Edge Davao 5 Issue 68

EDGEDAVAO

P 15.00 • 20 PAGES

VOL.5 ISSUE 67 • JUNE 06, 2012

www.edgedavao.net

Serving a seamless society

Indulge Page A3

Science/Environment Page 4

Sports Page 14

SMI may seek Noynoy’s help T

HE MANAGEMENT of Sagittarius Mines Inc. might seek the assistance of President Aquino himself on the rejection of its application for environmental compliance certificate

President is just one of two options open to the company which has yet to receive a copy of the DENR order denying it an environmental compliance certificate for its mining project in Tampakan,

FSMI, 13

PINEAPPLE ART. With artistry, a fruit vendor skillfully peels a pineapple fruit for a customer along Magallanes Street in Davao City. To add more design to his small makeshift wagon, he piles the rind in a circular manner. [KARLOS MANLUPIG]

SP wants school vendors out

By Jade C. Zaldivar

Follow Us On

n Gov. Cagas questions SoCot ordinance on open-pit mining by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources a week ago.

Seeking the help of the Office of the

D

avao City Council Tuesday passed a resolution seeking the removal of ambulant vendors outside the public schools.

Councilor Pilar Braga, the proponent,

cited several complaints she received that sidewalk vendors are causing danger to pedestrians outside the public schools.

She said the presence of ambulant vendors made it difficult for the students in going in and out of elementary schools.

Braga particularly cited the Magallanes

Elementary School along A. Pichon Street and the Kapitan Tomas Monteverde Sr. Elementary School along Ponciano Street.

“Due to the sidewalk vendors, pedestrians, adults and school children alike can’t walk through the sidewalk but instead they have to walk or pass through the side

FSP WANTS, 13

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THE BIG NEWS

VOL.5 ISSUE 68 • JUNE 07, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

Police stations up for revamp

By Jade C. Zaldivar

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AVAO City Police Office (DCPO) chief SSupt. Ronald dela Rosa disclosed that three police stations in the city will be revamped effective June 18.

Dela Rosa said the commanders of the police stations will be re-assigned.

Affected of the revamp are the Buhangin, Paquibato and Sasa police stations as well as the organic structure of the DCPO. Dela Rosa said the revamp is in line with the Philippine National Police’s mandate to conduct re-assignment of leaders.

“Ang duha sa ila (station commanders) two years na sa pwesto. (The revamp) is a natural activity sa PNP para ang tao dili ma-attach sa isa lang ka lugar,” he said.

“Ang isa pud is for retirement na. Normal lang na mahitabo,” he added.

Buhangin police station commander CInsp. Alfredo Baluran will be replaced by

n Affected are sta-

tions Buhangin, Paquibato, Sasa

DCPO operations chief Superintendent Ruben Ramos.

Baluran will be re-assigned as the legal officer of the DCPO, replacing Superintendent Royina Garma.

Garma will be designated as the new police station chief of the Sasa.

Sasa police station chief CIinsp. Jun Neil Rojo will replace CInsp. Caezar Cabuhat as chief of DCPO Police Communication Relation (PCR).

Meanwhile, Cabuhat will become the new chief of the DCPO Operations Office.

Paquibato police station SInsp. George dela Serna will be replaced by SInsp. Romeo Adler of the Mobile Patrol Group. Dela Rosa said Rojo and Baluran are now two years on their post.

Last, the DCPO also implemented a revamp affecting its Investigation and Detection Management Division, the Traffic Management Group and the Talomo and San Pedro police stations.

FALLEN TREE. A huge branch from a tree lies at the sidewalk of Davao City’s Aldevinco Shopping Complex, which is known for selling items made by the Moro and Indigenous People of Mindanao, after a heavy downpour on Tuesday evening. [KARLOS MANLUPIG]

Mindanao watershed awareness week pushed

By Lorie A. Cascaro

T

O sustain the gains from the recentlyconcluded Mindanao environment summit, two bishops pushed for activities promoting awareness on the importance of preserving the environment, particularly the watersheds.

Cotabato City Archbishop Rev.Orlando Quevedo specifically proposed the holding of a week-long watershed awareness week in various parts of Mindanao, He said that people’s awareness should be raised on matters involving the environment including the privatization of natural resources.

He said the proposed privatization of hydro power plants in Mindanao already raised objections from the Lumads as these are found in areas considered as part of the ancestral domain like the Pulangi River.

He echoed the stand of MinDA Secretary Luwalhati Antonino against the privatization of hydro power plants.

As a symbolic way to promote awareness among the people, Quevedo also proposed a simultaneous tree planting all over Mindanao.

Cagayan de Oro City Archbishop Rev. Antonio Ledesma, who also attended the summit, said that the

people in Mindanao should hold a week of watershed awareness “because it is also an issue of peace-building.”

Instilling awareness on watersheds, he added, “may resolve conflicts of people over natural resources, thus, in a way is a peace-building process.”

Noting that during the aftermath of typhoon Sendong, the church was able to gather people, Quevedo said the church also “uses its social teachings in educating people on environmental preservation and procreation.”

“It is our responsibility as stewards of God’s creation to protect and preserve the environment,” he added.

Majority (61%) are aware of the tourism slogan driven by upper and middle socio-economic classes (ABC1C2) as well as by the young segments (15–29 years old).

Main source of awareness is TV news, followed by internet/blogs/social networking sites.

The tourism campaign

was launched in January and was easily captured by the internet audience via social networking sites, Facebook and Twitter. It even became one of the worldwide trending topics few minutes after the campaign was launched.

“The Philippines is already embracing new media, like Twitter and Facebook.

In fact, the Philippines is the 6th top user on Twitter and 8th top user on Facebook, with around 27 million users as of May 2012. Add to this is that amongst national urban areas in the country in 2011, internet usage has gone up to 46% compared to 32% three to four years go. This clearly shows that the new media is happening in the

‘It’s more fun’ slogan a success

T

HE Philippines’ new tourism slogan, “It’s more fun in the Philippines” continues to gain positive reaction.

This finding was revealed

by Ipsos based on a Tracking survey done in February and March 2012 among 2,000 Metro Manila respondents, 15-64 years old, from socioeconomic classes ABCDE.

Quips

‘..NO ONE can stop us, we do not stop ourselves. This is not justice, political or legal. This is certainly not law. For sure, it is not the law of the Constitution; it is onlynaked power as it was in 1972.’

--Sen. Joker Arroyo (Not guilty verdict on CJ Corona)

FIT’S, 13

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Mining, agri-related jobs hard to fill up: DOLE

MID the growing mining and banana industries in the Davao Region, vacancies for mining engineers and agriculturalrelated jobs remain hard to fill up, an officer of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) 11 yesterday said.

Allan R. Baban, officer in charge/chief of DOLE 11’s technical support and services division, said the region barely produces graduates of courses in high demand in the mining and banana industries, thus, the high mismatch.

Speaking before Club 888 Media Forum at the Marco Polo Davao, Baban said that the employees hired by the industries mostly graduated from universities in the provinces of Kabacan, North Cotabato and Bukidnon.

“These days, students from rural areas do not want to take up agri-related courses anymore,” he said, adding Baban also noted that while the jobs for hotel and restaurant management are

in high demand, “these are also hard to fill because of industry requirements such as work experiences, including biased qualifiers like pleasing personality.”

He said that DOLE 11 has discouraged companies to include pleasing personality and other biased qualities as requirements in their job postings at jobs fairs.

Last May 24-25, DOLE 11 participated in a national career congress in Manila to discuss on how to address job-skill mismatch in the country.

In partnership with the Department of Education and Commission on Higher Education, DOLE 11 conducts career guidance for secondary level and employment coaching for tertiary level students.

On June 12, DOLE 11 will conduct Kalayaan Jobs Fair at Abreeza Mall and NCCC Mall, Davao City with a total of 23,256 solicited jobs as of June 4.

Of the total jobs available, 4,581 are local jobs, while 18,675 are overseas.

Baban said among the overseas jobs, Middle East has the highest number of vacancies, citing household service workers--the politically correct term for domestic helpers---as the most in demand.

He cited that most hard to fill jobs during jobs fair are those with high standard industry requirements.

He advised job seekers at Kalayaan jobs fair to prepare the necessary documents and apply for jobs that match their skills for them to be hired on the spot.

Top ten in demand local jobs at Kalayaan jobs fair are call center agents, IT specialists, engineers (mechanical, civil, industrial), factory/production workers, sales personnel, waiters/waitresses, accountants, human resource personnel, English teachers, and medical technologists.

The overseas in demand jobs include household service workers, waiters/waitresses, engineers, cook, driver/operator, welders, nurse, laborer, service crew and cashier. [LORIE A. CASCARO]

HE Catholic Relief Services (CRS) will be launching on June 8 a three-year resource strengthening and marketing project to benefit 32,000 farmers in seven provinces in Mindanao.

The implementation of the “Farmer Alliances for Resource Strengthening and Marketing” or FARM project of CRS will have its formal start on the said date at the Apo View Hotel this city.

With funding from the

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), FARM will assist its target farmer-beneficiaries in the provinces of Misamis Oriental, North Cotabato, Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, Davao del Sur, and Bukidnon.

Ryan Russell, CRS head of office, said the project intends to increase agricultural production in rice, cacao, coffee and vegetables; enable access to small rural infrastructures; and enhance linkages to greater market

opportunities.

CRS will implement the project with local NGO partners, academic institutions, micro-finance institutions, and government line agencies, Russell stated.

At the launching, there will be a Memoranda of Agreement (MOA) signing involving CRS and eight subrecipient agencies from the non-government organizations and academe that will serve as direct implementing partners for the FARM project. [PIA 11/CARINA L. CAYON]

Marketing project for Minda farmers

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EDGEDAVAO

THE BIG NEWS

VOL.5 ISSUE 68 • JUNE 07, 2012

3

OFWs to celebrate Migrant Workers’ Day

By Lorie A. Cascaro

S DONATION OF SCHOOL SITE. School Principal Melinda Roma (3rd from left) formally accepts a donation from Atty. Leoncio Villa-Abrille and his siblings, co-owners of Bucana Estate, of a school site housing the Cesareo Villa-Abrille Elementary School in Barangay 76-A, Davao City. Witnessing the turnover (from right) are Nanette Macapundag, president of the Federation of Bucana

Homeowners Association; Jima Gelmon, Ph.D., DepEd Supervisor, Davao Central District; Sotero Bracero, PTA President; and Weslie Capute, President, Bucana Rotary Community Corps. Not shown is Federation Secretary Fely Pedrosa, who facilitated the legal documentation. (PHOTO BY ORLY ONDUS)

Sin tax bill approved, 210-22

H

OUSE BILL 5727, the controversial measure which seeks to reform the excise tax imposed on tobacco and alcohol products, or the so-called “sin tax”, was approved on final reading last night with a vote of 210 in favor, and only 22 against.

This reported by a euphoric Rep. Isidro T. Ungab of Davao City who together with Cavite’s Rep. Emilio Abaya, cosponsors of the measure, defended the measure in the House plenary for days.

Ungab, who was the main sponsor being the chairman of the powerful House ways and means committee, seeks to reform the sin tax system in order to increase government revenue by P60 billion a year.

The expected annual

revenue, however, has been reduced to only P33 billion after Ungab and Abaya acceded to some changes introduced by fellow lawmakers when the bill was still being deliberated upon in the Committee on Ways and Means.

In an interpellation of Ungab last week, Rep. Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro City said a 700-percent hike in the excise tax for tobacco products will result in lower revenues and lower production of local manufacturers. If these will happen, he said there will be lesser need or demand for raw materials for tobacco.

“This bill will force them (tobacco farmers) to shift to palay, corn or tomato. They will lose a lot of money if they shift to these crops because tobacco is 400 percent more

profitable than palay, corn and tobacco. That is the percentage,” he said.

However, Ungab said HB 5727 provides safety nets for farmers. He said the bill will give back 15% of the proceeds to the tobacco farmers. Assuming that the measure would raise P26.8 billion revenue for the government, P4.03 billion will go back to the farmers as safety net according to him.

“The manner of distribution or the procedure we have to approve or the implementing rules will provide that. However, let me emphasize that the farmers here will be taken into consideration. Aside from the 15%, we also again cite the benefits they will receive,” he said.

Ungab said the 2012 General Appropriations Act provides for an allocation to tobacco farmers

of P4.731 billion as their share in the excise tax pursuant to Republic Act 7171 (Virginia Tobacco) while their allocation pursuant to RA 8240 (Burley and Native Tobacco) is P1.117 billion.

“These amounts are intended for farmers and allocated to: Programs that will provide inputs, training and other support for tobacco farmers who shift to production of agricultural products other than tobacco; Programs that will provide financial support for tobacco farmers who will be displaced or who will voluntarily cease to produce tobacco; and Cooperative programs to assist tobacco farmers in planting alternative crops or implementing other livelihood projects,” said Ungab.

He explained that the

By Jade C. Zaldivar

n Lauds VM Rody’s move to amend city or-

AVAO City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio wants all establishments in the city to be 100% smokefree.

The mayor said the local government is intensifying its campaign against smoking as the city recently bagged its third Red Orchid Award. The award, annually bestowed by the Department of the Health on Local Government Units, Centers for Health Development, Government Hospitals and Government Offices for advocating 100% tobacco-free environments, placed Davao City in its Hall of Fame.

“We’re pushing for 100 percent tobacco-free places in Davao City. So far we’re receiving enthusiastic support,” she said.

Duterte-Carpio said she is looking forward to the time when all establishments, especially malls, would stop providing smok-

ing rooms.

“Naa nay mall nga nag-volunteer—ang NCCC Mall. They are now tobaccofree. They have seen the detriment in having a smoking room,” she said.

Duterte-Carpio said most of those who use the mall’s smoking room were young people.

“Nakita nila nga kadaghanan dito mga bata nagapanigarilyo,” she said.

Establishments in the city are also expressing support to the city’s antismoking campaign move by hanging banners. These include are Jollibee, Taps, and Chowking.

The city mayor also lauded the proposal of Vice Mayor Rodrigo Duterte last Sunday to amend the city’s Anti-Smoking Ordinance to widen its scope.

“Very good. That’s

smoking room sa airport.

Because ang thrust sa DOH kay tanang government facilities kay walay designated nga smoking area,” she said.

“Meaning ang push sa DOH is for 100 percent tobacco-free government places. Pero last night (Sunday) naa ko sa airport and I saw nga open diay gihapon ang ilang smoking area,” she added.

The city mayor added that the Anti-Smoking Task Force is currently crafting project proposals to the DOH to utilize the P500,000 cash prize bestowed along with the third Red Orchid Award the city received last week.

Davao City has been in the forefront of the smokefree campaign since it enacted its Comprehensive AntiSmoking Ordinance in 2002, which was considered as the first exhaustive anti-smoking law in the country, well ahead of the 2003 Tobacco Regulation Act.

FSIN, 13

Sara wants establishments 100 % smoke-free

D

dinance n Says DOH pursues total anti-smoking in gov’t offices

the work of a vice mayor,” Duterte-Carpio said.

During his TV show “Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa,” the elder Duterte said he intends to amend the city ordinance including the removal of the provision allowing the smoking rooms.

The vice mayor also said he also wants the smoking room at the Davao International Airport removed.

“I would like to serve a notice that we will amend the law to remove the smoking room and make the ordinance general for all. Didto mo sa gawas panigarilyo (You can only smoke outside),” Duterte said.

The city mayor concurred, saying the DOH’s thrust is to make all government facilities smoke-free.

“Actually ang nahibalan nako wala na dapat

OME 1,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFW), along with their families, from all provinces in the Davao region will gather today to commemorate the Migrant Workers’ Day at Kadayawan Hall, NCCC Mall of Davao, Matina, Davao City.

Led by the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) 11, the event will be also participated in by government agencies, private financial institutions and non-government institutions which will provide information and/or assistance desks in the venue.

With a theme: “OFW, sa Sipag at Galing, Bilib Kami sa Iyo”, livelihood opportunities and services are provided as a way to congratulate OFWs for their significant contributions to the country.

The Migrant Workers’ Day is commemorated annually as mandated in Section 32 of Republic Act (RA) No. 8042 or the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995.

The Department of Labor and Employment is also mandated to lead and enlist the cooperation of other government agencies in the commemoration of a Migrant Workers’ Day on seventh of June every year, as stated under RA 10022, an act amending RA No.8042.

DOLE will hold a joint one-stop processing of applications with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration.

The National Statistics Office will also accommodate application for marriage, birth, and death certificates, and Certificate of No Marriage, while the Philippine

Regulatory Commission will provide desk for application for renewal of professional license.

The Department of Trade and Industry 11 will conduct lectures on product and services development, while the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) provides skills trainings and demonstrations.

The City Health Office will also provide information on health, free blood pressure check-up and distributing condoms, while the City Agriculturist’s Office distribute seeds for backyard farming.

Application forms for Seafarers Information Record Book (SIRB) and qualification documents for seafarers will be also provided by the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA).

Major sponsors from private institutions and nongovernment organizations are giving away raffle prizes for the participants.

There are products displays by some non-government organizations promoting livelihood programs and projects provided for women and migrant workers sectors.

During the program, livelihood loan grants are awarded to OFW entrepreneurs under OWWA’s OFW Reintegration Program.

Zenobia L. Caro, OWWA 11 chief of programs and services division, earlier told Edge Davao that eight OFWs from the region availed of the loans from Land Bank of the Philippines since last year, while there are still many loan applicants in the pipeline.

Watersheds, river basins eyed for Minda economic dev’t plan

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ARIOUS stakeholders in Mindanao have signified eagerness in considering watersheds and river basins as basis for planning economic development in the island.

This stance of almost 300 stakeholders from different government agencies, private/ business sector, religious sector, civil society, and non-government organizations was conveyed during the Mindanao Economy and Environment Summit held on June 4-5 at Grand Regal Hotel, Davao City.

“Everybody (in the summit) is agreeable to consider watersheds and river basins as basis for planning economic development in Mindanao,” Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Chair Luwalhati R. Antonino bared in a press conference yesterday.

She said the position of the stakeholders was one of the outcomes of the summit which tackled on the importance of watersheds and river basins in the quest for food security and sustainable development

in the island.

MinDA spearheaded the summit as a platform under the Mindanao Nurturing Our Waters (MindaNOW) Program, an integrative development initiative of MinDA that aims to institutionalize the sustainable development and management of Mindanao’s natural resources.

Antonino stated that Mindanawons have to make decision on priority in terms of balancing the use of natural resources, such as for health use, general use, industry use and for power generation.

However, Antonino said, “To enrich the economy, natural resources could be used by other sectors, while still maintaining ecological balance.”

She emphasized the need for the proper management and sustainable development of natural resources in Mindanao, noting its present condition which she said is in a “pathetic stage of degradation due to decades of neglect and abuse.”

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SCIENCE/ENVIRONMENT

VOL.5 ISSUE 68 • JUNE 07, 2012

Legarda lauds coral rehabilitation efforts

I

N celebration of World Environment Day, Senator Loren Legarda last Tuesday brought to the fore the worsening state of the country’s marine ecosystems as she lauded efforts by both public and civil society institutions to save life underwater through coral reef restoration.

Legarda noted statistics from the UP Marine Science Institute, which showed that only five percent of the country’s coral reefs remain in good condition.

“Reefs are complex ecosystems vital to the continuity of life in the sea. They protect coastlines from wave and storm erosion and function as nurseries and habitats for thousands of marine species. They are ultimately connected to mangrove forests, seagrass beds, and countless other ecosystems,” she explained.

“Thus, the destruction of our marine ecosystems will not only lead to the extinction of thousands of species but will also be detrimental

to tourism, food supply, and sustenance and livelihood of our fisherfolk,” Legarda said.

Despite the challenges, the Senator said that efforts being made by both public and civil society institutions are changing the fate of these underwater rainforests.

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has launched the “Filipinnovation on Coral Restoration”, a program that aims to restore coral reefs by utilizing scientific expertise and Filipino ingenuity.

In partnership with several universities such as the University of San Carlos in Cebu, private resort and dive shop owners, local government units, and other stakeholders, the program has established coral laboratories to produce young corals that will be used to enhance and restore coral reefs.

Legarda added that a member of civil society has also been at the forefront of coral restoration.

The non-governmental organization Sangka-

likasan Producers Cooperative (SPC) has been active in restoring the vibrancy of marine life particularly in Boracay.

The Code Blue Boracay Reef Buds Project aims to plant at least 5,000 artificial “reefbuds” on the waters of Boracay to rehabilitate the ecosystem underneath.

“We have provided our full support to this initiative of the Sangkalikasan and we have linked them up with the DOST. The DENR also expressed its support in expanding the Reef Buds project and is set to craft a coral reef database. I laud the DOST, DENR, the Sangkalikasan Producers Cooperative, and the academe for shouldering the daunting task of resuscitating our dying marine ecosystems,” the Senator stressed.

“The World Environment Day is at present less of a celebration and more of a call to action.

I enjoin every Filipino to take that one vital step forward. Another year of fighting for a sustainable future starts today,” Legarda concluded.

ects in the protection of the country’s natural resources.

Environment Secretary Ramon J. P. Paje, in his message at the CTI forum on Tuesday, held at the Sofitel Hotel, said this as he stressed that the DENR does not view as independent CTI’s efforts to protect the country’s natural resources.

The Coral Triangle Initiative is a multilateral partnership of six countries, namely, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Timor Leste, working together to sustain extraordinary marine and coastal resources by addressing crucial issues such as food

EDGEDAVAO

DENR commits US$ 55.8 M to PHL coral triangle projects

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HE Philippine government, through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), maintains its commitment to provide a guaranteed 30 percent counterpart of the funding requirements, or some US$ 55.8 million to the Coral Triangle Initiatives (CTI) proj-

A map showing the coral triangle covering nearly 2.3 million square miles.

security, climate change and marine biodiversity. ”That being said, none of the organizations involved in CTI Philippines, can achieve any significant body of work on our own.

Our successes, both current and future, are the result of the investment of resources from all partner institutions,

whether knowledge and expertise, time and manpower, or financial and material contributions,” Paje said.

At the same time, Paje stressed that there is still much to be done to preserve and protect natural resources. ”Beyond research and on-ground interventions,

there is also a clear need to build awareness and concern for the value of the biodiversity of the coral triangle,” he added. ”Thus, unveiling the coral triangle coffee-table book, we hope that this book serves to inform and inspire not only those of us gathered here, but also key stakeholders who will become new partners in the future,” he continued.

The CTI Philippines website was also launched Tuesday, which will amplify “our on-line presence and allow us to share news virtually as soon as it happens; the website also gives us the means to interact and receive feedback from millions of web-connected Filipinos and other concerned “netizens”.

The environment and natural resources chief further said, “The time is ripe to ramp up our communications as we are already seeing coastal communities and marine ecosystems benefitting from the work of CTI Philippines. Let us take these successes as encouragement that we are moving in the right direction.”

In closing, he said, “Let us utilize this CTI forum as a springboard for improved convergence among government agencies, development partners, environmental organizations and academic and research bodies to achieve our common goals more swiftly and efficiently.” [PNA]

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

THE ECONOMY

VOL.5 ISSUE 68 • JUNE 07, 2012

5

Banana exporters plead for help Company loses $2.9 million for 193 container vans

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XPORTERS of Philippine Cavendish bananas continue to incur losses following the implementation of a stricter protocol in China, which was prompted by the alleged detection of pests in some shipments from the country.

“Big and small companies are heavily suffering from the ‘ban’,” Stephen Antig, executive director of the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association, said.

While the government will be conducting trade missions to identify new markets or for existing markets that the banana industry can penetrate, the effects of such will take some time before it can actually help the industry. In the meantime, PBGEA proposes that govern-

ment can work to ease or suspend raw material import duties, future wage orders and give the banana exporters first and immediate crack of the cash conversion of VAT credits or tax credit certificates.

The banana industry is directly and indirectly employing an estimated 500,000 workers in their farms, packing houses, offices, trucking, and shipping and other ancillary services.

“The losses continue to pile up and we need more immediate help from the government that will provide both short term and long term solutions for the industry,” Antig said.

While China has reportedly opened up, reports from the ports

in China would show that only 12 percent of the shipments are actually being allowed to enter.

One of the big companies exporting Philippine Cavendish bananas to China still has 193 container vans of bananas that are still stuck and rotting in Chinese ports.

The contents of the vans will either be dumped in China or sent back to the city. The company is set to lose $2.9 million for that shipment alone, notwithstanding the cost that the company will incur should the container vans be shipped back to Davao City.

“Until now, it is still not clear whether China has plans to really open again for the Philippine bananas,” Antig said. “The situa-

tion is far from normalizing. I hope the government will call a spade a spade.”

Government officials have downplayed the situation, saying that the situation in China is normalizing.

“How can they even call this normalizing? We do not expect the situation to normalize soon, although we are hoping and praying that it does,” Antig said.

When asked if he can assure that the Chinese government will actually make good on their word that the banana companies that have complied with the new protocol imposed by China will actually be allowed to export again, Antig can heave a heavy sigh, “Only God knows.”

HE Senate approved on third and final reading Tuesday a bill, certified as urgent by President Aquino III, seeking to amend the Anti-Money Laundering Law. Voting 20-0, the Senate passed Senate Bill 3009, which amends Sections 10 and 11 of Republic Act No. 9160, or the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001.

In certifying the urgency of the bill, the President allowed the Senate to let go a three-day rule on final approval of the measure from the day it was passed on second reading.

The bill was approved on second reading only last Monday.

A bicameral conference committee meeting has been set Wednesday in the Senate where representatives of both the Senate and the House of Representatives will discuss the disagreeing provisions of the bill.

If signed into law eventually by the President, the Anti-Money Laundering Council will be allowed to inquire into bank accounts and issue freeze orders even without the permission of the depositor.

This is one of the measures required by the Financial Action Task Force to pass to prevent repercussions on the blacklisting of the Philippines.

Sen. Teofisto Guingona III, author of SB 3009, said the other bill, Senate Bill 3127, is expected to be approved on Wednesday upon receipt of a letter from Malacanang, certifying SB 3127 as urgent. ”The letter from Malacanang certifying as urgent the bill was not transmitted today. We hope to get (the) transmittal tomorrow (Wednesday),” Guingona explained.

Asked if a bicameral conference committee has enough time to approve SB 3127 before June 7 sine die adjournment, Guingona responded: “We’ll cross the bridge when we get there.”

Under RA 9160, the depositor must be notified when the AMLC applies for authority to inquire into any bank deposit suspected of being used to fund terrorist activities.

Sen. Franklin Drilon, chairman of the Senate committee on finance, said SB 3009 will correct an earlier decision by the courts.

Courts had ruled the AMLC, when it applies for authority to inquire into bank deposit, must notify the depositor.

Drilon said: “If you notify the depositor, the next minute, he will withdraw all those accounts. That to me is totally wrong.

“The authority to inquire into a bank account is nothing different from a search warrant.

When you apply for a search warrant, you don’t notify the owner of the place where you’re going to search.

“This is what we seek to correct in this amendment.”

Filed and sponsored by Chairman of the Senate SubCommittee on Anti-Money Laundering Amendments Guingona III and Sen. Sergio Osmeña III, the bill authorizes an ex parte inquiry order of bank accounts.

This means notices and hearings are not required to be given to the account holder.

Earlier, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa informed Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile the Philippines had been downgraded from the grey list to the dark grey list for its failure to enact the AMLA amendments

into law last year.

The Philippine government, Ochoa said, would be blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force unless it meets its May 2012 deadline.

FATF is an inter-agency governmental policy-making body tasked to combat moneylaundering and anti-terrorist financing.

If blacklisted by the FATF, Philippine-based transactions

would face increased scrutiny which could result in higher transaction charges and delayed remittances of Filipinos working abroad.

Drilon had said blacklisting of the Philippines may result in the decline of the remittances of the overseas Filipino workers.

The OFWs’ total remittances in 2001 reached US$ 20.1 billion.

ALACANANG bared the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects that will be rolled out by the Aquino government for the year 2012 focused on the realization of President Benigno S. Aquino III’s social contract with the people and making life better and easier for the Filipinos.

In a regular press briefing in Malacanang, Tuesday, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda stated the various PPP projects under some government agencies including the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) that will be open for bidding.

“We would be rolling out some PPP projects for this year, let me just state some of the PPP projects that we will be rolling out… for DOTC expected for bidding by the last quarter of this year will be the line 1 Cavite extension, there’s a publication yesterday for pre-qualification.

The Mactan Cebu International Airport, the Panglao Airport, the Automated Fare Collection System and the Cebu Bus Rapid Transport,” Lacierda said.

“For the Department of Education there is a target of around 30 thousand classrooms for PPP, first batch would be 9,300… there is a call for bids this July 8. With the second batch, the target will be 8,500 classrooms, and the third batch will be the balance of 30 thousand,” he added.

Lacierda also said that some of these PPP projects are ready for implementation. He further noted that the 19.984 billionpesos North Luzon Expressway-South Luzon Expressway (NLEx-SLEx) Link Expressway will be open for bidding in August, among other projects under the DPWH. “For DPWH, we have already bidded out Daang-Hari and by August, we’ll be bidding out the NLEX-SLEX project, and by next week we will be bidding out NAIA phase 2,” Lacierda said.

Senate okays bill amending AMLA T

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

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

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

Gov’t rolls out PPP projects M

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

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THE ECONOMY

EDGEDAVAO

DavOr towns implement new business licensing VOL.5 ISSUE 68 • JUNE 07, 2012

HREE towns in Davao Oriental started the year 2012 by carrying out reforms in their business processing and licensing system.

The municipalities of Mati City, Banaybanay, and San Isidro are taking the lead in implementing the new system which

is intended to impact positively on the applicants such as shortened turn-around time in the licensing process. it will also redound to an increase in the local government unit’s revenue generation.

Jointly assisted by the Department of the Interior and Local Gov-

ernment (DILG) and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) last year, all Davao Oriental LGUs targeted the implementation of the BPLS this year.

The streamlined system which makes use of a “Unified Form,” eliminates various steps in acquiring business li-

ANTAWID Pamilya is continuously helping the identified poor households in the country by sending underprivileged children to school and keeping them healthy. Davao Region has been doing these since 2009 at the onset of the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Malita, Davao del Sur, is one of the eight municipalities identified in the program’s Set 2 implementation in 2009.

The program covers all 30 barangays in Malita, with 9,275 registered households as of May 2012.

During a recent monitoring visit of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Malita has showcased not only its gains from the program but also how the beneficiaries have improved since the program started three years ago.

Nilo Octura, Malita North District Supervisor, said that through Pantawid Pamilya, there has been significant increase in enrollment in Malita.

“Gikan sa 9,000 ka bata nga nag-eskwela, sa pagsulod sa programa aduna na ta karoy 11,000 ka bata nga naa sa eskwelahan (From 9,000 children, with the program we now have 11,000 children in

It figures

school),” he pointed out.

“Dako gyud kaau ang amoang pasalamat sa programa kay nahiapil gyud ang angayan mahiapil ug mapadala na nila ang ilang mga anak sa eskwelahan (We are very thankful of the program because the families who were selected were really deserving of the program. These poor families are now able to send their children to school),” Octura added.

Further, Barangay Poblacion Kagawad and Chairman of Education Leo Manisan added that the program has greatly helped parents in fulfilling their children’s basic needs. He emphasized the significant number of pregnant mothers in Malita that are now availing themselves of pre- and post-natal care.

Children are now in school and are subjected to immunizations and deworming.

“Sa una mituman na sila sa ilang mga kondisyon tungod sa ilang madawat na kwarta apan karon nabati na nila nga importante gyud ang pag-adto sa Health Center ug eskwela (They comply to these set of conditions before because of the grant, but now they have learned the importance of good education and nutrition to their children),” Kagawad Manisan concluded.

Maria Rosales, 75 years old, a barangay health worker and a par-

ent leader, shows her unending support to the program. Maria’s grandchild will turn 15 years old and will soon graduate from the program.

“Grabe ang akong pasalamat sa programa.

Malipayon ko nga mograduate ang akoang apo ug dako kayo ko og utang kabubut-on sa programa nga bisan mo-gradwar man ko sa Pantawid willing gihapon ko motabang para sa ikalambo sa programa (I am very thankful to the program. I am happy that my granddaughter will graduate.

I owe the program a lot that even if my household will graduate from Pantawid, I am willing to do anything to help in the improvement of the program),” Maria shares.

Pantawid Pamilya is a program that invests in human capital that is contributory to poverty reduction. The program provides cash grants of at most P1,400 to a family that has three children, ages 0 to 14, enrolled in the program.

The family will be able to claim their grants if they comply with the set health and education conditions strictly required by the program.

As of May 2012, Pantawid Pamilya has a total of 171,295 registered household beneficiaries in six cities and 41 municipalities in all four provinces of Davao Region.

WORTH of illegal goods shipped into the country every year by big-time smugglers, depriving the Bureau of Customs of hundred of millions of taxes.

Some customsmen are also in cahoots with the smugglers prompting some people in the know to abolish the BOC in order to get rid of the corrupt customs people.

NUMBER of personnel of the Bureau of Customs’ Run After The Smugglers (RATS) team dismissed from the service after allegedly using the antismuggling drive to extort money from big firms. RATS team was headed by Customs Deputy Commissioner Gregorio Chavez.

Malita cites CCT program gains P

P60 billion

8

P1.75 billion COST of the second billion-peso aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility opened at Clark Freeport, Pampanga this week, solidifying the country’s position as a global hub for aviation services.PDI

censes, lessen number of signatories, thus, more simplified and efficient.

Moreover, the OneStop-Shop makes possible the shortened turn-around time of processing with the presence of all local permits and national mandatory regulating bodies in one venue.

In monitoring the effectiveness of the new system, a survey was called for by the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) and run at random by DTI, while the licensing was on-going.

Ten respondents were from Mati City and three were from the

Banaybanay, who have expressed more or less similar observations.

“Compared to last year, this years’ licensing process was faster and systematic,” and “I’m extremely satisfied,” commented one rater under the name of Mr. Macado from Mati City.

“It is faster now compared with last year, however, the fees have gone up,” are similar comments from a Banaybanay respondent and from few registrants in Mati City.

DTI-DO provincial director Ma. Belenda Q. Ambi said that while there will always be

positive and negative comments from the respondents, it is still worth mentioning that the government has initiated reforms to deliver better and more efficient services to the people.

“Hence, results of the survey will be treated as an opportunity to improve and enhance the system for everyone to be happy,” she said.

Ambi congratulated Mati City Mayor Michelle N. Rabat, Banaybanay Mayor Pedro T. Mejos, and San Isidro Mayor Edgar Flor V. Saulon for being the first in the said undertaking.

8+15

P30 billion

COST of extension of the extension contract of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) line 1. The process to find a private contractor for the biggest project in the Aquino administration has begun.

NUMBER of Cabinet members (8) and businessmen (15) joining President Aquino in his three-day official visit to the United Kingdom, June 4-6.

The Cabinet men are headed by Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas, while the traders are led by Lance Gokongwei of Cebu Pacific.

153

NUMBER of people feared dead after a passenger plane plunged into a large residential area of Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city last Sunday. Phil Star

EDGEDAVAO

VOL.5 ISSUE 68 • JUNE 07, 2012

GAME CHANGER

Game changer: Anyati Abdullah Orcullo

7

Bringing technology to the countryside

By Lorie A. Cascaro

H

ERE’S an entrepreneur by heart who continues to provide the Filipino youth with a fun-filled, high-tech but affordable education.

Formerly an English professor at the Western Mindanao State University, Zamboanga City, Anyati Abdullah Orcullo created the Voyager Educational and Event Services to bring the digital mobile planetarium to the rural areas of the countryside.

“My experience as a student was very limited to the classroom situation. And when I had the chance to travel and access technology, it is my utmost dream to provide this to children in the farflung areas. That’s why I invented a mobile planetarium,” she said.

Her motivation to help schools in far flung areas have an access to technology is deeply rooted in her childhood experiences.

Once a farm girl from a small town in Zamboanga

del Norte, she had to walk 10 kilometers from her house to study at the Patawag Elementary School.

“I walk mountains, different terrains and all that. I didn’t have access to technology at all then.

I was such a farm girl, that’s why I love farming,” she said adding that her first encounter with planetarium was in high school at Labason, Zamboanga del Norte.

Years passed and she was able to travel to Brunei where she reinvented herself as a businesswoman, putting up one business after another.

Aside from Voyager, she owns the Anyati’s Boutique and Atelier, HBM laundry and cleaning services, Vetiver Biosolutions Company, and Ads Allure Advertising.

“That’s why I reinvent-

ed myself, not just an educator but also as a fashion designer, and businesswoman,” she said.

Bringing the mobile planetarium to the far flung areas, the Voyager team let the children pay at a minimum price.

As Orcullo puts it, “If we can make money from the big cities because it’s where the children can afford to, we will make them pay for the far flung areas.”

“I am not a profitmotivated person, and Voyager is much like a hobby. But, I want it to be sustainable. I have a very long vision,” she said.

She instructed the Voyager team that whenever they have an event in a school, they have to identify students who are very keen into the subject matter—Astronomy that is, so that the company can follow through their learning progress.

“And, if the company

is sustainable enough, we can actually give some subsidy. We can fund them and send them to school where they can have further studies. I want students to actually excel by giving them a chance to develop in what they believe,” she said.

During the recent launching of Voyager’s new logo and Voyager Adventures 2012 at the Grand Menseng Hotel, Davao City, Orcullo said in her welcome speech that if the Voyager can produce an astronaut 10 to 20 years from now, then the company owes it from Davao City, where it began.

The first Mindanaobased company to have

the digital mobile planetarium, the Voyager was established in 2008 as Ads Allure Advertising Company in Brunei and finally moved to Davao City.

Currently located at JKA Bldg., Door 1, Tahimik Avenue, Bangkal, the Voyager launched its one-of-a-kind project, the Voyager Adventures, after three years of organizing big and successful exhibitions and expos in Brunei and Davao.

True to its vocation to bring technology in the far flung areas, Orcullo said the Enchanted Reef is a most awaiting project of the company this year.

“What I love about Enchanted Reef is that it is presented in an anima-

tion movie that children will enjoy because this is a story of two fish in a reef. We are very concerned that the reef will be destroyed. This will have a touch of marine biology conservation and climate change, recycling. They will not only be entertained but also learn that there is a need to start conserving,” she said.

“I was an educator and I have many students who became big people. They came back to me and said, ‘You made my life. I am who I am now because of you.’

And I want to continue that legacy,” this eloquent speaker told Edge Davao.

8

VANTAGE POINTS

VOL.5 ISSUE 68 • JUNE 07, 2012

EDGEDAVAO Europe needs a central bank OPINION

BY MAREK BELKA

M

EDITORIAL

In search of a new CJ

T

HE SEARCH for the next Chief Justice has started and by all indications, this process is far from being detached to the Corona Impeachment case.

For one, among the reported frontrunners to the position are personalities involved in the Corona trial. These are Justice Secretary Leila De Lima, BIR Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares and Senator Franklin Drilon. Not to mention another frontrunner in insider Justice Antonio Carpio, now the Acting Chief Justice after the removal of former CJ Corona.

The Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) which has been accepting applications and nominations for the position has set June 18 as the deadline.

The JBC will have one month to submit a short list to President Aquino by July 18.

Added elements in this particular search for the next CJ are the twin requirements that a candidate or nominee must submit his/her statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) and issue a waiver in favor of the JBC on the confidentiality of local and foreign currency bank accounts under the Bank Secrecy Law and Foreign Currency Deposits Act. The JBC seemed like it could not depart from the SALN and foreign currency account issue and made it an additional documentary requirements for all applicants.

Section 7(1), Article VIII of the Constitution, which provides for the minimum requirements for appointment to the SC, has these requisites: Natural-born Filipino citizen; at least 40 years old; and with at least 15 years of law practice.

That requirement is uniformly applied to members of the SC. Now here come the additional requirements

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of SALN and waiver of the Bank Secrecy Law and Foreign Currency Deposits Act for new applicants. Those who have worked in the government must submit their records of SALN in all the years they served government up to December 31, 2011.For those coming from private sector, they need to submit a SALN up to December 31, 2011.

What then is the effect of the additional requirements? The additional requirements could hit a constitutional question under the principle that the JBC cannot prescribe what the Constitution did not provide.

What comes to mind is a case of synonymous implication. It was held that Sec. 36 of Republic Act No. 9165 of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 requiring mandatory drug testing of candidates for public office, as unconstitutional on Nov. 3, 2008 on grounds it “enlarges the qualification requirement enumerated in the Constitution (and that) the Comelec cannot impose qualifications on candidates in addition to what the Constitution prescribes.”

While the SALN and foreign currency account matters were considered the legal anchorage of the impeachment verdict, it cannot also be overzealously applied prospectively in a government selection process where there is no law providing for such a requirement.

It is said that the impeachment trial is sui generis (a class of its own). It is doubtful, though, if this special treatment can cover government processes founded on sound, established constitutional framework like the search of new CJ, even if the CJ sought to be replaced had been ousted in an impeachment trial.

ANTONIO M. AJERO Editor in Chief

RAMON M. MAXEY Consultant

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(Part 1)

ANY discussions about the role of the European Union in the process of globalization seem unable to move away from one of two extreme positions. The first one sees the EU as a Trojan horse that brings globalization into the heart of Europe. The other suggests that the EU is, and has been, the best defense of the continent against any negative effects of globalization. The true picture lies somewhere in between.

It is impossible not to mention in this context the doctrine of mondialisation maitrisée, or managed globalization, introduced into EU policy by current World Trade Organization Director-General Pascal Lamy in 1999. That idea is usually thought to comprise the attempt to ensure that globalization (understood as the liberalization of international flows of goods, services, capital, and labor) is accompanied by formal rules that major players, including national governments, should obey.

The doctrine’s implementation began with trade, since globalization usually starts with trade liberalization. Managed globalization thus dominated the EU trade policy through the major part of the previous decade. Its goal was to create strong international institutions with clear rules and the power to monitor and enforce them.

To this end, the EU has sought to extend the scope of those rules, both by trying to bring non-trade issues – like relations of trade to environment and culture – into the World Trade Organization, and by increasing the number of WTO members. In this respect, the WTO may thus be assessed as a success in the process of managing globalization. It has resulted in trade globalization being more controlled and more transparent.

Similar attempts in the area of global finance brought more ambiguous results.

First, Europeans succeeded in codifying the norm of capital mobility within the European Union and theOrganization for Economic Cooperation and Development. But the attempt to do the same at theInternational Monetary Fund – to make this norm binding for the whole world – failed.

Capital flows are governed by the American model of ad hoc globalization according to so-called Thrasymachean justice – the advantage of the stronger. The common European currency could be interpreted in such a context as an attempt to immunize Europe from international currency fluctuations.

Managed globalization, when adequate, confers legitimacy upon the European Union because it is then perceived as being able to protect its citizens from the negative effects of globalization. When it fails, as with the recent financial crisis, legitimacy is undermined.

What can be done to help restore that waning legitimacy?

One approach is simply to solve the crisis and introduce measures preventing its recurrence. The number of proposals introduced into the public discourse during the last two years is already plentiful enough without adding proposals of my own.

However, most – if not all – of these proposals share the same weakness: They call for further strengthening of supranational coordination and stronger rules applied at the EU level. Yet, in many ways, the source of the crisis is the lack of trust in European institutions themselves because they lack the legitimacy of the elected governments of nation states.

[Marek Belka, a former prime minister of Poland, is governor of the National Bank of Poland.]

Quips ‘WE told LWUA (Local Water Utilities Administration), sue us, so we can answer you in court. But they did not file any case against us.’

--lawyer Eliseo “Boy” Braganza Jr., vice chairman of the Davao City Water District

EDGEDAVAO

C

A N D I D SHOTS – Over the past decades, more and more of the country’s rich political clans, particularly the nouveau variety have sought to impress with wasteful displays of wealth.

Once in power, political families use their position and influence to wangle loans, licenses, fix tax exemption, quotas, infrastructure projects and other concessions that benefit their business undertakings. Also, their wealth acquired from exceptional access to the public coffers provides the handouts that keep constituents happy.

Many private sector economists presumed that it makes harder for other entrepreneurs to join the playing field of business where powerful political clans also have an economic base. Clearly, cronyism and corruption, in particular, rob people of opportunities for enterprise, and there may be reason to discourage prospective capitalists of doing business – otherwise things can horribly go wrong. oooOooo GENETICALLY-ENGINEERED MEDICINES – Who cares about genetically-engineered products? In our previous column article we talk about biotechnology. And by the way, what is biotechnology? It is the science of manipulating genetic traits and substances.

The products – giant vegetables, tastier flood-proof rice, corn and sea produce, and of course, medicines. What makes the field

T

HAT three journalists in Butuan City were acquitted of libel on Monday was refreshing news, like rain after a long dry spell.

Judge Augustus Calo of Regional Trial Court Branch 5 cited the constitutional right to freedom of expression in dismissing the case filed by former mayor Daisy Plaza against Maria Kristina E. Cassion, Franklin A. Caliguid, and Alberto Endozo Jr. Calo’s decision also highlighted what could be obvious by now: the Plazas can no longer do as they please in Butuan. The courtroom defeat added to the pain of the political dislocation they suffered after May 2010. For decades dating back to the pre-martial law era, they held the city in their hands. Now all they can do is rage over the unfavorable decision of a local judge.

In all those years, nobody dared cross the Plazas. Lesser politicians kowtowed to their wishes. The local media heaped praises on them, and was ever careful not to court their ire or displeasure. This explains their abhorrence toward criticisms of the way they ran

Monkey Business

VANTAGE POINTS

VOL.5 ISSUE 68 • JUNE 07, 2012

Fastest-growing industry exceptionally exciting is that biotechnology promises big profits and better life.

As a strong growth continued with the adoption of new varieties of disease-resistant crops, biotech products which include drugs become the fastest adopted technology in recent history. Every day, new results of scientific progress are appearing on dinner tables, store shelves and medicine cabinets. Talking of food, dip into a dish of tofu and there’s a good chance it is made from genetically-altered soybeans.

But are these genetically-modified marvels really safe to eat or use? Or are they foisted on unsuspecting consumers without proper warning? Most consumers have little choice in the matter of altered products notably foods. They are, as a matter of fact, unaware that many staples have already been altered or contain altered ingredients.

However, scientists and biofood producers say they’re aware of the issues and take them into account in their reviews – the more people know about genetically-modified products, the less fearful they will be.

Biotechnology actually is nothing new and looks set to revolutionize not only agriculture and the environment, but medicines as well. In drug development, several bioengineered medicines have already replaced those with conventional methods notably in the US. But no nation clings to geneticallyaltered products as tightly as China. Its pharmaceuticals industry is fast growing and the country needs to produce inexpensive but high-quality medicines in large quantities to cater to its burgeoning population.

Pharmaceuticals likewise comprise most of Japan’s biotech products. Many Japanese firms jumped on the bandwagon as early as the 80’s. Its drug division has been reeling in ample but undisclosed profits or yearly sales, a good part of it in biotech. Harnessing them has made many types of medicines cheaper and more widely available. Like for instance, most insulin for diabetics is made by genetically-altered bacteria. Human growth hormones, antibiotics and human proteins are also being produced by nature’s “factories.”

Other drug companies are also making such bio-engineered products as hepatitis vaccines and anti-cancer intervention protein.

Unfortunately, governments around the world have been slow to regulate geneticallymodified products. Many countries including the US had no labeling laws but require approval of genetic foods and medicines under certain condition such as if the product contains known toxins, allergens or an entirely new substance. These days, it seems barely a week passes without news of some innovation or advance in biotech and the revolution is already happening in Asia. All of this contributes to a growing sense of wariness among Asian consumers.

The bio-engineered drug industry is tipped to be one of the fastest growing in the years to come. Meanwhile, some scientists insist that the social impact is always high on the agenda. They assert that biotech experts cannot do anything without the backing of society. It should involve everyone in the process to eliminate paranoia of the unknown because the fear is bigger than the reality.

A deserted plaza the local government, proof of which was the libel case filed against Cassion et al based on a letter-to-the-editor published in the local paper where the

Be that as it may, I’m confused why it took nearly ten years for the case to be resolved. It would be speculative, if not unfair, to say that the judge had long ago wanted to decide on it but waited for an opportune time.

Like after the political defeat of the Plazas in Butuan?

three journalists had worked.

The letter alleged that Ms Plaza received bribe money from a construction firm for a road project in Barangay

Bonbon.

The ex-mayor could have put the issue to rest with a reply denying the accusation. But having been used to seeing the local media treat them as gods, she opted to sue the three journalists, apparently as a warning to others who may find the courage to say that the emperor – I mean empress – has no clothes on.

Finding legal redress was farthest from Ms Plaza’s mind; all she wanted was to teach Cassion and company a lesson. As Erwin Mascarinas reported, she told a local TV station that she wanted to “discipline” the accused.

That statement smacks of the mentality of one who is used only to hearing good things being said about her or the way she governed the city.

Be that as it may, I’m confused why it took nearly ten years for the case to be resolved. It would be speculative, if not unfair, to say that the judge had long ago wanted to decide on it but waited for an opportune time. Like after the political defeat of the Plazas in Butuan?

These things won’t matter anymore to Cassion, Caliguid and Endozo Jr. The libel case is now just history. And so are the Plazas of Butuan. [H. Marcos C. Mordeno can be reached athmcmordeno@gmail.com.]

9

Garbage mounting up on world’s highest peak SPECIAL FEATURE

T

BY ZHOU SHENGPING O dub Mount Qomolangma (Mount Everest) “the world’s highest garbage dump” is neither novel nor ob-

scure.

In 1963, 10 years after human beings first conquered the world’s highest mountain, a Sherpa guide witnessed human waste, discarded climbing gears and other rubbish on the summit and asserted that parts of the mountain had become “the highest junkyard.”

Nearly 50 years later, with the tourist expedition booming, more and more trekkers and climbers throng into the Himalayas, laying a long siege to Mt. Qomolangma where rubbish, such as plastic, papers, empty oxygen cylinders, cans, bottles, helicopter debris and metals, is everywhere.

In 2011, more than 30,000 trekkers and tourists visited the Sagarmatha National Park where Mt. Qomolangm lies and about 250 foreigners scaled the peak, according to the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC), a local NGO which has been working in the field of environmental conservation for about 20 years in the Sagarmatha Zone in the Eastern Development Region of Nepal.

“More tourists mean we have to clean up more garbage. We have been seeking a solution to the pollution, which at present is not a big trouble-maker, but the challenge keeps mounting up,” said Ang Dorjee Sherpa, chairman of the SPCC. To control the pollution, the committee has worked out strict rules under which all the garbage produced by mountaineering expeditions should be classified into three categories at base camps and each one gets its proper place.

For example, category “b” refers to nondisposable including cans, bottles, plastics, etc. Garbage of this category must be taken back to Nepali capital Kathmandu after recording the exact weight. Garbage such as oxygen bottles and batteries belong to category “c”, which must be taken back to the country of origin by expedition teams.

The clean-up expeditions by yaks and porters bring down thousands of tons of trash collected from camps and trekking trails (including the path to the top of the Mt. Qomolangma) every year. Their work is a difficult and dangerous endeavor.

Why do mountaineers leave refuse?

Professional climbers said above a certain altitude, it is cloud-cuckoo-land for exhausted climbers who have already devoted all their strength after climbing up and coming down safely to take the heavy climbing gears such as empty oxygen cylinder and tent with them.

Waste on the upper reaches of Qomolangma, like a Gordian knot, has been creating problems not only for climbers but also for residents in the region.

Done, a former porter who has changed his profession to tour guide six years ago, told Xinhua last week in Namche Bazaar, the gateway to Qomolangma, that locals dare not to drink snow water directly, fearing that garbage and corpses of climbers, buried under the snow in the past and now coming out to the surface due to global warming, have polluted the snow water.

Quips

‘THE DEFENDANT admitted that he did not declare his dollar accounts and certain commingled peso accounts in his SALN. Did this omission amount to an impeachable offense? No.’

--Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago (Not guilty verdict on CJ Corona)

10

COMMUNITY SENSE

VOL.5 ISSUE 68 • JUNE 07, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

WET! There’s no better cure for the scorching summer temperature than to try out the kayak and other exciting activities at Pearl Farm Beach Resort.

Let the fun begin! ANFLOCOR President and CEO Alexander N. Valoria is beaming with joy as he welcomes the employees to take a splash into summer.

ANFLOCOR employees dive into summer!

T

HE exciting anticipation for summer concluded when the DAMOSA-based employees of the ANFLOCOR Group of Companies took their time off to rest and relax in the Island Garden City of Samal (IGACOS) last May 12, 2012.

Taking a break from their frantic schedule, they shoved away their worries and fitted into their summer outfits in vibrant colors and radiated kid-like auras.

The ANFLOCOR summer outing 2012 was a great opportunity for the employees to see the gazillion flying fruit bats swarming the Monfort Bat Cave in Babak District. They, then, trekked down to see

cascades of natural pools and rock formations at Hagimit Falls in Peñaplata District. It gave a pure delight to everyone who saw the natural vegetation and experienced the cool water flowing down the falls.

To make the most of the summer outing, all went giddy and excited as they drove their way to their last stop – the world-renowned and ANFLOCOR’s pride, Pearl Farm Beach Resort and the Malipano Island.

The chilled fruit drink was a perfect welcome to the bakasyonistas who savored the wide array of fresh fruits and salads, sumptuous meat dishes, seafood delights and tasty

cakes and desserts. Pearl Farm’s scenic beach set-up also offered an impeccable place for ANFLOCOR employees to try various aqua sports and leisure activities either for free or at a discounted rate.

Best of all, the picturesque resort vista, by itself, was already an enchantment to everybody.

That day’s flaring temperature never stopped the fun and only signaled hottah-hottah summer activities that gestured more excitement among the employees. With all the happenings and perks and the picture-perfect view of IGACOS, it was definitely a great ANFLOCOR summer outing for 2012!

CAREFREE! Looking all carefree and relaxed with their spirits so high for summertime.

FRESH WATER. The natural pool of Hagimit Falls seems to lure these gents to take a plunge into its crystal clear waters.

Summer Boys! These gents enjoy their sweet taste of summer with prizes from games and other summer activities.

More and merry! ANFLOCOR employees are all thrilled and electrified with radiating summer energy in their Samal getaway.

WATERSPORTS! Oozing with summer sunshine and energy, the employees enjoyed the motorized aqua sports like jet ski at Pearl Farm Beach Resort.

Nom, nom, nom! A wide array of delectable food also makes a big splash in the summer outing.

SUNKISSED! Getting sun-kissed and soaked up as the employees dive into summer fun.

Going bananas! These water aficionados are all excited to try the banana boat ride at Pearl Farm Beach Resort.

EDGEDAVAO

Phil-AirAsia inaugurates flight to Kuala Lumpur

A

IRASIA Philippines, the country’s newest low cost carrier, inaugurates its international flight from Clark International Airport to Kuala Lumpur on Saturday with some Davao media practitioners among those invited to experience the international flight.

The guests from Davao will start from Davao International Airport noon of June 8 and slated to arrive in CIA at 2:15 p.m.

The Dabawenyos will check into Tune Hotels, where they will stay overnight.

The send-off ceremony at Clark airport’s pre-departure is scheduled at 1 p.m. with AirAsia’s president and chief operating officer Maan Hontiveros and Clark International Airport president Victor Jose Luciano.

One June 1-3, the new airline held a AirAsia Awesome Roadshow in Gaisano Mall, Davao City by offering 20% discount on all-in fares for its domestic and regional routes. The promo is exclusive for those who will visit the AirAsia booth at the Upper Ground Floor, Atrium of Gaisano Mall.

“We have long acknowledged Davao’s tourism potential when we pioneered the Clark to Davao route last March. We were here first before anyone from Clark airport did.And today, we are marking another important activity here in Davao as we launch our nationwide road showby offering 20% Frequency

Flight

COMPETITIVE EDGE 11

VOL.5 ISSUE 68 • JUNE 07, 2012

discount to all our domestic flights and selected regional flights, Ms Hontiveros said at the opening ceremony.

For three days, guests were able to enjoy 20% discounted rates and will be able to travel from 1 July – 30 November, 2012. Aside from promo fares on domestic destinations, AirAsia also offered discounted rates for Clark to Kuala Lumpur and from Kuala Lumpur to Australia, China, Taiwan, South Korea and India.

“As a Filipino low cost carrier, we feel strongly about supporting the growth and development of domestic cities by connecting Davao to Central and Northern Luzon and Davao to AirAsia’s 77 awesome red hot destinations across Asia and Australia. This awesome connectivity brings in local and international tourists which translates to jobs, incomes, food on the table and business opportunities for every Dabaweno,” Hontiveros added.

AirAsia is also offering great hotel rates and personalized travel packages under AirAsiaGo via its one stop travel portal at www.airasiago.com. Guests can obtain greater savings and more value for money on their accommodation in addition to the low fares that AirAsia offers. Currently, AirAsiaGo has over 150,000 hotel partners globally and over 10,000 tours and activities that cater to every traveler’s budget.

Lucky visitors will also get a chance to win premium Origin

AirAsia items and get free taste of AirAsia’s in-flight hot meals and baked snacks.

AirAsia Inc. is a Filipino Low Cost Carrier (LCC) established to serve the Philippines’ regional and domestic air travel market. For inquiry and to receive real-time updates on latest promotions, interact via facebook.com/ AirAsiaPhilippines and twitter.com/AirAsiaPh. As part of its commitment to develop tourism and transportation outside Metro Manila, AirAsia Inc. set up its hub in Clark, Pampanga in 2011. In the same year, Filipinos welcomed the airline’s brand new Airbus A320s operated by an all-Filipino crew, signifying greater opportunities for travel, leisure and tourism industries in the country.

AirAsia Inc. is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission in March last year to engage primarily in the business of air transportation in the Philippines and abroad for passenger and cargo.

AirAsia Inc. is a 60-40 joint venture between Filipino investors Antonio O. Cojuangco, Michael L. Romero and Marianne “Maan” B. Hontiveros, and Malaysia’s AirAsia International Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of AirAsia Berhad, which has won SkyTrax’s best low cost airline for three consecutive years. (Skytrax is the world’s largest airline and airport review site.)

Destinations

Depart

Arrive

Daily

AK6265*

Clark

Kota Kinabalu

16:10

18:05

Daily

PQ7023

Clark

Davao

10:10

12:00

Daily

PQ7001

Clark

Kalibo

07:00

08:10

Daily

PQ7005

Clark

Kalibo

14:40

15:50

Daily

AK1439*

Clark

Kuala Lumpur

11:05

14:50

Daily

PQ7455

Clark

Kuala Lumpur

15:15

19:00

Daily

PQ 7015

Clark

Puerto Princesa

17:50

19:10

Daily

AK6284

Kota Kinabalu

Clark

13:50

15:45

Daily

PQ 7024

Davao

Clark

12:25

14:15

Daily

PQ7002

Kalibo

Clark

08:35

09:45

Daily

PQ7006

Kalibo

Clark

16:15

17:25

Daily

AK1438*

Kuala Lumpur

Clark

06:45

10:30

Daily

PQ7456

Kuala Lumpur

Clark

19:50

23:35

Daily

PQ7016

Puerto Princesa

Clark

19:35

20:55

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

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: AIRASIA’s AWESOME ROADSHOW KICKS OFF IN DAVAO. Philippines’ AirAsia, the country’s newest low cost carrier, recently kicked off its nationwide roadshow in Davao City over the weekend by offering 20% discount on all-in fares for its domestic and select regional routes.

Photo shows (3rd from left) AirAsia Inc. CEO Maan Hontiveros with Mary Ann Montemayor of Small Hotels Association, Eden Larano-David of Davao DOT, basketball players from AirAsia Philippine Patriots and the airlines red hot cabin crew at the opening ceremonies.

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

A

US troops

MERICAN troops, warships and aircraft can once again use their former naval and air facilities in Subic, Zambales and in Clark Field in Pampanga as long as they have prior clearance from the Philippine government, a senior defense official said.

“They can come here provided they have prior coordination from the government,” Defense Undersecretary for defense affairs Honorio Azcueta told reporters after his meeting with Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.

I

Settlement

S this the road to a peaceful settlement?

Philippine and Chinese government ships have left Bajo de Masinloc, a site off the coast of Zambales subject to a territorial dispute between the two countries.

“Following our consultations, the two Chinese maritime vessels and our BFAR (Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources) vessel are no longer in the lagoon,” a press statement from the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

S

Nixed

ENATOR Antonio Trillanes IV on Tuesday strongly criticized and opposed the implementation of the Department of Education’s (DepEd) K to 12 basic education program.

“This K to 12 program apparently is being forced on everybody else, on the parents, the schoolchildren and the teachers without the enabling law,” Trillanes said during the day’s Senate committee hearing on bills regarding education.

T

Waiver

WO more senators have followed the lead of Senator Francis Escudero and have signed waivers opening their bank accounts for scrutiny by the Office of the Ombudsman.

In separate statements, Senators Antonio Trillanes IV and Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. said they have waived their right to the confidentiality of their bank accounts under Republic Act 1405 or the Law on the Secrecy of Bank Deposits and Republic Act 6426 or the Foreign Currency Deposit Act of the Philippines.

P

T

VOL.5 ISSUE 68 • JUNE 07, 2012

Venus makes last move across face of the Sun

HE planet Venus made a slow transit across the face of the sun on Tuesday, the last such passing that will be visible from Earth for 105 years.

Transits of Venus happen in pairs, eight years apart, with more than a century between cycles.

During Tuesday’s pass, Venus took the form of a small black dot slowly shifting across the northern hemisphere of the sun.

Armchair astronomers watched the six-hour and 40-minute transit on the Internet, with dozens of websites offering live video from around the world.

Closeup views from the Prescott Observatory in Arizona, fed into Slooh. com’s webcast, showed a small solar flaring in the making just beneath Venus’ sphere.

Tuesday’s transit, completing a 2004-2012 pair, began at 6:09 p.m. EDT (2209 GMT).

Skywatchers on seven continents, including Antarctica, were able to see all or part of the transit. Even astronauts aboard the International Space Station joined in the spectacle.

“I’ve been planning this for a while,” space station

The planet Venus can be seen on its transit of the Sun, from New Delhi June 6, 2012. [REUTERS] flight engineer Don Pettit said in a NASA interview. “I knew the transit of Venus would occur during my rotation, so I brought a solar filter with me.”

It’s not all about pretty pictures. Several science experiments were planned, including studies that could help in the search for habitable planets beyond Earth.

Telescopes, such as NASA’s Kepler space telescope, are being used to find so-called extrasolar planets that pass in front of their parent stars, much like Venus passing by the sun.

During the transit of Venus, astronomers planned to measure the planet’s thick atmosphere in the hope of developing techniques to measure atmospheres around other planets.

Studies of the atmosphere of Venus could also shed light on why Earth and Venus, which are almost exactly the same size and orbit approximately the same distance from the sun, are so different.

Venus has a chokingly dense atmosphere, 100 times thicker than Earth’s, that is mostly carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.

Its surface temperature is a lead-melting 900 degrees Fahrenheit (480 degrees Celsius) and towering clouds of sulfuric acid jet around the planet at 220 miles per hour (355 kph) dousing it with acid rain.

“Venus is known as the goddess of love, but it’s not the type of relationship you’d want,” an astronomer said on the Slooh.com webcast. “This is a look-butdon’t-touch kind of relationship.”

Scientists are interested in learning more about Venus’ climate in hopes of understanding changes in Earth’s atmosphere.

ratification by President Vladimir Putin.

In a highly unusual spectacle in the usually rubber-stamp parliament, A Just Russia party submitted more than 400 amendments to the bill in its crucial second reading and then insisted on reading out each one in detail.

The parliament’s lower house is dominated by ruling party United Russia, which had enough votes to shoe-in the bill, although numerous mem-

bers were absent on Tuesday and their colleagues were pushing buttons for them.

The controversial bill would hike the maximum penalty for organisers of illegal protests to one million rubles ($32,100), while participants could be fined up to 300,000 rubles ($9,000).

Human Rights Watch criticised the bill, saying the measures “would severely undercut the right to peaceful assembly”.

During the debate, Gennady Gudkov of A Just Russia criticised what he called “inordinate” fines, which he said “not one normal person can pay without destroying the family budget”.

The bill was hastily submitted less than a month ago and passed in its first reading on May 22.

It allows authorities to punish de facto organisers of informal “walking protests” that have been recently used by the opposition, under the vague definition of “being en masse simultaneously”.

The maximum penalty is about 3.5 times the average annual salary reported by the Rosstat statistics agency at the end of last year. Previously, the maximum fine for individual protesters was 5,000 rubles.

The upper house, the Federation Council, even listed the bill on its agenda for Wednesday -assuming it would have been passed in both its second and third readings in the lower house.

The aim of the failed delaying tactics, or filibustering, was to force parliament to postpone its vote on the bill.

Russian lawmakers adopt controversial protest bill T

HE Russian lower house or State Duma early Wednesday adopted a controversial bill that would greatly increase fines for protesters.

An opposition party had earlier deliberately stalled the passing of the bill by calling for votes on hundreds of amendments. It was finally passed at the third reading by 241-147 and was to be sent upstairs to the Federation Council before

Eased

HILIPPINE inflation eased slightly in May, supporting views of a manageable inflation outlook that should allow the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to keep interest rates at record lows to protect domestic demand in the face of a global economic slowdown.

The National Statistics Office (NSO) reported yesterday the consumer price index rose 2.9 percent in May from a year earlier, slowing from three percent in April on lower oil and utility prices and stable food costs. The index rose 0.1 percent in May from the previous month.

EDGEDAVAO

Russian police detain opposition supporters during a rally in Moscow in May 2012. The Russian lower house or State Duma has adopted a controversial bill that would greatly increase fines for protesters.

WORLD TODAY

A

Halted

USTRALIA on Tuesday halted the approval process for Indian infrastructure giant GVK’s huge US$6.3 billion coal mine amid a dispute over environmental assessments affecting the Great Barrier Reef.

The Alpha Coal Project in the northeastern Galilee Basin was given the green light last week

by Queensland state authorities, who then gave the national government 30 days to approve it.

A

Bigger role

bloc bringing together China, Russia and central Asian states wants to play a bigger role in troubledAfghanistan, Chinese President Hu Jintao said in an interview published on Wednesday, as regional leaders gathered for their annual summit.

The future of neighbour Afghanistan, facing the withdrawal of most foreign combat forces by the end of 2014, is likely to be discussed at the two-day meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation(SCO), whose member states fear growing instability spilling across the central Asian region as the pullout goes on.

T

Survived

HE union-busting Republican governor in the US presidential battleground state of Wisconsin on Tuesday survived a recall election aimed at ousting him mid-term, US media projected.

Governor Scott Walker, elected in 2010, prompted mass protests -- and ultimately, the rare special election -- after pushing through legislation last year to radically curb the power of public sector unions.

A

Hacked

UTHORITIES are investigating a report that Mitt Romney’s personal email account has been hacked, his presidential campaign said Tuesday.

The website Gawker reported that an unnamed hacker had broken into the Republican flagbearer’s private Hotmail account by guessing the answer to a security question about Romney’s favorite pet.

A

Extradition

porn actor dubbed the “Canadian Psycho” for allegedly killing and chopping up a Chinese man was taken to a Berlin prison after telling a judge he would not fight his extradition from Germany.

Luka Rocco Magnotta, 29, was arrested Monday at a Berlin Internet cafe on suspicion he murdered a 33-year-old Chinese student in Canada last month with an ice pick and hacked apart his body while filming the grisly killing.

EDGEDAVAO

SMI...

SP wants...

FFROM 1

South Cotabato, according to John B. Arnaldo, SMI corporate communications m a n a g e r .

Arnaldo said the company may also bring the issue to the courts although he admitted that going to court is not priority option of the company.

The DENR earlier rejected the appeal of SMI for the approval of the environment compliance certificate on the ground that the province of South Cotabato has not repealed a two-year old ordinance banning openpit mining. SMI will use open-pit mining process in exploiting the minerals of South Cotabato, and parts of North Cotabato and Davao del Sur. In rejecting the appeal, the DENR pointed out it cannot rule in favor of the company because the ban has not been lifted.

This developed as Local Government Secretary Jessie Robredo earlier questioned the legality of the ordinance.

Another official who is taking the side of the mining company is Davao

13

VOL.5 ISSUE 68 • JUNE 07, 2012

FFROM 1 del Sur Gov. Douglas Ra. Cagas. Cagas also questioned the legality of the open-pit mining ban of South Cotabato, saying that the provincial ordinance cannot supersede a national law.

In a separate press statement, Cagas, whose province is expected to directly benefit from the $5.9 billion mining project, said that as a lawyer, he believes that “the provincial ordinance can never prevail over a national law.”

Cagas was among those who asked the Office of the President, along with the mayors of the towns that are to be affected by the project, to reconsider the national government position on the project which is mainly located in the nearby South Cotabato.

The other company that was affected by a similar ordinance, TVI Resources whose project is in Zamboanga Sibugay, brought the issue before the court and was eventually granted with a temporary restraining order. The issue involving the company, has yet to

be resolved with finality.

The South Cotabato government imposed the open-pit mining ban, a local law that has become the main hindrance in pursuing the project which is mainly located in Tampakan, a South Cotabato town.

Aside from the ban, Church-based organizations also oppose the project Kiblawan, a town in Davao del Sur, is identified as the area where the storage facility will be located.

Another town in Davao del Sur, Malalag, known for being the lay-away area of foreign vessels, is being eyed as the port and power plant for the project.

But Gov. Cagas was quoted as saying the national government will eventually “push the go button” for the project. He said: “The national government recently pronounced that a responsible mining industry is one of our best hopes economically and that is a positive sign for the Tampakan project.” [AMA]

street,” she said.

“The area is busy with all kinds of vehicles passing through. This condition causes hazards or danger to the lives of our pedestrians especially our school children. The vendors therefore appropriating the sidewalks should be removed,” Braga said.

The city councilor re-

It’s...

quested the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Traffic Management Center to “enhance the condition of pedestrian lanes outside public and private schools.”

“Repaint and enhance pedestrian lanes...after all this is for the safety and general welfare of the public,” she said.

The City Council also requested City Administrator Zuleika Lopez to look into the matter.

Copies of the resolution are also duly furnished to the office of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, the TMC and other concerned agencies.

may have impacted on the awareness of the tourism campaign in March.”

Notwithstanding this lower awareness, the tourism slogan is having a strong performance on overall likeability (87% in February, 92% in March). The campaign is also communicating its intended messaging, such as making Filipinos proud, making people want to travel, making people want to tell others about the beauty of the Philippines and making people to believe that it is more fun in the Philippines. This confirms the generally positive emotions that the tourism slogan evoked such as happiness and being proud (as Filipinos.)

Additionally, the tourism slogan is seen as believable (84% in February, 87% in March) and evoking strong personal empathy (82% in February, 86% in March). Uniqueness of the slogan was stronger in March (82%) than in February (66%), as the Switzerland issue has toned down.

Carole Sarthou, Managing Director of Ipsos Philippines summarized the findings, “This tracking study shows and confirms the generally positive reactions to the tourism campaign.

Secretary Mon Jimenez and the DOT people should be congratulated for a job well done. Although it is a successful campaign for now, it needs to carry through the momentum and rally all Filipinos towards the tourism campaign to ensure long term success. That means, the tourism slogan should be communicated via massbased media channels, and

not only through social network channels.” The Filipinos are the strongest asset in selling our country and making visitors feel that it is really “more fun in the Philippines.”

The “It’s more fun in the Philippines” Campaign Assessment is part of Ipsos’ AsiaBUSTM, Asia’s first regionally consistent omnibus survey. Around 1,000 interviews were done per month with respondents’ ages ranging from 15 to 64 years old, from socioeconomic classes of ABCDE in February 2012 and March 2012.

Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos is the only independent market research company that is controlled and managed by research professionals. In October 2011, Ipsos completed the acquisition of Synovate.

The combination forms the world’s third largest market research company.

With offices in 84 countries, Ipsos has the resources to conduct research wherever in the world our clients do business. Working both on a global scale and in local markets, our expert teams give our clients the benefit of high value-added business solutions including qualitative, forecasting, modeling, market knowledge and consumer insights.

Ipsos professionals deliver insightful expertise across six research specializations: advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, public affairs research, and survey management.

Ipsos has been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange since 1999 and generated global revenues of $ 1.6 billion in 2010.

prices of cigarettes are very low in the Philippines, in fact they are among the lowest in the world. “For example, a leading brand costing here about P30 to P35 per pack is priced P300 in Hong Kong and P364 in Singapore when converted to peso.”

He cited for 2011, the Philippines was able to collect excise taxes from cigarettes in the amount of P25 billion, but figures from the DOH indicate that smokingrelated expenses is P177 billion. “We are practically spending a lot for smoking-related items,

whereas ung bumabalik sa atin maliit masyado.”

Over the years, Ungab noted that the excise tax as a percentage of GDP has been falling year after year. “For the past 10 years, for the past 15 years, it has been going down and that’s very clear. In other words, the present system of taxation is not effective in addressing or curbing the habit of smoking, which we all know is bad to the health of our people. We all know that this can kill our young Filipinos. We all know that batang-bata pa sinusunog na ang kanilang mga baga.” [AMA]

FFROM 2

Philippines now,” said Peter Fairbrother, Managing Director for Ipsos ASI in India and Southeast Asia.

Francis Palomares Jr., Research Director of Ipsos ASI Philippines said, “Indeed, the tourism campaign has maximized the power of internet and social media. The Philippine government has not spent a lot on this tourism slogan. However, at the rate it is going and without mass-based communication support within the domestic market, the campaign can be deemed to be successful, especially if we look at awareness.”

He further added, “Given that internet usage is skewed towards the younger and more affluent people, it is understandable that awareness of the campaign would be driven by these consumer segments. This is a challenge for the government to create more mass-based campaigns to communicate to the other segments of the society, as all of us are Filipinos and each one of us should be involved in this tourism campaign.”

Despite the strong awareness, recognition of the tourism campaign has gone down from 65% in February to 56% in March, which can be driven by the lack of communication support for the initial launch.

Palomares said, “Though DOT launched the tourism jingle in March, acceptance and awareness of Filipinos of it was not that strong compared to when the tourism slogan was launched in January. Moreover, the TV news, which is the main source of awareness of the campaign, shifted its focus to the Chief Justice trial in March. These

Sin...

FFROM 3

first and foremost objective of the bill concerns the health of Filipinos.

“We all know that the Philippines is one of the top smokers in the world. Figures show that 30 percent of the Philippine population are smokers, many of them start to smoke at the age of 10 years. We want to have a healthy nation, we want to have a healthy Philippines.

That is precisely the reason for passing this measure, the sanctuary objective, which is to curb the habit of smoking,” he said.

Ungab also said that

14

SPORTS

VOL.5 ISSUE 68 • JUNE 07, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

PR-Media fun run on June 30 H

UGE cash and raffle prizes await winners in the upcoming “1st PR-Media Fun Run” slated on June 30 at the Rizal Park.

The event, dubbed as a run for environment, is organized by the newly-formed media group, REAL Media Force, and co-presented by the Sagittarius Mines Incorporated (SMI) and Suzuki Philippines Inc., for the rehabilitation of Davao River.

Roque Quimpan, a veteran broadcast journalist and one of the group members, said proceeds will go for the

rehabilitation of the Davao River as they are going to donate and plant 1,000 Malibago seedlings along the river banks in Purok 8, Barangay 19-B here.

Quimpan said the chosen beneficiary is the biggest village in terms of land and population in the city’s 40 downtown barangays.

To add more fun and excitement, cash and raffle prizes will be given to the lucky winners.

The champion will take home P15,000, the second P10,000 and the third placer

will receive P5,000.

A Brand New Toyota Vios is the grand raffle prize, Suzuki Raider 150 as the second raffle prize and the third is an Acer laptop. Consolation raffle prizes are 20 Nokia cellphones and 20 digicams.

The route of the 5-k run will be from Rizal Park going to C.M. Recto Avenue then Quirino Avenue, Magallanes Street and back to Rizal Park.

Registration fee is pegged at P500 with free singlet and snacks and a chance to win the huge prizes. (PNA)

Red carpet awaits Pacquiao in Vegas

By Eddie G. Alinea

L

AS VEGAS, Nevada (PNA) -– Thousand miles away when they started their respective preparations for their June 9 (June 10 in Manila) World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight championship fight, protagonists Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley are now staying in nearby hotels here.

Pacquiao, the defending 147-pound titlist, arrived here Monday afternoon along with his team

and supporters and immediately checked in at the Hotel of Mandalay Bay. Hundreds of welcomers, mostly members of the Filipino community here, were on hand to welcome the fighting Sarangani Congressman and party.

The Pacman and his challenger, the world junior-welterweight kingpin who had also set foot in this city, are most likely to meet each other during today’s Grand Arrival Ceremony at the lobby of the MGM Grand where the Saturday’s 12-round show-

down will be held.

Bradley though will be honored first at noon with Pacquiao following suit 30 minutes later.

The Grand Arrival rite is actually the first activity of the fight week that will be highlighted by their appearance in the main event press conference at 12:30 p.m. on June 6 at the hotel’s Hollywood Theater.

The main event presser will be preceded by the media luncheon at noon, also at the Hollywood Theater.

Today is actually a very busy day because besides

Manny Pacquiao is all focus after concluding his training for his Sunday fight against American Timothy Bradley. the Grand Arrival Ceremony, distribution of media accreditation to press people who will cover the fight will also be held at the old VIP Box Office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

To be distributed are temporary fight week credentials, according to an announcement made by Magna Media International, MGM’s hose media relations firm that is handling the publicity of the fight.

Fight accreditation cards will be open for pickup from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., also at the Old VIP Box Office.

A separate press conference for the undercard has been set Thursday at 11:30 a.m.

Jessica sings US not Phl anthem

A

Anthony Sasin of Pomelo Verdes-A chips from the fringe during the recent Dynasty Cup at the Rancho Palos Verdes golf and country club. (BOY LIM)

merican Idol runnerup Jessica Sanchez is singing the national anthem in the Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley fight this Sunday.

Not so fast though, she will be singing the American anthem, not our very own Lupang Hinirang.

Sanchez is confirmed to be part of the pre-fight ceremonies of Filipino ring icon Pacquiao’s welterweight title defense Sunday against American challenger Bradley.

The 16-year-old partFilipina Sanchez, who lost to Phillip Phillips in the finals of American Idol last month, will be singing “The Star Spangled Banner” prior to the fight.

Team Pacquiao had earlier flirted with the idea of Sanchez singing the Philippine national anthem.

Instead, another Filipino-American teenage singer, Kirby Asunto, will handle “Lupang Hinirang” for the fight, which is expected to be viewed by some 16,000 people live at the MGM Grand Arena and tens of millions of people on television.

Bizarre twists in the NBA Playoffs

T

HE last time the NBA had a shorted season, the San Antonio Spurs went on to win the title.

The Spurs beat the New York Knicks in the 1999 Finals with a young Tim Duncan forming a formidable Twin Towers combo with David Robinson. Avery Johnson was their shifty quarterback and Steve Kerr celebrated another title after his Chicago Bulls days.

The Knicks had the flamboyant Latrell Sprewell at the firing end. Sprewell was on his comeback trail after he was slapped with a one-year suspension for choking his coach at Golden State PJ Carlessimo.

The Knicks had future Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing manning the slot and a young Marcus Camby and Alan Houston.

The Spurs won the 1999 wars 4 wins against 1.

This season, the NBA lockout has cut short the regular NBA wars and the teams are playing a tougher night-afternight games. Even the playoffs are spaced just a day apart. In the early rounds, teams even play every night.

In a short season like this one where teams play almost every night, the chief factor is a team’s consistency and health. You cannot afford to spend the short season with injuries. Take a look at what happened to Chicago. The East’s no. 1 team after the regular season fell by the wayside in the first round against an 8th-ranked team simply because its number one player, Derrick Rose, is sidelined with an injury in the first round of their playoffs campaign.

Take a look at New York with an injured Jeremy Lin and Amare Stoudemire.

It simply takes its toll in a season like this.

The Spurs had their share of injuries but it happened in the early part of the season with Manu Ginobili sidelined.

However, the Spurs have become a talented mix of veterans and young guns. It has the legs to withstand the tough grind. And when the going gets tough, count on the veterans like Ginobili and Tony Parker to deliver old school basketball.

And so the last four teams

left are the Spurs, Miami Heat, Oklahoma Thunder and the Boston Celtics.

The Spurs and the Celtics are both relying on experience and a back-up crew of young upstarts. The Heat and the Thunder are the carefree, life-on-the-fast-lane type of teams.

I would not be surprised to see the Spurs advance all the way to the Finals, but they will have to survive today’s Game 6 against the roaring Thunder. Otherwise, the Thunder will be a strong bet for the title against a smaller Miami Heat or a slower Boston Celtics.

The Heat have their backs against the wall against the Celtics who are up 3-2 after a win in Game 5 in Miami.

A Thunder-Celtics Finals will be a showcase of two different schools in the NBA. On one hand is a Thunder team that has a big-scoring big man who can hit from both inside and out and a couple of smart guards in James Harden and Russel Westbrook who can light it up in scoring and break the other team’s defense. On the other is a team with a textbook trio of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo. To me, that is the new Big Three. Ray Allen is but a whimper of the past, but this does not mean he is not capable of causing trouble. Rajon should be the cornerstone of the Celtics chances.

Where would that place Miami and San Antonio—two of the strongest bets for the Finals?

It could be another heartbreaker for Miami and Lebron James. For San Antonio, it’s going to be another close run in the twilight of the DuncanGinobili era.

INdulge!

VOL.5 ISSUE 68 • JUNE 07, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

FOOD

The naked egg

By Bai Fauziah Fatima Sinsuat Ambolodto, MBA

BE inspired. . .

One of m favorite ingredients is egg and the creativity involved in them is as boundless as the blue skies above us. I personally enjoy looking at raw and cooked eggs alike; with its different sizes and colors, the interplay with other ingredients, such as vegetables, meat, tofu or even fruits, brings out the kid in me.

Call me crazy but yes, I do. I just love eggs. I can still remember and taste those silky and runny eggs on hot whole wheat bagels we had when we were in Phnom Penh, those sumptuous egg tarts from Macau I got as ‘pasalubong’ and not to forget those cute little orange tuknenengs or kwek-kwek (as we call them) sold along the streets of downtown Davao. In whatever form, shape or size or in wherever place it may come from; eggs would always be one of my quintessential favorite ingredient of all time.

Eggs, as we know, are a good choice as part of a healthy and balanced diet.

Further, eggs are said to be a good source of protein, also containing vitamins A, B2 and D, minerals, vitamin D, vitamin A, vitamin B2 and iodine. More so, eggs also contain cholesterol (FYI: High cholesterol levels in our blood increases our risk of heart disease).

Storing eggs can be tricky. Thus, store them in a cool dry place -- ideally fridge. It is better to store eggs away from other foods and best to eat dishes containing eggs as soon as possible after you’ve prepared

Erevidesie omelet

Superligaen fritatta

Poached Egg over toast.

them.

So, whether you are eating your eggs for breakfast, lunch, snack or even dinner, eggs prove to be the simplest and easiest way to fill up any grumbling tummy. The abundant supply of whatnots inside our pantry and fridge and the boundless possibilities of our imagination can turn them to a feast fit for royals!

Selamat Datang Kembali, Nate!

Erevidesie omelet Omelets are tasty and quick to make. This recipe calls for a combination of

mushrooms and toasted garlic -- a scrumptiously healthy mix of flavors creating an explosion in the palate.

Ingredients 2 eggs ½ cup button mushroom, sliced ¼ cup white onion, slivered 1 garlic clove, minced Garlic chips Butter and oil Salt and pepper to taste Procedure Crack egg in a bowl with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Beat well with fork. Put a small frying pan over low heat and let it get hot. Add a knob of butter or a bit of oil just enough to coat the bottom of the pan. When it is bubbling, sauté the onion until it becomes translucent and add the garlic.

Add the mushroom slices and garlic chips. Season to taste. Stir constantly. Move the savory fillings on one side of the pan and pour your eggs. Fry until golden for a few minutes. When the omelet begins to cook up and firm up but still has a little raw egg on top, fold it over in half.

Serve hot with rice or with buttered bread.

Superligaen fritatta A frittata is an Italian omelet with diced vegetables and meat. For this recipe, I combined lean ground meat and potato to create this buffingly delicious meal suitable any time of the day.

Ingredients 4 eggs 2 medium potato, skinned and grated ½ cup ground beef, seasoned with salt, pepper and chili powder ¼ cup white onion, slivered 1 garlic, minced Butter or oil Procedure Crack egg in a bowl with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Beat well with fork. Put a small frying pan over low heat and let it get hot. Add a knob of butter or a bit of oil just enough to coat the bottom of the pan. When it is bubbling, sauté the onion until it becomes translucent and garlic. Saute the ground beef until it turns brown. Add the grated potato and season to taste.

Stir constantly. Spread the savory fillings all over the pan and pour your eggs.

Move your pan in a circular motion to evenly coat the fillings with eggs. Fry until

golden for a few minutes.

Cut into wedges.

Serve with some good old buttered melba toast and freshly squeezed fruit juice.

them slowly. The eggs are done when they still look silky and slightly runny and underdone.

Serve over rice or over buttered or toasted bread.

Bundesliga scrambled eggs Scrambled eggs can be one of the most fantastic and luxurious breakfasts around. This recipe is no exception.

Combining shredded cabbage and tuna flakes makes this an all in one all time favorite.

Poached Egg A perfectly cooked poached egg is one of the most brilliant things in the world. Here, an egg is cooked in gently boiling water with no other ingredient. Though they can be tricky to get right, the excitement of cooking one is divinely egg-citing!

Ingredients 2 egg whites ½ c shredded cabbage ½ c tuna flakes in oil, drained ¼ cup white onion, slivered 1 garlic, minced 1/8 teaspoon chili powder Butter or oil Salt and pepper to taste Procedure Crack egg in a bowl with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Beat well with fork. Put a small frying pan over low heat and let it get hot. Add a knob of butter or a bit of oil just enough to coat the bottom of the pan. When it is bubbling, sauté the onion until it becomes translucent and the garlic. Add in the shredded cabbage. Stir constantly. Next, sauté the tuna flakes and mix well with the cabbage. Season to taste. Pour the eggs and stir

Procedure In a large sauce pan, bring water to a boil over medium heat. Add a pinch of salt and crack one egg in a bowl and gently pour the egg into the water in one motion. You will see the egg cooking slowly. A soft poached egg takes about two (2) minutes to cook and a firmer one takes about four (4) minutes. When it is done, dry it off in some paper towel and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

To check whether it is done, take a slotted spoon and remove the egg from the pan and give it a gentle push – if it is too soft, put it back.

Tell me what you think of this week’s recipe. Email me your questions, suggestions and comments at iamtheroyalchef@gmail.com .

Happy Cooking!

A2 INdulge!

EDGEDAVAO

VOL.5 ISSUE 68 • JUNE 07, 2012

FOOD ENTERTAINMENT

Full house at Army Navy It has been a while since the “lunch crowd” had a quorum and given that Army Navy Burger + Burrito just recently opened at the Abreeza Mall, it was decided that our army of hungry foodies attack there. All ten adults and six kids including a few other friendly dinners attacked the much talkedabout burger and burrito joint backing the restaurant full and literally raising a ruckus.

I love the way the menu was laid out in a bunker like setting with matching mess hall style furniture that could feel a wee bit spartan for some guests. The seats had no back rests but at least the tables had hooks underneath to stow away an average lady’s bag.

On to the food!

Army Navy’s burgers only come in three sizes, big (one quarter pound patty), bigger (two quarter pound patties), and humongus (three quarter pound patties). Every burger comes in a sesame seed bun with all the requisite toppings of lettuce, tomato, onions, ketchup, and

Burrito heaven at Army Navy.

The army goes gaga over Malouchi’s pasalubong.

mayo. Optional toppings include egg, cheese, sautéed onions, crispy bacon, and jalapeño for a punch.

I was not able to taste this but judging from the comments of Jinggoy S. the burritos were far more interesting and more pleasing to the tummy.

Army Navy’s burritos are flour tortillas with meat, Spanish rice, beans, onions, lettuce, and cheese served with salsa and a wedge of lime. Meatlovers will want to try the steak or chicken burritos as the meats are tender and not overdone. Vegetarians may want to try their vegetarian burrito, but when at a burger and burrito joint, meat and fat is king!

I had the most sinful burrito of the bunch, the Breakfast Burrito, which is actually a misnomer since it is served all day long. This burrito heavyweight is composed of meat, scrambled eggs, and a hash brown all wrapped in a

Army Navy’s Double Burger.

The moment my diet keeled over and died.

Biting into my Breakfast Burrito.

flour tortilla. I had steak as my meat of choice and the meat was cooked perfectly.

The meat was juicy with a nice crust.

To be honest, I felt my diet keel over and die. And many thanks to Malouchi G.’s palasubong of “chippy” a.k.a. High Society macaroons from her recent Singapore trip, I felt my already dead diet keel over a second time. Yes my diet is doubly dead, but at least the army was happy.

Otoy M. and Jinggoy S. enjoying a moment with Army Navy’s Querida Burrito Pizza.

Everyone had a box of High Society macaroons to take home and enjoy.

VOL.5 ISSUE 68 • JUNE 07, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

UP & ABOUT ENTERTAINMENT

Maximize every moment with the Nokia Asha 202 STILL searching for the phone that’s right on the budget yet packed with exciting, up-to-date features? Then, the Nokia Asha 202 may just be the right phone for you.

Another phone from Nokia’s family of affordable Asha phones, Nokia Asha 202 boasts of faster mobile browsing, easy access to social networks, and Dual Sim Easy Swap technology that will surely help you maximize every moment.

Equipped with the new Nokia Browser, Nokia Asha 202 enables you to have a faster, better and more affordable Internet experience. It also provides you with easy access to your email and other social networks so that you can always be in touch with your family and friends.

Other than keeping you posted about your loved ones, Nokia Asha 202 also gives you innovative ways to be entertained. It is the first Series 40 phone incorporated with 40 popular EA games such as Tetris, Need for Speed, The Run and Bejeweled. And

as a 60-day promotion at Nokia Store, those who will purchase Nokia Asha 202 will get these games such for free.

A Dual Sim Easy Swap phone, Nokia Asha 202 allows you to store as many contacts as you need. It also has a dedicated SIM manager that can save up to five SIM cards with unique information.

With the combination of a traditional keypad and a 2.4-inch, intuitive touch screen, Nokia Asha 202’s design is very ideal and convenient for texting, browsing, scrolling and opening applications. It also comes with a 2-megapixel camera, music player, FM radio and Bluetooth connectivity. You can also store as many photos, games and apps as you want as this Nokia phone can support up to 32GB memory cards.

It also comes in 5 different colors – black, silver white, dark red and dark grey.

But the best part of it all is that you can enjoy all of these for an SRP of only P3,550. So head to any Nokia store and retail outlet nationwide and grab the Nokia Asha 202 now.

Sayaw Pinoy with Lisa Macuja at SM City Davao Annex CELEBRATE Philippine Independence Day at SM City Davao with the Ballet Manila featuring Prima Ballerina Lisa Macuja on June 10, Sunday, 5:00 PM at The Annex.

Sayaw Pinoy will be a 45-minute showcase of Filipino and classical numbers which includes Sayao sa Pamlang (SangayanPang-Alay-Singkil), Dalagang Pilipino, Arnis, Don Quixote, Palasyo, Sabihin Mo and the Dying Swan.

The June 10 show is the

second time that Macuja will be performing the 1905 original choreography (after CCP).

Catch Ballet Manila with Lisa Macuja-Elizalde and more happenings at the City’s hippest hub this freedom week. Admission is free.

SM’s Independence Day Sale runs June 8-12.

For inquiries, please call 297.6998 local 126.

Visit www.smcitydavao. blogspot.com or like SM City Davao on Facebook for event and promo updates.

INdulge! A3

EDGEDAVAO

A4 INdulge!

VOL.5 ISSUE 68 • JUNE 07, 2012

ENTERTAINMENT MOMS

Mirror, mirror, on the wall who’ s the fairest of us all?

Charlize and Kristen share their experience on set

CLOSE your eyes and repeat after us: Mirror mirror on the wall…Snow White and the Huntsman is now in theaters y’all!

OK, so that’s not exactly the fairest rhyme, but after months of anticipation we can’t help but squeal with excitement that the epic Snow White smackdown is about to finally hit the box office with a bang.

And since we know you loyal SWATH fans are equally as anxious, we’re oh-so-thrilled to reveal an exclusive behind-thescenes clip with commentary from costars Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart and the ever-so-sexy Chris Hemsworth.

“I really had a great time making this film; it’s amazing how relevant the story is after all these years,” Queen Charlize explains.

“It’s always walking this very fine line of heightened fantasy and harsh realities.”

And from the looks of the latest clip, heightened fantasy and harsh reality is the par-fait description.

The clip shows the Evil Queen Charlize giving the Huntsman (Hemsworth) instructions to “hunt” K.Stew down, and we just can’t get enough of Charlize’s wickedly evil alterego. And don’t even get us started on the hunky Hemsworth—dude looks so divine in his awesome armor and sexy scruff that

we almost forgot he’s on a mission to kill our fave badass babe.

Oh, and speaking of badass, Kristen Stewart

ELMO ain’t tickled about this.

U.S. officials in Islamabad, Pakistan, have announced that $20 million in funding for a Pakistani version of Sesame Street has been suspended after a local newspaper lodged corruption allegations against the local puppet theater coproducing the show.

It’s a not-so-sunny day for the gang at the Sesame Workshop.

A spokesman for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) tells E! News that it has withdrawn the remainder of the cash dedicated to educational programming on the Sesame-type series starring Elmo and Pakistani puppet friends after learning that the Rafi Peer Theater Workshop may have misappropriated the funds.

“We have an anti-fraud hotline that’s set up in Pakistan and we take all allegations of waste, fraud and abuse of U.S. funding very seriously and will take action to halt or suspend a program and investigate any call that comes in,” said the spokesman. “So we got one in response to this program…and our office launched an investigation

which identified irregularities. So we have taken action by terminating the funding for the project.”

So far, USAID had given over $6.7 million, but sources told Pakistan Today newspaper that the Lahore-based group was found to have used the aid money to pay down various personal and business debts and give relatives of theater operators lucrative contracts.

Though USAID could not say if it would revisit the project in the future due to its ongoing investigation, the spokesman added that it’s still definitely behind the goals of the show.

However, the agency did not know if the first season, made up of 26 episodes, will air.

Rafi Peer rep Faizaan

Peerzada denied the charges, telling the paper that “the information regarding suspension of aid is nothing more than a rumor.”

U.S.-based Sesame Street Workshop, which was awarded funds independently by USAID, expressed “surprise and dismay” regarding the accusations made against Rafi Peer.

“We are grateful for USAID’s initial investment which has allowed Sesame Workshop to provide its expertise in children’s media to help Rafi Peer reach three million children, many of whom otherwise would not have access to any early childhood education,” said a Sesame representative. “It is our hope that the…gains we have made in the lives of children in Pakistan, will carry on.”

Sesame Street blocked in Pakistan

brings a whole new side to the soft Snow White.

She looks utterly terrified as she travels through the dark forest (how scary are

those snakes?!), but then shows off her strength as she fights for her life.

Seriously, between Charlize’s sinister stare and Kristen’s combination of beauty and strength, the women are killing it in this flick.

“The land is almost a character in the film,” Kristen begins in her behindthe-scenes commentary.

“It really does take you somewhere that’s other worldly.”

Can’t argue with that!

The stunning costumes, the enchanted green forest and all the unusual creatures make you feel like you’ve climbed into a twisted version of your favorite fairytale.

“I love these types of

films,” chimes in the everso-hunky Hemsworth.

“These stories that have a real heart at the center of them.”

And based on the way Char, Kris and Chris continue gushing over the flick, we’re anticipating a whole lotta heart and an epic amount of action in this fantasy flick.

The exclusive clip ends with shots of shattering glass, brilliant battle scenes, magical creatures, and Charlize’s deliciously dark ‘come hither’ stare, leaving us in a full-blow fairytale fluster.

Consider us obsessed, excited and, dare we say, a tad bit scared, as we wait for this cast ever to hit the big screen. (E! Online)

EDGEDAVAO

SPORTS

VOL.5 ISSUE 68 • JUNE 07, 2012

Momentum Shift

15

Thunder, Celtics a win away from Finals

T

WO down and nearly out less than a week ago, the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Boston Celtics are riding a momentum shift to the brink of the NBA finals.

With three straight wins, the Thunder have changed the conversation from how anyone can stop the San Antonio Spurs’ record-setting 20-game winning streak to how Oklahoma City needs just one win on its home court in Game 6 on Wednesday night to play for the NBA title.

The Celtics too, are causing talks on how Lebron James’ future looks like after coming back from 0-2 to 3-2.

The Celtics beat the Heat in Miami, 94-90, to move a win away from the Finals.

Hundreds of fans waited in the middle of the night for the Thunder’s plane to land after Game 5, and thousands more will pack Chesapeake Energy Arena to cheer Oklahoma City on.

Yet coach Scott Brooks urged Tuesday that riding the momentum isn’t enough to get the job done.

Djokovic meets Federer in semis Dwyane Wade comforts an upset Lebron James after the Miami Heat lost to Boston in Game 5.

P

ARIS – Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer survived five-set struggles at the French Open on Tuesday to set up a mouth-watering semifinal where the Swiss legend will attempt to shatter the world number one’s Grand Slam dream.

Top seed Djokovic saved four match points against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga before pulling off a nailbiting 6-1, 5-7, 5-7, 7-6

(8/6), 6-1 quarter-final win.

Third seed Federer reached a record-equalling 31st Grand Slam semifinal when he survived a brutal barrage from frail Argentine Juan Martin del Potro before prevailing 3-6, 6-7 (4/7), 6-2, 6-0, 6-3.

After his triumphs at Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open, Serb star Djokovic is bid-

ding to become just the third man to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time and the first in 43 years.

His win over Tsonga made it 26 straight match victories in Grand Slams, but seldom has he been run so ragged as he was at times by the powerful Frenchman, who had let slip four match points in the fourth set.

The defeat meant

Tsonga’s dream of becoming the first Frenchman to win at Roland Garros since Yannick Noah in 1983 had been cruelly shattered.

“He was the better player for most of the match and I was fortunate to come back from four match points down. It was an incredible match,” said Djokovic, who had needed five sets to beat Italy’s Andreas Seppi in the fourth round.

Rajon Rondo taps teammate Mikael Pietrus after the Celtics beat Boston to move a win away from the NBA Finals.

Boston pushes Miami on the brink

M

old.

IAMI -- A week ago, the Boston Celtics were too

Three games later, they’re one win away from the NBA finals.

And Miami - the team that was constructed with hopes of supplanting Boston as the power in the Eastern Conference - is suddenly in big trouble.

Kevin Garnett finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds, Paul Pierce scored 19 - including a huge 3-pointer over LeBron James’ outstretched arm with 52.9 seconds left - and the Celtics beat the Heat 94-90 on Tuesday night, taking a 3-2 lead in the East finals that now shift to Boston for Game 6 on Thursday night. ‘’We’ve done nothing,’’ Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. ‘’We’re playing a heck of a basketball team. So just because we’re going to Boston, I told them, we have to play. They’re not going to give it to us. We have to go get it.’’

James finished with 30 points and 13 rebounds for Miami, though he went 8 minutes without scoring in the final quarter. Dwyane Wade scored 27 for the Heat, who got no more than nine from anyone else. ‘’We wouldn’t want to be in this situation but we never get too high or too low in a series,’’ James said. ‘’We had an opportunity to come home and take a

Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates victory in his men’s singles quarter final match against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, while Roger Federer (middle) pumps his fist after moving to the semis. (Right) Sara Errani of Italy celebrates victory after her women’s singles quarter final match against Angelique Kerber of Germany.

lead, but we didn’t. So we have to go up to Boston and win a game.’’

Pierce’s 3 put Boston up 9086. Miami got within two points twice, and argued that it should have had a steal with 8.8 seconds left. Instead, a foul was called on Udonis Haslem, Garnett made two free throws, and the Celtics knew they had just stolen one on Miami’s home floor.

Now all they need is one home win of their own to clinch a trip to either Oklahoma City or San Antonio for Game 1 of the NBA finals. The title series starts June 12. ‘’Right now,’’ Celtics guard Ray Allen said, ‘’the next game is Game 7.’’

The Celtics were down by 13 points in the second quarter, then down nine in the third, and answered both times - prevailing on a night where they shot just 41 percent, and got outrebounded 49-39. ‘’We stayed with it,’’ Garnett said. ‘’We had a rough first quarter, first half. We got our stops and made our run ourselves. And when we had to, we had stops.’’

Allen and Mickael Pietrus scored 13 apiece for the Celtics, who got 10 from Brandon Bass.

Pietrus hit two huge 3-pointers in the fourth quarter for Boston, which remained perfect with this core when facing maybe the most pivotal situation a best-ofseven can offer - a Game 5 with a series tied 2-2.

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SPORTS

VOL.5 ISSUE 68 • JUNE 07, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

Azkals rally to tie Indons T

HE Philippine national men’s football team looked like it was on its way to another scoreless draw after the first half of action against Indonesia on Tuesday.

In the second half, however, all hell broke lose at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.

Indonesian forward Patrick Wanggai scored against run of play at the 56th minute to give the Merah Putih a 1-nil lead.

But the Azkals, buoyed by the returning Younghusband brothers and Neil Etheridge who checked in at halftime, did not fade in the face of adversity. James Younghusband dispossessed an Indonesian defender for an easy score to tie the game at the 56th minute.

The hometown boys looked ready to pounce, and Angel Guirado had a golden opportunity two minutes later, only to be foiled by Indonesian keeper Markus Maulana.

Instead, Indonesian star Irfan Bachdim flew the flanks on a counterattack, giving his team a 2-1 lead at the 62nd minute.

Bachdim was then prominently involved in another eventful exchange moments later — for all the wrong reasons.

The Indonesian forward got into a shoving match with Azkals veteran wing-

man Chieffy Caligdong, which led to a near-scuffle among the players and coach Hans Michael Weiss running onto the field to try to cool things down.

Bachdim, Caligdong, and Filipino-German midfielder Manny Ott were all handed red cards for their role in the incident, giving Indonesia a 10-9 man advantage on the pitch.

But the shorthanded Azkals quickly showed their fangs, with Dennis Cagara setting up James Younghusband, who then passed to Phil Younghusband for a tying goal at the 84th minute.

The Indonesians were unable to further capitalize on their man advantage, as an injury to one of their players left them on equal footing with the Azkals all the way to the final buzzer.

Azkals coach Hans Michael Weiss lauded his team despite the draw.

“This is character, this is spirit which I want to see from the team,” he said.

“I think step-by-step, we will be a good team.”

Weiss added that he sees the Azkals developing into a more potent scoring unit.

“We wanna do more than just defending and play more offensive football. We have a big potential, offensively. It’s just a matter of time.”

Weiss also explained his decision to keep Etheridge and the Younghusbands on the bench in the first half.

“We have six months left before this very big tournament (the AFF Suzuki Cup). I have to test new players, like the keeper (Roland Mueller), I have to see how he copes with the situations.

The same applies to new players,” said Weiss.

Azkals coach Michael Weiss helps pacify the players of both Philippines and Indonesia during Tuesday’s friendly at the Rizal Memorial Stadium. The match ended in a 2-2 draw.