2 NEWS EDGEDAVAO
VOL. 9 ISSUE 168 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2016
PRE-DEPARTURE. President R. Duterte delivers his pre-departure message before leaving for Brunei Darussalam at the Davao International Airport on Sunday afternoon. Lean Daval Jr.
NGO spearheads Rody: I will not surrender Bangsamoro fair By TIZIANA CELINE S. PIATOS
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HE Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA), in partnership with Program for Local Economic Development through Enlightened Governance and Grassroots Empowerment (PLEDGE), conducted a community-based trade fair and expo yesterday, Oct. 17, at SM City Davao. Julhaina Cadon, program coordinator of the trade fair, explained the event was designed and proposed by the BDA in line with the organiza-
tion’s commitment to lasting peace and development in Mindanao. “The PLEDGE concept is basically focused on local economic development and Islamic values,” Cadon added. The program, she said, is funded by World Bank through the Mindanao Trust Fund, while the International Labor Organization (ILO) provided technical assistance on various capacity building activities. Cadon said 42 peoples
HE City Government of Davao has already started its preparations for the 2016 ‘Oplan Kaluluwa’. The early preparation is to make sure that the observation of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day is peaceful and orderly. Lawyer Zuleika Lopez, Davao City Administrator, said coordination with various departments of the local government and the security groups has started. Lopez said the preparations include a traffic plan, deployment of Central 911 emergency response units, safety and security protocols, among others.
The departments involve in the planning include the Public Safety and Security Command Center, Task Force Davao, Davao City Police Office, Central 911, City Transport and Traffic Management Office, City General Services Office, City Engineer’s Office, City Environment and Natural Resources Office and the City Economic Enterprise Office, the agency in-charge of the city’s public cemeteries. Also included are the city barangay officials wherein public cemeteries are located. The final plan for the Oplan Kaluluwa will be made public Monday next week. CIO
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PH sovereignty to China By FUNNY PEARL A. GAJUNERA
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RESIDENT Duterte is eyeing to strenghten the Philippines’ bilateral relationship with the People’s Republic of Chin through his state visit to the country this week. The President said his state visit to China will mark a “key turning point” in the Philippines’ bilateral relations with its powerful Asian neighbor. He also vowed to continue pursuing an independent foreign policy that will uphold the national interests of the country. “I look forward to renewing the ties of friendship between the Philippines and China and to reaffirm the commit-
ment to work closely to achieve shared goals for our countries and people,” the President said. President Duterte’s state visit to China is the first one to be held five years after the last trip made by a Philippine head of state. It also comes on the heels of the arbitral tribunal in the Hague decision which ruled in favor of the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea maritime dispute. The President vowed his main agenda during his visit to China will be to discuss ways of improving bilateral relations between the two countries, emphasizing that he will never do anything to compromise the country’s territorial sovereign-
ty.
“I will be very careful not to bargain anything for after all I cannot give what is not mine,” President Duterte said. “I am only going there to talk,” he added. In the meantime, Associate Justice Antonio Carpio pointed out that President Duterte can be impeached if he will surrender the sovereign rights of the country to the Scarborough Shoal, which is among the contested areas in the maritime dispute. The President has agreed with the opinion of the associate justice. “Yes, he is correct. I can be impeached if I revoked our sovereignty,” he said, adding, “I
said I can’t bargain what is not mine.” In July of this year, the Hague-based arbitral court declared as illegal China’s ninedash line claim, which supposedly encompasses about 90 percent of the South China Sea including areas that are also being claimed by Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Taiwan and the Philippines. In its ruling, the tribunal said that the Philippines has sovereign rights over the Panganiban (Mischief) Reef, Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, and Recto (Reed) Bank, areas off Palawan that are within China’s nine-dash line. China, however, has refused to recognize the ruling.
sie pajama of a turtle to educate children on the situation of endangered species. She also worked for Take 3 for the Sea, a campaign to recycle plastic bottles. This advocacy was timely, she said, since water pollution in Australia is a major environmental problem. Grageda admitted she is frustrated that coal is being used as the main source of energy in Australia. This is the reason, she said,
why her current environmental campaign is anchored on renewable energy. “I am thankful to be part of Miss Earth because my advocacy reached a broader audience,” Grageda said. For her part, Angelia Ong from the Philippines, conducted public school tours around the Philippines to teach children the 5Rs (Reuse, Reduce, Recycle, Rethink, Respect). Ong said she has carried
out collaborative projects with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). She said her most recent environmental project was a tree-planting activity conducted in partnership with the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) which had a soft launch last year. “We encourage more agencies to donate seedlings,” said Ong. F MISS, 10
City gov’t prepares for Oplan Kaluluwa T Miss Earth beauties: Stewards of environment R By RIA VALDEZ
EIGNING Miss Earth-Air Dayanna Grageda and Reigning Miss Earth Angelia Ong shared how far they had gone in terms of pushing for their respective environmental advocacies during their reign as beauty queens. Grageda, an animal scientist from Austraila and a supporter of the World Wildlife Fund, advocated for wildlife conservation in public schools in Australia by wearing a one-