The health cluster is scheduled to con vene on Wednesday to discuss plans on the latest wearing of face mask pol icy mandated by President Ferdinand Mar cos Jr.
Dr. Ashley Lopez, head of the City Health Office (CHO), said Mayor Sebas tian “Baste” Duterte already said to comply with the rec ommendations from the In ter-Agency Task Force.
President Marcos is sued Executive Order No. 7, allowing the voluntary wearing of face masks in in door and outdoor settings.
Minimum public health standards shall continue to
be implemented, including practice of good hygiene, frequent hand-washing, physical distancing, and maintenance of good venti lation indoors.
“We will convene on Wednesday to talk about this but mayor already said before that we will com ply kung unsa man update coming from IATF,” Lopez said in a text message.
The EO also mandates
that voluntary wearing of face mask outdoors will continue.
Meanwhile, the Depart ment of Health 11 (DOT 11) reminded the public that with the expected in flux of people to the cem eteries and even though the restrictions on wear ing of facemask have been relaxed - It’s not bad if the public continue to be care ful.
The death toll from flash floods and landslides due to Se vere Tropical Storm Paeng in Maguindanao has risen to 67, the Bangsamoro re gional disaster response agency said Saturday.
The head of the Bang samoro Autonomous Re gion in Muslim Mindanao - Rapid Emergency Action on Disaster Incidence (BARMM-READI), Naguib Sinarimbo, said the num ber might rise as more vil lagers remained missing.
“As per our rescue
workers on the ground, many residents in coastal Barangay Kusiong of Datu Odin Sinsuat remained missing,” Sinarimbo, also concurrent BARMM inte rior minister, said over a local radio program.
In an updated situation report, the BARMM-REA DI said 50 persons were buried alive after a land slide that hit a relocation site at the foot of Mt. Mi nandar in Kusiong village on Friday afternoon.
Ten others were con firmed dead in Datu Blah
Sinsuat town and another seven in the municipality of Upi, it said.
The same report showed that 31 individ uals were injured in Ba rangay Kusiong while 11 others remained unac counted for in Datu Blah Sinsuat town.
Most of the victims be longed to the Indigenous Peoples (IPs) Teduray tribe, the agency said.
BARMM-READI also reported that 115,437 families or an estimated 572,185 individuals in
126 villages in Maguind anao have been affected by weather disturbances.
Meanwhile, rampag ing floodwaters either partially destroyed or shut down some bridges in the province.
The BARMM-READI said the Nituan bridge in Parang town that con nects Maguindanao to adjacent Lanao del Sur province and Maguin danao was closed at 7 p.m. Friday after its pas sage approach collapsed. (PNA)
The Davao City Over land Transport Ter minal (DCOTT) has coordinated with a bus association and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LT FRB) to prepare additional buses for the expected in flux of passengers spending the long weekend with their loved ones living outside Davao City, DCOTT Manag er Aisa Usop said in an in terview over the Davao City Disaster Radio on Friday.
“[Ang number sa bus es] atoa nang gi-coordinate sa Southern Mindanao Bus Operators Association (SMOA) gi-inform nato sila nga dapat naa sila’y na ka-ready nga mga buses para if in case manginah anglan ta’g ubay ubay nga byahe, naka-ready na sila. Gi-coordinate napud nako ni sa LTFRB Davao, giing nan nako nga kung pwede ang atong bus operators ha tagan sila og special permit in advance aron kung mub yahe sila naka-ready na ang ilahang permit, (For our number of buses, we coor dinated with the Southern Mindanao Bus Operators Association (SMOA) and we have already informed them that they should have extra buses in case there will be high demand. We also coordinated with LT
FRB Davao and asked them to give special permits to bus operators in advance so that they will have it ready for their bus trips),” Usop said.
Usop said no bus com pany had signified that it will not operate on Novem ber 1 or during any holiday, however, based on practice, they only gauge and set for travel based on passenger volume.
“Kung wala’y pasahero ang drivers muuli napud na sila, that is why i-inform nato ang mga byaheros nga musayo sayo gyud sila diri sa atoang DCOTT termi nal aron makita pud nga ubay-ubay ang pasahero aron pud nga ma-ready ang atong mga buses. (If there are no passengers, the drivers will also go home, that is why we are asking the passengers to be ear ly at DCOTT terminal so that their numbers shall be gauged and buses will be prepared),” she said.
Usop said that they ex pected more passengers this year compared to pre vious years before the pan demic.
“Kung sauna muabot tag 1,000 pataas to 1,500 karon, we are expecting 1, 500 pataas to 2,000 bus trips a day. That is equiva
The National Com mission on Indige nous Peoples (NCIP) in Central Mindanao reit erated anew the agency’s calls for institutionalizing the 11 “building blocks” mandated under the In digenous Peoples Right Act of 1997 (IPRA) to en sure that IP communities are resilient and respon sive.
Jennifer Dublas, NCIP Commissioner for Central Mindanao, explained the importance of the 11 “dy namics” during the “7th Gu Sasleng Festival du dad Blaan and the com memoration of the 25th Anniversary of the IPRA (RA 8371) in the munici pality of Tampakan.
“The 11 dynamics must be implemented as mandated by the IPRA Law,” Dublas said, even as she reminded the over a thousand Tampakan IPs who participated in the activity to help promote the IPRA provisions.
The “building blocks” provided under the IPRA include the confirmation of Indigenous Political Structure (IPS); Regis tration and Accreditation of Indigenous Peoples
Organizations; Certifi cate of Ancestral Domain Title and Certificate of Ancestral Land Title De lineation Process; estab lishment of the Ancestral Domain Management Office; and Ancestral Do main Sustainable Devel opment and Protection Plan Formulation.
Also included are the IP Wealth Manage ment-Community Re source Management Development Plan For mulation; Institutional ization of CP: Free, Prior and Informed Consent and Exercise of Priority Rights; Effective Indige nous People Mandatory Representative (IPMR) in the Local Legislative Bodies; Efficient and En hanced Memorandum Agreement Formulation, Socio-Economic Activities with IP Cooperatives, and Ancestral Domain De fense System.
Dublas appealed to the IP youths, women, and IPMR to work on the implementation of the 11 dynamics, in recogni tion of tribal elders who worked hard for the for mulation of the IPRA Law 25 years ago. (PNA)
Environmental group Interfacing De velopment Interventions for Sus tainability (IDIS) expressed support for the construction of the Samal Island - Davao City (SIDC) Connector Project as it will bring ease and convenience to the lives of Samaleños and Dabawenyos.
However, the group also believes it should not com promise the environment, especially the rich marine biodiversity found below the sea.
The group issued the statement following the re cent groundbreaking of the project, which was led by
President Ferdinand Mar cos Jr., Vice President Sara Duterte and Chinese Am bassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian.
In a statement, IDIS be lieves that progress and de velopments like the bridge can be attained without compromising the environ
ment.
“Coral reefs are cru cial part of the watershed ecosystems, they are sen sitive to extreme changes in the environment, such as changes in freshwater flows and nutrient inputs. Thus, they are important indicators of water quality, ecological health, and what is happening in the upland and coastal watershed,” it said.
The group also empha sized that the construction of the bridge should also consider the local fishing industry and the changes it will make in their trade.
“Fishing has become the bread and butter of some residents on Samal Island. Coral reefs serve as a habitat for fish, shellfish, and other invertebrates. Admittedly, coastal devel opments such as bridges and docks can damage cor al reefs over the long term. Thus, their destruction would mean the loss of a home to fish and shellfish, resulting in food insecurity and livelihood degradation. Healthy coral reefs support commercial and subsis tence fisheries as well as jobs and businesses in the
FSIDC, P6
The Land Transporta tion Franchising and Regulatory Board Davao 11 (LTFRB 11) and the Land Transportation Office (LTO 11), collab orated with the Philip pine Drug Enforcement Agency 11 (PDEA 11) in conducting simultaneous random drug screening for drivers of jeepneys, tricycles, and UV express vehicles .
The random tests were conducted at high-risk terminals as a preventive endeavor against drug-re lated traffic incidents on October 28, 2022.
Dubbed “Oplan Har abas,” which coincided with the LTFRB “Oplan Bantay Biyahe: Undas 2022,” three separate drug screening tests were conducted for PUV drivers and conductors
at the Davao City Over land Transport Terminal (DCOTT), Gaisano Mall Van Terminal, and Digos City Bus Terminal.
In a Facebook page, LTRFB 11 shared that a total of 350 PUV driv ers and conductors were screened. Two bus driv ers tested positive at DCOTT. Similarly, two taxi drivers tested positive for drug use at Gaisano Mall
Van Terminal while one bus driver and two con ductors tested positive at Digos City Bus Terminal.
As per PDEA 11, the individuals who tested positive during the ini tial screening will still be subjected to confirmatory testing.
“It’s a yearly undertak ing of PDEA, LTO 11, and LTFRB 11 and it’s done
NCIP seeks support of SoCot IPs on 11 IPRA ‘building blocks’
Dear IBP,
Gusto ko lang po sana humingi ng tulong, dahil po yung kapitbahay ko lagi po akong iniinis at inaabala. Nagkasagutan po kami dati dahil sa maliit lang po na bagay. Mula po noon lagi po siyang gumagawa ng bagay na ikaiinis ko. Tulad ng pa gharang sa kotse niya sa gate namin na di kami makalabas, pagpapa dumi ng aso nya sa tapat ng gate namin, pag papatugtog ng malakas ng dis-oras kahit alam nya may sanggol sa bahay namin. May pwede po ba akong masampa na kaso sa kanya?
Dear Anonymous Sender,
Yes, basing on your nar ration, if all of the above was
done to annoy you then you can file a case for Unjust Vex ation. Unjust vexation and considered a form of light co ercion punishable under Ar ticle 287 of the Revised Penal Code.
According to the Supreme Court unjust vexation is de fined as any human conduct, without violence, that un justly annoys an innocent person.
The ultimate test is “whether the offender’s in tentional act causes annoy ance, irritation, torment, dis tress or disturbance to the mind of the person to whom it is directed.” With that be ing said, unjust vexation may exist even in the absence of inflicting any physical or ma terial harm, sans any form compulsion or restraint or
without the physical pres ence of the offended party at the time the crime was being committed.
The elements of Unjust Vexation are: (1) there is a human conduct that unjustly annoys or irritates another person; (2) such human con duct was not attended with violence; (3) such human conduct caused annoyance, irritation, torment, distress or disturbance to the mind of the person to whom it is directed; and (4) the offender acted with criminal intent.
To file for Unjust Vexation, you need to go to your baran gay first for a mandatory ba rangay conciliation proceed ings before you may be able to file a criminal complaint against him. In the barangay, a dialogue will be had be
tween you and your neighbor and work on a possible ami cable settlement. If you and your neighbor fail to arrive at an amicable settlement during the barangay concil iation, you will be issued a barangay Certificate to File Action will be issued to you. After obtaining the Certificate to File Action, you may go to the Prosecutor’s Office to file the necessary complaint for Unjust Vexation against your neighbor.
To strengthen your case, you should present pieces of evidence that proves all your accusations. A state ment from disinterested person who witnessed the acts of your neighbor would be instrumental, because it can bolster your claim that indeed you neighbor did all
these things to you in order to annoy.
Accordingly, The crime of Unjust Vexation is punish able by imprisonment rang ing from one day up to thir ty days and/or a fine of One Thousand Pesos up to Forty Thousand Pesos.
Respect for your neigh bors is very important to make an orderly society, and therefore, similar to your sit uation, when a neighbor with malice has done things to in tentionally annoy you, offend your feelings, irritate and dis turb you then you can seek redress in court to vindicate your rights.
I hope we were able to an swer your questions and we were able to enlighten you with the steps that you have to take.
How could a maximum security inmate at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) negoti ate with guns-for-hire outside his detention cell to liquidate an irrepressible broadcast journalist? Who ordered and provided him the means to do it? And what is the quid pro quo – the favor said inmate to receive in executing the task?
What bedevils the BuCor at the moment is smack, as usual, of corruption.
No big events happen in Bilibid without some big guns giving the order or a “cashun doan” (money passing hands). Senator Leila de Lima would not have been ganged up by drug lords at NBP with out someone up there pulling the string.
The BuCor has always been one of the hotbeds of corruption among govern ment agencies.
Remember the GCTA for Sale issue – the release of hei nous crime convicts under the controversial Good Conduct Time Allowance that dragged the names of now Sen. Ronald Bato de la Rosa, former BuCor chief, as well as his immediate successor, Nicanor Faeldon?
Dela Rosa admitted then during a Senate probe that he signed 120 release orders for heinous crime convicts without any authority to do
so. Faeldon, said they did not seek the approval of the De partment of Justice before re leasing hundreds of heinous crime convicts, including the foiled early release of convict ed rapist-murderer Antonio Sanchez due to good conduct. Reliable witnesses, relatives of NBP convicts, testified at the senate hearing on GCTA for sale that, indeed, large sums changed hands for in mates’ freedom. Hence, Fael don was sacked and the re lease of convicts under good conduct time allowance was abruptly stopped.
But the worst corruption that has been running in the NBP for the last two decades is the shameless construction of kubols owned by wealthy drug personalities and high profile maximum security inmates with the explicit per mission of BuCor authorities. A kubol “hut” is a luxurious private residence with all the desired appliances or facili ties its owner may install.
Current BuCor Director General Gerald Bantag said it well. “Nagkakaroon sila (kubol owners) ng privacy. Kung may privacy ka, kaya mong gawin ang gusto mong gawin. Puwedeng tumawag ka sa cellphone. Puwedeng mag-shabu ka doon, shabu session. Lahat na ng negative
puwede na nilang gawin.”
[Translation.“They (kubol owners) have privacy. If you have privacy, you can do what you want. You can make a call with a cellphone. You can have shabu (methamphetamine drug) and drug session. They can do all the negative (pro hibited) activities.”]
Bantag, thus, upon his appointment to the post by PBBM, ordered and had re portedly demolished 500 kubols from January-Febru ary 2022.
Accordingly, inmates in maximum security com pound were earlier allowed to have “kubol” or huts due to heavy congestion in the national penitentiary. As of 2021, the NBP, with a capac ity of 6,435 housed 28,545 inmates.
Allowing the construction of kubols by rich inmates does not, in any way, solve the congestion problem but only fosters a highly corrupt and discriminatory policy of NBP and BuCor management.
It is likely that the alleged middleman in the Percy Lapid (Percival Mabasa) slay was among the BuCor favored convicts in the NBP because he owned a mobile phone like the influential kubol owners that enabled him to contact and hire gunmen from the
outside to execute Lapid.
However, before he could even be officially identified (as Crisanto Vilamor, Jr.), the middleman succumbed in credibly to “bangungot” or nightmare at 3 p.m. of Tues day, October 18, 2022, just a few hours after the self-con fessed hitman Joel Escorial revealed that a Jun Villamor at the NBP was the middle man who got in touch with them, the guns-for hire team, on behalf of the mastermind. Escorial affirmed the dead inmate Crisanto Villamor, Jr. as the same person who gave them the hit order. The other middleman, a certain Christopher Bacoto, now detained in an undisclosed BJMP jail, is the one who re portedly facilitated to them the P550,000 payment for the mission.
As he was playing with fire, Villamor was aware that he might get burnt any time soon. He shared his appre hension to his sister in a text message that in case he dies in detention, he should dis close to concerned that the order to kill Lapid came from the office here.
The drama is getting thick er every day. General Bantag who was hailed for his re cent blitzkrieg demolition of kubols, a long pestering eye
sore which his predecessors gave a blind eye, of a sudden becomes a person of interest in the case.
It’s getting truly inter esting every day. A police spokesman said that Percy Lapid’s murder could be re lated to his work. Lapid was a commentator on DWIZ 883 KHZ and DWBL 1242 AM who was critical of the Dute rte administration and some policies and officials of PBBM administration.
In fact, Lapid’s last broad cast commentary on Septem ber 30, 2022, three days be fore he was slain, insinuated that Digong Duterte and party are working at destabilizing the Marcos presidency.
Everybody is excited wait ing for the next episode. There would likely be bumps and twists before justice could be served to the fallen journalist, if ever.
We seem to be getting closer to the mastermind. But, would we ever know him? Remember dead men tell no tale. Not only hitman Escorial, therefore, should wear a life vest, nowadays, in or outside prison walls.
Suffice it to say at the mo ment, the unfolding of events show abundantly that the Bu reau of Corrections is in dire need of huge corrections.
The Department of Labor and Employ ment (DOLE) said Friday it is set to issue an advisory regarding the grant of 13th-month pay for private sector em ployees.
“We will release a la bor advisory to guide our employers in the pay ment of the 13th-month pay this year, for 2022. At the same time, we are also contacting our em ployers’ organizations for the correct payment of the 13th-month pay,” Alvin Curada, director of the DOLE’s Bureau of Working Conditions (BWC), said in a Laging
Handa briefing.
He noted that for this year, the computation for the 13th-month pay would be based on all the basic salary that a worker re ceived from January 1 to December 31 this year.
“It will be divided by 12. The total is the 13th-month pay. This is 1/12 of the total basic salary earned by the employee in one calendar year or this year,“ Curada
said.
Under Presidential De cree 851, which was signed by the late president Fer dinand E. Marcos in 1975, workers should get or re ceive their 13th-month pay not later than December 24 every year.
Curada added that some employers give the mandatory payment in two tranches – the first half is given before classes start, usually in May, and the oth er half, days before Christ mas Day.
“But the rule is, the em ployee has to have his/her 13th-month pay not later than December 24 every
year,” he said.
All rank-and-file em ployees of a private com pany are entitled to 13thmonth pay, provided they have been employed for at least one month within the calendar year.
On the other hand, companies are required to report to DOLE, through its Online Establishment Report Form not later than Jan. 15, 2023, on the set tlement of the 13th-month pay.
Based on BWC data, it recorded a high compli ance rate in the payment of 13th-month pay at 97.1 percent in 2021. (PNA)
Department of Ener gy (DOE) Secretary Rapahel Lotilla on Friday said the agency is preparing the amend ments to the implement ing rules and regulations (IRR) of the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 to al low 100 percent foreign equity on renewable ener gy projects.
During the Virtual En ergy Investment Forum, Lotilla said the recent De
partment of Justice (DOJ) opinion that natural re sources are not covered by constitutional limitations on foreign ownership will attract more investments in the renewable energy sector.
“The opinion accel erates the attainment of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s program to develop the country’s in digenous and renewable energy,” he said.
He added that the amendments to the IRR of the Renewable Energy Act will conform to the DOJ’s opinion.
“I wish to stress the President’s marching or der for us at DOE and our partner agencies in the government to ensure a level playing field. With these developments, we encourage investors to hop work with us in steer ing the energy industry
toward a cleaner, greener, reliable, and more sus tainable future,” Lotilla said.
Lotilla said renewable energy currently accounts for 22.8 percent of the to tal primary energy supply.
DOE data shows that committed capacity for renewable energy in the medium term reached 905 megawatts, or 10 per cent of the total 8,935 MW committed capacity.
The Department of Energy (DOE) on Friday urged com panies to complete their generation and transmis sion projects on time to ensure adequate supply and delivery of power to consumers.
During the Virtual Energy Investment Fo rum, DOE Director Irma Exconde said delays in the completion of lique fied natural gas (LNG) projects and transmis sion projects, as well as non-compliance with the agency’s policy on the maintenance schedule of power plants, remain a challenge to the country’s power supply.
These challenges are on top of the depleting reserves of the Malam paya gas field and the continued high fuel pric es in the global market, especially coal, which has the largest share in pow er capacity and genera tion mix.
For instance, Ex conde said, the Luzon grid may experience 17 yellow alerts and three red alerts next year if the 1,200-megawatt (MW) Ilijan gas power plant would not resume its op eration in time for the summer period.
A yellow alert is de clared when reserves fall below ideal levels, while a red alert is when reserves breach their maintain ing level of 4 percent of peak demand. Rotational brownouts are imple mented during red alerts.
Earlier, the power gen eration unit of San Miguel Corp. said the company targets to run the Ilijan power plant by February 2023.
“I wish to highlight the importance of hav ing strict compliance to the DOE policy on the scheduled maintenance of the power plants, the synchronized and timely completion of genera tion projects and trans mission projects, and the consideration of the natural limitations of the hydro plants during the summer period,” Ex conde said.
To date, the country has 8,935 MW of commit ted power capacity, the biggest of which is in coal at 4,488 MW, followed by natural gas at 3,500 MW, renewable energy at 905 MW, and oil-based at 42 MW.
These committed power projects are ex pected to be online in the medium term. (PNA)
Fitch Ratings’ affir mation of its invest ment-grade rating on the Philippines is seen to attract foreign investments even as economists cited the need for more fiscal measures.
On Thursday, Fitch Rat ings retained the country’s “BBB” rating with negative outlook as it sees domestic demand to remain strong and may provide for a 6.8 percent domestic output this year, among others.
The outlook reflects risks on “growth prospects, fiscal adjustment path and external buffers.”
Luis Limlingan, head of sales of equities firm Regina Capital Development Cor poration, told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Fri day that the rating retention could at least prompt inves tors to look into the Philip pines direction.
“As to the gravity of the inflows into our economy, in general, would still be a bit challenging to quantify,” he said.
Michael Ricafort, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, said the ratings affirmation, which was made for the third con secutive year, “would still help attract more foreign investments into the coun try from a bigger roster of international investors.”
“It would also help at tract more credit/loans to the country/government at a relatively lower cost and more favorable terms since a better credit rating lowers the country’s risk profile/risk premium amid the country’s improved economic and credit funda mentals,” he said in a mes sage to the PNA.
Ricafort noted that the ratings outlook “highlights the need to further bring down/improve the coun try’s debt-to-Gross Do mestic Product ratio from 62.1 percent to below the international threshold of 60 percent in the coming years through continued fiscal/tax reform measures to increase government revenues through intensi fied tax collections and also reduce government expen ditures.”
the rise in prices of commodi ties, the Philippine economy will con tinue to rebound.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos made the assurance to more than 500 mar ginalized individuals and members of peoples organi zations in Davao City during his distribution of various government assistance.
The President handed over billions worth of pooled government assistance gen erated from the regional offices of the Department of Social Welfare and Develop ment, Department of Trade and Industry, Department
of Labor and Employment, Department of Agriculture, among others.
“So I hope that this will somehow mitigate the shocks. Kasi ‘yung mga pangyayari, ‘yung pagta as ng gasolina, ‘yung taas ng sa lahat ng produkto ng petrolyo ay galing talaga sa labas ‘yan,” he said attribut ing the current hikes in pric es of fuel as relative impact of the global economy out side the country.
He made them under
stand that the Philippine economy is in a much better position of recovering, com pared with other countries of even large economies.
He cited as positive fac tor to bank on the resilient Filipino people who contin ue to diligently work hard.
“Dahil ang lagi nating inaasahan ang ating mga kababayan na Pilipino na napakagaling, napakasipag, napakatiyaga. At dahil diyan ay magiging --- maliwan ag sa akin na magiging tu loy-tuloy ang pagbabangon natin,” he said.
Though he viewed the distributed assistance as
cushion to “financial shocks” , President Marcos also con sidered those government aids as a continuing assis tance to recover from the adverse impact of the pan demic.
He pointed out the need for both the national and lo cal government to still con sider extending assistance to the marginalized as the country’s economy has yet to fully recover.
“Kaya ito’y sa isang bah agi ng pagtulong ng gobyer no at sana naman mabigyan kayo ng kaunting ginhawa. At least for a while, may ma simulan kayo,” he said.
Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) an nounced Friday it is eyeing to achieve net zero carbon emission by 2050.
The airline is investing in an all-out carbon re duction program as part of a multi-year commit ment to combat climate change.
This initiative, PAL said, “comes at a crucial time for the international aviation industry, which is seeking to further lessen its environmental impact in response to the global
scientific community’s clarion call against irre versible climate change.”
It added that this ini tiative will be holistic and comprehensive, covering both flight and ground operations. The process began by shifting to renew able energy for the elec tricity supply of its major offices, and working on the potential use of sustainable aviation fuel to power its fleet.
PAL has tapped a Filipi no scientist to help the firm achieve the net zero carbon
emission goal.
Through the guidance of an expert, PAL aims to conduct comprehensive assessments of its overall greenhouse gas emissions and move toward full de carbonization.
“Being the country’s flag carrier, we recognize that our essential role in bridging our country and the rest of the world goes hand in hand with the need for climate action across international borders,” said PAL president Stanley Ng in a statement.
The airline targets to develop the following: a roadmap for its own net zero emissions strategy; emissions scenarios pro jected until 2050 using internationally accept ed models and relevant standards; science and evidence-based targets for the entire PAL com munity.
PAL said it has been implementing fuel effi ciency initiatives such as single-engine taxiing and reduced acceleration alti tude. (PNA)
After its initial venture into prime real estate
with the iconic Aeon Towers, Aeon Luxe Properties Inc. (ALPI) is shifting focus to its next major project Aeon Bleu.
Aeon Bleu, the next big thing in Davao prop erty market after Aeon Towers, boasts of 6 Tow ers: Tower 1 and Tower
for Residential, Tower
for Condotel, Tower
Aeon Luxe Corporate Tower, Tower 5 for Club Aeon and Tower 6 for fu ture development.
Aeon Blue will have maximum of 26 floors.
Aeon Bleu’s design is inspired by “The Lan tern” and is located at F. Dizon Street, Bacaca Road which is a stone’s throw away from the 33-storey Aeon Towers along J.P. Laurel Ave. Davao City.
Aeon Bleu features
Home-ready.
RESIDENTS and busi ness owners in Camiguin Island no longer need to travel long hours just to do their banking activities in Cagayan de Oro as BDO Network Bank (BDONB), the community bank of BDO Unibank, recently opened a branch in the
municipality of Mambajao to serve them the financial solutions appropriate to their needs.
A combination of firsttime bank clients and business owners opened their account during the branch’s formal opening recently.
Mambajao Mayor Yñigo Jesus D. Romualdo said the presence of BDO Network Bank in the island’s main economic hub is a big boost for the continuous develop ment of its local economy. Mambajao is the largest of the five municipalities of Camiguin Island, which is
among the country’s top tourist destinations.
For his part, Camiguin Governor Xavier Jesus D. Romualdo hopes that the BDO Network Bank branch in Mambajao will just be one of the several branch es the Bank will put up in the island. “We would like
to thank BDO for coming here to Camiguin. This is a big boost for us because it validates that we are on the right track. We are looking forward to the strong en gagement of BDO Network Bank with the communi ties here,” he said.
The newest BDO Net
work Bank branch is one of the 55 branches the Bank is planning to open na tionwide before the end of 2022. Part of its goal is to reach and give the farmers, fisherfolk, and micro busi nesses, the opportunity to improve their lives and grow their businesses.
Nowadays, businesses in the Philippines are taking ad vantage of recalibrating their processes and including sus tainability in their core busi ness strategies. According to PwC Philippines, 84 percent of chief executive officers (CEOs) in the country aim to raise their organizations’ spending on technology. On the other hand, over twothirds want their companies to bolster environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investments.
Further elaborating on this trend, recently at ‘Trans form Tomorrow, Today: SAP Philippines CXO Roundtable’ last August 2022, business leaders from SAP, Globe Tele com, and Unioil discussed significant challenges in to day’s world and how they reshaped the future through innovation and sustainability for long-term success.
Importance of Innova tion in facing challenges Innovation comes in different forms. For Suzelyn Urbano, VP – IT Enterprise Services of Globe Telecom, innovation is disruptive and life-changing. With nearly ten years of ongoing product and service developments, Urba no remarked that innovation has always pushed the tele com provider’s boundaries while considering the needs of its customers.
According to Urbano, 70 percent of Globe Telecom’s internal systems are run by SAP. With SAP solutions already in place across its business units globally, the
company migrated to SAP S/4HANA to improve frag mented processes, manual workloads, inefficiencies, lack of insights, and delayed decision-making.
Meanwhile, SAP Fiori apps helped enhance the user experience and access to insights. Enhanced visibility helps enable well-informed decision-making through out the organization, and automation and fewer rec onciliations in finance allow faster financial transaction processing, book closing, and error-free reporting.
Finance functions be came integrated and efficient, providing real-time business insights, and IT security was strengthened with improved authorization controls and compliance. By facilitating these improvements, SAP S/4HANA proved to be a catalyst for change for Globe Telecom, helping it adapt to changes easily in its business environment.
“Empathy lies at the heart of Globe’s innovation. We look at the problems we have now and innovate from there, making sure to solve the real issues,” Urbano shared. “Globe’s vision has always been making fami lies’ dreams come true and empowering businesses to flourish to help achieve an admired nation. As we create our products, we always an chor them in that vision.”
Innovating to continue thriving
Meanwhile, for Nestor De Guzman, Digital Transfor
mation Evangelist of Unioil, innovation means survival despite being at the top of their game.
Unioil adopted SAP’s S4/ HANA ERP system to enable a more unified and smoother operational system integra tions.
While De Guzman re marked that digital transfor mation has fundamentally altered Unioil, it is more than just using sophisticated tech nology, like SAP solutions.
“For us, at Unioil, digi tal transformation involves combining the appropriate technology, leadership, and culture. Innovation begins when business executives embrace the transformation enabled by smart technolo gies,” said De Guzman.
Gintare Zukauskaite, In novation Lead of SAP South east Asia, could not agree more. She said that innova tion is something that adds value to businesses. “To inno vate, organizations must con sider what is happening now and think slightly outside the box to create ideas that will improve their businesses because disruptive thinking creates the change today,” she added.
Using Sustainability as a Competitive Advantage To day
Today, Unioil is driving a sustainable and green future. De Guzman revealed that Unioil is leading the charge in decreasing carbon emissions. For instance, the company uses Smartlocker technolo gy to supply its service sta
tions with solar energy that powers Electric Vehicle (EV) chargers.
De Guzman also stated that Unioil aims to assist the nation in developing its ener gy supply rather than relying on foreign energy sources in light of the current crisis the country is experiencing. He believes Unioil helps bring a sustainable future with its green projects, including EV charging, solar farms, and
Smartlocker technologies.
For Globe, Urbano ex plained that its core values center on sustainability. For instance, in addition to its well-known fintech platform GCash, Globe has forayed into the fields of health and education. The company has combined KonsultaMD and HealthNow, enabling its con sumers to obtain around-theclock teleconsultations and even receive their medica
tions at home. On education, Globe launched EdVenture and Kodego. Kodego is an on line learning platform, where technical people like soft ware engineers get trained and eventually get placed to their dream jobs and compa nies.
“Sustainability is a mind set. It is an opportunity to fos ter your company, the planet, people, and communities,” added Zukauskaite.
fields of tourism and recre ation,” it said.
The group is now call ing for the realignment of the bridge as they believe there are other areas with in Samal Island where the connector bridge can be constructed, which will not cause harm to the rich cor al reefs and fishing areas of Samal Island.
“The aim should be to “build the bridge, wherein there will be least environ mental damage,” the group said.
The group also said that both the Department of Public Works and High ways (DPWH) and the
Local Government Unit of Samal Island should attain a highly environmental ly-sensitive infrastructure design and mitigating mea sures.
Meanwhile, DPWH has previously allayed fears that the SIDC will harm the
Pursuant to Sec. 1 Rule 74 of the Revised Rules of Court of the Philippines, NOTICE is hereby given that EVA A. TANGONAN, surviv ing heir of the deceased couple GERUNDIO M. ALBURO and GLICERIA M. ALBURO who died intestate in Davao City on September 17, 2021 and February 20, 2020 respectively, leav ing a parcel of land covered with Transfer Cer tificate of Title No. T-159021 located in Calinan, Davao City, containing an area of THREE HUN DRED (300) SQUARE METERS more or less, adjudicate
the sale of a portion of TWO HUNDRED THIRTEEN (213) SQUARE METERS of the above-mentioned property in the amount of FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND (₱ 500,000.00). That the instrument has been duly signed by the parties involved per Doc. 525; Page No. 106; Book No. 199; Series of 2022 of the Notary Public Atty. FATIMA IRENE T. ADIN.
marine life.
Joey Tulaylay, DPWH-11 engineer and SIDC program manager, assured that no coral will be affected during the construction phase of the project.
DPWH Secretary Man uel Bonoan also assured
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lent to 85,000 to 100,000 passengers (if before we reach 1,000 to 1,500 this time, we are expecting
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during Undas but there will still be the same activ ities in the future but it’s going to unannounced,” said LTFRB-11 Director Nonito Llanos III.
Llanos said the testing was conducted during Un das because it’s one of the busiest days in the Davao Region.
“We wanted to make sure that our passengers and drivers plus their con ductors are safe,” he said.
The “Oplan Harabas” initiative follows the
that the proposed bridge has undergone a very ex haustive project prepa ration and has taken into account all the possible environmental and tech nical aspects that are best and most economical for the project.
1,500 to 2,000 bus trips a day and that is equivalent to 85,000 to 100,000 pas sengers),” Usop said. CIO
provisions of Republic Act (RA) 10856 or Anti Drugged Driving Act of 2013, known as “An Act Penalizing Persons Driv ing Under the Influence of Alcohol, Dangerous Drugs, and Similar Sub stances, and for Other Purposes.” This activity mainly seeks to promote road safety, specifically to prevent road accidents caused by drivers under the influence of illegal drugs during the Undas season.
Every sport is unique. They have their own set of rules and regulations, guidelines to follow and own identity. And there is golf.
Some says golf is the sports for the rich and famous. But aside from that it is also known as the gentleman’s game.. Uh ow,, I can see many eyebrows raising. I am playing this game but neither of those two mentioned description beforehand suits me, hehehe. I have been playing this game for such a time but up to now I still can’t equate the word gentleman to the cursing and the childish tantrums of some golfers when they hit a bad shot , hehehe.
Kidding aside, what makes golf as the ultimate gentleman’s game is its rules and the etiquette to be observed at all times. Golf ers alone knew when they com
mitted violations of the rules. No referees will call your attention but honor dictates the need for golfers to declare to their flight mates the transgression that was committed . It’s all about honor. As an old adage says, If you want to know the character of a person, play golf with him.
Now what makes this sport more interesting is its colorful golf lingo. And it takes a golfer to understand it.
Every golfer when they start ed this sport didn’t have an idea what is in store for them the moment they hit those dimpled balls. But as they got hooked to the sport and after suffering from misery and frustrations, little by little they began to understand its complication, the need for shot perfection , the mastery of the rules and learning the golf lan
guage.
Jabong, Salami ,Chocobim, Push out, Kabig are just some of the colorful terms you’ll hear most often while playing golf. They’re not just words or terms but rather a story itself.
Jabong is not just about the ball hitting the waters but also the frustration on the golfer’s face, the slamming of the club on the ground while cursing, and the silent laughing of your flight mates computing the advantage they have on your bets. Its origin unknown but the most popular is, caddies coined the name “jabong” as a description of the sound when a ball hits the waters… aaaaa jabong.
Salami is not a food but it’s about a week of humiliation and losing the bragging rights after failing to win a single hole after a
game. Salami can also mean the right to demand and increase of plus strokes in the next game’s bets.
Chocobim is not a chocolate drink but rather the frustration of hitting a bad shot. You choke on a simple short shot which you know why and how it happened, yet you keep on repeating the same mistakes again and again. So many excuses. Blaming the un even grounds, the lie , the wrong club used, but the same, it creates a wide grin on your flight mates’ face bet wise .
Now push out and kabigs are the most popular and best excuse your caddie can invoke when you miss a putt. Golfers consult their caddies for allowance and speed in putting but in reality, you won’t receive a perfect advise per se but some guessing game and need
to have all the luck to make it happen. Golf is hard, remember? That’s why , when golfers hole out a putt, they rejoice and pump their fist. Caddies make a silent sigh of relief. Wew,buti na lang, that was close.
But as they say, no matter how bad your round is at the end of the 18 th hole after the last putt, golfers will always remove their cap, extend their hand and utter the same standard greeting of encouragement, Nice game…
If only all the drives are straight, all the irons were hit in solid contact, putts are true and jabongs are for the frogs and fish only, then golf is easy. But it’s the other way around most of the time in reality. Golf is hard. And that’s why golfers are hooked into this game we love to hate.
Fooore.
George Walter Misa.
That’s the person I remember who introduced Davao sports writers to horses.
You see, George is the num ber one promoter of the Davao Horse Club and would always find time to attend the weekly Davao Sportswriters Association (DSA) Forum then.
That was 1997.
I remember that year because that was also the year when Wil liam “Butch” Ramirez took over operations of the Sports Devel opment Division-City Mayor’s Office after it was rocked by con troversies that led to Mayor Di gong signing an executive order replacing all sports personnel.
And 1997 was the year the DHC was established as an orga nization.
During the annual Parada in March, the Davao Horse Club has become regular participants, making its presence known to Dabawenyos that there is also one beautiful sport they can ap preciate. As the years went by, even the Equestrian Association of the Philippines, the country’s National Sports Association, took notice of the DHC for continually promoting and developing horse sport.
I remember George talking about the development of junior horse riders, about horse breeds like Arabians, Thoroughbreds,
Quarter horses and Aglo-Arabs, etc. in one of the many DSA gath erings. Truth is, it was Greek to us, LoL.
Normally, Davao sports writers would just cover the traditional ball games that are regularly shown on TV broad casts.
Yet, George was very patient with us in telling us about the sport he loves and always, always extended an invitation to attend their events.
The last time I checked, this was like years ago, Mr.Batu was leading DHC.
But I remember Bong Ledes ma, Andrew Tan, Tito Sorongon, Albert Angel and George who
during those early years pro moted the sport and organized events to the delight of Dabawen yos who watched the competi tions.
At first, it was boring for a sportswriter but as the years go by, we have come to appreciate the sport because it tells us a sto ry of how the rider and the horse get to know each other and in knowing each other, they are able to communicate to each other their own way during competi tions.
If you have keenly observed that kind of relationship between humans and animals, you begin to appreciate the beauty of the sport. In addition to that, you’ll
greatly appreciate how expen sive those horses are, LoL. Sus Ginoo, ka mahal man di ay anang mga kabayoa!
My apologies George, I’ve been away and probably, this time it is the junior horse rid ers, who have grown up after 25 years, are now dynamically lead ing the organization.
Whew! Twenty-five years.
Time just flies so fast George. And Edge Davao and the rest of the sportswriters wish you all the best in the sport that you love. Long live DHC!
* * * Comments are welcome. Send an email to mpb_sports@ yahoo.com.
