Edge Davao Vol. 15 Issue 232 | Tuesday, January 17, 2023

SAFER WITH MASK

DOH 11 reiterates wearing of face mask is still recommended

A Muslim street vendor’s young daughter holds a signboard for the merchandise she is selling as they wait for customers at the sidewalk along San Pedro Street in Davao City on Monday. Lean Daval Jr.

SAFER WITH MASK

DOH 11 reiterates wearing of face mask is still recommended

By MAYA M. PADILLO

Despite easing of restrictions, the Department of Health 11 (DOH 11) still recommends the wearing of face masks.

Dr. Rachel Pasion, head of the Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit (RESU) of DOH 11,

said on Monday that wearing of face mask is still favored specially to immunocompromised in-

dividuals, senior citizens, and individuals with comorbidities in the Davao Region.

“Kasi yun sila ang usually nag severe case pag magka Covid. So better to really protect ourselves we should wear our mask

wala namang mawawala sa atin in wearing our masks,” Pasion said during the Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Davao.

In October last year, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. FSAFER, P10

Death toll from floods across PH climbs to 28

Mariano said.

The City Government of Davao has issued Executive Order (EO) No. 78, Series of 2022, reconstituting and reorganizing the membership of the City Development Council under Republic Act No. 7160, also known as the Local Government Code of 1991.

The EO, signed by Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte on December 29, 2022, states that the City Development Council will assist the local legislative body in setting the direction of economic and social development and coordinating development efforts within the city.

Committee will be led by the city mayor or his alternate, the city administrator, as the chairperson and a representative from a Civil Society Organization (CSO) as the vice-chairperson.

At

least 28 people have died due heavy rains that spawned floods across the Philippines this month, authorities said on Monday, as forecasters warned of continued heavy rains in the country.

Heavy downpours and

flooding have plagued the nation’s southern and central islands since the Christmas weekend, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.

Since Jan. 2, back-toback low pressure areas, the amihan, and shear line have killed 28 people

across the country, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said.

“Ang cause of death po ng karamihan po dito is drowning po ang karamihan po, at may pang ilan po na natabunan po ng landlside,” OCD information officer Diego Agustin

(In most cases, the cause of death is drowning, while others were buried in landslides.)

Eleven people were reported injured and 3 were missing, the OCD added.

EO 78 states, “In line with the development thrust of the City Government on focusing on the delivery of services, programs, and projects into more specific and essential targets, there is a need for an integrated manner of planning and opening its resources from within and outside sources into focused areas and barangays.”

The new order states that the DCDC Executive

The membership will also include the Sangguniang Panlungsod Committee on Finance, Ways and Means (Appropriations) chairperson; Association of Barangay Captains president; Civil Society Organizations representative; Social Development Committee chairperson and vice-chairperson, Economic Development Committee chairperson and vice-chairperson, Infrastructure Development Committee/Zoning and Land Use chairperson and vice-chairperson, Environment Management Committee chairperson and vice-chairperson, and Public Administration Development Committee chairperson and vice-chairperson.

The DCDC is mandated to formulate long-term, medium-term, and annual

Former president Rodrigo Duterte, together with Chinese Consul General Li Lin, graces the 2023 Chinese Spring Festival celebration hosted by the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Davao and co-organized by the Philippine Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. - Davao Chapter at the Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao on Saturday. Edge Davao

NBI 11 submits Plaza murder investigation result to SITG

Dad: Implementing EUF needs thorough study

Councilor Temujin

“Tek” Ocampo, chair of the committee on environment, said on Monday that implementing the Environmental User Fees (EUF) in Davao City requires a thorough study.

Amid reports of the city’s planned implementation of EUF, Ocampo clarified that nothing was discussed in his committee and in the City Council plenary.

“Wala pana nahisgutan sa akong committee and not even sa council. No plans yet. Gi-interview ko sa media about EUF kung mopatuman ba daw ta diri kay ang ubang cities are doing it ingon ko wala pa man ta’y plano ana but we are not also saying we are not open to that idea. And if ever na siya nga hinuon, tun-an gyud na pag-ayo kay dako kaayo ang area sa Davao City. Like Samal, Coron, Palawan and other areas with similar situation, dali lang mangolekta. Pero sa ato dako kaayo. It may be viable for Davao and if ever dakong tabang

na sa funds in preserving and protecting the environment, pero lagi ang pag-implement ug paunsa i-implement? Asa ta mangolekta?

Entry points? Or sa mga resorts and how much?

Violent reactions sab iconsider. Tun-an gyud ni pagayo. Pero as of now, wala pa gyud na nahisgutan namo sa council,” Ocampo said in a Messenger message.

Meanwhile, the Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCoS) is collecting EUF from tourists visiting the island.

IGaCoS Bantay Kinaiyahan shared that the local government unit of IGaCoS issued City Ordinance #156-S.2009 imposing the implementation of the EUF Program in 2009. The ordinance defines EUF as “a sustainable revenue-generating mechanism for local governments, which effectively allocates the responsibility for managing, developing and protecting the environment by charging a fee for tourists and visitors for their use and enjoyment of the area.”

By MAYA M. PADILLO

The National Bureau of Investigation 11 (NBI) submitted on Monday the result of its investigation on the murder of businesswoman Yvonette “Yvonne” Chua Plaza to the Special Investigation Task Group (SITG), according to an NBI 11 official.

Mindanao Regional Office (NBI SEMRO 11), told Edge Davao on Monday.

However, Albao said NBI 11 cannot give details on their investigation saying it will only be the

SITG that can provide updates regarding the case.

On January 3, 2023, Colonel Alberto Lupaz, director of the Davao City Police Office (DCPO), said the SITG was given two weeks to come up with a result that will lead to the arrest of the suspects.

Regional Director BGen. Benjamin Silo Jr. of the Police Regional Office (PRO 11) vowed to come up with quality and judicious results in their

investigation

“We would like to assure the public that we will solve the case and file the case. Just give us ample time. We cannot sacrifice our judicious findings doon sa pagmamadali. We would like to come up with a very quality result from the investigation and we are going to coordinate with the NBI to conduct a parallel investigation. We will be exchanging notes

Groups ask JICA to withdraw support for Davao City’s Waste-to-Energy project

Environmental groups and local residents have asked the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to withdraw its support for the waste-to-energy (WTE) project of the local government of Davao.

Lawyer Mark Peñalver, executive director of the Interfacing Development Interventions for Sus-

tainability (IDIS), said on Sunday that the incinerator, which emits highly toxic and carcinogenic substance, will affect residents of 20 barangays in the city.

He said those barangays include Mintal, Santo Niño, Catalunan Grande, Langub, Waan, Callawa, Riverside, Balengaeng, Tacunan, Biao Guianga,

Angalan, Los Amigos, Talandang, New Valencia, New Carmen, Matina Biao, Tagakpan, Ula, Tugbok, and Biao Escuela.

He added around 30 participants, among them residents who would be affected by project, joined thePeople’s Forum on Agriculture and Incineration held last January 9 at The Big House Davao

where they made the call for JICA not to pursue the project.

The forum was organized by the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) Asia Pacific, Ecowaste Coalition, and IDIS in partnership with Ecoteneo, Masipag Mindanao,

Lawyer Arcelito Albao, director of the National Bureau of Investigation NBI-South Eastern Mindanao Regional Office (NBI SEMRO 11), says the agency has submitted the result of its investigation to the Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) on the murder of model-businesswoman Yvonette Chua Plaza. Lean Daval Jr.

“We will submit today the updates of our investigation to the SITG,” Lawyer Arcelito Albao, director of the National Bureau of Investigation NBI-South Eastern

Cash remittances hit $2.64B in Nov.

Civil Aeronautics Board lowers fuel surcharges

ters from the Philippines.

For domestic flights, passengers will only be charged a fuel surcharge of P185 to P665, depending on the distance.

Cash

remittances from overseas Filipinos reached $2.64 billion in November 2022, higher by 5.7 percent than the$2.50 billion registered in the same month in 2021, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said on Monday.

The BSP said expansion in cash remittances coursed through banks in was due to the growth in receipts from land- and sea-based workers.

From January to November, cash remittances$29.38 billion, 3.3 per-

cent higher than the $28.43 billion booked in the same period in 2021.

“The growth in cash remittances from the United States (US), Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and Qatar contributed largely to the increase in remittances in

January-November 2022. Meanwhile, in terms of country sources, the US posted the highest share of overall remittances in the first eleven months of 2022, followed by Singapore and Saudi Arabia,” the BSP said.

Meanwhile, personal remittances grew by 5.8 percent to$2.93 billion in November 2022 from $2.77 billion recorded in the same month in 2021.

Personal remittances increased to$32.65 bil-

lion, or by 3.4 percent, in the first eleven months of 2022, from$31.59 billion in the comparable period in 2021.

The Philippines is one of the biggest recipients of remittances, which power consumption and is one of the biggest drivers of the economy.

The surge in remittances leading to the Christmas holidays is also credited for strengthening the peso, which had been weakening since.

Air travelers can expect cheaper tickets next month as the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) lowers fuel surcharges to Level 6 for February 2023 from the prevailing Level 7.

Fuel surcharge rates have been on a downward trend since peaking at Level 11 in July 2022.

A Level 6 fuel surcharge will mean that passengers purchasing flight tickets for the month of February will only be charged a fuel surcharge of P610.37 for international flights to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, or Brunei; or P4,538.40 to destinations more than 14,000 kilome-

CAB says the fuel surcharge rate was lowered due to a decrease in jet fuel prices monitored from December 2, 2022 to January 9, 2023. The advisory noted that jet fuel averaged P38.92 per liter, which corresponds to Level 6 of the Passenger and Cargo Fuel Surcharge Matrix.

“(The trend is) downward so far, and we hope it continues. But the global supply and prices are still very unstable because of

PBBM: Gov’t had no choice but import onions to meet demand

As President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. embarks on his eighth foreign trip since assuming office, he left the Philippines amid the continuing problem of the high prices of some agricultural products such as onions and sugar in the market.

Marcos on Sunday defended the importation of onions from other countries, saying that “our government had no choice but to import,” given the gap between production and the demand for the product in the Philippines.

“Given the production and demand we have in the Philippines, it’s impossible to avoid imports. We’ve tried to get products from smuggling, but the need was still not met. We had no choice but to import, so that’s what we’re doing,” Marcos, who also sits as Agriculture secretary, told reporters who were with him on the plane from Manila to Switzerland where he will attend the World Economic Forum.

However, the administration is looking for ways to increase the produc-

tion of onions and other products in order to avoid importing them, the President said.

“We have to go back to the onion growers and help them para magkaroon tayo ng production, hindi na tayo kailangan mag-import. Diyan tayo naipit eh. Nasanay tayo masyado sa import. So import lang tayo nang import, hindi natin inaayos ‘yung production side,” he said.

(We have to go back to the onion growers and help them so we can have [enough] production and we won’t have to import.

That’s where we had a problem. We got used to importing. So we resorted to importation but did not address the production side.)

The President emphasized the importance of boosting production from local farmers, as opposed to simply relying on imports.

Sugar buffer stock

On the issue of sugar, Marcos announced that his administration will maintain a two-month buffer stock to ensure that there is no shortage of supply.

“We will maintain

from now on, ‘yung sugar, a two-month buffer stock para hindi na magkaroon ng masyadong speculation sa presyo ng sugar. So that people will know hindi tayo magkaka-shortage dahil lagi tayong merong twomonth na buffer stock, which I will maintain,” Marcos said.

(We will maintain from now on a twomonth buffer stock of sugar so that we will not have much speculation on the price of sugar. So that people will know that there won’t be any shortage because we will

always have a two-month buffer stock, which I will maintain.)

He is hopeful that the prices of basic commodities will go down in the coming weeks.

The President is also looking at strategies being employed by other countries and the use of modern technology to address the problem of smuggling agricultural products in the Philippines.

“I think the digitalization of the Bureau of Customs is going to be an important, important part of it,” Marcos said.

A street vendor displays handcrafted accessories made from stainless steel along San Pedro Street in Davao City on Monday. Lean Daval Jr.

9 richest Pinoys wealthier than half of PH population

Marcos wants two-month sugar buffer stock to dodge shortage

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sunday said the government would maintain a 2-month buffer stock of sugar prevent another shortage of the commodity.

Marcos, who also heads the agriculture department, says the Philippines was recently forced to import sugar to address high prices as local supplies were not enough to meet demand.

“We will maintain from now on, in sugar, a 2-month buffer stock para hindi magkaroon ng masyadong speculation ng sugar, so that we will know, hindi tayo magka-

ka-shortage, dahil lagi na tayong may 2 months na buffer stock which I will maintain,” he said.

(We will maintain from now on, in sugar, a 2-month buffer stock so that there won’t be too much speculation ng sugar, so that we will know, we won’t have a shortage.)

Inflation in November reached 8 percent, the highest level since November 2008. Sugar confectionery and desserts, meanwhile, posted a 38 percent inflation for the month, according to government data.

Due to the elevated

The Survival of the Richest report also said that in the Philippines, the poor are unable to recover from the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and high prices of commodities such as red onions.

“Inequality experienced in the Philippines is starker with the 9 richest Filipinos having more wealth than the bottom half or 55 million of the population,” said Oxfam Pilipinas Executive Director Erika Geronimo.

“It is quite disheartening to see many are dying due to lack of health care or are experiencing hunger amid high cost of food while the rich increased

their wealth during the pandemic,” she added.

The report cited data from Forbes’ Billionaires List and Oxfam data, it said.

The following are the richest in the country according to the Forbes list Philippines’ Richest in 2022:

1. Sy siblings (net worth: $12.6 billion)

2. Manuel Villar (net worth: $7.8 billion)

3. Enrique Razon Jr (net worth: $5.6 billion)

4. Lance Gokongwei and siblings (net worth: $3.1 billion)

5. Aboitiz family (net worth: $2.9 billion)

6. Isidro Consunji and

siblings (net worth: $2.9 billion)

7. Tony Tan Caktiong and family (net worth: $2.6 billion)

8. Jaime Zobel de Ayala and family (net worth: $2.55 billion)

9. Ramon Ang (net worth: $2.45 billion)

Since 2012, the number of those worth $5 million (P278.24 million) and above has increased by almost half or 43.5 percent, Oxfam said.

Geronimo said if a wealth tax was imposed on Filipino millionaires, the country could raise some $3.8 billion a year.

“This amount is enough to increase our health budget by two-fifths,” she said.

GLOBAL INEQUALITY

During the pandemic years, some $26 trillion or 63 percent out of all new wealth worth $42 trillion

was captured by the richest 1 percent while $16 trillion or 37 percent went to the rest of the world put together, according to the report which was published during the opening day of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

A billionaire gained about $1.7 million for every $1 of new global wealth earned by a person in the bottom 90 percent, the report said, adding that billionaire fortunes have increased by $2.7 billion per day.

Billionaire wealth surged in 2022 “with rising food and energy profits,” the report said.

Oxfam said 95 percent of food and energy corporations have more than doubled their profits in 2022, making $306 billion in windfall profits and paid

SIM registration deadline on April 26 aligns with law: DICT

The deadline of the SIM registration, which falls on April 26, is in line with the law, the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the National Telecommunications Commission said on Monday.

The mandatory SIM

registration started on Dec. 27. Some users earlier expressed confusion whether the deadline would fall in April or in June. But regulators said the deadline had always been April 26.

“Said deadline is in line with the provisions of Republic Act No. 11934,

or the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Registration Act, which states that ‘All existing SIMs subscribers shall register the same with their respective PTEs within one hundred eighty (180) days from the effectivity of this Act’,” the statement said.

The law stated that it

would take effect 15 days after publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

It was signed on Oct. 10 and published in the Official Gazette on Oct. 12 and in the Daily Tribune the next day, the agencies said.

“It therefore took effect 15 days after such publication, or no later than 28 October 2022,” it added.

The DICT said that while it could extend the registration, the goal is to finish within the original deadline.

Meanwhile, regulators

have yet to release the guidelines for the rollout of SIM registration in remote areas.

As of Jan. 11, over 17 million SIMS have been registered, representing 10.47 percent of the 169 million mobile cellular subscribers nationwide, government data showed.

Thenine richest Filipinos have more wealth compared to 55 million or half of the entire Philippine population, according to a report by Oxfam International.

Davao Light and Power Company contractors do maintenance work on power lines along JP Laurel Avenue in Davao City on Sunday, January 15, 2023. MINDANEWS PHOTO

In expressing confidence that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. would be able to successfully introduce the country’s sovereign wealth fund, articulate his administration’s gains and promote the Philippines as an investment hub at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland:

“In his previous participation in various global fora, President Marcos has displayed an excellent ability to articulate the interests of the Philippines as well as the significant gains achieved under his administration and the country’s direction for future growth. I’m confident he would do the same in the WEF, particularly in introducing the Maharlika Wealth Fund to the global stage and in helping our local business leaders explore investment opportunities for the Philippines.”

OLIVIA D. VELASCO President

SOLANI D. MARATAS Finance

JASPER V. BACSAL General Manager / VP Operations

JOCELYN S. PANES Director of Sales

PHILIPPINE

GREGORIO GARAY DELIGERO Editorial Consultant

MAYA M. PADILLO Senior Reporter

MOSES BILLACURA Sports Editor

House Speaker FERDINAND MARTIN G. ROMUALDEZ

The significance of a basic phone dates to 1849 when Italian Antonio Meucci invented it. Five years later, Frenchman Charles Bourseul devised his own phone but it was American Alexander Graham Bell who first earned a U.S. patent numbered 174,465 on June 14, 1876, for a device he designed to telegraphically transmit voice or sound.

In Davao, the first telephone lines were first introduced in 1900 after the American ser-vicemen arrived in town. The project, then purely a state-funded undertaking, was to link the southwest sector of the gulf of Davao to the eastern seaboard of the Pacific.

Setting up a private phone company to commercially use the phone as the communica-tion apparatus in Mati, Davao Oriental, did not happen until nearly a century later when Congress approved

a bill granting a franchise to construct, establish, install, maintain and operate local exchange network in the province of Davao Oriental to Mati Telephone Corpo-ration (MTC).

The license was granted under Republic Act 8675, which lapsed into law on June 25, 1998. The statutory recipient and one of the owners of the company is Connie Go of Mati, Davao Oriental.

The franchise coverage was so extensive that it included the setting up of local exchange networks, pay telephone stations, or wireless local loop for public domestic telecommunica-tions in the entire province without interfering on the wavelengths or frequencies of the exist-ing stations.

Under RA 8675, the franchise has a term of twenty-five (25) years from the date of effec-tivity, unless revoked or

cancelled for failure to comply with the conditions to operate within three years from the approval of its operating permit or provisional authority by the National Telecommunications Commission, functioning nonstop for two years and to commence oper-ations within five years from the grant.

Similar to the guidelines issued to other franchises, the MTC is not allowed to ‘lease, transfer, grant the usufruct of, sell nor assign this franchise or the rights and privileges ac-quired [under RA 8675] to any person, firm, company, corporation or other commercial or legal entity, nor merge with any corporation or entity, nor shall the controlling interest of the grantee be transferred, whether as a whole or in parts and whether simultaneously or con-temporaneously, to any such person, firm, company, corporation or

entity’ outside the ap-proval of Congress.

To ensure the firm conducts its activities in the manner prescribed by law, the franchise is required to ‘operate and maintain all its stations, lines, cables, systems and equipment for the transmission and reception of messages, signals and pulses in a satisfactory manner at all times, and as far as economical and practicable, modify, improve or change such stations, lines, cables, systems, and equipment to keep abreast with the advances in science and tech-nology.’

Moreover, the MTC is required to ‘operate and maintain all its stations, lines, cables, sys-tems and equipment for the transmission and reception of messages, signals and pulses in a satisfactory manner… [and to] modify, improve or change such stations,

lines, cables, sys-tems, and equipment to keep abreast with the advances in science and technology.’

Tragedy, however, struck the owner of the phone company twelve years after its approv-al. On September 30, 2010, Connie Go, one of the company’s principal shareholders, was stabbed to death inside her residence. She sustained thirty-three wounds. Rodolfo Gonzales, supposedly the victim’s lover for nearly three decades, and son Nico Silvestre, were arrested for the crime. The offense was allegedly due to Go’s claim the younger Gonzales is the non-marital son of Rodolfo by another woman.

On April 8, 2022, prior to the termination of the Duterte presidency, RA 11674 became a law; it renewed for another twenty-five years the franchise granted to MTC under RA 8675.

It begins with the culture of respect. The absence of it destroys the moral fabric of any institution. Leaders must not act from the vantage point of their pedestal. Who we are and what becomes of our society should be grounded in how we truly value people. What ails society is that those at the top of the hierarchy love to throw their weight around.

The problem is the elitist mindset that subordinates others to a kind of thinking that makes one cling into a false sense of superiority.

Fr. Jose Conrado Estafia wrote a beautiful book on empathy. According to him, following the work the Edith Stein, empathy is not just about compassion. Empathy opens the subject to the world of the other. It is an intersubjective experience. In schools,

we need to pay attention to our students and not just focus on rankings, periodic assessments by accrediting entities, and abstruse curriculum policies. It is not enough that we understand the way they think. We have to live in the same consciousness that our students have been put into in the world which is not their own making.

History may be a factor in the elitist culture of some schools in which our youth are being thrown into. The friars during the colonial period can possibly be considered as the first real bullies in our society.

They were Rizal’s number one enemy, says Leon Ma. Guerrero’s biography of the national hero, The First Filipino. Nothing has changed much in our society. The powerful still rule like little gods and overlords.

Our schools have become a microcosm of a society that has failed in its moral responsibility.

Students see their teachers as role models. But if teachers themselves are put in an environment where prejudice exists, including that ugly sense of favoritism, the same will become victims of exclusion. You cannot expect education to be an integral part in the reform of society. Education is not simply meant to be a producer of skilled workers. Such a function, which is designed by a globalized economy, is nothing but secondary. The main purpose of education is to make us better human beings.

What does it mean to be truly, and fully human? The task ahead, I believe, is that forming the character of persons involves developing hu-

man beings who are conscious of their country’s history, proud of their cultural identity, and aware of their political and social responsibilities. To this end, the teacher knows that educating the youth is more than just the transfer of knowledge. It is rooted in the basic respect for the moral worth of each and every individual as a human person.

But the important question remains unanswered. Whose responsibility is the young human being who has become a victim of a world that is wanting in love? The real culprits cannot be expected to admit their moral accountability. Why? It is because people do not see the pain and suffering of the innocent other. Society often alienates the orphan, the street child, and the bullied during her most difficult mo-

ments. People hear nothing of her cries when she feels weak. We are all guilty because we actually lack the real love for humanity.

Indeed, in moments that call for moral bravery and wisdom, the silence is sometimes deafening. Human values, these are what a society is supposed to be built on. This, I believe, is something that most of us already know. But there are learned and mature people who only care about themselves. The most intelligent among us are content to sit on their laurels. Some of us simply want to hide because of we lack the courage to speak. I pray these interesting times add no more to the suffering of the innocent and powerless because, rightly or wrongly, we are all complicit to a crime.

AirAsia Philippines returns to Kaohsiung with direct flights

AirAsia Philippines has successfully reopened its Kaohsiung, Taiwan route in time for the l Lunar New Year festivities.

The inaugural flight on 7 January which took off at the NAIA Terminal 3 was greatly received by travelers as the flight crew welcomed them with exciting treats.

AirAsia Philippines CEO Ricky Isla shares: “Our return to Kaohsiung signals an auspicious and positive welcome to the year of the Rabbit. Before the pandemic, this

route and Manila-Taipei had immensely contributed to our growth with its consistently high traffic demand, especially among leisure travelers and overseas Filipino workers who are always searching for the best value deals. We look forward to reopening more international routes and air travel in the Eastern Region of Asia.”

Kaohsiung, known as The Harbour City, is famous for its river parks, cultural activities, and culinary scene. It is also

a shopping and food paradise, offering lively night markets and large malls selling a variety of goods and quirky souvenirs, as well as some of the best local dishes like mud volcano chicken, beef noodles, pan-fried dumplings, and more.

The Manila-Kaohsiung flight departs via the NAIA Terminal 3 every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, 4:45 pm and arrives in Kaohsiung 6:45 pm. Its return flight leaves Kaohsiung International Airport at 8:15

pm and arrives at NAIA T3, 10:00 pm.

AirAsia Philippines, which was recently awarded as among the World’s Safest Low-Cost Airlines, is also set to open its Tokyo route next month.

AirAsia is welcoming the Lunar New Year with the January Festival deals which offer P1,812 one-way base fare to Kaohsiung and other international destinations until 29 January, and are available for travel until 31 July 2023.

The World’s Best Low-Cost Airline is also advising its guests to regularly visit the airasia fly safe page and airasia Super App social media platforms Facebook and Twitter for flight schedules and other travel advisories.

About AirAsia Philippines Philippines AirAsia, Inc. (PAA) doing business as (dba) AirAsia Philippines (with flight code Z2) is one of the country’s top low-cost airlines. It flies to a total of

15 domestic destinations and 15 international destinations as of April 2022. It was officially launched as the fourth Airline Operations Center (AOC) of the AirAsia group in 2012. Under the AirAsia Aviation Group Limited, it offers all its flight and ancillary products on the fully-integrated platform airasia Super App. Through this, guests can enjoy seamless booking of flights and hotels, and other features such as delivery, ride hailing, and online shopping.

AEON BLEU. Photos show the ongoing construction works for the Aeon Bleu project of Aeon Luxe Properties Inc. In preparation to building the foundations, site clearing operations at Aeon Bleu have started with the craneway embankment and excavation for Tower 1. This will guarantee that Aeon Bleu is clear and free of any potential hazards, obstructions, and unsightly clutter prior to the construction work. AEON LUXE photos

MOUNT CANDALAGA: HOME TO ENDEMIC SPECIES

By HENRYLITO D. TACIO

Anewpitcher plant was recently found in the tropical upper montane forest nearing the summit of Mount Candalaga in Maragusan, Davao de Oro, the Davao regional office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) reports.

Scientifically called Nepenthes candalaga, it is the 38th species of the Nepenthes in Mindanao. The discovery has made the country’s second largest island for “having the highest concentration of pitcher plants in the Phil-

ippines.”

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) considered it a critically endangered species. It means the plant is “facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.”

The newly-discovered species is similar to Nepenthes ����������������, another pitcher plant which is endemic to Mount Hamiguitan in Davao Oriental. The two species, however, differ in morphology. The said new species “have 2-3 longitudinal veins running in parallel with the midrib, an orbicular lid and a non-bifid lid spur tip among others.

According to the DENR website, the pitcher plant was discovered by the researchers from Central Mindanao University (CMU). The team was headed by Noel Lagunday, who came to conduct a biodiversity expedition during the reconnaissance climb led by DENR’s regional executive director Bagani Fidel A. Evasco from April 30 to May 3, 2021.

The objective of scaling the 7,800-feet above sea level mountains was “to gather data that would contribute to the pace in proposing the said mountain as a protected area or a critical habitat of threatened species.”

On why choosing Mount Candalaga as the focus of the study, the CMU said the mountain is char-

acterized by having three vegetation types namely: tropical lowland evergreen rainforest, tropical lower montane rainforest and tropical upper montane rainforest. The latter is the part where the new species was observed.

Apart from the newly-discovered �� ������������������, several endemic species of flora including ������������ℎ���� ������������������ and other noteworthy Begonia and ������������������ species can also be found in the mountain.

Mount Candalaga is also the home of the famous Rafflesia mira. The flowers of this large parasitic plant bloom from August to November and can expand up to 80 centimeters in diameter.

Just recently, the country’s bird icon – the Philippine eagle – has also been sighted on Mount Candalaga. The environment department said that it was the first sighting of the critically endangered bird which is considered to be the world’s largest and rarest raptor.

The varied flora and the Philippine eagle in Mount Candalaga are part of what ecologists call as

Mount Candalaga range is home to several endemic species of flora and fauna.

Philippine eagle is an endangered species.

This is the pitcher plant found in Mount Hamiguitan

SAFER...

FROM 2

approved making wearing face masks optional except in healthcare facilities, medical transport vehicles, and public transportation.

Meanwhile, Pasion reported that as of January 15, 2023, there are a total of 206 active cases and 144,594 recoveries of Covid-19 in the Davao Region.

For the breakdown of cases: 69 in Davao City; 28 in Davao de Oro; 40 in Davao del Norte; 47 in Davao del Sur; 3 in Davao Occidental; and 19 in Davao Oriental.

“Pababa ang ating kaso ng Covid-19. This is brought about by the vaccination and added protection even if nag-open up na tayo meron pa tayong available na booster shots for Covid-19 for all eligible population,” she said.

Dr. Janis Olavides, focal person of Covid-19 vaccination of DOH 11, reported that currently 88.2 percent

NBI 11...

FROM 3

and finding justice for the family of the victim,” Silo said in an interview earlier this month.

Plaza, 38, died on the spot after sustaining gunshot wounds on different parts of her body. She was allegedly

CIVIL...

FROM 4

the ongoing war and sanctions,” CAB Executive Director Carmelo Arcilla III said.

The applicable fuel surcharge level, which is the ceiling rate for fuel surcharge, is determined based on the two-month average of jet fuel MOPS (Mean of Platts Singapore) prices in its peso-per-liter equivalent.

In the advisory, CAB said that airlines wishing to

9 RICHEST...

of the target population for the Davao Region are fully vaccinated.

She said the focus for this year will be the booster doses, which is still at 18 percent.

Based on the regional data for booster dose as of January 11, 2023 of DOH-Davao Center for Health Development: Davao City is at 25.2 percent; Davao de Oro, 11.8 percent; Davao del Norte, 14.9 percent; Davao del Sur, 13.3 percent; Davao Occidental, 13.2 percent; and Davao Oriental, 17.5 percent.

“Since the start of the Covid-19 vaccination naa tay mga bakuna na wala na nato nahatag because naabtan ug expiry but with the doses available karon enough to cover those who want to get vaccinated for their primary as well as booster dose. Ang life span sa mga vaccines naa’y shelf life extension kaya puwede pa magamit,” she said.

DEATH...

FROM 2

The bad weather has displaced some 55,000 families in 13 regions, the agency said.

It pegged the damage to infrastructure at around P171.5 million, with some 1,307 houses damaged, while 28 roads and 12 bridges were not passable.

Damage to agriculture, meanwhile, was estimated at around P274.1 million.

One province and 10 cities and municipalities were also placed under a state of calamity.

Government has dis-

NEW...

tributed around P74.2 million in assistance to affected residents, the OCD said.

The state weather forecaster PAGASA warned of light to moderate rains in Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon on Monday due to a low pressure area.

The Philippines is ranked among the most vulnerable nations to the impacts of climate change, and scientists have warned that storms are becoming more powerful as the world gets warmer.

MOUNT...

FROM 9

biodiversity (short term for biological diversity). It is defined as those that are made up of all species of plants and animals, their genetic material and the ecosystems of which they are a part.

“The extent of an ecosystem or habitat is imprecise; a single ecosystem may cover thousands of hectares or just a few,” the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) explains.

home to about 170,000 faunal species, most of which are insects and are mostly unidentified, according to the Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB). Twelve thousand plant species and 960 animal species are found in its forests. Of the identified animal species, over 500 are birds and 167 are mammals.

shot multiple times by motorcycle-riding men on December 29, 2022, at the gate of her rented house at Purok 18, Buttercup Street of Green Meadows Subdivision in Barangay Sto. Niño, Tugbok district, Davao City.

impose or collect fuel surcharge for the same period must file their application on or before the effectivity period, with fuel surcharge rates not exceeding the allowed level.

Airlines are also allowed to collect fuel surcharge rates that are lower than the stated level if they choose to do so, depending on how they want to compete with other carriers.

FROM 5

out $257 billion (84 percent) of that to rich shareholders.

Meanwhile, at least 1.7 billion workers now live in countries where inflation is outpacing wages, and over 820 million people, or 1 in 10 people on earth, are going hungry, the report said.

“While ordinary people are making daily sacrifices on essentials like food, the super-rich have outdone even their wildest dreams. Just two years in, this decade is shaping up to be the best yet for billionaires —a roaring ‘20s boom for the world’s richest,” Gabriela Bucher, Executive Director of Oxfam International said.

TAX THE RICH More taxes must be imposed on the super-rich to mitigate global inequality, Bucher said.

“Taxing the super-rich and big corporations is the door out of today’s overlapping crises,” Buch-

er said.

“Taxing the super-rich is the strategic precondition to reducing inequality and resuscitating democracy. We need to do this for innovation. For stronger public services. For happier and healthier societies. And to tackle the climate crisis, by investing in the solutions that counter the insane emissions of the very richest,” said Bucher.

Oxfam is urging governments to increase taxes on the richest 1 percent to at least 60 percent of their income from labor and capital.

It is also calling for taxes on wealth of the richest 1 percent “at rates high enough to significantly reduce the numbers and wealth of the richest people, and redistribute these resources.”

The World Bank said the biggest increase in global inequality and poverty since World War 2 is likely experienced today.

FROM

2

socio-economic development plans and policies; formulate medium-term and annual public investment programs; appraise and prioritize socio-economic development programs and projects; formulate local investment incentives to promote the inflow and direction of private investment capital; coordinate, monitor, and evaluate the implementation of development programs and projects; and perform such other functions as may be pro-

GROUPS...

vided for by law.

All members, consultants, and technical staff of the council are authorized to claim expenses and/or a traveling allowance for services rendered in addition to their duties and responsibilities, and for work done outside of office hours. These claims are subject to standard accounting and auditing rules and regulations and will be charged against the council’s budget allocations. CIO

FROM 3

Panalipdan Youth-Davao, and Saligan-Mindanaw.

Participants in the forum included farmers and residents of the city’s Third District.

The local government plans to build a WTE project on a 10-hectare property in Biao Escuela, Tugbok District.

The project site of the proposed WTE facility is located 2.2 kilometers away from Biao Escuela Elementary School and the nearby Biao National High School and 550 meters from a relocation site of displaced families in Catalunan Grande, according to Peñalver.

On August 23, 2022, the City Council of Davao asked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to provide a counterpart fund worth P3.486 billion for the construction of the WTE facility in the city.

In a resolution authored by Davao City’s 1st District Councilor Tek Ocampo, the Sangguniang Panlungsod said the country should seize the opportunities offered by the Japanese government to avail of the technical and financial assistance to develop sustainable ways of managing solid waste.

Ocampo, a former

MARCOS...

Davao-based broadcast journalist, said the Japanese government expressed the intention in 2018 to donate 5.013-billion yen, equivalent to around P2.052 billion, to partially fund the project.

In a release issued on Sunday, various groups are wary of the establishment of WTE facility due to its potential hazards to the health of the local residents and to Davao’s rich biodiversity, particularly the fragile watersheds.

The environmental advocates point out that the wastes generated in the city are 50-percent organic, which cannot be utilized to fuel a WTE technology.

The city generates around 600 to 700 tons of waste daily, according to the City Environment and Natural Resources Office.

Peñalver added that a WTE facility is a “dangerous way” of generating power as it is not a renewable energy source and produces more greenhouse gases than coal.

“So not only is incineration a bad choice for the environment, but it’s also not a wise choice from a climate perspective,” he added. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)

FROM 5

prices, Marcos ordered the agriculture department to “expedite the importation of 64,050 metric tons of refined sugar” to stabilize prices, the agency said in memo dated Dec. 20.

Some former Sugar

Regulatory Administration (SRA) officials last year were dismissed due to a controversial order to import the commodity. A Palace probe later cleared them while Marcos attributed the fiasco to a “procedural mistake.”

They include major natural systems such as grasslands, mangroves, coral reefs, wetlands, and tropical forests as well as agricultural ecosystems that, “while depending upon human activity for their existence and maintenance, have characteristic assemblages of plants and animals.”

The Philippines, with more than 7,000 islands, is considered by respected scientists as one of the countries with the highest degree of biodiversity in the world. “(It) is one of the 18 mega-biodiverse countries of the world, containing two-thirds of the earth’s biodiversity and between 70% and 80% of the world’s plant and animal species,” said the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) of the country profile of the Philippines.

“The Philippines ranks fifth in the number of plant species and maintains 5% of the world’s flora,” the CBD added. “Species endemism is very high, covering at least 25 genera of plants and 49% of terrestrial wildlife, while the country ranks fourth in bird endemism.”

“There are few places on earth that are richer in biological wonderments, and more sorely beleaguered, than the Philippines,” commented David Quammen, author of The Song of the Dodo: Island Biography in an Age of Extinctions.

American biological science professor Kent Carpenter considered the Philippines as the world’s hub of marine biodiversity. “Species in the Philippines are evolving as we speak,” he was quoted as saying.

“The number (of biodiversity) compares with other countries like Brazil,” said Philippine fauna specialist Dr. Lawrence Heaney of the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. “But compare their sizes. For such a small area, the Philippines rockets ahead.”

In comparison, Brazil has a total land area of 3,286,488 square kilometers while the Philippines’ total land area is only 115,800 square kilometers. Indonesia, another biodiversity-rich country, has a total land area of 741,101 square kilometers.

The Philippines is

About 98 of mammal species are endemic to the Philippines. In recent years, experts have discovered 12 mammal species in the country seen nowhere else on the planet. The Philippines is home to five of the eight species of marine turtles.

Out of the 500 known coral species worldwide, about 488 coral species are found in the Philippines. There are about 50 species of seagrasses in the world and 16 of them can be found in the country. At least 2,000 fish species are swimming in its waters.

While its biodiversity is among the highest, the Philippines’ ecosystems are among the most threatened. In fact, the US National Cancer Institute lists the entire Philippine archipelago as among the five biogeographical areas in the world considered to be the “hottest of the hot spots,” a hot spot being an area whose high biodiversity is gravely threatened.

“A few decades ago, the wildlife of the Philippines was notable for its abundance; now, it is notable for its variety; if the present trend of destruction continues, Philippine wildlife will be notable for its absence,” commented Dr. Lee Talbot, who was once a member of the Southeast Asia Project on Wildlife Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.

Noted Filipino wildlife expert Dioscoro Rabor echoed the same sentiment. “It is about time that we, Filipinos, stop making ourselves internationally blind to the real status of our wildlife resources,” he said. “We should face the fact that our country is no longer rich in forests and consequently, of wildlife which used to be a normal component of our forests.”

The Convention for International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) has listed almost 50 wildlife species in the country that are rare, threatened, or endangered. Among those that are included in the list are five marine turtles, two crocodile species, the Philippine eagle, tamaraw, and dugongs.

“Once these species are gone, they are gone forever, leaving behind an imbalance in ecology and beauty difficult to determine and restore,” observed a committed Filipino environmentalist.

PSC leadership formally passed on to Bachmann

The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) leadership will continue to move forward under newly-appointed Chairman Richard Bachmann.

In a simple turnover ceremony held at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila today, previous PSC chief Jose Emmanuel

“Noli” Eala formally passed on the PSC Chairmanship to Bachmann, as the latter fully accepted the challenge as the new captain of the

PSC ship.

Bachmann expressed his gratitude to his predecessor who served as the 11th chairman of the commission and led the successful return of the Batang Pinoy National Championships grassroots program to face-to-face competition in 2022.

“I would like to thank and honor former Chairman Noli Eala for his service and dedication to support our National Sports Associations and national athletes. I look forward to learning more about the programs that are in the pipeline, as well as those that are already being implemented,”

FRED C. LUMBA SPORTS KEN

Bachmann said.

Likewise, Eala thanked Bachmann for giving him the opportunity to share his thoughts and knowledge he gained during his stint as the PSC Chairman. He assured the new agency head of his full support.

Bachmann also thanked the PSC workforce who

continue to play an important part in the overall role of the agency in Philippine sports, as the PSC celebrates its 33rd anniversary this month. The PSC was established as the national sports agency by virtue of Republic Act 6847 on January 24, 1990, replacing the Project Gintong Alay.

Even as the record attendance of 54,000 plus maddeningly roared in delight watching their pet ballclub make mincemeat of their challengers from Hong Kong, basketball analysts will agree that the championship was over after Brgy. Ginebra erected a 61-39 halftime margin.

In a best of seven final series where the momentum somewhat shifted to the visitors’ side when they snatched Game 6 to level at 3-all, I was already concluding that the 22-point bubble was just too many to overcome.

True enough, the final tally was 114-99.

Compared to the Dragons’ lethargic start, Justin Brownlee and his friends came out like a house

on fire, never allowing their opponents to take the driver’s seat even for just a moment.

JB, firing threes and twos from all conceivable angles, inspired every Gin Tim Cone fielded, including Christian Standhardinger whose herculean defense against the hulking 7’5” Liu earned him the Finals MVP award.

I thought Myles Powell should have started and not come from the bench. He could have altered Cone’s rotation and Goorjian could have noticed a weakness early on.

It was kinda late when the high scoring guard made his presence felt as JB, Jamie Malonzo, Scottie Thompson, Japeth Aguilar and LA Tenorio stamped their

GIN KINGS’ CLINICAL ROUT

class to establish a runaway lead.

Which was exactly the objective of the Gins’ coaching staff: Step on the gas right away and leave the opponents huffing and puffing.

Goorjian focused on double teaming JB again but which the latter snubbed by pouring in 34 points apart from 12 assists.

The Dragons’ mentor totally forgot Malonzo’s yeoman’s presence, defending and scoring 22 markers.

But even a coach as brilliant as Goorjian can only do so much when his snipers - Lam, Blankley, Zhu, Yang and even Powell - could not find their range as they usually did.

Cone gave Ginebra its 15th

giant trophy and for his coaching career his 25th victory - the mostest in the PBA history.

Without preempting the people who issue awards, I nominate Malonzo for the Most Improved Player of the Year award.

The Dragons were a big letdown compared to their Game 6 performance where every Pinoy fanatic was expecting championship balloons and confetti to descend from the ceiling.

The anxiety and the worried look on the faces of the dominantly Ginebra audience vanished as the match took a halftime break. The daunting challenge was no longer there.

A 61-39 scorecard told me to whistle Sinatra’s best known dit-

ty: “And now the end is near…” Of course, Goorjian’s game ending praise of the Gins’ superlative play was the most pleasant statement Cone heard from his Hong Kong-based peer.

Question: Will the PBA - and the basketball fans - welcome a return appearance for the Dragons next season?

SCORES: GINEBRA - Brownlee 34, Malonzo 22, Thompson 18, J. Aguilar 14, Standhardinger 12, Tenorio 10, Pringle 3, Pinto, Mariano 0.

BAY AREA DRAGONS - Powell 29, Blankley 25, Liu 17, Lam 13, Yang 10, Zhu 5, Ewing, Ju, Reid 0. (Email feedback to fredlumba@ yahoo.com.)

GOD BLESS THE PHILIPPINES!

PSC chief Jose Emmanuel “Noli” Eala formally passed on the PSC Chairmanship to Richard Bachmann, as the latter fully accepted the challenge as the new Chairman of the PSC:

KINGS AGAIN!

Ginebra drubs Bay Area In jam packed Game 7

Ginebra went home with the PBA Commissioner’s Cup title after beating Bay Area, 114-99, in the final game of the best-of-seven finals in front of a new league record 54,589 fans at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.

The Gin Kings pulled away in the second quarter, outscoring the Dragons, 34-18, to open a 61-39 halftime lead even as the guest team could not cut the lead lower than 15 points in the second half.

Justin Brownlee led Ginebra, which moved to second all-time in PBA championships with 15, with 34 points on 14-of-22 shooting, eight rebounds, 12 assists, one steal and three blocks.

Jamie Malonzo, who had been struggling all throughout the playoffs, played his best game of the knockout phases right on the final match of the conference, contributing 22 points, 17 rebounds, one assist, one steal and two blocks.

Christian Standharding-

er, who was later named the Finals Most Valuable Player, added 12 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

Myles Powell, Bay Area’s offensive spark plug, fizzled in the game where his contribution was badly needed as he was held to 9-of-22 field goals and 7-of-12 free throws for 29 points with seven rebounds, five assists and one block.

Hayden Blankley added 25 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals, while Liu Chuanxing chipped in 17 points, 13 rebounds, two assists, four blocks and two steals and Kobey Lam had 13 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals. (PNA)

Ginebra captured the PBA Commissioner’s Cup title after beating Bay Area, 114-99, in the final game of the best-of-seven finals in front of a new league record 54,589 fans at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.