Edge Davao 5 Issue 57

EDGEDAVAO

P 15.00 • 20 PAGES

VOL.5 ISSUE 57 • MAY 23 , 2012

www.edgedavao.net

Serving a seamless society

If Binay supports Nograles

Indulge Page A1

Dutertes to bolt PDP-Laban, if..

ICT HUB Page 7

By Jade C. Zaldivar

D

AVAO City Vice Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte yesterday vowed to “sever ties” with the PDP-Laban (Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan)

Sports Page 14

(PMP) to create the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).

Although there has not been a formal announcement, UNA in earlier months had declared it was willing to “take in” allies of former President Gloria

FDUTERTES, 13

BALIK-ESKWELA. Decorations depicting giant crayons can be seen at the lobby of a mall in the city which indicates the approaching opening of classes next month. Parents are expected to rush to various bookstores and malls to buy the necessary school supplies and uniforms for children. [KARLOS MANLUPIG]

Corona walkout angers Enrile

By Jelly F. Musico

Follow Us On

if the group of Vice President Jejomar Binay supports former House Speaker Prospero Nograles.

PDP-Laban, led by Binay, has formed an alliance with former President Joseph Estrada’s Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino

S

ENATE President and presiding officer Juan Ponce Enrile warned on Tuesday Chief Justice Renato Corona to strike out his long testimony and render verdict on

the impeachment case if the chief magistrate will not allow himself to be cross-examined by the prosecution and the senator-judges.

Enrile made this warning after Corona suddenly left the witness stand without asking permission from the court after signing

a waiver authorizing government entities to open peso and dollar bank accounts as well as his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth provided that the 188 complainants from the House and Senator Franklin Drilon will also sign the same waiver.

FCORONA, 13

2

THE BIG NEWS

VOL.5 ISSUE 57 • MAY 23, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

‘Sara will call the shots’ - Rody

V

ICE Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said yesterday it will be daughter Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio who will “call the shots” for Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod (Hugpong) their political body in next year’s elections.

During yesterday’s shooting of his Ato ni Bay television show at the City Council building, the family patriarch admitted he remains clueless on his daughter’s plans for the 2013 polls, saying “we don’t talk politics.”

Asked by this reporter whether he would want to run for city mayor, Duterte admitted having difficulty answering the question.

“That’s a difficult question. Lisod na tubagon. Yes, wala ta kabalo unsa ang posisyon iyang gina huna-huna.

But on your second question, it will be Inday (Sara) who will have the first call,” the

n He would yield if

she seeks reelection

vice mayor said.

Duterte added that he knows that once Sara has decided on what position to run for--city mayor, vice mayor, or 1st district representative-she would be firm about her choice.

“Ka maldita ana. Kung unsa iyang gusto mahitabo, gikan sa line-up panaog it will be her call. She has the highest political position, then the decision rests with her. That’s what has been followed,” he said.

However, Duterte also said that “everything will happen by God’s will.”

“Whatever she wants, whatever everybody wants.

I can always propose, but in the end things will be left to

FSARA, 13

Archbishop Capalla turns over post WATERMELONS. Sweet, juicy and bright red watermelons can be bought fresh and cheap at the Bankeron Public Market as a means for cooling one off these hot summer dayst. [KARLOS MANLUPIG]

By Jade C. Zaldivar

CONCLUDING RITE. Newly-installed Archbishop of Diocese of Davao City, Rev. Romulo G. Valles, center, leads the concluding rite by blessing the people who attended the mass during his Liturgical Reception and Canonical Possession on Tuesday at San Pedro Catheral, Davao City. [LEAN DAVAL, JR.]

L

ONG-time Davao City Archbishop Fernando Capalla yesterday formally turned-over his post to former Zamboanga Archbishop Romulo Valles.

In a three-hour canonical installation ceremony at the San Pedro Cathredral yesterday morning, Valles was welcomed to his new assignment

by Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio,

Davao City eyes grand slam in DOH’s ‘tobacco-free’ award

By Lorie A. Cascaro

D

AVAO City’s anti-smoking task force is aiming to bag the Red Orchid Award of the Department of Health (DOH) in its search for 100% tobacco-free environments for the third time come May 29.

Domilyn Villareiz, chief of the anti-smoking task force, said the final results will be revealed by Monday next week, and hopes the city will bag the award for the third time.

A member of the task force, Engineer Alfredo R. Ruiz of the city

engineer’s office, said he may be attending the awards ceremony with Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio in Manila.

This year, the Comprehensive Anti-Smoking Ordinance of Davao City will be on its tenth year of implementation.

Other participating local government units (LGU) in the awards include Legaspi City in Bicol, Maasin City in Eastern Visayas, Calauag, Quezon and Talisayan, Misamis Oriental in Northern Mindanao.

On its third year, the Red Orchid Awards 2012, will provide a P500,000 project grant

Quips

‘WE are not like banana leaves that sway where the win blows.

The Lakas party is a strong and sturdy tree with deep roots being pro-God, pro-people, pro-Philippines and pro-environment.’

--Senator Ramon Revilla Jr.

on tobacco control to any LGU that wins the award in three consecutive years.

Aside from LGUs, other categories include government hospitals, government offices, DOH centers for health development.

The criteria are based on the comprehensive efforts to implement a 100% tobaccofree environment using the World Health Organization (WHO) MPOWER initiative.

MPOWER is an acronym that stands for the six proven tobacco control policies namely: Monitor tobacco use and prevention policies; Protect people from tobacco smoke; Offer help to quit tobacco use; Warn against the dangers of tobacco; Enforce bans on tobacco advertising; and Raise taxes on tobacco.

city councilors, city department heads, Catholic leaders, and other lay people who attended the solemn ceremony.

Presiding over the rites was the Papal Nuncio to the Philippines, Archbishop Guessipi Pinto.

Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma and members were also in attendance.

In the afternoon, the City

L

Council unanimously passed a resolution to express gratitude to Capalla for “his long years of serving Davao City and to welcome Valles as the new Archbishop.”

“The City of Davao welcomes Archbishop Valles as he takes upon himself the mantle and cloak of bishopric leadership as the newly-installed Archbishop of the city,” said Councilor Braga.

Councilor Edgar Baluran

bared to Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte that he and Archbishop Valles were former classmates in the St. Francis Xavier Regional Major Seminary, this city.

Born in Leon, Iloilo in 1934, Archbishop Capalla became the 3rd Archbishop of the city in 1996. From 2003 to 2005, Capalla served as president of the CBCP. Capalla is known for his

mains robust and lending has been growing apace with the expansion of economic activity,” he said.

Bank lending has been consistently registering double digit growth rates with relatively low interest and a healthy demand for credit.

“More importantly, credit continues to be channeled to the productive sectors of the economy. Also, our healthy external payments position is a source of strength for Philippine economy,” he said.

The BSP’s gross international reserves reached US$ 76.5 billion as of March 2012 because of strong foreign exchange inflows over the recent years, he said, adding that this amount could cover 11.5 months worth of imports of goods and payments of services and income.

He said the Philippine banks have continued to perform their central roles of efficiently channeling funds to productive uses as

well as managing and distributing risks.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the sevenstorey corporate center of the One Network Bank (ONB) at Sasa, Davao City, he acknowledged the bank’s strong capital position, competent board and officers, and sound banking practices.

These were instrumental in the granting by BSP of more banking privileges which, according to him, were granted only to thrift and commercial banks which inevitably contributed more to banks’ services and profitability.

“As partners in the banking industry, we are witness to your bank’s greater innovation and dynamism in seizing opportunities presented by modern technology, enhancing its banking services delivery to beef up delivery of financial services in catering the banking and financial needs in the rural areas,” he said. [LORIE A. CASCARO]

FARCHBISHOP, 13

BSP says PHL banking system sound, stable

AWYER Demetrio E. Casipong, Davao regional director of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), last Monday said the Philippine banking system remains sound and stable that even at the height of crisis, the strong banking system has facilitated a smooth flow of credit.

He cited that the total resources of the banking community rose by 5.3% to P7.6 trillion as of end of December 2011.

“The BSP has worked actively with the banking community to ensure that it stays that way,” he added.

Solid asset growth; improved loan and asset quality; continued good returns on equity; and strong capitalization that is above international norms are some of the characteristics of the country’s banking system.

“The economic environment of the country is very timely and conducive.

Domestic credit take-up re-

3 ‘Settlers’ face eviction from private property

EDGEDAVAO

By Lorie A. Cascaro

A

city official said yesterday that a second and final notice for ejection was issued last May 14 to some 100 households which suddenly invaded a two-hectare lot adjacent to Blue Post Bar & Billiards along J.P. Laurel Avenue, Bajada, Davao City.

Alfredo R. Ruiz, chief of industry safety division of the City Engineer’s Office, said the illegal settlers have been given 15 days from the issuance of notice to secure building permits in order to continue staying on the property owned by a certain Nancy Tan. “We will be forced to file a case in court of illegal construction against them if they will not comply with the requirements,” Ruiz told Edge Davao, adding that such a criminal case merits a penalty of P20,000 and/ or six months imprisonment.

He said the government is mandated to implement Presidential Decree No. 1096, the National Building Code of the Philippines.

According to the law, constructing a building or structure without first obtaining a building permit from the building official along with an application for a building permit and a certified true copy of the transfer certificate of title (TCT) covering the

THE BIG NEWS

VOL.5 ISSUE 57 • MAY 23, 2012

lot is illegal.

But, if the applicant is not the registered owner, a copy of the contract of lease shall be submitted in addition to the TCT. Ruiz said Tan complained about the squatting and demanded for their eviction with the barangay of Buhangin proper, however, the informal settlers refused to move out.

He added that she may file a civil case, illegal retainer or ejectment against the squatters when they do not voluntarily evacuate by May 29, 2012.

Barangay captain James C. Salvador yesterday said the issue between the settlers and Tan was already settled when there were only 14 households in the area.

The 14 settler families moved out upon agreement of both parties, however, to his surprise, after the informal settlers left, a few months later new informal settlers occupied the property.

Considering this a social problem, the housing and homesite division of the City Planning and Development Office will implement the Republic Act No. 7279 or the Urban Development Housing Act. Squatters may avail of the socialized housing program of the government, however, to qualify, one must not be a pro-

FOR DEMOLITION. Children of illegal settlers who built at least 80 shanties (see photo below) in a vacant lot along J. P. Laurel Avenue corner Carmellite Road playfully pose for a photo on Saturday. A demolition in the area is looming as the owner already wants to use the land. [LEAN DAVAL, JR.] fessional squatter or a member of squatting syndicates.

Professional squatter, as defined by the law, “refers to individuals or groups who occupy lands without the express consent of the landowner and who have sufficient income for legitimate housing.”

Arlene Pelaez, spokesperson of the squatters, told Edge Davao that they hope to be granted a community mortgage program, which, according to Ruiz, is similar to the socialized housing program.

Camella Northpoint offers comfort and convenience for retirees, empty-nesters

A

Make any mealtime an intimate occasion for bonding in your Camella Northpoint condo home.

FTER the kids have grown up and moved out of the house, empty nesters and retirees deserve to be self-indulgent. At this stage when they›re no longer burdened with child rearing, they can have a fresh start.

When it comes to choosing a new home, a condo unit is one of the most logical choices. But it can’t be just any condo community; it can only be Camella Northpoint, Camella’s landmark condo development in Davao.

With Camella Northpoint, there’s more reason for empty nesters and retirees to be excited about living by themselves, as this British colonial themed condo community gives them more choices and flexibility to enjoy their new home and life.

At Camella Northpoint, there’s certainly no drab living for still active empty nester and senior residents.

After putting their children’s needs ahead of theirs, now is the time to pamper themselves and enjoy the luxuries they denied themselves in the past.

Here, they will feel like they›re living at a resort. They can take their daily exercise walking or jogging around the track, taking in the beautiful sight and refreshing scent of imported Caribbean pine trees scattered all over.

They can maintain agility and strengthen their joints

and muscles at the fitness gym at the clubhouse, Wakefield Manor. An overall body workout can be had by taking laps at the wellness pool with salinated water. Then they can lounge and relax at the multi-function hall with its wide windows open to a vista of lush greenery and pinescented open spaces.

At this stage in their life, empty-nesters and retirees put a premium on their overall wellbeing. This desire will fit right in at Camella Northpoint, as its buildings are designed to principles of green architecture, allowing unrestricted airflow and natural light to come into the condo buildings that also have indoor gardens.

Choosing a studio unit can give them an easy, come and go lifestyle, where dining out is an enjoyable excursion, and engaging in hobbies, outdoor activities, or meeting friends and family is the highlight of their day.

They can also just enjoy each other’s company while watching their favorite TV show at home, listening to music, or cuddling up near the window to take in the beautiful green landscape, or gaze at the stars and night lights of the city.

With a two-bedroom condo home, there›s enough room when children or grandchildren visit. What’s more, Camella Northpoint’s

playground, pocket gardens, open spaces, and especially the kiddie and adult pools, give children and grandchildren more reasons to visit.

Units with patios can give them a special place to have that morning cup of coffee, read the morning paper, chat intimately, or do the crossword puzzle. Their wide view of the landscaped lawns, majestic pines and lush greens helps relax the mind and rest the spirit.

Having a one-floor home takes climbing steps and stairs away, but the younger and more fit can take advantage of the wide, airy staircase if they want to get some exercise while going up or down the condo building.

For those who prefer to save their energy, the condo’s modern elevators can take them down or up their studio unit in no time at all. What’s more, there is a shuttle service they can take going from their building to the condo gates and back.

A condo home allows seamless transition between one functional space to the next, making it easy to navigate, such as living space to kitchen, or bedroom to bathroom. This is important for those who want a home that makes it easy and convenient for them to live towards their retirement.

Their basic goal is to

FCAMELLA, 13

4

SCIENCE/ENVIRONMENT

VOL.5 ISSUE 57 • MAY 23, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

Robotic fish to patrol vs pollution in harbors

I

N the shallow waters of Gijon harbor, in northern Spain, a large, yellow fish cuts through the waves.

But this swimmer stands apart from the marine life that usually inhabits this port: there’s no flesh and blood here, just carbon fibre and metal.

This is robo-fish - scientists’ latest weapon in the war against pollution.

This sea-faring machine works autonomously to hunt down contamination in the water, feeding this information back to the shore.

Here in Spain, several are undergoing their first trials to see if they make the grade as future marine police.

“The idea is that we want to have real-time monitoring of pollution, so that if someone is dumping chemicals or something is leaking, we can get to it straight away, find out what is causing the problem and put a stop to it,” explains Luke Speller, a senior scientist at the research division of BMT Group, a technology consultancy.

The company is part of the Shoal consortium, a European Commissionfunded group from academia and business that has developed these underwater robots.

“At the moment, in harbours, they take samples about once a month,” says Mr Speller.

“And in that time, a ship could come into the harbour, leak some chemicals somewhere, then it’s

gone, all the way up the coastline.

“The idea is that we will use robot fish, which are in the harbour all of the time, and constantly checking for pollution.”

Inspired by nature The fish, which measure about 1.5m-long, may be a little larger than their real-life counterparts, but their movements closely mimic them.

Ian Dukes from the University of Essex - another partner in the consortium - says that nature was an obvious inspiration for their robot.

He explains: “Over millions of years, fish have evolved the ultimate hydrodynamic shape, and we have tried to mimic that in the robot.

“They swim just like fish; they are really quite agile and can change direction quickly, even in shallow water.”

But the researchers say there are other advantages to a fishy design compared with some other autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs).

“Traditional robots use propellers or thrusters for propulsion,” says Dr Dukes.

“What we’re trying to do is use the fin of a fish to propel ourselves through the water.

“The fin does lend itself for a really useful tool in shallow waters especially where there is a lot of debris. We can work in environments that are very weedy, and would usually snag up propellers.”

The fish use micro-

electrode arrays to sense contaminants. In their current form they can detect phenols and heavy metals such as copper and lead, as well as monitor oxygen levels and salinity.

But the team has tried to build in flexibility.

Dr Speller explains: “We have designed it so you can pull out the chemical sensor unit, and put in different ones for something else, such as sulphates or phosphates, depending on the environment that you are monitoring,” he explains.

Hunting party One they’ve sniffed out a problem, the fish use artificial intelligence to hunt down the source of pollution.

They can work alone or in a team, communicating with each other using acoustic signals and they can continuously report back to the port.

The trials at Gijon have been designed to put all of this technology to the test to so they can finalise the design of their robots.

“When we have our prototype, then we’ll know what needs to be done to make this a complete commercial system. We hope it could happen in the next few years,” said Dr Speller.

“In the future, what I’d also like to see is not just a single task robot, but robots that can multitask - robots that can do search and rescue, monitoring for underwaters divers, at the same time as tracking pollution.”

Water pollution is an expensive business.

The Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has estimated that in England and Wales alone, cost of water pollution in rivers, canals, lakes and coastal waters came to £1.3bn per annum.

But it may be some time before robotic fish become permanent fixtures in our waters.

Prototypes currently cost about £20,000 each, although Mr Speller says costs will drop once more are produced.

But battery life is also an obstacle. At the moment, the fish need to be recharged about every eight hours.

But, says Richard Harrington from the Marine Conservation Society, if the fish could overcome these barriers they could have a future.

He says: “Ports, harbours and estuaries can be challenging places to routinely monitor for pollutants, often with a lengthy time period between sampling and transport and laboratory time for analysis.

“A remotely operated device could be deployed quickly and simply in shallow water environments, enabling a rapid response for decision making and remedial action to be taken.”

The Shoal consortium is formed of the BMT Group, the University of Essex, the Tyndall National Institute, the University of Strathclyde, Thales Safare and the Port Authority of Gijon.

Expert seeks help for endangered reefs

A

N expert raised urgency for further multi-sector action on better managing the country’s remaining coral reefs, warning elevated sea temperature linked to climate change is increasing these life-sustaining resources’ risk for extinction.

Filipino marine expert Dr. Porfirio Aliño made the call as he reported studies show elevated sea temperature causes coral bleaching which can lead to reefs’ death.

“If reefs are well-managed, these can recover from bleaching events,” he said Tuesday during the marine biodiversity forum that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources hosted in Metro Manila as part of Ocean Month this May. He said sectors must join forces in protecting reefs nationwide since these resources “take a long time to recover.”

“This is why we try providing information on the matter to motivate people to work together,” he said.

Experts said bleaching occurs when heat- or ultraviolet radiationstressed coral polyps expel symbiotic algae from coral tissues, leaving these corals with a whitish color.

Such algae provide most of corals’ food and oxygen, they noted.

Other algae eventually colonize the bleached reefs.

Coral Reef Alliance said reefs can indeed recover after short bleaching incidents.

Death of reefs increases with length and severity of such incidents, however, the alliance noted.

Authorities continue promoting management and protection of reefs, noting these resources face pressure from overfishing, pollution, sedimentation, inappropriate land uses and other threats aside from sea temperature increase.

Coral reefs serve as foraging ground for various marine species including commercially important ones like ‘lapulapu’ fish.

Earlier studies show one square kilometer of healthy coral reef is enough to produce some 20,000 kilograms of fish annually, Aliño said.

“That’s enough to feed about 400 people,” he said, noting each of these persons can have some 50 kilograms of fish to consume annually. Threats to coral reefs compromise these resources› capability to function accordingly, however, he noted.

Studies already showed only about five percent of the country›s coral reefs covering some 2.5 million hectares are in excellent condition.

EDGEDAVAO

Stat Watch

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

3.5% 4th Qtr 2011

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

3.7% 4th Qtr 2011 USD 3,342 Million Nov 2011 USD 4,985 Million Nov 2011 USD -1,643 Million Nov 2011 USD -114 Million Dec 2011 P4,442,355 Million Nov 2011

3. Exports 1/ 4. Imports 1/ 5. Trade Balance 6. Balance of Payments 2/ 7. Broad Money Liabilities 8. Interest Rates 4/

4.71% Oct 2011 P128,745 Million Nov 2011 P 4,898 Billion Oct 2011

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

P 43.65 Dec 2011

12. Stocks Composite Index 6/

3,999.7 Sept 2011

13. Consumer Price Index 2006=100

128.1 Jan 2012

14. Headline Inflation Rate 2006=100

3.9 Jan 2012

15. Core Inflation Rate 2006=100

3.4 Dec 2011

16. Visitor Arrivals

284,040 Sept 2011

17. Underemployment Rate 7/

19.1% Oct 2011

18. Unemployment Rate 7/

6.4% Oct 2011

MONTHLY AVERAGE EXCHANGE RATE (January 2009 - December 2011) Month

2011

2010

2009

Average December November October September August July June May April March

43.31 43.64 43.27 43.45 43.02 42.42 42.81 43.37 43.13 43.24 43.52

45.11 43.95 43.49 43.44 44.31 45.18 46.32 46.30 45.60 44.63 45.74

47.637 46.421

February

43.70

46.31

January

44.17

46.03

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

47.032 46.851 48.139

48.161 48.146 47.905 47.524 48.217

48.458 47.585 47.207

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

THE ECONOMY

VOL.5 ISSUE 57 • MAY 23, 2012

5

90k MT of tuna expected from lifting of Pacific ban Deployment of fishing vessels may resume in September

T

HE limited reopening of the Pacific Ocean to Philippine fishing vessels is expected to yield 90,000 metric tons of tuna, a Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources official said Monday.

But to date, no Philippine fishing companies have deployed their vessels in pockets 1 and 2 of the Pacific Ocean.

This is pending the publication of the Fisheries Administrative Order governing the matter, said Ambutong Pautong, BFAR Region 12 acting director.

“Several companies have already approached our office to seek international fishing permits but we did not process them because we are still awaiting the FAO,” he said.

Pautong said they expect the FAO to be finalized within the month.

Last week, BFAR and tuna industry players held a consultation here to discuss the procedure on how Philippine fishing companies should benefit from the limited fishing access.

Secretary Luwalhati Antonino, chairperson of the Mindanao Development Au-

thority, said earlier the WCPFC approved the lifting of the purse seine fishing ban in pockets 1 and 2 of the Pacific Ocean until February 2013.

With the ban’s lifting, 36 Philippine fishing vessels have been given limited access to the tuna fishing ground.

But the probability of Philippine vessel deployment may come after September since the WCPFC is due to close for three months - starting July - the high seas of the Pacific Ocean as part of the yearly conservation measure, Pautong said.

Pautong noted that once the Philippine fishing vessels start catching there, it would enhance the production of tuna canneries in this city, touted as the “Tuna Capital of the Philippines.”

Six of the seven tuna canneries in the country are based here, with the BFAR official saying the local canneries have been experiencing production difficulties due to lower catches, supposedly due to the two-year fishing ban in the Pacific Ocean.

Antonino, who headed the country’s delegation during

the WCPFC meeting in Guam last month, also said that the lifting of the fishing ban can greatly benefit the country’s fishing industry especially in Mindanao.

She added that while the country is granted with access, “efforts must also be exerted to prevent abuse”.

Pautong said that part of the possible guidelines, in consultation with the private sector-led Tuna Council of the Philippines, is assigning a specific catching ground to fishing companies included in the 36-vessel allocation.

Tuna fishing companies have agreed to impose penalties as much as P1 million to a violator, he said.

The WCPFC earlier banned commercial fishing in pockets 1 and 2 of the high seas with the issuance of Conservation and Management Measure in 2008 to mitigate overfishing of big-eye and yellow-fin tuna and to limit the growth of fishing capacity in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean. The ban took effect in 2010.

The Philippines is among the 25 member countries of WCPFC, which regulates mi-

gratory fish stocks such as bigeye and yellow fin tuna in the Pacific.

Although the lifting of the ban is a huge success, the BFAR stressed that Filipino fishing vessels must adhere to the fishing standards being imposed by the international commission.

“We must live up to the expectations of WCPFC. We [Philippines] must satisfactorily comply with the provisions of the CMM if we want to continue fishing in pockets 1 and 2 beyond 2013,” said Asis Perez, BFAR national director.

Tuna remains as one of the top exports of Mindanao with a combined (fresh and frozen) freight-on-board value amounting to US$ 311 million in 2010. In the same year, the total tuna industry is valued at P23 billion.

The tuna industry employs at least 100,000 people ranging from fishing to canning, processing and other auxiliary services.

The United States, European Union and Japan remain the top export destinations of tuna products from the country.

body with at 18 members and 33 participating countries.

The Philippines is a signatory to the conference.

The governing body for fishing in the Western Pacific said the temporary lifting of the ban in Pocket 1 covers only the Philippines.

“We’ll get a better idea after six months of fishing to see what comes out of there, but I’m not expecting it to be high,” Hurry further said.

WCPFC will again meet in Manila in December to assess the impact of the new policy that gave preferential treatment to Philippine tuna fishers.

The other pocket of seas covered by the ongoing ban on tuna fishing remains closed to Philippine tuna fishers.

This area is bounded by the countries of Solomon Islands, Fiji, Tuvalu, Nauru, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Papua New

Guinea and parts of Kiribati, a tuna fishing ground which is much more distant from the Philippines and beyond the reach of medium-size Philippine purse seiners.

The country is likewise limited to 36 traditional Filipino fishing vessels in the opened pocket of seas. WCPFC said freezer tuna boats or large purse seiners remain banned in both pockets of seas.

Filipino vessels however will be required to comply with the rules of the WCPFC which includes 100% observer coverage on board. These fishing vessels will also be required to be on the Commission’s vessel monitoring system.

Several Philippine fishing companies, among them RD Fishing and Frabelle Fishing, however have already established based in Palau and Papua New Guinea and are ex-

pected to take advantage of the preferential treatment from WCPFC. The Philippines has been lobbying for the lifting of the WCPFC ban arguing that it has dislocated hundreds of fishermen and workers dependent on its tuna industry. It even cited the slaying of 15 fishermen off the coast of Basilan in southern Philippines in January due to rivalry over narrowing fishing grounds as a result of the WCPFC ban.

In 2011, the second year of the ban, total tuna landing at the General Santos City fishing port complex dropped by 21 per cent from 143,139.17 metric tons in 2010 to 112,891.81 MT last year.

Volume of landings of mature yellowfin tuna has also been on a steady decline from 33,369 MT in 2007 to mere 9,061.13 last year.

Int’l body clarifies lifting of fishing ban

By Edwin Espejo

T

HE governing body on tuna fishing in the Western Pacific area said it does not expect a significant spike in Philippine tuna catch following a December decision to allow Philippine fishing vessels to operate in the pocket of seas off Palau, Papua New Guinea, Micronesia and Indonesia, more popularly known as Pocket 1.

“The Philippines can fish in high sea pocket 1 only and any reporting in the press otherwise is wrong,” said Glenn Hurry, executive director of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC).

Hurry said they do not expect a significant increase in Philippine tuna catch following the WCPFC decision reached during its annual conference in Guam in December last year.

The WCPFC is a sanctioning

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

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

as of august 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

6

THE ECONOMY

DTI tells traders to follow SRPs of school supplies

T

he Department of Trade and Industry in Davao Region (DTI-Davao Region) has called on traders to follow the suggested retail prices (SRPs) set for school supplies to avoid possible sanctions.

As of May 5 this year, the SRPs, depending on the brand name, for composition notebooks (80 leaves) is between P10 to P15.75; writing notebooks (80 leaves) - P10.75 to P15.75; spiral notebooks (80 leaves) - P10 to P15.75; Grades 1 to 4 pad papers (80 leaves) - P9 to P28.75; intermediate pad papers (80 leaves) - P14 to P25.75; pencils (three pieces per pack), P9.50 to P19.75; crayons (8s), 11 to P19.75; crayons (16s) – P22.25 to P37.75; crayons (24s) – P31.75 to P51.75; and ballpoint pens – P5.75 to P17.75.

DTI-Davao Regional Director Marizon S. Loreto said the SRPs are the bases in evaluating whether the prevailing prices are still acceptable or not.

“Our monitoring teams are visiting retailers regularly for us to ensure that they really are adopting the SRPs. By doing so, we are likewise protecting the consumers,” she said adding that consumers must also consider the quality of what they are buying, aside

from the price.

In buying school supplies, DTI has provided some tips: - Notebooks and pads of paper must indicate information on weight (in grams) and number of leaves; - Crayons must be classified as either jumbo or regular, should not break or bend easily due to pressure or high temperature, and must be labelled «non-toxic”; - Lead pencils must include a symbol or number for hardness; - Ballpoint pens must be classified according to tips; and, - For all products the required markings should include the manufacturer’s name and address, trade or brand name, type or size, country of manufacture, quantity, toxicity warning, and instructions for use.

Loreto encouraged consumers to visit the nearest DTI office should they have complaints on the price or quality of school supplies being sold locally. They may also contact the DTI Regional Office’s Consumer Welfare and Trade Regulation Division (CWTRD) at (082) 224-0511 local 411.

“If they want a copy of the detailed SRPs, they may get one from our office,” she said. DTI-11

VOL.5 ISSUE 57 • MAY 23, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

Export Bank depositors start receiving payment

Accounts with balances P10,000 and below will be paid by postal money orders

T

HE Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) announced that it will start sending payments on May 22, 2012 for valid deposits with balances of P10,000 and below maintained by depositors in the closed Export & Industry Bank (EIB).

Payments will be made through postal money orders (PMOs). PDIC said that it expects mailing of payments to be completed by June 1, 2012.

The valid accounts that are P10,000 and below total 29,314 accounts or 60.7% of the total deposit accounts of EIB of 48,274 as of end March 2012. This initial batch of deposit insurance pay-

ments are for holders of accounts who have no outstanding loans with EIB and who have updated their addresses with the bank in the past year.

These account holders were not required to file deposit insurance claims.

The state deposit insurer reported that it intends to start servicing the claims for accounts of over P10,000 up to P500,000 on June 19, 2012. This is one week earlier than the original schedule. The schedules per branch and venues will be announced through notices to be posted in the bank premises and other public places as well as through the PDIC website, www.

pdic.gov.ph, newspapers and radios.

The PDIC advises depositors with balances above P10,000 to prepare the requirements such as the duly accomplished Claim Form and the complete checklist of requirements in the Claim Status Sheet: original copy and photocopy of the evidence of deposit and original and photocopy of two valid photobearing identification documents (IDs) with signatures of the depositors. Claim Forms and the checklist in the Claim Status Sheet were previously distributed during the Depositors Forums.

Forms may also download from the PDIC web-

site: www.pdic.gov.ph.

For more information, depositors may communicate with PDIC Public Assistance personnel stationed at the bank premises. They may also call the PDIC Public Assistance Hotlines at (02) 8414630 to (02) 8414631. Borrowers of the bank may also communicate with the Deputy Receiver/Assisting Deputy Receiver at the bank premises or call the Receivership and Bank Management Department at telephone numbers (02) 841-4780 or (02) 841-4783 for more information.

Queries may also be sent through email at pad@pdic.gov. ph.

Oil rebounds ahead of Iran-U.S. dialogue

U

.S. crude prices rebounded on Monday after six straight days of declines on speculation of more sanctions against Iran from Western countries ahead of another round of Iran nuclear talks Wednesday.

The head of United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency pressed Iran over inspections during a visit to Tehran on Monday, which would have an impact on the six-power meeting later this week. But there was no sign of a breakthrough deal. Speculations of more sanctions against Iran pushed the prices up.

Enterprise Products Partners LP and Enbridge Inc. started shipping oil on May 19 through the 150,000 barrel-a-day Seaway pipeline from Cushing, Oklahoma, to Houston-area refineries, the companies said in a statement. Stocks pressure at the WTI delivery point eased, providing further supports.

Besides, comments from China’s Premier Wen Jiabao boosted expectation of more stimulus measures to bolster the slowing economy in the world’s second largest oil consumer.

In Europe, concerns over Greece partly eased after the Group of Eight industrialized nations said at the summit over the weekend that they support Greece remaining in the euro zone.

And polls showed that Greece’s conservative parties gained more supports, generating hopes of political stability in the debt-ridden country.

Equities both in Europe and Wall Street went higher, which also helped boost market sentiment.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery rose 1.09 dollars, or 1.19 percent to settle at 92.57 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude for July delivery also rose and last traded around 109 dollars a barrel.

BPO INDUSTRY. Wit Holganza (right), president of ICT Davao, and Jun Sa-a, executive director of CEDFIT, explain that potentials of the city for the booming BPO and IT industry in the country. [KARLOS MANLUPIG]

BPI increases sustainable energy financing

T

HE Bank of Philippine Island (BPI) will be able to further improve its capacity to extend sustainable energy finance (SEF) loans after it bagged a P50.4 million grant from the G-20 SME Finance Challenge Award.

In a briefing Monday, BPI President Aurelio Montinola III said they were able to win the grant after submitting the bank’s financing scheme focused on energy projects not for big corporations but on small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

“As a pioneer in green banking and in developing the SME market, BPI is thankful for the grant that will enable us to expand our SEF program. Under this program, we have been able to disburse over

P5.1 billion in loans to sustainable energy projects, many of them belonging to small entrepreneurs,” he said.

Montinola disclosed that since the introduction of the bank’s SEF program in 2008, in partnership with the World Bank’s (WB) financing arm International Finance Corporation (IFC), BPI was able to help reduce energy use by 142,000 megawatt hours (MWh) and generate renewable energy of 208,200 MWh per year.

He said the program has also resulted in the drop in greenhouse gas emissions by 527,900 tons every year.

The G-20 has designated IFC to manage the grant, which was also extended to 13 other entities around the globe.

IFC representative Matthew Gamser, during the same briefing, said G-20 really intended the grant to benefit wider market of SMEs. “We in IFC are delighted to extend our global experience in financing and developing sustainable energy technologies, particularly as they help SMEs manage their energy cost, to a valued partner such as BPI,” he said.

Relatively, BPI’s SEF program is a P5 billion risk-sharing facility with BPI and IFC having a 5050 share in the P2 billion fund while the bigger amount of P3 billion is handled by BPI alone.

BPI Assistant Vice President Nanette Biason, during the same briefing, said the SEF fund was doubled to P10 billion this

year and available for disbursement until 2016.

Meanwhile, BPI Executive Vice President Alfonso Salcedo Jr. during the same briefing said BPI is now considering to extend agriculture loans to coffee farmers to further expand the bank’s agri-agra lending.

He said the program is being studied along with IFC and targeted to help the country be known for its coffee beans.

IFC Representative Jesse Ang said the Philippines has the potential to be known for coffee beans given the temperature in the country, which is ideal for growing coffee trees.

“We see agri business as an area for development and when worked on can be a successful one,” he added. (PNA)

EDGEDAVAO

Facebook’s CEO Zuckerberg changes status, weds Chan

F

ACEBOOK CEO Mark Zuckerberg capped the week of a lifetime, changing his own status to married after wedding Priscilla Chan just a day after his company went public, he announced.

Zuckerberg posted a wedding picture with his bride, where else but on his Facebook page.

“Mark added a life event to May 19, 2012 on his timeline: Married Priscilla Chan,” was the only description of the shot of the bride in white and the groom -- famous for his attachment to casual clothes -- all smiles in a dark suit and tie on his other big day.

Facebook stumbled on its first trading day Friday as shares ended barely above the starting price after a glitchplagued market debut on the Nasdaq that failed to live up to its enormous hype.

The stock, priced at $38 on Thursday in the largest-ever initial public offering (IPO) for a technology firm, eked out a gain of just 0.61 percent to end at $38.23, amid record volume of more than 575 million shares traded.

ICT HUB

VOL.5 ISSUE 57 • MAY 23, 2012 After Diablo III launch

E-Games eyes long-term partnership with Blizzard

L

LIFETIME. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, seen here in September 2011, has capped the week of a lifetime, changing his own status to married after wedding Priscilla Chan just a day after his company went public.

Shares in the social network titan saw rollercoaster action in what was one of most keenly awaited stock issues in history. The day began with a 30-minute delay in trade, an incident which regulators are still reviewing.

Zuckerberg, 28, wearing his trademark hooded sweatshirt, remotely rang the bell to open the Nasdaq, marking the start of trade.

He told the crowd at the company’s new campus in Menlo Park, California, that going public is a “milestone” but added: “Our mission isn’t to be a public company. Our mission is to make the world more open and connected.”

The IPO gave Facebook a dizzying value of $104 billion at its market debut.

It raised more than $16 billion, making it the richest after that of financial giant Visa in 2008, according to Renaissance Capital. The addition of a possible stock “over-allotment” could boost the total to $18.4 billion.

With its current market value, Facebook is now among the most valuable US companies, ahead of sector giants Amazon ($96 billion) and Cisco ($89 billion), and more than twice the value of Ford Motor Co. ($38 billion).

But it remains behind Google ($196 billion) and Apple ($496 billion).

7

AST May 15, the Philippines became one of the first countries to have launched one of the most anticipated video games this year, US-based publisher Blizzard’s Diablo III. The game’s local launch was organized by Philippine publisher IP Egames, which had previously launched StarCraft II, another Blizzard game.

With both games already under IP E-Games’s belt, the company is dead set on bringing on a stronger partnership with the giant global publisher.

Despite having a seemingly quiet launch in the Philippines, IP EGames executives are expecting that Diablo III will be a hit. There were at least 5,000 pre-orders going to E-games from local players.

“We anticipate that Diablo III would be a huge hit in the Philippines and we see this as a long-term partnership with Blizzard,” said Heidi Anne Garayblas, chief operating officer of IP E-games.

Garayblas said that under their partnership with Blizzard, they will be selling the boxed copies of Diablo III in the Philippines,

much as what it did with StarCraft II in 2010.

She identified several retail partners where it will distribute the games.

Among them are Datablitz, i-Tech, Mineski, PC Hub, PCQuest, Digital Hub, Digital Walker, Warzone, and ADI. The distribution of a triple-A title by E-Games is a departure from its original business model of distributing game clients.

Its main revenue source are prepaid cards that allow players to purchase in-game virtual items to improve their character.

In addition, the games are in local domains that allow full control over the game environment and economy.

In the case of Diablo II, in-game virtual items are bought in an “auction house” that is controlled

by Blizzard. Local players can also play with others outside the Philippines.

Since Diablo III requires an Internet connection, players will connect to the Asian server of Blizzard’s Battle.net online gaming service.

Garayblas said that they are working out with Blizzard regarding revenue share with Blizzard especially since Dia-

Samsung Galaxy S3:

blo III will still have future purchasable expansion packs. For now, revenues still come from selling the boxed games.

Much of this anticipation is banking on the popularity of the Diablo series since it was introduced, albeit unofficially in the Philippines in 1998. Back then, Internet cafes started offering Diablo I, along with other video games that helped prop the net cafe business.

Diablo I’s success was later followed by Diablo II in 2000. Due to the growth of household-based PCs, Diablo II became popular among gamers at home.

Incidentally, many players in the Philippines were able to bypass the online connectivity requirement of both the early versions of the Diablo series as they only wanted to play the single player campaign.

Still, Garayblas said they expect more Filipinos to go online to play the game.

“There’s are a lot more you can do when playing online, especially with the speed of our local bandwidth. There will be a lot more to see when we have the player-versus-player update for Diablo III.”

Close to 10 million pre-ordered Former Yahoo! executive charged with insider trading I

U

S regulators announced that a former Yahoo! executive has agreed to plead guilty in an insider trading scheme that involved leaking word of the Internet search giant’s pact with Microsoft.

Robert Kwok was senior director of business management at Yahoo! in 2009 when the firm negotiated an alliance with Microsoft to have Bing technology power online searches, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Kwok shared news of the supposedly secret pact with Reema Shah, who was then the mutual fund manager for Ameriprise Financial Inc., the SEC said.

Shah orchestrated the purchase of more than 700,000 shares of Yahoo! stock based on Kwok’s “illegal tip” and then sold them for a profit of $389,000 after the Microsoft deal went

public, the SEC charged.

Shah had done a similar favor for Kwok a year earlier, letting him in on inside word that Autodesk was about to buy Moldflow Corporation, according to the SEC. Kwok made $4,754 trading on the “nonpublic information,” it said.

“Kwok and Shah played a game of you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours,” SEC enforcement division associate director Scott Friestad said in a statement.

Kwok and Shah spoke frequently since meeting in 2008, with Kwok sharing inside knowledge about Yahoo!’s financial

Quips

performance and Shah reciprocating with snippets of information from her job to help guide Kwok’s investment decisions, according to the SEC. The California residents have agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to commit securities fraud, it said.

Under the terms of the plea deals, which must be approved by a judge, Shah will be barred from the financial securities industry and Kwok will not be allowed to serve as an officer or director of a public company.

Financial penalties would be determined by a court at a later date.

‘NOW is not the time to stick to technicalities because truth has to be found.’

--Senate Majority Leader Tito Sotto on the appearance of Chief Justice Renato C. Corona before the Impeachment Court.

N the span of just a few days, Samsung has already received nine million pre-orders for its new smartphone, the Galaxy S3, according to an article in Korea Economic Daily published Friday.

Currently about a hundred carriers around the world, including T-Mobile and AT&T in the US and Vodafone in the UK are offering preorders for the phone. Its official release is scheduled for May 29.

According to Korea Economic Daily, the factory in charge of the production of the Galaxy S3 is working to its maximum capacity, finishing 5 million units per month.

Samsung did not wish to comment on these figures, noted the Korean daily.

The Galaxy S2, the brand’s current flagship smartphone, has sold more than 20 million units since its release a year ago. Its succesor, which is bigger (4.8 inch display), more powerful (1.4 GHz Exynos 4 Quadprocessor,) and more intelligent (responding to fingers, voice and eyetracking), is in a good position to smash that figure.

Samsung Galaxy S3

8

VANTAGE POINTS

VOL.5 ISSUE 57 • MAY 23, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

Tuna getting beyond ordinary Pinoy’s reach

W

EDITORIAL

T

Hospital corporization

HERE’S a House bill which seeks to convert 26 public hospitals of the country into government corporations. This is being opposed by many people, including and especially militant groups which have nothing good to say about the proposed law.

Among those sought to be converted into a corporation are no less than the iconic Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City led by Dr. Leopoldo Vega and the much ballyhooed Davao Regional Hospital in Apokon, Tagum City managed by Dr. Romulo Busuego, who’s concurrent chief of hospital of DRH and assistant secretary of the Department of Health in charge of some 70 public hospitals. The two hospitals are multi-awarded facilities due to their excellent management and innovative approaches in providing services to the poor.

The vehement opposition is posed by Bayan Muna, Anakpawis, Gabriela COURAGE, Migrante.

ACT Teachers, Kabataan, and Katribu, among other groups.

Lawmakers Teddy Casiño,Raymond Palatino and Luzviminda C. Ilagan of militant party-list Bayan Muna, Kabataan and Gabriela have argued against corporization of the public hospitals, saying that the conversion is just another form of privatization which would mean lesser budget for health services for the poor. They have a point.

We agree, too, that corporization under House Bill 6069 would in effect result in the abrogation by government of its primary responsibility of providing cheap but quality hospital services to the

EDGEDAVAO

Providing solutions to a seamless global village.

Printed by Zion Accuprint Publishing Inc. Door 14 ALCREJ Building, Quirino Avenue, 8000, Davao City, Philippines Tel: (082) 301-6235 Telefax: (082) 221-3601 www.edgedavao.net editorial@edgedavao.net marketing@edgedavao.net

OLIVIA D. VELASCO General Manager

ALBERTO DALILAN Managing NEILWIN L. BRAVO Sports and Motoring ARLENE D. PASAJE Cartoons

greater masses of our people who can not afford the cost of private hospitalization. Once converted to government-owned and controled corporations (GOCCs), the 26 hospitals would become less accessible to the poor. An undesirable outcome is that the poor will now compete with those who can pay in being admitted to GOCC hospitals.

This argument is not without basis. The experience of four GOCC hospitals today, among them Lung Center of the Philippines and the Philippine Children’s Medical Center, is instructive.

Casiño said in the Lung Center, only the services of the physicians are free, all facilities, medicine, food, and rooms charge fees even to Class D (indigent) patients.

One reality in the GOCC hospitals is that administrators would be forced to charge fees to most if not all patients because of government’s failure to provide adequate budget for their operation.

Gabriela party-list Rep. Ilagan also said that corporization would definitely be very detrimental to women and children because they are the majority of the patients in these hospitals.

We believe that Dabawenyos will oppose this new setup to be implemented in the SPMC and DRH. We urge leaders not only in the Davao region, but also in all other Mindanao areas to consider the serious implications of this congressional proposal, since the GOCC concept is likewise sought to be implemented in four other existing hospitals in Northern Mindanao, the CARAGA Region and the Zamboanga area.

ANTONIO M. AJERO Editor in Chief

RAMON M. MAXEY Consultant

GREGORIO G. DELIGERO CARLO P. MALLO Associate Features and Lifestyle KENNETH IRVING K. ONG KARLOS C. MANLUPIG • JOSEPH LAWRENCE P. GARCIA LEANDRO S. DAVAL JR., Creative Solutions Photography LORIE ANN A. CASCARO • JADE C. ZALDIVAR • MOSES C. BILLACURA 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

JOCELYN S. PANES Director of Sales

SOLANI D. MARATAS Finance

RICHARD C. EBONA IMELDA P. LEE Advertising Specialists

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

(Part 1)

I T H lande d price of over P h p 4 2 0 (USD10) for a sashimi grade tuna at the General Santos City fishing port complex, more and more Filipinos are becoming stranger over how a succulent and mouth-watering yellowfin tuna tastes and looks like.

When these tunas eventually end up in posh Japanese restaurants abroad, they command a hefty price. The record price for the more pricey bluefin tuna was USD396,700 for a 754 pound fish (http:// www.oneinchpunch.net/2011/01/06/ world-record-price-set-for-bluefin-tuna/). But in a recent auction in Tokyo, a single tuna reportedly fetched $736,000 or roughly $1,240 per pound.

Fresh chilled tuna are so in high demand in Japan that even the Manila grade tunas are being boxed up and flown to the Narita airport.

Two or three years ago, no honest-togoodness tuna trader will even dare entertain such thoughts.

But the times they are a changing, to paraphrase Bob Dylan.

John Heitz, who has been trading fresh chilled tuna since the 80s, said the ‘abnormal prices’ of tuna are driving local traders out of the market but is giving local tuna fishers a huge bonanza.

“Daghan lipay nga mga (A lot of happy) local fishermen, which is good,” Heitz commented. But he said, traders like him whose principal market is the US are increasingly finding it hard to compete with the Japanese market.

Japan consumes more than 80 percent of the world’s supply of fresh chilled yellowfin tuna.

Heitz can just watch in awe and disbelief when a top Japanese henchman for a local tuna processor is now personally picking off tuna at the Market 1 of the General Santos City Fish Port Complex.

“Ambot giunsa nila na pagbligya didto sa (I do not know how they are able to sell that in) Japan,” the former American Peace Corps volunteer said. Heitz is married to Filipina Muslim and whose Cebuano dialect sounds as if he was born into it.

Grading the tuna Fresh yellowfin tuna are basically classified into four quality grades.

On top are the sashimi grade tunas (called Ulo – head – in local parlance) which are flown out straight from the General Santos City airport to either Osaka or Narita in Japan or Seattle or LA in the US following a brief transfer stopover in Manila. They are marked by their deep-red color with higher fat content (Do not be fooled by that pink bright color of tuna loins sold at your local deli store.

Chances are they have undergone the smoke-filter process which explains their color). Sashimi grade tunas are further classified into three sub-grades with prices separated by Php10 (USD0.23).

Next in line are the Manila grade tunas, the ones served at posh Manila hotels.

Then Davao grades before General Santos City finally gets whatever leftovers there are. These, leftovers, mind you, can still cost, per kilo, more than a half-day’s pay for a minimum wage earner in General Santos. Minimum wage in the city is pegged at Php285 per day.

EDGEDAVAO

B

Y THE TIME this column hits the streets, guys from the Philippine Stock Exchange would be in the middle of their promotion and education campaign in Davao in their effort to entice more people to invest their money in the stock market.

They’ll be at their favorite hang-out, The Royal Mandaya Hotel along Palma Gil Street on May 24, probably at the same spot on the second floor, urging people to buy stocks and at the same day, inviting business owners and top executives to raise capital by listing their companies in the stock exchange.

It’s a hard nut to crack, but the PSE hasn’t given up yet on Pinoys who had seen all kinds of scams, deceit, manipulations all these years by so-called financial experts who love promising the moon to greenhorn investors, both big and small, all ending up in a financial catastrophe with losses running to hundreds of million pesos for hundreds of local investors.

Maybe, PSE guys today have a way to recover the faith and trust of Pinoys in the stock market and all kinds of investments in general--- that’s what we’re hoping to find on Thursday’s whole day seminar for small, retail investors and big, institu-

A

Can Pinoys regain trust in the stock market?

tional investors. Trust and confidence are very touchy words these days for the PSE, because so many Pinoys who wanted to invest their savings in the stock market, have lost them a long time ago.

But make no mistake, there are still many Pinoys out there who want to put their savings to work in the stock market, either doing it themselves by trading stocks or by buying “investment packages” in the form of Mutual Funds, like the ones offered by Sun Life or Philam Life.

Of course, we can’t deny that it’s very risky trading stocks (buying and selling) on your own, if you don’t know what you’re doing. If you don’t have a long experience in stock trading and if you haven’t burnt your fingers before from big losses, you can lose a lot of money in the market. That’s why, to be safe, it’s better to do it by simply buying mutual funds, which is a “basket” of good growth stocks chosen for you by professional fund managers.

I’m willing to bet, my friend Leo Quinito, the OIC for Capital Markets Development at the PSE will be moving things around with his project team, maybe trying to “connect” with the seminar participants, all eager to learn more about investing in stocks, hoping to find the secret to building wealth in the stock market and picking up some skills in avoiding or reducing all kinds of risks in making investments.

Maybe, just maybe, some of these participants are retirees with retirement sav-

Promoting agriculture

GRICULTURE is second to none as an economic sector of our country. Without agricuIture , there is no Philippine economy to talk about. The economies of most countries in Asia are agriculture-based.

Their governments pride themselves with the increase in production and expanding markets of their agricultural products.

No wonder our own country’s top dollarearners are agricultural products. Coconuts, bananas, pineapple, palm oil, you name it, we’re earning billions from them. What’s more, the agricultural sector directly employs legions of our workers.

Yet, government support for agriculture has always been wanting. What abounds for agriculture is lip service and schemes that turn out to be opportunities for big-time grafters and their accomplices in the private sector to steal billions from the farmers, through the Department of Agriculture (DA). The coconut levy fund is one example.

It was established purportedly to help coconut farmers improve their lives. The coco levy funds in the billions ended up in the private coffers of some people who are smarter than others. The Masagana ‘99 rice program which raised rice production for a while but also enriched a lot of grafters. Then recently, the P700-million fertilizer fund which ended up a scam with corrupt officials, including lawmakers helping themselves to the fund.

Even the importation of rice by the National Food Authority intended to help both farmers and consumers has been a venue for corrupt officials and rice smugglers to make mil-

Monkey Business

VANTAGE POINTS

VOL.5 ISSUE 57 • MAY 23, 2012

lions of dirty money.

Government, through honest officials, could always redeem itself by advocating fair trade. In opening up markets and liberalizing trade the country can really gain from open markets especially if they are that smart. Our neighboring nations most particularly Thailand are benefitting immensely from open markets because they’re competitive and their governments are supportive of their industries especially agriculture.

But us, as if we’re killing our industries and we are only not supportive, but for years we even help our competitors by allowing their products to enter freely our market and we don’t even demand reciprocal gesture from them, China in particular. From China, we buy several millions US dollar worth of their agricultural products – meat, poultry and sea produce, dairy, condiments, even vegetables while they buy just a fraction of our agricultural items.

And the most pathetic situation happened just recently when China deliberately closed their market to our tropical fruits where we have competitive advantage like our mangoes, pineapple and specifically world-class Cavendish bananas. How did they do that? Chinese authorities use the stringent quarantine requirements and other strict barriers effectively banning the importation of bananas produced in the Philippines. After the imposition of the ban, perhaps they are taking their sweet time and maybe it will take a bit longer before they will again allow Philippine-produced bananas to enter their market.

ings of P200,000 in the bank, hoping to find a way to select a stock that’s about to rise and give him a profit of 30% to 40% in just two weeks, sell the stock and keep the profit and re-invest again and again, until he ends up with P600,000 after 12 months or even a million in just 18 months. Yup, that’s one million pesos. Wouldn’t that be nice?

But this isn’t what the PSE guys are prepared to do with beginning investors who must be treated, whether you like it or not, like babies so they won’t be hurt in the stock market. Or if you still don’t know how to swim, they won’t let you jump into deep waters otherwise you’ll drown. You might not know this yet, but the stock market is cruel and unforgiving, especially to beginners and stubborn investors who refuse to follow trading rules.

What the PSE is doing here is something that should be done on a regular basis, say every three months, not once a year, if these guys want people here to regain their trust in the stock market and start withdrawing their life’s savings from the bank and put them in stocks to make their savings grow. .

This is, of course, our fervent hope that the PSE would be able to crack this tough nut of distrust and loss of confidence in the stock market by so many Filipinos, amid all these media reports of scams, deceit and financial collapse, here and abroad.

(Comments? Email me: tradingpost_ davao@yahoo.com) Our government therefore should immediately correct policy and regulation biases and to strongly fight for fair trade competition. If possible, it should never bargain with China over the purposeful ban of Philippine bananas, but instead fight against the entry of “substandard, disposable and chemically-laced” China products ranging from agricultural produce, foodstuff, canned goods, cosmetics, toys, electronic gadgets and accessories, which are killing slowly but gradually the production of the local industry. Maybe it will take weeks or months for the Chinese authorities to decide to allow Philippine bananas into their market, but not until our government acts swiftly by also issuing strict directives to reduce in large quantities the importation of China-made products.

As a reminder, under the World Trade Organization (WTO) policies and guidelines, we also have the right to use special safeguards.

Some well-developed countries including China are mouthing free trade but only as far as underdeveloped nations like the Philippines are opening their markets to them. But the sad part is that they are overprotective of their own market by setting up harsh barriers and other punitive requirements. In the meantime, the resolution of the ban on Philippine bananas as well as the diplomatic standoff between our country and China over the Panatag Island look distant.

I

9

A shaman mourns

can find no valid reasons why the military bombed the ancestral domain of the Bukidnon tribe within the Mt. Kitanglad Range in Barangay Dalwangan in this city, on April 21. Contrary to what the military may have declared, the Bukidnons of Dalwangan are a most peaceful people in this side of the world at least. Thus they were shocked and confused when a fighter plane came and dropped those bombs on the same places that they consider sacred.

As reported by MindaNews’ Walter Balane, Bae Inatlawan Adelina Tarino, the tribe’s chief shaman and head claimant, was in tears when she narrated the bombing incident. Having known Bae Inatlawan since 1996, I understand her grief as her people’s spiritual leader. She and her tribe take any violent incident within their territory as a transgression against their belief in spirit-presence in Nature.

For the military officials concerned, the bombing may just be a routine part of their job. But for the tribe it was a desecration of their sacred grounds. For the Lumads, sacred grounds include the burial sites of their ancestors, worship areas, and other places that hold great cultural and historical significance. To illustrate better how the Lumads have felt, imagine how Christians would react if their churches are bombed.

Or think of what Muslims would do if the same thing were done to their mosques.

Worse, the military is said to be planning to make Bae Inatlawan and the members of her tribe surrender as New People’s Army rebels. If true, it would be the height of stupidity. Consider these facts and judge for yourself: Bae Inatlawan is a member of the Protected Area Management Board of Mt. Kitanglad Range representing the indigenous peoples. Just recently, she was appointed as Lumad representative to the barangay council of Dalwangan based on the provision on mandatory representation in the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act. Bae Inatlawan’s official functions are offshoots of her active involvement in the protection of Mt. Kitanglad and in her track record as advocate of Lumad rights.

If the military doubts her credentials as a consistent partner in government programs concerning the protected area and her tribe, they can ask Bukidnon Gov. Alex Calingasan, Vice Gov. Jose Ma. R. Zubiri Jr., Congressman Florencio Flores Jr., and provincial environment officer Felix Mirasol Jr. As for me, I won’t hesitate to say that Bae Inatlawan is worth more than a battalion of soldiers the government would send to Kitanglad.

So what’s the point or real motive in bombing her tribe’s territory? We can only hope it’s not a prelude to the entry of capitalists as is happening in other parts of Mindanao. [H. Marcos C. Mordeno writes mainly on the environment, human rights and politics. He can be reached at hmcmordeno@gmail.com]

Quips

‘IF THERE is an offer of P100 billion, I will sign with my eyes closed.’

--GMA Network chair Felipe Gozon on the possibility of selling the giant broadcast company.

10

SUBURBIA

VOL.5 ISSUE 57 • MAY 23, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

‘Anak OFW’ camp to tackle migrant workers’ issues

A

RESCUERS IN ACTION. First Aide training participants who are employees of LGU Tagum quickly transfer an injured victim during an earthquake drill at the SP building as the culmination part of the2-day Philippine Red Cross (PRC) Basic First Aid and Other Life Saving Techniques initiated by Tagum City Human Resources Management Office last May 16-17 at the Molave Hotel, Tagum City. [PHOTO BY LOUIE BRYAN LAPAT OF CIO TAGUM]

Tagum trains employees in ‘first aid’ techniques T

O be prepared in times of devastating calamities like typhoon Sendong that wrecked Cagayan de Oro City and Iligan City December of last year, the City of Tagum, sent 40 of its employees from the different offices, to the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) “Basic First Aid and Other Life Saving Techniques” seminar last May 16-17, at the Molave Ho-

tel, Tagum City.

The 2-day training/ seminar is initiated by Tagum City - Human Resources Management Office (HRMO) in partnership with the Philippine Red Cross - Davao del Norte Chapter that culminated in an earthquake emergency rescue drill at the City Hall and SP building in Bonifacio St. The 40-man group will be formed into a

FTAGUM, 13

to build trust and confidence during the summer camp.

YAMAN is an Anak OFW organization under the umbrella of Mindanao Migrants Center for Empowering Actions (MMCEAI), a rights-based service center for active and returning OFWs and their immediate families and communities.

YAMAN, originally a theater youth group, has just been formed on March 4 this year, covering 35 members who are residing in Talomo, Davao City.

MMCEAI Executive Director Inorisa SialanaElento said that the participants to the summer camp will be coming from community-based and school-based formation in 11 communities being assisted by MMCEAI in Davao City.

They are children of active and returning migrant workers in the city, Elento said.

She said there are many issues concerning the plight of migrants workers but the situation of the families and children left behind is not discussed.

ComVal to construct Asia’s longest zipline 3-MAN CARRY RESCUE. Registered nurse and Philippine Red Cross (PRC) First Aide instructor, Mr. Clemen Cacayorin, demonstrate to the women employees of LGU Tagum the 3-man carry on injured victim. [PHOTO BY LEO TIMOGAN OF CIO TAGUM]

RESCUE DEMO. Participant employees of LGU Tagum perform a rescue demonstration learned during the 2-day Philippine Red Cross (PRC) Basic First Aide and Other Life Saving Techniques. [PHOTO BY LEO TIMOGAN OF CIO TAGUM]

LGU TAGUM FIRST AIDERS.Thetrained selected LGU Tagum employees pose for the camera together with (seated from L-R) Luzviminda C. Neri, PRC –Davao del Norte Chapter Administrator, Delia dela Cruz, Executive Assistant III to the Mayor and Edna J. Quilario, City Human Resources Management Officer during the last day of the 2-day Philippine Red Cross (PRC) Basic First Aide and Other Life Saving Techniques initiated by Tagum City Human Resources Management Office last May 16-17, 2012 at the Molave Hotel, Tagum City. [PHOTO BY BONG ABOABO OF HRMO]

ROUND 80 children of migrant workers in the city aged 13-25 years old will be converging in an awareness-raising summer camp on May 26-28 here aiming to discuss the current situation of their parents aboad.

The first Anak OFW (children of Overseas Filipino Workers) Summer Camp 2012 also intends to enhance the children’s leadership skills and talents through training and other capability-building exercises.

Maybelle Himonda, vice-president of Young People’s Action for Migrants Agency and Nationalism (YAMAN), said the summer camp will be a venue to help the participants understand the need for their parents to work abroad.

“So we could also help them to stay away from doing unlawful activities, so they will not rebel against their parents, and so they will not take vices,” Himonda told the media in Friday’s (May 18) Kapihan sa PIA. She said they will also learn the basic rights of children, and be taught

Rescue on an earthquake scenario. First Aide training participants who are employees of LGU Tagum carry an injured victim from the 2nd floor of the Tagum SP building during an earthquake drill as the culmination part of the 2-day Philippine Red Cross (PRC) Basic First Aide and Other Life Saving Techniques. [PHOTO BY LOUIE BRYAN LAPAT OF CIO TAGUM]

T

HE provincial government of Compostela Valley will be building a 1.5- kilometer zipline at Camp Manual Yan in Mawab.

The P3-million project once completed will be Asia’s longest Zipline eclipsing the 840-meter Dahilayan Zipline in Bukidnon.

The zipline will start at its highest point in Camp Manuel Yan and will descend 1,500 meters down to Hijo River, according to Christine T. Dompor, provincial tourism officer. She added that preparatory works are underway and the zipline is estimated to be completed later this year.

The zipline are among the developments introduced to the sprawling 100-hectare army camp which has been declared as an eco-tourism park.

Aside from facilities in the camp, they are also looking into developing the nearby Hijo River to complement the tourism attractions in the area.

A Memorandum of Agreement has been signed between the Province and the Philippine Army’s 10th Infantry Division to develop and promote the military camp/eco-tourism park.

Aside from the ziplines, the area is also being readied as a caving and spelunking destination. Mahayahay Cave located inside the camp has been identified as another tourism site.

Lt. Colonel Paniza, commander of the 72nd infantry battalion, a tenant unit of the camp said that extra care has been enforced to preserve the caves, he bared that strict military regulations even forbade military personnel from entering the caves without due permission from the municipal tourism office of Mawab.

Visitors are also required to plant Lawaan trees before they are allowed to visit the caves.

According to Paniza the military is keen in bringing back the once lush Lawaan forests in the area before they were cut down to make way for farming communities.

Tree parks, an Indigenous People’s Village, a 3-kilometer trekking trail, a deer sanctuary, a heroes park are among the facilities currently being developed by the Army in the camp as part of the efforts to develop it into an eco-tourism park.

EDGEDAVAO

Engaging business in the peace process F

OR the past few years, the Davao and the whole Mindanao business community has advocated for the government to consider the business sector’s perspective on the peace process. Its involvement can be an effective platform for collective and coherent approaches to holistic development by engaging the experience and expertise of business in economic component of the peace negotiations and on poverty alleviation.

Now that this issue is currently undertaken by the national government, it is timely that the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. and the Mindanao Busi-

COMMUNITY SENSE 11

VOL.5 ISSUE 57 • MAY 23, 2012

ness Council have joined together to bring the forum: “Engaging Business in the Peace Process”, on DCCCII’s 5th General Membership Meeting, May 25, 2012 at the Marco Polo Hotel Davao.

No less than the Chairperson of the GPHMILF Peace Panel himself, Atty. Mario Victor F. Leonen will provide updates and salient points of the decision points and agreements in the peace negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Leonen was a former dean of the University of the Philippines College of Law. As Chairperson of the GPH Peace Panel, they reached their first

agreement with the MILF under the Aquino administration in the creation of a new autonomous political entity in place of ARMM as stipulated in the “GPH-MILF Decisions Points on Principles as of April 2012”. One of the points of this agreement is the empowerment of economic activity in the region by fostering more equal opportunities and further establishing common market and global trade. Prior to becoming Chair of the GPH Peace Panel, he was the Executive Director of the Legal Rights and natural Resources Center, Inc.Kasama sa Kalikasan which he also co-founded.

movie Notting Hill. Also, the hit song by Celine Dion “Can’t Live With You, Can’t Live Without You”.

Join the international renowned singer, songwriter and multi-Grammy award artist Dan Hill for an intimate concert night on July 7, 2012 (Saturday) at the Philippine Women’s College RSM Event Center, Philippine Women’s College, Davao City. Doors open at 7pm and the performance start at 8pm.

This concert night presented by Davao City Chamber of Commerce

and Industry, Inc., Davao Medical Society, Far East Associates, Generation YES in cooperation with Verdemonte Realty Corporation and Philippine Women’s College shall benefit the Davao City Watershed Management Council and Amuma Foundation for adults and children cancer patients.

For more information on the concert event and inquiries on ticket sales, please call telephone numbers 221-7515 & 226-4433.

LOCATION Matina, Davao City Matina(Diversion) Davao City Bunawan, Davao City Indangan, Davao City Bincungan, Tagum City

An intimate evening with Dan Hill

A

FTER the successful Asia Tour including visits to Singapore, Malaysia and Korea, Dan Hill is back in the Philippines bringing with him the songs that we grew up listening to such as “Sometimes When We Touch”, “Can’t We Try”, “In Your Eyes”, “Why Do We Always Hurt The One We Love” and many more.

He will also perform familiar hits he has written for other artist such as “I Do (Cherish You)” a song written for 98 Degrees and the hit song from the

AREA (sq.m.) PRICE/sq.m.

17,940

P2,500

3,831

P1,500

41,408

P800

7,056

P1,200

27,411

P1,000

LOCATION

AREA (sq.m.) PRICE/sq.m.

Villa Josefina Resort Village, Dumoy Toril, Davao City

Minimum of 240 sq.m.

P5,985

St. Joseph Homes, Sirawan, Toril,Davao City

Minimum of 150 sq.m.

P3,600

LOCATION Lot Area Flr. Area Blk. 4, Lot 10 Villa Josefina Resort Village 240 sq.m. 177.31 sq.m Dumoy, Toril, Davao City

For Inquiries: Please Call : PRYCE CORPORATION c/o SONNY MOLE Contact No. : 0922-­‐879-­‐0036 / (082) 224-­‐2686 Email ADD : sonitomole1223@yahoo.com

PRICE P4.8 M

12

NATION/WORLD

NATION BRIEFS

T

Task force

HE government on Monday said it would form a special task force to go after restaurants selling the meat of protected sea turtles.

The eight-member team was created after news reports revealed the proliferation of roadside restaurants in the central island of Cebu serving dishes made from the government-protected marine animals.

T

Failed

HE Aquino administration has “really failed” in addressing human rights violations by security forces, an international human rights group said Monday, little more than a week before the Philippines is set for review before the UN Human Rights Council.

In a press conference, Elaine Pearson, Human Rights Watch deputy director for Asia, said the Philippine government has not been “holding its side up” in addressing extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances.

C

Topped

ITY and municipal mayors topped the list of government officials with the most number of cases filed against them before the Office of the Ombudsman last year.

Records show that 3,852 cases were filed against mayors in 2011, of which 2,075 were lodged in the anti-graft agency’s central office in Metro Manila.

T

Surplus

HE government achieved a budget surplus in April as revenues increased during the tax-filing season and even as state spending improved compared to expenditures in the same period last year, the Department of Finance (DOF) reported yesterday.

The government posted a fiscal surplus of P31.024 billion in April, the highest monthly surplus recorded since the P54.1 billion surplus posted in November 2007. The April surplus is higher than the P26.258-billion surplus recorded a year ago.

T

Star witness

HE star witness in the Ram Revilla murder, whose testimony led to the identification and arrest of the suspects, is scheduled to testify in court on June 5.

Ruel Puzon, also known as Katcho or Chokat, was subpoenaed byJudge Fortunito Madrona of Parañaque Regional Trial Court Branch 257. Aside from Puzon, the judge also subpoenaed two police officers, including Chief Inspector Fergen Torred, head of the Parañaque police’s intelligence unit.

VOL.5 ISSUE 57 • MAY 23, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

Defiant Gaga rocks fans N --and censors -- in Manila

WORLD TODAY

L

ADY Gaga rocked the Philippines Monday, defying critics and state censors as thousands of fans, many of them dressed as outrageously as she was, roared their approval.

Despite the protests of conservative Christians and warnings by state censors, Lady Gaga declared “I’m not a creature of your government, Manila”.

She then belted out her controversial song “Judas”, which her Filipino critics have labelled as blasphemous.

The audience tweeted photos of the US pop phenomenon wearing a full-length yellow dress inspired by Philippine national costume as she and a dance crew gyrated for the song “Born This Way” -- a gay anthem.

The city government had earlier warned that her second show on Tuesday night could be banned if the censors among the audience monitored any hints of blasphemy, devil worship, nudity or lewd conduct.

Up to 40,000 fans in the Catholic-majority nation paid as much as 15,840 pesos ($370) each to watch the US singer.

Her world tour, “The Born This Way Ball”, has been dogged by controversy in Asia, with an upcoming concert in Muslim-majority Indo-

L

Breakthrough

US singer Lady Gaga arrives at a hotel in Manila on May 19. [AFP] nesia cancelled on police orders for fear of violence from religious hardliners.

In the Philippines, Catholic leader Archbishop Ramon Arguelles urged the public to boycott her two concerts.

“Her fans are in danger of falling into the clutches of Satan,” he told reporters.

Former Manila mayor Lito Atienza, one of those calling for a concert ban, said he was opposed to the song “Judas”.

“We respect freedom of expression in this country. We also appreciate art and culture... but the laws should be respected,” he told AFP. But officials in the Manila district of Pasay

allowed the show to go on Monday night at the Arena, a new, oblong theatre built in Pasay by the country’s richest man, Henry Sy of the SM shopping mall chain.

About 100 “little monsters” -- the name given to Lady Gaga’s devoted followers -- had lined up hours before the show, sporting her signature outrageous clothing, hairstyle and makeup.

A group of about 500 Christian activists tried to march on the Arena, singing religious songs while carrying placards saying “Stop Lady Gaga, the mother monster.”

However riot police stopped them about one

kilometre (half a mile) away.

Local authorities earlier said they had worked out a deal to permit the show while addressing the clamour by Christian conservatives.

Censors were in the audience to monitor possible violations of a law against “immoral doctrines, obscene publications and exhibitions and indecent shows”, said Glenn Agranzamendez, secretary to Pasay mayor Tony Calixto.

Christian groups have vowed to send their own monitors and warned they could sue Lady Gaga under a law that penalises taking part or sponsor-

Fake drugs threaten gains made in war on malaria

OW-quality and fake anti-malarial drugs flooding into markets in Asia and Africa are driving drug resistance and threatening gains made in the fight against the disease in the past de-

Path out

ATO leaders mapped a path out of the unpopular war in Afghanistan, backing plans to hand Afghans the combat lead from mid-2013 while vowing to stand by them as they seize their own destiny.

In a Chicago summit declaration, US President Barack Obama and his NATO military allies ratified an “irreversible” roadmap to “gradually and responsibly” withdraw 130,000 combat troops by the end of 2014.

cade, according to a study by global health experts.

The study found around 36 percent of antimalarial drugs analysed in southeast Asia were fake, while a third of samples in sub-Saharan Af-

rica failed chemical testing because they contained either too much or not enough active ingredient.

The researchers said the problem might be even bigger.

The emergence of re-

SUFFERING. An ethnic Kachin child suffering from malaria receives a traditional treatment at a camp for people displaced by fighting between government troops and the Kachin Independence Army, or KIA, outside the city of Myitkyina in the north of the country

sistance to artemisinin drugs - currently the most effective treatment for malaria - along the ThailandCambodia border - has already been documented.

“Despite a dramatic rise in reports of poor-quality anti- malarial drugs over the past decade, the issue is much greater than it seems,”Gaurvika Nayyar, of the Fogarty International Center at the U.S. National Institutes of Health, wrote in a study in the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal.

“Most cases are probably unreported, reported to the wrong agencies, or kept confidential by pharmaceutical companies.”

More than 3 billion people worldwide are at risk of malaria, a mosquito-borne parasitic disease which kills around 650,000 people a year, most of them babies and children in Africa.

T

HE United States has achieved a rare human rights breakthrough with China by negotiating the departure of dissident Chen Guangcheng, but few are ready to predict that the case will set a precedent.

The dramatic case has revived debate over what influence the United States holds on human rights with China’s increasingly confident leadership, which in recent years has ended a practice of freeing dissidents as goodwill gestures.

Pivotal moment

U

N chief Ban Kimoon warned that the search for peace in Syria was at a “pivotal moment” and expressed strong concerns of an all-out civil war, as a fiveweek-old truce was broken yet again.

A bomb rocked the Damascus neighbourhood of Qaboon during the night killing five people, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Tuesday.

Birth control

F

ORTY-three Catholic dioceses, universities and other organizations have filed 12 suits across several US states challenging a federal requirement that their health plans cover birth control.

The complaints filed Monday follow similar action by seven US states in February, and could deepen an election-year row pitting Democrats and women’s rights groups against conservatives and major Catholic institutions.

Monitoring

R

OBOT “fish” developed by European scientists to improve pollution monitoring moved from the lab to the sea in a test at the northern Spanish port of Gijon on Tuesday.

The developers hope the new technology, which reduces the time it takes to detect a pollutant from weeks to seconds, will sell to port authorities, water companies, aquariums and anyone with an interest in monitoring water quality.

EDGEDAVAO

Dutertes...

Corona...

FFROM 1

FFROM 1 Macapagal-Arroyo. Such willingness was shown

by President Erap’s welcoming to the UNA folds resigned senator Juan Miguel “Migs” Zubiri, whose inclusion in the UNA senatorial lineup has been bruited about. The inclusion is in turn openly resented by Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, who is currently PDP-Laban chairman. Pimentel blamed Zubiri for losing four years of his six-year term as senator after being cheated in 2007.

“The Dutertes will sever ties with PDP-Laban. Mahitabo gyud na if Binay supports Nograles,” Duterte said during his TV show Ato ni Bay at the City Council building.

“I don’t care what PDP-Laban does with Nograles. But if that time comes, then we will cross the bridge when we get there and officially separate from PDP-Laban,” he added.

City Mayor Sara Duterte on Monday also said she “would not be surprised if UNA declares support for the Nograleses.”

“Nakakita na ko nga naa na si Zambales Representative Milagros Magsaysay nag-confirm nga sa UNA siya. Dili na ko matingala nga si Speaker Nograles makig tie-up pud sa UNA,” she said.

Resign

Sara...

FFROM 2

God,” he said.

The mayor said last Monday that she’s still “split” on whether or not to run for public office next year.

To this the elder Duterte said he would “keep my distance” so as not to influence

Camella...

FFROM 3

have a small, efficient space that’s comfortable for retirement years. But just because they are approaching their twilight years doesn’t mean they have to live an outdated lifestyle.

As the city’s newest premier address, Camella Northpoint is just a stone’s throw away from everything its residents need. Located at the junction of JP Laurel, Bajada and Buhangin Road, it is ac-

Tagum...

FFROM 5

regular First Aider and Disaster Responders of the Local Government of Tagum that will perform emergency rescue when accident and disaster strike and help avoid further damage and injury to victims and prevent loss of lives.

The group will act as conduit of the Red Cross to the community and

13

VOL.5 ISSUE 57 • MAY 23, 2012

Davao Mayor DuterteCarpio said she will be resigning from PDP-Laban.

However, she said it will not be because of the foregoing reasons but in order to avoid being tagged as a “political butterfly.”

The mayor said she’d rather want Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod (Hugpong), the aggrupation of Duterte supporters, to formally become a political party and “stand on its own.”

“Gahulat lang ko sa accreditation sa Hugpong as a political party. After which, if it will conflict with the provisions of PDP-Laban, which is a national political party, then I will formally resign,” she said.

“Di lang nako gusto pangunahan but I will formally tender my resignation and address it to Vice President Binay,” she said.

Duterte-Carpio said that if Hugpong cannot depend on a national party, then she can “strengthen it with support from the people.”

“Di nako gusto maki tie-up sa national party.

Pag mag tie-up man gud ka sa national, ang national pud mag balhinbalhin kada election.

Magbalhin balhin pud ang mga tao, mao nang nangusog ko nga mahimong political party ang

Hugpong,” she said.

“My reason na mukalas ko sa PDP is because I want to insulate myself form national politics and concentrate on Davao politics with the creation of a political party,” she added.

However, the city mayor also said that “support for President Benigno Aquino III will continue.”

“Siyempre musuporta ta sa President.

Nisuporta man ta katong sa election and wala man siyay gipakita nga dili maayo sa atoa. So, magpakita ta ug support.

That is my own opinion,” she said.

Closed Meanwhile, reports say UNA has closed its doors to candidates outside of PDP-Laban and PMP in order to avoid local level in-fighting.

Senior PMP leader Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile last May 6 said UNA coalition officials arrived at the decision to avoid any possibility of alliance partners battling it out in local elections.

“If you would have all parties under the umbrella of UNA, they will be fighting it out down below because you cannot control members of the respective parties at the local level from putting up their respective candidates,” Enrile said.

her.

But he also added that “if the time comes that intervention is needed, then I will persuade her to run,” he said.

The younger Duterte spent P1.3 million of her own money to finance her candi-

dacy in the 2010 election, but admits that if she decides to run for first district representative instead, she would be needing more funds against “a strong opponent,” referring to their political rivals, the Nograleses.[JADE C. ZALDIVAR]

cessible to all sorts of public transport and a few minutes’ drive to all their daily essential needs.

They are near everything, such as hospitals, banks, airport, malls, public markets, department stores, places of worship, supermarkets, shopping and commercial areas, entertainment and recreation centers. A quaint commercial center immediately outside the condo gates

gives them a lifestyle destination within walking distance.

Camella Northpoint is managed by a professional property management team that takes care of the repairs and maintenance, even offering cleaning services. There are also activities that promote good health such as aerobic sessions, swimming lessons, family day, and others that enhance community camaraderie.

help strengthen the Red Cross 143 volunteerism program that aimed at organizing and training 44 volunteers in every Barangay, school and work place in the country.

The HRMO planned of providing the same group further trainings to better equip them to additional life saving

techniques in different the possible disasters that may occur in the city.

Some of the newly trained First Aiders will be tapped in the upcoming DepEd’s Alternative Learning System mobile teachers’ survival skills training dubbed as ALS FEAR FACTOR. [LEO TIMOGAN OF CIO TAGUM]

”We will give Corona until tomorrow (Wednesday) to return. If he does not return, we will consider this case submitted for resolution. If corona does not want to be cross-examined, I will order his statement stricken off the record,” Enrile said.

The decision of Enrile was supported by all the 23 senators present during the 40th day of the impeachment trial.

Defense lead counsel Justice Serafin Cuevas apologized for Corona’s sudden

departure from the session hall even as he got boos from the gallery.

Corona returned to the session hall on a wheelchair, forcing Cuevas to ask for suspension to give the chief magistrate enough time to recover from hypoglycemia until Wednesday. ”He is not physically able and not mentally suited to carry on the direct examination. Corona will continue his testimony but not today,” Cuevas said.

Enrile granted the request of the defense and, at

the same time, demanded respect from Corona. ”I have high respect for the chief justice and Supreme Court but I demand respect for the institution I represent. I will not allow any abuse of authority against this court for as long as I am presiding officer,” Enrile said.

In his testimony, Corona denied the claims of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales that he has 82 dollar accounts amounting to US$ 10 to 12 million and 31 peso bank deposits.

Benedict XVI, accepting Capalla’s resignation due to health reasons.

New primate Succeeding Capalla, 77, as the new Primate of Davao City is Valles, 60, a native of Maribojoc, Bohol.

Valles attended his early education in Bohol but later moved to Lupon, Davao Oriental. He took up Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy at St. Francis Xavier Regional Major Seminary from 19681972 and studied Theology from 1972-1976 at the same school.

He took a Licentiate in

Sacred Liturgy at Pontificio Ateneo Sant’ Anselmo in Rome, Italy, from 1985-1990, as a post graduate course. He took his masteral course in Religious Education at the Ignatian Institute for Religious Education at the Ateneo de Davao University in 1997.

Ordained as priest at the age of 24 in 1976, Valles was elevated to bishop in 1997 and was asasigned to Kidapawan, Philippines.

Following nine years of service, he was elevated to Archbishop of Zamboanga in 2006 and in 2012 as Archbishop of Davao City.

Archbishop...

FFROM 2

contribution to inter-religious dialogue in Mindanao having been one of the founders of the Bishops-Ulama Conference, a member of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conference (FABC) as well as the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

In 2011, the local government conferred upon Capalla the Datu Bago Award which is in recognition of Dabawenyos who have rendered outstanding contribution to the growth and development of the city.

Last February, the Archdiocese of Davao received communication from Pope

14

SPORTS

VOL.5 ISSUE 57 • MAY 23, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

Reforms for Davao cycling pushed T

HE recent success of the Davao Summer Games National Mountain Bike Challenge has also brought to fore the emerging clamor for reforms in the sport of cycling in Davao.

Participants roared in approval as race officials declared before the start of Sunday’s cross country race that it was the start of the reforms in cycling.

“Ito na ang umpisa ng pagbabago,” said Paeng Cruz to the roar of approval from the 300 riders who took part in the 33-kilometer race serving as one of the highlights of this year’s Davao Summerfest organized by the Duaw Davao Festival Foundation.

Several groups of cyclists from Davao and other Mindanao cities have clamoured for a change in the leadership of PhilCycling in Mindanao which is headed by long-time Mindanao vice president Salvador Paholio,

MASSED START. Cyclists get off the starting gate during the Cross Country race of the Davao Summer Games National Mountain Bike Challenge.

(Below left), the lead pack at the Diversion Road section, (right) Jun Rey Navara lifts his bike after winning the premier Open Elite class, and (lower photo) Galvin Galan of Cebu whips his bike at the finish of the Downhill race. (BOY LIM)

21-C captures 2 3 on 3 titles B

ARANGAY 21-C captured a pair of 3 on 3 titles in the 12 years old and under division to lead the winners in the recent Davao Summer Games 3-on-3 basketball tournament held at the NCCC Mall’s Kadayawan Hall.

The 21-C boys and girls teams won the championship at the expense of separate foes to earn the top prize of P8,000. Barangay 40-D took the runnerup honors in the girls 12 years old and under worth P5,000 while Matina Aplaya was second runner-up to take home P3,500.

Barangay 1-A meantime finished second in the boys 12 years and under with Barangay 19-B coming in third and Barangay Sto. Nino in fourth.

In the girls 16 years old and under, Barangay Sasa won the title over Barangay Talomo. The Sasa cagers won P10,000 and Talomo took home P7,000.

Barangay San Antonio finished 3rd and won P5,000

while Catalunan Grande was fourth and got P3,000.

Barangay Lapu-Lapu also joined the winner’s circle after it took the boys 16 years and under title at the expense of Barangay 22-C. Lapu-Lapu took home P10,000 for the victory while Barangay 22-C got P7,000.

Rounding up the winners are Barangay San Antonio (3rd) with P5,000 and Matina Crossing (4th) with P3,000.

City Sports Development Division officerin-charge Cholo Elegino awarded the prizes to the winners of the tournament serving as one of the com-

petition highlights of the Davao Summerfest 2012 organized by the Duaw Davao Festival Foundation and backed up by Davao Light and Power, International Pharmaceuticals Inc., H2Zero Water, AMA Computer College Davao, Nature Spring Water, and SM City Davao.

champion ay makakakuha siya ng P1 million,” Gregorio added to the delight of Gabuco and the rest of the ABAP delegation led by executive director Ed Picson.

“Sobrang thank you sa binigay sa akin. Salamat dahil malaking tulong ito sa anak ko lalo na sa edukasyon niya,” replied Gabuco, a single mother to her five-year-old son.

Gabuco later said after the PSA Forum that she will also use the money to pay the remaining balance to a property she had purchased for her family in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

Gabuco captured the very first world amateur boxing title for the Philip-

pines — male or female — in Qinhuangdao, China by defeating hometown bet Xu Shiqi, 10-9, despite a partisan crowd trying to take away the Filipina boxer out of focus.

She earned a trip to the finals by defeating Venezuelan, Mongolian and Canadian opponents.

Her world title win, however, won’t earn Gabuco a slot in the 2012 Olympics as her weight class of light flyweight is not part of the inaugural women’s boxing tournament in London.

Nesthy Petecio, the lone Filipino gunning for an Olympic slot, lost in her first bout in the flyweight division.

P1M for Pinay gold medalist

J

OSIE Gabuco is now one million pesos richer.

The newly-crowned AIBA Women’s World Championship gold medalist will receive P1 million from PLDT through its chairman Manny V. Pangilinan as incentive for a feat never before done by any Filipino.

ABAP secretary general Patrick Gregorio announced the good news in Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum.

“It’s a historic feat,” said Gregorio. “I’ve seen plenty of Filipino boxers but of them, there’s only one athlete who can accomplish that and it’s Josie.”

“Bilang isang world

Jr.

The two-day bikefest was the most successful cycling event staged in the city in years.

For the first time, national riders took part in a race in Davao. BONE Club of Davao spearheaded the bikefest and received tremendous response from the cycling community in Mindanao.

“We are happy to be a part of this wave of change in cycling,” said Stanley Suarez of BONE Club Davao.

Southeast Asian Games gold medallist JR Barba and cousin Joey finished 1-2 in the Open Elite class of the Downhill race while South Cotabato’s Jun Rey Navara won the cross country’s Open Elite class.

The Davao BNE Club hopes to stage more mountain biking events in Davao this year.

“Maraming gustong bumalik sa Davao. We hope to do another race later this year,” said Suarez.

INdulge!

VOL.5 ISSUE 57 • MAY 23, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

Bianca Barreto Uy WOMEN

Her daily walk as mom, wife, friend, and career woman

In this modern age, dressing up has become more fun and easy without the grandiose rituals of our foremothers. Women nowadays have jampacked calendars which take them to different places, even in a span of only 24 hours. Gone are the days when females took only the persona of a housewife, breaking through the old perfection of her function in the society and as standing guidance to the next generation in her traditional understated garments.

What I love about the woman of today is her ability to juggle different roles with different clothes. Balancing a modern lifestyle as a woman consists of making time for a family, managing a fulfilling career, and keeping up with friends. While modern women vary in lifestyle and personality, we are still made of a common DnA that moulds us in to sophistication and elegance. Be it fabric or shoes, our wardrobe transcends our being from divine femininity into to a production number for all occasions.

Take Bianca Barretto-Uy, for instance. Wife, mother of three, career woman, and a breath of fresh air in every social gathering.

She is Bianca with a C – being born and christened as Christina Barretto. Akin to the elegant nickname given to her by her dad, she lives and breathes fashion with much ease and refined taste. Whether on candid or shot on cue, her smile and style registers perfectly on camera, looking confident, charming, and classy. I consider her look as an essay of various style theories and applications, polished according to type and purpose.

If she underwent any formal training in styling, I’m sure she would have gotten an A+ on her report card.

Bianca gives us a preface of her dress diary. “For a fashion show, I’d probably wear a sheer blouse tucked in a short pleated skirt and pumps. Cocktail dresses are, of course, for cocktail events, but I try to hype up the look with heeled sandals or statement pumps. A mullet dress and heeled sandals would be perfect for my kids’ recognition program, while a relax-

ing coffee or lunch date with friends would see me in a loose blouse, shorts and flat sandals. A movie date with my husband would call for a t-shirt, cardigan, jeans and ballet flats. My typical office wear is a shift dress paired with open-toed wedges. “ She stands out with her choices of fashion commodities that are comfortable, unrestraining, and effortlessly stunning. Her flexibility in fashion mirrors her versatility as a person, walking the path to success in different shoes that are sure to make Carrie Bradshaw proud.

“Shoes are all about utility and style. They take you to different events in your life. needless to say, fashion should also go with comfort.” Bianca wears different shoes for different roles ---a social figure, mom, friend, wife, and career woman.

She has managed to get through life’s rocky roads with effortless grace, just as she happily married and balanced the function of “me” to “them,” right from the moment she stepped in her bridal shoes and walked the aisle with Morris Uy some 7 years ago. While most pregnant women balloon their way to hibernation, this social figure surfaced the pages of glossies donned in the latest trends, graced three times to her honour.

What Bianca wears complement her daily agenda, which she rolls out from as early as 6.30 am. Her morning glory is stimulated with butterfly kisses from her wonderful brood, coupled

Bianca’s in-bag essentials.

with good vibes which she carries to work with. Her trusty ballerina flats and sleek sandals are her saving grace to survive the long hours of work at the Sales and Marketing office of Kar Asia, a family business where she keeps busy as head of department.

Her shoe tale continues with a trip to a mall or two, as style counsel to unica hija Isha, and to several summer arts activities for her elder sons, Quentin and Zach. Bianca treasures family bonding over food, Ipad games, out of town trips, and other interactive activities which help develop her kids’ skills.

The characters she plays in her life are also evident in the supplies she carry in her bag: Baby wipes, sanitizer, makeup essentials, cell phone, face tissue, house keys, and a rosary. Yes, she is also a Marian devotee. no wonder her beauty is timeless, skin always flawless.

Her age remains a mystery to those who don’t know she’s now a 33 year old mom of three. Her road to maturity is symptomatic of a Benjamin Button case, as she’s one who has never aged a day and whose personal style channels through the classic and the pop culture.

Her visit to the dermatologist comes secondary in maintaining her youthful glow,

Her shoe collection.

as her au naturel flair is skin deep and prettified by positive thoughts. To her, good vibes are almost medicinal as a pain reliever, as beautifying as any cosmetics product, and as age defying as stem cell treatments.

The child like innocence in her face is relative to her slim body frame. She describes her figure as scrawny, which to most of us is already

a gift. There is no hint of baby fat in her svelte shape, and no trace of sagging skin that comes with age. Her fitness regimen is defined by a goal to gain weight, except post pregnancy wherein she ably and quickly shrinks back into her slimfit’s by taking pilates and belly dancing classes.

She quips, “Do something which won’t bore you. Metaphorically speaking, exercise

comes as an easy breeze if you move to the beat of your heart.”

Her versatility to fit and match small sizes and versatile designs makes her the perfect choice as print model for home-grown and global brands. She unconsciously charades as a living mannequin in special events, and has always topped the best dressed list of every meticulous fashion police. For evening affairs, she slips into a pair of pumps to elevate her mood, as she does the “crossover” for the cameras.

Her discreet chic approach styling is as modest as her persona. She prefers not to parade any obvious fashion credentials nor to be defined by brands. To her, dress-meup-fashions are not as relaxing and functional if they don’t build wardrobes, ending up as throwaway fads or as one-hit wonders.

“For me, brands are immaterial. As long as you feel good in it, fits you well, and it’s not beyond your budget, then go for it!”

EDGED

A2 INdulge!

EVENTS ENTERTAINMENT

DermPath: Bringing balanced beauty

THe skin is the largest organ of our body, and it is in fact one of the most susceptible to attacks from the environment and from the stress of a modern lifestyle. Good thing Dr. Victoria P. Guillano, MD, FPDS opened DermPath Dermatology, LASeR Clinic and MediSpa.

A fusion of a medical skin center and a modern spa, DermPath is a modern oasis that offers traditional spa techniques, along with modern technology, and expert skin know-how to provide one with the best in dermatology and wellbeing.

“We wanted to have DermPath be a center where complete beauty can be achieved” says Dr. Guillano.

“Following the principle that beauty should not only be skin deep, our services cater to not just keeping skin, clear and beautiful, but also to be there when your skin’s medical needs. Our MediSpa services allow clients to balance relieve their stress and brings out their inner glow.”

DermPath’s MediSpa services cater to a wide range of relaxation and de-stressing needs. DermPath’s business development officer Ryan Arao says their MediSpa offerings range from simple affordable treatments like foot and hand pampering massages, to full body scrubs and massages that aim to either relax or invigorate a person’s energy points.

“We also offer spa packages like out trademark ‘Sparty’ where groups of four or more can enjoy having a foot and hand massages all at the same time while enjoying food and drinks.” says Arao “We oftentimes have guests who throw ‘Sparties’ for baby showers or even quick company meetings.”

DermPath is also the only full service skin clinic and spa in Davao with a PDS board certified dermatologist and the only dermatopathologist in Davao who is available for consultation on a regular basis, which means various skin, hair, and nail problems and diseases can be checked and medicated.

Dr. Guillano emphasizes the need to have a PDS board certified dermatologist in the clinic. “We want to make sure that all of the skin’s needs are checked and met with only the best service we can give, and beautiful skin can only be achieved by having healthy, vibrant skin.”

DermPath Dermatology, LASeR Clinic and MediSpa is located at the Level 2 area of SM City Davao. For appointments and inquiries, call (082) 282.1325, 2867396 or (0922) 863-8880.

DR. Victoria Guillano, MD, FPDS.

SM’s Ms. Lynette Lopez, Councilor Louie Bonguyan, DDH Pres. Mr. Raymund Del Val, Dr. Victoria Guillano, Dr. Guillano, DOT XI director Mr. Art Bongcato, Ms. Susabel Reta

The 2012 Mutya ng Dabaw and her court

The DermPath staff

DAVAO

VOL.5 ISSUE 57 • MAY 23, 2012

INdulge! A3

ENTERTAINMENT

5 things you didn’t know about Mark Zuckerberg’s wedding

America’s Got Talent:

Howard Stern Makes 7-Year-Old Cry IS newbie America’s Got Talent judge Howard Stern already throwing in the towel?

On tonight’s episode, the controversial radio host threw his hands up and said, “I can’t do it,” after making a little boy cry—yes, cry—onstage.

So what happened?!

Just to clarify, Stern is not leaving the show, but when it comes to making kids weep, he just can’t deal.

The 58-year-old pressed his “X” buzzer during 7-year-old aspiring rapper Mir Money’s performance, and when Stern tried to explain his reasoning to the incred-

MARk Zuckerberg’s status went from “in a relationship” to “married” over the weekend.

So far, we know the 28-year-old Facebook founder gave longtime love Priscilla Chan “a very simple ruby,” that fewer than 100 people attended the nuptials at their Palo Alto, Calif., home and the guests thought they were there for a graduation party.

But though the vow swap was, like the groom, a pretty low-key event and not indicative of his billionaire’s-club status, it was still a wedding, for Pete’s sake!

So, here are five things to know about the day that was special enough to get Zuckerberg out of his signature hoodie: 1. The Wedding Singer: Zuckerberg’s pal and Bay Area native Billie Joe Armstrong—you know, of Green Day!— performed at the party.

And, according to People, the music was a gift from the “American Idiot” artist, not a paid performance.

Needless to say, we hope the newlyweds and their

guests had the time of their lives.

2. The Dress: Chan wore a sleek, laser-cut ivory gown by Los Angeles-based couturier Claire Pettibone. Intricate floral embroidery and matte, satin-lined sequins cover the entire gown, including its illusion jewel neckline, sheer back and chapellength train. According to the designer’s website, the “Sky Between the Branches” design retails for $4,700.

3. The Grub: The wedding party feasted familystyle on Fuki Sushi and Mexican food from Palo Alto Sol. And for dessert— handcrafted mice from Burdick Chocolate, which has an outpost in Harvard Square and is known for its adorable, animalshaped confections.

4. His Better Half: Chan, 27, and Zuckerberg dated on and off (but mostly on) for nine years, since meeting at a frat party when they were both students at Harvard. Unlike her drop-out hubby, however, Chan got her bachelor’s degree in biology, spent two years working as an elementary-school sci-

ence teacher in San Jose, Calif., and just graduated from UC San Francisco School of Medicine. Zuckerberg has credited her with inspiring Facebook’s organ-donation registry (he signed up as a donor last month) and he studied Mandarin to better communicate with her extended family in China.

Next up for the blushing bride? A pediatrics residency!

5. Just in Case: The super-private couple have stayed mum on whether or not a prenuptial agreement preceeded their nuptials. But, obviously, these two didn’t rush into anything, and Chan has known Zuckerberg since he was just a T-shirt wearing, code-writing computer nerd. (Oh, wait...) In fact, she didn’t move into his house until 2010, according to Forbes, and Chan is being referred to as a candidate to join the ranks of philanthropic power players like Melinda Gates and Laurene Jobs. Besides, California is a communityproperty state, and whatever Zuckerberg earned before he tied the knot is his. (E! Online)

ibly adorable kid, Money just couldn’t stop the waterworks from flowing.

Yeah, and that even tugged at Howard’s heart.

The AGT judge went onstage (while the crowd boo’d) to try and give Mir Money a pep talk and explain that he didn’t want to make him cry, which ultimately calmed the young boy down, but it

definitely left a lasting effect on Stern.

“This job is too rough for me, I don’t really wanna do it anymore…I’m not cut out for this, man.

I’m not cut out for it. I’m shaking man, I’m shaking. I can’t do it, man. I can’t do it.”

Watch the video and let us know your thoughts in the comments!

A4 INdulge!

HEALTH ENTERTAINMENT

EDGEDAVAO

VOL.5 ISSUE 57 • MAY 23, 2012

Coffee and psoriasis

HeRe’S another point for coffee! Although earlier studies had linked coffee to an increased risk for psoriasis, a large new study finds no such evidence.

Psoriasis is a common skin condition that causes skin redness and irritation.

Most people with psoriasis have areas of thick, red skin with flaky, silver-white patches called scales.

“Our hypothesis was whether caffeine would lower the risk of psoriasis because there are hypotheses in the past that caffeine might be an anti-inflammatory,” said lead author Dr. Abrar Qureshi, an assistant professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School in Boston. “However, we found there was no association between

coffee intake and the risk of psoriasis,” he said.

These findings agree with other studies that found no association between coffee and this skin condition, the researchers noted.

The reason that there has been an association of psoriasis with coffee may have to do with smoking and alcohol, which are known risk factors for psoriasis, Qureshi said. In the study, those who drank the most coffee also drank the most alcohol and smoked, he said. “There have been reports that coffee increases the risk of psoriasis and that coffee helps quell psoriasis,” he said. However, this study found no risk or benefit from coffee, Qureshi added.

For the study, Qureshi’s team collected data on almost 83,000 women who took part in the nurses’ Health Study. In this large population, the researchers found no link between coffee or caffeine and developing psoriasis.

Dr. Doris Day, a dermatologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in new York City, said that this finding “makes perfect sense; it’s what I would have suspected.”

The real risk factor may be smoking, she said. “Smoking is toxic to every organ system and is especially toxic to the skin.”

However, Day said that caffeine can be soothing to the skin and it is an ingredient in many skincare products, but it is not used for psoriasis, she said.

EDGEDAVAO

VOL.5 ISSUE 57 • MAY 23, 2012

Thunderous

SPORTS

15

Oklahoma ends Lakers season

A PAINFUL SIGHT. Kobe Bryant watches as the Oklahoma Thunder celebrate their Game 5 win over the Lakers. (Below) Kevin Durant flashes the no. 1 sign while Russel Westbrook screams from the sidelines after the Thunder moved to the NBA West Finals.

O

KLAHOMA CITY -With the Oklahoma City Thunder just starting to come to life, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant didn’t need to take a break.

They will have enough time to rest as they get ready for a second straight trip to the Western Conference finals.

Westbrook scored 28 points, Durant added 25 points and 10 rebounds, and the two All-Stars skipped their usual rest periods to power the Thunder ahead in the second half for a 106-90 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5 of the West semifinals on Monday night. ‘’We know that’s the most important time of the game, especially in a tight game,’’ Durant said. ‘’I think that we kept our composure throughout the fourth, and our poise and we made plays.’’

Kobe Bryant scored 42 points for the Lakers and took the briefest of rest less than 2 minutes - in the second half. It didn’t even

take that long for the game, and their season, to slip away.

After getting eliminated by Los Angeles in 2010 and Dallas in 2011 before both of those teams went on to win it all, the Thunder knocked both out on their way to the West finals for the second straight year.

The only other time the franchise made consecutive conference finals was from 1978-80, including Seattle’s only NBA title in 1979.

Once there, they’ll face the top-seeded Spurs, the only team other than the Lakers or Mavs to win the West in the past 13 years and currently riding an 18-game winning streak.

The series starts Sunday night in San Antonio.

After Westbrook’s pair of three-point plays fueled a 14-3 burst that put Oklahoma City ahead to stay late in the third quarter, Durant hit two 3-pointers as the Thunder scored the first 10 points of the fourth to push their lead to 93-77.

Magic fire coach

O

RLANDO, Fla. -- For months the Orlando Magic have been trudging through the aftermath of a preseason trade request by Dwight Howard that sapped the life out of the franchise as internal team issues quickly affected the product on the floor.

Now after easily one of the most tumultuous seasons in their history, they made the first in what promises to be a huge offseason shake-up The Magic fired coach Stan Van Gundy on Monday and agreed to part ways with general manager Otis Smith, severing ties with two of the architects of one of the most successful runs in franchise history.

Smith and Van Gundy’s relationship with Howard was the centerpiece of drama the team faced all season and following

their second straight firstround playoff exit, CEO Alex Martins said the shift was warranted. ‘’It’s time for a new leadership and a new approach,’’ Martins said at a news conference to discuss the moves. ‘’We simply came to the decision that we were not on the right track,’’ Martins wouldn’t go into many specifics about what he is looking for in replacements, saying only that he and ownership want to fill the general manager post by June’s NBA draft.

He said he would sit down with ownership on Tuesday to begin ironing out the details of both searches.

Phone and text messages left with Van Gundy and Smith by The Associated Press were not immediately returned.

a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals. ‘’We’ve got a few good players on the team that they had to focus on,’’ said Bass, who left the game to a standing ovation with 2 minutes left and Boston leading by 18. ‘’That left me open, and I was able to take advantage of my opportunity.’’

The 27 points matched Bass’ regular-season career high, and the 18 points in the third was one off his career playoff high for an entire game. It was also more than the Sixers scored in the quarter as a team.

‘’It was one of those games we needed something to ignite us together,’’ Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. ‘’I thought the biggest difference was his energy. He played with a force. I thought he just let himself go.’’

Kevin Garnett added 20 points and Rajon Rondo had 13 points and 14 assists for the Celtics, who can advance to the East finals with a victory in Philadelphia in Game 6 on Wednesday. The Sixers would need a win at home to force the series back to Boston for a decisive seventh game.

Celtics take 3-2 lead B

OSTON -- They started as a Big Three and grew to a Big Four when Rajon Rondo earned the right to be mentioned along with the other Boston Celtics All-Stars.

At no point, however, did Brandon Bass merit marquee billing in his first season in Boston.

The fifth, newest and least-heralded member of the Celtics’ starting lineup, Bass erupted for a career playoffhigh 27 points on Monday night, scoring 18 in the third quarter as Boston pulled away from the Philadelphia 76ers to win 101-85 and take

16

SPORTS

Younghusband football school Pag-ibig member

M

INDFUL of the welfare and wellbeing of the staff members in their newlyset up football school, Philippine Azkals frontliners, James and Phil Younghusband, have registered them with the governmental Pag-IBIG Fund, it was learned.

The Younghusband brothers, of BritishFilipino parentage, had established their Younghusband Football Academy Inc. in 2010, with the hope of training young Filipino enthusiasts into making the Philippines a competitive football country.

By registering with a score of staff members, the Younghusbands said they could benefit from the Fund’s programs.

The Pag-IBIG, or Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF) is an effective savings scheme that is also mandated to use its funds to provide members with low-interest personal and even housing loans. ”We wanted our staff to have the opportunity to avail of a housing loan in the future, while saving at the same time.

We’re proud to be PagIBIG members,” Phil said.

Phil added that when the academy’s Board of Directors learned of the benefits that could accrue to the staff, “they quickly approved our membership (into Pagibig).”

The Younghusband Football Academy, Inc. also provides free trainings for less privileged youth who want to learn the sport. It partners with such institutions as the Gawad Kalinga and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in conducting free football clinics.

The brothers play for the Philippine Azkals, which has had highprofile challenger-wins against established overseas football teams.

At a recent practice session of the Academy in Alabang, Phil and James hosted Makati III officers that included Paul Solidum, Nadia Taboy, Olivia Zerrudo, and Erlinda Francisco Academy’s directors, Mary Catherine Rivilla, Ma. Cristina Agcaoili Palacios, and Jesus Durian, were also present. [PNA]

VOL.5 ISSUE 57 • MAY 23, 2012

EDGEDAVAO