Edge Davao 9 Issue 286

VOL. 9 ISSUE 286 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2017

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RTC orders arrest of Matobato for kidnapping case

By FUNNY PEARL A. GAJUNERA

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HE Regional Trial Court of Panabo City Branch 4 has issued a warrant of against self-confessed member of Davao Death Squad Edgar Matobato and Sonny Custodio for kidnapping cases filed against them.

The court order was issued on March 27 by presiding judge Dorothy P. Montejo-Gonzaga. The court recommended no bail for the two accused.

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ECONOMY

Duterte’s alma mater to open Davao campus

By JECIA ANNE OPIANA

PRESSING NEED. A resident refills a container with water he bought from a company rationing potable water in Deca Homes, Cabantian, Davao City on Tuesday morning. Residents of subdivisions in the area are calling the attention of the authorities as they are experiencing water shortage since January of this year. Lean Daval Jr.

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RESIDENT Duterte’s alma mater, the Lyceum of the Philippines University has set its sights on expanding its first campus outside of Luzon in Davao City by 2018.

President Duterte graduated at the then Lyceum of the Philippines in Manila in 1968 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science.

On Tuesday, which happens to be the President’s birthday, Dr. Peter Laurel, President of the Lyceum and Laguna Campus, formally paid respect to the city councilors during

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BRUTAL KILLINGS Slay of unarmed soldier, militiaman condemned EDGEDAVAO Sports

By ALEXANDER D. LOPEZ

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adlopez0920@gmail.com

HE Philippine Army condemned on Tuesday the brutal killing of a soldier and militiaman in Laak, Compostela Valley.

Major General Rafael Valencia, commander of 10th Infantry Division, lambasted the communists belonging to the

New People’s Army Guerrilla Front 3 for ruthlessly killing an unarmed soldier and his militiaman companion.

Corporal Rey Haye and militiaman Bienvenido Detomal, all of 72nd IB, were travelling by motorcycle from their detachment in Barangay L.S. Sarmiento to Barangay Kidawa in Laak on Saturday, March 25

when waylaid by NPA rebels.

Haye and Detomal were in civilian clothes and unarmed when killed by the rebels.

“The NPAs have only brought miseries to the Filipino people for almost 50 years and it is now high time for them to abandon their destructive armed struggle and pursue their political objec-

tives in a peaceful manner,” General Valencia said.

The military leader also extended his condolences to the families of Haye and Detomal.

Meanwhile, 10th ID chief information officer Captain Rhyan Batchar said a series of encounters also took place

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CONQUERING KOTA P15 AAK Davao bets harvest 11 golds in Kota Kinabalu karatefest

2 NEWS EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 9 ISSUE 286 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2017

CREATIVE GESTURE. City Information Office staff Funny Pearl Gajunera has her photo taken beside a standee of President Duterte while holding a miniature birthday cake for the president at a local restaurant on Tuesday. President Duterte quiet celebrated his birthday with family and friends in the city. Lean Daval Jr.

Bebot sues Tonyboy Beijing open to bankroll over Tadeco contract

By ALEXANDER D. LOPEZ

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adlopez0920@gmail.com

OUSE Speaker Pantaleon “Bebot” Alvarez filed graft charges against Davao del Norte 2nd district rep. Antonio “Tonyboy” R. Floirendo, Jr. for violation of section 3 (h) of Republic Act 3019, otherwise known as the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. The graft and corruption case was filed by Alvarez at the Office of the Ombudsman on March 13, 2017.

In his affidavit-complaint, Alvarez alleged that Rep. Floirendo was serving his second term as representative of Davao del Norte 2nd district

when the Tagum Agricultural Development Company (TADECO) and the Bureau of Correction (BUCOR) renewed their Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) in 2003.

The first JVA entered into was in 1969 that allowed the TADECO to lease from BUCOR around 3,000 hectares of land located at the Davao Penal Colony (DAPECOL) to be utilized and developed into a banana plantation.

When the JVA expired in September 26, 1979, TADECO and BUCOR then executed a consolidated JVA that extend-

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US keen on providing more military aid to PHL: Palace

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ALACAÑANG on Tuesday said that the United States has expressed its understanding of the Philippine situation as well as its readiness to provide military support.

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said this was among the issues discussed

by US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim with President Rodrigo Duterte during a meeting Monday at the Presidential Guest House in Davao City.

“The President said that RP-US relations at the bilateral level remain strong and there is readiness to discuss more matters of mutual interest

with the US,” the Palace official told reporters in a Palace briefing.

He said that Kim, for his part, expressed pride over the cooperation between US and RP intelligence forces in terms of intelligence and information sharing, training and equipment support.

“Sung Kim also assured PRRD that the US understands the security concerns of the Philippines and that the US is ready to provide more military equipment, assistance and training,” he said.

“They agreed that RP and the US have mutual interests and shared values. Both

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infra projects for Davao C

HINESE Vice Premier Wang Yang said Beijing was willing to fund some projects that Duterte administration sought to implement for Davao City and the island region of Mindanao.

These projects include the P40 billion Davao City International Airport Development Project and the proposed P218billion 830-kilometer Mindanao Railway Project, which was envisioned to link up Mindanao’s major cities and areas.

Wang said China’s help can either come in the form of a financial loan or by encouraging Chinese investors to come in through the Philippine government’s Public-Private Partnership scheme.

But he said it was better if

China knew how practical the projects are through the conduct of a feasibility study.

He said he also wanted to know its impact on the lives of the people.

Ma. Lourdes Lim, the director of the National Economic and Development Authority, said Wang had pledged to send in a team that would study the Mindanao Railway Project and other proposed infrastructure projects to be undertaken in Mindanao.

“The Chinese Ambassador (Zhao Jianhua) will be coming back later this month and a Chinese mission will be arriving next month to look into the details of these projects,” Lim said.

Under the proposal, the

first phase of the railway project will connect the Davao cities of Tagum in Davao del Norte, Davao City, and Digos in Davao del Sur. The first phase, which entails the building of some 105 kilometers of tracks, dozens of passenger terminals and other facilities, was estimated to cost P31.3 billion and will be implemented by the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

Under the proposal, the first phase can be funded by loan or financing under the PPP scheme.

Lim said Wang also expressed interest in the Davao Airport Development Project, which would cost P40 billion to complete. The project included the construction of a parallel taxiway and the ex-

pansion of the passenger and terminal areas.

Assistant City Administrator Lawrence Bantiding said Wang also brought with him around $6 billion worth of agreements, including for agriculture exports to China.

Bantiding said Wang was also briefed on the 23.3-kilometer Davao City Expressway that will cost P 24.5 billion, the P34.5 billion Davao City Coastal Road, and the P38.95 billion Davao Coastline and Port Development Project.

“These projects have either been had their feasibility studies completed so this means they’re still up and can still be offered to investors either thru PPP (public private partnership) or official devel-

EW National Irrigation Administration administrator Ricardo Visaya on Tuesday vowed to fight graft and corruption by devising mechanisms to ensure maximum transparency.

In a statement, Visayas also pushed for the amendment of Executive Order No. 203, or the application of Salary Standardization Law IV to NIA and other losing government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC), with the help of the Office of the Cabinet Secretary.

He believed this is a long overdue salary increase for the benefit of the deserving and hardworking employees of NIA. Visaya, retired Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff, further said he would give priority to programs designed to boost production of local farmers.

“Our farmers are the number one clientele of NIA. We will give them what is due them in order to help increase their production,” he noted.

Visaya was elected on Tues-

day as the new NIA administrator during the regular NIA Board meeting held at the Malacanang Premier Guest House, after swearing in as the new member of the NIA Board of Directors before its acting chairman Cabinet Secretary Leoncio B. Evasco, Jr. He will also act as the concurrent Vice-Chairman of the NIA Board.

Evasco reminded Visaya that as the new administrator, “his heart and mind should always be for our farmers as they play a very crucial role in our

food security.”

Evasco added that employees should “always transact in a very transparent manner especially that we are in the government; ensure checks and balance, transparency, and accountability in government dealings.”

Visaya bowed out of the military service last Dec. 8 upon reaching the age of 56. He was awarded with the Legion of Honor degree of Commander by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.

(PNA)

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New NIA chief vows to weed out corruption N

VOL. 9 ISSUE 286 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2017

NEWS 3

EDGEDAVAO

Constitution allows PRRD to appoint barangay OICs

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LEADER in the House of Representatives on Tuesday said the Constitution enables President Rodrigo Duterte to appoint officers-in-charge in over 42,000 barangays (villages) as part of the administration’s bid to stamp out the drug menace in the country.

Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, chair of the House committee on dangerous drugs, made the statement amid mounting opposition to Duterte’s plan to postpone the barangay polls in October and appoint OICs to

fill up the posts.

“The President is empowered by the Constitution in his plan to remove all barangay officials and appoint their successors pending new elections in May 2020,” Barbers said.

Barbers referred to Section 3 of Article 10 in the Constitution, which states that Congress shall enact a local government code which shall “provide for the qualifications, election, appointment and removal, term, salaries, powers and functions and duties of local officials, and all other matters relating to the orga-

nization and operation of the local units.”

Barbers further cited Section 8 of the same article, which provides that “the term of office of elective local officials, except barangay officials, which shall be determined by law, shall be three years and no such official shall serve for more than three consecutive terms.”

Barbers explained that these constitutional provisions allow the President, through a law passed by Congress, to “remove all barangay officials and

It has a coupon rate of 4.25 percent and bid-to-cover ratio of 2.87. Issue date will be on April 11, 2017.

RTBs are intended for small investors since it can be availed for a minimum of P5,000 placement.

De Leon said the public can avail themselves of the debt instrument through select banks from March 28 to April 6, 2017.

“Now on its 19th issuance,

the RTB has provided invaluable contributions and made the difference,” De Leon said.

De Leon explained that RTBs “has evolved as a staple platform in the Government’s financing program, allowing us to achieve (the) twin objectives of inward bias to take advantage of ample domestic liquidity and reduce foreign exchange exposure.”

“At the same time, (RTB

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Gov’t surpasses RTB sale goal, gains P70B

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HE Philippine government on Tuesday sold P70 billion worth of risk-free three-year retail treasury bonds (RTBs), more than twice the P30 billion it planned earlier, due to high demand from banks.

The debt paper attracted P86.2 billion tenders, thus, the auction committee’s decision to hike the issuance, National Treasurer Rosalia De Leon said.

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BRISK BUSINESS. A worker of a company selling potable water fills up basins of a customer in Deca Homes, Cabantian, Davao City on Tuesday morning. Potable water is sold in the area for P10 to P100 per container. Lean Daval Jr.

JICA presents outline of study Dureza warns public vs OPAPP impostors for city flood control project S

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TEAM from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) recently presented to the city government the outline it has prepared for the conduct of a feasibility study on a flood control and mitigation project in the city, which will focus on the Davao River.

Nozomu Yamashita of Jica said the feasibility study will become the basis for the crafting of a master plan against the perennial problem of flooding in the city, which the Japanese government has approved for funding.

The master plan, he said, will become the city’s guide during the next 30 years in setting priorities and sequence of implementation in so far as flood control and mitigation measures are concerned.

City Planning and Development Coordinator Ivan Cortez said the city government gave assurances it would actively back the Jica master plan design, such as in the submission of all available data.

“Flood control and mitigation is among the agenda of Mayor Sara Duterte, thus, this

feasibility study and masterplan will be very advantageous for the city,” City Administrator Zuleika Lopez said.

During the presentation, which was also attended by Undersecretary Emil Sadain of the Department of Public Works and Highways, representatives from the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), City Engineer Joseph Dominic Felizarta, and Japanese Consul Tomoko Dodo, the Jica team also put emphasis on the need for continued investment in Disaster Risk Reduction.

They cited the case of Japan, which faces daily threats from earthquakes.

Yamashita revealed that the approval of the master plan’s formulation was “record breaking” as it only took the Japanese government a month to do so.

Sadain said the request was filed in November last year and was approved in December.

The news of its approval was broke by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to President Rodrigo Duterte during his visit to the city in January. CIO

City Administrator Atty. Zuleika T. Lopez and heads of offices welcome a team from Jica at City Hall. The team proposed to craft a masterplan and feasibility study on flood mitigation in Davao, focusing on the Davao River. CIO

ECRETARY Jesus Dureza has warned the public to report immediately persons claiming to represent the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) who are asking for “reservation fees” for alleged OPAPP projects.

“Information has reached our office that certain individuals are going the rounds reportedly offering persons and companies alleged OPAPP government projects and asking for ‘reservation fees,’” Dureza said in a text message Monday afternoon.

He said they have not authorized anyone to “peddle or sell projects nor are we into this unscrupulous and anomalous business.”

“We are implementing our projects in the most transparent way and proper way bereft of corruption and anomalies,” he said.

Dureza urged the public to report to them immediately, through mobile 09173009346 or landline, 02-6360701 local 823 or 824 or by email at opapp.osec@gmail.com.

(MindaNews)

Partial compensation for 4,000 Martial Law victims approved

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ALACAÑANG on Tuesday said the Human Rights Victims’ Claims Board has approved the release of partial compensation for 4,000 Martial Law victims.

In a Palace briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said “HRVCB sped up the process of evaluating and releasing of claims of Martial Law victims as part of its commitment to President Rodrigo Duterte’s goal to expedite the release of the claims.”

“The HRVCB informed the Office of the President of their accomplishments and latest development on processing and release of claims since their meeting with the President,” he said.

The Palace official said

the claims board transmitted to the Office of the Executive Secretary its Board Resolution No. 01 2017 approving their preliminary list of 4,000 eligible claimants and release of partial monetary reparation.

The first 4,000 eligible claimants, as listed in Board Resolution No. 03 2017, consisted of 2,661 “conclusively presumed victims” and 1,339 new applicants.

Abella said the HRVCB and its resolutions committed to distribute 50 percent of the total estimated reparation value through the cash card facility of Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP).

HRCVB and the LBP earlier signed an agreement to use the bank’s facilities to

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4 ECONOMY EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 9 ISSUE 286 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2017

ARMM okays P32-M cold storage and fish processing in Tawi-Tawi

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NO-HOLDS BARRED. A makeshift shop is covered with tarpaulins printed with various services it offered at Magsaysay Park in Davao City on Tuesday. Lean Daval Jr.

Hungary reopens embassy; envoy pays visit to Duterte

By JERMAINE L. DELA CRUZ

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HE Embassy of Hungary in the Philippines reopened its doors on Tuesday, March 28, bridging a gap of more than 21 years since the closing of the embassy back in 1995.

As part of Hungary’s efforts to strengthen its bilateral relations with the Philippines, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Péter Szijjártó visited Davao City on Monday to meet with President Rodrigo Duterte for a courtesy call.

Hungary is the first country in the European Union to have visited Davao City.

Szijjártó stressed in a closed-door interview that what prompted the Hungarian government to resume its embassy’s operation in the country is the ‘similarity in culture

between both countries.’

“You know, we (Hungary and Philippines) are both Christian countries. And culturally speaking, it’s very easy to get along. That’s number one. Number two, having senior economic development, it’s obvious that our Hungarian companies can do a lot,” said Szijjártó.

The opening of the Hungarian embassy also paved the way to the conduct of bilateral meeting between the Foreign Affairs and Trade minister and his counterparts, Acting Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo and Secretary of Trade and Industry Ramon Lopez, while also signing several cooperation agreements.

Two of these were signed in Davao City on Monday in-

cluding an agreement on the cooperation of the Diplomatic Institutes of the two countries, and the remaining two in Manila, including an Agreement on Economic Cooperation establishing the Philippines-Hungary Joint Economic Commission.

“We stay very focused when it comes to our strategy of external economic relations because we are a small country with a small economy so we have to be very focused on which industries, which fields of economies we’d like to be successful,” said the official.

The Hungarian official also pointed out that with the reopening of the office, it would be time and financially-efficient for Filipino students who wish to study in Hungary to apply since previously they used

to process their documents in Jakarta.

The Embassy of Hungary in the Philippines will be headed by Ambassador József Bencze, who previously served as Ambassador of Hungary to Skopje, Macedonia between 2011 and 2016 and Hungary’s National Chief of Police between 2007 and 2010. Ambassador Bencze presented his credentials to President Rodrigo Duterte on December 6, 2016.

While the Diplomatic section of the Embassy will become fully operational at the time of the official opening, the Consular section – responsible among others for the issuance of visas and the authentication of documents – will become operational during the month of April 2017.

in offering a toast at a lunch reception here this week celebrating the Philippines’ chairmanship of ASEAN. “We were the crossroads of the world’s great religions and former colonies of different masters. Given our levels of development at that time, a regional economy seemed unthinkable,” he said.

This year marks a milestone for theASEAN, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary with the theme “Partnering for Change, Engaging the World.”

The regional bloc was established on August 8, 1967 in Bangkok with five founding members—the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. It has since expanded to include Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, the Lao Republic, Myanmar

and Cambodia.

It established the ASEAN Economic Community, which officially commenced on Dec. 31, 2015, to create a single market and production base within the region through the free flow of goods, skilled labor, services and investments among its 10 member-states.

“Today is a very different time. Intra-regional trade has picked up within the framework of the ASEAN Free Trade Area. The region has become an important driver of global growth,” he said.

Dominguez said that, “Regional cooperation helped nurse the modernization of our economy. Regional partnerships helped cement a sense of common identity and common purpose. The future will be shaped by more intense regionalism.”

He said the numerous meetings to be held this year in the Philippines as ASEAN marks a half-century of existence is intended to “consolidate regional cooperation” and expected to lead to “fruitful and beneficial” results for ASEAN and its partners.

Among these meetings are the annual conferences of the ASEAN finance ministers and central bank governors to be hosted by Dominguez and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. in Cebu on April 6-7.

The luncheon reception was also attended by ranking officials from the Philippines and the other ASEAN member-states, Japanese officials and representatives from the embassies of Russia, the European Union, Pakistan in Tokyo. (PR)

Dominguez cites ASEAN role as key global growth driver

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INANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez III has cited here the key role played by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in driving the growth of the global economy and facilitating cooperation within the 10-member regional bloc.

Dominguez said ASEAN’s future “will be shaped by more intense regionalism,” with the Philippines benefiting from this move as regional cooperation had “helped nurse the modernization of our economy.”

“Fifty years ago, a group of visionaries dared to imagine a regional association for Southeast Asia. That was almost a leap of faith. No region on earth could be as diverse as our region was at that time,” said Dominguez

HE Regional Board of Investments (RBOI) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) approved Monday the application for registration of a P32-million cold storage and fish processing facility in Tawi-tawi.

In a press release, the ARMM-RBOI said the Tawi-tawi based Abing Seafoods and Cold Storage (ASCS) will engage in processing marine products, including packing and cold storage operation. for fresh, ice-chilled and frozen fishery products.

It described ASCS as a firm engaged in “responsible and rational buy and sale of various commercially important fishery resources in Tawi-Tawi for local and international markets.”

“Around 111 jobs” will be generated by the investment, including jobs for out-of– school youth and unemployed mothers, the ARMM-RBOI said.

It noted that marginalized fisherfolk like the Badjaos will be tapped as the firm’s suppliers to meet the demands for scallops and abalone, sea cucumber and sea urchin, crabs and lobsters, and fish like grouper, snapper and tuna.

ASCS will export its products to China, Singapore and Hong Kong, the ARMM-RBOI said.

Lawyer Ishak Mastura, ARMM-RBOI chair, said

the approval of the project is a strategic initiative of the ARMM government to strengthen the growth of the fishery industry in Tawi-Tawi “and most importantly, to help small-scale fishermen sell their catch at a reasonable price.”

“This is also a good way to promote ‘sustainable fished’ marine resources and support to local fisherfolk for conserving the marine environment, Mastura said.

Around 95% of the 391,000 population of Tawi-Tawi live in coastal areas, and about 15% of these are municipal fishers.

“In Tawi-Tawi, marine fishing is not just an industry but is a way of life. It has been a part of their culture that has been passed from generation to generation,” Mastura added.

ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman said the project can further help address poverty incidence in Tawi-Tawi. The island province has the lowest poverty incidence in the five-province region, at 10.2% as of 2015. The region’s average poverty incidence is 48.2%.

“By incentivizing fishery related investment projects, we will be able to encourage businessmen and fishing communities to maximize the utilization of our fishery resources in a sustainable manner,” ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman said. (MindaNews)

Envoy reaffirms U.S. government’s commitment for Mindanao dev’t

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RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte and US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Y. Kim held a productive meeting in Davao City on Monday involving various issues.

They discussed the extensive b‎ ilateral partnership over the years as well as cooperation on counterterrorism, child protection, piracy, and economic development in Mindanao. The ambassador highlighted U.S.-Philippine partnerships in the region that strengthen the local economy and promote peace and stability.

Ambassador Kim also gave remarks at a luncheon meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce-Mindanao, conveying the U.S. government’s wholehearted support of the vibrant U.S.-Philippine economic relationship, and emphasizing the Embassy’s commitment to development in Mindanao.

Honoring Women’s History Month, Ambassador Kim highlighted the Embassy’s U.S. Agency for International Development funding of a project training women to weave nets that stop erosion and landslides along the roadways in Ramon Magsaysay, Zamboanga del Sur. Overall, the U.S. government has pledged more than Php3.5 billion for dozens of projects in Mindanao over

the next few years, including the Roll-on, Roll-off (RO-RO) nautical highway. On April 30, the route will connect the cities of Davao and General Santos to Bitung in the Sulawesi Island of Indonesia. This accomplishment will help U.S. and Philippine businesses operating in Mindanao increase their exports at great savings.

The Ambassador also shared a few concrete examples of the close business ties between U.S. companies and Mindanao. Demand from U.S. clients generate an estimated 40,000 well-paying BPO jobs in Mindanao. Cargill, a U.S. agricultural corporation, exports Php7.5 billion worth of coconut oil every year, much of which comes from Mindanao, supporting tens of thousands of Mindanao farmers. Together with its partners GIZ and BASF, Cargill has trained more than 1,000 coconut farmers since 2011 on improving agricultural practices. As a result, 300 small farmers from the region have been certified to produce the world’s first Rainforest Alliance certified copra, raising their incomes by 15 percent.

For more on U.S. government programs in Mindanao and across the Philippines, visit ph.usembassy.gov or visit us on Facebook at www. facebook.com/manila.usembassy/. (PNA)

VOL. 9 ISSUE 286 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2017

EDGEDAVAO

ECONOMY 5 Power supply adequate for the summer: DOE

Hungary schools open 35 slots for Pinoy scholars W

By JERMAINE L. DELA CRUZ

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UNGARIAN universities will be accepting applicants for scholarships for various programs starting April 2017 as announced by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary Péter Szijjártó who visited Davao City on Monday.

The first member of the European Union to have visited Davao City, the Hungarian official met with President Rodrigo Duterte at the presidential guesthouse in Panacan for a courtesy call.

The Hungarian official told Edge Davao on Monday at Waterfront Insular Hotel that 35 scholarships will be offered to Filipinos annually as part of the memorandum of understanding inked between Szijjártó and Acting

Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo which serves as a framework for cooperation of the Diplomatic Institutes of the two countries.

These are programs on finance, English language, agricultural studies, economics, engineering, information technology, and Mathematics.

“We stay very focused when it comes to our strategy of external economic relations because we are a small country with a small economy so we have to be very focused on which industries, which fields of economies we’d like to be successful,” said the official.

Meanwhile, Szijjártó pointed out Hungary’s strengths in terms of food processing technology, water

management, agriculture and machinery which the country eyes to bring into the Philippines.

“Hungary has the strictest regulation on food particularly on meat processing,” stressed the official.

As part of Hungary’s efforts to strengthen their bilateral relation with the Philippines, the Embassy of Hungary in the Philippines reopened its doors on Tuesday, March 28, bridging a gap of more than 21 years since the closing of the embassy back in 1995.

The Hungarian official also pointed out that with the reopening of the office, it would be time and financially-efficient for Filipino students who wish to study

in Hungary to apply since previously they used to process their documents in Jakarta.

The Embassy of Hungary in the Philippines will be headed by Ambassador József Bencze, who previously served as Ambassador of Hungary to Skopje, Macedonia between 2011 and 2016 and Hungary’s National Chief of Police between 2007 and 2010.

While the Diplomatic section of the Embassy will become fully operational at the time of the official opening, the Consular section – responsible among others for the issuance of visas and the authentication of documents – will become operational during the month of April 2017.

ITH the summer season already in full swing and demand for energy at its highest, the Department of Energy (DOE) is confident that power supply even for the summer months will be adequate.

DOE Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella said that the DOE has already taken the necessary steps to closely monitor power plants and their scheduled maintenance shutdowns to avoid any incidents of a forced outage.

Fuentebella also announced that there are new power plants in Limay, Bataan from San Miguel Corporation coming in April and May with a total of 300 megawatts (MW) and preparations for the Interruptible Load Program (ILP) are already being made.

Under the ILP, major power consumers like malls which have their own generator sets will voluntarily break off from the main grid and so that the reduced load will be distributed to other smaller establishments and residential consumers.

Fuentebella also indicated that from April 22 to June

10, a total of 20 power plants will undergo maintenance shutdowns, the biggest of which is the Pagbilao Unit 1.

The DOE is carefully studying the matter so that a proper scheduling of maintenance work will be implemented and no unnecessary power interruptions during the period would occur.

Despite the readiness, the DOE is still on a fullscale information campaign for energy conservation especially during the season when demand and consumption will be at its highest for the year. ”Aside from the plants that we are looking into, the Malaya is ready to run.

And also, we have a massive campaign for conservation, because the demand-side is forgotten sometimes that we play a very important role, the consumers. Especially so with our IT gadgets,” Fuentebella said.

Fuentebella also indicated that for Luzon which has a demand of around 9,000MW, there is a reserve of over 10,000 MW. For Visayas and Mindanao which has a demand of around 1,500 MW, there are reserves of 2,000 MW. (PNA)

BSP chief eyes inflation rate to rise near 4% until Q3‘17

VARIETY SELLS. A trader delivers different kinds of bread at a sari-sari store in Cabantian, Davao City early morning of Tuesday. Lean Daval Jr.

PH, EU affirm trade and development partnership

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EPARTMENT of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez and European Union (EU) Ambassador to the Philippines Franz Jessen affirmed the long-term partnership of the Philippines and the EU on trade and development with the completion of the third phase of the EU-Philippine Trade Related Technical Assistance project 3 (TRTA 3) on 28 March.

“By working on trade-related issues through the project, the EU and the Philippines collaborated on strengthening the framework for trade policy for inclusive growth, and enhancing our capacity to implement a competition policy and a national quality infrastructure that would protect consumers and improve compliance with international standards,” Sec. Lopez said during the closing ceremo-

nies of the third phase of the EU-Philippine TRTA3.

“This will also help increase our access to international markets, and facilitate cross-border movement of goods,” he added.

“We are committed to support the strengthening of Philippines’ integration into the world economy, and to contribute to the country’s inclusive growth goals,” Ambassador Jessen said, with the EU already committing EUR 6.1 million for a fourth phase of the programme.

The EU has been supporting the Philippines with trade-related technical assistance since 2005. TRTA 3, the third phase of the program (2014-2017), aimed to build capacity among stakeholders for the Philippines’ integration into the international and regional trading and investment system. The project

components covered Trade Policy, Competition Policy, National Quality Infrastructure, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Conformity, and Trade Facilitation.

The trade chief explained that the program worked with both public and private sectors to actively participate in global trade.

“Trade is a lever for economic growth, job creation, and poverty reduction. As ASEAN chair in 2017, the Philippines also recognises the strong implications of trade for regional cooperation and stability,” he said.

A highlight of the TRTA3 closing program is the launch of the Philippine Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (PhilRASFF), a state-of-the-art web-based alert system for food authorities to immediately respond to food safety incidents. These include contami-

nated food products found on the Philippine market or at the Philippine border, as well as food-borne disease outbreaks involving marketed products.

In cooperation with the EU RASFF, ASEAN RASFF and the International Network of Food Safety Authorities (INFOSAN), the PhilRASFF system enables competent authorities to file notifications and exchange information--whether as a result of inspections or through foreign notifications--on consumer complaints or companies reporting food safety incidents.

PhilRASFF will also strengthen the capacity of the Philippines to efficiently tackle food safety risks and to contribute to the overall safety of food marketed in the ASEAN. The PhilRASFF was implemented by the TRTA 3 in partnership with the Philippines Food and Drug Administration (FDA). (PR)

T

HE Philippines’ inflation rate is seen to continue its rise towards the upper end of the central bank’s 2 percent to 4 percent target range until the third quarter of the year.”A closer scrutiny of the monthly inflation path will show that inflation imprints will be rising until sometime in the third quarter of 2017. And the monthly rates are expected to be very close to the upper band of the target range,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said in his speech during the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) economic briefing 2017 and general membership meeting held in Makati Shangri-La Tuesday.

The central bank chief however assured MAP members that full-year average inflation rates for 2017 and 2018 are projected to remain within target.

“Even so, our forecast path suggests that monthly inflation will slow down thereafter, resulting in within-target full-year averages over the policy horizon for the next two years,” he said.

Inflation has continued its rise since the second half of 2016 due to the normalization of oil prices in the inter-

national market.

Rate of price increases went back to within-target levels starting in September 2016 after it rose to 2.3 percent from month-ago’s 1.8 percent as oil prices continued to go up, after falling below target levels since May 2016.

In the first two months this year, the rate of price increases averaged 3 percent, the middle of the target range.

Inflation last February alone rose to 3.3 percent from month-ago’s 2.7 percent due to faster increases in the prices of heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages.

The central bank forecasts March 2017 inflation to stay within 3 percent and 3.8 percent.

Last week, the central bank’s policy-making Monetary Board (MB) cut the BSP’s average inflation forecast for this year and next on account of slower growth of domestic liquidity and lower prices of oil in the international market.

The new forecast for this year is 3.4 percent, from 3.5 percent set during the board’s meeting last February, while projection for next year is currently at 3 percent from 3.1 percent. (PNA)

EDGEDAVAO

6 VANTAGE

VOL. 9 ISSUE 286 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2017

EDITORIAL

Weeding them all out

W

HEN you cleanse a country, it starts from the very bottom. That is the principle being pushed by the Duterte administration which, for the nth time, could face another uproar over the President’s proposal to scrap the Barangay and SK elections this year and instead appoint “incorruptible” barangay officials.

Opposition to that move has started with some lawmakers saying it is legally unacceptable.

But there’s this latest development which says it can be done.

Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, chair of the House committee on dangerous drugs, said the plan to postpone the barangay polls in October and appoint OICs to fill up the posts is constitutionally possible.

Barbers, who has filed House Bill 5359 seeking to defer the October 2017 barangay and SK elections until May 2020 supposedly to cleanse drug-infested villages, believes that the President is empowered by the Constitution in his plan to remove all barangay officials and appoint their successors pending new elections.

The provision referred to is Section 3 of Article 10 in the Constitution, which states that Congress shall enact a local government code which shall “provide for the qualifications, election, appointment and removal, term, salaries, powers and functions and duties of local officials, and all other matters

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relating to the organization and operation of the local units.”

Section 8 of the same article also provides that “the term of office of elective local officials, except barangay officials, which shall be determined by law, shall be three years and no such official shall serve for more than three consecutive terms.”

These constitutional provisions allow the President, through a law passed

by Congress, to remove all barangay officials and appoint their successors.

So why do we have to rid the barangays of these incumbent officials and put in place appointees? It is precisely the fact that most of the 42,000 barangays in the country have been infiltrated by illegal drugs syndicates. Drug money has crept into the villages making these drug lords impervious from arrests and criminal charges.

The barangay elections used to be a non-political exercise. Not anymore. It has become an electoral exercise where money--huge amount of money--circulate to buy votes. The money used to buy votes--drug money that is--dictate the future of the barangays.

And so what can we expect? The drug menace is that problematic. You have to cut through the very root of this evil before you can eliminate it.

It is a disease that’s widespread and can only mean a solution more than pain relief.

AGUSTIN V. MIAGAN JR Circulation

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EDGEDAVAO

D

URING the 1914 Second Philippine Exposition, Davao, as part of the quasi-autonomous government of Mindanao and Sulu, was not lacking in introduction. As the principal center of the abaca industry in the South, it had its share of accolades.

In particular, the hemp fiber of Davao, measuring 10 to 15 feet long, was described as “almost as white as paper.”

But the fruits native to the region also got its fair credit from critics and visitors, especially the citrus (also known as buongon, grapefruit, or pomelo, scientifically known as Citrus decumana Murr.), mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana), and durian (Durio zibethinus). A review published during the exposition said it all: “The size and beauty of our citrus fruits from Davao will attract your attention—it merely means that in a few years refrigerator boats will be running from Davao to Manila. The delicate mangostine (sic) is rarely found in the Philippines outside of [Mindanao and Sulu]. Its tree requires 20 years to grow into bearing, and the round, pink mangostines (sic) are called ‘king’s fruit’ by the Sulus. The durian has an evil smell, but that disappears with the first mouthful and then you taste peaches, grapes, maple, sugar, strawberries.”

John Foreman, in The Philippine Islands: A Political, Geographical, Ethnographical, Social and Commercial History of the Philippine Archipelago and Its

“M

ARRIAGE is only between man and woman.” That was President Rodrigo R. Duterte told the Filipino community in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar.

He said those words when asked why he won’t allow legalizing same-sex marriage in the country. “… We’re Catholics and there is the Civil Code, which says that you can only marry a woman for me (and) for a woman to marry a man. That’s our law…”

As such, he won’t approve same sex relationship because he cannot ignore the “great divide between a woman and a man” when God created them.

The Bible stated that woman was created out of a man. Genesis 2:21-22 recorded: “So, the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.”

When Adam (the first man) saw Eve (the first woman), he said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman for she was taken out of man.” (Genesis 2:23).

Then, God instituted the first marriage: “For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24).

Although marriage is a sacred thing, people can’t help to make fun out

VOL. 9 ISSUE 286 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2017

VANTAGE POINTS

The fruits of Davao in alien eyes

Political Dependencies Embracing the Whole Period of Spanish Rule (1899), had something to say also about these local fruits: “Mangosteens… are found in the islands of Mindanao and Sulu. In Mindanao Island,[and] on the neck of land forming the western extremity, the Durien (sic) thrives. It is about as large as a pine-apple, white inside, and when ripe it opens out in three or four places. It is very delicious eating, but has a fetid smell. The seeds, as large as beans, are good to eat when roasted. The tree bears fruit about every 20 years.”

Marian M. George, in Little Journeys to Hawaii and the Philippine Islands (1901), also had an exhilarating experience about the fruits that are grown abundantly in the wilds: “The durian has a very objectionable odor, but is regarded as the most delicious-tasting fruit in the whole archipelago. It is six to ten inches long, has a thick, spiny rind, and a custard-like pulp… The mangosteen grows upon a tree fifteen to twenty feet high.

It is about the size of an apple, is reddish-brown in color, and has a thick rind. The pulp is white, juicy, sweet, with an acid tinge, and delightful to the taste.”

Although mainly eaten for household use but not cultivated in commercial quantity, the praise the mangosteen is the ‘king’s fruit’ finds confirmation in The Philippine Islands (1905), written

of it. Marriage, someone once said, is a three-ring circus: engagement ring, wedding ring, and suffering. A Polish proverb states: The woman cries before the wedding and the man after.

This story proves: A man placed some flowers on the grave of his dearly parted mother and started back toward his car when his attention was diverted to another man kneeling at a grave.

The man seemed to be praying with profound intensity and kept repeating, “Why did you have to die? Why did you have to die?”

The first man approached him and said, “Sir, I don’t wish to interfere with your private grief, but this demonstration of pain in is more than I’ve ever seen before. For whom do you mourn so deeply? A child? A parent?”

The mourner took a closer look at the person asking and then said, “My wife’s first husband.”

Here are more anecdotes.

It has been a decade since the two friends met. So, they went to a bar and tried to share what had happened after they parted ways. They found out that both of them are now married. The first one said, “My wife’s an angel!” The second guy, feeling sad, commented, “You’re lucky, mine’s still alive.”

Here’s another one. A couple came upon a wishing well. The husband leaned over, made a wish and threw in a coin. The wife decided to make a wish, too. But she leaned over too much, fell

FAST BACKWARD Antonio V. Figueroa

by Fred W. Atkinson, the country’s first general superintendent of Education.

He wrote: “The mangosteen, a product of the equatorial region, is found as an exotic in some of the southern islands. By the Moros this is called the ‘king’s fruit’ because it is so highly prized by their sultans; and such a name is by no means inappropriate, for the fruit is most delicately flavored and suggests a fruit lemonade. In appearance it very much resembles an orange except for the white color of its parts.”

Beyond food and folk medicine, some of the endemic fruits of Davao offer, as early as a year after the American takeover from Spanish rule, they

Sacred union

THINK ON THESE!

Henrylito D. Tacio

into the well, and drowned. The husband was stunned for a while but then smiled, “It really works!”

Even famous men have something to say about the subject. “I was married by a judge,” said Hollywood comedian George Burns. “I should have asked for a jury.” Socrates advised, “By all means marry. If you get a good wife, you’ll be happy. If you get a bad one, you’ll become a philosopher.”

Women know what they want when it comes to marriage. Zsa Zsa Gabor, who married several times, said, “A man in love is incomplete until he is married. Then he is finished.”

Beverley Nichols seemed to agree: “Marriage is a book of which the first

7

were already prospect for business.

Margherita Arlina Hamm, in her America’s New Possessions and Spheres of Influence (1899) wrote about “a small future for the preservation and canning of tropical fruits, more particularly the pineapple, guava, mango, lichee and mangosteen. The distillation of essential oils and the manufacture of perfumes and toilet waters seem to offer a fair future to a business man.”

The durian, in particular, has also caught the attention of many explorers, and later tourists who came to the country for adventures. To the Bagobo, especially a woman who is pregnant, the saps and fruits carry magical results when taken in as food and medicine.

Laura Watson Benedict, in her dissertation titled A Study of Bagobo Ceremonial, Magic and Myth (1916), explains “the tuba, a toddy extracted from the inflorescence of the cocoanut palm, the stem of baris, the bulla, the fruits of the balisinan, lapisut, tual, kamusi, durian and lukka” as among the “articles of diet.”

Englishman William Dampier, who explored Davao, had a more thorough account of the durian as he saw and tasted it. In 1868, he wrote that the fruit is “as big as apple trees, full of boughs... [its] fruit is so large that they grow only about the bodies, or on the limbs near the body, like the cacao [and] is about the bigness of a large pumpkin, covered with a thick green rough rind. When it is

ripe, the rind begins to turn yellow, but it is not fit to eat till it opens at the top.

Then the fruit… sends forth an excellent scent.”

He adds the fruit is “as big as a pullets egg” with its content “as white as milk, and as soft as cream, and the taste very delicious to those that are accustomed to them; but those who have not been used to eat them, will dislike them at first, because they smell like roasted onions,” adding the thin-shelled seeds can be roasted and eaten, tasting like chestnuts.

Pomelo, on the other hand, is native to Southeast Asia and was, grown in the wilds prior to its commercial cultivation. It can be eaten raw with salt sprinkled over it, and can be consumed as dessert, or taken in as salads and drinks.

“The fruit,” the Wikipedia explains, “tastes like a sweet, mild grapefruit… though the typical pomelo is much larger than the grapefruit, and also has a much thicker rind. It has none, or very little, of the common grapefruit’s bitterness, but the enveloping membranous material around the segments is bitter, considered inedible, and thus is usually discarded. The peel is sometimes used to make marmalade, can be candied, and is sometimes dipped in chocolate.”

Davao’s exotic fruit list also includes the rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum), lanzones (Lansium domesticum), and marang (Artocarpus odoratissimus).

chapter is written in poetry and the remaining chapters are written in prose.”

“Many a man owes his success to his first wife and his second wife to his success,” said Jim Backus. This statement comes to mind after reading this story. Don was a single guy living at home with his father and working in the family business. When he found out he was going to inherit a fortune when his sickly father died, he decided he needed a wife with which to share his fortune.

One evening, at an investment meeting, he spotted the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her natural beauty took his breath away. “I may look like just an ordinary man,” he said to her, “but, in just a few years, my father will die, and I’ll inherit 20 million dollars.”

Impressed, the woman obtained his business card and, three days later, she became his stepmother.

Ever wonder why married men gain weight while bachelors don’t?

Well, single men go to the refrigerator, see nothing they want, then go to bed.

Married guys go to the bed, see nothing they want, then go to the refrigerator.

That’s the difference.

It was their silver anniversary. The husband asked his wife, “Where do you want to go for our anniversary?” She said, “Somewhere I have never been!”

The husband thought twice and said, “How about the kitchen?”

Now, let’s hear some conversations between a father and his son. The little boy asked, “Daddy, how much does it cost to get married?” The father replied, “I don’t know son, I’m still paying.”

On another occasion, the son inquired, “Is this true what I heard that in some parts of Africa a man doesn’t know his wife until he marries her?”

The father answered even without putting the newspaper he was reading, “That happens in every country, son.”

Married for more a decade, a man disclosed to a friend, “I never knew what real happiness was until I got married; and then it was too late.” No wonder, Oscar Wilde said these words: “Bachelors should be heavily taxed. It is not fair that some men should be happier than others.”

Is there such a thing as a marriage made in heaven? Well, there was one: When Adam and Eve were married

by God. Theirs was an ideal marriage.

Adam didn’t have to hear about all the men she could have married. And Eve didn’t have to hear about how well his mother cooked.

To end, allow me to quote the words of Irish playwright Brendan Behan, “I think weddings are sadder than funerals, because they remind you of your own wedding. You can’t be reminded of your own funeral because it hasn’t happened. But weddings always make me cry.”

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9

10 NEWS

EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 9 ISSUE 286 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2017

Beijing... FROM 2 opment assistance,” Lim said.

Lim said that among the five projects presented, only the Davao Coastal Road proj-

ect has an actual initial layout and the initial budget of P2 billion will be released this year for the Road right of ways. CIO

ed the lease to 25 years.

The consolidated JVA was again renewed in May 21, 2003 for another 25 years.

Alvarez alleged that based on the renewal in 2003, BUCOR shall receive from TADECO a guaranteed annual production share of P26,541,809M which shall automatically increase by 10 percent every five years for the 5,308.36 hectares of leased land.

He added that BUCOR shall also receive profit shares with respect to the leased land, the amount of which shall also automatically increase by 10 percent every 5 years.

Alvarez alleged that Rep. Floirendo’s family wholly owned TADECO and in 1977, organized the Anflo Management and Investment Corporation (ANFLOCOR) to answer the need of TADECO to manage its vast business.

It was the renewal of the JVA of TADECO and BUCOR in

2003 that Alvarez anchored his graft complaint, given that on that year, Rep. Floirendo was a public official serving as representative of Davao del Norte 2nd district and at the same time among the owners of TADECO. The speaker also presented as evidence in his complaint documents that showed shares of Rep. Floirendo in TADECO and ANFLOCOR. Alvarez said elements of offense punishable under sec.

3 (h) of RA 3019 include: (1) The accused is a public officer; (2) He has a direct or indirect financial or pecuniary interest in any business, contract or transaction; and (3) He either (a) intervenes or takes part in his official capacity in connection with such interest, or (b) is prohibited from having such interest by the Constitution or by law.

As of press time, Rep. Floirendo has not yet issued any statement on the matter.

stressed that these fruitful engagements and discussions are very important in ensuring that both states are on the same page,” Abella said.

Meanwhile, the US Embassy in Manila said that Kim had a “friendly, productive meeting with President Duterte” in Davao City.

“They discussed the extensive bilateral partnership over the years as well as cooperation on counter-terrorism, child protection, piracy, and economic development in Mindanao,” the Embassy said in a statement released Tuesday.

It said Kim discussed the two countries’ partnerships in the region, especially on strengthening the local economy and promoting peace and stability.

“Overall, the US government has pledged more than P 3.5 billion for dozens of projects in Mindanao over the next few years, including the Rollon, Roll-off, or RO-RO, nautical

highway,” it said.

The US Embassy said the nautical highway project, which will connect the cities of Davao and General Santos to the Sulawesi Island of Indonesia by April 30, is meant to help US and Philippine businesses in Mindanao increase their exports “at great savings.”

It also highlighted the contribution of US agricultural corporation Cargill to Mindanao.

“Cargill exports P7.5 billion worth of coconut oil every year, much of which comes from Mindanao, supporting tens of thousands of Mindanao farmers,” the Embassy said.

It said the company has also trained 1,000 coconut farmers to improve their agricultural practices.

“As a result, 300 small farmers from the region have been certified to produce the world’s first Rainforest Alliance certified copra, raising their incomes by 15 percent,” the statement said. (PNA)

appoint their successors.”

“Any law passed to this effect automatically amends the local government code,” he added.

Barbers has filed House Bill 5359, seeking to defer the October 2017 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections until May 2020, supposedly to cleanse drug-infested villages.

“The drug problem begins at the grassroots level, therefore, this is where we should start cleansing,” he added.

Barbers said the bill also pushes for the termination of incumbent barangay officials, thus allowing President Duterte to appoint a new set of “incorruptible” officers-in-charge toward a “drug-free Philip-

pines”.

Under the bill, subsequent synchronized barangay and SK elections shall be held on the second Monday of May 2023 and every three years thereafter.

House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, for his part, expressed optimism the House of Representatives will be able to pass a measure postponing barangay elections and allowing the Chief Executive to appoint OICs

by June.

Alvarez said there is enough time for Congress to pass a legislation amending the Local Government Code for the postponement of the October 2017 barangay elections, especially if President Duterte certifies the bill as urgent. (PNA)

Bebot... FROM 2

PLAYTIME. Students spend their morning playing at the playground at Magsaysay Park in Davao City on Tuesday morning, a couple of days before the school break. Lean Daval Jr.

BRUTAL... FROM 1

in Davao City and Compostela Valley between March 25 and March 27.

The first encounter occurred at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 25, when elements of 3rd Infantry Battalion engaged an undetermined number of NPA rebels belonging to Pulang Bagani Company 2 in Sitio Unapan, Barangay Suawan, Marilog District, Davao City.

Batchar said the 3rd IB pursued the fleeing NPA rebels triggering the second encounter in Sitio Mountainside of the same village the following day, Sunday, March 26 at 5:30 a.m.

Government troopers were able to recover 15 backpacks filled with personal belongings, an improvised explosive device, five improvised hand grenades, 10 blasting caps, two detonating devices, one rifle grenade, a 100-meter wire, one handheld radio, magazines of M16 and AK-47

rifles, live ammunitions, medical paraphernalia, an NPA flag and several subversive documents.

The troops also recovered the dead body of an NPA rebel identified as Patrisio Anab who was left by his fleeing comrades, Batchar added.

The third encounter took place in Sitio Lanipga, Barangay Talian, Maragusan town, Compostela Valley province at around 10:25 a.m. on Monday, March 27, when elements of 66th IB pursued the NPA rebels involved in the burning of vehicles in the area.

Batchar said the NPAs, last March 25 burned three container vans loaded with bananas owned by DOLE Philippines in Purok Gemilina, Poblacion, Maragusan.

Government troopers recovered from the encounter site an M-16 Armalite rifle, supplies and equipments left behind by the rebels.

issuance) help(s) inculcate good money habits by providing access to an affordable and secure instrument that yields favorable returns to help achieve one’s goals,” she added.

RTBs have higher yields than regular time deposits and earn a fixed interest rate based on current market rates. Its returns are given on a quarterly basis.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) has tapped First Metro Investment Corporation (FMIC) and Land Bank of the Philippines (Landbank) as Joint Lead Issue Managers and BDO Capital & Investment Corporation, BPI Capital Corporation, Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), China Bank Capital Corporation and SB Capital Corporation as Joint Issue Managers for this RTB sale.

It has scheduled series of roadshows to further drum-

up the issuance. These will be held on: March 28, DBP Bulwagan, Makati City March 29, Mount Malarayat Golf and Country Club, Lipa City March 29, Marco Polo Hotel, Davao City March 30, Baguio Country Club, Baguio City March 30, Radisson Blu Hotel, Cebu City March 31, Quest Hotel, Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga March 31, Seda Atria Hotel, Iloilo City April 3, Mallberry Suites Business Hotel, Cagayan de Oro City April 3, The Oriental Legazpi, Legazpi City The last time the government issued RTBs was in September 2016, wherein Php 100 billion worth of 10-year RTBS with an interest rate of 3.5 percent was sold. (PNA)

Gov’t... FROM 3

RTC... FROM 1

“No bail bond is recommended for the provisional liberty of each accused in the above-entitled case,” the court ordered.

The kidnapping happened on 2002 against alleged international terrorist Sali Makdum who was living in Island Garden City of Samal at that time along with his family.

Makdum’s wife filed the complaint before the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) against Matobato and Custodio.

Matobato has earlier confessed to the kidnapping during the senate hearing, say-

ing that then Davao City Mayor now President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the killing of Makdum.

According to Matobato’s sworn statement, Makdum was the brain of several bombings in Mindanao including the one in Kidapawan City.

He said that Duterte ordered the arrest of Makdum in 2002 that led to the latter’s death.

The family of Makdum meanwhile belied the allegations of Matobato. His his mother in law clarified that Makdum was kidnapped by Matobato and his cohorts and not arrested.

the Sangguniang Panlunsod regular session and told them of their plans to put up LPU in the growing city of Davao.

“It started four years ago when we went to Davao and when we had our courtesy call with PRRD, who was then the mayor and a graduate of the university, he said that it would be nice to have a Lyceum in Davao,” Laurel said.

Laurel also expressed that at first, they were not thinking of putting up LPU in Davao but instead, in Cebu.

“We chose Davao because of its strong program on peace and order. Of course President Duterte coming from the city and being our alumni was also a factor. We see the potential for the entire city. We know that with peace and order,

comes great economic benefits. We would like to play a big role in the education side of nation building,” Laurel added.

The eight-hectare LPU Davao campus will be located in front of Jose Maria College, near Francisco Bangoy International Airport and will be offering courses that the university takes pride for excellence like Business, Information Technology, Hotel and Restaurant Management, Hospitality Management, Medical Technology, Maritime and Engineering. Construction will start in April and hopes to end and fully take shape in 2018.

LPU has several campuses based in Luzon which are in Batangas, Laguna, Cavite, Makati and Manila.

pay legitimate claimants.

He added that the HRCVB has already requested the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for the release of PHP 300 million from the Bureau of Treasury for the partial payment of monetary reparation.

“The claims board, following the point system prescribed by the reparation law, came up with a total of PHP 23,567 points to be awarded to the first batch of claimants. That should be sufficient,” Abella said.

(PNA)

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INdulge!

VOL. 9 ISSUE 286 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2017

STYLE

EDGEDAVAO

Styled for

SUMMER

DABAWENYO FASHIONISTAS got a taste of the latest summer trends with SM Woman’s Summer Styling Event with Cebuana stylist and event host Ms. Blinky De Leon last March 15 at the SM Store of SM City Davao.

Shoppers were given a quick run-down on SM Woman’s latest looks and rends for the season.

“Our woman understands fashion,” says Jo Dy Juanco, SVP of SM Ladies Fashion, “it’s a constant conversation that informs our products — we work hard to provide clothing that lives up to

our core DNA; accessible, affordable, and always in style.” It’s a brand that caters to every woman, fit to clothe all ages, body types and lifestyles with product lines that run the gamut from up-to-date fashion, to active wear, to sleepwear, to intimates; and now launching for s/s 2017, our new offerings for swim and resort wear.

Key Summer Trends SM Woman’s new collection is cruise classic resort wear designed for the everyday modern woman. Of optic whites, tropical blues and subtle florals; crushed poplins, sporty synthetics and sheer tulles — the collection boasts a welcoming range of pieces that always cater to every age, shape and lifestyle.

The beachwear collection begins with a printed lineup of Botanicals, the look is elevated kitsch of the best kind. It’s swimwear separates tailored in sharp shapes: with only grommets, knotting and ties for detail.

The Nautical set edges up classic one-piece swim styles with sailor stripes and lace-up detail. The Romantic collection is easy neutrals in flounced black and white bikinis; made poolside chic in sheer embroidered cover-ups cut close to the

slits; asymmetric flounces paired with cropped ruffle trousers. The poplin collection does well with an exaggerated touch, a constant interplay between pleats and drapery. All-white is reinvented in resort-ready fabrications but still done up in effortless silhouettes and off-shoulder sheathes. Product drops in all SM Stores nationwide are from March to May 2017.

body. All swim styles are available in a wide range of shapes and cuts for all body types.

Resort for SM Woman s/s ‘17 is a study on volume. It’s generous day dresses segmented with

A Celebration of All Women After the quick introduction to the collection, lady shoppers were invited to style themselves with the latest on-trend

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pieces. A quick fashion show followed with the best-in-look taking home a prize from the SM Store.

SM Woman’s s/s ‘17 is two things; an ode to summer and a celebration of all women. The launch of its newest campaign also kicks-off the beginning of Women’s Month in all SM Stores nationwide; that means a special promotion for all Wednesdays of March, 10% off on all regular-priced items exclusive to all women.

The new SM Woman campaign signals a return to form, and an ambitious vision for the future of Philippine fashion. Beginning with spring/summer 2017 — and upward and onward — SM Woman redefines homegrown fashion for the modern global Filipina, living up to its promise of being the Fashion for Every Woman. For style updates, new product deliveries and upcoming promotions, follow them @smwoman and @gtwbysm.

EDGEDAVAO PARTNER ESTABLISHMENTS Serving a seamless society

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DavNor LSWDO is the only ‘fully functional’ in RXI F

OR effectively bringing the needed services to remote areas especially to the needy, Davao del Norte was adjudged as “Fully Functional Local Social Welfare Development Office” in Region XI during the DSWD’s 66th anniversary at Grand Men Seng Hotel, Davao City on March 3, 2017.

Per Department of Social Welfare Development RXI Director Mercedita Jabagat, DavNor SWDO adapted and comply all the parameters set by the department.

“As a fully functional we have our criteria and we validate and assess the office of the provincial social welfare and development office because for the entire Philippines, all the Social Welfare Development Office should be functional,” said the DSWD RXI director without naming each factor.

For the entire Region XI, only the Davao del Norte provincial field office reached the “gold” status in all fields which include and not limited to budget administration, personnel, offices and frontline programs to effectively deliver the needed services to the poor.

“For Davao del Norte they reached the gold award for that. That’s the highest because we have the bronze, silver and for the fully functional, it’s gold. . . Aside from the budget, part of the criteria, a staff complement particularly budget for the operation of the

Governor Anthony del Rosario with DavNor PSWD Officer Ms. Arlene Semblante accept the “Fully Functional LSWDO” award from RXI DSWD Director and DSWD Secretary Judy Taguiwalo during the department’s 66th anniversary at Grand Men Seng Hotel on March 3, 2017. The Tagum CSWDO, Kapalong MSWDO, Braulio E. Dujali Volunteer and Talaingod KALAHI-CIDSS Federation Association were also honoured during the event. (lordpix)

programs and services for the poor,” director Jabagat further said.

Davao del Norte Governor Anthony del Rosario is the only governor in the region present during the event which readily accepted the challenge of scaling up the delivery of public services through the PSWDO. “Wa gyod ko nag-expect nga kita lang diay ang fully functioning kay nagtuo ko nga sa tibuok nasod ang tanang social welfare office fully functioning. I was actually surprise nga kita lang diay sa Region

XI. . . ato gyod na ipa-improve pa samot ang atoang Social Welfare Development Office kay kining PSWDO . . importante gyod ni nga opisina . .

PSWD is going to be very vital and critical to the successful implementation to our BEST PEOPLE development agenda. . . So importante gyod nga pondohan ug ma-improve pa nato,” said Governor Anthony del Rosario in his speech. [Not expecting that we are the only fully functional (PSWDO) thinking that all social welfare offices are such. We’re only in

Region XI. . . we have to scale up our SWDO (services) for this is a very important office . . . . Fund allocation is vital for its improve services] Aside from the DavNor provincial SWDO, the Tagum

CSWDO, Kapalong MSWDO were also awarded as best city and municipal SWDOs in the region, respectively, including Ms Thelma Eliseo-Villagracia adjudged as Best Volunteer (individual) Award and the Ta-

laingod KALAHI-CIDSS Federated Association (TAKAFA) under IP leader president Rufino Bintas.

“I was also surprise kay kita man gyod sa Davao del Norte ang nakadawat ug pinakadaghan nga awards karon nga adlaw. We got one from Kapalong and also from Tagum City, and of course sa province. . . Gipakita nato dire nga ang Davao del Norte andam gyod motabang sa mga indigents. . From Braulio Dujali and Talaingod pod. Proud pod ta sa atong mga LGUs ug sa atong mga volunteers dire sa atong Davao del Norte nga atong gina-padayon ang atong THE BEST efforts para sa katawhan,” Governor del Rosario further said encouraging all to level up the services especially for the poor. [Surprised for only Davao del Norte received the more number of awards. . . . That only show that Davao del Norte is more than willing to help the indigents. . . We’re also proud of our LGUs, our Davao del Norte volunteers that we should continue “THE BEST” efforts for our constituents] (pioDavNor)

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EDGEDAVAO PARTNER ESTABLISHMENTS Serving a seamless society

11 COMPETITIVE EDGE Smart offers calls to networks Petition launched urging ASEAN for as low as P1 per minute to ban microplastics in cosmetics S EDGEDAVAO

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O N - G OV E R N M E N T organizations in Southeast Asia have joined forces to curb a preventable source of plastic pollution of the marine environment: microparticles of plastic, or microplastics, in cosmetics.

Through an online petition at Avaaz, the groups are urging the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a huge market of over 500 million consumers, to prohibit microplastics in the production of personal care and cosmetic products (PCCPs).

The groups directed their call for such a regional ban under the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive ahead of the 26th ASEAN Cosmetic Committee Meeting and related events to be held on May 1-5 in Cambodia.

Among the petition’s prime movers are Balifokus

(Indonesia), Consumers’ Association of Penang (Malaysia), EcoWaste Coalition (Philippines), Ecological Alert and Recovery Thailand (Thailand), and the Research Centre for Gender, Family and Environment in Development (Vietnam).

The groups’ petition builds on a resolution adopted at the second United Nations Environment Assembly in 2016, which states that “the presence of plastic litter and microplastics in the marine environment is a rapidly increasing serious issue of global concern that needs an urgent global response.”

“We expect the 10 member states of the ASEAN to respond positively to our petition towards a ban on microplastics in cosmetics. Such a regional action will contribute to preventing microplastic pollution of the marine eco-

PCAB bares Amnesty Program for unlicensed contractors

T

HE Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB) of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has announced an Amnesty Program to encourage all types of unlicensed contractors to legalize their operations and be allowed to engage in construction contracting under the National Building Code. The Amnesty Program shall take effect from March 1 until 31 this year.

DTI-Davao Regional Director Maria Belenda Q. Ambi said that based on Board Resolution No. 025, Series of 2017, the program is being implemented for unlicensed contractors, unlicensed developers, project owners and the like and architectural and engineering professionals engaging in activities that require a contractor’s license. Applicants for the program will be granted a Category Trade or E status.

To avail this program, applicants must comply the following requirements: 1. Letter – Application for Amnesty; 2. Accomplished license

application form; 3. AMO affidavit showing at least 2 years managerial / technical experience in the construction industry; 4. DTI / SEC Registration of business name; 5. Registration with the SSS, PHILHEALTH AND PAGIBIG; 6. Audited Financial Statements showing a networth of at least P45,000 dated within six months from date of application; 7. Completion of the AMO in the 2-days AMO Seminar; 8. Completion of the 40-hours Construction Safety and Health Seminar; 9. Upfront payment of the P10,000 Additional License Fee and other applicable fees; Under the provisions of Republic Act 4566, only licensed contractors (which include specialty and subcontractors as well as project owners constructing without the services of a contractor) may engage in construction contracting in the country.

“We, therefore, urge all unlicensed contractors to take

FPCAB, 13

systems, including the transfer of hazardous chemicals that can threaten our health and that of aquatic wildlife,” said Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition.

According to the report “Plastic in Cosmetics” published by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), “a large number of plastic materials are currently being applied in PCCPs… replacing natural options… with many of the particulates between 1 and 50 micrometer in size.”

“Washed down the drain, those particles cannot be collected for recycling, nor do they decompose in wastewater treatment facilities, inevitably ending up in the global ocean, where it fragments and remains” and “these plastics may take hundreds of years to completely degrade,” the UNEP report said.

Examples of microplastic-containing PCCPs include leave-on and rinse-off formulations such as deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, lipstick, hair colouring, shaving cream, sunscreen, insect repellent, anti-wrinkle creams, moisturizers, hair spray, facial masks, baby care products, eye shadow, mascara, etc., the report said.

Studies indicate that microplastic particles can absorb and release highly toxic chemicals such as persistent organic pollutants like dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethan e (DDT) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), the petition said.

These toxin-laden microplastics can be easily eaten by fish, mussels and other aquatic organisms and thus contaminating the marine food chains and posing risks for human health and the environment, the petition pointed out. (PR)

MART Communications is offering subscribers calls to any network for as low as P1 per minute.

Smart Express Call 50 will provide subscribers with 50 minutes of all-net calls to only P1 per minute valid for three days, bringing down the cost of calls on any network.

Subscribers will be able to enjoy Smart Express Call 50 as an add-on to top Smart Prepaid offers, boosting its data, call, and text promos.

The PHP 1 per minute all-net call rates shall also be made available for Smart Postpaid subscribers who may enjoy the rates on top of their existing plan.

TNT and Sun will also be launching similar offers wherein subscribers may avail 5 minutes of all-net calls for only P5.

The offer is in line with the telco firm’s initiative to provide Filipinos innovative mobile products and services.

“With Smart’s lowest allnet call rates at only P1 per

ORLD renowned volcanologist Dr. Christopher Newhall visited the University of Southeastern Philippines (USEP)-Obrero Campuson March 10-12, 2017 and conducted a 3-day lecture series on volcanoes at the College of Education AVR. Dr. Newhall was part of the Philippine-United States team that worked to forecast the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in Luzon 26 years ago.

The forecast of Mt. Pinatubo’s 1991 climactic eruption has resulted to saving the lives of at least 5,000 people and $250 million property.He was also associated with the US Geological Survey, Washington University, Earth Observation Station in Singapore, University of the Philippines-National Institute of Geological Sciences and PHIVOLCS. The lecture series is entitled “Earth Facts: Volcanoes and its effect to the Environment” which discusses the different topics on the

eruption of Mount Pinatubo, the relationship between tectonics and volcanism, the caldera systems, the changing climate due to eruption of volcanoes, the geothermal energy and the relationship of volcanism and mineralization.

Participants in the seminar included students taking up the courses of geology, mining engineering and metallurgy from USEP, Cara-

ga State University (CSU) and Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) as well as geologists from Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) and members of Central 911 Davao and Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management of Mabini and Maco in Compostela Valley Province.

Geologists from Apex Mining Company were also included.

minute, subscribers are set to enjoy greater flexibility, allowing them to keep their loved ones within reach – whether to check on everyone’s activities, confirm an item on the grocery list, or just relay an important concern when the need arises – without having to worry about the cost. It shall also allow users to keep their bond with friends stronger and more personal through frequent catch-up calls and random chats, and set aside work-related worries because they could easily reach out to colleagues for any pressing matter,” Smart said in a statement.

Globe Telecom has earlier announced that it is offering call promos for all networks for as low as P1 per minute as a result of lower interconnection rates among telco companies.

There were no pure all net voice call promo existing in the market prior to the availability of these offers.

The 3-day lecture was part of the continuing effort of the partnership between USEP, the MGB-Davao, Apex Mining Company Inc., Mindanao Association of Mining Engineers (MAEM) and the Alliance of Responsible Miners of Region XI (ARMOR-RXI) to provide education and updates on scientific discoveries and technology to the students and the different stakeholders. (PR)

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USeP holds lecture series by Dr. Newhall W

UP Fighting Maroons visit UP Min

U

NIVERSITY of the Philippines Fighting Maroons paid a courtesy visit to UP Mindanao in Davao City on March 24 during their campaign in the 2017 Araw ng Davao Sports Festival Commercial Basketball Tournament on March 23 to 26, 2017.

The visit was organized by the UP Alumni Association Davao headed by Atty. Marie Glenn Sorila.

Chancellor Sylvia Concepcion gave the welcome remarks on behalf UP Mindanao. Maroons head coach Bo Perasol introduced the men’s basketball team delegation composed of Jun

Manzo, Diego Dario, Paul Desiderio, Jarrell Lim, Kyles Lao, Robert Ricafort, Noah Webb, Javier Gomez de Liaño, Juan Gomez de Liaño, Jan-Jan Jaboneta IV, Jerson Prado, Gelo Vito, Andrew Harris, Bright Akhuetie, and Ibrahim Ouattara.

The team staff were composed of Head Coach Perasol, First Assistant Coach Ricky Dandan, Assistant Coach Rodney Santos, Poch Juinio, Mark Dandan, Moriah Gingerich, and Joe Ward, with strength and conditioning Coach Madel Galvez, and physiotherapist Grace Siongco. (PR)

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The jack of all fruits Text and Photos by HENRYLITO D. TACIO

“T

HE world has always been like this: one man feasts on the jackfruit and the other gets stuck in the sap,” says a familiar saying. Another one goes like this, “Whoever eats the jackfruit, will be touched by the sap.”

The fruit is called a variety of names around the world.

The English one, jackfruit, is generally cited as deriving from the Malayalam chakka or cakkai via the Portuguesejaca, the name for it used by the physician and naturalist Garcia de Orta in his 1563 book. However, a botanist named Ralph Randles Stewart argued that it was named after William Jack (1795-1822), a Scottish botanist who worked for the East India Company in Bengal, Sumatra and Malaysia .

Like most tropical fruits, Westerners considered jackfruit as somewhat weird and exotic. It is enormous and prickly on the outside and it looks somewhat like the controversial durian (although it tastes like heaven, it smells like hell).

Once a jackfruit is cracked open, what you will find inside are pods or “bulbs.” Often referred to as the seeds, these bulbs are actually the fleshy covering for the true seeds or pits, which are round and dark like chestnuts. The fruit juices are extremely sticky, so people often oil their hands before preparing the fruit.

Actually, the “bulbs” are delicious raw or as ice cream, jelly, chutney, syrup and jam.

An American journalist describes jackfruit in these

words: “The ripe fruit smells like rotting onions from the outside, but the fruit flesh inside smells like banana or pineapple.”

Nutritionists claim the fruit is nearly as calorie-dense as the custard apple. Hundred grams of the edible flesh, including the seeds, contains almost 100 calories, most of it as sugar and starch. The flesh is rich in beta-carotene and potassium, while the seeds are rich in thiamine and riboflavin-B vitamins.

The young fruit is also a vegetable. The cuisines of Bangladesh , Indonesia , In dia ,the Philippines , Sri Lanka , and Vietnam use cooked young jackfruit. In many cultures, jackfruit is boiled and used in curries as a food staple.

Here’s a word of warning: Eating uncooked, unripe fruit can cause indigestion; the culprit is an enzyme that inhibits the gut’s protein-digesting enzyme called trypsin. However, cooking destroys this inhibitor. On the other hand, the ripe fruit increases gut motility and can cause diarrhea among those who eat too much of the fruit.

There’s more to jackfruit.

The pulp, when boiled in milk, yields delicious orange-toned custard, while frying dry, salted bulbs serves up an alternative to potato chips. Jackfruit seeds (nuts) can be roasted like chestnuts, or boiled. If left to cook inside the flesh (for example, in curries or other cooked dishes), the nut softens and can easily be eaten.

Jackfruit also possesses some medicinal properties.

The Chinese consider jack-

fruit pulp and seeds tonic, cooling and nutritious, and to be “useful in overcoming the influence of alcohol on the system.” The seed starch is given to relieve biliousness and the roasted seeds are regarded as aphrodisiac. The ash of jackfruit leaves, burned with corn and coconut shells, is used alone or mixed with coconut oil to heal ulcers.

There are also reports that the latex, when mixed with vinegar, promotes healing of abscesses, snakebite and glandular swellings. The root is a remedy for skin diseases and asthma. An extract of the root is taken in cases of fever and diarrhea.

The bark is made into poultices.

Heated leaves a r e placed o n wounds.

The wood has a sedative property; its pith is said to produce abortion.

Recent laboratory studies show that lectins found in jackfruit and its seeds may have antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and immunostimulative properties. However, clinical study is still lacking. The currently available research examines the role of jackfruit leaves in increasing glucose tolerance. More studies in humans are needed to define jackfruit’s potential role in diabetes.

In agriculture, jackfruit is also indispensable. In some areas, the jackfruit is fed to cattle. The tree is even planted in pastures so that the animals can avail themselves of the fallen fruits. Surplus jackfruit rind is considered a good stock food.

Jackfruit is also good in controlling pests. The golden apple snail is one of the major rice pests in Asia, including the Philippines . If they are not controlled, they can devastate the rice crops causing huge losses to farmers. In Malaysia , some farmers are using jackfruit instead of pesticides to control the snails. They put rotten jackfruits in their rice fields.

This is how they do it.

Fresh rotten jackfruits with strong smell are collected.

These are carefully place in a suitable spot with running water and populated with golden snails as bait and should not be submerged under water.

The bait is left overnight and in the morning, snails that gather on and around the jackfruit are collected and destroyed. The rotten jackfruit may be replaced if and when necessary.

Here are more other uses of jackfruit: Latex: The heated latex is employed as household cement for mending chinaware and earthenware, and to caulk boats and holes in buckets.

Although it could be used as a substitute for rubber, the latex contains 82.6 to 86.4% resins which may have value in varnishes.

Wood: Its wood changes with age from orange or yellow to brown or dark-red. It is termite-proof, fairly resistant to fungal and bacterial decay, and resembles mahogany. It is superior to teak for furniture, construction, turnery, masts, oars, implements, brush backs and musical instruments. In Cebu , guitars made from the wood of jackfruit are very popular. Though sharp tools are needed to achieve a smooth surface, it polishes beautifully. Roots of old trees are greatly prized for carving and picture framing.

From the sawdust of its wood or chips of the heartwood, boiled with alum, there is derived a rich yellow dye commonly used for dyeing silk and the cotton robes of

Buddhist priests. In Indonesia , splinters of the wood are put into the bamboo tubes collecting coconut toddy in order to impart a yellow tone to the sugar.

Bark: There is only 3.3% tannin in the bark which is occasionally made into cordage or cloth.

Jackfruit (scientific name: Artocarpus heterophyllus) is native to southwestern India and Sri Lanka . It was reportedly cultivated for food as early as the 6th century BC in India . At approximately 25 centimeters in diameter, jackfruit is reportedly the largest tree-borne fruit in the world.

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VOL. 9 ISSUE 286 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2017

Smart... FROM 11 Globe Telecom and Smart Communications have agreed to cut their interconnection rates to P2.50/minute starting January this year.

Previously, they charged P4/minute for mobile-to-mobile and P3/minute for mobile-to-landline voice calls.

(PNA)

“The gathered data are then sent to the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council headed

by Governor Mujiv Hataman for quick dispatch of assistance by the corresponding agencies,” Angot elaborated.

Phivolcs–Cotabato, meanwhile, said it is closely monitoring the 250–kilometer Cotabato trench in southern

Mindanao that has a history of strong quake occurrence once every 30 – 40 years.

On August 17, 1976, an 8.0 magnitude temblor shook the Moro Gulf, causing catastrophic destruction to Maguindanao province and Cotabato City.

“We should always be ready for the ‘Big One’,” Engr.

Rainier Amilbahar, Phivolcs – Cotabato chief, said. (PNA)

VHF... FROM 14

DEED OF EXTRA JUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF THE INTESTATE STATE WITH WAIVER OF RIGHTS

Notice is hereby given that the estate of the late FLORENCIA LIGTAS CAULIN has been the subject of an Extra Judicial Settlement of Estate With Waiver of Rights leaving motor vehicles executed among her heirs, per Doc. No.232; Page No.47; Book No. CCXV; Series of 2017, of the NOTARY PUBLIC LEO J. CORDOVA 3/15,22,29

EDGEDAVAO

PCAB... FROM 11

NEWS 13

this opportunity to secure a license from PCAB and legalize their construction business to avoid penalties

and sanctions,” Ambi added.

To know more about the PCAB Amnesty Pro-

gram, applicants may visit the PCAB Window at DTIDavao Regional Office along Monteverde-Sales Streets,

Davao City. They may also contact the office at (082) 2240511 local 420 or 417.

(DTI11/LTC/jmm)

agencies and local government units.

These include MSMEs that had received grants from the departments of Trade and Industry, Agriculture, Social Welfare and Development, and the Environment and Natural Resources, she said.

Dillera said the region’s tour operators, resorts and hotels will hold sales calls to prospective clients through a

travel fair.

As added attraction, she said they have set daily cultural shows, fashion shows, food showcases and other promotional activities.

During the event, the official said they will formally launch the region’s farm tourism destinations.

The other lined up activities are the trade and tourism investment forum and match-

ing, crafts day, B2B or business-to-business matching sessions, and a press conference.

Last year, Dillera said the region’s tourism players generated around P1.69 million in bookings as a result of a fiveday expo.

“Up to November last year, we were able to monitor travels that were booked during the event,” she said.

She said the featured MSMEs reported total sales of P20.41 million and were “still making product deliveries until now.”

The official added that negotiations are ongoing with prospective investors in line with the 18 priority tourism projects worth P974 million that were presented in the 2016 investment forum.(PNA)

pillars of our province, our founding leaders, both elected and appointed. Let us pay tribute to them for they are our local heroes. We may not know the full circumstances of their brand of leadership, but we do know they did not shrink from the fire when the call to duty came. Neither do we know the complete names of our fallen local heroes buried in humble or unknown graves elsewhere. We only know that when duty called them, they came,” says Governor Dayanghirang.

be a model for the rest of the country. Aside from being the sunrise capital of the Philippines, the province of Davao Oriental is also host to Mindanao’s one and only World Heritage Site: The Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary. You know the saying, to whom much is given, much is expected in return. We have been blessed with a wondrous natural beauty, rich biodiversity, ancient and strong cultural traditions. Much is at stake in Davao Oriental. And much can still be saved and protected. Alone, I cannot do all these, but together, as one solid province, we can make a difference,” says the governor. (Ferdinand Zuasola/ PIO DavOr)

Region... FROM 14

EXTRA JUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF STATE WITH WAIVER OF RIGHTS

Notice is hereby given that the estate of the late FLORENCIA LIGTAS CAULIN has been the subject of an Extra Judicial Settlement of Estate With Waiver of Rights executed among her heirs, per 233; Page No.47; Book No. CCXV; Series of 2017, of the NOTARY PUBLIC LEO J. CORDOVA 3/15,22,29

Golden... FROM 14

LAND OF OPPORTUNITY “Our wide open spaces, our clean seas and abundant forests makes Davao Oriental a land of opportunity.

We have an opportunity to

14 SUBURBIA VHF radios still best disaster response gadget - OCD-ARMM Golden Anniversary: An occasion to salute wonderful DavOr people T EDGEDAVAO

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HE old, reliable two-way handheld radios are still the best communication equipment in the field when responding to disasters, the Office of Civil Defense – Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (OCD – ARMM) said.

Myrna Angot, OCD – ARMM chief, said that rescuers and partners such as those from the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) and Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) still prefer to use the Very High Frequency (VHF) radios as they are more resilient to any weather condition.

“Such equipment could withstand long hours of talking during operations with lesser worries on battery depletion,” Angot said during a press briefing Tuesday in line with the agency’s bid to join the National Simultaneous Earthquake Drill slated

on March 31 at the Mindanao State University grounds in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao.

She said that during calamities, communication towers might be toppled down, “but the VHF radios with builtin antennas have proven their worth in the field in times of disaster response.”

“Modern smartphones could not be used much during calamities, especially when Globe and Smart towers are toppled down by a strong quake, for example,” Angot noted.

When disaster strikes, Angot said the OCD – ARMM, an organization within the Department of National Defense and implementing arm of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, acts as the incident operations center where all data are sent and gathered during calamities.

I

M

ATI CITY -- As the province wrapped up its successful hosting of the Davao Region’s biggest sports event on Friday, March 24, the provincial government also launched on the same day its year-long golden anniversary celebration, with thousands of crowd gathered at Mati City’s picturesque

to tell stories to a dear friend whom you have not seen in ages. In terms of age, fifty is when one reaches a high level of confidence and maturity in dealing with life’s many complexities. For a married couple, fifty years of togetherness signifies security and the depth of the relationship to enable them to deal with

that redefines local governance; cultural preservation that protects our cultural heritage through local efforts; disaster preparedness that strengthen our capacity toward resiliency; environmental management, revenue generation, water and sanitation, housing and basic utilities, and there are many

Baywalk Park to witness a joyous countdown that was capped by a breath-taking fireworks display by the sea of Pujada Bay. In a message read for him

by Vice Governor Nino Sotero Uy, the province’s chief executive, Davao Oriental Governor Nelson Dayanghirang, dubbed as the “Golden Governor”, says the 50th foundation anniversary celebration of the province “is an occasion for us to salute the wonderful people of Davao Oriental, our colorful history, the icons and the business people, and the milestones of the past fifty years that have made Davao Oriental a fast-rising and economically vibrant province in the Davao Region today.”

“Fifty means a lot of things in different cases. Fifty centavos could not even buy a candy for a kid. Fifty minutes is also not enough

and overcome the adversities and challenges that threaten the core of their partnership.

Indeed, fifty years makes a lot of difference. It spells a whole lot of difference and change for the province. Thanks to the pillars of the province, our founding leaders, we have found our own place in the sun,” says Governor Dayanghirang who assumed office when the province would mark its golden anniversary this year, thus he earned the monicker “Golden Governor” of the province.

“Actually, there are more than fifty reasons to celebrate the province’s golden anniversary. Among them are the following: Our tourism and the local economy that creates jobs and cultivate local entrepreneurship, our infrastructure which provides service-oriented facilities in local communities; our innovation

more! We have passed the test of good local governance.

Proof of it is the latest Seal of Good Local Governance being conferred by the Department of Interior and Local Government to Davao Oriental.

We are the only province in the Davao Region being conferred with such distinction.

And we will have to raise the ante a notch higher because the challenges of good governance become even more demanding and difficult,” says the governor. The DILG conferred the much-coveted Seal of Good Local Governance to Davao Oriental after the province passed the test of good local governance by meeting three core criteria: financial administration, disaster preparedness and social protection, as well as any one of the essential criteria – business-friendliness and competitiveness, peace and

FVHF, 13

Davao, Caraga likely to have better weather starting Wed. MPROVING weather is possible in Mindanao’s Davao and Caraga regions beginning Wednesday.

“The easterlies will likely begin prevailing there, so such improvement is possible,” said weather forecaster Benison Estareja of the state weather bureau, PAGASA. Davao and Caraga will likely experience isolated rain showers and thunderstorms, he said.

In its 24-hour forecast released early Tuesday, PAGASA said cloudy skies with light to moderate rains and isolated thunderstorms will prevail over both regions.

Estareja said the convergence of the northeasterly and easterly winds has raised the possibility for such conditions in the two areas.

“By Wednesday, however, the easterlies are expected to dominate, so Davao and

By Ferdinand Zuasola PIO Davao Oriental

Caraga may experience better weather,” he noted.

According to PAGASA, the northeast monsoon or ‘amihan’ is affecting northern and central Luzon.

Cloudy skies with isolated light rains are expected over northern Luzon’s Cagayan Valley and Cordillera regions, Quezon province and Central Luzon’s Aurora province, the bureau said in its forecast.

PAGASA also forecast partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated light rains over northern Luzon’s Ilocos region and the rest of Central Luzon.

“It is possible for the ‘amihan’ to continue affecting northern and central Luzon this Wednesday but to a lesser degree,” said Estareja.

Strong to gale-force winds that PAGASA has forecast for northern Luzon on Tuesday may begin to ease on Wednesday, he added. (PNA)

dubbed as “Make Change Work for Women” on March 21 in Malungon, Sarangani. Also in the photo are (L-R) Vice Mayor Mariano Escalada Jr., Rep. Ruel Pacquiao and Governor Steve Chiongbian Solon. (Sen Apple Gella/ MALUNGON INFORMATION OFFICE)

PAYING TRIBUTE TO PIONEERING LEADERS “As we all set our sights towards the future, let us feel more confident that come what may, the glorious past will always be part of our memory. On the occasion of our province’s golden anniversary celebration, let us trace the growth of our resplendent province over the course of history. This is an appropriate time to share with you the facts about how Davao Oriental came to be, the people behind its creation and growth, the dangers it went through, the losses it suffered, its rehabilitation, how our past leaders served the public, what it hopes to still accomplish, and its directions for the future.

What thrill it is to discover, for instance, the legacy landmarks, including the written thoughts of Davao Oriental’s pioneering governors. Surely, this will awaken in us the sense of awe for the priceless records that serve to trace the extraordinary qualities of our province’s pioneering leaders deemed as among the best, brightest and noblest men and women of their times.

Yes, they are our local heroes.

The qualities that made them extraordinary are the qualities that we honor today. But these local heroes are not just the creation of their own times, they are also the forceful projection of Davao Oriental’s destiny and will. They defined our province’s quality. As we celebrate the province’s golden anniversary, we will also recognize the strong

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Region 12 all set for grand travel, trade expo in Makati

R MALUNGON CELEBRATES WOMEN’S MONTH. Koronadal City RTC Judge Lorenzo Balo receives a plaque of appreciation from Mayor Tessa Constantino after tendering a very inspiring speech and for being the keynote speaker in the culmination of the Women’s Month celebration

order, and environmental management. The Seal is the province’s passport to gain access to the Performance Challenge Fund and other DILG funds.

EGION 12 stakeholders are all set for the second edition of the region’s grand travel and trade expo dubbed “Treasure of SOX” slated next week in Makati City.

Spearheaded by the Department of Tourism (DOT)-Region 12, the event will be held anew at Glorietta Mall’s activity center in Ayala Center, Makati on April 3 to 7.

Nelly Nita Dillera, DOT Region 12 director, said Tuesday they have finalized the necessary arrangements for the activity, which will showcase the region’s world-class products and tourist destinations.

SOX is short for Soccsksargen or Region 12, which comprises the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, North Cotabato and

the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan and Cotabato.

DOT 12, in its promotion efforts, had adopted SOX as moniker for the region.

“We’re ready and very excited with this opportunity to bring our products to where the market is,” she said in a media forum.

As in the previous year, she said they will set up at least 40 to 50 booths at the Glorietta Mall’s activity center that will feature top products from the region’s four provinces and five cities.

She said the product showcase will involve thriving micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that were assisted by various government

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EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 9 ISSUE 286 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2017

James shrugs off injury scare Federer rolls on with

L

EBRON James maintained he is fine after getting a blow to the back in the third quarter of Cleveland’s loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night (Tuesday, Manila time).

“I’ll be ready by Thursday [in Chicago],” James told ESPN in the locker room after the Cavs’ 103-74 loss to the Spurs.

“I got elbowed in the neck and

spine.”

Notwithstanding the injury scare, James said he is not in favor of Cleveland coach Tryonn Lue’s suggestion of giving his stars off days in the team’s last nine regular season games.

“Coach is going to have his logic of things, but we need to play,’’ said the Cavs superstar, whose team has lost two in a

row and five of its last 10.

With his team down 24 points and 28 seconds left in the third period, James took the blow to his upper back area while standing underneath under the basket as Spurs forward David Lee grabbed a rebound. The contact caused James to afterwards lie on the court for five minutes and appeared to be in

obvious pain.

With assistance from teammates, James immediately walked to the bench but later left for the locker room early in the fourth quarter, never to return.

Lee claimed he didn’t know he had hit James in the ensuing play and initially thought the Cavs forward suffered a twisted ankle.

win over del Potro

R

OGER Federer produced another dazzling performance on Monday, easing past Juan Martin del Potro in the third round at the Miami Open.

Federer wowed a boisterous, capacity crowd at Crandon Park, winning 6-3 6-4 in just over 80 minutes of nearly flawless tennis.

Former U.S. Open champion del Potro, buoyed by a large Argentine contingent who did their best to lift him with regular chants of ‘ole, ole, ole’, did not submit easily but one break in each set was enough for Federer to move on to the fourth round.

Federer improved his c a reer record

ary.

An 18th grand slam crown in a five-set thriller over long-time rival Rafa Nadal at the Australian Open in January has been the highlight of the still young season, but the past two weeks in the United States have been second to none.

He ripped through the field at Indian Wells without dropping a set en route to the title, and has not lost a set in his first two matches in Miami either.

Federer is giving his opponents less time than ever to react, running them ragged by regularly standing inside the baseline and tak-

Cleveland star LeBron James down on all fours after taking a hit on the back. AP

Fil-Aussie Day not committing to Masters yet as mother recovers from surgery

P

GA Tour star Jason Day expects to arrive in Augusta, Georgia, on Friday to start practicing for the Masters, but said he could pull still out of the season’s first major, depending on his mother’s prognosis following surgery for lung cancer last week.

“Obviously, I’m still nervous because we’re still waiting to see ... if it has spread or not,” said Day, who spoke on Monday (Tuesday, Manila time) on a video conference set up by organizers of the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic. “From

there, we have to kind of come up with a game plan whether to go chemo — a form of chemo radiation — or something else.

“It’s still kind of a bit of an emotional time for me,” added Day, whose father, Alvin, died of cancer when he was 12. “Obviously, I’ve been hanging out with my mom a bit and seeing her and she’s recovering well.

She’s a tough lady, but it’s hard because I look at her and she’s on the pain killers and all that stuff, what she needs to do to recover ... but I can’t help but think

of my dad when I see her in that situation.”

The world’s third-ranked golfer revealed that his mother, Dening, has cancer after withdrawing from the Dell Technologies Match Play in Austin, Texas, last Wednesday. Day has said the initial diagnosis came in Australia at the beginning of this year and that she had scheduled surgery in Columbus, Ohio, late last week.

Day said Monday that doctors deemed the surgery successful, and now the fami-

ly awaits results of tests to see if cancer is present in Dening Day’s lymph nodes.

“My mom told me not to worry about it,” Day said. “It’s hard to do that. It’s easy to say ... but it’s really, really difficult.

So currently I’m scheduled to play Augusta ... but if things don’t come back the way we want them, I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

Day said he “hasn’t touched a golf club at all” in the days since joining his joining his mother in Ohio last week.

against del Potro to 16-5, the Swiss closing out the match in style with a forehand winner before acknowledging the roaring crowd.

The 35-year-old, who missed the second half of 2016 with a knee injury, has lost only once this year, to Russian Evgeny Donskoy in early Febru-

Roger Federer of Switzerland hits a forehand against Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina (not pictured) on day seven of the 2017 Miami Open at Crandon Park Tennis Center.

Photo by Geoff Burke, USA TODAY Sports/Reuters ing the ball early.

Next up for Federer is Spanish 14th seed Roberto Bautista Agut, who overcame a slow start to outlast American 22nd seed Sam Querrey 3-6 6-2 6-3.

Czech 10th seed Tomas Berdych beat 24th seed Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 6-3 6-4, while Adrian Mannarino of France edged Croatian Borna Coric 6-4 2-6 7-6(3).

CONQUERING ...

FROM 16

PROTECT THE HOUSE. Bright Akhuetie of the University of the Philippines is all set to smother NOT ENOUGH. The Royal Mandaya Hotel-CMO De La Salle big man Ben Mbala’s presence was not the shot of Kib Montalbo of The Royal Mandaya Hotel-CMO De La Salle during the recent 80th enough to carry the Green Archers to a back-to-back Araw ng Davao Invitational title. Lean Daval Jr. Araw n Davao Invitational won by the Fighting Maroons. Lean Daval Jr.

while Daniel Canela added a bronze in the individual kumite.

Winning silver medals are Paolo Gorospe in the 8-9 boys individual kata, Seth Navarro in the individual kumite, and Kyzzhia Navarro in the individual kumite.

The other bronze winners are Momo Sanvictores in the 8-9 boys individual kumite, Kyle Tabilog in the -60kg seniors individual kumite, and John Paul Ponce in the 12-13 boys individual kata.

“Thank you to our AAK family for all your support and prayers,” Tan said in a message.

16 EDGEDAVAO Sports

VOL. 9 ISSUE 286 • WEDNESDAY, MARCH 29, 2017

CONQUERING KOTA AAK Davao bets harvest 11 golds in Kota Kinabalu karatefest

By NEILWIN JOSEPH L. BRAVO

T

njb@edgedavao.net

HE Association for the Advancement of Karatedo (AAK) Davao City turned in another smashing performance overseas after winning 19 medals in the 9th Kota Kinabalu Karate Open in

VICTORIOUS. The Team AAK Davao karatekas after their smashing performance in Kota Kinabalu.

Malaysia over the weekend.

AAK Davao head instructor Rommel Tan announced that his team won a total of 11 gold medals, 4 silvers and 4 bronzes in the tough twoday multi-nation meet.

Winning two gold medals each are Krisanta Renzel Asistido in the cadet individual kata and -52kg individual kumite, Adam Bondoc in the juniors individual kata and +68kg individual kumite,

and Neil Oliver Severino Manalac in the +75kg individual kumite, and men’s team kumite.

The other gold medalists are the Men’s Team Kumite composed of Mañalac, Adam

Bondoc, and Kyle Tabilog, Johan Cancela in the 8-9 boys individual kumite, Neo Gatlabayan in the 10-11 boys individual Kumite, Daniel Cancela in the 12-13 boys individual kata, Ricca Torres in

the -52kg seniors individual kumite, and Sonny Montalvo in the -60kg seniors individual kumite.

Johan Cancela also won a silver in the individual kata

FCONQUERING, 15