” she said, adding that “there will always be the first time.”

“We have been receiving complaints such as ‘namaga ang tagiliran ng minasahe (a swelling in the massaged area),’ ‘nasunog ang likod ng kliyente (a burn in a client’s back),’ ‘umusli ang buto sa likod ng kliyente (a dislocated bone on the back),” the DOH official said.

Further noting that the ultimate goal of the DOH is public health and safety, Hipolito asked that the House resolution include “the person/ s or entity who will be liable/ accountable for the blind’s actions in order to fully support the blind.”

For both Maraguinot and del Rio, however, the heart of the issue is not regulation but social protection for the blind.

Maraguinot called the licensing requirement “beneficial” in terms of professionalizing the massage therapy in-

dustry, but added that that the government should also consider the plight of the marginalized by providing subsidies.

“The government has to provide support so the process is not that costly for the blind,” he said.

For his part, del Rio said blind massage therapists are “not against regulation.We are requesting for the equalization of the playing field.”

A House inquiry on the issue is tentatively set at the end of the month, according to del Rio. Blind therapists are also considering filing a case questioning the order before the Supreme Court in March, he added.

(This story is part of VERA Files’ Reporting on Persons with Disabilities project supported by The Asia Foundation and Australian Aid.VERA Files is published by veteran Filipino journalists taking a deeper look into current Philippine issues.

Vera is Latin for “true.”)

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HIGH PROFILE CASES. Regional Internal Affairs Services (RIAS) 11 Chief Senior Superintendent Pedro Cabatingan gives updates on high profile cases under his office such as cases involving Davao City Police Office (DCPO) director Senior Superintendent Vicente D. Danao Jr., PO1 Jeffer Villegas of Toril

Police Station, and 19 personnel of the Sta. Cruz Municipal Police Station in Davao del Sur for failing to detect a grenade carried by an arrested suspect.

Cabatingan graced yesterday’s AFP-PNP Press Corps briefing at The Royal Mandaya Hotel. Lean Daval Jr.

With BBL, children

in conflict areas can dream C

HILDREN in conflict areas in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) can have dreams beyond the war, according to a spokesperson from a group asking for justice and truth about the Mamasapano incident.

This was why the discussions on the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) should be continued, according to Jobayra Tandalong, of the Bangsamoro Women’s Organization of Davao Oriental.

Tandalong was with other members of various civil society groups that marched the city’s downtown streets Tuesday to call for truth

about the January 25 clash and justice for the fallen troops from both sides.

“The law has already been delayed,” Tandalong said. “But we all want peace.”

Around 1,500 people attended a march and rally that began at Freedom Park at Roxas Ave. and culminated at the Rizal Park, about a kilometer away.

The groups came from different sectors, such as the youth, professionals, women, as well as religious groups including indigenous peoples, Muslims, Christians and converts to Islam.

Tandalong said that the children were among the

discovered because the search was not thorough enough,” he said.

According to Rule 13 of the police operational procedures of the Philippine National Police (PNP), authorities should conduct a body search on an arrested person before putting him in jail.

Cabatingan said his office is also looking to file homicide or murder cases against the two police officers who neutralized the suspect.

“The use of firearms in the

incident was not necessary kasi wala nang threat yung suspect napaputok na niya yung granada niya (there was no more threat from the suspect since he had already exploded his grenade), but still there are two personnel who shot him and eventually killed him on the process,” Cabatingan said.

Cabatingan said the act alone constitutes murder or homicide and grave misconduct.

or’s office.

AKLAT mainly aims to improve the performance of schools and schoolchildren through the provision of classrooms, books and other basic facilities by way of public-private partnerships.

In support of the initiative, the mayor and RD Foundation jointly launched the “Edukasyon Mo, Kabuhayan Ko” program, which tapped the city’s persons with disabilities sector in the production of the

armchairs.

The mayor pursued the initiative after it came out during an education summit in 2013 that local public schools had a shortage of 14,000 armchairs.

Last year, the city government already delivered 4,000 armchairs to various public schools in the area.

Rivera earlier said he is targeting to fully address the problem before the end of his current term in 2016. (MindaNews)

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most affected by the all out war launched against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) during the term of former president Joseph Estrada.

She said the groups are calling for the immediate passage of the BBL. “War was never a solution to the problems in Mindanao. The solution is peace,” she said.

Tandalong added that individuals calling for an all out war and the cessation of talks with the MILF are only in it for their personal interest.

She said the grassroots campaign has yielded very positive results. “They are

all 100 percent in favor of a Bangsamoro Basic Law.” “We believe that all the aspirations of the Bangsamoro would be realized if the bill gets passed. We want to be given the chance to show everyone that the Bangsamoro are a peace-loving people,” Tandalong said.

The children used to be afraid of soldiers, she said.

“They were even scared of gunshots coming from movies that were playing on the television. In the past, the children would not go to school. But now, some of them want to become doctors and want to be somebody.”

can be browsed inside the library,” he added.

Alvarez said it is still impossible make copies of the research studies online because of the protection of the intellectual property rights of the researchers.

During the launch of the manual on “Ethical Review of Research Involving Human and Non-Human Population” at SPC last Tuesday, Alvarez said research and development studies are important in uplifting the competitiveness of the country in the integration of Association of Southeast Asian Nations

(ASEAN) which is already happening now.

He said research studies produced by students become basis of innovations and projects and plans of both private and public sector.

Alvarez added that the Provincial Council of Davao del Norte has to authorize Davao del Norte Governor Rodolfo R. del Rosario before it can enter into a MOA with CHED 11.

He said that he is targeting to set up the resource center before the end of March.

cy deposit unit funding base.

“We are extremely delighted with the Bank’s 2014 business results. All-in, the Bank turned in a solid and well-orchestrated, balanced performance: Earnings results and return on shareholders’ equity remain among the industry’s highest; our balance sheet is

even healthier, attributable mainly to asset quality and proven capital strength; and, most importantly, our core businesses have outperformed themselves in demonstrating growth in their respective franchise,” Security Bank president and Chief Executive Officer Alberto S. Villarosa said.

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VOL. 7 ISSUE 234 • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015

SPORTS

EDGEDAVAO

Harden’s 40 cool off Suns T

HE Houston Rockets blew an early 18-point lead and were down by one after three quarters in Phoenix.

Then, as he so often does, James Harden took over.

The NBA’s leading scorer got 20 of his 40 points in the fourth quarter and the Rockets pulled away to beat the Suns 127-118 on Tuesday night. ‘’He made all the tough plays for his team, like all great players do,’’ the Suns’ Eric Bledsoe said. ‘’You know, he’s in the running for MVP and he should be up there.’’

Josh Smith added 20 in the highest-scoring game of the season for the Rockets, who trailed 89-88 at the end of the third. ‘’That (game) had more twists and turns than an old country road,’’ Houston coach Kevin McHale said.

Eric Bledsoe scored 32, one shy of his career high, for the Suns, who enter the All-Star break losers of five of six. Bledsoe had 12 points in the fourth quarter.

Harden - who will have his number retired by Arizo-

na State on Wednesday night - ended the first and second quarters with a 3-pointer, then opened the fourth with a fourpoint play that put the Rockets ahead for good. He scored eight in a row during a 2 1/2 minute stretch late in the fourth. ‘’James played really, really well,’’ McHale said. ‘’He’s been playing at a high level.’’

Harden has 85 points in his last two games. He scored 45 one shy of his career high - in a loss to Portland on Sunday and has six games of at least 40 points this season. ‘’I mean, credit to my teammates,’’ he said. ‘’They’re doing a great job of setting screens and getting me open.’’

Harden came off the court with his left arm dangling in the third quarter but wasn’t out of the game long. ‘’I went to the basket pretty hard and all my weight went on my elbow,’’ he said. ‘’But I’m all right. It went numb right away and I had some pain but I got the feeling back right away.’’

Houston, winner of seven of nine, has one game before the break, Wednesday night against the Clippers in Los An-

geles.

In the fourth quarter, Harden, the NBA’s leading scorer at more than 27 points per game, made seven of 10 shots - most on drives to the basket, was 1 of 3 on 3-pointers, and sank all five of his free throws. He also matched his season high with 12 rebounds in the game.

The Rockets shot 75 percent (15 of 20) in the fourth.

The 127 points were the most Phoenix has allowed in a non-overtime game this season.

Goran Dragic added 20 points for the Suns.

With Phoenix leading 8988 to start the fourth, Harden sank a 3 from the top of the key, fell on his behind, as he does on almost every jumper, and Marcus Morris was called for the foul. Harden made the free throw and the four-point play put Houston up by three.

Bledsoe’s 3 cut the Houston lead to 96-95, then Smith and Corey Brewer made 3s, Brewer scored on a rebound, Harden made three free throws after being fouled on a 3-point try, and the Rockets were up 104-95.

D

play in the NBA’s midseason showcase, a decision made in an abundance of caution as he continues recovering from his latest hamstring injury. Wade has missed Miami’s last six games and will remain inactive when the Heat close their pre-All-Star schedule in Cleveland on Wednesday night.

‘’I felt like this was best,’’ Wade said. ‘’I wasn’t going to play much either way. I think with the circumstances, I think the smartest thing to do is let someone else come in and really enjoy the All-Star experience. ... I think I owe it to the Heat fans to at least play in a Heat jersey first than go out

15

Houston Rockets’ James Harden drives past Phoenix Suns’ Markieff Morris to the basket during the first half of an NBA basketball game on Tuesday in Phoenix. (AP)

Injured Wade to miss 2015 All-Star game Palawan Pawnshop

WYANE Wade wanted to play in the All-Star Game and wants to be as healthy as possible for the stretch run of the season.

So playing this weekend was deemed an unneeded risk.

The Miami Heat guard announced Tuesday he will not

Dwyane Wade

T

HE story from the drumbeaters of the City Sports Office said it like an appliance store salesman or insurance agent—dream no more, Davao City.

Judging from the way it was written, it sounded like even themselves at the sports office were pretty darn exhausted until what apparently was the morning rain on mid-summer’s day finally came.

So the big news is that the city will finally push through with its sports complex project inside the sprawling 20-hectare University of the Philippines-Mindanao Cam-

there in the All-Star Game and play a couple minutes.’’

Later Tuesday, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver revealed that Atlanta’s Kyle Korver will be Wade’s replacement on the Eastern Conference roster. Wade said he thought Milwaukee’s Brandon Knight, who was born in Miami, would have been a fitting choice. ‘’I think it’d be fitting for a Miami guy to take an honorary Miami guy’s spot,’’ Wade said of Knight. ‘’He’s done a great job of leading that team.’’

Korver, who was All-Star weekend bound anyway for the 3-point contest, is the record-tying fourth Atlanta player on the East roster. The Hawks are the runaway leaders in the East.

netfest unwraps J

erome Romualdez and Toni Rose Raymundo try to make it two-in-row while Kianna De Asis seek to complete another two-title romp in singles play as the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala regional age group tennis presented

by Technifibre holds its fifth leg beginning today (Thursday, Feb. 12) in Dumaguete City.

The Manila-based Romualdez and PTA Carlota’s Raymundo pulled off contrasting wins to rule their respective sections in La Carlota, Bacolod last week with the former dominating Karl Baran, 6-1, 6-3, to nail his first 16-and-Under crown in the Group 2 tournament spon-

Making it happen without fanfare

pus.

The megaproject is a baby of Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who was in the distant past criticized for his apparent lukewarm feeling towards sports. Now, Duterte apparently wants to let his actions do the talking and make his move when the right opportunity comes.

At the right time, he is about to silence his critics.

But kudos to Mayor Duterte, he made this project happen and without much fanfare and hype. No amount of spin and drumbeating needed.

Plain and simple political vision and will at work.

LET’S GET IT ON

Neil Bravo According to city administrator Melchor Quitain who announced the project, the funding is ready and the par-

ties are ready.

It’s showtime, buddies.

According to the report, the project will be done in phases with the first one costing P250 million and will cover the track oval, auditorium, indoor gym and provisions for outdoor sports, access road and lighting.

I wonder how that looks like and we can’t wait to see the draft plan of the project. At that similar amount, Davao del Norte was able to build their sports complex complete with a track oval, main grandstand, Olympic-size pool, warm-up pool, swimming area bleachers,

clubhouse, along with a professional sports lighting system.

Davao’s attempts to construct its own sports complex went through several failed tries. One included the biggest waste of them all—the Artica Dome in Maa which still stands today as a living monument of government irregularities.

I remember having gone to one public hearing at the Sangguniang Panlungsod and sharing our views on the proposed sports complex project. That was long time ago and some of the dreamers have already left this world

sored by the country’s leading pawnshop, remittance and claim center.

Raymundo, on the other hand, bucked a first-set setback to repulse Jean Sunio, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, in the premier girls’ 18-U division of the event which served as the fourth stage of the 38-leg nationwide circuit sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association headed by president and Paranaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez.

But Romualdez and Raymundo are expected to have their hands full this week with Baran out to strike back along with the likes of Eldyzar Alvarico, Jan Godfrey Seno, Reyniel Marcellana, Joshua Sarabia and Troy Llamas.

without having seen the day when a new sports oasis rises after the old Palaruang Lungsod or PTA Complex was converted into what is now the People’s Park.

When this new project at the UP-Min campus in Mintal is finally completed, it should fittingly own the name Davao City Sports Complex.

We’re talking here of the ‘real’ Davao City Sports Complex. Not the giant cockpit arena that has been calling itself by that name for years.

Now let’s wait for the first stone to be turned and then it’s time to rock. Drumbeaters included.

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The ADDU SEA team who put together the car along with their mentors (L-R): Keen Espiritu Cifra (Team Leader), Nichol Ivan Allawan, John Mark Diel, Luis Alberto Mata III (Driver), Gia Aleksandra Sonza, Ruy Ronquillo, Engr. Josef Villanueva, Engr. Mark Anthony Rotor, Dean Engr. Randell Espina, Asst. Dean Renyl Barroca and Gen. Asst. to the President Jeremy Eliab.

RATTAN CAR

Ateneo’s fuel efficient vehicle competes in Shell Eco-Marathon Asia 2015

A

TEAM composed of students and faculty of the Mechanical, Electronics and Electrical Engineering Departments of the Ateneo de Davao University School of Engineering and Architecture (ADDU SEA) developed a rattan vehicle which qualified as a finalist in the Shell Eco-Marathon Asia 2015.

Shell Eco-Marathon Asia is an annual design competition for fuel efficient vehicles

participated in by leading engineering schools in Asia.

The next competition will be held at the Luneta Park in Manila from February 26 to March 1, 2015, with 15 top engineering schools in the Philippines and another 15 from across Asia competing in the event. “This is the first time that ADDU submitted an entry into the competition, and we are privileged to have been accepted as a finalist,” said Mechanical Engineering

Department assistance Dean Engr. Renyll Barroca.

The team developed a single-passenger vehicle prototype powered by a Subaru-Robin petrol internal combustion engine that utilizes an electronic fuel injection system. It is powered by an electrical system that uses lithium-ion batteries and is equipped with a battery management system.

To make it lightweight, the team chose to use aluminum

intent of wanting the megafight to happen.

Mayweather even posted video of his meeting with Pacquiao on his Instagram account, showing the two fighters talking inside the latter’s hotel room.

“I congratulate him on his career. He had a wonderful career,” the American was heard sayig in the video. “And I had a wonderful career. But before we leave the sport, of course, we have to make this fight happen.”

But time is of the essence as the May 2 fight date looms from a distance.

Pundits said a deal has to be reached soon to give the fighters ample time to train and promote the bout.

If promoted right, the bout stands to gross at least $300 million in pay-per-view.

OP seeded Peng Shuai of China breezed into the second round of Thailand’s Pattaya Open on Tuesday, dispatching her Russian opponent with a routine 6-3, 6-2 victory.

The Chinese number one, who made it into the last 16 at the Australian Open, took just an hour and a quarter to book her place in the next round against the callow Alla Kudryavtseva -86 places below her in the WTA rankings.

She was joined in the second round at the Thai beach resort by Japanese rising star Kurumi Nara, who demolished local hope Nicha Lertpitaksinchai 6-2, 6-0.

Fellow Japanese Misaki Doi also dented Thai hopes by defeating Tamarine Tanasugarn 7-6,6-0.

In Monday’s action twotime Pattaya champion Vera

as chassis and frame material, instead of steel. The team also decided to explore the use of local indigenous materials for the vehicle shell.

For this particular car, a rattan composite, which is produced in the region, is utilized instead of the usual carbon fiber and galvanized iron sheet. Development of the vehicle was made possible through the support of the University Research Council.

“This initiative hopes to

introduce the students of the SEA and the whole University as well, to the continuing advocacy for cleaner and greener technologies as a way of combating the impacts of climate change. Hopefully, they will be enticed to contribute to the worldwide movement as scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs that are champions of environmental protection and sustainability,” Dr. Randell U. Espina, the SEA Dean, added.

The members of the development team are the following: Keen E. Cifra, ME-5 – Team Leader Luis Alberto G. Mata III, ME-5 Nichol Ivan Allawan, ME-4 John Mark Diel, ME-4 Gia Aleksandra Sonza, ECE-5 Edel John Ugdang, ECE-4 Ruy Ronquillo, EE-5 Engr. Mark Anthony Rotor, Mentor/Coach, Mechanical Engineering Department

Pacman won’t retire Peng Shuai breezes into 2nd round in Thailand without fighting Floyd T E

VEN as the chance of getting their superfight gets dimmer by the day, Filipino champion Manny Pacquiao remains optimistic that they still can work out a deal with Floyd Mayweather Jr. The 8-division world boxing champion said that it would be a shame if he retires from the sport without fighting his biggest rival.

“I’m thinking that the fight will happen. So hopefully -- within one week, though, we can hear from them and fix the fight,” said Pacquiao in Ronnie Nathanieslz’s report on Boxing Scene.

“I don’t want that when I retire from boxing, there’s a big question in the minds of the fans.”

Pacquiao and Mayweather have already signified their

Peng Shuai makes a forehand return to Alla Kudryavtseva their first round match at the Pattaya Open.

Zvonareva cruised into the second round of the hardcourt $250,000 tournament, as the one-time Wim-

bledon finalist bids to make a comeback. The final is on Sunday.

Last year’s edition was

won by current world number nine Ekaterina Makarova of Russia, her first WTA title in her breakout season.