Edge Davao 5 Issue 210

EDGEDAVAO P 15.00 • 20 PAGES

VOL.5 ISSUE 210 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 23-24, 2012

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P200-M city workers’ bonanza

Bonus release up to Christmas eve Merry Christmas sa tanan!

By Gregorio Deligero and Antonio Ajero

A

LL is well that ends well.

The most-awaited yearend bonuses for permanent and job order (contractual) workers of the Davao City government are now being released, despite being

Sports

Incentives covered by SB 3 snagged initially by the refusal of the

city treasurer to certify the availability of money to fund the P300-million Supplemental Budget No. 3.

Releases of Christmas bonus to employees have started and will

FBONUS, 11

Page 15

BONUS. Davao City government of Davao employees troop to the City Treasurer’s Office to claim their much awaited cash incentives at the Sangguniang Panlungsod building along San Pedro Street Friday afternoon. LEAN DAVAL JR.

Gov. Malanyaon says:

No politics in relief operations

By Che Palicte

Follow Us On

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HERE IS no politics in the relief operations in Davao Oriental.

Davao Oriental Governor Corazon Malanyaon has debunked rumors that political rift among local leaders in the

Pablo damage reached P8-B in Davao Oriental Rehab and relief operations underway province has affected the ongoing relief and rehabilitation

operations in the aftermath of typhoon Pablo.

“There is no politics involved,” Gov. Malanyaon said.

Gov. Malanyaon said the provincial government is focused on their efforts to extend immediate assistance to the ty-

FGOV., 11

2 THE BIG NEWS

Our team works 24/7--Soliman

VOL.5 ISSUE 210 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 23-24, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

By Che Palicte

DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman turns emotional on criticisms

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SUALLy cool and calculating, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Dinky Soliman uncharacteristically gave in to her emotions during a press briefing on the relief operations in typhoon-hit areas.

Secretary Soliman almost broke into tears during a press conference on Friday when told of reports that DSWD’s relief workers and volunteers in Davao Oriental are demoralized.

Her voice cracking, Sec. Soliman told media that the relief workers don’t deserve to get negative criticisms because these workers, some of them paid on project basis only, have remained committed to work almost round-the-clock in the disaster-hit areas.

She expressed her sentiments to media saying that those who are helping in the areas devastated by typhoon Pablo are doing their best to respond to the needs of the victims.

DSWD’s relief team

composed of social workers and volunteers are working on a five-day rotation in the aftermath of the December 4 typhoon.

“We have a five day rotation system among relief workers so that they will have a chance to rest,” Soliman added.

The DSWD team is responsible for implementing distribution of food donations and conducting interviews for drafting of typhoon victims to work on the construction and debris clean up under the “Cash for Work, Food for Work” program.

Meantime, Sec. Soliman suggested that a stress debriefing for the military personnel who are working on the search and recovery operations be conducted. Since the onslaught of typhoon Pablo, military personnel have been deployed in disaster areas to search and recover bodies of typhoon victims.

Sec. Soliman said the gruesome experience may toll on the soldiers.

‘HIV cases in GenSan a thousand by now’

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ITH the confirmed Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) cases in General Santos City now at 51, local health authorities warned on Friday that around a thousand more in the area may have already been infected and were now possible carriers of the deadly disease.

Dr. Mely Lastimoso, coordinator of the City Integrated Health Services Office’s (CIHSO) social hygiene clinic, said studies showed that a positive case of HIV -- the disease that

causes the acquired immune deficiency syndrome or AIDS -- could potentially infect or spread to 30 more in due time.

“So for every person who tested positive of HIV, there could be 30 more similar cases out there that we have not yet seen,” she said.

Since the city’s total HIV incidence already reached 51, Lastimoso said they should be looking for at least a thousand more infections at the minimum.

The official said that in

FHIV, 11

BRIEFING. Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Juliano-Soliman briefs United States Ambassador to the Philippines Harry K. Thomas, Jr. on disaster relief and rehabilitation operations for families and individuals affected by Typhoon Pablo. The United States Government, through the United States Agency for International Development (US-

AID) and the World Food Programme (WFP), continues to work with the Philippine government in providing emergency assistance to typhoon-affected populations in Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental. [DSWD]

DCWD starts constructing transmission line over bridge T

HE construction crew of the Davao City Water District (DCWD) started Friday building a 400-millimeter transmission line over Governor Generoso Bridge at Bankerohan, following approval of the project by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

DCWD spokesperson Imelda Magsuci told Edge Davao that no less that DPWH Regional Director Mariano Alquiza who was in Manila last Friday relayed the approval

DPWH grants request of water district of Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson of the water district’s request to piggy-back its bypass transmission lines on the Governor Generoso Bridge.

The transmission lines were destroyed after the water district’s own structure spanning the river collapsed after continuous battering by strong river current. Witnesses living near the bridge however

claimed having seen logs and other flotsam ramming the concrete piles (posts) of the DCWD bridge, causing it to collapse.

The technical crews of both DCWD and DPWH met last Friday afternoon before starting the construction that same night.

In an earlier statement, DCWD acting general Edwin Regalado said the district will actually build two

government officials and citizens alike to remain vigilant.

“I have always emphasized that disasters are linked inextricably to poverty and socio-economic inequality. It is

important to realize that the changing climate will have its worst effects on the poorest of the poor, and nowhere is this clearer than in these reports of human traffickers prowling Compostela

bypass lines from Matina to Bankerohan –one the 400-mm line and other 700-mm line- in order to temporarilly connect its transmission lines for Line 1 of Dumoy Water Supply System.

Regalado said construction of the 400mm line will take only a week.

The next phase is the construction of the 750mm bypass line which will take 60 days to complete.

Resumes anytime during the night or dawn, Regalado was quoted as saying.

Loren expresses alarm over reports of human traffickers in Mindanao

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ENATOR Loren Legarda expressed extreme alarm over reports of human traffickers prowling Mindanao’s devastated communities in the wake of Typhoon Pablo, and urged local

FLOREN, 11

New law criminalizes forced disappearances

T SAFETY. Security personnel from the Davao City Anti-Crime Unit and police units are being deployed to insure the safety of the Dabawenyos watching the different events and activities of Pasko Fiesta 2012 around the city last night. LEAN DAVAL JR.

Valley and Davao Oriental. Men, women and children from marginalized and devastated communities are at high risk, and we must do everything in our power to stop these

HE new law that criminalizes enforced disappearances in the Philippines is the first of its kind in Asia and a major milestone in ending this horrific human rights violation, Human Rights Watch said after President Benigno S. Acquino III signed it just before nightfall yesterday.

The Anti-Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance Act of 2012 closely reflects interna-

Aquino enacts first law of its kind in Asia tional legal standards on enforced disappearance. Although Congress passed the law in October, Aquino did not immediately sign it despite reports of new abductions of leftist activists. Enforced disappearances are defined as the detention of a person by state officials

or their agents followed by a refusal to acknowledge the detention or to reveal the person’s fate or whereabouts. People held in secret are especially vulnerable to torture and other abuses, and their families suffer from lack of information.

“President Aquino

FNEW, 11

EDGEDAVAOVOL.5 ISSUE 210 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 23-24, 2012

SUBURBIA

Davao Light linemen help restore DavOr power supply L

INEMAN Paterno Hubay Jr. showed no signs of com-

plaints as he was busy fixing electric wires to a new post that was re-

AboitizPower-Davao Light & Power Company crew installs new power cables in a cross-country line at the Barangay San Jose, Caraga, Davao Oriental.

placed to a wooden and old post toppled down by typhoon Pablo on December 4.

Hubay did not mind the difficulties to climb the mountain at sitio Nanayngan in San Jose village here, having been assigned by the Davao Oriental Electric Cooperative (Doreco) to fix cross-country backbone lines.

“Actually this is the seventh mountain that we have gone across in these area alone. It was very hilly here and we have to make a path just to reach to the toppled post,” Hubay said in a vernacular during an interview Wednesday afternoon.

Hubay is part of the two teams dispatched

by Aboitiz Power-Davao Light since December 6 to augment linemen of Doreco to restore electric service of Davao Oriental, which was in total

Engr. Gregory A. Dukil, CEO of Davao Oriental Electric Cooperative (DORECO) shows the areas severely hit by the recent super

typhoon Pablo. The extent of the damage on the power lines in their franchise area was estimated to reach P139 M.

darkness after the electric cooperatives’ power stations went down caused by super typhoon Pablo.

He said electric materials like the 35-meter posts should be carried manually since they have to climb about one kilometer from the national highway before reaching the area.

Like residents there, who were deprived of electricity for more than two weeks already, they too would want the power to be back the soonest possible time.

“That’s why, we did not mind how difficult

our work is. What is important is we can help revive power supply immediately in the areas affected,” Hubay said.

Caraga is their last assigned area to be energized after they were through with Tarragona and Manay, which already have power.

Other electric cooperatives were working on replacing downed posts in isolated towns of Boston, Cateel and Baganga.

Engr. Gregory Dukil, Doreco chief executive officer, said that they are hoping they can already restore power supply

to the backbone lines of these four towns by December 23 since all other municipalities were already energized.

Dukil said that he intended to assign the crew of Aboitiz Power-Davao Light to fix cross-country lines because he has high respect of their efficiency.

“They are welltrained and very efficient,” he said, adding without the help of the company and other electric cooperatives it would take them several months before they can restore the province’s power supply.

Sultan said the town and barangay officials agreed to cancel their “Christmas party” to help the typhoon survivors because “noong tayo nangailangan, grabe ang tulong sa atin” (when we needed help, much help came to us).

Pikit is predominantly Muslim but Muslims, Christians and Lumads (indigenous peoples) celebrate each other’s festivals and special occasions together, hence the “Christmas party.”

Zarquia Tayuan Pikit treasurer, said they spent some P100,000 for medicines and P300, 000 for the food packs.

Sultan said the employees immediately formed teams to speed up the work of purchasing and packing because “sabi nga namin, noong tayo nangailangan, maraming tumulong sa atin” (When we needed help before, many helped us)..

Municipal social welfare officer Imelda Balios said she noticed some cards for relief assistance do not specify the name

of the evacuation center.

Listing down the name of the evacuation centers will avoid duplication, she said.

But Balios quickly added she understands the social welfare workers’ situation. “They are overwhelmed. I think this is their first time to handle a major disaster.

In Davao Oriental, a team of doctors and other health workers from Maguindanao, a province that also became the destination for medical missions during the wars of 2000, 2003 and 2008. traveled some 400 kilometers to conduct medical missions in Cateel and Baganga in Davao Oriental, some ten hours away.

Dr. Tahir Sulaik, provincial health officer told MindaNews, he brought a team of about a hundred, six of whom figured in a vehicular accident in Baganga afternoon of December 18 and had to be evacuated to the Southern Philippines Medical Center.

Six of his team members were injured in an

accident along the national highway in Barangay Saoquege, Baganga at around 4:15 p.m. December 18 while on their way to the Incident Command Post at the DPWH compound in Barangay Lucod.

The six- five doctors and a driver – had to be rushed to the Cateel District Hospital and by 10 p.m. moved to the Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City, some 6.5 hours away.

Last week, nurse Mary Divene Hilario, Information Officer of the Department of Health regional office here told MindaNews Muslim doctors and nurses from Maguindanao volunteered to take over on December 18 to 25, to allow the health workers assigned in the area time to spend Christmas with their families.

“They said they don’t celebrate Christmas anyway, so they chose those dates so that doctors and nurses in these areas can take a break and spend Christmas with their families,” she said. [Carolyn O. Arguillas/MindaNews]

From the land of war ‘bakwits,’ help for Super Typhoon Pablo’s ‘bakwits’ “ N

OON, kami ang palaging tinutulungan.

Kami naman ngayon ang tutulong” (We were always given assistance before. Now it’s our turn to help).

Officials and employees of Pikit in North Cotabato, traveled 276 kilometers from their town to deliver food packs and medicines for survivors of Typhoon Pablo in the badly battered town of New Bataan, Compostela Province on Wednesday.

Dulia Sultan, North Cotabato board member and wife of Pikit mayor Sumulong Sultan, said they are grateful they have had to deal only with wars and not a disaster wrought by super typhoon Pablo.

Pikit residents fled their villages in the wars in succession – in 1997, in the 2000 “all-out war” waged by then President Joseph Estrada against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF); in 2001, in the 2003 war waged by the Arroyo administration and in the 2008 war following the

botched signing of the government-MILF Memorandum of Agreement on August 5, 2008.

“Pasalamat tayo, gyera lang. Pwede pa tayo magtago, pwede pa tayo mag evacuate. Dito, paano sila mag-evacuate di naman nila alam sino ang kalaban nila. Akala nila tubig eh bato pala” (Let’s be grateful, we’re only dealing with war. We can hide.

We can evacuate. Here, how can you evacuate when they do not know who their enemies are?

They thought it was water but it turned out to be rocks and boulders), Sultan said as she pointed to the vast expanse of rocks and boulders where once stood houses and barangay offices.

Sultan had gone to Andap earlier in the morning to distribute relief goods and learned from her conversations with survivors what happened there when Typhoon Pablo made landfall on December 4. She returned at noon with team members assigned to three other areas because she wanted

them to see what she saw.

And what they saw shocked them beyond words.

She said they met a survivor who lost all his six children.

Turning to MindaNews, she said, “walang namamatay na hundreds sa gyera” (no one dies by the hundreds in war). In Pikit’s experience with war, she says only around 10 civilians are killed)..

As of December 17, the Consolidated Area Assessment Operation Pablo of New Bataan, listed 373 dead and 114 injured. Of 373 killed, 271 were from Barangay Andap and 98 from Barangay Cabinuangan.

An update report of the provincial government as of 7 a.m. December 20 showed a total of 591 persons dead in the entire province, 412 of these from New Bataan.

The “Tulong ComVal” (Help ComVal) relief missionof Pikit, on board a dump truck, three pick-up vehicles and one van, distributed 481 food packs and assorted medicines.

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4 SCIENCE / ENVIRONMENT EDGEDAVAO Extinct elephant ‘survived late’ in North China VOL.5 ISSUE 210 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 23-24, 2012

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ILD elephants living in North China 3,000 years ago belonged to the extinct genus Palaeoloxodon, scientists say.

They had previously been identified as Elephas maximus, the Asian elephant that still inhabits southern China.

The findings suggest that Palaeoloxodon survived a further 7,000 years than was thought.

The team from China examined fossilised elephant teeth and ancient elephant-shaped bronzes for the study.

The research, published in Quaternary International was carried out by a group of scientists from Shaanxi Normal University and Northwest University in Xi’an and The Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Beijing.

No wild elephants live in North China today, but historical documents indicate that they roamed freely 3,000 years ago.

For decades experts believed that the ancient elephants were E. maximus - a species adapted to a tropical climate and that is still found in China’s southerly yunnan province.

“They thought North China was controlled by tropical climate at that time,” explained Ji Li, from Shaanxi Normal University, who collaborated on the study with colleagues professor yongjian Hou,

DENR urges

professor yongxiang Li and Jie Zhang.

But later research into China’s climate history indicates that 3,000 years ago most parts of North China were still controlled by the warm temperate climate zone, and not the subtropic zone.

This discovery would mean that “the air temperature of North China 3,000 years ago was still not high enough for Elephas to live,” said Mr Li. “The species of the elephants is not only a problem of zoology, but also a problem about global climate change,” he added.

Palaeoloxodon was thought to have disappeared from its last stronghold in China just before the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary, around 10,000 years ago.

To investigate whether these mammals continued to live beyond the Pleistocene epoch and into the Holocene (the current geological epoch), the team re-examined fossilised elephant teeth discovered in Holocene layers of rock in North China during the 1900s.

Earlier scientists had identified these fossils as remains of E. maximus. But Mr Li’s team concluded the molars and tusks were more like those of the straight-tusked Palaeoloxodon: “The tusks of Palaeoloxodon are thicker, stronger and longer than

Palaeoloxodon was believed to have died out around 10,000 years ago.

[those of] E. maximus”, he explained, whereas E. maximus’s tusks are “more incurvate”.

Ancient treasures The team also examined dozens of ancient elephant-shaped bronze wares from the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties (around 4,100-2,300 years ago) after Mr Li noticed the trunks on the ornaments didn’t resemble those of E. maximus.

Elephants can either

have one or two of “fingers” on the tip of their trunk, used for grasping objects.

The 33 elephant bronzes exhumed from different sites in North China all depicted elephants with two “fingers” on their trunks, while E. maximus(Asian elephant) has just one “finger”.

Whether Palaeoloxodon had one or two fingers on its trunk is not known.

“However, on the trunk

Ditch fireworks, switch to eco-friendly alternatives to celebrate holidays

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O help sustain the gains made to improve the quality of air in Metro Manila, Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Ramon J.P. Paje is urging the public to shun the costly firecrackers and fireworks and switch to eco-friendly alternatives to celebrate Christmas and welcome the New year.

These traditional ways of marking the Christmas holidays after all are also taking their toll on the environment and human health, and could hurt efforts to cut down air pollution in the metropolis, Paje said.

Paje said the marked improvement in Metro Manila’s air quality during the last three quarters would be preserved if residents will do away with firecrackers and fireworks, which release polluting chemicals and metal particulates into the air, during the holiday festivities.

According to Paje, air pollution usually worsens

during the year-end holidays because of the wide use of firecrackers and fireworks to welcome the New year.

“We would like to reverse the trend of ending the old year and greeting the new one with thick smoke coming from firecrackers, and maintain our relative success in improving Metro Manila’s air quality,” Paje said.

Paje earlier reported that Metro Manila’s air has become cleaner as both the amount of total suspended particulates (TSP) and the level of particulate matter 10 microns in diameter or smaller (PM10) in the metropolis had decreased.

As of the third quarter of 2012, the TSP level in the National Capital Region was recorded at 106ug/ Ncm (micrograms per normal cubic meter), or 16ug/ Ncm short of the acceptable level of 90ug/Ncm set by the World Health Organization. Also, the PM10 level of 77ug/Ncm in Metro Manila during the

third quarter is nearing the annual guideline threshold of 60ug/Ncm. Paje noted that when the Aquino administration came in June 2010, the TSP level in Metro Manila was at 166ug/Ncm. Instead of firecrackers and fireworks, Paje urged the public to use practical and environment-friendly alternatives to mark Christmas and usher in 2013. He suggested the banging of basins, pots and pans; biking around the neighborhood with the bikes tailed with used cans; torotot (horns); among others.

The DENR chief warned that people can suffer health problems from exposure to air pollution.

“Air pollution is a health hazard,” Paje pointed out.

“Our health department has been very vocal about it that it can particularly impact on our children and senior citizens because of their fragile health condition.”

“Filipinos would enjoy the season more if they do

not have to suffer respiratory and pulmonary diseases caused by pollution,” he added.

As in the previous holidays, Paje urged the public to practice the three Rs – reuse, reduce and recycle – to lessen the volume of garbage dumped in sanitary landfills that only emit methane gas, a pollutive and carcinogenic greenhouse gas.

He also cautioned the public against indiscriminate waste disposal during the holiday season.

According to the DENR chief, an estimated 30,000 tons of garbage is generated in the country every day, with 8,000 tons produced in Metro Manila alone. However, the volume shoots up during public events like Christmas and New year.

It has been proven that poor disposal and handling of waste leads to environmental degradation, destruction of the ecosystem and disasters, and poses great risks to public health.

[PNA]

of E. maximus, there cannot be two fingers,” writes Mr Li in the study.

The age of these elephant-shaped bronzes supports the researchers’ theory that Palaeoloxodon did not become extinct until thousands of years later than thought.

Their findings correlate with other recent paleontological discoveries that further large mammal species, thought to have died out at the end

of the Pleistocene, actually lasted in to the Holocene.

These include the woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis), woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) and the aurochs (Bos primigenius).

Such discoveries suggest that the extinction period of many Pleistocene land mammals may have lasted longer than was previously thought. [BBC Nature]

Locally grown rice varieties in PHL safe from arsenic

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HE Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) has assured that the locally grown rice varieties in the country is arsenic-free.

PhilRice chemist Joy Bartolome Duldulao. said that unlike some 60 rice and rice products in the United States that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported to contain cancer-causing arsenic, “locally grown rice varieties are safe from it.”

“Our local rice is safe as our irrigation water is arsenic-free,” Duldulao said.

Arsenic is a naturally occurring metal in the soil in very negligible amounts, if not for environmental pollutants such as arsenic-containing fertilizers that seep through water and soil.

In his recent study, Duldulao found rice sampled all over the country to have safe levels of arsenic.

These samples included 18 milled rice of commonly grown varieties, with one from a commercial outlet, and seven brown rice.

The samples were analyzed using an inductive-

ly coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES), and their arsenic levels were below the ICP-OES detection limit of 15 parts per billion (ppb).

The Philippines has not yet set a maximum limit of arsenic in rice. Australia and New Zealand (1000 ppb total arsenic in cereals) and China (150 ppb inorganic arsenic for rice and rice products) have set limits.

The global “normal” range for arsenic concentration in rice is 80-200 ppb.

A study by yamily Zavala and John Duxbury at Cornell University in New york revealed that arsenic concentrations in rice from the US and Europe were similar (198 ppb), and significantly higher than rice from Asia (70 ppb).

The Cornell study showed that arsenic-contaminated irrigation water, not soil, led to increased grain arsenic concentration. As rice is grown in flooded soils, it absorbs and stores a lot more arsenic compared to other plants through its roots.

[PNA]

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EDGEDAVAO VOL.5 ISSUE 210 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 23-24, 2012

31-days of Christmas promo

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Tattoo does a Santa: Samsung Galaxy Note II, MediaPad, shopping GCs up for grabs DAILY!

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6 THE ECONOMY

VOL.5 ISSUE 210 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 23-24, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

Socoteco wants to tap gensets of GenSan’s shopping malls P

VENDORS’ HAVEN. A vendor plays with the lighted toys he’s selling to lure passersby along San Pedro Street last night. The city’s main streets which became vendors’ haven this Christmas season are popular destination for budget conscious shoppers looking for affordable toys and gifts for their love ones. LEAN DAVAL JR.

OWER utility South Cotabato II Electric Cooperative (Socoteco II) plans to tap the standby generator sets of shopping malls and several companies in General Santos City to provide additional power supplies for the area in case the continuing power shortage will worsen in the coming months.

Rodolfo Ocat, Socoteco II general manager, said they are set to negotiate with executives of the city’s four shopping malls and eight other local companies for the implementation of a scheme that would provide around 20 megawatts (MW) of additional power supply to the cooperative’s franchise area.

He said the scheme, which is dubbed uninterruptible load program or ULP, mainly involves the voluntary use of the diesel power generating sets and plants of 13 major power users in the city for at least three hours during the daily 12-hour curtailment period.

The target companies and establishments are Citra Mina, Dole Philippines plants in Barangay Calumpang here and in Polomolok town in South Cotabato, Gaisano Mall, KCC Mall of GenSan, Robinson’s Place General Santos, SM City General Santos, RD Group of Companies, Gentuna Corporation, Cargill, My Tan Group of Companies and the Alcantara Group’s Sarangani Aqua Resources, Inc. and Sarangani Agricultural Company, Inc. “Instead of getting their power supplies from us, these companies will generate and provide for their own power or electricity requirements for three hours daily,” Ocat said.

He said the electric cooperative will provide for the fuel costs of the standby power generating sets and plants.

Ocat said the scheme will allow the cooperative to accumulate additional power supplies of “20 MW or more” for the other power consumers.

“It will also cut down our curtailment period

to just nine hours daily,” he said.

Socoteco II’s franchise area, which has an average peak demand of 105 MW, covers this city, seven municipalities of Sarangani province and the municipalities of Tupi and Polomolok in South Cotabato.

Since January, the electric cooperative was forced to implement daily rotating brownouts ranging from 45 minutes to three hours due to the reduction of the area’s power allocation from the National Power Corporation (NPC) to around 70 MW. NPC had cut down Socoteco II’s contracted supply by around 30 MW reportedly due to the declining generating capacity of the hydroelectric plants in Bukidnon and Lanao del Norte.

Aboitiz-owned Therma Marine Inc. augments the area’s requirement by 30 MW based on a supply contract earlier forged by Socoteco II. Citing their projections, Ocat said the area’s power shortage will likely worsen by the first quarter of 2013 due to the predicted dry spell.

“The operation of the Agus hydropower plants usually slows down during that period because of low water elevation at Lake Lanao as we experienced these past years,” he said.

Aside from the implementation of the ULP, Ocat said they’re hoping that the 102MW Iligan diesel plant could finally go on stream early next year.

He said the Alcantara Group’s Mapalad Power Corp., which had won the bidding for the plant, earlier agreed to supply 25 to 30 MW of power to the area when the plant eventually operates.

“Based on our projection, our deficit would reach around 25 to 30 MW next year.

So if we would get that supply from them (Iligan diesel plant), our problem will be solved,” he added. [Allen V. Estabillo / MindaNews]

THE ECONOMY

EDGEDAVAO VOL.5 ISSUE 210 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 23-24, 2012

Trade Hall now opens at SM City General Santos

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

S

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

M City General Santos opens its newest anchor for convention shows, corporate activities, business functions and social events. Located, at the 3rd level of the mall, is a spacious Trade Hall with a total floor area of 3,131 square meters. The Trade Hall has is convertible from the whole stretch of space to two exhibit halls, with an average of 1,300 square meters each, making it possible

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

T

8. Interest Rates 4/ 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

7

to have several events and functions.

For smaller group gatherings, the Trade Hall has 2 meeting rooms to choose from, for your specific needs. Meeting rooms 1 and 2, with a floor area of 116 sq. m. and 195 sq. m. respectively, is also an ideal venue for Christmas parties, wedding receptions and other special occasions.

The Trade Hall is also equipped with fully air-condi-

tioned rooms, fire protection and emergency exits, completed lightning and power, sound systems, voice and data ports, and WiFi. It also has its own toilet area, common areas, and preparation areas for both trade hall 1 and 2.

The opening of the Trade Hall attests that SM City General Santos does not just take shopping, dining and entertainment to the next level, but also, it is a

perfect venue for bazaars, trade fairs, company sales, conventions and conferences, fashion shows, and exhibits, among others.

While you and your guests enjoy your family affair, you can also enjoy shopping, recreation and entertainment whenever you want in the mall that has it all! For details and reservations, call our Leasing Department at (083) 878 0667.

Program of the government duly certified by the Secretary of Socio-Economic Planning.

In December 2010, the BSP issued Circular No. 700 allowing a separate SBL for PPP projects for a period of three years supposed to end on Dec 28, 2013.

However, due to the long and complex process involved in the awarding of PPP projects, very few projects were award-

ed subsequent to said BSP issuance. Several PPP projects are still in the pipeline.

With the extension, the window will be opened until 28 Dec 28, 2016, according to the Monetary Board in a statement.

Loans, credit accommodations and guarantees based on the contracted amount as of Dec 28, 2016 period shall not be increased but may be

reduced and once reduced, said exposures shall not be increased thereafter.

The extension of another three years for the separate 25% SBL for PPP infrastructure and/or development projects is expected to encourage the financial sector’s participation in the PPP Program of the government, particularly with respect to the projects that are still in the pipeline. [PNA]

BSP extends loan limit for PPP projects

HE Monetary Board decided to extend for another three years the original three-year period allowing a separate single borrower’s loan limit of 25% of the net worth of the lending bank/quasi-bank for loans, credit accommodations and guarantees.

These are granted for undertaking infrastructure and/ or development projects under the Public-Private Partnership

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

INCONVENIENCE. Motorists and passersby experience traffic inconvenience caused by a road maintenance undertaken by the City Engineering Office personnel along Ponciano Reyes Street yesterday. LEAN DAVAL JR.

IT Figures

P2.006 trillion

The 2013 General Appropriations Act (GAA) signed by President Aquino.

This is the third consecutive year that the Aquino Administration has signed the National Budget on time.

$1.008 billion P33.96 billion $2.161 billion The level of foreign portfolio inflows reported by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) last November 2012. This is the highest level in two years and more than double the previous year’s $490.35 million.

The expected incremental revenues to be collected from tobacco and alcohol for the next year according to the Excise Tax Reform Bill signed into law by President Aquino on December 20, 2012.

The country’s balance of payments (BOP) surplus last November 2012. The BOP, which summarizes the country’s transactions with the rest of the world, is almost five times the $364 million recorded a year ago.

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/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 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 12:55 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 09:05 13:25 14:05

Silk Air Mon/Sat Silk Air Wed/Sun Silk Air Thurs 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

MI588 / MI588 MI566 / MI566 MI551 / MI551 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 18:55 15:45 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 Davao-Singapore 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

13:35 15:20 12:05 15:30 16:45 17:05 17:45 18:20 19:10 20:30 21:00 21:00 21:50 22:50

8 VANTAGE pOINTS

VOL.5 ISSUE 210 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 23-24, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

Is Japan set to lead after 20 years of torpor? ( Conclusion ) OpINION

By AnAtole KAletSKy

S EDITORIAL

O

Environment user’s fee

NE significant event to occur next year is the start of collection by the Davao City government of an environment user’s fee.

This will be the first time the city government will impose such a fee.

The EUF is provided for in the Watershed Management and Protection Ordinance, otherwise known as Watershed Code. The code was approved by the Davao City Council in 2007 yet, but full implementation has become possible after the Mayor Sara D. Carpio administration had pressed for the completion of the code’s implementing rules and regulations (IRR) this year. It was also this year that Mayor Inday organized the multi-agency and multi-sectoral Watershed Management Council, aside from embarking on a delineation survey of the city’s watersheds.

The EUF will be collected by the City Treasurer’s Office (CTO) based on the data to be established by the

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City Business Bureau. The EUF will be imposed every year on the owner or management of agricultural plantation whose size is 50 hectares or more at the rate of 25 centavos per square meter.

There’s a similar imposition stipulated in the Water Code, another ordinance. It’s called extraction fee.

Unfortunately or fortunately, this fee cannot be enforced until the Water Code itself can hurdle the opposition to the ordinance posed by the National Water Resource Council.

The EUF is a step in the government’s effort to protect the environment, in this case the watersheds, which are the sources of potable water of the city’s more than a million residents, not to include their visitors.

Hopefully, the fee will have meaning and impact on the overall conservation effort of both government and private sector. Otherwise, it is just like any other faddish money measure.

ANTONIO M. AJERO Editor in Chief

ALBERTO DALILAN Managing

NEILWIN L. BRAVO Sports and Motoring ARLENE D. PASAJE Cartoons

RAMON M. MAXEy Consultant

kENNETH IRVING k. ONG Creative Solutions

GREGORIO G. DELIGERO Associate

LEANDRO S. DAVAL JR. • JOSEPH LAWRENCE P. GARCIA Photography

JADE C. ZALDIVAR • VICky BERDINA M. DE GuZMAN ANTHONy S. ALLADA • AQuILES Z. ZONIO Staff Writers

Columnists: MA. TERESA L. UNGSON • EDCER C. ESCUDERO • AURELIO A. PEñA • ZHAUN ORTEGA • BERNADETTE “ADDIE” B. BORBON • MARY ANN “ADI” C. QUISIDO • LEANDRO B. DAVAL SR., • NIKKI GOTIANSE-TAN • NICASIO ANGELO AGUSTIN • EMILY ZEN CHUA • CARLOS MUNDA Economic Analyst: ENRICO “GICO” G. DAYANGIRANG • JONALLIER M. PEREZ

SOLANI D. MARATAS Finance AGuSTIN V. MIAGAN JR Circulation

CAGAyAN DE ORO MARkETING OFFICE

LEIZEL A. DELOSO | Marketing Manager Unit 6, Southbank Plaza Velez-Yacapin Sts. Cagayan de Oro City Tel: (088) 852-4894

MANILA MARkETING OFFICE

ANGELICA R. GARCIA | Marketing Manager Blk. 1, Lot 10, La Mar Townhomes, Apitong St., Marikina Heights, Marikina City Tel: (02) 942-1503

INCE economists understand incentives, it was not long before they unanimously embraced the three key policy implications of the 1980s monetarist revolution: acceptance of a “natural” rate of unemployment, exclusive reliance on inflation targeting and political independence for central banks.

Any economist or political analyst who suggested anything different – for example, that politicians should coordinate monetary and fiscal policy to manage unemployment, as well as inflation – was laughed out of university economics departments, as well as finance ministries and central banks. This purge is now over.

In the past few weeks, central bankers have broken the taboo against acknowledging any responsibility for unemployment. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has committed the Fed to a 6.5 percent unemployment target and Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of Canada and soon of the Bank of England, has proposed targeting the growth of gross domestic product. These were earth-shattering events for economists who have spent the past 30 years training themselves and their students to deny that monetary policy could have any lasting effects on unemployment or economic growth.

But while a revolution is under way in the attitude to economic targets, the new tools and instruments required to hit these targets have hardly begun to be discussed. The unemployment and GDP targets suggested by Bernanke and Carney are empty promises in the absence of policy tools that could convincingly boost jobs and growth in the present deflationary environment. Which is where Japan comes in.

No other economy has (yet) suffered anything like Japan’s 20 years of economic stagnation. It would not be surprising, therefore, if truly radical measures to deal with deflation were pioneered in Japan. Outside Japan, no central banker or politician has yet gone beyond pumping money into bond markets through quantitative easing. And nobody has suggested, at least officially, that central banks should directly lend to governments or finance one-off tax cuts.

These truly radical policies, which amount to handing out newly created money to businesses and households, are sometimes described as “helicopter money” or “quantitative easing for the people.”

Such policies would be certain to pull the world out of deflation, but public discussion of such policies remains impossible in the U.S. and Europe because they break the last remaining monetarist taboos: monetary financing of government spending or tax cuts, and the political independence of central banks. These two forbidden options – ending central bank independence and then ordering the BoJ to print money for infrastructure spending or tax cuts – have now taken center stage in Japan.

By breaking the taboos created by the monetarist revolution of the 1970s, Japan could accelerate and reinforce the revolution in economic thinking that started in 2008. After 20 years of Japanese torpor, could the world be transformed again by ideas “Made in Japan”?

EDGEDAVAO

VANTAGE pOINTS

VOL.5 ISSUE 210 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 23-24, 2012

Instagram unleashes a thousand words ( Conclusion )

T

HE Atlantic’s Alexis Madrigal invoked what might be the most significant philosophical concept of the digital age: why you should want to pay for software and services.

(Because if you don’t, you are the product.) “Truly, the only way to get around the privacy problems inherent in advertising-supported social networks is to pay for services that we value,” Madrigal wrote. “It’s amazing what power we gain in becoming paying customers instead of the product being sold.”

Co-founder Kevin Systrom is fully owning Instagram’s woes, but it’s all about the Facebook Effect: The massive social network paid almost $1 billion for Instagram. In part it was a defensive move to protect its status as the biggest photo-sharing site in the world from a popular competitor. But mostly it was data strip-mining. Facebook’s revenue comes from the scale of information it can monetize, so any great pool of information is attractive.

The danger is in maintaining a delicate balance of coming up with a sustainable business plan without alienat-

COMMENTARY

By John C ABell ing the hordeswhose allegiance is the only reason you are valuable. Asking members to pay something, with “premium” services, would be a bold initiative. Allowing members to retain meaningful control over how their images are used, which Creative Commons licensingaffords, would give Instagram much of what it wants without alienating its suppliers — er, members.

Facebook is heavy-handed because it can afford to be. But unlike Facebookers, Instagramers aren’t without recourse. Instagramers benefit from data portability — they can take their pictures and go home.

They also have other places to go, including yahoo’s Flickr photo-sharing service, which was moribund for years but had the prescience to release a major upgrade to its previously lackluster iPhone app one week ago. It is now the functional equivalent of Instagram and

is superior to it in many ways: you can chose levels of sharing (with Instagram, your pictures are either public or private), has offered Creative Commons licensing for years and even lets you sell your work in a partnership with Getty, the massive photo archive.

With respect and incentives, Instagramers might be just fine if the app experimented with ways to make money off members in an effort to keep the service free.

It would be premature to suggest that Instagram is in any real danger.

But “free” services are running out of room to operate as people realize that nothing is free. No single reminder of the true cost in privacy and control may move the needle, but an accumulation of insults often leads to an “enough is enough” moment from which there is no turning back. It’s the difference between being a user and being used.

For the time being, Instagram’s fate is in its hands. It’s not a pretty picture, but with the right filter, Instagram can still manage to make the image look better than it actually is.

Crossroad to history as AFP marks 75th year

A

FTER the AFP crushed the Huk rebellion, and Kamlon surrendered, peace rein in the country until 1969 when the New People’s Army (NPA), the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, launched an armed rebellion against the government. The AFP was called in but in 1974, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) broke into the limelight and declared an all-out war against the government, opening a second insurgency front in Southern Philippines.

But on 2nd September 1996, then former President Fidel V. Ramos forged a peace pact with the MNLF. The war had claimed the lives of over 120,000 and tens of thousands others wounded. Damage to infrastructure and agricultural crops was estimated at US$ 10 billion when the peace agreement was signed.

But peace in Mindanao was only a euphoria when a faction of Muslim rebels called the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) opposed the peace agreement and continued to wage a war against the government in 1997.

In the summer of 2000, an all-out war broke out in Central Mindanao between the AFP and the MILF. After three months of fighting the AFP overran all 46 MILF camps. A ceasefire was declared which until now is holding, broken only in August

( Conclusion )

SpECIAl FEATURE

By Ben CAl 2008 following the aborted signing of the controversial Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) which was declared as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Nevertheless, a ceasefire was forged and is holding to date.

But during the intervening years, specifically on February 22-25, 1986, the whole world was electrified when a civilian-backed military revolt called “People Power” peacefully ended the 20-year rein of President Ferdinand E. Marcos, who was forced to step down when close to two million people trooped in front of two major military installations – Camp Aguinaldo and Camp Crame, the general headquarters of the AFP and the Philippine Constabulary/ Integrated National Police, respectively, to protest the just-concluded snap election, and installed the opposition candidate Corazon C. Aquino, widow of assassinated Sen. Benigno C. Aquino Jr., as the new President. Democracy in the country was restored.

But during Mrs. Aquino’s presidency, adventurous military personnel launched nine coup attempts, including seven in Metro Manila, the last of which was in December 1989, but all were crushed by loyal AFP troops.

After the EDSA People Power, the communist insurgency and the Muslim rebellion in Mindanao continued as threats to national security which the AFP has to face to date, although it was highly successful in its counter-insurgency operation, drastically cutting down the strength of the New People’s Army (NPA) and a peace agreement was signed between the government and the MNLF on 02 September 1996 during the administration of President Fidel V. Ramos, who incidentally was a former AFP Chief of Staff.

It was at EDSA People Power that the AFP had that golden opportunity in helping restore freedom and democracy in the country.

For a long period of time to date, the AFP is still facing a threat from the communist New People’s Army (NPA) whose force has been drastically reduced from a high of 25,600 in the 80s to just less less than 4,000 to date, but still a threat to reckon with.

The ongoing peace negotiations between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is gaining ground with the signing of the Framework Agreement as a road map to attain a lasting and genuine peace in Mindanao.

The AFP currently headed by Gen. Jessie Dellosa has been and will always be a vanguard to democracy and freedom which the Filipino people cherish so much.[PNA]

I

9

The two faces of Christmas

am unsure if this is being brought about by a hyperactive sense of perception, but why does it seem like a major tragedy precedes the holiday season every single year in the Philippines?

Looking back just to the past decade, we have Pablo, Sendong, horrific road accidents, sinking ferries, landslides, flashfloods and other freakish occurrences made newsworthy by the sheer number of lives lost in the latest catastrophe to happen just a few weeks before Christmas.

In the case of Pablo, PAGASA gave fair enough warning at least a week before the stormmade landfall. But people had a difficult time wrapping their heads around the idea of a super-typhoon ravaging typhoon-free Mindanao. And the hunger, chaos and devastation that continues to defineDavao Oriental and Compostela Valley to this day only underscores the fact that no one could have anticipated the extent of the damage that a Category 5 weather system could bring. No one – not the LGUs, the national government or the affected people themselves.

Reports on New Bataan and Cateel came in just when I was gearing up to do my Christmas shopping. I remember being physically taken aback by the extent of the devastation – so affected with disbelief was I that I stopped putting on my shoes for a trip to the mall to watch the news. Needless to say, it simply felt wrong to be extravagant when I realized fate dealt my fellow Filipinos a sad blow because they were living at the wrong place at the wrong time. Needless to say, I realized that I could not bring myself to succumb to the material excesses that unfortunately come with Christmas when there is so much suffering.

But there is something to be said about clichés, like what they saw about a rainbow after every storm. Clichés are entrenched in the collective consciousness because they are true. Offices like the DILG gave up their Christmas parties and raffle prizes in all their offices to send more resources to Pablo victims. I know of other government and private offices whose people willingly gave up a substantial portion of their bonuses to give, give and give while shunning recognition, acknowledgment and photo opportunities to trumpet their works of charity. I know of organizations and simple families who, on their own volition, navigated perilous highways and crossed rickety bridges to reach out to friends, loved ones and even strangers in need.

With every act of giving came hope to those who needed it the most.

We often equate Christmas with time to be spent with families and loved ones.

We often equate Christmas with celebration and the gift giving and eating that comes with it. But at the heels of tragedy such as the one brought to us by Pablo, it is also important to ask ourselves what truly is important. And my realization is that while we can give out tokens to show our appreciation for the people who are dear to us, it is also important for us to take stock and be sensitive to the situation of the people around us. That means keeping our excesses in check, even just this once – especially since Pablo hit so close to home.

So tell me. How are you celebrating the holidays this year?

Feel free to send your comments to nic_ agustin@yahoo.com.

10 MOTORING

VOL.5 ISSUE 210 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 23-24, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

Exciting things for Toyota RAV4 2013 T

OyOTA Motor Philippines can’t seem to contain their excitement as they previewed the all-new 2013 RAV4 on the same day as their Toyota Media Christ-

mas Luncheon. Although the unit wasn’t there in the flesh or were any indications about final pricing, they did hand out a brochure which sheds some light about Toyota’s com-

pact crossover.

Here are some details contained in their official brochure (full brochure scan below): • Like the previous generation Toyota RAV4,

there are now three variants: 4x2, 4x2 Full Option, and 4x4. Both are powered by the 2.5-liter Dual VVT-i 4-cylinder engine found in the Toyota Camry. This means power is at 176 hp

@ 6,600 rpm and torque is at 233 Nm @ 4,100 rpm.

The sole transmission of choice is a 6-speed automatic.

• The all-new RAV4 will ride on 225/65 R 17 tires which are unchanged from the previous model.

• Neither model will have HID, although both will sport projector-type head lamps.

• The 4x2 model will not have roof rails.

This will be exclusive only to the 4x4 model.

• The 4x2 Full Option and 4x4 models will have an electronic adjustable driver’s seat while the base 4x2 will have to make do with manual adjustable seats. Sadly, leather is only available on the 4x4 model.

• Tonneau cover won’t be standard on all models. Again, only the 4x2 Full Option and the 4x4 will get them. Thankfully, the 4x4 model ups that by adding a net tray.

• Cruise control is

only available on the 4x2 Full Option and the 4x4 models.

• The 4x2 Full Option and the 4x4 models also get the convenience of a Smart Key entry system.

• The base 4x2 model gets a full-featured audio system (complete with USB and Bluetooth hands-free) but only with 4 speakers. The 4x2 Full Option ups the speaker count to 6 while the 4x4 model adds a 6.1-inch TFT display.

• In terms of safety dual airbags are across the line BUT curtain shield and side airbags are solely for the 4x4. The same goes for rear backups sensors.

• Prices according to Toyota Quezon Avenue: P 1,357,000 for the 4x2 Basic, P 1,581,000 for the 4x2 Full Option, and P 1,963,000 for the 4x4.

And as usual, the White Pearl Mica will add P 15,000 to your purchase price.

from the outside, it also increases the life space inside, making it one of the largest in its class.

Need more space for your gear? No worries! With the Accent hatchback’s 60:40 split folding rear seats, you’re ready to get your gear and other travel must-haves in order.

Slip into the driver’s seat and get ready for action with the Accent’s Motor Driven Power Steering (MDPS). Drive virtually effortless with this steering system that relies on an electric motor for accurate handling, reducing the car’s dependence on the engine to supply steering power, thus, lessening engine load and contributing to better fuel economy. The steering wheel is likewise wrapped in leather, enabling you to give it that firm grip and control while driving, and is fitted with audio control for easy listening with your favorite music playing in the background. It’s even

tilt adjustable, which further adds to steering comfort.

Enjoy your life’s music played on the Accent CRDi VGT hatchback’s sound system which has an Auxiliary input and a slot for USB to make it even easier for you to choose how you want your music played.

Performance without compromise Built for power and redesigned for exhilaration, the Accent CRDi VGT hatchback is the only hatchback in its class to be power-driven by a diesel-fed engine. The new 1.6-liter CRDi diesel engine delivers maximum torque output of 26.5 kg-m at 1900-2750 rpm for pulling power that doesn’t disappoint, especially during demanding city drives. It may be a subcompact, but it churns out more power than you’d expect in its class. The Accent CRDi hatchback delivers impressive maximum power output of 128 ps at 4000

rpm—incredibly the best engine power in its class, made possible by the incorporation of the VGT, or Variable Geometry Turbocharger. VGT makes use of variable vanes that enable optimum air flow to the engine for optimized combustion that gives the car the best possible boost of power at any RPM range.

With great power, you’d likewise expect exceptional fuel economy from this hatchback.

In that area, the Accent hatchback once again rises to the occasion because the 1.6-liter CRDi diesel engine of Accent hatchback is optimally mated to 6-Speed Manual Transmission to give you an extra gear to keep the engine at its optimal RPM range. 4-Speed Automatic Transmission is likewise available, allowing for smooth shifting to give the Accent hatchback precise responsiveness with minimum fuel wastage.

Hyundai previews 2013 Accent CRDi TOYOTA RAV4 2013

H

yUNDAI Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI), the official distributor of Hyundai in the Philippines, made the Christmas season even more brilliant with its exclusive preview of the Accent hatchback during a series of Christmas celebrations themed: “Sharing the Filipino Brilliance.” Displayed in all its green glory at Hyundai’s Christmas events, the Accent hatchback signaled once more Hyundai’s passion to bring even greater brilliance in the lives of Filipino motorists for the coming year.

Accent: (hatch) Back in fine form They say good things come to those who wait.

Well, the wait might just be over. The long-awaited Accent CRDi VGT hatchback is here. Ready to conquer the Philippine roads and the Filipino hearts, the new Hyundai subcompact embodies the head-turning “fluidic” sleekness of the present Accent, but with a sportier edge of its new hatchback form. The Accent CRDi VGT hatchback continues Hyundai’s pursuit of defying convention by offering extraordinary value and features that inspire motorists to create brilliant moments in the life space of a Hyundai car. Hyundai’s landmark design philosophy, “Fluidic Sculpture,” is evident in the Accent hatchback,

HYUNDAY ACCENT CRDi

with its sleek curves and uundulating lines that form its unmistakably aerodynamic build. Sporting 16-inch Alloy Wheels and a Rear Spoiler with a High Mount Stop Lamp, the dynamic looking style of the hatch, not only creates a sporty profile

Christmas driving tips

L

EAVE Early • Avoid getting into an accident related to traffic jams or impatient drivers on the road by leaving plenty of time to get to your destination.

Whether it’s a trip to find the perfect tree, a big shopping expedition, or last-minute Christmas errand running, remember that many other people will need to get to the same places you do, and all are in a hurry.

Leaving earlier than you

need to can be a sound investment in your life and health during the holidays.

Watch Carefully • Many individuals choose Christmas to overindulge in alcohol, or they can be sleep-deprived due to the stress of the season. you’ll need to be especially watchful of other cars’ movements and drive on the defensive more than usual.

Likewise, make sure that if you will be drinking alcohol at a party, or think

you’ll be especially tired before your drive home, designate someone to transport you.

Get a Car Checkup • During all the running around that takes place during the Christmas season, it’s easy to forget errands like oil changes and replacing worn brake pads. But don’t make the mistake of putting these items off -- an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure when it comes to Christmas car safety.

11

EDGEDAVAO VOL.5 ISSUE 210 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 23-24, 2012 ClASSIFIEDS ADS

Gov...

Loren...

FFROM 1

phoon victims in Baganga, Cateel and Boston— three of the hardest hit areas in Davao Oriental.

Earlier, reports of political bickering among local government officials have affected the distribution of relief goods.

Damage to infrastructure, agriculture and property in the three towns has reached P8 Billion according to Gov. Malanyaon.

Gov. Malanyaon said they are still continuing the relief operations to the victims of typhoon Pablo with the help of the military personnel, social workers, and government and non-government volunteers.

She said typhoon survivors are receiving food packs estimated to feed

Bonus...

FFROM 2

an average family for three days to the 42 affected barangays.

The rehabilitation efforts, according to Gov. Malanyaon, will cover repairs of damaged structures, construction of housing units, cultivation of fast crops, distribution of fishing boats and implementation of “food for work, cash for work” program.

The National Housing Authority (NHA) along with the PLDT-Smart Foundation will be tapped to spearhead the shelter development component of the rehabilitation program. The NHA and PLDTSmart Foundation have already expressed their commitment while the expertise of volunteer private contractors will also be sought in the planning

and construction.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) will be lending 6 farm tractor units to jumpstart cultivation of fast crops such as corn and rice while the Bureau of Fisheries will donate 200 fishing boats for the 350-400 fisher folks in the province.

Likewise, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will be fully implementing “Food for work, Cash for Work Program” where typhoon victims could earn income for working in construction and debris cleaning.

Gov. Malanyaon thanked the various government and non-government agencies as well as volunteers for coming to the aid of Davao Oriental.

was approved by the City Council last November 26.

As of December 22, the City Treasurer’s Office reported to Duterte that it has already released a total of P127 million. Aside from the regular windows handled by tellers, the CTO has set up releasing areas in the conference rooms at the third floor of SP building to accommodate the employees forming long queues in the hall ways to get their bonus.

The release will continue until the night of December 24, if necessary, according to the mayor.

Like the previous years, it is however expected that many employees will opt to get

their bonus after Christmas or even New year, particularly the barangay nutrition scholars (BNS), barangay health workers (BHW) and Special Civilian Armed Auxilliary (Scaa) who live in remote barangays.

This year’s Christmas bonuses will be the last to be administered by Mayor Sara, as she will bow out of office next December after giving way to her father, Vice Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte, to run for mayor again in May. Also, Inday Sara is pregnant with her first baby. She got married when she was the city’s vice mayor three years ago.

already reached 23 and with two to three cases found each week since last month.

It said 15 cases have already developed into “fullblown” AIDS. Most of the confirmed HIV/AIDS in the city were found among male professionals who were engaged in “risky sexual behaviors.”

They include gays, bisexuals, men who have sex with men or MSMs and others who engage in unprotected sex and with multiple partners.

“As of the moment, the country is already experiencing an epidemic of HIV based on the DOH’s assessment. So far, the positive cases have not dropped but even continued to increase,” Lastimoso said.

The official said their office will continue to find the other HIV carriers in

the city so they could provide them with proper treatment.

The CIHSO earlier stepped up its campaign for voluntary HIV testing among residents as part of their efforts to help curb the spread of the disease.

The city government has been offering free HIV/ AIDS screening, which are done free and confidential, through the social hygiene clinic.

Lastimoso said HIV patients may avail of antiretroviral drugs, which are being offered free by the DOH, for treatment.

In some countries, she said the use of antiretroviral drugs has helped effectively lower the incidence of HIV infection to about one percent and eventually stabilized the detected cases. (Allen V. Estabillo/ MindaNews)

FFROM 1

continue even in the evenings and up to the visper of Christmas Day on Monday.

This was learned from Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.

The city government has allocated P41.9 million for the 2,795 plantilla personnel with P15,000 each as performance enhancement incentive (PEI) and another P131.7 million for the social amelioration allowance (SAA) of job orders and auxiliary workers with P10,000 and P5,000 each, respectively.

The money to fund the bonuses will come from the P360-million Supplemental Budget 3 that

HIV...

FFROM 2

the last three weeks, four more local residents have turned out positive of HIV based on the initial screening conducted by the social hygiene clinic.

She said the screened blood samples were already sent to the Department of Health’s (DOH) STD (sexually-transmitted diseases)/AIDS Cooperative Central Laboratory in Manila for confirmatory tests.

In late November, Lastimoso confirmed that a teenage male was tested positive of suspected HIV 2 strain, which is considered relatively uncommon and was known to be concentrated in West Africa as cited by a medical reference website.

Data from the CIHSO showed that the number of confirmed HIV infections in the city this year has

illegal operations once and for all,” she said.

Legarda, Chair of the Sub-Committee on Anti-Trafficking and sponsor of the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, was reacting to a report that human traffickers are looking for potential victims among the survivors of Typhoon Pablo in Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental.

“The problem of human trafficking continues to hound our society, and this will only become more pronounced as our people are left vulnerable due to disasters. We are now seeing the intersect-

New...

ing forces of natural hazards and human greed, and how they threaten those who are already marginalized. This is an issue of utmost importance,” she said.

“We have seen the need to strengthen the existing law, and we have acted swiftly on it. But human trafficking, and the related problems of the illegal sex trade, forced labor, and other forms of slavery, is a complex web. Battling it requires concerted effort from all sectors of society,” she added.

“Remember that traffickers target the most

vulnerable sectors of society and this is the injustice that we must act against. Those responsible must be caught and subjected to our criminal laws. Furthermore, we also look forward to the immediate enactment of the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act,” Legarda stressed.

The proposed measure is a strengthened version of the anti-trafficking law as it covers attempted trafficking and accessory or accomplice liability, among other salient features, thereby covering more individuals.

tion or any other form of deprivation of liberty committed by agents of the State or by persons or groups of persons acting with the authorization, support or acquiescence of the State, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or by concealment of the fate or whereabouts of the disappeared person, which places such person outside the protection of the law.” This definition is derived from international human rights standards.

The law also prohibits secret detention facilities. The government is to make a full inventory of all detention facilities in the Philippines and create a registry of every detainee, complete with all relevant details including who visited the detainee and how long the visit lasted. It also mandates and authorizes the governmental Commission on Human Rights “to conduct regular, independent, unannounced and unrestricted visits to or inspection of all places of detention and confinement.” Human rights organizations are encouraged to assist the Justice Department in proposing rules and regulations for enforcement.

“Effective enforcement of this new law by the Philippine government will deter enforced disappearances and address the deep-seated problem of impunity for human rights abusers,” Adams said.

Under President Ferdinand Marcos, enforced disappearances were rampant, as the military and police routinely rounded up activists and suspected communist rebels and supporters. The practice did not end with Marcos’s ouster in 1986.

Many enforced disappearances occurred during the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Several activists have “disappeared” since Aquino took office in 2010, according to local rights groups, though there are no allegations that these were ordered by Aquino or other members of his government.

Human Rights Watch detailed some cases of disappearances in its 2010 report, “No Justice Just Adds to the Pain,” and in a video released earlier in 2012 in which family members of the disappeared call on President Aquino to live up to his promises of justice.

The Philippine government should also sign the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and transmit it to the Senate for prompt ratification, Human Rights Watch said.

In Asia, only Japan has ratified the convention, although Laos, India, Indonesia, and Thailand have signed it.

In addition to signing the anti-disappearance law, Aquino is expected to soon sign the landmark reproductive-health bill recently passed by Congress. The bill aims to improve the lives of many Filipino women and to reduce the country’s high maternal mortality rate.

“President Aquino should be commended for these two important human rights laws, but too often new laws in the Philippines are followed by inaction,” Adams said. “Aquino now needs to demonstrate leadership to overcome the obstacles to these laws and ensure they are fully enforced.”

FFROM 2

and the Congress deserve credit for acting to end the scourge of enforced disappearances in the Philippines,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “This law is a testament to the thousands of ‘disappearance’ victims since the Marcos dictatorship, whose long-suffering families are still searching for justice. The challenge now is for the government to move quickly to enforce the new law.”

The new law reflects longtime recommendations by human rights organizations to the government to address unacknowledged detentions. Anyone convicted of committing an enforced disappearance faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and may not receive an amnesty. Superior officers who order or are otherwise implicated in a disappearance face the same penalty as those who directly carried out the crime. The government cannot suspend the law even in times of war or public emergency.

A crucial provision of the law says that those accused of forced disappearances may not invoke “orders of battle” – military documents that identify alleged enemies – as justification or an exempting circumstance.

Many victims of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in the Philippines have been listed or said to have been listed in such “orders of battle.” The law specifically allows a person who receives an illegal order to commit a disappearance to disobey it.

The law defines an enforced or involuntary disappearance as “the arrest, detention, abduc-

12 ClASSIFIEDS ADS There’s a better way Koronadal to get attention.

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13

EDGEDAVAO VOL.5 ISSUE 210 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 23-24, 2012 ClASSIFIEDS ADS LEGAL NOTICE Realty Notice is hereby given that the interstate of the late Luciana Dingo Alberto and Lamano S. Alberto was extra judicially settled among their heirs before Notary Public Atty.

Mariano L. Apao, Jr. per Doc. No. 333; Page No. 66; Book No. VII, Series of 2012 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.

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES REGIONAL TRIAL COURT 11TH JUDICIAL REGION OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF COURT-SHERIFF DAVAO CITy

HOME DEVELOPMENT MUTUAL FUND, or Pag-ibig Fund, Mortgagee -versus-

EJF-REM CASE NO. 13, 838-12

MANUEL L. LOZADA, married to Elizabeth T. Lozada Mortgagor/s. x- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -x NOTICE OF EXTRA-JUDICIAL SALE Upon extra-judicial petition for foreclosure and sale under Act 3135, as amended, filed by the mortgagee Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF) Pag-ibig against MANUEL L. LOZADA, married to Elizabeth T. Lozada, mortgagors with postal address at Blk. 06 Lot 56 , Bahay Pagibig Heights Subdivision, Catalunan Grande, Davao City to satisfy the mortgage indebtedness which as of October 18, 2011 amounted to Php 243,913.65 Philippine Currency, inclusive of interest, penalty charges, plus attorney’s fees equivalent to TEN ( 10%) of the total indebtedness plus other legal expenses incident of foreclosure and sale; the undersigned Sheriff IV of the Regional Trial Court, Davao City, will sell at public auction on February 7, 2013 at 10:00 A.M. or soon thereafter, at the main entrance of Hall of Justice, Ecoland,Davao City to the highest bidder for Cash or MANAGER’S CHECK and in Philippine Currency, the following real property together with all the improvements thereon, to wit: Transfer Certificate of Title No. T- 282216 “ A parcel of land (Lot 5, Blk. 6 of the subd. plan Pcs-11-000352, being a portion of lots xxx situated in the Barangay of Catalunan Grande, City of Davao, Island of Mindanao.xxx Containing an area of ONE HUNDREDTWENTy (120) SQUARE METERS, more or less” All sealed bids must be submitted to the undersigned on the above-stated time and date.

In the event the public auction should not take place on the said date,it shall be held on March 07, 2013 without further notice.

This NOTICE will be posted in three(3) conspicuous public places in the City of Davao and in the place where the property is located and where the auction sale will take place for the information of the general public and the parties.

Prospective buyers are hereby enjoined to investigate for themselves the titles herein described real property/ies and the encumbrances thereon, if any there be.

Davao City, Philippines, December 5, 2012

FOR THE EX-OFFICIO SHERIFF:

Noted by:

(SGD.) SERGIO LEONARDO J. TUPAS Sheriff IV

(SGD) ATTy. EDIPOLO P. SARABIA, JR. Clerk of Court VI & Ex-Officio Provincial Sheriff (edge12/24,31,01/7)

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.

14 SpORTS

VOL.5 ISSUE 210 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 23-24, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

Davao’s Lascuna nears Merit win T

Antonio Lascuna looks to complete a hat-trick of titles this season.

ONy Lascuna, one of the finest golfers to have emerged from Davao City, is well on his way to his biggest year yet.

The dusky Apogrown Lascuna is just 18 holes away from winning the ICTSI Tour Order of Merit, but he has declared the battle could be over in nine.

At his heels, however, is another Davao golfer Elmer Salvador, who like Lascuna developed his swing as a caddie in Apo Golf and Country Club.

“If they can’t cut my lead after the front nine tomorrow, then this will be mine,” said Lascuna on Friday after shooting a third-round 71 to extend his lead to seven in the P2.5 million ICTSI Wack Wack Championship.

Lascuna is at eight-under 208 after 54 holes, while Angelo Que and Salvador were at 215.

Salvador, the only one who could beat Lascuna in the race to the top of the Order of Merit, also scored a 71 in another wind-blown day at Wack Wack’s East course.

The tournament offers P450,000 to the champion. Lascuna entered the tournament with P1,797,640 in earnings, while Salvador had P1,365,160.

Salvador, who won the 2009 money title, needs no less than a victory and hopes that Lascuna slips lower than fifth spot.

Salvador, the ICTSI Sherwood and Aboitiz Invitational champion made an early charge

Santiago wants sports complex for every province

I

N an effort to develop world-class talents, Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago has filed a bill seeking to establish a provincial sports complex in every province in far flung areas and to create a culture of love for sport. ”A sports complex with the proper facilities can inspire and attract more of the general public to engage in sports,” Santiago explained in her Senate Bill 3372.

Santiago said it is important for the Philippine Sports Commission to tap talents and prepare them for world-class competitions including the prestigious Olympic Games where the country has yet to win gold medal, only two silvers and seven bronzes in 20 attempts. ”The performance in

the Olympic Games is considered as the best measure of the athletic skill of a nation,” the lady lawmaker said.

Though the country placed second in the 1954 and 1958 Asian Games, the Philippines skidded its performance and registered its worst finish, 19th place, in 2010 edition.

Under Santiago’s proposal, the PSC, in coordination with the governor of every province, shall construct sports complex within 10 years if there is no existing sports facility in the province. ”With the manner sports programs are facilitated in the country, those who are well-off are the ones who have access to better instruction, training, and facilities,”

she said.

Santiago proposed said the provincial sports complex should have facilities for athletics, archery, billiards, bowling, boxing, taekwondo, swimming, weightlifting, wrestling and wushu.

She said the provincial governor shall include two facilities for sports which are most popular in the province.

To make sure that the sports complexes will be properly maintained, Santiago proposed that the PSC should be the one to construct and administer the maintenance in coordination with the provincial government officials.

Santiago said the initial funding of P250 million shall be appropriated for the program for its year of implementation. (PNA)

tell but if I win, it will be my third and it will make this year as my best year since I turned pro,” said Lascuna, who ruled the ICTSI Eagle Ridge and Southwoods legs and finished second in two others.

Richard Sinfuego also fired a 71 as he tied Mhark Fernando, who had a 75, at 221.

Juvic Pagunsan, last year’s top money earner on both the Philippine Golf Tour and Asian Tour, had a 79 and tumbled to joint 37th at 233 in the event backed by Empire Golf, Titleist, Footjoy, Callaway, TaylorMade, Mizuno, Srixon, Nike Golf, Custom Clubmakers and Sharp with Balls, Studio 23, Pinoygolfer.com and Inquirer Golf as media partners.

Reyes for two international tournaments early next year.

Santos, the current statistical leader in the PBA Philippine Cup, has made it clear that he wants to be part of the national team again after a memorable stint in international tournaments as an amateur.

But his request to join the Gilas practices on Friday has been reportedly rejected by management, with Santos being quoted by a friend as saying: “Kabuhayan natin ito (ang

PBA). Hindi naman ako gagawa ng hakbang na hindi pinag-papaalam sa mga kinauukulan.”

According to sources, Petron has cited the need to focus on the Boosters’ campaign as the reason on why Santos and Fajardo - two players Reyes most covets for his team - have been disallowed from joining the Gilas pool.

The Boosters were knocked out at the quarterfinal stage in the Philippine Cup.

No Gilas stint for Petron stars

S

Elmer Salvador, also from Davao, will be playing spoiler’s role.

and came up with a 33 on his first nine but struggled with a 37 on the way back for a 71.

Que, who entered the round in solo second and behind by six, traded four birdies for four bogeys and slipped to joint second.

Carl Santos-Ocampo, winner at Palos Verdes, hit a solid 32 at the front but had a 37 on the back for a 69 and moved up to solo fourth at 216, eight shots adrift.

Zanie Boy Gialon fumbled with a 74 and dropped to joint fifth at 218 with James Ryan Lam, who matched par 72.

Defending champion Frankie Miñoza scored a 71 for a 219 total in a tie with Clyde Mondilla, who made a 72.

“It’s still too early to

MART Gilas-Philippines coach Chot Reyes will not get his wish afterall.

Petron Boosters stars Arwind Santos and June Mar Fajardo will not be playing for the national team, their request for suiting up for Gilas thumbed down by managemet.

According to sources close to Santos, the two Petron stars failed to get the green light from team management to join the national pool of Chot

Davao del Norte’s sports complex was recently inaugurated in Tagum City. (NJB)

INdulge!

EDGEDAVAO A red hot Christmas at the Marco Polo’s Christmas party VOL.5 ISSUE 210 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 23-24, 2012

EVENTS

You can now buy your weekly paper fill of in-depth business news and features from any of these establishments still at Php 15.

Christmas parties are times when colleagues finally forget the stresses of work and let their hair down for a jolly good time of eating, drinking, and laughing together with the bosses. Throw in a sprinkling of contests and prizes and you have a memorable evening that is The opening dance number was a portent of hot things to come.

FA RED HOT, A4

EDGEDAVAO

A2 INdulge!

VOL.5 ISSUE 210 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 23-24, 2012

UP aND aBoUT

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Blugre closes 2012 with foreign franchisee

New store located at the birthplace of the original Blugre coffee shop

Davao’s pride, Blugre Cofffee enters into another milestone in its growth by launching yet another Blugre coffee shop in one of the prominent retail institutions in Davao City, the Gaisano mall of Davao. a nurse from tampa, Florida, Usa, ms. vivian Cubero, ventures into the franchise world by being the first foreign investor who has joined the Blugre family. ms. Cubero is a native of Bohol but is not unfamiliar to the business climate and opportunity that Davao has to offer. after she experienced Blugre in one of the trips to Davao, there was no doubt that when the opportunity came to be a part of

this fast growing company, she made no hesitations to invest.

The new store at the second level of the Gaisano mall of Davao carries Blugre’s new updated interior design with cozy ang lounge-like furniture.

The store still carries the full line of Blugre’s favorite

drinks and pastries like the decadent Choco torte, and pasta.

This is only the beginning of Blugre’s national and international positioning and aggressive business mission to be a worldwide brand and to invite investors to come and invest in the Philippines as well as the other

countries that they are targeting in the year 2013. 14 stores are being negotiated right now including stores in singapore, New York, Las vegas and Los angeles. it is a bold move by Blugre but the potential, capability and quality all lead to global recognition. Blugre invites the business community nationally and internationally to invest in this fast growing company.

2013 will be a big year for Blugre and this launching is only the beginning of foreign investments coming in and local investors joining the Blugre family nationally and globally.

Franchise inquiries are welcome, interested parties may email ms. Joanne B. siy at franchise@blugre.com

Merry Kris Kringle-ing at SM Stationery ChriSTmaS is that time of Secret Santas, a fun and creative way of exchanging gifts between friends, classmates, and officemates. and you’ll find a treasure trove of gifts for your Kris Kringle at Sm Stationery – your one stop shop for practical and functional gifts for school and the office.

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VOL.5 ISSUE 210 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 23-24, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

INdulge! A3

ENTErTaiNmENT

Kate Middleton’s health and nanny hires?

Prince William’s military obligations?

More royal baby questions answered!

EVEN by greenwich mean Time, nine months are nine months— and, though ultimately they’ll fly by, the world’s still got a long way to go before it gets to meet Kate middleton and Prince William’s firstborn child, aka the most exciting baby ever.

What will the ensuing trimesters really be like for the expectant couple? and what’s going to happen once the little prince or princess arrives?!

The British royal family is better than most at keeping a tight lid on their private lives, but we’ve got some details, starting with how the nannyhiring process is going for Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge...

Well, it isn’t going, at least not yet.

“Forget all the stories about nannies, how many William and Kate will have, whether they will have one at all,” a royal source tells E! News. “They have not made any decisions yet on that. The likely scenario is that they will follow royal protocol but it’s too early to say, as they have not decided on how many nannies, if they will have a nanny, etc.”

tend to, as well.

“Next year, William will be spending quite a lot of time in anglesey [an island off the coast of Wales] getting up his flying hours,” our source says. “it’s very important to him that he fulfills his obligations.” meanwhile, Prince harry is spending Christmas at his base in afghanistan

We’re just guessing that royal protocol includes extensive background checks, presuming mary Poppins herself is not available. more important than how much she’s getting done, however, is the state of Kate’s health.

She’s back in the public eye, looking proper as always, after a bout with hyperemesis gravidarum, a beyond-morning-sickness condition characterized by violent nausea and vomiting that usually requires intravenous fluids and, in some cases, a

feeding tube.

Basically, our source suggests that Kate being out and about will speak for itself with regard to how she’s feeling. if we don’t see her, that means she isn’t up to being seen.

Kate is taking it one day at a time and “is hoping to do a few solo engagements next year prebirth,” the insider says. as for more couples engagements, Kate’s princely husband—who’s still an officer in the royal air Force, remember?—will have certain duties to at-

Jennifer Aniston “Amazing” at pole dancing: “She looks really hot!” says costar Emma Roberts JENNiFEr aniston is really good at pole dancing.

Emma roberts, who costars with aniston in the upcoming comedy We’re the millers, knows firsthand just how sexy the Friends actress’ stripper moves are in the movie.

“She’s really good,” roberts told us of aniston’s We’re the millers poledancing scenes earlier today. “i saw bits and pieces of it and she is amazing.” on a scale of 1 to 10? “[She’s] like a 20,” roberts laughed. “it was unreal!

She looks really hot.” in the funny flick, Jason Sudeikis stars as a pot dealer who assembles a fake family in order to traffic drugs to mexico.

aniston plays his stripper wife and roberts is their pretend daughter.

While we will be getting to see aniston on the stripper pole, roberts says Justin Theroux’s gal won’t be partaking in any fake drug-doing on screen. “if i recall, no one actually smokes pot in the movie,” she dished. “it’s more the chaos that ensues on such a ridiculous adventure. Four people, pretending to be a family to smuggle across the border is pretty funny on its own, so the stuff that goes wrong is only funny.” as for making the movie, roberts gushed, “i got to work with Jennifer aniston, who’s just the most amazing comedic actress,

and Jason Sudeikis, who’s obviously hilarious...

They’re funny of course but also just the sweetest people. and i think that’s really important working with people for so long.” meanwhile, roberts has partnered with the CocaCola Company and (rED) to promote (ThrED), a mobile game with a cause to help deliver an aiDS-free generation by 2015. “it’s something that i think, especially young people, don’t really think about,” roberts said. “i think it’s something that young people really need to be aware of. That’s why i thought, since i’m a young person and i can help get the word out, it’d be a great thing to do.”

but is due back home in January. “he will spend the first month decompressing,” the royal source says, “and so will be off the radar for a bit.” (great news for the royal family, maybe notso-great news for tabloids.)

But William will be jetting back in plenty of

time for the baby’s arrival.

While no formal arrangements are in place yet, the source tells us that Kate will likely introduce their child to the world on the steps of the hospital—just as Princess Diana did with Will 30 years ago.

Depending on how the duchess is feeling, of course.

EDGEDAVAO

A4 INdulge!

VOL.5 ISSUE 210 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 23-24, 2012

EVENTS

Marco Polo Davao general manager Bruno Simeoni performs to the crowd.

A red hot...

Lingeries, pantyhoses, bikinis and tanktops were the costumes of the night.

FFROM A1

sure to create lasting memories.

This year, i was again invited to the Christmas party of the marco Polo Davao and i can say that each year is definitely rowdier than the last and this year’s theme was definitely a hot one. i mean, how can you get hotter with siagon red Light District, right?

The party started with songs performed by the marco Polo Davao’s very own choir which performed beautiful Christmas songs to set the mood.

What followed were performances by the different department, each one more daring, crazier, and wilder then the last. of course the different heads of departments also joined in the dancing and merriment.

The heat is on in Saigon.

With the level of the performances, it was hard to imagine that these talented performers actually work at the hotel. This shows the talent and passion that each person at the marco Polo posses. and as the wine flowed, prizes dolled out, and the bonuses are announced, i felt happy to be able to share a special moment of Christmas joy with the marco Polo Davao family.

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @kennethkingong for foodie finds, travel tips and happenings around Durianburg.

The performances were really on a different level.

Halifax Davao Hotel Inc. family with Halifax Davao Hotel Chairman Mr. Carlos G. Dominguez.

WORlD TODAy Serving

a

Seamless

society

You can now buy your favorite Business Paper from any of these establishments still at Php 15.

Davao

Mr. Lawrence Lee-VP Finance of Marco Polo Hotel, Mr. Bruno Simeoni-MPD General Manager, Mr. Hans Hauri-Area General Manager, Phils. MPH and Francis Ledesma-V.P of Halifax Davao Hotel

The Voices of Marco Polo.

Tulip Drive, Ecoland, Davao City

The heads of departments and managers take to the stage in their own dance presentation.

F. Torres St., Davao City Tel No. 227-3773 - (72) Fax: 295-3485

HELPING YOU MAKE INFORMED BUSINESS DEcISIONS.

Awards were given to 5-year and 10-year employees.

SpORTS 15

EDGEDAVAO VOL.5 ISSUE 210 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 23-24, 2012

Heat melts Mavericks 110-95 D

Wolves snap Thunder run Dwyane Wade (3) of the Miami Heat takes a shot against O.J. Mayo (32) of the Dallas Mavericks.

T

HE Minnesota Timberwolves, boosted by a brilliant fourth quarter from diminutive guard J.J. Barea, got a welcome shot of confidence with a 99-93 win over Oklahoma City on Thursday to snap the Thunder’s winning streak at 12 games.

The uplifting win for the T-Wolves, coming off a pair of losses on a California road trip, snapped their own 12-game losing streak against Oklahoma City.

The NBA-leading Thunder battled back after trailing by 14 to move within a point at 76-75 early in the fourth before Barea took over.

Sinking long three-pointers and scrambling under the hoop, Barea scored 10 points in a 12-2 run that restored

Minnesota’s double-digit lead at 88-77 and then helped the T-Wolves hold off the Thunder the rest of the way.

“The fourth quarter for us has kind of been our Achilles heel this whole season, but we fought through and J.J. Barea was awesome tonight,” said Minnesota’s All Star forward Kevin Love.

The loss dropped Oklahoma, last year’s losing NBA Finalists, to 21-5 while Minnesota improved to 13-11, seven games behind the Thunder in the Western Conference’s Northwest Division.

Love led Minnesota with 28 points and 11 rebounds, and center Nikola Pekovic of Montenegro had 24 points and 10 boards, while Puerto Rico’s Barea came off the bench to score 18 points.

Three-time scoring champion Kevin Durant paced the Thunder with 33 points, and Russell Westbrook added 30, but Oklahoma City’s reserves contributed just seven points in all.

“This is a big win here against one of the top teams in the league,” said Love, a team mate of Durant and Westbrook on the U.S. basketball team that won gold at the London Olympics.

“We learned we can fight through and beat any team in the league if we’re playing well.

“Soon as guys really get in shape, get back healthy, and Ricky (Rubio) starts playing the way he’s capable of playing and gets back from that injury, we’re going to be a lot better team.”

Spanish guard Rubio,

working his way back from a serious knee injury, played 18 minutes without scoring for Minnesota but handed out three assists and had three rebounds.

The Timberwolves used brisk ball movement to spring Pekovic for easy layups and set up Love for open looks beyond the three-point arc as they went on a 19-6 run for a 25-11 lead in the first quarter.

Oklahoma City closed within seven points in the second quarter and got within five after intermission but Minnesota responded each time to restore a cushion, with Barea doing the job in the fourth quarter.

Next up for the Thunder will be a Christmas Day rematch against NBA champions Miami.

ALLAS — This was too easy for LeBron James and the Miami Heat against a Dallas team already missing Dirk Nowitzki when it was plagued by more injuries.

There was no semblance of their two NBA Finals matchups against each other.

James scored 24 points with some early baskets on nifty passes from Dwyane Wade, and the Heat rolled to a 110-95 victory Thursday night (Friday, Manila time), a game in which Miami led by 36 points before James and Wade sat out entire fourth quarter.

“I’m just playing within the game,” said Wade, who had 19 points and six assists. “My job is to do a little bit of everything right now.”

Including getting the ball to James, who has scored at least 20 points in all 23 games, the longest streak to start an NBA season since Karl Malone’s 24 in a row opening the 1989-90 season.

“I’m just very comfortable and confident in my ability,” James said. “I put a lot of work into my game. It’s always good when you put in the work and implement that into a game situation.”

Nowitzki, the Mavs’ 11-time All-Star, hasn’t played this season though he practiced for the first time this week since arthroscopic right knee surgery Oct. 19. Dallas is now without starting point guard Derek Fisher (right knee) and post players Elton Brand (right groin) and Brandan Wright

(right ankle).

The Heat never trailed after James drove for a short floater 3 minutes into the game. They had their first double-digit lead, 22-11, when James made a 3-pointer with 4½ minutes left in the first quarter.

“We don’t want to give a team too much confidence at home. We understand this team was short-handed,” Wade said. “We wanted to come out here on the road and make a statement.”

Chris Bosh added 17 points as the Heat played only their second road game since Nov. 17.

They return home to play Utah on Saturday before an NBA Finals rematch against Oklahoma City on Christmas Day. Rookie Jae Crowder had 15 points to lead six Dallas players in double figures. Dahntay Jones and Bernard James had 12 points each.

LeBron James’ first 3 came in between two impressive passes from Wade, who didn’t yet have James or Dallas native Bosh as teammates when the Heat clinched their first NBA title in the same building in June 2006.

Dallas is much changed team since winning the 2011 NBA title over the Heat, in the star trio’s first season together. Miami is now defending a championship this season.

“Much better team than we were. We know each other,” James said.

“We can close our eyes and where we’re going to be offensively and defensively.”

Not even Russel Westbrook’s big game could save the jinx of 13.

16 SpORTS

VOL.5 ISSUE 210 • SUNDAY - MONDAY, DECEMBER 23-24, 2012

PBA SEMIS GAME 2

EDGEDAVAO

SanMig turns back ROS 106-82 J

AMES yap exploded for 34 points and 10 rebounds as San Mig bounced back with a vengeance in the Philippine Cup semifinals, trouncing Rain or Shine, 106-82, on Wednesday night at the MOA Arena. yap finished with just 11 points on 3-for11 shooting in San Mig’s

83-91 loss in Game One which he left with minutes to play after twisting his knee. But he was a completely different man in Game Two where he hit three-pointers from every conceivable angle, going 7-for-12 from that area.

“Simple basketball lang,” said yap, who

skipped practice on Thursday to rest a tender knee. “Pa-jumpshot jump-shot lang.

Kung may chance magda-drive, drive. Kundi ipasa. Dapat ganoon lang ka-simple ang basketball.”

As soon as their superstar started hitting his shots, everything

went smoothly for the Mixers who opened the game wide-open late in the second half when a red-hot yap hit a three-pointer from the elbow and another from

the deep right corner to beat the third-quarter buzzer, 75-62.

PJ Simon and Mark Barroca later joined the scoring parade in what coach Tim Cone later de-

scribed as a “picture-perfect” second-half performance, with Barroca’s three-pointer opening a 90-71 lead for the Mixers with four minutes left.

San Mig superstar James Yap gets into a veritable wrestling match with Rain or Shine defensive stopper Jireh Ibanes. Nuki Sabio/ PBA Images