Edge Davao 5 Issue 171

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EDGEDAVAO P 15.00 • 20 PAGES

VOL.5 ISSUE 171 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012

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Sports

Baktin steals cop exec’s car

By Anthony S. Allada

T

HE Philippine National Police Highway Patrol Group 11 has confirmed that it was notorious and elusive Ryan Cain Yu who personally stole the silver Toyota Fortuner of Police Supt. Filmore Escobal of the Police Regional Office 11.

PNP-HPG 11 regional chief Sr. Supt. Gregorio Pimentel said they received information that

Police still no lead as to where the car was brought 30 stolen vehicles have so far been recovered from Yu’s shops it was Yu himself who stole Escobal’s vehicle with plate number LGM-551 on April 6, 2012 while it was parked at his rented apartment on Orduja Street, Barrio Obrero, Davao City.

However, Pimentel said they

still have no lead as to where Escobal’s car was brought despite the fact more than 30 stolen vehicles have so far been recovered from Yu’s shops in Tandag City, Surigao del Sur and Agdao, Davao City.

“We have still to locate Escobal’s vehicle,” he said, hinting that it may have been taken to Tandag City since it was not among those recovered from Yu’s safehouse here, even as the HPG has formed to conduct simultaneous raids on various parts of Davao City and Tandag City while the hunt for Yu, who has a P5-million reward for his head, continues. [ASA]

Page 15

QUITE PLACE. A sea of tombs can be seen from a higher portion of a cemetery in Madapo Hills yesterday. Cemeteries, a usual quiet place, will be flocked by millions of people in the coming days when Filipinos celebrate the traditional All Souls Day. [LEAN DAVAL JR.]

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Watershed survey team jumps off in Tambobong

By Antonio M. Ajero

T

HE Davao City government, joined by environment-related agencies of the national government and in collaboration with private sector institutions, will start next week the delineation survey of eight watershed areas covered by the city’s Watershed Management Protection and Management Code.

The survey team, to be led by the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Region 11, will jump off from barangay Tambobong, according to forester Christopher Asibal, acting chief of the Cenro natural resources operations division.

FWATERSHED, 11

2 THE BIG NEWS

VOL.5 ISSUE 171 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012

Army awards medals to 6 wounded soldiers

EDGEDAVAO

By Anthony S. Allada

T

HE six elements of the 71st Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army who were wounded during a recent encounter with communist rebels awarded the Wounded Soldier Medals Friday for their gallantry and heroism in action.

Maj. Gen. Ariel Bernardo, commanding officer of the 10th Infantry Division based in Mawab, Compostela Valley, personally pinned the medals on the wounded soldiers inside the Camp Panacan Hospital where they are still recuperating.

Bernardo said the awardees deserve to be recognized for their courage.

Those awarded were

Sgt. Marlon N. Parong, Cpl. Romualdo N. Tangonan, Private First Class (PFC) Erwin C Manabat, PFC Jaypee D. Sionillo, PFC Carmelo R. Cachuela and PFC Ludivico C. Elegio, Jr. They were among those who fought against a band of 60 members of the New People’s Army that attacked them while they were conducting a peace and development outreach program (PDOP) in Barangay Calabcab, Maco town in Compostela Valley on October 21.

Lt. Col. Lyndon V. Paniza, 10th ID spokesman, said two rebels were killed in the incident while two civilians were wounded when caught in the crossfire. [ASA]

GROUND DELINEATION. Cristopher Asibal, acting chief of the Davao City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO), left, who talks about the recently signed Memorandum of Agreement for the ground delineation of Davao City watershed areas during Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Davao’s the Annex yesterday. Also in the photo is Ashley G. Lopez, M.D., City Health Office Smoking Cessation Medical coordinator, says that cessation counseling for violators is included in the amended Comprehensive Smoking Ordinance to help the smokers to quit. [LEAN DAVAL JR.]

PNP to act vs guns-for-hire, crime-rise in Davao del Sur

T

HE PHILIPINE NATIONAL POLICE in Region 11 will act against the presence of guns-for-hire, partisan armed groups and the rise in criminality in Davao del Sur reported by Gov. Douglas Ra. Cagas.

This was the assurance of Chief Supt. Jaime Morente, Region 11 police director, in last Thursday’s third quarter meeting of the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) presided over by Davao del Norte Gov. Rodolfo del Rosario at the Grand Menseng Hotel here.

Cagas said that even as the volume of index crimes has dramatically decreased regionwide, crimes like killings and theft of XRM motorcycles happen almost everyday

Gov. Cagas says killings, stolen motorcycles daily in Digos have zero solution BGen Bernardo assures guv troops will be apolitical in Digos City and other parts of the province with “zero solution.”

Cagas also reported that partisan armed groups (PAG), guns-forhire and hundreds of loose firearms are proliferating in his province which should now be considered an election hotspot.

“I say this with shame and embarrassment because I am the governor of the province,” he said, adding that “indeed, we are not only a hotspo in the coming elections, we are at a boiling point, and the boiling will contin-

ue until the melting pot breaks.”

In response to the governor’s complaint, Police Regional Director Morente said, “I assure you that we will do everything we can to prevent that boiling point from reaching its peak.”

Morente earlier reported to the RPOC that his command has organized the Regional Special Operations Task Group to attend to partisan armed groups during the election season.

The PNP director admitted that “actually,

Customs exec says

Rody paid P700,000 tax for imported used vehicles T HE Bureau of Customs has confirmed that Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte had paid more than P700,000 as specific tax for importing a second hand motor vehicle sometime in 2007 during the time of customs district collector Juan Tan. BOC Davao customs collector Martiniano Bangcoy said the amount was covered by Executive Order 418, otherwise known as modifying the tariff nomenclature and rates of import duty on used motor vehicles issued by former President

Gloria Arroyo in 2005.

“It so happened that EO 418 was in effect at the time. The taxable amount would only be about P200,000 while the P500,000 was only added because of that policy,” Bangcoy said.

He said this time EO 418 has been superseded

by EO 156 which has certain conditions for allowing the importation of all types of used motor vehicles and parts and components.

Duterte presented receipts during his television program on Sunday to prove that he paid the

amount just like he was buying a brand new car, and that he was merely complying with what is stipulated in the law and to clear his name and that of his son, Paolo, on the issue of smuggling used motor vehicles.

The younger Duterte, president of the Association of Barangay Captains (ABC), was inadvertently linked to the smuggling of luxurious Toyota Tundra and Hummer trucks which turned out to be the handiwork of notorious carjacker and smuggler Ryan Cain Yu alias “Baktin.” [ASA]

Montenegro said government through the Department of Energy and the Filipino Electricity Market Corporation also mulls of tapping the Interim Mindanao Electricity Market (IMEM).

He explained that the IMEM is a mechanism by which generators of big malls and industries will be tapped and auctioned to the market so that immediately, power will be available to the electric cooperatives.

“It is more or less 200 to 300 megawatt-capacity from the embedded generators of Davao Light and Power Company, five-megawatts from SM Malls, seven megawatts from Coca-Cola and other factories,” Montenegro

said.

He said pulling this extra power together will yield 300 megawatts available to the market.

“The details of this plan are still being threshout, but the first public consultation had been done by the DOE in Cagayan de Oro City two weeks ago while other consultations will be done in other areas of Mindanao to get stakeholders’ comments since the plan impacts on the pricing of electricity,” Montenegro said.

He said another plan is the Interruptible Load Program (ILP) where the Energy Regulatory Commission will come up with a rate that will compen-

MinDA bares options to improve Big establishments to deload power situation in Mindanao FPNP, 11

power during peak hours

B

IG establishments, like malls, are helping to mitigate the impact of the power crisis by deloading their power durong the peak hours.

In data presented by the Davao Light and Power Company (DLPC), Abreeza (Accendo Commercial Corporation) and New Davao Oil Mill have promised to deload 100 percent of their average power demand. Abreeza has a yearly 3,439kW consumption while New Davao Oil Mill has 1,790kW. Victoria Plaza Mall (Davao Sunrise Investment and Development

Victoria) is reducing from 3,234 to 1,617 while DSG Sons Group Inc. (Gaisano Mall) with a total power demand of 5,357 a year will deload 1,607kW. Others who committed to deload considerable power supply are Craft Haven International Services Inc. (Formerly Unifrutti Phils.), Tadeco, Robinsons Supermarket Corporation, Southern Point (SM Lanang), San Miguel Corporation/Coca-cola Bottlers, SM City, New City Commercial Mall, Davao Bay Coconut Oil Mills Inc., Superstar Coconut, Shogun Management/JS Gaisano and New

City Commercial Center-Main.

The total kW expected to be reduced could reach 17,136 once these establishments make good their promise to deload power consumption during peak hours.

“This is already a big savings for us to use the power supply for other consumers,” said Arturo Milan, DLPC executive vice president and chief operating officer.

Milan expressed hope that others would follow the example set by the big establishments to deload power supply. [ASA]

A

N official of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) disclosed plans for Mindanao to cope with the increasing demand of electricity brought about by development in many urban areas by activating other sources of electricity.

Romeo Montenegro, chief of the communications division of the MinDA said after the preventive maintenance of the Iligan City diesel power plant in the next six months, it can deliver 100 megawatts to the Mindanao grid.

He said that by April 2013, power supply from the Iligan City diesel power plant is already available.

FMINDA 11

SUBURBIA

EDGEDAVAO VOL.5 ISSUE 171 •TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012

3

GenSan on alert for ‘Undas’ P OLICE authorities have placed the entire General Santos City under heightened alert in preparation for the observance of the All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, two of the most significant religious holidays for Catholics.

Supt. Ruel Berango, deputy city police director for operations, said Monday all police units in the city are presently on full deployment as part of their intensified security operations for the public holidays on Thursday and Friday.

He said they have increased their visibility in various public places and strategic areas, specifically in public transport terminals, shopping malls, city airport and in the nine public and private cemeteries within the city.

“We have set up public and motorist assistance centers and assigned roving police teams to secure our cemeteries and other public convergence areas,” Berango said.

The official said they have tapped barangay civilian volunteers and elements from the Phil-

ippine Army-led Joint Task Force GenSan to augment the security operations in the area.

Berango said their operations are mainly concentrated at the city’s two biggest cemeteries -- the local government-owned General Santos City Memorial Park (formerly Uhaw public cemetery) in Barangay Fatima and the Forest Lake Memorial Park in Barangay Apopong.

He said they have established four police assistance hubs at the General Santos City Memorial Park and three at the Forest Lake Memorial Park, which started to draw numerous visitors over the weekend.

Inspection desks and frisking areas manned by police officers were also set up in the entry points of the two cemeteries, he said.

As part of the Philippine National Police (PNP) central office’s directives, Berango said they will strictly implement the ban on the bringing and drinking of liquor and other alcoholic beverages in cemeteries.

He said the other pro-

hibitions are the holding of gambling sessions and carrying of gambling paraphernalia as well as carrying or possession of firearms and other deadly weapons.

“The playing of loud music inside cemeteries is prohibited as they might disturb the prayer sessions and other related private gatherings,” Berango said.

The police official advised traveling motorists to bring emergency kits and for residents to make sure that their homes are properly secured before leaving for the cemeteries.

If possible, he said residents should install closed-circuit television cameras or CCTVs and burglar alarm systems in their homes.

Meantime, in South Cotabato province, local police units have established additional security checkpoints and increased public visibility in connection with the observance of the All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day. Senior Supt. Randolf Delfin, provincial police director, said they will implement full per-

FGENSAN, 11

LIVELIHOOD. Members of the WOW KISS and MANGBALBAG Site SEA-K associations of Sta. Maria, Davao Del Sur receive their capital seed fund Thursday during the Launch and Turnover Ceremonies for the DSWD Sustainable Livelihood Program worth P327,000.00 and benefiting some 45 Pantawid Pamilya households. Earlier, seven Pantawid

Pamilya livelihood groups in the municipality also claimed their P964,000.00 to fund their various community projects to support their family income. Composed of 145 families, the associations are Aromahan, BEMASAMA, Tugas, Kidadan Water Falls, Kalaw, San Roque Pangapog and Working Moms of Sto. Rosario. [DSWD/SLP/MRM]

For the Mandaya tribe

PAMANA program completes 3.5-km farm–to-market road

F

OR decades, farmers from the Mandaya tribe, one of the oldest ethnic groups in eastern Mindanao, had to walk for two hours through 3.5 kilometers of rugged trail to market their agricultural products in Compostela town in Compostela Valley province because there was no road to speak of.

Today, Mandaya tribes men and women are all smiles as they transport their vegetables aboard vehicles, thanks to the newly-finished road constructed through the PAMANA or

Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (Peaceful and Resilient Communities) program of the government.

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), which oversees the PAMANA program, said the new farm-to-market road stretches from Purok 2 to Purok 4 in Barangay Panansalan, Compostela town.

Oliver Binancilan, area manager of the eastern side of Mindanao, said the road project covers the Davao-Compostela

Valley-Caraga zone of the PAMANA program.

In a simple turnover ceremony, Binancilan assured the project beneficiaries that through PAMANA, “the government is here to help them reach their aspirations and strengthen their community.”

PAMANA is the national government’s peace building program and framework.

Binancilan said the farm-to-market road is expected to boost trade for the ethnic group.

“The award is conceptualized since I am well aware that there are people who have contributed much for Comval. I believe this can be a powerful stamp of distinction where more will be inspired to achieve similar standards of excellence,” Gov. Uy said.

One winner for the Outstanding Municipal LGU and 1 winner for the Outstanding Barangay per district will be awarded on March 8, 2013 on the occasion of the 15th Founding Anniversary and 6th Bulawan Festival of the

province.

The areas for evaluation includes its organizational development, fiscal administration, governance, social services, municipal structures as well as innovations and best practices.

On the same occasion, the governor also delivers the State of Children’s Report in terms of interventions through health and nutrition, education and protection of children.

“We have brought down the malnutrition prevalence rate from 5.75% from last year to 4.75% this year,” he said.

Gov. Uy launches Gawad Parangal, delivers State of Children’s Report

I

N a trifold event, the provincial government of Compostela Valley launches the Governor’s Awards on October 25 at the capitol.

Gov. Arturo Uy also delivers the State of Children’s Report and leads the turn-over of hospital equipment from the European Commission to the 11 municipalities.

The Gawad Parangal gives due recognition to LGUs, individuals, and organizations who exemplify good governance in different fields of endeavor and who have raised the image of the province.

4 SCIENCE/ENVIRONMENT

VOL.5 ISSUE 171 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

Civil engineers continue its school greening initiatives C

IVIL engineers in Davao City continued its green projects and community involvement by turning-over one rainwater collector tank and ten garbage bins to once fire-raged elementary school of Manambulan, Piedad district, Tugbok last Friday.

The donation was made through the efforts of the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers, Davao City chapter with its Project Green Engineering Philippines (PGEP) – Greening Existing Schools under the leadership of its national president DPWH undersecretary Romeo S. Momo and 1st vice president and project chair Engr. David

Sanchez.

This is the 7th in seven consecutive months of this project and would still run through until December of this year as commitments from supporters flowed in, said Engr. Erdsan Rene S. Suero, president of the local chapter.

The other six recipient schools of the project are Diego Silang Elementary School of Matina Aplaya, New Carmen Elementary School of Tugbok district, Gatungan Elementary School of Bunawan district, Nawan Primary School of Malita north district, Davao del Sur; Ladian Elementary School of Marilog district and Aledia Elementary School of Paquibato ditrict,

in the city.

“The project aims to promote the level of awareness of pupils, students, teachers and the commu-

nity on water preservation, proper waste disposal and waste management,” Engr.

Suero added.

In another develop-

“birders, researchers and nature enthusiasts,” Mirasol said.

He told the Board that even before the JPWBAP initiative, Mt. Kitanglad has been known as a destination for enthusiasts from around the world. But it did not take off as it should because of the absence of an eco-lodge.

JPW and BAP describe the project as “an eco-lodge owned and operated by the Kitanglad community with international and local support and guidance.”

In his presentation, Mirasol explained that “one of the biggest trends in eco-tourism today is community-owned and operated lodges.”

“Vital to these lodges’ success is the empowerment, integration and participation of indigenous communities and international support,” he added.

Mirasol also informed the Tourism Board that the conversion of the forest buffer zone into commercial vegetable gardens has threatened the habitat of Mt. Kitanglad’s endemic birds.

BAP is headed by Nicky Icarangal, the premier Filipino bird guide who has an “extensive experience in leading tours in the Philippines.”

Mirasol said with Icarangal are “the more experienced tour guide members of the Wild Bird Club of the Philippines

(WBCP).”

According to their website, BAP “takes pride in its extensive knowledge of the local birding sites and bird species which is second to none among its peers.

The tours are organized by local birders with a birdwatcher’s interest in mind– seeing the most and the best of the Philippines.”

According to the website of JPW, the eco-lodge will be designed by San Francisco, California-based architect Craig Steely.

Steely envisioned that each prefabricated pod is supported on a single pier foundation with supporting guy wires to allow each pod the flexibility to locate on any topography or relocate if required.

The website said the top prism has a fabric roof with screen walls while the lower prism is translucent corrugated with locally reclaimed wood walls. The pod can accommodate six people on two floors.

Mirasol, however, said transporting the prefabricated pods from abroad to the part would be problem since because of the six-kilometer dirt road to Lalawan, Dalwangan, this city.

Mirasol had raised this concern to the city government through the Tourism Board in its meeting earlier this month.

WE are in deep trouble. The government must acknowledge that our seas are in crisis”.

This was the stern message recently conveyed by Greenpeace as it called on the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to come up with an emergency fisheries rescue plan, a roadmap for policy makers needed to restore the health of the oceans.

In a community forum organized over the weekend in Donsol, Sorsogon known as the “Whale Shark Capital of the World”, Vince Cinches, the Greenpeace Southeast Asia Oceans Campaigner, said the BFAR roadmap should serve as a comprehensive plan of action

ment, the construction of the green-engineered one-classroom school building at New Carmen elementary school is under-

way and its planned completion will be on the 3rd week of November in time of the PICE’s 75th year celebration.

made more compelling by the relentless onslaught of climate change and over-fishing.

This grievous mix of ocean problems that are both man-made is threatening the country’s stature as the leader in global marine biodiversity, affecting communities that rely on rich marine ecosystems for food, he warned.

“In order to save the oceans which cover 70 percent of our planet, governments need a solid plan and strong political will which is all they need to restore the health of our oceans,” Cinches said.

The emergency rescue plan, he said should focus on the need for the establishment of more marine reserves and the reduc-

tion of our fishing capacity to sustainable levels, alongside long term solutions to climate change.

“Marine reserves are the single most powerful way available for marine conservation, restoring marine biodiversity and bringing multiple benefits to fisheries, alleviating food insecurity and poverty and building the resilience of our oceans to the impacts of climate change,” Cinches stressed.

On the part of Greenpeace, he said the organization will launch soon its Ocean Defender initiative, bringing together a network of volunteers who are committed to raising awareness about oceans issues such as marine pollution and overfishing.

at least six more typhoons in the next two months.

“As we expect more typhoons that could be stronger and more devastating, our national and local action must promote disaster prevention with ‘zero tolerance’ as a mindset and approach.

We must bring disaster preparedness to an even heightened level and aim to have no casualties for the succeeding typhoons,” she stressed.

Legarda, who chairs the Senate Committee on Climate Change, said that in order to reduce the ad-

verse effects of typhoons, concerned agencies both from the national and local governments should come up with disaster preparedness action plans, ensure that all canals and drainage systems are cleaned up and no families live in high-risk areas, release frequently updated advisories and ensure that areas expected to be affected are prepared--activate all forms of early warning systems, set up evacuation centers, evacuate families living in landslide-prone and flood-prone areas.

Fundraising on for eco-lodges in Greenpeace urges BFAR to come Kitanglad, bird watchers’ place up with fisheries rescue plan

T

HE Jeepney Projects Worldwide and the Birding Adventure Philippines (BAP) are raising funds to build new eco lodges in the Mt. Kitanglad Range Natural Park buffer zone to help promote the area as a bird watchers’ destination, Dr. Felix Mirasol, Bukidnon provincial environment and natural resources officer (PENRO) said. With over 125 species of birds, about half of them endemic to the area, including the Philippine Eagle, Mt. Kitanglad is one of the favorite destinations of bird watchers, he said Mirasol told the Malaybalay City Tourism Board on Thursday that eco-lodges will be built so bird watchers around the world will continue to come over to see the Philippine Eagle and other birds in the park.

He said JPW and BAP will turn over the structures to the Bukidnon Daraghuyan tribe as the owner and operator.

JPW, with BAP as Philippine partner, describes itself in its website as “a partnering of benefit art projects and regional conservation groups working to inspire support and restore lost habitat of critically endangered birds.”

The group intends to build a main pod and two smaller eco pods for

“

Legarda: Let’s aim for zero casualty in the next typhoons

S

ENATOR Loren Legarda yesterday challenged the government and all local communities to aim for zero casualty in the succeeding typhoons that will hit the country, noting that the recent Typhoon Ofel has left at least 27 people dead when it ravaged several provinces in the country.

Legarda, the United Nations Regional Champion for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation in Asia-Pacific, said that the country is still expecting

EDGEDAVAO VOL.5 ISSUE 171 •TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012 Casiño says

THE ECONOMY 5

Social enterprises can strengthen local economy Says social enterprises a more viable alternative than dole outs like the CCT

L

ONE senate bet Teddy Casiño (Makabayan Coalition) has called on participants of the Asian Solidarity Economy Forum (ASEF) Philippines 2012 to “fully support efforts to legislate a law to mainstream social enterprises as an effective tool for local economic development and substantially reduce poverty in the country.”

“We have a better proposal to the dole out conditional cash transfer (CCT) program the current administration is pursuing as it will only make people mendicants. Government efforts to reduce poverty should create jobs in the localities that involve small producers and farmers who are included in the supply and value chain of the enterprises. Their produce should be linked to the mainstream market so that our local products can be purchased by consumers,” Casiño said.

Casiño chairs the House of Representatives Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Development that is working for the passage of House Bill 6085 – titled An Act Ordaining the Pro-

motion and Development of Social Enterprises In Order to Ensure Poverty Reduction – that is a product of the social enterprise movement.

“I believe in this bill as social enterprises have already made a difference to a growing number of communities in many parts of the Philippines. This is why I think we need a policy environment for social enterprises to flourish in the Philippines,” Casiño said.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) recently said that poverty incidence remains in the Philippines remains high at 26.5%, compared to 26.4% in 2006 and 24.9% in 2003 despite the increased gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecasts for the Philippines from 4.8% to 5.5% in 2012.

“The ADB Asian Development Outlook 2012 revealed that the one million new jobs created in 2011 mainly reflected a rise in part-time. The fact remains that 500,000 fulltime jobs were lost in the same period. These parttime jobs created were in the services sector like call centers that do not spur

TRAYS. An egg dealer delivers trays of egg into an eatery at a subdivision in Sasa yesterday. Eateries and small stores purchase products in large volume in anticipation of the long weekend for the annual celebration of All Saints Day and All Soul Day. [LEAN DAVAL JR.]

long-term local economic development. Part-time job creation and the CCT do not address poverty in the long term. This shows that so-called economic growth figures are not linked to poverty reduc-

tion,” Casiño said.

In batting for social enterprises, Casiño said that “the lives of poor farmers, farm workers, and small producers have been vastly improved since these enterprises have a triple-bot-

tomline of generating financial, social, and environmental results at the local level. In sum, social enterprises are creating more long-term jobs and spurring local development by empowering the poor and

downtrodden.”

The ASEF PHILIPPINES 2012 is organized by the On Eagle’s Wings Development Foundation Phils., Inc. and the Asian Solidarity Economy Coalition (ASEC).

6

THE ECONOMY

Stat Watch

1. Gross National Income Growth Rate (At Constant 2000 Prices)

5.8% 1st Qtr 2012

2. Gross Domestic Product Growth Rate (At Constant 2000 Prices)

6.4 % 1st Qtr 2012

3. Exports 1/ 4. Imports 1/ 5. Trade Balance 6. Balance of Payments 2/ 7. Broad Money Liabilities

USD 4,931 million May 2012 USD 4,770 million Apr 2012 USD -135 million Apr 2012 USD -209 million Mar 2012 P 4,580,674 million Apr 2012

8. Interest Rates 4/

4.1 % May 2012 P131,403 million May 2012 P 5,075 billion Apr 2012

9. National Government Revenues 10. National government outstanding debt 11. Peso per US $ 5/

P 42.78 Jun 2012

12. Stocks Composite Index 6/

5,091.2 May 2012

13. Consumer Price Index 2006=100

130.1 Jun 2012

14. Headline Inflation Rate 2006=100

2.8 Jun 2012

15. Core Inflation Rate 2006=100

3.7 Jun 2012

16. Visitor Arrivals

349,779 Apr 2012

17. Underemployment Rate 7/

18.8 % Jan 2012

18. Unemployment Rate 7/

7.2 % Jan 2012

MONTHLY AVERAGE EXCHANGE RATE (January 2009 - December 2011) Month Average December November October September August July June May April March February January

2012

2011

2010

42.85 42.70 42.86 42.66 43.62

43.31 43.64 43.27 43.45 43.02 42.42 42.81 43.37 43.13 43.24 43.52 43.70 44.17

45.11 43.95 43.49 43.44 44.31 45.18 46.32 46.30 45.60 44.63 45.74 46.31 46.03

VOL.5 ISSUE 171 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

Moody’s firm upgrades PHL rating to one notch M

OODY’S Investor’s Service on Monday upgraded its rating on the Philippines to one notch below investment grade at Ba1 with ‘stable’ outlook.

This made the country’s credit grade level among the three major debt watchers, including Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s (S&P), to the same level.

Moody’s attributed the ratings upgrade to continued improvement in economic performance and “fiscal revenue buoyancy in the face of deteriorating global demand”, the “enhanced prospects for growth over the medium-term; and “stable financial system that poses limited contingent risks and provides a stable source of financing for the government.”

“Despite the headwinds from softening external demand, the Philippines has demonstrated considerable economic strength and fiscal resilience,” it said in a statement.

The ratings agency explained that “in contrast to similarly rated countries, the country is poised to record a combination of faster growth, lower inflation, exchange rate appreciation, and an increase in foreign exchange reserves, while maintaining trend debt consolidation.”

It cited that “in addition, cyclical features support improved prospects for growth in the medium-term.”

“Despite the lack of progress in its public-private partnership program, the government’s spending on infrastructure has picked up, but its fiscal impact has been mitigated by the continued gains from enhanced revenue administration,” it said.

Continued rise in the money being sent home by Filipinos abroad was also cited, “which further underscores their role in sustaining private consumption and maintaining a healthy current account surplus.”

“Over the longer term, the landmark peace agreement signed between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) may have wider beneficial effects on investment and economic growth in Mindanao —the country’s largest islandwhich has untapped agricultural and mining potential,” Moody’s said.

It also said that “renewed focus on the mining sector could also provide further diversity to

the economy and an additional stream of revenue for the government -although such intentions have faltered in the past.”

The domestic banking system also gives added source of credit strength namely through “lack of contingent risks to the government’s balance sheet” and “stable source of financing for government debt.”

“The Philippine banking system as a whole remains reasonably capitalized, profitable, well-managed, and very liquid,” Moody’s said.

The ratings agency disclosed that about a third of the government’s local currency-denominated loans is held by domestic banks while the government’s foreign currency-denominated

debt is well absorbed by large dollar supply in the country.

It pointed out that the credit rating continue to lean on macroeconomic stability as reflected in the success of the central bank’s inflation targeting regime, a healthy external payments position comprised of a structural current account surplus, and higher increased foreign direct investment (FDI) and portfolio inflows.

It also noted that the country is now a net external financial creditor since the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) foreign reserves is now bigger than the country’s foreign debt.

“Taken together, these strengths have contributed to the appreciation of the peso and

lower interest rate costs for the government. These have in turn helped accelerate the process of debt consolidation, thus addressing the relatively high stock of debt, a constraint on the Philippine rating,” it said.

Similarly, the ratings agency also revised upwards the country’s long-term foreign currency (FC) bond ceiling to Baa2 from Baa3 and the long-term FC deposit ceiling to Ba1 from Ba2.

On the other hand, the ratings agency maintained that shortterm FC bond ceiling at P-3 and the short-term FC deposit ceiling at “Not Prime” with the outlook at “stable.”

The country’s LC bond and deposit ceilings of A2 were also kept.

BANANA INSPIRED. Anflocor, one of the biggest exhibitors, sports a banana inspired booth in the recently concluded Davao Trade Expo 2012 at SM Lanang Premier’s SMX Convention Center. [LEAN DAVAL JR.]

ENTICES. Cotabato Province through its booth entices people to invest and visit the province in the recently concluded Davao Trade Expo 2012 at SM Lanang Premier’s SMX Convention Center. [LEAN DAVAL JR.]

as of august 2010

Cebu Pacific Daily Zest Air Daily Cebu Pacific Daily Philippine Airlines Daily Philippine Airlines Daily Cebu Pacific Daily Cebu Pacific Daily Cebu Pacific Daily Cebu Pacific Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri/Sun Philippine Airlines Daily Cebu Pacific Daily Silk Air Mon/Wed/Sat Cebu Pacific Thu Cebu Pacific Tue/Wed//Sat

5J961 / 5J962 Z2390 / Z2390 5J593 / 5J348 PR809 / PR810 PR819 / PR820 5J394 / 5J393 5J599 / 5J594 5J347 / 5J596 5J963 / 5J964 PR811 / PR812 5J595 / 5J966 MI588 / MI588 5J965 / 5J968 5J965 / 5J968

5:45 5:45 6:00 6:10 7:50 7:50 8:00 9:10 9:40 11:30 12:00 18:55 12:55 13:35

Manila-Davao-Manila Manila-Davao-Manila Cebu-Davao-Iloilo Manila-Davao-Manila Manila-Davao-Manila Zamboanga-Davao-Zamboanga Cebu-Davao-Cebu Iloilo-Davao-Cebu Manila-Davao-Manila Manila-Davao-Manila Cebu-Davao-Manila Davao-Cebu-Singapore Manila-Davao-Manila Manila-Davao-Manila

6:15 6:25 6:30 7:00 8:50 8:10 8:30 9:40 10:10 12:20 12:30 13:35 13:25 14:05

Silk Air Thu/Sun Cebu Pacific Mon/Tue/Wed/Fri Philippine Airlines August Zest Air Daily Cebu Pacific Daily Philippines Airlines Daily Cebu Pacific Mon/Tue/Thu/Sat Cebu Pacific Daily Cebu Pacific Tue/Sat/Sun Cebu Pacific Daily Airphil Express Daily Philippine Airlines Daily except Sunday Philippine Airlines Sunday

MI566 / MI566 5J507 / 5J598 15:55 Z2524 / Z2525 5J967 / 5J600 PR813 / PR814 5J215 / 5J216 5971 / 5J970 5J973 / 5J974 5J969 / 5J972 2P987 / 2P988 PR821 / PR822 PR821 / PR822

18:55 15:00 Mani2Mani 16:05 16:35 16:55 18:00 18:40 20:00 20:30 20:30 21:20 22:20

Davao-Singapore Cebu-Davao-Cebu 16:50 Cebu-Davao-Cebu Manila-Davao-Cebu Manila-Davao-Manila Cagayan de Oro-Davao-Cagayan de Oro Manila-Davao-Manila Manila-Davao-Manila Manila-Davao-Manila Manila-Davao-Manila Manila-Davao-Manila Manila-Davao-Manila

15:20 15:30 16:45 17:05 17:45 18:20 19:10 20:30 21:00 21:00 21:50 22:50

AGRITRENDS 7

EDGEDAVAO VOL.5 ISSUE 171 •TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012

Coco farmers passionate about passion fruit’s promise

By Noel T. Provido

I

F there is a fruit of wisdom, there is also a fruit of passion and farmers in Damulog, Bukidnon are passionate about turning its potentials to their advantage.

Passion fruit, a perennial creeping vine with striking flowers that grows in a number of brightly colored varieties. According to plant experts, the name “passion” was given

by Catholic missionaries in South America as they saw the fruit’s brilliant flower as symbol of Christ crucifixion as its beautiful corona threads appears to be the crown of thorns and the three stigma’s as the nails of the cross.

Moreover, the five petals and five sepals represent the ten apostles, excluding Judas who betrayed Christ and Peter who denied him thrice.

For Coconut farmers here, the fruit is the answer for their desire to increase their income considering that there is a ready market for the said fruit.

“Most of us here depend on our periodic income from coconut but when copra price drops, we suffer from very low income, ” said 73-year-old Norma Bacod, President of Sampagar Small Coconut

Farmers Organization (SSCFO).

To improve their incomes, the farmers have identified passion fruit as a good supplement for coconut as it can thrive well under coconut trees.

“Passion fruit is easy to grow and does not require a lot of inputs. But despite of this, other farmers are still hesitant to grow this crop as the only market we know then was in Cotabato and transport would be expensive,” Bacod said.

In 2009 their interest to grow passion fruit was fueled by a Japanese processor from a nearby town of Malaybalay who had been looking for farmers to regularly supply him organically-grown passion fruit.

“Mr. Yokosaki said the fruit is being processed in Japan as ingredients for wine, gelatin, perfume, and cosmetics,” Bacod said.

“One important condition for him to accept our produce is that it should be organically-grown. In fact he wanted it to even grow wild and just creeping on our coconut and fruit trees,” she added.

The Japanese processor did not set a volume requirement but committed to buy whatever volume will be delivered as long a it is strictly organically-grown. Bacod said that could be the reason why Yakosaki preferred to tap coconut farmers like them as they usually practice organic farming.

“After that meeting we were all excited to venture into passion fruit as this could be the opportunity we had been waiting.

However, our organization could not immediately expand planting as we don’t have enough funds to startoff large scale production,” Bacod said, Despite financial constraints, the SSCFO officers never allowed the rare market opportunity come to past so they sought the assistance of their municipal government who endorsed their organization as beneficiaries of the Mindanao Rural Development Program (MRDP).

MRDP is a special project of the Department of Agriculture (DA) with funding assistance from the World Bank and national and local government units. Among its projects include the provision of livelihood assistance

Compostela Valley, Zamboanga del Norte, Palawan, and Camarines Sur. BAR has just supported a research and development (R&D) forum for coffee and cacao of the Options Inc. to encourage investments in the crops, which the country heavily imports.

According to Josephine Ramos, managing director of Options Inc., the country imports some 100,000 metric tons (MT) of coffee beans worth P10 billion annually mainly from Vietnam.

It imports around 20,000 MT of cocoa beans from big African cocoa producers (Nigeria, Ivory Coast) costing a yearly average of $ 42 million.

This import value excludes chocolate products and consumables.

The Philippines apparently has to embrace the mocha trend as the craze on coffee as a social drink has turned to more mixtures of coffee with different flavors. This is particularly coffee mixed with

chocolate as a cocoa product or known as mocha.

The brisk coffee and cocoa consumption growth is prompting the industry to encourage local production.

The Philippines is among the few countries in the world that can grow coffee and cacao with its geographical position around the equator.

Meanwhile, BAR Director Nicomedes Eleazar said coffee is a priority R&D crop under BAR’s 2011-2016 R&D, and Extension (RDE) Program.

This program is funding improvement of the facilities of the National Coffee RDE headquartered at the Cavite State University in Indang, Cavite.

CADZ is a partnership between the DA and the Cocoa Foundation of the Philippines (Cocoaphil).

The CADZ will house central fermentation and drying facilities, quality assurance equipment, central nursery and budwood garden, warehouse, and office space.

Ready Market, Strictly Organic

DA earmarks P192 million for coffee and cacao production

T

O take advantage of the so-called “mocha trend,” the Department of Agriculture (DA) has earmarked P192 million for coffee production and implementation of Cacao Agribusiness Zones Development (CAZD).

“The vision of Secretary {Proceso) Alcala is for us to come up with the best possible strategies to make the country’s coffee and cacao industries competitive so that these commodities can contribute to food security,” said Dr. Teodoro Solsoloy, DA-Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) assistant director.

As part of a coffee roadmap, Solsoloy said DA is partnering with Nestle Philippines in putting up a mother plant garden in Cagayan Valley.

The nursery will produce 200,000 Robusta coffee seedlings per year through the Cagayan Valley Upland Research Outreach Station in Aglipay, Quirino.

For cocoa, the CAZD is establishing five agribusiness zones—Davao City,

PASSION FRUIT. Lina Tagapulot of Sampagar Small Coconut Farmers’ Organization (SSCFO) in Damulog, Bukidnon believes passion fruit can boost their regular income from coconut. Lina consolidates the fruits from other SSCFO members and sells it to a Japanese buyer in Malaybalay town. [Noel T. Provido]

where the SSCFO accessed P100, 000-funding assistance.

“Through CFAD [Community Fund for Agricultural Development], the program extends assistance for farmer organizations to develop their livelihood into sustainable enterprise. The program has seen the potentials of these farmers’ [SSCFO] to go into enterprise considering that the market is ready to absorb their product,” said MRDP program director Lealyn Ramos.

Out of the P100, 000 assistance, the SSCFO provided its members quality seedlings, twining materials, and organic fertilizers. Since passion fruit can be planted on small parcel of land, each member (40

in all) has planted at least 40 hills of passion fruit vines underneath coconut and fruit trees.

“After seven months of planting, farmers started harvesting the fruit with an average of 70 kilos of fruits a week. The plant is expected to continuously bear fruit up to five years,” said Lina Tagapulot, SSCFO designated consolidator.

“We buy passion fruit from our famers at P7.00 and we sell it at P10.00 the Japanese processor in Malaybalay. The additional P3.00 we are earning goes to our organization as operating cost particularly in transporting the product to the buyer,” Tagapulot said.

Although most of the plants are still on its initial

fruiting, farmers are already reaping its rewards.

“Our weekly income from passion fruit help us in buying our daily needs such as soap, sugar, cooking oil, and school allowance for our children,” said SSCFO member Aida Pacilau.

“Others opted to utilize fruit rejects by processing it into vinegar, jams, and juice tend to earn more,” she said.

there are enough rice supplies in the markets “at any given time.”

The NFA had earlier said an artificial rice shortage happens when traders and millers deliberately limit the distribution of rice stocks so they could control the market prices.

In early 2008, several areas in Mindanao were affected by an artificial rice shortage that saw the prices of commercial rice rising to as high as P51 per kilo.

Usman said they recently met with rice millers to discuss the problem and its direct impact on the economy.

“They assured us that no rice hoarding will happen within their ranks,” he said.

In an advisory, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) earlier said the El Niño will likely hit various parts of the country beginning October 2012 until May 2013.

The El Niño, which is caused by an abnormal warming of surface ocean waters in the eastern tropical Pacific, will initially cause below-normal rainfall that would later progress into drier conditions, it said.

Usman assured the public that the NFA has enough rice stocks to sustain the current requirements of the province’s 10 towns and lone city.

Need for Value-adding

While working on strengthening its market tie-up with the Japanese buyer, the organization is now looking into improving processing of the fruit as rejects are more than half of their yield.

NFA keeping close watch on possible rice hoarding in South Cotabato

T

HE National Food Authority (NFA) is closely watching markets in South Cotabato following reports of possible hoarding of rice by local retailers and millers.

Avelino Usman, NFASouth Cotabato manager, said the move is part of their ongoing efforts to ensure the availability of rice in the local markets in preparation for the predicted onslaught of another El Niño phenomenon or long dry spell in the area.

He said they are also monitoring the market prices of commercial rice as well as the distribution of NFA rice by its accredited retailers.

Usman said they will always make sure that

8 VANTAGE POINTS

VOL.5 ISSUE 171 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

Economic recovery may come too late for Obama COMMENTARY

By NicholaS WapShott

T

EDITORIAL

A

Natural disasters, etcetera

MERICANS and expatriates living in the US Eastern Seaboard are bracing themselves in anticipation of a monster storm dubbed “Frankenstorm.” The howling megastorm, meteorologists say, is expected to batter New York, North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland for days starting just before Halloween night Tuesday.

This early, experts estimate the would-be damage to the country to be in the vicinity of at least $1 billion. Even the nation’s capital –District of Columbia – is expected to be hit by the superstorm and residents there have been advised to prepare to evacuate, if that becomes necessary.

Nature’s vengeful fury excuses no one.

The United States of America is the most powerful nation in the world in terms of military might, but its citizens can only cower in dread if they find themselves in the path of an approaching tornado or facing the fury of a monster storm howling its way towards them. Once mighty Japan was just as helpless when a tsunami spawned by an Intensity 9 quake swept across parts of its coastline killing more than 20,000 people and damaging more than 300 bil-

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lion dollars worth of property.

We, Filipinos, shudder at the thought of Mother Nature unleashing its might and fury against our own country (which, come to think of it, is no way a mother should treat its children).

However, there is something we can do against the threat of natural disasters. This is to be prepared for them in order to mitigate as much as possible the extent of destruction and the number and severity of casualties they leave behind.

To paraphrase a popular saying, “Hell hath no fury as a woman scorned!” -- man has been scorning this woman (mother nature) for so long and in so many ways -- illegal logging, irresponsible mining, reckless and unmindful-of-the-consequences land development in the name of progress, etcetera can only result in man-made disasters waiting to happen (as if they haven’t happened already so many times and in so many places).

There will always be natural disasters and natural disasters, but there are also natural disasters that are helped along by man’s cruelty to himself. How sad.

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HE green shoots of recovery are growing a little taller. Newly released gross domestic product estimates measuring consumer and government spending, investments and net exports show the economy growing at 2 percent in the third quarter, up from 1.3 percent in the second. In normal times, this would be nothing to get excited about; average GDP growth between 1947 and 2012 was 3.25 percent. But we are recovering from a systemic financial crisis, not a routine dip of the business cycle, and in such cases recovery is noticeably more sluggish. Don’t believe Cassandras who suggest the good news is a chimera. We are in an “L”-shaped recoveryrather than a “V”-shaped one, and the fact that GDP is steadily rising is in itself encouraging.

What effect will this figure have on the election? A single statistic, like a single opinion poll, is just a snapshot.

As with polls, to understand what is going on, you have to look at the moving pictures rather than a single frame. And growth figures, like polls, are open to revision. There is a predictable margin of error. Within a month the 2 percent GDP estimate will be revised; historically it has moved within a range of 0.5 percent up or down. So we may be looking at GDP growth of 2.5 percent or 1.5 percent, but we won’t know which before Nov. 6. With the general election near, any evidence, however small, is going to be closely scrutinized. On its own, the 2 percent figure does not tell us much, so we should not be distracted by those who make big claims about it one way or the other. What is significant is that it is part of a growing trend suggesting that the economy is slowly emerging from its slumber.

Take housing. The latest figures, for September, show a surge in new homes, up 15 percent in a single month, the fastest growth in four years. As the current financial crisis was founded on a housing bubble, the fact that builders are speeding up their housing starts suggests the economy in general is steadily recovering. The housing figures are good news for employment, too. For every new house built, at least three jobs are created. Sales of new homes are also on the rise, and inventory has fallen “to the lowest level on record.”

House prices are also increasing, suggesting not only that the glut in inventory is coming to an end after six years – the cheap rates and inappropriate lending that fueled the housing bubble encouraged too many homes to be built in the wrong places – but that the number of homeowners underwater is diminishing. Relief from the worry of owing more to your mortgage company than your house is worth encourages personal borrowing and spending, which increases demand that creates jobs.

More can be done to bolster house buying, not least encouraging banks and mortgage companies to lend more freely by clarifying the federal government regulations about new lending and refinancing existing mortgages.

Fixing that bottleneck should be a priority for whoever wins on Nov. 6.

Another sign that the worst is over: Consumer confidence is riding high. The latest survey of consumers by Reuters shows Americans more confident about their economic prospects than at any time in the past five years. Similarly, consumers think their personal finances are in better shape than at any time in five years.

They are less anxious about losing their jobs and more optimistic about finding new ones. This optimism is confirmed by a recent Wall Street Journal poll.

EDGEDAVAO

T

“Unholy trade alliance”

HE DRIVING FORCE – If you can’t stop criminals, drive them to distraction. That seems to be the theory behind a new wave of tactical tricks becoming more useful among urban cops, in particular, members of the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) and the Highway Patrol Group (HPG XI). After months of persistent efforts as well as the main objective to provide car owners’ confidence and security, the Davaobased notorious carnap syndicate, “Baktin Group” finally was dismantled by a joint team of DCPO and HPG operatives.

The law enforcers have not been slow in reacting to the slew of criticisms hurled against them because of the worsening problems on carnapping activities in Davao City and neighboring provinces. The urgent initiative launched by elements of the police and the HPG bore tangible results. The arrest of four members of the carnap gang is considered to be a sign that authorities are seriously cracking down on the illegal but highly lucrative trade. And it also steered to a series of raids on suspected garages of the carnap syndicate that eventually yielded numerous “hot cars,” series of stolen plate numbers, conduction stickers and duplicate keys.

However, still unanswered is why the group’s leader, Ryan Cain Yu, a.k.a. “Baktin” – someone believed so well-connected and privileged was able to elude arrest? Authorities might not be so anxious to let “Baktin” out of their sight. He has enough knowledge about the workings and trade secrets of the slippery carnap group to keep the police intelligence networks busy for weeks. He is

H

VANTAGE POINTS

VOL.5 ISSUE 171 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012

particular on the “ins and outs” of the profitable but risky undertaking.

Being the leader of the group, “Baktin” was said to be the key person handling the clandestine sales operations in the city and elsewhere in the region and other parts of the country. Initial police reports revealed that “Baktin” is also well-connected with unscrupulous government officials aside from establishing “unholy alliance” with alleged thickfaced and corrupt personnel of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and greedy car dealers.

Probers believed “Baktin” is likewise responsible in the “planning and procedural operations” with his cohorts and among the primary reason his illegal trade has certainly prospered because of his strong connections. Last week’s newsmaking haul may have overshadow other lawlessness in the city, but still law enforcers are determined to address other crime incidents – car break-ins, gang wars, drug peddling and robbery-holdup. Through the directive of Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, the operations of the DCPO and HPG XI had been expanded to intensify investigation and monitoring of other shadowy groups allegedly connected with the “Baktin Group.”

Right now all options, including cash rewards offered by some concerned

legitimate car dealers and vice mayor Duterte amounting to P5 million are said to be on the table. But the main focus has been on the immediate capture of “Baktin” – dead or alive. Not only does the vice mayor have issued stern warning against the likes of “Baktin,”not least due to the carnapping incidents in the city and its suburban areas happened at a time when the economic prospects are high, he has also proven to be a no nonsense and tough leader perfectly capable of defusing criminal activities.

In addition, his long stint in public service – prosecutor, mayor, congressman and vice mayor has given him a strong sense of duty to the city and its population. He is not likely to back down from a cause if he believes it is beneficial to his constituents. Although the vice mayor has been the driving force behind the crackdown and the dismantling of the “Baktin Group,” the DCPO under P/ SSupt. Ronald dela Rosa and the HPG XI under P/SSupt. Gregorio Pimentel and, in particular City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio likewise played major roles during the successful operations. Gentlemen and lady, you deserve a pat on your shoulders and additional feathers on your caps. Keep up the good work!

With the arrest of some members of the infamous carnap syndicate and the continuous pursuit operation for the possible arrest of “Baktin” whom many suspect has already slipped out of the country with the covert help of the syndicate’s “tentacles,” people notably car owners are hoping that another similar group does not suddenly show up in the city and its neighboring areas.

Halloween customs in PHL

ALLOWEEN in the Catholic areas of this Southeast Asian archipelago, its marked variations despite, is among the country’s age-old religious tradition that dates back to the 16th century.

In Metro Manila and nearby provinces, residents refer to the celebration as the “undas,” or “araw ng mga patay” called by those in Central Visayas as “kalag-kalag,” or “piesta dagiti natay” among Ilocanos, who also have “semana ti ar-aria” for the week-long bash to All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. In the run-up to the two days, by law non-working regular holidays in this predominantly Christian country, which received the Cross in 1521, people who hack out a living in the metropolis but have their roots in the provinces begin a tense-filled exodus back to the countryside –- by buses for northerners and boats and aircraft chiefly for southerners.

It is an annual trek that has become a solemn affair -– among instances when the living visit the graves of their departed dead in public or manicured private memorial parks.

Halloween in these parts is marked differently by the communities –- one tradition in a Central Luzon town being the kin of the dead gathering in the graveyard on All Saints’ Day for some prayers, feasting, and merry-making.

The merry-making extends to rides in ferris wheels and roller coaster swings in the metropolis –- in stark contrast to the different practices in the provinces where surviving kin remember their dead with prayers and, sometimes, five minutes of funeral marches played by the town band by the epitaph of the dead relation.

In the Christian areas of the Philippines, Halloween can be said to be actually more of an observance than a ‘celebration’ or a day to remember the dead.

SPECIAl FEATURE By hoNor BlaNco caBie During the Halloween season, Filipinos go to the cemeteries to visit their dead, clean their tombstones, sometimes repaint them, light candles, and offer flowers and prayers for the dead.

Most often, masses are also offered in the graveyards where the priest, beyond the request of a grieving kin nearby, also prays for those who have been forgotten, their resting places abandoned for years.

Some kibitzers have seen whole families camping in cemeteries and sometimes even spending the whole night or two near their dead relative’s tomb.

During this time, card games are played, ghost stories are told, and there are eating, drinking, singing, and merriment in commemoration of the departed loved ones.

The occasion is more like a family reunion or banquet or family picnic.

Halloween also coincides with the day, often on Oct. 31, when relatives clean up the tombstones and graves -– repainting the stones or uprooting covering wayward grass, including the “cadena de amor” which is a familiar sight in Philippine cemeteries.

Some in Cebu, like Mary Anne and her siblings and their father, will be going to Tindog on the northern side of the island province to visit the grave of their mother for prayers before they drive back to Minglanilla town south of the capital city for additional prayers at home.

But in some areas of Negros Oriental, orphaned relatives will visit the graves of their dead kin for an overnight stay –- on shifts -– at the cemetery for what they call the “kalag-kalag,” which is also practiced by

some in Negros Occidental, like the family of Jeanie in Sagay City.

In some towns in Ilocos Norte, the “piesta dagiti natay” –- literally feast of the dead –- is marked by nine masses at home or masses arranged to be celebrated in churches, either Aglipayan or Catholic, with the ninth culminating on All Saints’ Day. The practice is replicated in many towns in Cagayan, Isabela and Nueva Vizcaya, especially in the Ilocano-speaking towns of these provinces of the Cagayan Valley, which lie on the side of the Sierra Madre.

In the Visayas, as in some towns in Negros Oriental, some distinct Halloween customs and beliefs are observed, including the burning of candles on the family altar from 6 p.m. shortly before Angelus until past 8 p.m. when the Church bells ring.

Observers say this is done to welcome the souls of the dead who, given the folk belief, are free to roam about on Halloween night.

Some say a quick look at the altar and the number of lit candles there can give the impression how many have passed on from the family.

The nine days of prayer for the departed souls in the Ilocos and the Cagayan Valley are believed to help the souls in Purgatory gain “a seat in heaven and a sight of the Lord.”

The nine days of prayer, which end with some food feast and merry-making, are believed by some Catholics and Aglipayans to bring back to life reunions with those who have answered God’s summons.

The dead at this time are believed to be visiting their surviving relatives in their ancestral homes – but many say that in fact the living are the ones who enjoy the food festival.

While the practices may differ, they point to one axiom: belief in the afterlife. [PNA]

9

Thank you flood, Gensan is now a metropolis ( Conclusion )

So what gives?

In 1996, the Japan International Cooperation Agency offered the Philippine government a multi-million peso grant for the construction of a drainage system in select cities and heavily populated urban areas in the country.

General Santos City was among these areas that were considered by the grant, which comes as a soft loan.

The amount was something like P375 million. There were initial discussions and agreements in principle between the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and concerned local government units. But these were scuttled when a change in local leadership took place. It was never reconsidered.

Fifteen years since that proposal was made, the city is now looking back. Was it a wise choice to reject the offer?

At that time, maybe.

But then again, maybe not.

Over the last five years, the city government has been granting permits and licenses for subdivision developers as demand for housing units grew together with the ever increasing population in the city. By the way, General Santos City’s annual population growth is among the country’s fastest. Between 1995 to 2000, the annual population growth was at 5.05 percent. Between 2000 and 2007, it was 3.53 annually. And in 10 years after it became a chartered city in 1967, its population growth was a whooping 10.3 per cent.

City Administrator and former city councilor Jose Mariano Constantino said the city government is open to imposing a moratorium on permits for subdivision developments in flood-prone areas as well as in higher grounds as the city’s drainage ways can no longer cope up with the volume of drain water that passes through the narrow canals and ditches.

He said a budget has been set aside to finish the Bula-Lagao Road drain canal. Well good luck to the city government. But that hardly will drain anything until a drainage master plan that is at least 10 years ahead of any future infrastructure and housing projects is in place.

Well, the consolation and ‘silver lining’ to all this is that the city has arrived – as a metropolis.

Here come the floods! [Edwin G. Espejo writes for www.asiancorrespondent.com]

10 COMMUNITY SENSE

VOL.5 ISSUE 171 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

DepEd honors Smart for support to education T

HE Department of Education (DepEd) recently recognized wireless leader Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) for the telco’s contributions to help improve the country’s education system. Smart was selected by DepEd as one of the prime partners under the Adopta-School program where the education department works with corporate partners to boost the quality of public education through technology support, training and development and infrastructure.

Smart’s various initiatives for education support include the Smart Schools Program (SSP) which promotes Information and Communications Technolo-

gy (ICT) in basic education through connectivity and trainings for educators and students; CommuniTeach – a community-based program designed to enhance the performance of public elementary school children through partnerships with the academe, local businesses and organizations; and training-workshops for the CVIF-Dynamic Learning Program (DLP) – a revolutionary teaching method meant to improve student performance while addressing common education concerns like shortage of teachers, classrooms and textbooks. Smart also participates in DepEd’s annual Brigada Eskwela and National Teachers’ Month celebration.

Comvalenyos avail free St.Augustine Gold & Copper Ltd conducts solid waste info drive surgical treatment S

A

BOUT a hundred Comvalenyos availed the free surgical procedures performed by a team of medical specialists on October 20-24, 2012 at Compostela Valley Provincial Hospital (CVPH)Montevista.

The provincial government has partnered with the Alfonso Yuchengco Foundation, Inc (AY Foundation), a non-profit, service-oriented organization that has various social development programs focusing particularly in education, health, and

nutrition sector.

Two medical teams came composed of the Screening Team and the Medical Expert Team.

Pediatrician, Pulmonologist, Gastroenterologist, Pathologist, Medtech, and one on Family Medicine screened the patients.

The surgical procedures were done by six General Surgeons, seven Anesthesiologists, six ENTs (Ear, Nose, Throat), Head, and Neck Surgeons, six General Practitioners, and seven O.R. Nurses. Mostly, women

MEDICAL MISSION. Dr. Roel Cagape (5th from left) and his team of volunteers composed of rescuers from Malapatan-LGU, Dominican priest Fr. Joemar Sibug (6th from left) who conducted the blessing rites for the health centers, Indigenous People’s Development Program worker Shalom Somblingo (7th from left) and Sarangani Information Office personnel pose for a souvenir photo upon reaching the highest mountainous peak in the region after three hours of climbing 45-degree to 50-de-

patients were given Thyroidectomy, a surgical procedure on Goiter.

Thankful for the success of the endeavor, Governor Arturo T. Uy hosted a fellowship dinner for the medical teams on October 22 at the Capitol Lobby.

It can be recalled that the Sangguniang Panlalawigan has approved the PLGU and AY Foundation partnership on such free medical services during their 103rd regular session on October 3, 2012. [GRACE ALMEDILLA, IDS-COMVAL]

T. Augustine Gold & Copper Ltd is conducting a series of meetings throughout the Davao Region to inform the local communities about the benefits of proper waste management as described in the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000. The seminar and training are required under the Act. The purpose of the training course is to inform the public especially students, parents and teachers about the environmental benefits, creating the necessary institutional mechanisms and incentives, declaring

gree slopes from sitio Kikong. The team was on its way to sitio Ulo Fitam to inaugurate another of Dr. Cagape’s “E-Text si Doc Health Center” on Wednesday, October 24. Ulo Fitam means “head of the black water” in Blaan. [Cocoy Sexcion/SARANGANI INFORMATION OFFICE]

certain acts prohibited and providing penalties and practices of handling solid wastes. This includes what the company is doing to protect the environment.

The team from St. Augustine Gold & Copper Ltd. have conducted seminar and training sessions. Students, the school Board of Directors, parents and teachers from Magnaga National High School (MNHS) in Barangay Magnaga, attended the first training course on September 20. School principal, Ms. Emalita Ranalan, said she appreciates the company’s effort to educate the people of Pantukan, especially the students.

“The young ones are the best catalyst for change in the community,” said Ms. Ranalan. “Honing and supporting their ideals for a better environment would certainly create positive results.”

Officials at Kingking Central Elementary School (September 21); Pantukan National High School (September 27); and Sta. Teresa Elementary School (September 28) echoed those sentiments, following similar seminar and training sessions.

Ms. Renee Jabines, principal of Kingking Central Elementary School, told students to keep in mind what they learned from the lectures because it is everyone’s responsibility to

protect the environment.

At Pantukan National High School, a student group called Youth for Environmental in School Organization (YES-O!), attended one of the seminar and training sessions. Ms. Marivic Isaac, a teacher and YES-O adviser, said she appreciates the Ecological Solid Waste Management training course.

“We welcome this kind of activity with a big heart here in our school because this is what our group is really advocating,” said Ms. Isaac. “On behalf of YES-O!, I want to extend my sincerest thanks to St Augustine for holding the seminar and training like these and we hope that this is something that we can translate into tangible results”, Ms. Isaac made the statement in an interview with Radyo Pantukan a radio station based in Pantukan.

The Company has committed to continue conducting seminar and training sessions for the people in Pantukan on all aspects of the Kingking Copper-Gold Project.

St. Augustine Gold & Copper Ltd. is currently undertaking the feasibility study for the mining the Kingking Copper and Gold deposit in Pantukan. They are conducting extensive environmental and social baseline studies, community consultations, exploratory drillings and other related studies within the area.

11

EDGEDAVAO VOL.5 ISSUE 171 •TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012

PNP...

Watershed...

FFROM 2

FFROM 1

During his appearance in yesterday’s Kapehan sa Dabaw at the SM Annex in Ecoland, Asibal said the survey will establish the boundaries of watershed areas pinpointed by a terrain analysis conducted by DENR’s Mines and Geosciences Bureau jointly with the Davao City government during the time of Rodrigo R. Duterte as mayor.

Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio had earlier organized the City Watershed Management Council (WMC) to implement the ordinance, but not before the body which she co-chairs with City Administrator Zuleika Lopez has first crafted the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for the ordinance.

On orders of Mayor Sara, the WMC also approved a framework providing for a set of objectives and strategies seeking --to delineate boundaries of identified conservation areas, agricultural non-tillage and prime agricultural areas through a perimeter survey; --to conserve groundwater for future domestic use by rehabilitating and developing 93,080 hectares of open land, brush and mangrove areas through a reforestation program and related activities; --to harmonize national and local policies and regulations and strictly enforced them; --to provide alternative livelihood programs for occupants/ settlers within conservation and non-tillage areas; --to develop sufficient resources needed to im-

plement policies and programs on watershed management through the promotion of multi-sectoral, inter-agency and community participation and the generation of funds through co-management agreements, submission of proposals to local and international donor institutions and collection of environmental users tax; and --to implement a massive continuing information, education and communication (IEC) program designed to make all stakeholders understand and internalize the lifeand-death importance of protection, conservation and management of the city’s watershed.

Asibal said Mayor Sara had initially set aside P800,000 for the conduct of the delineation survey.

In addition, the Davao City Water District donated a counterpart amount of P800,000 while DENR 11 under Regional Executive Director Joselin Marcus Fragada is committed to provide technical advice and donate funds.

An environmental NGO – Interface Development Interventions (IDIS), Inc.—also donated survey tools and equipment and information collaterals and 3-dimensional releif map of the city. The 3-D map is today one of the top attractions at the People’s Park for school children.

In remarks during the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) documenting the donations of IDIS, DCWD and DENR, Fragada said the map produced by the delineation survey would not be the basis of environment in-

terventions to be taken by the city government and the national administration designed to protect the watersheds.

Asibal said the watersheds to be delineated cover 42 barangays located mostly in the third district of Davao City, where most Dabawenyos get their potable water.

He said the delineation will be over in 64 working days.

Meanwhile, the ordinance’s framework also tackles some ticklish issues such as titled lands within the protected areas, expansion of agricultural plantations within conservation and agricultural non-tillage areas, deliberate misinformation on the watershed code provisions, weak enforcement and monitoring of the provision on buffer zones, and improper waste management and presence of pollutants in rivers and other bodies of water in the city.

According to Ms Lopez, other major issues included in the WMC’s “perpetual concerns” are climate change, disaster preparedness, rapid population growth of the city, in-migration, finite groundwater resource and intrusion of salt water into the aquifers and implementation of the Rainwater Harvesting Ordinance.

The newly-approved framework will now be the basis of a comprehensive, systematic and community-based approach to protection, conservation and management of the major watersheds in the city, she said.

based on our initial assessment of the election watch list, the main area of concern at present is Davao de Sur. Morente appealed to Cagas and his people to share information with the police as to where these firearms are being kept.

Assuring that the information will be kept in confidence, the PNP official said that they have made the treatment of cases and the filing of applications for warrants regional in nature, admitting that there is a danger of information leak if it is done with the knowledge of local police.

“We are making the validation of information on partisan armed groups on the regional level as

MINDA...

station commanders in town and provincial levels have the tendency to hold the truth if they have some relationship with, and debt of gratitude to, local politicians,” Morente said.

As to the crime situation in Digos City, where police supervision is under the city mayor, Morente bared that he had already called the attention of the police provincial director on the matter.

Acknowledging the governor’s complaint about unabated theft of XRM motorcycles, Morente said the regional police command has been holding periodic evaluation of the performance of police directors and that he would soon mete

administrative sanctions against some provincial directors and station commanders.

“Davao del Sur is the focus of our attention, sir,” Morente said.

At the same, Brig. Gen. Ariel Bernardo of the Philippine Army’s 10th division, assured Governor Cagas that his men will be neutral during the campaign season and on election day itself.

“Our troops are apolitical,” Bernardo said.

He also bared that at least two field commanders, those of the 73rd and 27th Infantry Battalions of the Philippine Army will be replaced very soon.

[AMA]

not yet been realized pending the bidding process by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation.

He said it will require three months to move the barges from Visayas to Mindanao and additional months more for barges to be operational.

Montenegro said that presently, fifty percent of the Mindanao power source comes from hydro-power stations in the rivers of Agus and Pulangi which perform only at sixty percent of its capacity producing only 600 megawatts.

He said that since January 2012, Mindanao had been experiencing about 100 to 150 megawatt deficit, and had been aggravated by the shutting down of a Steag coal-fired power plant in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental which went on a preventive maintenance withdrawing a 200 megawatt- supply from the Mindanao grid.

“As of today, we are closed to 300 megawatt-deficit and during peak hours from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm, the demand would reach 400 megawatt-deficit,” Montenegro said.

He said due to the de-

ficiency in power sources areas outside the cities of Davao, Cotabato and Cagayan de Oro experience two to six hours of power outage especially cities of General Santos and Zamboanga which are very far from the Mindanao grid.

He said that the power situation in Mindanao in 2013 will be in a critical phase due to the projected dry-spell during summer which might impact on the water level of Pulangi river and Lanao lake.

Montenegro recalled that in 2010, the long dry-spell resulted to ten percent reduction in the power supply by Agus and Pulangi leading to ten to 12-hour brownouts in Mindanao.

He noted that Davao City has been spared from the power outages due to its many embedded generators and power sources like the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Cotabato.

“They may not have brownouts, but there will be increased in power bills as embedded generators run whenever the power from the Mindanao grid reduces,” Montenegro said. [PIA 11/Joey Sem G. Dalumpines]

FFROM 2

sate for the use of generators by the industries.

Montenegro said industries will be paid based on the use fuel and oil and the depreciation of equipment as they pull away from the Mindanao grid during peak hours and turn on their generators.

“It is still subject to ERC approval since it is easier for industries to disconnect from the Mindanao grid, easing the pressure and consequently, providing more electricity to consumers,” he said.

Montenegro said more than a thousand industries have committed to participate in the IMEM and the ILP. Montenegro also revealed that the plan to move power barges from Visayas to Mindanao have

Edge Davao hiring editor, 3 reporters EDGE DAVAO is in need of an editor and three staffwriters/reporters for its expansion program.

The reporters will be assigned to the business, science/environment and political beats.

On the other hand, the editor will supervise the reporters and do gate-keeping tasks.

Applicant must be a graduate of a four- year college course. For reporters, experience is not needed although preferable. The editor should have at least one-year experience in editing.

Interested parties may send their application letter to Mr. Antonio M. Ajero, Edge Davao editor, thru email address ajero_antonio@yahoo.com. For inquiries, please call Mr. Ajero thru mobile phone 09052422686 or landline 221-3601.

GENSAN...

FFROM 3

sonnel deployment in cemeteries and other public areas in the province during the two-day holidays.

The police official said they have requested the Police Regional Office 12’s Regional Public Safety and Maneuver Battalion to also augment the security

operations within the province’s 10 towns and lone city.

“All of us will be on active duty during the All Saints’ and All Souls Day. I even assigned our office personnel to join the operations,” he added. (Allen V. Estabillo/MindaNews)

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VOL.5 ISSUE 171 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012

Serving a seamless society

-

Accounting Clerk

Female, not more than 30 years old A graduate of BS Accountancy, Knowledge of related computer applicants, Familiar with basic bookkeeping procedures, - Attentive to details and accurate, - Well organized and - Can work with mininum supervision

Account Executives (2)

- Male / Female, not more than 30 years old - Candidate must posses a Bachelor/College Degree in any Business field.

- Willing to work under pressure, flexible, persuasive, can speak fluently and computer literate - A team player - With Basic Salary, Transportation, Communication, allowance + Commission For interested applicants, you may send your resume to: HR Department EDGEDavao Doors 13 & 14 Alcrej B;dg., Quirino Ave., Davao City Tel. No. (082) 221-3601 Email: edgedavao@gmail.com

Health and Wellness

Realty FOR SALE:

1) 1-hectare commercial lot at p10,000/sq m, along National highway, facing east, beside Nccc panacan, Davao city. 2) 17,940sq m commercial lot at p2,500/sq m, along Matina Diversion road.

3) 3,831 sq m lot along Matina Diversion road. 4) 41,408 sq m commercial/industrial lot at p800/sq m along the National highway, Bunawan. 5) 7,056 sq m at p1,200/sq m commercial/residential lot along indangan road, Buhangin District. 6) 27,411 sq m commercial/industrial lot along the National highway in Bincungan, tagum city. 7) 116.15 to 245.92 sq meters , at p5.5M to p12.3M commercial/ office condo units in Bajada, Davao city. 8) 699 to 1,117 sq m at p4,100/sq m commercial lots at Josefina town center, along the National highway, Dumoy, toril. 9) ready-for-occupancy residential properties: 4Br/3t&B in a 240 sq m lot with 177.31sqm floor area (2-storey) at p4.8M in an exclusive beachfront community in Dumoy, Toril.; 3Br 2-storey in a 71.25 sq m 2-storey in a 143sq m lot in an exclusive flower village in Maa, Davao city; 180 sq m lots with 71.25sqm to 126.42 sq m floor areas, priced at p3.751M to p5.773M in an exclusive mountain resort community along Matina, Diversion road. 10) 1Br/2Br residential condo units located in Bolton, Maa, obrero, Davao city.

11) For aSSUMe (rUSh): 1Br res’l condo unit in palmetto, Maa. p600K negotiable. Note: items 1-9 can be paid in cash, in-house or bank financing. if interested, please call Jay (prc reB lic. 8237) at 0922-851-5337 (Sun), 0908-883-8832 (Smart) or send email to propertiesindavao@yahoo.com.

PRIME PROPERTY FOR SALE ROBINSONS HIGH LANDS, 173 sq. meters, 1.5 M, Direct Buyers only Contact: 0926-305-1555 0942-966-2444

Deadline for submission of materials is 12:00 NN. Deadline for Friday and Saturday issues is 5:00 PM. Deadline for Sunday and Monday issues is Saturday 12:00 NN. For more information, please call our advertising office 221-3601; 301-6235 and ask for Jane or chay.

EDGEDavao

EDGEDAVAO

LOT FOR SALE 180 sq. meter, Farland Subd., Dumoy, Toril, P 350,000 only Contact: 0927-706-2510

PROPERTY FOR SALE IDEAL FOR INDUSTRIAL / MANUFACTURING PLANT, 3 hectares, Santa Cruz along the National Highway, Direct Buyers only Contact: 0927-706-2510

APARTMENT FOR SALE 3 Door Apartment, lot 320 sq. m. located at Bo. obrero near Victoria plaza 10 M, Direct Buyers only contact: 0932-532-7304

Republic of the Philippines Department of Transportation and Communications LAND TRANSPORTATION FRANCHISING AND REGULATORY BOARD Regional Office No. XI Davao City

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EDGEDavao Gensan Partners

Petition for Renewal of a Certificate of Public Convenience to operate A SCHOOL TRANSPORT Service JEREZA BRIGIDA D. KINTANAR, Petitioner

Case No.2006XI-00119

x- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - x

Tel No. (083)- 553-2211

NOTICE OF HEARING Petitioner is a grantee of a Certificate of Public Convenience issued in this case authorizing the operation of a SCHOOL TRANSPORT service exclusively for the transportation of Students/ Pupils from their respective residences to St. Peter’s College of Toril, Davao City and vice versa with the use of ONE (1) unit, which certificate will expire on January 24, 2013.In the petition filed on August 28, 2012, petitioner request authority to extend the validity of said certificate to operate along the same route with the use of the same unit previously authorized.

NOTICE, is hereby given that this petition will be heard by this Board on NOVEMBER 5, 2012 at 09:00 a.m. at this office at the above address.

At least, FIVE (5) days prior to the above date petitioner shall publish this Notice once in a one (1) daily newspaper of general circulation in Mindanao

Parties opposed to the granting of the petition must file their written opposition supported by documentary evidence on or before the above date furnishing a copy of the same to the petitioner, and may if they so, desire appear on said date and time.

This petition will be acted upon by this Board on the basis of its records and the documentary evidence submitted by the parties, unless the Board deems it necessary to receive additional documentary and/or oral evidence.

WITNESS the Honorable BENJAMIN A. GO, CESO V, Regional Director, this 31st day of August 2012 at Davao City.

TERESITA DELA PEÑA-YÑIGUEZ Chief Transport Development Officer

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South Osmeña, General Santos City Cell No. 09999923588 Tel. No. (083) 552-3297

NOTICE OF LOSS Notice is hereby given by loyola plaNS coNSoliDateD iNc. that certiFicate oF FUll payMeNt No(s). 68013 under loyola plaN contract No(s) 548631-1 issued to criStUto B. FerNaNDeZ was lost. any transaction entered into shall be null and void.

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NOTICE OF LOSS Notice is hereby given by LOYOLA PLANS CONSOLIDATED INC. that CERTIFICATE OF FULL PAYMENT No(s). 1001707 under LOYOLA PLAN Contract No(s). NNN111892262 issued to ANIANA ONLAYAO was lost. Any transaction entered into shall be null and void.

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EDGEDAVAO VOL.5 ISSUE 171 •TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012

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DAVAO LILA DEPT. STORE SHOPPING PARADISE OF THE BUDGET-WISE AT ITS NEW LOCATION NEAR MANILA BULLETIN CAYETANO BANGOY ST. (FORMERLY PONCIANO REYES ST.) CORNER RIZAL STREET, DAVAO CITY CONTACT: TEL. #: 225-5258; 227-3959 CEL.#: 0932-2246429; 0915-4102303

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VOL.5 ISSUE 171 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

On November 1 - 2

DCWD offices, Victoria collection center closed

T

HE Davao City Water District offices in Bajada, Matina and Toril and its collection center at Victoria Plaza will be closed on November 1 - 2, 2012.

Regular public transactions at the Bajada, Matina and Toril offices will resume on Monday, November 5 from 7:30 AM to 5:00 PM without noon break. The DCWD Collection Center at Victoria Plaza will be open on November 3 from 10:00 AM until 7:00 PM.

DCWD acting general manager Edwin V. Regalado assures the public that technical operations and the DCWD call center services will not be disrupted during the holidays to ensure continuous water service to all customers.

The general public may contact its call center through the 24-hour hotline 221-9412 or 09277988966 for updates, complaints, queries and other matters pertaining to DCWD services.

(Sylvia May L. Vosotros)

Startup Weekend HQ VIP to grace Cebu, Davao events

F

OLLOWING the grand success of its inaugural staging last May, Startup Weekend Cebu (SWC) returns for its second edition this year to once again spawn breakthrough ideas from tech communities on Nov. 16-18 at the Eduardo Aboitiz Studies Center.

Startup Weekend is a 54-hour competition where developers, designers, marketers, technopreneurs, and venture capitalists come together to share ideas, form teams, build products, and launch startup businesses.

Participants get acquainted with one another starting Friday night.

They pitch startup concepts they are passionate about and form teams around the most popular ideas. They refine their ideas and business plans and start building product prototypes with the help of the onsite mentors, and then present what they have accomplished in a four-minute pitch and demo by Sunday evening.

Startup Weekends are designed for entrepreneurs interested in receiving feedback for an idea, looking for co-founders, or who want to learn a new skill, especially in the field of mobile and internet applications.

The concept, which started in the US, is now a global movement, taking digital startup businesses from ideas to investment readiness through intensive mentoring from industry experts and access to markets and investors across Asia.

But why should one attend? Among the various reasons why technopreneurs should attend this event is the presence of onsite coaches or mentors who have been there and are still going at it.

These coaches are not mere businessmen. They

are founders and CEOs who are in the dugouts.

They will not only give tips and expert advice to the participants, but they will inspire them and save them a lot of trouble by sharing with them what they’ve learned and where they’ve failed.

These mentors may event likely steer a team to victory.

Designated coaches in the 2nd SWC are SpellDial founder Albert Padin, ProudCloud CEO Jay Fajardo, Dynamic Objx COO Jonathan Lansangan, PicLyf co-founder Eric Su, CareSharing CEO/ co-founder Mark Buenconsejo, Ng Khai Development Corp. president and CEO Wilson Ng, Smooth Corporate Dezigns IT director Jonathan Anthony Ybanez, Save 22 founder Guyi Shen, and Mynimo. com CEO and founder Wesley Chiongbian.

Participants will also have the chance to meet Zachary Cohn who is fresh from Startup Weekend Headquarters in Seattle, USA. Cohn, who is Bootcamp director/Hacker Relations at Startup Weekend HQ, will be In the Philippines as facilitator for both Startup Weekend Cebu and Davao. His presence is a plus for participants as he is expected to sit down with them, nudge them in the right direction and increase their chances of success.

“We are very honored to have Cohn as facilator for Startup Weekend Cebu,” said Tina Amper of TechTalks.ph who leads the organizing team. “Cohn will certainly serve as an inspiration for entrepreneurs and startups here in Cebu.”

Co-organizer Dave Overton of Symph, for his part, said: “We are very excited to work with Cohn. It would already be a privilege even just to sit beside him.”

MOA SIGNING. GT Cosmetics Manufacturing national sales manager Engr.

Leonora B. Salavane, GT Cosmetics general manager Rogelio V. Salvane Sr., and Airlift Asia Inc. vice president for VisMin Marivic Esmero (right) sign the

Memorandum of Agreement making Airlift Asia as the official freight forwarder of the Cebu-based beauty products manufacturing company.

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Smart backs 1st CinePhone Film Fest M o -

slots – two from Luzon, two from Visayas, and two from Mindanao. These six winners will each receive P25,000 in cash, a Smart-powered HTC Desire smartphone, a Sony digital camera, among others.

The CinePhone film with the highest number of online and text votes will be given the People’s Choice Award and a Smart-powered HTC Sensation XE smartphone.

To give Smart subscribers the opportunity to choose their favorite entry, they can view all CinePhone finalist videos at www.cinephone. ph<http://www.cinephone.ph>. They can then vote for their favorite film by texting CINEPHONE POLL <letter assigned to the film> to 9977 for only P2.50 per vote. Each of the 60 finalist videos has a corresponding letter, and they may all be viewed at the website.

Pick the best flick via SMS voting

S

UBSCRIBERS of wireless leader Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) will have a say in selecting who could be the next great Filipino independent filmmaker when the 1st CinePhone Film Festival culminates on November 5, 2012.

Launched last July, the CinePhone film fest is a competition that gave high school and college students all over the country the opportunity to develop their filmmaking talent, simply by using their trusty cellphone to create mini-movies. Part of the contest is the People’s Choice Award that will be selected by Smart subscribers voting via text messaging.

“We are happy to be part of the CinePhone Film Fest. In the same way that Smart democratized mobile services and access to the Internet, so do we recognize the immense power of the cellphone in democratizing filmmaking

and making the technology more accessible to a much larger pool of talent,” said Ramon R. Isberto, head of Public Affairs at Smart.

Organized by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) as a category under the 38th Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF), the Festival has collected close to a thousand entries from high school and college students nationwide.

Through a stringent screening and judging process supervised by CinePhone festival director Paul Soriano, creator of multi-awarded independent movie ‘Thelma’, the initial long list of entries has been pruned down to 60 finalists -- 20 from Luzon, 20 from Visayas, and 20 from Mindanao.

These films, all adhering to the theme of Restoring Road Courtesy among

torists a n d Pedestrians and depicting values such as courtesy, discipline, and respect -are now available for viewing and voting at www.cinephone.ph<http://www. cinephone.ph>.

The board of judges is composed of MMDA Chairman Francis N. Tolentino, festival director Paul Soriano, heads of other government agencies, other respected film writers and directors, as well as advertising ‘rockstars’.

“With CinePhone, we hope to encourage the youth to embrace the values of discipline and courtesy through a medium they know well. We also hope to help instill in them those values, because they will eventually shape the future of and build this nation,” said MMDA Chairman Tolentino.

The 60 finalists will compete for the top six

INdulge!

VOL.5 ISSUE 171 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

TRAVEL

life on the tonle Sap When one talks about Siem Reap, oftentimes they talk about the many temples built by the Khmers or shopping at the city’s vibrant old and night markets.

But there actually is more to Siem Reap as it is where one can find South ease Asia’s largest inland body of water, the Tonle Sap. Relatively small for most of the year at 2,700 square kilometers, and a mere meter deep, the Tonle Sap (which is also declared a UneSCO biosphere in 1997) even-

tually swells to 16,000 square kilometers and with a depth of up to nine meters during the monsoon rains.

This cycle of flooding allows for a rich and fertile floodplain and is also responsible for the plentiful number of fish that thrive in the lake.

Given that the lake floods the low-lying ar-

One of the many floating markets on the way to the floating village.

A fisherman and his child.

eas during the wet season, the people living in the fringes and on the lake itself have adopted to the ebb and flow of the water, building entire villages on the lake itself, which is our group’s final destination.

The 45-minute ride to the floating village was relaxing and exiting at the same time as scenes of villagers resting, to catching fish, and to some peddling their wares from boat to boat stirred a sense of unique wonder inside my head.

Enjoying the floating market.

As we approached the floating villages, I was amazed that these villages on the Tonle Sap were permanent communities and have their own schools and even markets that sell anything from crocodile leather bags, stingray leather trinkets, handicrafts, and various traditional tonics. There were also floating restaurants where one can sit down and order fish dishes from freshly caught fish being farmed right beside the restaurant itself.

I even saw a crocodile pen located right beside the floating restaurant.

Perhaps its for crocodile dishes?

After a few minutes going around the floating market, we finally took the boat back to downtown Siem Reap, armed with the unique appreciation of life on the Tonle Sap.

Buddah heads.

Crocodile leather bags.

A cobra in a bottle of alcohol.

A chart outlining the many different kinds of fish that can be found in the Tonle Sap.

EDGEDAVAO

A2 INdulge! uP AnD ABOuT

CEB launches 3 more domestic routes from Western Visayas

An evening with Samsung Galaxy S3

ThE Philippines’ largest national flag carrier, Cebu Pacific Air (PSE:CEB) continues its domestic expansion in the 2nd half of 2012, with three new domestic routes launched SAmSung together from Western Visayas. with Zee magazine Last October 25, 2012, CEB launched direct thrice recently held a galweekly flights from Bacolod to Cagayan de Oro, and axy S3 launch party direct four times weekly flights from Iloilo to general at the Primo SportsSantos. On October 26, 2012, the airline will also launch bar and grill. Present for the launch thrice weekly Iloilo to Puerto Princesa flights.

Both services from Iloilo will utilize an A319 aircraft, of Samsung’s latest, while the Bacolod-Cagayan de Oro service will utilize an fastest, and featureladen smartphone ATR 72-500 aircraft.

“CEB launched a total of 10 domestic routes from Au- were some of Davao gust to October, greatly increasing connectivity within City’s beautiful peothe Philippines and enabling even more Filipinos to ple. travel by air. These three routes signify our commitment to increase accessibility to and from the Western Visayas region,” said CEB VP for marketing and Distribution Candice Iyog.

Iloilo, in particular, will be designated as one of CEB’s operational hubs on november 8, 2012, when the airline launches direct flights from Iloilo to hong Kong and Singapore. These will be the first international flights out of the Iloilo airport.

CEB also launched direct Kalibo (Boracay) – Davao and Iloilo-Tacloban services last August and October, respectively.

To further promote travel with its trademark low fares, CEB announced a seat sale on all bus and ferry domestic routes as low as P188, and all international destinations as low as P688. Sale period is from October 25 to 28, 2012, for travel from november 15, 2012 until march 31, 2013.

Domestic and international fares are exclusive of check-in baggage, fuel surcharge and country-specific taxes.

For bookings and inquiries, guests can go to www. cebupacificair.com, or call the reservation hotlines (02) 7020-888 or (032) 230-8888. The latest seat sales can also be found on CEB’s official Twitter and Facebook pages.

In its 16th year of operations, CEB had flown over 65 million passengers. It provides access to the most extensive network in the Philppines, with 32 domestic and 19 international destinations. The airline also remains a pioneer in the Philippine aviation industry by being the first to offer web check-in, self check-in, e-ticketing, and Lite Fares.

Between 2012 and 2021, CEB will take delivery of 20 more Airbus A320 and 30 Airbus A321neo aircraft orders. It is slated to begin long-haul services in the 3rd quarter of 2013, with the arrival of 4 Airbus A330 aircraft from 2013 to 2014.

The Thrill-o-ween costume party at Royal Mandaya Hotel ThE Royal mandaya hotel invites you to the annual Thrill-oween Party on October 31, 8 pm at the Royal Ballroom.

For only P200, get a chance to win many prizes and a free drink! Come in your best costume and get a chance to win. First place gets P20,000 worth of prizes, second place gets P15,000 worth of prizes and third place wins P5,000 worth of prizes. The event is open to kids and adults.

For more information and ticket reservations, you

VOL.5 ISSUE 171 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012

Premium vodka and whiskeys flowed free while guests were given free reign to experience the full range of Samsung’s smartphones and tablets, showing Dabawenyos the latest technologies the tech leader has to offer.

As the party warms up, guests took to the dance floor with the decks manned by DJ gary Tomas who spins at Primo every Friday and Saturday for their weekend dance nights.

VOL.5 ISSUE 171 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

EnTERTAInmEnT

Natina Reed, star of Bring It On, dead at 32

nATInA Reed, member of the R&B group Blaque and star of the 2000 cheerleading flick Bring It On, has died at age 32 after being struck by a car near Atlanta, E! news has confirmed.

According to a press release sent from the gwinnett (ga.) Police Department to E! news, police received a call of a pedestrian hit by a vehicle at about 10:30 p.m. yesterday. “The driver of the vehicle contacted 911 to request assistance,” the press release states. “natina Reed was pronounced dead at gwinnett medical Center at 10:59 p.m. E.S.T.” “Preliminary information indicates that Reed was in the roadway on Lawrenceville highway near hamilton Road when struck,” the release continues. Though the investigation is ongoing, the release states that the driver “was determined to be not at fault and there are no charges pending.”

Reed was a protege of TLC’s Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, who herself died in an car accident in 2002. Reed is survived by her 10year-old son, Tren Brown, whose father is the rapper Kurupt. Sunday would have been her 33rd birthday.

Fellow Blacque members Brandi Williams and

Shamari Fears-DeVoe issued a joint statment today: “We are devastated by the loss of our group member, sister and friend natina Reed. Because of the enormous support of Blaque fans and our love for each another, Blaque officially reunited this fall and we were in the process of working on a new album and a reality show. natina continuously embodied the pioneering spirit of Blaque and her undeniable creativity touched the hearts of fans everywhere. natina was a mother, sister, accomplished songwriter, artist and friend. We ask for

your prayers at this time for natina’s family. She will forever be missed and her global influence eternally felt. We thank god for the experiences we shared.”

Twitter has also been teeming with tributes to Reed.

“Last night the world was changed forever, life will never be the same.... she was my sister,”tweeted her bandmate Williams. “#RIP #Sad #BringItOn,” her Bring It On costar gabrielle union added.

Questlove of The Roots offered, “man. in eerie Left Eye fashion....rip to Blaque’s natina Reed,” also posting a link to a Blaque video.

Drew Barrymore and Will Kopelman share baby pics with Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux DOES Jennifer Aniston have baby on the brain?!

While other stars were out donning costumes, the recently engaged We’re The millers actress, along with her fiancé Justin Theroux, attended the LACmA 2012 Art + Film gala honoring Ed Ruscha and Stanley Kubrick last night in Los Angeles along with pals and new parents Drew Barrymore and Will Kopelman.

Clad in a black silk, and rather revealing, Tom Ford dress, Jennifer gathered around Drew, who made her first post-baby carpet appearance, and gushed over baby pictures of Drew’s daughter Olive.

Swoon much?!

A fellow partygoer

shares with E! news Jen and Justin were then “lovey dovey” throughout the night.

We can’t wait until Jen and Justin have one of

their own!

Pals like Cameron Diaz and Salma hayek were also in attendance—oh, and of course, Jen’s giant ring

INdulge! A3

EDGEDAVAO

A4 INdulge!

VOL.5 ISSUE 171 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012

EVEnTS EnTERTAInmEnT

BLIMS fine furniture

Making inspired spaces in Davao a reality

By Kenneth Irving Ong

DA B AW E nyO S used to have limited choices when it comes to high-end furniture, it was either settle for readily-available massproduced pieces or to fly to manila or Cebu to purchase the perfect sofa, only to spend more for shipping it to Davao.

But all this is about to change with the opening of BLImS’ 15th showroom in the Philippines located at the third floor of the Abreeza mall, the first in mindanao.

The premier source of

top of the line furniture pieces and accessories designed to exude elegance, luxury and distinction, BLImS has been in the furniture retail business for over 35 years. It takes pride in having a wide selection of internationallyacclaimed products that perfectly complement a healthy and elegant lifestyle. Dabawenyos can finally find the perfect piece of furniture to complete the look of their homes.

BLImS has been the gold standard in fine ready-made furniture, rightfully so since the company began the ready-made furniture craze in 1977 when Blims opened its first showroom in makati City.

At the BLIMS showroom at Abreeza.

BLIMS Fine Furniture President Samie Lim (center) together with Jie Pambid (left) and BLIMS Fine Furniture business development manager Sam Gregory Lim (right) have a talk with the local Margie Moran-Floirendo (second from left) together with guests at the BLIMS Davao showroom media. opening.

A La-Z-Boy recliner.

Checking out the popular La-Z-Boy recliners.

My Home Editor-in-Chief Jie Pambid and Arnold Yap

EDGEDAVAO VOL.5 ISSUE 171 •TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012

SPORTS15

Sparks finish 4 in Singapore T

HE Loyola Meralco Sparks yielded a 4-0 loss to S.League side Gombak United to settle for fourth place in the 2012 Singapore Cup Sunday night at the Jalan Besar Stadium in the citystate.

Gombak United came out roaring early in the third place match, as Iqbal Hamid Hussain scored at the 7th minute and Mustaqim Manzur slotted a goal at the 11th minute to give their team an early 2-nil edge.

Fairoz Hasan then hit the back of net at the 34th minute before Julien Durand scored at the 43rd minute to lift Gombak United to a commanding 4-nil lead at halftime, from which the Sparks couldn’t recover.

Loyola reached the

semifinals of the tournament earlier this month, but saw its campaign end on a 5-nil aggregate loss to defending S.League champion Tampines Rovers, which fell to Singapore Armed Forces in the final, 2-1.

Before that, the Sparks defeated S.League squad Geylang United, 2-1, in the preliminary round last May and Mynamar club Kanbawza on 5-3 aggregate in the quarterfinals last July.

Despite the loss, Loyola still made history after becoming the first Philippine club to join a top regional club football tournament.

Loyola is bannered by brothers Phil and James Younghusband and the returning Chad Gould.

th

The Loyola Meralco Sparks finished 4th in the Singapore Cup and made history as the first Philippine Club to finish in the top four of a regional football tournament.

th Tiger finishes 4 in Malaysia Harden traded to Rockets

U

NABLE to work out an extension with James Harden, the Oklahoma City Thunder traded the Sixth Man of the Year to the Houston Rockets on Saturday night, breaking up the young core of the Western Conference champions.

The Thunder acquired guards Kevin Martin and Jeremy Lamb, two firstround picks and a second-round pick in the surprising deal. Oklahoma City also sent center Cole Aldrich and forwards Daequan Cook and Lazar Hayward to Houston.

The Oct. 31 deadline to extend Harden or allow him to become a restricted free agent next July had been hanging over the Thunder from the moment they reported to training camp. ‘’We wanted to sign James to an extension, but at the end of the day, these situations have to work for all those involved. Our ownership group again showed their commitment to the organization with several significant offers,’’ Thunder general manager Sam Presti said in a statement. ‘’We were unable to reach a mutual agreement, and therefore executed a trade that capitalized on the opportunity to bring in a player of Kevin’s caliber, a young talent like Jeremy and draft picks, which will be important to our organizational goal of a sustainable team.’’

The small-market Thunder had already signed Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka to long-term deals, and apparently realized Harden was going to want a bigger salary than they would offer.

The Thunder got back a good scorer in Martin, who has averaged 18.4 points in his eight NBA seasons, and a promising young player in Lamb, the No. 12 pick in the draft who helped Connecticut win the 2011 NCAA championship. He led Houston’s summer league team in scoring with 20 points per game.

But Harden was a huge part of Oklahoma City’s success and had said he might even be open to sacrifice dollars in order to stay with the Thunder.

But they’ve been unwilling to climb into the luxury tax, which will only become harsher under the new collective bargaining agreement.

Harden averaged 16.8 points and 3.7 assists last season, and joined Durant and Westbrook on the U.S. men’s Olympic team. He struggled badly in Oklahoma City’s loss to Miami in the NBA Finals, but the Thunder felt good about their chances of getting back there with another year of experience for their young stars, all 24 or younger.

However, Yahoo Sports reported that Harden turned down a four-year contract worth about $52 million, and the Thunder moved quickly to trade him after that.

The Rockets rebuilt their roster in the offseason and hoped to land Dwight Howard. Houston traded or released just about every veteran except Martin, who was in the final year of his contract and due about $13 million this season.

Martin averaged 17.1 points and 2.8 assists last season, his eighth in the NBA and third in Hous-

ton. He missed the last 26 games last season with a shoulder injury, though he also developed a rift with Houston coach Kevin McHale late in the season.

The Rockets have until Wednesday to sign Harden to the extension that Oklahoma City couldn’t. ‘’While I never like having to send out quality players like Kevin Martin and Jeremy Lamb, this trade gives us a chance to make an immediate impact on the future of our franchise moving forward,’’ Rockets owner Leslie Alexander said. ‘’James Harden was part of Team USA’s gold medal team at the London Olympics and is one of the most skilled shooting guards in the NBA.’’ New Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin also chimed in about the trade on Twitter. ‘’Really sad to see Kmart and JLamb go,’’ Lin wrote. ‘’...both class acts and great teammates.

Welcome Harden, Cook, Aldrich and Hayward to Houston!!’’

Houston collected draft picks while it was making a flurry of deals, part of a package to offer Orlando for Howard.

The Rockets traded point guard Kyle Lowry to Toronto for a lottery-protected first-round pick, one of Oklahoma City’s acquisitions on Saturday night.

The other first-round pick was acquired by Houston when it traded Jordan Hill to the Los Angeles Lakers last March.

The second-round pick came to the Rockets in a deal that sent guard Courtney Lee to Boston.

K

UALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -Nick Watney took a few peeks at the leaderboard, and heard the echo of raucous cheering at regular intervals in the distance as Tiger Woods was commencing his lastround charge. Watney, starting two groups behind Woods, knew it was going to take a very special kind of round Sunday to win the $6.1 million CIMB Classic.

Hole-by-hole, birdie after birdie, the 31-yearold American could feel the momentum gathering pace. At the 13th hole, when he moved into a tie for first spot, he started to believe he could win the tournament in Malaysia. After the 14th hole, he started honing in on a rare round of 59.

With 11 birdies in 17 holes, including six on the back nine, he went to the par-4 18th needing a birdie for a 59, but decided he was playing only for the win. He made a bogey at the last, still good enough for a course record round of 10-under 61 and a 22-under-par total 262 to hold off defending champion Bo Van Pelt and Robert Garrigus by one shot to claim the $1.3 million first prize. ‘’I saw Tiger got off to a good start, so I wasn’t really thinking about winning when I teed off,’’ said Watney, who started the day four shots off the pace and in a share of seventh place. ‘’But the round sort of built momentum and things just kept getting better and better.

I’m thrilled to have come

away with the win.’’

After five birdies on the first seven holes, Woods finished with a 63 to tie for fourth at 19 under with Chris Kirk and Zimbabwe’s Brendon de Jonge.

And by the time Woods finished - the 14-time major winner opened with three birdies and had eight in all, including at the 16th and 17th to put pressure on the leaders - all the attention was on Watney. ‘’I really wanted to finish strong ... but winning the tournament was more important than a 59 for me,’’ said Watney, who drove into the left rough, failed to reach the green with his approach and left his long birdie pitch just short of the putting surface.

ebrate their second World Series championship in three years. It’s the franchise’s seventh world title.

Pablo Sandoval was voted World Series MVP after batting 8 for 16 in four games, doing most of his damage in Game 1 with a historic three home run performance.

“My mom sent me a text and said don’t wake up,” Sandoval said of his dream-come-true World Series.

As for the other big hitter entering this series, it was fitting that Cabrera was the final out Sunday.

After all, it was the failure of Detroit’s big hitters, primarily Cabrera and Prince Fielder, that led to the Tigers’ demise in this series.

Their silence had as much to do with San Francisco’s sweep as the Giants’ resourcefulness.

In dispensing praise, Giants manager Bruce

Bochy had a big helping for Romo, who seized the closer role in place of the injured Brian Wilson.

“Sergio, he’s the guy you want out there. He’s not afraid,” Bochy said. “He saved us all year when we lost [Brian] Wilson.”

Like they have in this World Series, the Giants scored first Sunday. Only unlike the other games, they couldn’t hold onto the lead. Hunter Pence hit a fly ball in the second inning that rose high toward center field and carried over the heads of the outfielders before finally bouncing on the warning track and dropping over the fence for a double. The next hitter, Brandon Belt, hit a fly ball down the right-field line that smacked against the fence. By the time the Tigers got the ball back to the field Belt had a triple, Pence had scored and San Francisco was up 1-0.

Giants sweep World Series

D

ETROIT – The end came much like this series, not with a boom, but with a little fly ball that fell through the 10th inning raindrops and onto the Comerica Park outfield grass for a single that would win the San Francisco Giants the 2012 World Series.

In a series where new heroes come nightly and from a roster of anonymous names, the star would be second baseman Marco Scutaro, whose fly ball fell in front of Detroit Tigers center fielder Austin Jackson. It scored journeyman infielder Ryan Theriot, who slid across home plate for what would be the winning run in a 4-3 victory in Game 4 on Sunday night.

And after closer Sergio Romo struck out Miguel Cabrera for the final out, the Giants raced to the center of the infield to cel-

16SPORTS

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EDGEDAVAO

Woods coach has Noh eyeing top 30 A

N instant improvement under Tiger Woods’ coach Sean Foley has South Korean sensation Noh Seung-Yul eyeing the top 30 and his first PGA Tour win after an encouraging rookie season in America.

The lean 21-year-old made an indifferent start to PGA life with a clutch of missed cuts, but since pairing with Foley in March he’s had three top-10 finishes and has been among the best 20 in half of his tournaments.

Noh, who has spent time with Asian Major-winner Y.E. Yang as he adapts to life in the States, said he felt ready to make an impression on the PGA Tour next year and improve his ranking of 86. “(Next year) I want to do better than this year, and try to win a tournament, and make the Tour Championship, and try also to get top 30 in the world rankings,” he said in an interview at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia.

Noh won the Malaysian Open in 2010 on his way to being crowned the Asian Tour’s youngest merit champion. He earned his PGA Tour card at qualifying school last year.

Now he said “little

CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY. Players of the Davao City National High School receive their championship trophy after winning the Mindanao Leg of the Shakey’s Girls’ Volleyball League at the University of Immaculate Conception Sunday afternoon. [LEAN DAVAL JR.]

changes” made by Foley to his swing had had a big effect on his game, giving him more variety and control.

“I used to have a little right to left draw, but always just one way. Now I can hit both way, hit the fade and the draw more, control the iron shots so I get a lot of good birdie chances,” said Noh.

Noh, who had rounds of 71, 66, 67 and 66 at the CIMB Classic to finish tied 14th, spoke glowingly about conditions in the United States.

“In the US, everything is perfect. In the golf course, outside the golf course, I always like it. In the US they clean your shoes and the laundry and everything is free, and they give us

courtesy cars. I like that,” he said.

Fellow South Korean stars Yang, K.J. Choi and Bae Sang-Moon have helped Noh adapt to life in the United States, by giving him tips about his game -and where to find Korean food.

“Y.E.’s helping me all the time with my game and also outside the

course, showing me Korean restaurants. I’m there for the first time so I don’t know where the Korean restaurants are,” he said.

And Noh added that he was already making plans for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where golf will return to the Games -- partly because a medal would exempt him from military service.

“For Korean people it’s important because of the military service,” he said.

“Every young player is trying to get into the Olympic Games. If I win an Olympic bronze medal, I’ll be exempted, so maybe I’ll try for that.

“Maybe I’ll delay it (military service) until I’m 30, 31, so I’ll try two times at the Olympics.” [AFP]