Edge Davao Vol. 15 Issue 185 | Friday, Nov. 18, 2022

A boy uses a cardboard sheet to shield himself from the rain along Tionko Avenue in Davao City on Thursday. Some parts of Mindanao experienced heavy rainfall, flooding and landslides particularly South Cotabato province and the Davao Region triggered by a low pressure area (LPA) 270 kilometers east of General Santos City. Edge Davao

VERY LOW

Only 15 percent of Davao City’s 5-11 year old kids are fully vaccinated

By MAYA M. PADILLO

Only 15 percent of children aged 5 to 11 years in Davao City old are fully vaccinated..

Dr. Michelle Schlosser, spokesperson of the Davao City Covid-19 Task Force, reported that as of Novem ber 10, 2022, about 15.22 percent of the 5 to 11 years

old are fully vaccinated or a total of 28,680.

The city government is targeting to fully vaccinate the 188,385 children’s pop ulation.

“Gamay pa ang atong na fully vaccinated na mga

bata ug dugay nata nagsu god sa vaccination sa atong 5 to 11 years old,” she said over Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR) on Wednes day.

Schlosser said 95.34 FVERY, P10

All SoCot localities suspend classes due to bad weather

All the 11 localities in South Cotabato de clared Thursday a suspension of classes in all levels due to incessant light to heavy rainfall overnight Wednesday triggered by a low pressure area (LPA) 270 kilometers east of Gen eral Santos City.

At 6:24 a.m. Thurs day, the South Cotabato Information Office said all the local government units in the province sus

pended classes due to the bad weather condition to ensure the safety of stu dents in both public and private schools.

South Cotabato com prises the lone compo nent city of Koronadal and the municipalities of Polo molok, Tupi, Tampakan, Tantangan, Banga, Norala, Surallah, Sto. Nino, T’boli and Lake Sebu.

Based on the advisory of the Philippine Atmo

spheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) at 11 p.m. on Wednesday, the LPA was spotted 270 km east of General Santos, embedded along the inter tropical convergence zone (ITCZ).

The state forecaster said the weather distur bance was less likely to develop into a tropical de pression within 24 hours.

The combined effects

of the LPA and ITCZ will bring moderate to heavy rains over Caraga and Davao regions, and light to moderate rains with at times heavy rains for the rest of Mindanao, Pagasa said.

It warned of possible floods and rain-induced landslides in the affected areas, including in parts of Luzon and the Visayas. (Bong S. Sarmiento / Min daNews)

IDB oversees decommissioning of MILF combatants: OPAPRU

The Office of the Pres idential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) on Thursday said that both the Government of the Philip pines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have agreed to use a third-party body, the Inde pendent Decommissioning Body (IDB), to maintain the integrity of the process.

“To ensure the integrity and maintain a high level of trust and confidence, the GPH and MILF par ties agreed to designate a third-party body, the Inde pendent Decommissioning Body, to specifically over see the decommissioning of MILF forces,” OPAPRU chief Carlito Galvez Jr. said in a statement on Thursday.

The IDB is composed of international experts from Turkiye, Norway, Brunei Darussalam, Japan and the designation of competent and local experts from the GPH such as retired Lt. Gen. Rey C. Ardo, former com mander of Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) West ern Mindanao Command, and former congressman and Prof. Mario Aguja of Mindanao State University, and other local represen tatives.

Galvez also said the implementation of the de commissioning process of the MILF forces is guid ed by the roadmap of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) specifically in the Annex on Normalization, which is agreed upon by the GPH and MILF.

“Under the roadmap,

the MILF shall undergo a graduated and gradual decommissioning in four phases by percentage: cer emonial in Phase 1, 30 per cent in Phase 2, 35 percent in Phase 3, and remaining MILF forces in Phase 4,” he said.

The OPAPRU chief said the decommissioning pro cess is the first step that enables the MILF combat ants to smoothly transition from conflict to peaceful, productive and civilian, and consequently allowing them to leave behind their guerrilla identity.

The decommission ing process also involves the turning-in and putting weapons beyond use.

Meanwhile, Galvez said that they would like to set the record straight that it is inaccurate to claim or al lege that there is a missing list of MILF forces.

“The list of decommis sioned combatants is safe ly secured and maintained by the IDB and the DSWD (Department of Social Wel fare and Development). The list is covered by the non-disclosure agreement and the Data Privacy Act of 2012, which provides for the protection of individu al personal information as part of their constitutional rights,” he said.

Galvez also said the MILF submits its list of validated combatants and weapons to the IDB.

“The IDB shall conduct verification, registration, validation and inventory of weapons and forces of the MILF with the assis

A man uses a bicycle to go to work in Davao City. The Davao City Transport and Traffic Management Office (CTTMO) has reminded owners to register their bicycles and low mobility vehicles ahead and not wait for its implementation to avoid getting flagged down and penalized. Edge Davao

City, DCWD partner to address improper disposal of wastewater

CTTMO enumerates prohibited acts, penalties for cyclists

The Davao City Trans port and Traffic Management Office (CTTMO) has commenced its information dissemina tion to bicycle owners to register their bikes ahead and not wait for its imple mentation to avoid penal ties.

This after the city gov ernment of Davao issued an advisory on Wednes day requiring owners to register their bicycles and light mobility vehicles. This conforms to Ordi nance No 0782-21, Series of 2012 or an Ordinance Amending Ordinance No. 0334-12, series of 2012, otherwise known as the “Comprehensive Trans port and Traffic Code of Davao City” in conformity with the Amended Bicycle and Light Mobility Vehicle Ordinance of Davao City”

Dionisio Abude Jr., chief of CTTMO, gave the details of the prohibit ed acts and penalties to be imposed for the bik ers and cyclists violating traffic rules and require ments.

Abude cited behaviors that bikers are prohibit ed to do: overloading and back riding.

Based on the ordi nance on rider capacity - bicycles and LMVs shall be allowed only for the ca pacity for which it is made.

“Dili ka puwede muback ride, naay bike nga ang design duha, kung matagaan to ug rehistro allowed to siya,” Abude said.

Abude said a cyclist must not cling to another vehicle.

“Naa man uban hawod kaayo wala sila kabalo nga gamay lang sipyat mu semplang,” he said.

Other prohibited acts include no biking on pe destrian lanes and side walks and bikers are not allowed to counter flow.

“Mag cause gyud na sila ug danger kung wala sila sa bike lanes. Mao bi taw nangayo sila ug bike lane para safety sila unya mugawas na nuon sila, murag dunay problema na. Mao bitaw during ori entaiton atong gipaabot sa ilaha ang ilahang respons bility, duties, ug rights nila dinha sa bike lane ug unsa pud ang dapat nila buha ton. Magtinabangay ta nga mu-follow ta sa traffic reg ulations bahin aning bike

By MAYA M. PADILLO

The city government of Davao and the Davao City Water District (DCWD) have partnered to address the sani tation problems of the city due to improp er disposal of domestic wastewater and septage through the Septage Management Program (SMP).

The SMP covers the desludging of waste wa ter from households once every five years, the treat ment of collected waste water in a Septage Treat

ment Plant, and the proper disposal of wastewater and biosolids.

DCWD will offer sep tage management services next year.

Jovana Cresta Duhay lungsod, spokesperson of DCWD, said DCWD started conducting an education and information campaign (IEC) on the project as well as the proper septage prac tices.

Duhaylungsod also said that surveys and dialogues in the barangays are also being simultaneously con ducted.

“We need to make the people understand the ne cessity of the project. At the

same time, we also need them to prepare ang ilah ang septic tanks, kasi based on the study na atoang na-gather from the City Health and other sources, not everyone in Davao City has septic tanks pa. If ever naa man, dili pud stan dard,” she said.

Duhaylungsod said the survey is crucial in gener ating baseline data and in creating action plans to ad dress the gaps found.

Rep. Pulong wants fines of up to P5-M on violators of Anti-Hospital Deposit Law

Davao City First Con gressional District Representative Paolo Duterte has proposed that the maximum fine imposed on hospitals and clinics de manding deposits before administering treatment for an emergency and se vere cases be increased from the current P1 million to P5 million, along with other stringent penalties.

Under House Bill (HB) 3046, filed by Duterte and three other lawmakers, this proposed amendment to

the Anti-Hospital Deposit Law also includes a provi sion mandating the estab lishment of a government hotline where the public can immediately call to seek immediate assistance regarding violations of the law.

Together with Benguet Rep. Eric Yap and ACT-CIS Partylist Reps. Edvic Yap and Jeffrey Soriano, the Davao City solon said the current set of penalties imposed under Republic Act (RA) 10932 on erring

employees and officials of medical facilities should be increased further, as “there is still a significant number of reports of hospitals vio lating the Anti-Hospital De posit Law.”

“The [Anti-Hospital Deposit Law] asserts the rights of an individual to be admitted to any hospital and be given basic emer gency care without being asked to hand over an ad vance payment outright. This is in consonance with the Hippocratic Oath that

physicians take, pledging to help the sick to the best of their ability and knowl edge,” the bill’s authors said.

“Hence, hospitals, in general, are duty bound to provide care and treat those injured or suffering,” they added.

Batas Pambansa (BP) 702 makes it unlawful for any hospital or medical clinic to demand deposits or advance payments for the confinement or treat

Davao City Water District (DCWD) spokesperson Jovana Cresta Duhaylungsod talks about the Davao City Septage Management Program during this week’s AFP-PNP Press Corps media forum at The Royal Mandaya Hotel in Davao City. The program is a joint undertaking of the city government of Davao and the DCWD to

address the sanitation problem in the city with its first facility located in Indangan will be operational next year. Edge Davao

DOE: Foreigners now allowed to explore RE resources in PH

Foreigninvestors or companies may now engage in the exploration, devel opment, and utilization of the coun try’s renewable energy (RE) resources after the Department of Energy (DOE) amended a section of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Renew able Energy (RE) Act of 2008.

In a statement on Wednesday, the DOE said Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla signed, on Novem ber 15, 2022, the Depart ment Circular (DC) No. 2022-11-0034.

The said circular pre scribes the amendment to the Section 19 of De

partment Circular 200905-0008or the Rules and Regulations Implementing Republic Act No. 9513 or the RE Act of 2008.

The Energy depart ment said the amendment stemmed from the opinion released by the Depart ment of Justice (DOJ) on

September 29, 2022.

It said constitutional foreign ownership restric tion on the exploration, de velopment and utilization of natural resources only covered those susceptible to appropriation, thus ex cluded the sun, the wind, and the ocean or tidal en ergy.

Thus, the IRR of the RE Act of 2008 needed to be amended to conform to the DOJ opinion.

“With the impressive amount of interests the Department of Energy has been receiving both from the local and foreign inves tors in RE development,

BPI sets P2B for housing loans for underserved

The Bank of the Phil ippine Islands (BPI) is allocating an initial PHP2 billion for its housing loan program called MyBa hay, targeting lower income individuals or households.

In a briefing on Wednes day, BPI Retail Loans head Dennis Fronda said they in tend to extend the funding within two years.

“But of course with the current acceptance of the market, we anticipate that the PHP2 billion will run through quickly. In fact, the challenge is to eat up all the PHP2 billion in six months’ time and get back to the Board and get more funds,” he said.

Fronda is optimistic of the strong availment for

their latest home loan prod uct amid people’s need to have their own houses and the low default rate among their home loan borrowers.

He said non-performing housing loans are now back to pre-pandemic level of around 4 percent as of last September.

The bank’s exposure

particularly in the offshore wind potential, the State can now directly undertake the exploration, develop ment, production and utili zation of RE resources or it can enter into RE Service or Operating Contracts with Filipino and/or foreign cit izen or Filipino and/or for eign-owned corporations or associations”, Lotilla said.

However, Lotilla said the utilization of water re sources should continue to be subject to foreign own ership restriction.

In particular, Rule 6, Section 19 (B) of the IRR of

MUFG Bank Ltd. forecasts 6.7% growth for PH economy this year

MUFG Bank Ltd. fore casts a 6.7 percent growth for the Phil ippine economy this year driven by strong domestic consumption and increase in investments.

In a virtual briefing on Wednesday, MUFG senior currency analyst for Global Markets Research Jeff Ng said domestic expansion, as measured by gross domes tic product (GDP), is project

ed to slow to 6 percent next year due to base effects.

“Growth has been sup ported by domestic drivers like consumption and in vestments have been very strong since the pandemic hit,” he said.

Ng said domestic spend ing is supported by, among others, the robust inflows from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

Farmers seek win-win solution in campaign to lower rice prices

Farmers cannot be on the losing end if the na tional government de cides to lower the price of rice, the Philippine Cham ber of Agriculture and Food Inc. said Thursday.

Chamber president Danilo Fausto said farmers are seeking two things - to lower the prices of rice for the consumer but to ensure farm gate prices remain high.

“Hindi naman natin pwedeng ibaba ang presyo ng pagbili ng palay sa mga magsasaka dahil nasa ma higit P12 ang cost nila da hil sa taas ng fertilizer saka ng fuel. Hindi naman natin pwede pabayaan na hindi naman sila kumita, wala nang magtatanim kundi ki kita,” he said.

(We cannot lower the farm gate prices for the farmers because their costs

are P12 [per kilo] because of the high prices of fertil izer and fuel. We cannot allow that farmers do not earn. No one will plant if they don’t earn.)

He said government must give financial aid to farmers if they want to bring down prices of rice.

“Ang nangyayari ngayon ay talagang government in tervention. They can bring

Consumers buy fish at the bagsakan area of Bankerohan Public Market in Davao City. The government has approved the importation of 25,000 metric tons of fish to cover supply requirements for the closed fishing season months. Edge Davao

53% of German firms in PH in ‘better situation’: survey

Asteady increase in the number of Ger man firms here, saying they are in a “bet ter situation” is seen in the latest Fall 2022 AHK World Business Outlook (WBO) Survey of the Ger man-Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GPCCI).

The Fall 2022 survey held last month with 68 re spondents involved in Ger man-Philippine business relations showed that 53 of the companies considered that their businesses are in a better situation.

This is higher than the 47 percent in the Spring 2022, 32 percent in the Fall 2021 and 19 percent in the Fall 2020 surveys.

The number of compa nies saying their business es are in worse situation continued to decline from a high of 36 percent in the Fall 2020 survey to only 6 percent in the latest poll.

“We are glad to see that companies still experience a better business situation in the Philippines despite growing global economic impediments,” GPCCI Exec utive Director Christopher Zimmer said.

There are more opti mistic enterprises related to German-Philippine busi nesses, with 61 percent of respondents saying they expect better business de velopment in the next 12 months.

However, it was also noted that the number of companies with pessimis tic outlook in the next 12 months increased by 12

percentage points from 1 percent in the Spring 2022 poll to 13 percent in the lat est survey.

This number is the second highest since the Fall 2020 survey, with 18 percent of the respondents saying they expect a worse business outlook for the next 12 months.

The GPCCI said the number reflected the sen timents of companies that have started to feel the impacts of the global en ergy crisis since the Rus sian-Ukraine war early this year.

German-Philippine businesses also said the top risks to business develop ment in the next 12 months include disruptions in sup ply chain, higher energy prices, and the exchange rate.

With the economic headwinds that firms are facing, lesser companies expect better local eco nomic development in the next 12 months, from 41 percent in the previous survey down to 34 percent in the Fall 2022 survey.

More firms projected that the domestic economy would be worse in the next 12 months as the number of respondents increased to 27 percent in the Fall 2022 survey from only 8 percent in the Spring 2022 poll.

With the pessimistic outlook in the local econ omy, companies that said they will pour in more in vestments in the next 12 months declined to 35 per cent from 44 percent.

Choose accredited resorts - DOT 11

Department of Tourism XI Regional Di rector Tanya Rabat-Tan said the pub lic during their vacation trips should choose Department of Tourism accredited resorts rather than those which are unac credited.

“We highly recommend for people to book and engage with DOT-accred ited establishments,” RD Rabat-Tan said during this week’s PEP Talks Media Forum at the SM Lanang Premiere.

The DOT-XI head hon cho was commenting on the recent online brouhaha

between a resort located in the town of Governor Generoso, Davao Oriental and a group of motorcycle vloggers who booked at the resort. The resort on their social media account called out the vloggers for not cleaning up the place and leaving a mess.

In response, the vlog

gers said they have fully paid for the rooms and said they did not violate any re sort policies as they did not break or destroy any of the resort’s facilities. They also were dismayed by the ser vices while in the resort.

The vloggers and sever al netizens slammed the re sort for shaming the guests through social media.

During the media fo rum Rabat-Tan said the particular resort is not a DOT-accredited.

An establishment that is accredited by the DOT means they have passed

the quality standards set forth by the DOT.

“Unang-una dapat may permit sila to operate the business, may mga require ments like size of rooms, number of rooms, the fa cilities, may mga qualifi cations,” The DOT-XI head said.

She said tourism es tablishments wanting to be DOT-accredited can just go to the DOT website to apply.

“It is online, iclick lang nila ang online accredita tion ng DOT, they just fol

FCHOOSE,

Shell says working with gov’t on rules for EV charging stations

Shell said it is working with the government and other stakehold ers regarding the rules for setting up and operating electric vehicle charging stations.

Shell Vice President Randy del Valle, once these rules are clarified, the com pany may lay out a plan for expanding EV charging ser vices.

“One thing for sure, is

that we have a lot of learn ing in Shell globally, and we are really trying to apply what is best for the Philip pines, and we want to be a part of that conversation via various partnerships with the private sector, con sumers, and the govern ment,” del Valle said.

Shell currently operates an EV charging station in Mamplasan on the north bound side of the South

Luzon Expressway. He said that right now, there is only a small demand for EV charging as the vast ma jority of vehicles still run on gasoline and diesel.

“If you look at that there are just around more than 10,000 customers that have EV chargers, but the majority of which are actu ally for motorbikes.”

Edmund Araga, Presi dent of the Electric Vehicle

Association of the Philip pines says the number is a bit higher.

“We have about 13,964 based on LTO registration, 2021,” Araga said noting that these are e-trikes, e-motorcycles, e-jeeps, e-cars, e-bus, and e-trucks.

“Various na yon but ma jority of it is e-trikes. There are about 7,000 and then 5,000 are e-bikes. Ang ko

A laborer piles bags of Bombay onions at a stall in Bankerohan Market, Davao City on Wednesday (16 November 2022) as the price of this essential cooking ingredient soars to as much as P300 a kilo. MindaNews photo

OLIVIA D. VELASCO President

SOLANI D. MARATAS Finance

JASPER V. BACSAL General Manager / VP Operations

JOCELYN S. PANES Director of Sales

PHILIPPINE

GREGORIO

MAYA

MOSES BILLACURA Sports Editor

“That is something that we are hoping with the creation of jobs and with the growth of the economy to slowly begin to dial down. And it is with the pandemic beginning to ease at least in our case, then there are --- there’s a great deal of hope that that emergency situation will slowly resolve itself into some kind of normalcy.”

On his administration prioritizing efforts to boost initiatives to transform the economy and create more jobs for Filipinos:

President

FERDINAND R. MARCOS JR.

*******

This was the emphatic first sentence former POTUS Don ald Trump stated when he offi cially declared his candidacy for the 2024 presidential elections.

(As of this writing, though counting of ballots in the mid term elections continues in some states, the Republicans have seized control of the House having won 218 seats required to take the majority while the Democrats retained control of the Senate with 50 and possibly one more.)

As political pundits in America say Trump looks prominently certain of getting the GOP nomination, Pres. Joe Biden who is close to 80 years old, may or may not be the stan dard bearer for the incumbent administration.

This is developing even as two missiles hit Poland, report edly fired from the Russian ar tillery which is indiscriminately

shelling Ukraine’s capital Kiev, including civilian populated ar eas.

On the surface - although the Polish government has opined that the Russian missiles were not intentional - concerned ob servers say that the occurrence might take a more serious di rection of the Russian-Ukraine conflict because Poland is a NATO member.

As you will now take note, Trump’s “red wave” campaign slogan for the 2022 midterm polls did not materialize but this did not dampen the former Chief Executive from announc ing his imminent return to the White House in two years time.

Trump’s followers yelled with glee and gusto when he de clared sarcastically that Nancy Pelosi “has been fired.” Repub lican Minority leader Kevin Mc Carthy looks set to take over Pe losi’s executive chair as House Speaker. McCarthy walloped his Democratic challenger with a whopping 67.5% of the votes in his California district.

“Our country is being de stroyed before your very eyes,” said Trump, accusing the Biden administration of mismanage

ON

ment and corruption, a state ment that Filipinos are not strange to hear.

Whether Trump wins or not, the future political circum stances may bewilder the in cumbent PBBM government as it will have to deal with con trasting policies the Democrats and the Republicans exercise towards the Philippines.

Recall that this was the sit uation (or dilemma) former president Rodrigo Duterte faced as he was confronted by a hostile outgoing Obama ad ministration that was using “human rights” as a cover-up policy to intervene in our pure ly domestic affairs.

Of course, ex-PRRD did not like this because the Philippines is a sovereign nation and is not a vassal of the United States.

So, when Trump triumphed in 2016 and assumed the pres idency in January the following year, the Philippines started to enjoy a much better treatment from her old ally as the ex-pres ident became friends with the new White House occupant.

If my personal understand ing of America’s political con ditions bears me out, a Trump

WARPATH

successful return to power may produce good acceptable re sults for the Philippines.

His firm conviction and pro Israel-stand in Mid-East affairs has resulted in the forging of peace (dubbed the Abraham Accord) and diplomatic rela tions with Arab countries that were once hostile to the Zionist state.

Very contrastingly, Trump also stood firm in preventing Iran from achieving nuclear power capability as he pulled the US out of the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) entered into by his predecessor Barack Obama in 2015 that lift ed the heavy sanctions imposed against Iran.

The white haired ex-POTUS also is not in favor of a twostate solution to the Israel-Pal estinian long standing conflict which the Biden administration is pushing forward.

(In fact, the recently ousted Yair Lapid government even de clared its favorable agreement to a two-state solution during Lapid’s appearance before the UN General Assembly last Sep tember.)

As for the West Philippine

Sea issues, Trump has also declared his pro-Philippines stance, emphasizing the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty as the basis for the strong and endur ing US-Ph relations.

The incoming leadership change in the House of Repre sentatives will spell trouble for Democrat Pres. Biden’s agenda since he needs strong bilateral support from both chambers of Congress to push through the White House development agenda.

From the rumor mill, did I hear right that there is a scheme being hatched for Biden to re sign the presidency to give way to the succession of VP Kamala Harris and the appointment of a Vice President who the Dem ocrats are eyeing to become the potential opponent of Trump in the 2024 presidential ballot ing? Hmmm.

This outsider thinks the Biden administration is in bad shape.

There is no harm in giving Trump another chance at the White House. (Email feed back to fredlumba@yahoo. com.) GOD BLESS THE PHIL IPPINES!

A number of clergies, many of them Roman Catho lic priests, played discernable roles dur-ing the Martial Law years, mainly at the forefront of social issues hounding the government while embracing ideologies and philosophies incompatible with their reli gious beliefs. Ironi-cally, these clerics survived the regime but not in the post-Marcos era.

Born on March 28, 1953, in Calinan, Davao City, Roberto Cabug-os Salac (a classmate at the Saint Francis Xavier Col lege Seminary in Catalunan Grande) enrolled at the Queen of Apostles College Seminary in Tagum City in 1967 as a scholar of Bishop Joseph Re gan, MM, of the Prelature of Tagum; he later moved to the Davao seminary where he was the student council president.

Like many seminarians during this period, he was ex

posed to the social issues that affect-ed government and so ciety, especially peasants and marginalized sectors. To get a first-hand feel of the causes, he joined the Khi Rho, an ac tivist organization, and the Ju nior Free Farm-ers, the youth arm of the Federation of Free Farmers, both pursuing agrar ian reform agenda.

Salac was ordained a priest on May 15, 1978, in his home town, Mati City, but his first as-signment was in Tagum, at the old Christ the King Ca thedral. It was here that he was ex-posed further in the grassroots struggle, a theme that resonated strongly in the pastoral works of the Mary knoll Missionary Fathers in the northern and eastern provinces of Davao. In 1984, despite a mismatch with his religious upbringing, he joined the communist-led National

Democratic Front (NDF) and became its secretary-general for the southern Philippines.

On May 20, 1987, follow ing a dialogue with insurgents in the post-Marcos era, he was waylaid by Army troopers. The Union of Catholic Asian News, citing NDF claims, the priest, now 34 years old, was ‘shot in both legs, was carried by three rebel soldiers to a peas ant´s hut in the mountains of Mawab… where he died from loss of blood. He was the first rebel priest killed in action since President Corazon Aqui no came to power in February 1986.’

His remains, buried at the La Filipina Public Cemetery in Tagum City, were retrieved by his benefactor, retired Mary knoll Bishop Regan, and the priest’s parents.

Malaya, a Manila-based op position publication, carried in

its June 2, 1987, an advertorial of the NDF titled ‘A Tribute to the First Martyr-Priest Under the U.S.-Aquino Regime’, stating:

‘Fr. Salac will be remem bered as one of the NDF leaders in the protracted struggle for na-tional freedom and democ racy. His virtues of simplicity, honesty, determination, friend liness, brotherly warmth, seri ousness in his responsibilities, and self-sacrifice will continue to inspire all of us in the [NDF] to develop the same [traits] in order to build a more just and humane social order. He never had any quarrels with anyone in the movement. He was al ways open to criticism and will ingly submitted himself [to the] rectification of certain weak nesses. His virtues, his life and death [are] a challenge to all the Filipino people, the religious and other church people to rally together and carry forward the

unfinished struggle for nation al sover-eignty, genuine land reform, nationalist industrial ization, freedom, justice, and democracy.’

While Fr. Salac was fiercely investing his time and energy in addressing the social issues of his day, the organization he rep resented, conversely, promotes a Godless and vicious phi-los ophy, is labeled as a terrorist group and is a social alliance that endorses violence, human rights violations, armed strug gle, and the deposition of the government.

Scripturally, Fr. Salac re mained a priest forever—in the order of Melchizedek, the king of Salem, now Jerusalem (Psalm 110:40 and Hebrews 7:17). His demise, however, was not en-tirely justified given that it took place after the vestiges of a dictatorial regime had been de-mobilized.

MATI’S ‘PRIEST-MARTYR’

“Lead from the back and let others believe they are in front.” - NELSON MANDELA.

“America’s comeback starts right now.”

LANDBANK shares agri, dev’t finance expertise to Cambodian bank

The Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) recently shared its experi ences and best practices in developmental and agricul tural finance to delegates from the Agricultural and Rural Development Bank

(ARDB) of Cambodia.

LANDBANK President and CEO Cecilia C. Borro meo welcomed ARDB CEO H.E. Dr. Thach Kao, Deputy CEO H.E. Lim Ban, and other ARDB delegates, including Association of Development

Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFI AP) Institute of Develop ment Finance Head Sandra C. Honrado, at the LAND BANK Plaza on 24 October 2022.

“We look forward to op

portunities of collaborating with the ARDB of Cambodia towards our shared vision of advancing growth and sustainability strategies that will positively impact our countries and Southeast Asia,” said President Borro

meo. Other LANDBANK offi cers welcomed the visitors from Cambodia for their study visit, which include Senior Vice Presidents Ma. Celeste Burgos and Elcid Pangilinan, as well as Vice

Enabling Communities: Torre Lorenzo donates ambulance to Mabini, Davao de Oro

government’s

Lubi Plantation Resort.

“Sharing is our ex pression of gratitude to our community partners. The town has seen us when we were just start ing our vision here. As we

In the Davao Region, Torre Lorenzo is pres ent through its three up scale hospitality devel opments namely Dusit Thani Residence Davao and dusitD2 Davao in Davao City and Dusit Thani Lubi Plantation Resort in Davao de Oro. The Company is also the owner and developer of the 200-hectare inte grated-use development Ciudades in Davao City.

In addition to pro viding equal employ ment opportunities to residents, Torre Loren zo has various com munity development programs in place that focus on providing live lihood, supporting ac cess to education and health services, and protecting the envi ronment. In the resort, 70% of employees are from the nearby Mabini, while the rest are from other municipalities of Davao de Oro.

“Torre Lorenzo is here in Davao for the long-term will con stantly support our host community’s develop ment projects,” says Casares-Ko.

Presidents Esperanza Mar tinez and Sandra Daraman. The delegation from Cambodia was also in the country to attend the 45th ADFIAP Annual Meeting on 26 October 2022 at the Con rad Hotel in Pasay City.

LANDBANK President and CEO Cecilia C. Borromeo (6th from right) and other Bank officers welcome CEO H.E. Dr. Thach Kao (7th from right), Deputy CEO H.E. Lim Ban (8th from right), and other delegates from the Agricultural and Rural Development Bank (ARDB) of Cambodia,

including Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP) Institute of Development Finance Head Sandra C. Honrado (5th from right), at the LANDBANK Plaza on 24 October 2022.

Torre Lorenzo De velopment Corporation (TLDC) recently turned over an ambulance unit to the Municipality of Mabini in Davao de Oro in support of the local

efforts to provide better access to healthcare services to the community. The Mabini town is home to Torre Lorenzo’s flagship leisure development, Dusit Thani

continue to develop, we want to ensure that the town will also grow with us through providing op portunities for employ ment, and Mabini will be a major tourism hub for

Davao de Oro,” says Casa res-Ko. TLDC ensures that it gives back and contributes to the progress and devel opment of the commu nities where it operates.

Torre Lorenzo’s Chief Operations Officer Cathy Casares-Ko (leftmost), together with Bobby Horrigan (rightmost), TLDC’s Hospitality Consultant, turned over the brand new and equipped ambulance to Mabini Mayor Emerson Luego (middle).

Setting architectural benchmarks

BY NEIL BRAVO

High-rise buildings are sprouting all over Davao City in the past few years. What used to be an empty skyscape is now becoming a race to the skies.

The construction boom actually began ten years ago when major players in the real estate industry began to expand to Davao City. It’s not surprising. These ma jor players known when to crack the untapped market.

With the Metro Manila and Cebu property mar ket getting too crowded for these players, the next best thing is to shift their focus to the South.

Unruffled by the entry of the major players in Davao City, homegrown firm Aeon

Luxe Properties Inc. which comes from a pedigree of successful business ven tures from retail to property rentals joined the fray with their initial project Aeon Towers.

The company did not start small. It decided to enter the real estate market with an answer to what the big kids are doing.

Hence, the iconic Aeon Towers project.

Aeon Towers is nut just a testament of the bullish attitude of Davao business men but also represents that unique creativity and atten tion too details.

Needless to say, Aeon Towers sets the benchmark in modern architecture and

structural innovation in the Southern Philippines.

According to its builders, Aeon Towers is designed using sophisticated struc tural software and built on a multilayered foundation to ensure its resilience and stability against forces of nature.

The 33-level skyscraper conforms to the latest provi sions of the National Struc tural Code of the Philippines and other relevant codes for earthquake-resistant struc tures in high seismic-risk regions.

With that, Aeon Towers assures residents and condo owners of their safety and peace of mind.

LOW WATER PRESSURE TO NO WATER DUE TO DLPC’s POWER INTERRUPTION IN SOME TORIL WSS AREAS November 20, 2022

Davao City Water District advises the public of low water pressure to no water due to DLPC’s power interruption on November 20, 2022 from 12:01 AM to 11:00 AM affecting some areas served by Toril Water Supply System (WSS).

Specific areas affected are portion of Toril (Purok Pagkaka-isa, Toril Executive Village, Paradise Vil lage, Ilocano Village, Davao Housing Subd., B.B. Homes Subd., New Daliaon, Toril Public Market, St. Jude, Santa Clara Village, Prudential Village, San Jose, St. Michael Village, San Roque Village, Duha Village, San Vicente Village, San Nicolas Village, Teacher’s Village, Rovical Village, Nakada Village, Doña Manuela Subd., Sitio Kanipaan, Kasama Vil lage, Lizada Beach, Daliao Beach, Aplaya Village, Gutierrez Village, Sitio Tambakan, Kalambuan sa Katawhan HOA, Villa Grande Heights Subd., Sa mantha Homes, Kristina Homes II, Bangoy Com pound, Salsa Village, and Sitio Saypon), portion of Lubogan (Concordo Compound, Vergen Delos Re medios, streets of Alegre, Durian, San Nicolas, Ma copa, Abocado, St. John, Venus, Crusner, Mercury, and Jupiter, and Purok 15) and portion of Dumoy (Dacoville Subd., Dacudao Relocation, DLF Village, Don Lorenzo Subd., Farland Subd., Sison Subd., Rasay Compound, Philbanking Village, Sto. Nino Village, and Villa Josefina Resort Village). DCWD’s Production Well No. 1 under Toril WSS will be affect

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percent of the 12 to 17-year-olds are fully vac cinated with primary dos es, however, only 5.95 per cent received their booster dose.

“Kabalo naman ta na face-to-face na ang atong classes and voluntary na ang wearing of face mask but I believe the schools are still imposing wearing of face mask inside the class rooms,” she said.

The Vaccination Cluster is intensifying vaccination rollout to 5 to 11 years old. In coordination with the Department of Education 11 (DepEd) 11, it is now also conducting vaccina tion in public and private schools every Friday.

However, Schlosser said the vaccination will depend

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the RE law states that “the exploration, development, production and utilization of natural resources shall be under the full control and supervision of the State”.

The RE law’s IRR fur ther states that “the State may directly undertake such activities, or it may enter co-production, joint venture or co-production sharing agreements with Filipino citizens or corpo rations or associations at least 60% of whose capital is owned by Filipinos.”

“The country has a vast potential in RE develop ment. Now that the foreign

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to the real estate sector is currently around PHP170 billion, he added.

MyBahay is a flexible housing loan program that allows for a maximum pay ment term of 30 years, lon ger than the 20 years stan dard repayment term.

Clients will be allowed to capitalize on the value of the property, which is maximum

on the willingness of the schools.

“Selected schools lang and those schools that ex pressed their willingness kay nahitabo na nga nagha tag mi unya gilangaw man mi. Mas maayo na ang mis mong school ang mag ex press sa ilang willingness to be served sa atoang mobile vaccination nga school-based vaccination. Ang atoa lang hangyo sa mga parents labi na sa 5 to 11 years old kay gamay pa gyud kaayo ang out put na please open your minds sa atoang ginaha tag na vaccines. As I speak today, wala pa gyud nama tay na tao because of the vaccines more so sa atong pediatric population,” she said.

ed by Davao Light and Power Company’s (DLPC) power interruption on the said date needed to fa cilitate their line works near 7-Eleven and Western Union in Toril. Although the power cut is shorter in duration, DCWD needs additional time for re- switch ing on of the affected facility, pressure build-up, and line delivery, thus the longer duration of water service interruption.

The DCWD management asks for the under standing and cooperation of would-be-affected cus tomers and advises them to store enough water prior to the schedule. Water supply may be restored ear lier if DLPC’s work goes smoothly or later if unfore seen problems arise.

DCWD conducts flushing after service works are completed. However, once water is restored, custom ers are advised to open all faucets and allow water to run for at least two minutes. While doing this, do not drink tap water immediately. Water may be boiled as an additional safety precaution.

For the latest water service updates or any DCWD-related concerns, the general public may contact DCWD’s 24-hour call center hotlines at 2353293, 244-6767, 0927-798-8966, 0925-511-3293, or 0908- 441-0653 and chat support in the DCWD’s website (www.davao-water.gov.ph) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/officialDCWD). (Jamae G. Dela Cruz)

IDB...

equity restrictions in the RE sector has been relaxed, we expect an increase of investments in the sector which would certainly con tribute to our economy, provide jobs to our people, and help meet the goal of increasing the RE in the power generation mix of 35% by 2030 and 50% by 2040,” said Lotilla.

The DOE said the DC No. 2022-11-0034 will take effect 15 days upon its publication in two newspa pers of general publication and filing with the Univer sity of the Philippines Law Center-Office of the Nation al Administrative Register.

of PHP2.8 million, since the allowable loan amount as against the contract price or total appraised value is 95 percent compared to the regular 80 percent.

Minimum gross house hold income require ment to avail of the loan is PHP25,000, lower than the standard PHP40,000.

(PNA)

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She said DCWD is also conducting house to house surveys to assess the read iness of the citizens for the project. The surveys were conducted in Barangays Cabantian, Indangan, Pana can, and Sasa.

DCWD’s information campaign aims to change

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tance of the Verification and Monitoring Assistance Teams (VMATs). The VMAT, which is composed of an international repre sentative from Turkiye/ Brunei/Norway, repre sentative from the AFP/ PNP, and representative from the MILF, conducts a careful validation process through interview and stringent vetting process at the decommissioning site,” he said.

Galvez also said that each combatant is validat ed and registered through biometrics by the IDB, with their photos and finger prints taken and printed in the IDB-issued ID or the decommissioned com batant’s ID. Information derived from the same in terview and registration is handled through an IDB database system and is treated with utmost con sideration for security and confidentiality.”

To further enhance the process of validation, the GPH and MILF estab

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He said infrastructure investments are also sup porting the expansion of the domestic economy.

Ng added risks to the projected growth this and next year are on the upside “given the strong momen tum in the economic growth we’ve seen in the past quar ters, especially in the posi tive third quarter numbers.”

GDP growth in the third quarter this year surpassed expectations after it expand ed by 7.6 percent, higher than the upwardly revised 7.5 percent in the previous

FARMERS...

lished a pre-Assembly and Processing Area (PreAPA) to jointly conduct a pre-screening and pre-reg istration of MILF combat ants scheduled for decom missioning.

The identities of MILF combatants are further verified through civil reg istration and provision and processing of certificates of live birth to establish their legal identities with the support of the internation al community,” the OPAPRU chief said.

After the decommis sioning process, the vali dated and registered com batants will be turned over for social-intake interview under the Task Force for Decommissioned Combat ants and their Communi ties and DSWD.

Each decommis sioned combatant receives PHP100,000 as transition al cash assistance with a DSWD-issued ID (biomet ric system) as part of their transformation to produc tive civilian lives.

quarter.

Domestic growth as of end-September this year stood at 7.7 percent, higher than the 6.5 to 7.5 percent assumption of the govern ment.

In terms of inflation, Ng said the average rate of price increases this year is forecast to be around 5.5 percent, higher than the government’s 2-4 percent target band until 2024.

The average inflation for 2023 is seen to be around 3.9 percent.

As of end-October this

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down as much, as lower as they can, basta may pera lang ang gobyerno na pang-subsidize doon sa lugi na tatamaan dahil hindi ho naman pupuwe

the current attitude of Dabawenyos towards proper septage manage ment.

The first septage treat ment plant of Davao City will be located in Indangan, which is expected to start operation in the third quar ter of 2023.

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lanes para wala tay prob lema,” Abude said.

He said the police are authorized to flag down bikers/cyclists doing these prohibited acts be cause these are dangerous not only for themselves but for other motorists.

A penalty of P100 will be imposed for the follow ing violations: non-regis tration, failure to renew the registration, no regis tration sticker attached to the steering wheel, incom plete complacency to min imum safety requirements (helmet, reflectorize etc.), and failure to follow traffic laws.

“As of now nagsugod na atong massive cam paign nga magpa rehistro na sila sa ilang bisikleta. Magpatawag ko unsay progress after one month before mag declare kung kanus-a mag start ang implementation. Naa ta’y timetable ani pero dapat

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magpa rehistro na sila,” Abude said.

Meanwhile, an orien tation has been conducted among the barangay cap tains in 182 barangays on three occasions since Oc tober 18, 2022.

According to the or dinance, owners must register bicycles in the barangay where they are residing.

“Wala pa kami data karon kung pila na ang na rehistro karon sa matag barangay kay sumala sa ordinance ang barangay kung asa tong nanag-iya ng bisikleta ug residente sa barangay didto sila mis mo magpa rehistro sa il ang barangay,” Abude said.

The barangay in coor dination with the CTTMO will submit the data to the CTTMO quarterly.

“Para masubay namo ang progress sa registra tion,” he said. By Maya M. Padillo

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ment of patients in emer gency and severe cases. Certain provisions f BP 702 have been amended under RA 834 and RA 10932 and increased the penalties on hospital employees and of ficials violating the law.

RA 10932, which was signed by former President Rodrigo Duterte in 2017 and implemented the fol lowing year, penalizes hos pital employees or medical practitioners found guilty of violating the Anti-Hos pital Deposit Law with P100,000 to P300,000 or imprisonment of 6 months to 2 years.

The same law also imposes higher penal ties of imprisonment of 4 to 6 years, and a fine of P500,000 to P1 million, or both, on directors or offi cers of hospitals or clinics responsible for implement ing policies or instructions that violate the Anti-Hospi tal Deposit Law.

Five years after the signing law of RA 10932, Duterte wants even more severe penalties imposed

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low that,” Rabat-Tan said.

She revealed that there are only a few DOT-accred ited resorts in the province. And the DOT-XI is in con stant coordination with their provincial tourism

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deng i-sacrifice mo yung kapakanan ng magsasaka versus doon sa kapakanan ng konsyumer. Kailangan win-win tayo dyan,” he said.

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tse maliit pa ang number. It is around 700 to 800. Pero last year, based on selling nila nasa almost 1,000.”

Araga added because of the Electric Vehicle In dustry Development Act, the Philippines can expect

on hospitals and clinics, complemented by the es tablishment of a Depart ment of Health (DOH)-ad ministered national hotline to make it easier to flush out the law’s violators.

Under HB 3046, a hos pital employee, official or medical practitioner found violating the Anti-Hospital Deposit Law will be fined between P500,000 and P1 million or imprisoned for 4 to 6 years, or both, upon the discretion of the courts.

If the courts find that the violation was commit ted due to the medical fa cility’s established policy or upon instructions of its management, the director or officer responsible shall be penalized with impris onment of 6 to 12 years or fined P2 million to P5 mil lion under the bill.

HB 3046 also adds a provision that would allow the filing of administrative cases against erring hospi tal employees and officials with the corresponding penalty of suspension, can cellation, or revocation of

counterparts.

“We will work on that, we do have a lot of estab lishment without DOT accreditation that is what we’re pushing,” Rabat-Tan said. (PIA/RG Alama)

more electric vehicle ven dors to enter the country. He noted that richer Filipi nos have been buying elec tric vehicles in cash, while more affordable variants are expected to be available soon.

Muay artists Bomogao, Abubakar rule

8th PSC Women’s Martial Arts Festival

Rudzma Abubakar and Islay Erika Bomogao ruled

respective events that showcased

tough ness of the national team from Muay Thai in the 8th Philippine Sports Com mission Women’s Martial Arts Festival at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Abubakar, a South east Asian Games bronze medalist, de feated fellow national team member Floryvic Montero of Team Bag sik to clinch the gold medal in the 48kg cat

egory while Bomogao proved herself superior over SEA Games waik ru partner Rhichein Yosorez in the individu al waikru event.

A proud native of Baguio City, Bomogao

and Yosorez struck gold in women’s waikru during the SEA Games earlier this in Vietnam. They participated in the WMA Festival as part of their prepara tions for several forth coming tournaments as well as for the 6th Asian Indoor Martial Arts Games in Bangkok, Thailand next year.

Team Bagsik’s Mary Glyde Elizabeth Sala zar (48kg), Allysa Ky

lie Mallari (60kg) and April Joy La Madrid (63.5kg) also dominat ed their weight classes as a show of force in the six-day meet organized by PSC and supported by Pocari Sweat and Go21. Team Bagsik is the moniker of the na tional muaythai team.

Featuring the na tion’s finest women athletes in 11 sports, the WMA Festival is be ing streamed live at the

PSC’s YouTube channel and the PSC WMA Fes tival FB page.

Romarah Derrica Cerezo (54kg) of Boot camp Muaythai, Claire De Guzman (57kg) of PAF Veterans, Ronelyn Tondag (-45kg) of Mala bonian Ninjas and Baby Jane Buzon (45kg) of PAF Veterans complet ed the cast of gold-med al winners in muay.

In combat sambo at the Rizal Memorial Col

iseum, Mariane Maria no bested Jomary Tor res to secure the under 54kg title while Geli Bulaong claimed the under 59kg diadem at the expense of Charina Margallo.

Princess Cortez (un der 54kg) and Aisli nin Agnes Yap (under 80kg) were the top fin ishers in sport sambo after downing Amber Arcilla and Lea Loren Quimba, respectively.

Zamboanga enters MPBL South Finals

Zamboanga made the last ride to the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) Divi sion Finals after rip ping Bacolod, 77-65,

in the deciding game of their Southern Di vision semifinal se ries at the Vitaliano Agan Coliseum in Zamboanga City on Tuesday night.

Zamboanga pre served a hot start, in which the team out scored Bacolod, 2612, in the first quar ter, even as the home squad led by as much

as 22 points in the wire-to-wire win.

Jaycee Marceli no led Zamboanga, which set a date with Batangas City in the South finals, with 21

points, six rebounds, six assists, three steals, and one block off the bench.

Chito Jaime added 11 points, four re bounds, and one steal

also off the bench.

Jhan Nermal led Bacolod with 14 points, nine re bounds, one assist, and one block. (PNA)

their

the

National Muay athlete Islay Bomogao ruled the Women’s Waikru Individual event at the 8th PSC Women’s Martial Arts Festival held in the Ninoy Aquino Stadium, Manila last November 16, 2022.

SEAG medalist Rudzma Abubakar won the gold medal in the Female 51kg Muay event at the 8th PSC Wom en’s Martial Arts Festival in Ninoy Aquino Stadium, Manila last November 16, 2022.

In his first game back from Professional Basketball since last playing in 2020, the Founder of Filbasket (Filipino Basketball League) showed no signs of slowing down - dropping 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 triples for Malaysian Clb, KL Aseel.

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Jai Reyes signs up with Malaysian squad

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - 35 year old Jai Reyes displayed a vintage perfor mance at the Major Basketball League in Malaysia. In his first game back from Pro fessional Basketball since last playing in 2020, the Founder of Filbasket (Filipino Bas ketball League) showed no signs of slowing down - dropping 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 triples for Malaysian Club, KL Aseel.

Reyes shot 10-of-17 (58.8% FG) from the field, and 3-of-6 (50% 3FG) from the three-point area in the 92-70 victory against Sun rise Youngsters. The 2-Time UAAP Champion and 2005 UAAP Rookie of the Year was awarded “Player of the Game”.

“I haven’t played com petitive basketball since 2020, ever since I started Filbasket I took on more of a management role in the league. I just miss playing man.” Jai Reyes said in the post game interview.

This is Reyes’ first stint back internationally, last playing for the Saigon Heat in 2012-2013, and first bas ketball tournament since

the Chooks-to-Go 3x3 in Laguna, where his team the Nueva Ecija Rice Vanguards placed 1st runner up.

His teammate and fellow Filipino-import, Jun Manzo made his international de but and had a statline of 18 points, 1 rebound, 2 assist and 1 steal for KL Aseel. The former UP Fighting Ma roon shot 8-of-14 (57.1% FG) from the field, and 2-of6 (33.3% 3FG) from down town.

On November 18, 2022 (8:00 PM), Jai Reyes, Jun Manzo and the rest of the KL Aseel team will take on Head Coach Jeff Viernes and NS Matrix, the champi ons of the inaugural season of the MBL.