Edge Davao 5 Issue 79 by Edge Davao The Business Paper

EDGEDAVAO

P 15.00 • 20 PAGES

VOL.5 ISSUE 79 • JUNE 22 - 23, 2012

www.edgedavao.net

Serving a seamless society

Indulge Page A1

Property Page 5

Al-ag to reintroduce Ledesma cemetery

3 memorial parks over Dumoy aquifer N

OT JUST one, not two, but three memorial parks will be established over the Davao City’s biggest source of drinking water –the Dumoy aquifer and its vicinity.

The three are Fair Fields Memorial Park, applied for on a six-hectare property owned by Francis Ledesma, a top hotel executive, in barangay Baliok; the Eternal Gardens Memorial Park owned by a cooperative, on a

1.6-hectare land in Barangay Lubogan; and the Forest Lake Memorial Park in sitio Ulas in Barangay Talomo. All three are private cemeteries.

FTHREE, 13

Sports Page 16

EYE-CATCHING. A couple brings with them their pitbull as they traverse the streets of Davao in a tricycle. [KARLOS MANLUPIG]

Mintal OFW murdered in Qatar--Husband By Lorie A. Cascaro

ASON Jimenez, husband of an overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who died in Qatar last June 18, yesterday said she was not electrocuted, but intentionally burned. Marianne Aguilar Jimenez, 34, from Mintal, Davao City was deployed to Qatar last May 10 as household service worker by the

Al Sadaf Manpower Recruitment with the Experts Placement Agency, Inc. as local agent. Based on the report of Philip Alano of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) in Doha, Qatar, Jimenez was found by Jammal Al Sulete, totally burned inside the maid’s room at 3:00 PM (Qatar time), last June 17. She was rushed immediately to the Trau-

ma Intensive Care Unit of Hamad Hospital where she passed away at 2:00 PM the next day. According to Alano, the attending physician said 95% of Jimenez’s body suffered severe burns. The incident is now under police investigation in Qatar.

FMINTAL, 13

THE BIG NEWS

VOL.5 ISSUE 79 • JUNE 22 - 23, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

Environment group’s lament

Some brangays against 44 out of 69 small banana watershed delineation packing houses accredited

By Jade C. Zaldivar

ERTAIN communities in the 3rd district of Davao City are reportedly not cooperating with the local government’s watershed delineation project. The project, which started early this month, aims to identify the specific areas of the city’s watershed or aquifer zones in order to protect the same. Kinaiyahan Amumahon, Panggaon, Proktektahan ug Irespeto (KAPPI), a group of paralegals concentrating on environment issues based in the 3rd district, said last June 20 that it knew of some communities not cooperating. “We have receivedreports from our paralegals in the field that while some barangays have complied with the formation of the Barangay Watershed Management Council (BWMCs) others have not,” said KAPPI campaign coordinator Rey Sapid in a statement.

As a result, watershed delineation efforts in certain areas have remained non-functional because residents have the misconception that when their areas are identified as watershed zones they would lose their means of livelihood, noting that the 3rd district is home to mono-cropping. “This can prove frustrating for upland residents as the BWMC is identifying areas as conservation zones, agricultural non-tillage and prime agricultural areas,” Sapid said. In recent years, agricultural corporations have contracted small farmers in the uplands to grow cavendish bananas for export. However, Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio allayed such fears during the public forum held last June 5, saying that the city government will not be taking away their means of livelihood but instead is encouraging a change in practice. KAPPI supports this, saying that personnel of

the Watershed Management Council (WMC) in the grassroots have been promoting production of cacao. “Cacao, which is currently in demand in the global market, has been identified as a cash crop that can bring in more cash for the farmers,” Sapid said, adding that the local government success in creating a shift in crop cultivation in the city will pave way to watershed preservation. The local government has allotted P5 million for the project with an initial budget of P800,000. The remaining budget requirement will be provided by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for the Davao region.

By Lorie A. Cascaro

EGIONAL technical director for operations Norlito P. Agduyeng of the Department of Agriculture (DA) 11 bared Tuesday that 44 out of 69 small banana packing houses passed accreditation with the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI). The BPI has submitted the initial list of accredited packing houses to the Chinese government which had required such accreditation of all packing facilities of bananas exported to China. Agduyeng said the government is only assisting packing plants of small banana farmers given that big plantations have the capacity to keep up with the standards. He cited that only 69 out of some 400 small packing

houses in the region applied for accreditation, saying that others are aware that their facilities do not comply with the standards. While the accreditation process is on-going, he said the DA 11 has initiated clustering of the accredited packing plants to accommodate small banana farms whose packing plants have yet to be accredited. Also, the department will assist in establishing new packing plants in response to small banana farmers or growers who have requested government intervention. Based on the reports of the DA Regional Field Unit 11, small banana farmers/ growers requested for financial assistance to rehabilitate about 50 packing plants (P400,000 per packing plant) and to put up 110

new packing plants costing P1.5 million per packing plant. They also requested for Sigatoka control assistance worth P1,350 per hectare per week; and fertilizer assistance worth P70,000 per hectare per week. Aside from installing insect proof packing facilities, the export protocol also imposed an increase of two percent to five percent by Plant Quarantine Service of the BPI with zero tolerance to pest. Other protocols include strict implementation of quarantine measures; training on good agricultural practices for exporters/ growers and inspection training for plant quarantine officers; and, strengthen pest management program and traceability.

Pia mulls filing of divorce bill

FTER sponsoring the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill at the Senate, Senator Pia Cayetano may soon become a proponent of another controversial measure -- the proposed divorce bill. Cayetano, chairperson of the Senate committees on health and demography and youth, women, and family relations, said at the Kapihan sa Senado on Thursday she may soon file a bill introducing divorce to the Philippines, where only annulment is an option for couples who wish to part ways. She said allowing divorce in the Philippines is long overdue because the country does not only need to make separation easier than the current tedious process of annulment, but also because Congress needs to come out with laws that will protect the rights and welfare of all parties in divorce -- the women, men, as well as the children. “The time has come for us to realize that many things that go on in a family’s home require legislation and require policies that will ensure that the rights of the individual are respected,” she said. “I have been confronted with situations where mostly women,

sometimes men, are desperate because they are in relationships which are very harmful not just to their health but also to their physical health,” she added. Cayetano said the Catholic Church cannot cite its teachings to counter the passage of the divorce bill like what happened with the RH measure. “All Catholic countries in the world have divorce, so ano ang point natin? We want to be able to say that we’re the only country with families willing to suffer? Is that something we are proud of?,” she said. Under the present Family Code, only annulment and voiding marriages are allowed between married couples based on sufficient grounds from both parties. Annulment is an expensive process for most Filipinos as it requires not only a long court proceedings. It is also a tedious process that would have psychologists declaring either party “psychologically incapacitated.” As annulment also basically renders a marriage as never having been valid from the start, it also complicates the rights, welfare and well-being of women and children. [PNA]

DRSUS. Students from the University of Southern Philippines staged a protest action at the Commission on Higher Education to castigate the proposal

to merge the state universities and colleges in the region as pushed by the Davao Regional State University System Bill. [KARLOS MANLUPIG]

Banana disease spreading, but not alarming - DA man F

USARIUM wilt, also known as Panama Disease, which hit portions of banana plantations in the Davao region has spread to Compostela Valley (ComVal) due to flooding, a government officer bared. Norlito P. Agduyeng, regional technical director for operations of the Department of Agriculture (DA) 11, said in an interview that although the disease is present in all areas of the region, it is more apparent in ComVal and Davao del Sur. “Because of flooding, the distribution of the soil-borne disease is rampant,” he said, adding that in Davao del Sur flooding is

rare, hence spreading is not as much as in ComVal. He also cited said that some affected areas in Davao del Norte include Kapalong, Asuncion, Sto. Tomas, Carmen, Panabo, and some parts of New Corrella and Tagum City. In Davao City, some banana plantations in Calinan have been hit. The DA 11 reported that 586,000 banana mats, mostly Cavendish banana, have been affected by Panama disease in 28,000 hectares of banana plantations surveyed in the region. However, the situation is not alarming, according to him, thanks to the government’s immediate interventions to mitigate the

spread of the disease. Banana mats affected are cut down and burned while farm tools and shoes carrying infected soil are are disinfected. These are ways recommended under the program of the DA 11 with a budget of P38 million to eradicate Panama disease which started in the last quarter of 2011 So far, the disease has not affected the region’s overall banana production, especially plants that had yielded fruits before the infection hit them, he said. The department is introducing alternative crops for banana plantations affected by Panama disease, such as corn, rice, fruit

trees and all other crops that are not susceptible to the disease. “If farmers are ready, the DA has a program for alternative crops,” he said. The destructive fungal disease, which csnnot be eliminated once present in the soil, first became an epidemic in Panama in 1890. The disease is described as a “classic vascular wilt disease that invades the vascular tissue of banana plants (xylem) through the roots causing discoloration and wilting.” Agduyeng said if not eradicated, Panama disease may cause total devastation of the region’s Cavendish banana industry.

EDGEDAVAO

THE BIG NEWS

VOL.5 ISSUE 79 • JUNE 22 - 23, 2012

Aquino commends reforms in ARMM

RESIDENT Benigno Aquino III commended the reforms that have been taken up in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), citing particularly the region’s transparency and accountability program to fight corruption. Aquino said the reform agenda of his administration have brought positive outcomes in ARMM, giving recognition to the good governance of the local government units and the leadership of Governor Mujiv Hataman. The President raised one assurance of the reform endeavors that every cent spent by the national and local government would now go directly to the services for the ARMM people, “imbes na sa bulsa ng iilan.” At the ARMM Convention on Local Governance held Wednesday at the Waterfront Insular Hotel, Davao City, Aquino lauded the ARMM LGUs for abiding by the recommendations of the Commission on Audit based on its evaluation in 2008 and 2009. As a result, he cited that the ARMM LGUs have stopped giving cash advances and have been following the correct process of bidding, adding that there are no more bloated transactions, and that abusive officials are held liable. Aside from this, the President assured that genuine schools are being put up in the autonomous region. Hataman affirmed this as among the results of the ARMM reform undertakings that particularly addressed the corruption at the Department of Education in ARMM. The governor reported in his presentation on ARMM reforms during the convention, that

the transformation has brought savings of about P237 million for DepEd’s Mandatory Operations and Other Expenses (MOOE) funds. “Gaya po ng lagi nating bukambibig: Kailangan ang pagtutugma ng adhikain ng ating pambansa at lokal na pamahalaan upang pagtagumpayan ang ating mabuting inisyatiba,” Aquino stated in his keynote speech. “Sagisag nga po ang pagbubuklod natin ngayon upang paigtingin pa ang ating mabuting pamamahala tungo sa makabuluhan at malawakang pagbabago sa rehiyon,” he told about 200 convention participants coming from the national government agencies, ARMM, and international sponsors such as the USAID and the Asia Foundation. At the ARMM LGUs gathering on June 20, Aquino witnessed the awarding of the Seal of Good Housekeeping to 13 poor municipalities of ARMM. The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) headed by Secretary Jesse Robredo handed over a plaque of recognition and a check worth P1 million from the Performance Challenge Fund as incentives to each of the SGH awardee. Five of the SGH recipients are first to third class municipalities namely: Datu Odin Sinsuat, Parang, Upi and Sultan Kudarat of Maguindanao province, and Wao of Lanao del Sur. The eight awardees are 4th to 5th class municipalities such as Pandami and Panglima Estino of Sulu province, Mamasapano, Guindulungan, Talayan, Paglat, Sultan Mastura and Datu Saudi Ampatuan, all of Maguindanao province. [PIA-11/

STREET ART. Using colored chalks, artists draw a mural in the hard surface of the street depicting President Benigno Aquino III as a president who allegedly prioritizes debt service and defense rather than social services. [KARLOS MANLUPIG]

2 dead, 2 wounded

Fresh violence hits Tampakan mine T he peace and order situation has worsened in the mines development site of foreign-backed Sagittarius Mines, Inc., with a policeman and a mining consultant killed and two other militiamen wounded in the latest atrocity instigated by tribal members on Wednesday, military and mining company officials confirmed on Thursday. The ambush came three days after a security guard was also killed within the Tampakan copper-gold project area. 1Lt. Bethuel N. Barber, civil military officer of the 27th Infantry Battalion, said two members of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU) were wounded in an ensu-

ing clash with the tribal members. He identified the group that ambushed the victims and later clashed with responding government troops as allegedly headed by Daguil Capion, who is staunchly opposing the Tampakan project. Last year, Capion admitted responsibility to the ambush that killed three workers of a construction company hired by Sagittarius Mines for a road project. The suspect, who has since remained in hiding, had blamed the mining company for the atrocities in the mines site, saying bloodshed could have been avoided if only Sagittarius Mines heeded their demand to abandon the project. Lt. Col. Alexis Noel C.

Bravo, 27IB commander, ordered a continued manhunt operations against the suspects, Barber said. The junior officer identified the victims as PO1 Roy Tunsoy and Villarmino Hectin, a security consultant of Sagittarius Mines. Hectin was brought to a hospital in Digos City but didn’t make it alive, Barber said. Meanwhile, the two CAFGU members have been brought to the Camp Panacan military hospital in Davao City for treatment, he added. Due to the fresh violence, which occurred at 1 p.m. Wednesday in Sitio Maklak in Barangay Kimlawis, Davao del Sur, Sagittarius Mines has suspended work in the mines development site.

John B. Arnaldo, Sagittarius mines external communications and media relations manager, said that unidentified armed individuals ambushed a police vehicle escorting a water truck traveling in the mine site. Arnaldo declined to give further details, saying the police and the military have secured the area. “As a precautionary measure all our activities within the project area have been temporarily suspended until further notice,” he said. Last Sunday, a security guard of the mining company was also shot dead in the mines site, less than a month after another shooting that injured the victim.

By Jade C. Zaldivar

nical and manpower support of Network on Empowering Persons with Disabilities and other national agencies in the dissemination of information and coordination. The number is expected to increase as various projects with voter registration aspect were prepared by various non-government organizations, local government units and government agencies in coordination with the COMELEC. However, even before the PWD Registration week, the Comelec had conducted PWD-focused registrations by regions, to wit: March 2012

for Regions 6-8; April 2012 for Regions 9-12 and CARAGA; and May 2012 for Regions 1-5, CAR and NCR. Results of these registrations are still being tallied. For the ARMM general registration, steps were taken to encourage PWD registrants to go out and register. A full-blown campaign for PWD registration is expected since a lot of stakeholders are participating and local partners are already established. The Fully Abled Nation program is supported by Asia Foundation and Australian Agency for International Development.

[BONG S. SARMIENTO / MINDANEWS]

Gensan taps transport sector Comelec registers 24T PWDs to be its ‘tourism frontliners’

N a bid to boost the city’s tourism promotion and development initiatives, the General Santos City local government has adopted the area’s transport operators and drivers as “tourism frontliners.” Meriam Buguis, City Economic Management and Cooperative Development Office (CEMCDO) chief, said the move mainly aims to involve local transport providers in promoting the city’s tourist attractions and related programs to tourists or visitors coming into the city. “They play a vital role in our tourism promotion since they’re the first ones who engage with tourists or visitors the moment they arrive in the

CARINA L. CAYON]

city,” she said. As part of the initiative, she said the local government has lined up a series of orientation seminars on tourism promotion for the city’s transport operators, drivers and related service providers. On Wednesday, Buguis said they launched an orientation seminar for drivers and operators of taxi units operating in the area. She said the activity included sessions on proper practices that taxi drivers should adopt in dealing with their customers as well as some measures that would help improve their service delivery. Buguis said they also made them aware of the

city’s basic history, local attractions, tourism programs and services that they may share with their customers. “We want them to understand that they’re one of the tourism products that we provide and it’s not just limited to our hotels, restaurants and resorts,” she said. Taxi operations in the city have remained limited these past years due to lack of patrons and they are only utilized for long routes, like the city airport to downtown area route. Several taxi units also serve limited routes to the Makar port here, public transport terminals, shopping malls, hotels and resorts.

FGENSAN, 13

HE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has as of last June 12 registered 24,573 persons with disabilities (PWDs) in line with the program called Fully Abled Nation Voter’s registration sites were established in malls and other accessible locations. The Education and Barangay Affairs Department reported that Region 7 had the most PWDs registered numbering 5,256, followed by Region 4-A (4,167), Region 5 (2,242), and Region 8 (2,238). The Comelec worked with the tech-

SCIENCE/ENVIRONMENT

VOL.5 ISSUE 79 • JUNE 22 - 23, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

New Zealand’s ‘night parrot’ brought back from the brink F

LIGHTLESS, slowmoving and at times more sexually attracted to humans than their own species, it’s small wonder New Zealand’s kakapo parrot is on the verge of extinction. But a mammoth conservation effort stretching back decades is offering hope for one of the world’s rarest birds, lifting its numbers from about 50 in 1990 to 126 this year. The plump, green kakapo -- the name means “night parrot” in Maori -was once one of the most common birds in New Zealand, which had few land predators before European settlement in the early Nineteenth Century. “There was a report from an early explorer, Charles Douglas, who said they were so populous you could shake them out of trees like apples,” said Deirdre Vercoe Scott, head of the Department of Conservation’s kakapo recovery programme. “He said he’d once seen six kakapo shaken from a single tutu bush.” Vercoe Scott said habitat destruction by humans and the introduction of pests such as stoats and predatory cats and dogs, sowed the seeds of the kakapos’ decline. The flightless nocturnal birds, while essentially ground dwelling, are strong climbers but freeze when confronted by a threat, making them easy pickings for predators. The males also attract mates by emitting a deep

Three rare green kakapo parrots on Codfish Island. The flightless nocturnal birds, while essentially ground dwelling, are strong climbers but freeze when confronted by a threat, making them easy pickings for predators. booming sound from thoracic air sacs, turning them into conspicuous targets for hunters in the night forest. With an ageing population and bird numbers declining, kakapo recovery programme chief scientist Ron Moorehouse said the species’ future appeared “dire” in the 1990s. The situation sparked an intense conservation initiative, which has cost tens of millions of dollars, to save a bird that those who have encountered it describe as endearing and full of personality. “They can be quite grumpy,” ranger Sarah Kivi said. “They display so

much personality, which I guess you don’t get from a lot of birds. They’ll sit there and look at you and you wonder ‘what are they thinking?’”. Exacerbating the problem was the fact that kakapo, which can live up to 90 years, are notoriously slow breeders, only reproducing in seasons when abundant fruit is available from native tree species. The breeding programme faced another hurdle when male kakapo became “imprinted” on their human handlers, meaning they saw them as more likely potential mates than female kakapo.

In the early days of the conservation effort, rangers even wore an outlandish rubber helmet dotted with dimples in an unsuccessful attempt to collect kakapo sperm when males tried to mate with their heads. British actor Stephen Fry witnessed the kakapo’s amorous antics first hand while filming his programme “Last Chance to See” in 2009, when a kakapo named Sirocco took a shine to zoologist Mark Carwardine and began vigorously coupling with his scalp. The resulting footage, which Fry described as “one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen”, at-

tracted almost four million hits on video-sharing website Youtube http:// w w w. y o u t u b e . c o m / watch?v=9T1vfsHYiKY. Vercoe Scott said the birds’ fortunes began to improve when they were moved to two remote islands where existing pests had been eliminated and which predators from the mainland could not reach by swimming. “The biggest breakthrough was putting all the birds together on predator-free islands and understanding how they breed while getting over (our) fear of intervening,” she said. “If we’d taken a handsoff policy we would have

lost the kakapo, so we really had to get in there and be quite intense with our management, particularly during the nesting period.” She added that her team set up cameras, weighed the chicks nightly and as a result hand reared many of the birds. Vercoe Scott said it was highly unlikely any kakapo now survived in the wild, meaning only the conservation programme could save the species. Such has been its success that rangers this year re-introduced eight kakapo to a third sanctuary, Little Barrier Island off the Auckland coast, after eliminating a rat infestation which forced their removal in 1999. Moorehouse said some of the eight birds originally came from the island and immediately returned to their old nesting spots, raising hopes they will quickly settle in and breed in the new environment. While the kakapo is still listed as critically endangered, Moorehouse said the situation no longer looked bleak. “The trend is up, so we’re encouraged by that,” he said. “We’re certainly more comfortable, but with 126 birds you have to manage the genetics very carefully and that’s what we’re trying to do, so we retain as much genetic variation in the population as we can. “So we’re not out of the woods by any means but we’re going in the right direction.”

World leaders weigh ‘green’ economy at Rio summit

Activists take part in the “Global March” in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. World leaders attending a UN summit in Rio weighed steps to root out poverty and protect the envi-

ronment as thousands of activists marched through the city center in protest.

ORLD leaders attending a UN summit in Rio weighed steps to root out poverty and protect the environment as thousands of activists marched through the city center in protest. UN chief Ban Ki-moon warned that “time is not on our side” for fixing a mounting list of problems as he formally opened the UN summit on sustainable development. The high-profile Rio+20 event, attended by 191 UN members, including 86 presidents and heads of government, comes 20 years after Rio’s

first Earth Summit when nations vowed to roll back climate change, desertification and species loss. But thousands of activists attending a counter-summit staged a good-natured and colorful protest in central Rio to denounce Amazon rainforest deforestation, the plight of indigenous peoples and the “green economy” being advocated at the UN gathering. The march drew environmentalists, workers, civil servants, black militants, homosexuals, indigenous peoples and feminists.

Organizers said 50,000 people turned up but police estimate the crowd at no more than 20,000. At the summit, Maldives President Mohamed Waheed announced that his Indian Ocean archipelago planned to set up the world’s biggest marine reserve to protect its fisheries and biodiversity. He said the Maldives would become “the single largest marine reserve in the world,” where only sustainable and ecofriendly fishing will be allowed. A total of 191 speak-

FWORLD, 13

EDGEDAVAO

PROPERTY

VOL.5 ISSUE 79 • JUNE 22 - 23, 2012

Camella Northpoint goes greener C

AMELLA’S landmark condo development in Davao, the British colonial themed Camella Northpoint, is going greener. Camella Davao’s GM Marlon B. Escalicas talks about how green architecture plays a key role in their homeowners’ healthy living. 1) What specific benefits do Camella Northpoint residents get from the green buildings? Nowadays, people place a premium on wellness, living a healthy lifestyle to get more out of life. It’s not only about exercise or eating healthy; we also need to create an environment where we can achieve wellness in a holistic kind of way. A major part of that is destressing from daily pressures of life. We normally turn to nature for its serenity and beauty to wipe away our urban stresses. That is why we find happiness and comfort when we see beautiful trees and flowers right outside our doorstep. It helps us relax when we breathe fresh air within an ambiance of a lush and green landscape. This is why we made Camella Northpoint as green as possible, making it the only condo community in the heart of the city that has its own patch of green. We invested over four million’s worth of speciallybred Caribbean pine trees to augment its already lush landscape of age-old trees and robust plant life. We

brought the green outdoor inside the condo buildings by introducing indoor gardens replete with live plants that thrive in natural lighting and ventilation. Our privileged unit owners do not feel choked or cramped. In fact, we can claim that Camella Northpoint is the only condo development in Davao City that breathes. We are also the first condo community to have a salinated wellness swimming pool that further enhances healthy living. A salinated pool does not require much chlorine to keep its waters clean; that means much less chemicals in its water. 2) How do your residents feel about living in a green building? Our residents feel very good about living in Northpoint. They enjoy the comforts of modern living being very near malls, schools, commercial establishments, hospitals, churches, public transport and many others. Yet they live within the peace and serenity of a quiet and safe neighborhood that thrives within a green environment. Most of them find it soothing to just laze at the clubhouse or the indoor atrium because of the greenery around them. Mornings are invigorating as they breathe in the crisp pine scent of the Caribbean pine trees. They look forward to going home as it gives them the delightful

experience of being welcomed by a cool and fresh ambiance that revives their spirits after a tiring day. Moreover, it makes them feel good knowing they are reducing their carbon footprint by enjoying nature at its best and reducing their energy usage. What can be more rewarding than all these. 3) Do the residents have any contribution or participation in maintaining their green community? Our residents planted some of the Caribbean pine trees in a community treeplanting activity last year, even tagging the saplings with their names. Now, they feel very happy seeing their adopted trees growing tall and robust. Their monthly association dues are also put to good use by our property management team, enabling them to maintain and enhance the natural beauty of the condo property, especially as our unit owners are very conscious about cleanliness and proper waste disposal. 4) Are there other green building principles that Camella intends to introduce in Northpoint’s future condo structures? In our desire to infuse more principles of green architecture into our buildings, we will introduce the concept of «sky courts» in our 4th building which will be launched soon. This feature emphasizes the uti-

Camella Davao GM Marlon Escalicas explains the health benefits of green architecture on Camella Northpoint unit owners. lization of natural ventilation and lighting that allow plants to grow inside the building. This new building will be filled with natural gardens that will further enhance the healthy living that we advocate, and it is going to be the first of its kind in Davao City. 5) Is there a difference between Camella’s green buildings and those of other developers, in Davao and in other cities? I believe we are the only developer that truly adheres to green architecture in Davao. We did not maximize the space mainly for structures to give our unit

owners a lot of breathing space and a more naturefriendly environment. We have all the amenities and features that most condo projects have but we are the only one with Caribbean pine trees, preserved ancient trees, a lush landscape, even a natural spring within the development. Add to that its prime location, Camella Northpoint’s value is incomparable. At Camella Northpoint you Breathe Green, Feel Green, and Live Green. 6) Why did Camella intensify its green commitment by designing a greener building in Northpoint’s

latest tower? Camella consistently promotes a green environment in all its projects as part of our company’s environmental commitment. In Northpoint we want to prove that a project’s limited space is not a hindrance in preserving or creating a green environment. Although our first three buildings already adopt green architecture, we can make it greener with the addition of Sky Courts. We will continue to innovate to make Northpoint the newest premier address and landmark condo development in Davao City.

THE ECONOMY

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

47.032 46.851 48.139

48.161 48.146 47.905 47.524 48.217

48.458 47.585 47.207

VOL.5 ISSUE 79 • JUNE 22 - 23, 2012

No tainted ‘China’ milk in local markets: DOH

HE Department of Health (DOH) has assured the public that infant milk in the country is safe. Dr. Eric Tayag, DOH assistant secretary and spokesperson, said there was nothing to worry about the milk formula in the country, noting that FDA (Food and Drug Administration) had tasked milk inspectors to inspect possible entry of tainted milk. He made this remarks following fears that milk from China, reportedly tainted with unusual levels of mercury, could reach the local markets, especially distributed and repacked. “Gayunman, ang recall ay sa China, umaasa kami na di nakarating sa atin ang milk formula na iyon, kung magkagayon man at kung mayroon mann kahina-hinala na mga milk formula na sa tingin ninyo, ito ay nabanggit isurender ninyo iyan,” Tayag said. Likewise, Tayag reminds mothers of the safety and benefits of breastfeeding that should be extended up to two years of age.

BSP still in losing streak due to currency volatility

HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) registered lower net loss in 2011 at P33.69 billion compared to the previous year’s P59.04 billion as it continues to address foreign exchange volatility. Central bank data show that revenues last year rose by 4.55 percent to P118.74 billion from year-ago’s P113.57 billion. But total assets contracted by 18.54 percent to P3.79 trillion from the P3.8 billion in the previous year. Also, expenses went up by 40.60 percent to P115.97 billion from the P82.48 billion in 2011 due partly to the strengthening of the local currency against the dollar as well as adjustments in the prices of gold in the international market. The central bank posted losses due to its participation in addressing foreign exchange fluctuation to address volatility of the peso and the dollar, among others. BSP remains committed to allowing market forces decide on the foreign exchange movement but monetary officials said the central bank joins the market to prevent a volatile exchange rate. In 2011, the peso averaged between P43-44-level against the dollar, stronger compared to the P43-46-level in the previous year. Last year, the central bank eyes to remit at least P18 billion in dividends to the national government (NG) after the BSP registered P13.13 billion net revenues in 2009. Government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) are required to remit to the NG at least 50 percent of their income for the year.

EDGEDAVAO

Power barges up for bidding Aug 15 T

HE Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corp. has officially started the second round of bidding for Power Barge Nos. 101, 102, 103 and 104 after it published the Invitation to Bid (ITB) for the assets. The publication came after the PSALM Board approved the rebidding. “PSALM is committed to ensure the successful privatization of the power barges not only as part of our mandate but also as government’s contribution to stabilizing the power situation in Mindanao where the power barges will eventually be transferred,” said PSALM president and chief executive Emmanuel R. Ledesma Jr. PSALM will accept Let-

ters of Interest from prospective bidders not later than July 3 at 5 p.m. For the issuance of the bidding package, PSALM requires interested parties to execute a Confidentiality Agreement and Undertaking and pay a non-refundable participation fee of US$ 3,000 on or before 5 p.m. of July 4 July 2012. PSALM will conduct a Pre-bid Conference for interested bidders on July 5, 2012 at its Makati City office. This will provide prospective bidders the opportunity to raise their concerns regarding the sale of the barges. Bidders may also provide written comments and suggestions on the draft purchase agreement to improve its terms and conditions pursuant to the instruction of the Department of Energy.

The bidding will be held on Aug. 15, 2012, and bids will be received until 12 noon only. Bid evaluation will immediately follow. PSALM said that it had the option to enter into a negotiated sale in case the second round of bidding fails. The first round of bidding for PB Nos. 101-104 was declared a failure after only one bidder submitted a bid prior to the expiration of the submission deadline. Commissioned in 1981, PB Nos. 101 and 102 are stationed at Bo. Obrero in Iloilo City. PB Nos. 103 and 104, which began operation in 1985, were moored in Botongon, Estancia, Iloilo, and at the Holcim Compound, Ilang, Davao City, respectively. Each power barge has an installed capacity of 32 megawatts.

PHL’s contribution to the IMF will save world economy: BSP

HE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said the Philippines has contributed US$ 1 billion to the new International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) facility as part of its commitment as IMF-member to help prop up the world economy. “The Philippines is supporting the global efforts to stabilize the world economy and maintain it on a growth path. This is the reason why the Philippines is extending a $ 1 billion loan to the IMF. We are a member of the global community of nations and it is also in our interest to ensure economic and financial stability across the globe,” BSP Governor Amando Tetangco said in a statement. Tetangco explained that contributions of IMF-members are being relent to countrymembers that are facing financial difficulties. He cited that the Philippines was also a net borrower of the multilateral agency for almost 40 years until December 2006. “Today, our economic fundamentals are sound, our banks are able to meet domestic credit needs, and we are capable of lending US$ 1 billion from our international reserves to the IMF,” he said. as of august 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

EDGEDAVAO

AGRITRENDS

VOL.5 ISSUE 79 • JUNE 22 - 23, 2012

Sugar production seen to reach 2.25 MMT--SRA

HE country’s sugar production may reach 2.25 million metric tons (MMT), slightly above target of 2.24 MMT this crop year, the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) said. Rosemarie Gumera, SRA policy and planning manager, said that as of June 3, the country’s sugar production has already reached 2.221 MMT, adding that they expect to slowly reach the 2.24 MMT target before the end of milling season this July. “We expect to meet the target, and we may even hit as much as 2.25 MMT,” Gumera said in a telephone interview. The official said sugar production is slowly inching its way to target with only six mills remain in operation. Meanwhile, Gumera also expressed confidence that they will meet the sugar quota from the United States despite problems in consolidating supply of the sweetener.

On June 15, the agency has conducted a special bidding for the swapping of “D” or world market sugar into “A” US quota

Feed millers to import wheat due to high price of local corn

group of local feed millers said they are set to import at least 1.4 million metric tons(MT) of feedwheat this year as prices of local corn remained high. Norman Ramos, president of the Philippine Association of Feed Millers, Inc. (PAFMIL), said the association had already placed orders until November 2012 for the supply of some 1.4 million MT of feedwheat, which is a more viable source for feed stock. “The price of feedwheat in the international market is more competitive as compared to our local corn. For as long as feedwheat remained competitive, we will import the commodity,” Ramos said in a telephone interview. Feedwheat is an alternative ingredient in making animal feeds. Feed millers resort to importation whenever there is a shortage of yellow corn and feed wheat; and if there is a shortage of corn in the domestic market and prices are high.

At present, prices of yellow corn in the local market increased to around P14 to P14.50 per kilo – much higher than with the landed price of P12.70 to P13.20 for feed wheat. Delivered feedwheat also sell much lower in Bulacan at P13.60 to P13.80. Ramos said the imported feedwheat, which were booked in January to June, were expected to start arriving by the second half of the year. He also said that feed millers would continue to import feedwheat up to the first quarter of 2013 as long as price and availability is competitive to corn. Ramos said that over the last two years, there had been a preference to the use of feedwheat for the millers’ feedstock because of competitive pricing and better quality as compared to local corn. The industry hopes that the volume of feedwheat imports will force local corn traders to bring down prices to a more desirable level. [PNA]

sugar allocation in order to fill up the additional sugar quota for crop year 2011-2012. The total volume of-

DA releases P10M for South Cotabato rubber expansion

HE Department of Agriculture (DA) has released a P10million grant to South Cotabato province to fund the development of additional rubber plantations in the mountains of T’boli town. Reynaldo Legaste, South Cotabato agriculture officer, said Wednesday the funds would mainly be utilized to finance the opening of new rubber plantations this year in Sitio Basag of Barangay Salacafe in T’boli. “We’re targeting to plant at least 55,500 rubber trees that will be intercropped with coffee in idle upland farms in the area,” he said. Legaste said the DA central office earlier approved the financial grant for the project as part of the implementation of the agency’s poverty alleviation initiative Mindanao Rural Development Program (MRDP). Through the program, the provincial government opened three years ago an initial 167 hectares of rubber plantations in three villages in nearby Lake Sebu town. In the T’boli rubber program, Legaste said the provincial government has set aside an augmentation fund of P2 million as counterpart for its implementation.[PNA]

fered for the swapping is 47,217 MT of raw sugar, but only 33,763 MT were awarded to three major sugar exporters who par-

ticipated in the bidding. “We are having problems in consolidating the sugar supply since majority of the sugar classifi-

cation that needed to be swapped are in small sugarcane farmers organization,” Gumera said. In order to encourage full subscription of the remaining volume of 13,453 MT, Gumera said the SRA offered the winning bidders to award this volume to them pro-rata at a uniform replenishment bond of P10.00 per LKg bag. “In case the winning bidders of the June 15th special bidding will not avail of the above offer, the SRA SBAC contemplates to hold a rebidding of the remaining volume of D to A sugar quedans or offer it to all interested stakeholders on a first-come-firstserve basis,” she said. Gumera is now calling on all sugarcane farmers and their confederations to avail of the opportunity of swapping their “D” sugar into “A” sugar classification in order to fill up the additional US quota and flush out any outstanding world market sugar produced in the current crop year. [PNA]

DA approves 21 projects worth P48M for farmers

HE Department of Agriculture (DA) has approved 21 projects worth P48.12 million under a “rainfed” banner program aimed at enabling farmers to withstand drought, raise their yield and income, and rise above climate change threats. DA’s Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) approved the projects under the Philippine Rainfed Agriculture Research Development and Extension Program (PhiRARDEP). “Weather is always an important factor in agricultural productivity. We’re facing a different challenge now for which our farmers should be more prepared. We can suffer from serious weather disturbances or rise above these,” BAR Director Nicomedes Eleazar said. Eleazar said rainfed projects can potentially diversify the country’s

farm production, bringing about increased farmers’ income and consumers’ enhanced nutrient intake at cheaper costs. The total budget is allotted as follows: P25.67 million for Luzon, P13.77 million for the Visayas, and P8.68 million for Mindanao. Among the projects in Luzon are the Community Watersheds of Cagayan River Basin, Upland Rice-Based Organic Agriculture in Camarines Sur, Pigeonpea Research & Development (Camarines Sur), Aerobic Rice Production (Bataan), and RiceBased Farming System (Ballesteros, Cagayan). In the Visayas, the approved projects are Rice-Based Farming System in Dumarao, Capiz; Rainfed Rice Intensified Farming System (Mambusao, Capiz), Organic Seed Production System for Upland Crops (Negros Occiden-

tal), Rice-Based Integrated Farming System (Balete, Aklan), Chicken in Rice Farming System (Babatngon, Leyte), and Sagip Saka Conservation Farming Villages (Negros Oriental). In Mindanao, the projects are Rubber/ Coffee-based Integrated Farming Systems in Sultan Kudarat, Upland Resource Management (Zamboanga City), Indigenous Knowledge System in Rainfed Areas (Sultan Kudarat), Upland Rice Varieties (Davao City), and Upland Vegetable-Based Production (Maragusan, Compostela Valley). The DA is at present prioritizing research and development efforts in dryland. The country has more than three million hectares of dryland tended by about five million very poor Filipinos that can be helped by PhiRARDEP. [PNA]

VANTAGE POINTS

VOL.5 ISSUE 79 • JUNE 22 - 23, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

Who jumped first from the newspaper sinking ship? COMMENTARY BY JACK SHAFER

EDITORIAL

Vindication

HE WORLD Boxing Organization has ruled that Manny Pacquiao should have won his controversial bout with Timothy Bradley and has recommended a re-match between the fighters. Bradley, an American, won a split decision at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas last June 9 that prompted disbelief from the sporting world and had many viewers around the world calling the judges’ decision absurd and unfathomable. The WBO requested five international judges to evaluate the video recording of the fight and they unanimously scored the fight in favor of Pacquiao, although the erroneous split decision result in favor of Bradley will remain in the record books as final (otherwise, what would happen to all the millions won and lost in online betting around the world?) Pacquiao has indicated that he would prefer a rematch over Bradley forfeiting the belt, according to Bob Arum, who promotes both fighters. The ripples from Bradley’s questionable splitdecision victory over the Filipino ring icon spread as two US senators called for the creation of a national body to govern professional boxing.

EDGEDAVAO

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

OLIVIA D. VELASCO General Manager

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

Senator John McCain, a Republican from Arizona who boxed when he attended the US Naval Academy, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat and former middleweight boxer, introduced legislation that would create the United States Boxing Commission. The body would be tasked with administering federal boxing laws, working with the industry and local commissions, and licensing boxers, promoters, managers and sanctioning organizations. McCain, speaking on the Senate floor, said the outcome of the welterweight world title bout between Bradley and Pacquiao “is the latest example of the legitimate distrust boxing fans have for the integrity of the sport.” The unanimous decision of the five judges tasked to review the fight was in sum a vindication not only to Pacquiao, who is busy assisting flood victims in Sarangani Province which he represents in the House of Representatives, but most significantly the Filipino people who idolize him and the millions of other supporters the world over. But for the boxing community the world over, it is big business as usual, if you know what we mean. ANTONIO M. AJERO Editor in Chief

RAMON M. MAXEY Consultant

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

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

JOCELYN S. PANES Director of Sales

SOLANI D. MARATAS Finance

RICHARD C. EBONA IMELDA P. LEE Advertising Specialists

AGUSTIN V. MIAGAN JR Circulation

CAGAYAN DE ORO MARKETING OFFICE

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

MANILA MARKETING OFFICE

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

(Conclusion)

HAT did Thomson know that the other newspaper operators didn’t? Perhaps nothing, except for using a cold eye to look at its profit margins. In a brilliant feature about the company written by William Prochnau and published in the October 1998 American Journalism Review, we learn that Thomson’s newspaper profit margins fell steadily from 33.9 percent in 1987 to 17.6 percent in 1997. Thomson, which was as good as any company at extracting high margins out of its newspapers, wisely read the data as a market directive to escape the bubble and get out of newspapers. Around the time Thomson was using some of its proceeds to buy Reuters, the last of the fool’s money was rushing in to buy Knight-Ridder (McClatchy dropping $4.5 billion), the Wall Street Journal (Rupert Murdoch spending $5.6 billion on the paper and the other Dow Jones properties), and the Tribune Co (Sam Zell orchestrating an $8.2 billion bid). Not long after, Tribune was stumbling into a bankruptcy filing, Murdoch was writing down the value of his new toy by a half, and McClatchy stock had disintegrated. And the market cap for the entire New York Times Co dropped below the $1.1 billion it paid for the Boston Globe in 1993. By the end of 2008, New York Times media reporter Richard Pérez-Peña had pronounced the newspaper bubble pricked. He reported: Looking back, what happened to newspapers in 2006 and 2007 directly paralleled the bubble in the housing market, with similar results. “There was very cheap credit available,” despite risks that should have been obvious to everyone, Mr. [Dave] Novosel [an analyst at a research firm] said. “The banks were willing to lend, and people were willing to buy at these prices because they figured if asset prices kept going up, they’d be fine.” The great recession, which arrived in December 2007, completely degassed the newspaper bubble, driving print newspaper advertising revenue to the bottom of the Marianas Trench. In a widely reproduced chart by Mark J. Perry based on Newspaper Association of America data (and made viral by the Atlantic‘s Derek Thompson), we see that newspaper ad revenues peaked in the early 2000s but have now dropped to levels not seen since 1950. Perry noted that it took newspapers 50 years to go from $20 billion to $63.5 billion in print ad revenue (1950 to 2000), but only 11 years to go from $63.5 billion back to about $20 billion in 2011. Unlike the tech bubble, the newspaper bubble won’t come back because it can’t. Many of the businesses that once supported newspapers with ads don’t exist on the same level anymore (such as competing department stores and grocery stores) or have found better places to put their ad dollars (the Web, television and Craigslist) or have discovered that they don’t need to spend ad dollars anymore to sell their goods and services (Craigslist again). The expired bubble won’t take all newspapers down with it immediately. One theory (pdf) gaining currency is that because the current generation of print newspaper readers isn’t being replaced, major U.S. print dailies will be dead in five years with only small-town newspapers and the national dailies surviving. This is at least the second time in newspaper history that collapsed advertising revenues and rising production costs have thrown the newspaper biz into a crisis. In January 1918, American journalist Oswald Garrison Villard decried the “tragedy of journalism” that was destroying newspapers in Boston, New York, Cleveland and elsewhere. Owners weren’t giving up just because they were incurring losses – they were used to that because many of them published newspapers for the social cachet and political influence it brought them. They were giving up because they were incurring unsustainable losses. If this 1918 owners’ psychology continues to hold true, we can expect marginally profitable and unprofitable newspapers to persist. But not forever, and certainly not by the time running a newspaper that few read and even fewer advertise in carries all the social stigma of owning Pets.com.

EDGEDAVAO

AD EXPERIENCE DURING AIR TRAVEL – The flight attendants especially on all long-haul air travel are well-trained to keep an eye out for passengers who aren’t handling the flight well. I and my wife were in a 14-hour ride from Toronto, Canada to Seoul, South Korea last year when I noticed how they treated their clients. Our stress was so low we decided we have to sleep. We easily dropped off and caught a 6-hour nap. The seat of the plane listed to be one of the world’s best airline companies are so comfortable that no embarrassing head drops onto your neighbor’s shoulders. So after another sumptuous meal, a movie, some mingling and a 2-hour additional nap, that leave us with 6 more hours to go. As the plane finally touched down at Incheon International Airport in Seoul, some 12, 000 kilometers and 14 hours after takeoff, the passengers disembarked appreciatively. From Seoul we took a 4-hour connecting flight for Manila. Nonetheless, the flight was as good as the previous one. Then three hours into the flight, it was time for dinner: delectable Korean fare accompanied by either red or white wine, or champagne. At the point when we boarded the 319 Airbus plane for the last leg of our flight - Manila to Davao, we could see that the airline company known for its budget fare scheme and much-ballyhooed good service has “drastic” changes inside the cabin. It adjusted the seats and even made the clearance in between much narrower to create a very uncomfortable situation. Once the plane was at cruising altitude, we spent several minutes or so just getting used to the cramped seats. The plane model

“W

is one of the best in the world in terms of space and comfort and can seat typically 120 passengers, but perhaps management decided to install additional seats to accommodate more passengers – adjusting the seat pitch from 33” down to 30” leaving no more room for adjustable foot and leg rest, which is useful for rest. Not only is the scheme creating discomfort to passengers but what is rather lamentable is the arrogance and inconsiderate attitude of the company staff especially its ground personnel at the airport. It’s really sad when greed sinks in into the heads of corporate executives. oooOooo THERE IS EVIDENT PROGRESS – For Davao City’s confident entrepreneurs the competition is stiff, but there are rewards. The influx of Manila-based capitalists with a dash of foreign investors is a sign of confidence of the business climate in the city. Despite the arduous business competition that resulted in the increase of property prices, which have almost tripled, there is evident progress. Investors are keeping up with the trend as commercial establishments, and of course, guest houses and high-concept hotels are being built to accommodate business locators and frequent travelers alike. Not a few optimistic entrepreneurs are getting a toehold and probably think that Davao City is a great place to make money – “the perfect location for business.” The basic institutions are firmly in place and in some ways, business is brisk with the peso has shown surprising strength against the US dollar. Being an entrepreneur based in the city may be among the most reassuring jobs in business today. As Dabawenyos and people in adjacent provinces have begun to earn more and spend far more money than ever, shopping malls, hotels, restaurants, entertainment joints, hardware and appliance

stores, car exchange and other line of business are proving to be “highly lucrative.” The clearest sign of progress can be felt both in the southern and northern parts of the city. In the northern part for example, the private sector is really booming with the ongoing construction of huge shopping malls, several high-end hotels and commercial establishments. With its seaports strategically located and proximity to industrial zones in nearby areas, government-controlled Sasa wharf is rapidly re-establishing itself as a major entry port at the mouth of Davao Gulf. As of late, property prices according to a series of reports have tripled or maybe even quadrupled in some prime locations throughout the city. But amid the high prices of prime properties, Manila-based and some foreign investors setting up operations in the city are among the risk takers who are riding the wave to get the economy moving. Amid the tough competition are hardnosed business smarts, say those who are already here. Perhaps other capitalists will follow the trend if there is good business in Davao City and huge contracts to be done. The entrepreneurs on the ground say the know-how they have developed through the difficult months will give them a hugely valuable edge over latecomers. Furthermore, city officials still expect that more new capitalists with business contracts to flood the city, and probably those with existing sub-contracting deals and other spending. All of which prove their point: for the confident and stouthearted, Davao City is a great place to invest and make money. The city promises to be a gold mine for the busy and assertive entrepreneurs. But to make money and make your business grow, first you have to be highly competitive.

OPINION

I blame the influence of Karl Marx, not as the founder of communism but as the great prophet of economic alienation. He warned that society would be torn apart by capitalism’s “cash nexus”, which used money to express values, and its “commodity fetish”, which treats all things as being up for sale as long as a price can be agreed. Marxist claims still resonate, in part for good reasons. The expression of any human relationship in monetary terms is potentially dehumanising. Money really cannot buy love, should not buy sex and may damage the creative efforts of artists. Market reasoning adds selfishness to the picture – in the world of supply and demand it is each man for himself. However, money and markets also have a good side, which Marx grudgingly admitted and Sandel blithely ignores. Buying, selling and the assignment of prices are effective and reasonably just tools for tying together the economic activity of strangers. The monetary system does not always create the best bond – unpaid voluntary efforts and compulsory arrangements can sometimes be better – but the global economy could not work without it. The retreat of market reasoning shows that Marx underestimated the popular ability and desire to resist the commodity fetish. Marx also underestimated the future accomplishments of the industrial prosperity which the cash nexus helps create. These gains – modern societies feed the hungry, house the poor, spread knowledge and provide much interesting labour – far outweigh any losses from monetary alienation. Sandel and other social critics may be right to think that society is damaged, even “broken”, as British politicians sometimes say. But markets and money are not to blame.

BY EDWARD HADAS on the basis of need, not income. The United States is, admittedly, a partial exception and the high ideals are rarely perfected in practice, but the market’s reasons are never considered the last word. Education is similar. Students do not have to pay for primary and secondary school, while admission to the best establishments is determined, in theory at least, on the basis of academic merit – not the ability to pay. According to market reasoning, everything should have a price. If that reasoning were in the ascendant in modern society, then surely everything about the internet, arguably the most impressive technological development in many generations, would be for sale. In fact, while the internet is a big business, the most important applications – search engines, social networks, email and Wikipedia – are made available at no direct cost. A third claim of market reasoning is that prices are best set at the point where supply is perfectly balanced with demand. That principle is not followed in large parts of what might be the most important market of all, the job market. Supply and demand have only an indirect influence on the pay and career paths of most workers. Seniority and skills matter much more. Given the evidence, it is puzzling that Sandel’s book, recently reviewed by my Breakingviews colleague Martin Langfield, has made such an impact. Sandel’s judgements about the triumph of crude materialist calculations over higher values should have at least been received more sceptically.

Military soft ‘coup’ in Egypt has precedent

The perfect location for business

Ethical economy: Of morals and markets

here all good things are bought and sold,” says Michael Sandel, “having money makes all the difference in the world”. And judging by the success of the book he has written based on the premise, the assertion is seductive. In “What Money Can’t Buy: the Moral Limits of Markets”, the Harvard philosophy professor rails against “market reasoning” and its impact on modern societies. He says that justice suffers because money has become the predominant measure of social as well as economic value. He provides examples such as corporate life insurance policies on employees, advertising in bathrooms and payments for children’s academic success. Sandel’s reading of contemporary society is wrong, and the examples he deploys are atypical. Overall, morals have been displacing markets, not the other way around. Considerations such as justice and the common good increasingly shape economic arrangements. Even where market reasoning does flourish, for example in the production of cars or food, the standards of social responsibility have steadily risen. Whether or not they are profitable, companies are expected to be good employers and good corporate citizens. Consider the evolution of marriage. A century ago in most Western countries, spouses were chosen at least as much on economic grounds – dowries and future income – as on romantic ones. Love now rules, to the point that couples often choose impoverishment in divorce over wealth in a loveless marriage. Marriage is not the only domain where Sandel’s “market reasoning” – the best way to allocate anything is by selling it to the highest bidder – is in retreat. In rich countries, most healthcare is made available at no or low costs to almost everyone, and is allocated

Monkey Business

VANTAGE POINTS

VOL.5 ISSUE 79 • JUNE 22 - 23, 2012

ANALYSIS BY STEVEN A. COOK

S Egypt experiencing a military coup? The days of coups d’état around the world are over, or so many observers have told us in recent years. Militaries have been domesticated, the people will not tolerate martial law, national stock markets would swoon if officers toppled civilians, and the opprobrium of the international community would be intense. All these factors were to have made the sight of tanks and troops in the streets the stuff of grainy old photos of a bygone era. Indeed, coups have been relatively rare with perhaps the exception of places in Africa and tiny islands in the South Pacific. Yet the Egyptian military’s recent constitutional decree indicates that when the interests of the officers dictate, they are more than capable of using a combination of coercion, prestige, and their own sense of national duty to undermine legitimate governments and political processes. There is a debate whether a June 17 decree, issued by Egypt’s Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (or SCAF), was actually a coup. After all, they did not deploy troops to sensitive locations. They did not take over the television station (it was already in their hands). They did not arrest politicians and they did not issue a numbered communiqué declaring a new order – all hallmarks of coups from all over the world. Moreover, Egypt’s officers acted after the Supreme Constitutional Court issued a ruling declaring one-third of the seats in the People’s Assembly void and the head of that court asserted that without those seats the parliament could not function. The generals then held a press conference stating that they would honor their commitment to hand power to a civilian president on July 1. Still, with the police blocking access to the parliament building and the substance of the communiqué gutting the powers of the presidency as well as vesting the ruling officers with new prerogatives, it sure seems like a coup. This “something-not-quite-coup” is not as rare as one might suspect. The model, whether intended or otherwise, for the SCAF’s actions was what their Turkish counterparts refer to in Orwellian language as the “28th of February Process.” It was on that date in 1997, that the Turkish General Staff issued a series of “recommendations” – really orders – that then Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan, an Islamist, was to carry out to safeguard Turkey’s secular political order. Over the following four months the officers brought pressure to bear on Mr. Erbakan through almost every imaginable channel – the media, civil society, labor unions, academia – except force until the prime minister’s coalition cracked. In the aftermath, Erbakan’s party was banned and Turkey entered a period of political instability and economic uncertainty. The diminution of civilian leaders and weakening of Turkey’s democratic practices were clearly subordinate to the overarching interests of the officers in protecting the political system thatMustafa Kemal Ataturk founded 74 years earlier, a system that above all benefited Turkey’s officer corps. If the “blank” or “post-modern” coup, as Turks have come to know the 1997 events, was an inspiration of sorts for the SCAF, the actual prototype was Turkey’s 1971 “coup by memorandum.” That’s when the generals told the government to change articles of the constitution that the commanders deemed too liberal – or else. Upon receiving and considering the military’s missive, Turkish leader Suleyman Demirel cleared out of his office. Algeria, too, has had experience with coups that do not actually look like what observers have often associated with military intervention. In January 1992, a conclave of 60 officers gathered in an emergency meeting and resolved to cancel the second round of legislative elections, dissolve the National Assembly, and push President Chadli Bendjedid from office. The reason? The Islamic Salvation Front was poised to dominate parliament and the president was signaling his willingness to cohabit with an Islamist-controlled legislature. The officers used suspect legal reasoning and conjured powers that they did not have – just as the SCAF has done in disbanding Egypt’s parliament – to achieve their ends. The actions of the Algerian officers plunged the country into a decade of civil war that estimates suggest killed more than 100,000 people, yet the political system that they intervened to protect survived. (OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS).

SUBURBIA

VOL.5 ISSUE 79 • JUNE 22 - 23, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

SEA FLOAT. Fishermen parade their sea floats from barangays Tuyan and Lun Padidu for this year’s Guinakit sa Sugoda Malapatan fluvial competition Wednesday, June 20, at Tuyan beach in celebration of the town’s 43rd foundation anniversary and 7th Pakaradyan Festival. Guinakit is a Maguindanao term referring to a convoy of bancas used by early Muslim leaders when they traveled to other places. Pakaradyan Festival, which culminates June 21, intends not merely to reminisce and to bask in the founding of the municipality but also to share the beauty of culture and arts of each group belonging to the tri-people namely Christians, Blaans and Maguindanaons under the leadership of Mayor Alfonso Singcoy Sr..

Providing basic services to the people T

HOUSANDS of residents of the 1st District of Davao del Norte swarmed the office compound of Congressman Anthony del Rosario in Tagum City to avail of the flurry of medical services on June 20, 2012. Services in the outreach activity, which was held in line with the forthcoming birthday celebration of the representative on June 27, 2012, include free medical check-up, dental services, minor surgery, bloodletting, haircut, massage, eye

care, and legal consultation, among others. Pursuant to his P1 million per barangay project, the legislator also distributed the certificates of project allotment to the first ten barangays of Tagum City, for their respective priority projects in line with the P.E.O.P.L.E agenda of Governor Rodolfo P. del Rosario. The lawmaker assured the request for special allotment release order of the remaining barangays of the city were already in the hands of

the Committee on Appropriations in Congress. Del Rosario also conferred the five full-time and five half-time scholarship grants to poor but deserving college students, including ten full-time and ten halftime scholarship grants for technical-vocational students. The representative said he hopes to be able to complete his remaining two terms “if the Lord allows me to continue serving the people.” “Dili ko mohawa sa serbisyo hangtud ma-

human ang atoang mga damgo alang sa Distrito 1 (I won’t retire until I have fulfilled my aspirations for the district),” he assured. Local officials who were present to extend warm greetings to Cong. del Rosario include Vice Governor Victorio Suaybaguio, Board Members Shirley Belen Aala, Atty. Joey Millan, Vicente Eliot and Antonio Lagunsad, as well as, Mayor Nestor Alcoran of New Corella and Mayor Rosebella Abelita-Nana of San Isidro.

GRATITUDE. Congressman Anthony G. del Rosario thanks his constituents in the District 1 of Davao del Norte.

EYEGLASSES. An opthalmologist fits eyeglasses to a patient during the medical mission of 1st District Congressman AGR in Tagum City.

SCHOLAR. Rogen Mansueto receives her full-time college scholarship from 1st District Congressman Anthony del Rosario.

MEDICINE. Congressional staff hand out medicines to recipients of the medical mission of 1st District Congressman AGR in Tagum City.

EDGEDAVAO

VOL.5 ISSUE 79 • JUNE 22 - 23, 2012

DSWD, Philsen sign agreement for ‘Pantawid’ beneficiaries

S part of DSWD’s continued partnership with the private sector in the delivery of public service, the Department has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Philippine Social Enterprise Network, Inc., (PHILSEN) a non-profit and non-government organization to implement the Social Livelihood Opportunities through Social Entrepreneurship for Grassroots training of Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries. The DSWD and PHILSEN both recognize the need to strengthen the economic capacity of Pantawid Pamilya benefi-

ciaries by linking them to enterprise and employment opportunities. The collaboration is also in line with the thrust of the DSWD to alleviate poverty through empowerment and skills training of disadvantaged individuals and families. Areas of cooperation between the two agencies include: conduct of training needs assessment of target trainees among Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries in selected provinces and regions for partnership cooperation, social preparation and skills training workshop, development of social entrepreneurship management skills

and continuous accessing of enterprise and employment opportunities. Likewise, the Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries will be organized into Self-Employment Assistance-Kaunlaran (SEA-K) Association. The SEA-K supports microenterprises of registered associations in order to enhance their access to basic social services and improve their quality of life. The project also links beneficiaries to employment opportunities and builds the capacity of economically active poor households by enabling them to manage sustainable microenterprises.

of Barangay Don Martin Marundan Road Section in Mati City from the junction of national highway leading to Tarragona town. It can be recalled that every 22nd of June each year was declared Tree Planting Day all over the province pursuant to Executive Order No. 06, series of 2009, to memorialize the launching of the Million Trees Movement of Davao Oriental - a special program of Governor Malanyaon which endeavors to effectively control environmental degradation within the territorial jurisdiction of the province through massive re-greening activities. Central to this program is the continuous conduct of tree planting activities throughout the province, as well as the resolute implementation of other program components that promote deeper awareness among the

residents of this province towards the concern for environment, its protection, preservation, and conservation. The forest covers in most parts of this province, like the rest of the world’s tropical forests, is dwindling at an alarming rate due largely to the indiscriminate cutting of trees, agricultural expansion and land use conversion, the effect of which include among others, the destruction of plants and animal habitats, more severe soil erosion, increased occurrence of droughts and flashfloods and more importantly, the net increase in greenhouse gases that invariably contribute to the global climate change. The disturbing situation spurred the present provincial administration to decisively address the situation through the implementation of the Million Trees Movement on June 22, 2009.

this new collection partner, customers will save time and money from traveling as far as 66 kms. round trip from Brgy. Malabog, Paquibato to Davao Light Panabo office just to pay their electric bills”, said Engr. Reynold Felix, AVP - Panabo Branch Manager. The said collection office is located at Brilliant Gate Malabog, Paquibato District, Davao City. Full and partial payments for both green and red bills are accepted every Monday to Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Customers can still pay even without their electric bills as long as they have with them the collection reference code.

Other EC Pay accredited collection service partners where Davao Light customers can pay are in all HB1 outlets in the cities of Davao, Panabo and Tagum, The Paper Tree, E-link Mail, Cecile Kristine’s Pawnshop, Aeromania Propeller, Overhaul and Green Field Mktg. To get your Davao Light electric bill balance, just text ASKDLPC(space) BILL(space)10-digit ACCOUNT ID and send to 3913572 (Smart, Talk&Text and Red Mobile subscribers) or 09229993572 (Sun and Globe subscribers). Regular rates apply; Davao Light pays for the reply.

DavOr marks 3rd Anniversary of Million Trees Movement

UNDREDS of government employees from local and national government agencies assigned in this province will converge in Mati City on June 22, 2012, Friday, at 6:00 o’clock in the morning to plant more trees to mark the Third Anniversary of the Million Trees Movement (MTM) of Davao Oriental. In Memorandum Order No. 31 issued by Governor Corazon T. NuñezMalanyaon dated June 15, 2012, enjoins all government agencies, that include the Department Heads, Bureaus and Agencies of the National Government, Government Finance Institutions (GFIs), and State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) to participate in this year’s tree planting activity as part of the week-long celebration of the 45th Araw ng Davao Oriental, July 1, 2012. The planting site is located along the strip

Davao Light’s new payment collection office in Paquibato

ITH the aim to further improve its customer service, Davao Light and Power Company customers can now conveniently pay their electric bills at the Clickster Game Station in Malabog, Paquibato District, Davao City. This another milestone was made possible through the electric utility’s partnership with the Electronic Commerce Payment (EC Pay) which has recently inked an agreement with Clickster Game Station to be its newest collection partner. This new collection office is the first in Paquibato District catering to customers from its 6 barangays. “With

COMMUNITY SENSE 11

12 NATION/WORLD Suu Kyi is ready to lead Myanmar to democracy M

YANMAR’S opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi announced in Britain on Tuesday that she was prepared to take the helm as the leader of her people, the strongest signal yet she saw herself as someone who could lead her country one day. Myanmar’s then-ruling junta freed the Oxfordeducated Nobel Peace Prize laureate from house arrest in 2010, ushering in a period of reform and enabling her to travel abroad for the first time in

Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi arrives for a reception at Oxford University, southern England June 19, 2012. [REUTERS]

decades. Asked by the BBC if she was prepared to lead her people, given the prospect of national elections in 2015, Suu Kyi replied: “If I can lead them in the right way, yes.” Even so, any bid for Myanmar’s presidency looks unlikely, since it would require changing a junta-drafted constitution designed to protect the country’s still-powerful military. Now a symbol of nonviolent political resistance, Suu Kyi, 67, left her two sons and husband in Britain in 1988 to nurse her dying mother in Myanmar, where she was swept up in pro-democracy protests that the military brutally crushed. She languished under house arrest for much of the next two decades, unable to spend much time with her sons or be with her husband before he died of cancer in 1999. She was released in November 2010 after an election that installed President Thein Sein’s quasi-civilian government - ending nearly 50 years of military rule - which has launched a

series of dramatic reforms. These included holding by-elections in April in which Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy won 43 seats in Myanmar’s fledgling parliament. While Thein Sein, a former general, announced on Tuesday a “second wave” of reforms, Suu Kyi was hailed as a hero on her visit in Britain as part of a broader European tour. Given star treatment on her 67th birthday on Tuesday, she received a standing ovation when she addressed a packed auditorium at the London School of Economics at the start of her emotional comeback to Britain.[REUTERS]

VOL.5 ISSUE 79 • JUNE 22 - 23, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

Arab League asks Russia to stop supplying Syria

USSIA must stop providing military supplies to Syria, Arab League’s deputy secretary general, Ahmed Bin Hilli, said in an interview with the Interfax news agency on Thursday. “Any assistance to violence must be ceased because when you supply military equipment, you help kill people. This must stop,” he was quoted as saying in comments translated into Russian. He also called for the mandate of UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan to be revamped, saying that a new mechanism was needed to enforce the plan. “To make this plan work, we need to find a new mechanism and the mandate of the special envoy must be reassessed, so we can be sure that all the

sides are observing the plan,” he said. He backed Iran joining the Syria Contact Group meeting expected to be held in Geneva on June 30, while saying that Tehran’s participation was still at the discussion stage. “In my view, all the players taking part in the

Syrian crisis must be part of this contact group,” he was quoted as saying in answer to a question about Iran’s participation. “The main task at the moment is agreeing the agenda of the first meeting. Then a decision will be taken on who will take part in this conference,” he added.

Image from the Syrian opposition’s Shaam News Network shows destruction in the city of Homs, June 19. Russia must stop providing military supplies to Syria, Arab League’s deputy secretary general, Ahmed Bin Hilli, said Thursday. AFP is using pictures from alternative sources as it was not authorised to cover this event and is not responsible for alterations that cannot be independently verified.

EDGEDAVAO

Three... FFROM 1

Application for the Ledesma cemetery had been returned to the City Council committees on health and environment and natural resources for further study, after an attempt by Councilor Bernardo Al-ag, health committee chairman, to have it approved during the plenary session was opposed by groups led by the barangay council of Dumoy under Dr. Jess Mar Culaste, and the United Residents and Homeowners Association of Dacoville, Inc. (Urhadi) led by Conrado Vidanes. The City Council decided to assign the proposal to the committee on environment and natural resources led by Councilor Marissa SalvadorAbella, instead of allowing only Al-ag’s health committee to decide on it. According to Ricardo Jimenez Jr., secretary of Urhadi, application papers of Eternal Gardens and Forest Lake are being considered by the Al-ag committee for second reading. Jimenez, a retired broadcast executive and writer, said all three proposed commercial cemeteries are on top of the water resource

World...

area encompassing Baliok, Dumoy, Bago, Puan and Ulas where 39 of 54 production wells of the Davao City Water District are located. He said water from this invaluable source has always been popularly referred to as “Dumoy water” from way back when there was still no DCWD. “There is no such thing as Baliok water, Lubogan water, Ulas water, or Bago water; everything is Dumoy water, which is reputed to be the best in the world, second only to The Netherlands,” said Jimenez , an active officer of the Davao Historical Society. Al-ag reportedly based his support for the establishment of a memorial park in the Ledesma property on the fact that Ledesma was able to get certificates of noopposition from the DCWD itself, the Baliok barangay council and other agencies, including a favorable document from the Davao City Development Council chaired by Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio. The health committee chairman also argued that

the Davao City Water Code does not define Dumoy and neighboring barangays as “water resource areas” protected from certain development activities, like the establishment of cemeteries. Jimenez said the Water Code only identifies the areas from barangay Calinan to barangay Dacudao, Calinan to Malagos and Sirawan as resource areas that should be protected. He said this major error is acknowledged by city councilors themselves, adding that Councilors Arnolfo Ricardo B. Cabling and Marissa Salvador-Abella, who publicly said they would move to amend the Code in order to rectify the error. He appealed to Councilor Al-ag to wait for the time that the Water Code is amended for the good of all Dabawenyos whose health will be compromised if their water resources are not protected. At the same time, a councilor who requested anonymity, told Edge Davao that many members of the Council will vote against Alag’s proposal.

that truly balances the imperatives of robust growth and economic development with the social and environmental dimensions of sustainable prosperity and human well-being,” the UN chief said. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who was elected president of the conference, said she had no doubt “that we will be up to the challenges that the global situation imposes on us.” From the International Space Station, US, Russian and European astronauts sent greetings to the summit leaders, courtesy of the US space agency NASA. As the summit got under way, eight multilateral development banks announced that they would set aside $175 billion to finance sustainable transport systems over the next decade. The pledge was made jointly by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, CAF-Development Bank of Latin America, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Investment Bank and Islamic Development Bank. Some of the most contentious issues discussed at the 10-day UN conference were proposed mea-

sures to promote a green economy and the “Sustainable Development Goals” that are set to replace the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals after they expire in 2015. E nv i ro n m e n t a l i s t s were scathing in their criticism of the summit, with Greenpeace calling it “an epic failure” while WWF said it was “significantly disappointing.” And a London-based NGO said it had put the Amazon rain forest up for sale on eBay -- starting price 99 pence (about $1.50) -- in protest at what it said was the British government’s obsession with putting a financial price on the ecosystem. “The UK government is promoting the sale of nature to the highest bidder. We set up the Rio+20 nature sale on eBay to demonstrate how ridiculous this is,” said Kirsty Wright of the World Development Movement. The bogus offer was removed by the online auction site, the group said. Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla meanwhile criticized the absence of some heavy hitters such as US President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

FFROM 4

ers were to take the floor until Friday when the summit leaders are to give their seal of approval to a 53-page draft document agreed on by their negotiators Tuesday. The draft outlines measures for tackling the planet’s many environmental ills and lifting billions out of poverty through policies that nurture rather than squander natural resources. In his opening remarks, the UN secretary general praised Brazil, the summit host, for securing a deal on the summit’s final draft statement. “The world is watching to see if words will translate into action as we know they must... It’s time for all of us to think globally and long term, beginning here now in Rio, for time is not on our side,” he said. French President Francois Hollande described the deal on the draft as “a step” but “an insufficient step”. “It will be up to world leaders to make a positive step,” he told a press conference. “We recognize that the old model for economic development and social advancement is broken,” Ban said later at a ceremonial event. “Rio+20 has given us a unique chance to set it right... to set a new course

VOL.5 ISSUE 79 • JUNE 22 - 23, 2012

Gun ban to be imposed during new voters’ listing in ARMM

OCAL Government Secretary Jesse Robredo said he has worked out for a Commission on Elections (Comelec) gun ban during the general biometric registration of voters in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) next month, with a national poll watchdog already mapping out strategy to field its volunteers to ensure a nonpartisan activity in the registration centers. But Robredo cautioned the ARMM on its plan to push for a separate general gun amnesty to generate a baseline information on the proliferation of firearms as well as to ensure that all these weapons would be registered. Robredo told a press conference Tuesday that he had met with the Comelec on Monday night and with the officers of the Parish Pastoral Council on Responsible Voting (PPCRV) for a possible declaration of a gun ban in the ARMM provinces of Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-tawi and the cities of Marawi and Lamitan. Maguindanao, a member-province of the ARMM has on ongoing gun ban as it is still under a State of Emergency following the November 23, 2009 massacre of 58 per-

Mintal... FFROM 1

“Dili katuohan ang sulti sa iyang amo nga nakuryentehan siya mao nasunog. Gisunog siyag tuyo (What her employer said was unbelievable that she was electrocuted that’s why she got burned. She was intentionally burned),” he said in a text message. Working as a driver of car pool here, Jason Jimenez, along with his three children, cannot accept what happened, saying “Nakalitan mi tanan. Dili mi makadawat (We were all shocked. We can’t accept it.).” He added that the family will file a case against the suspected culprit, but they are still waiting for the autopsy result om her body in Qatar. Meanwhile, OWWA 11 officer in charge regional director Zenobia L. Caro

said Jimenez’s case is the second mysterious death recorded in the region this year, following Apple Gamale who died in Singapore last month. She added that it is only this year that OWWA 11 has cases of mysterious deaths among OFWs from the region.

sons in Ampatuan town. Robredo had just come from Zamboanga City for a meeting on the preparations for the July 9 to 18 registration of voters in the ARMM. The PCCRV, he said, is mapping out strategies on how its volunteers would be fielded to prevent partisan groups from influencing the new voters’ listing. ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman earlier said that he would seek the Comelec approval to have a gun ban imposed regionwide to keep at bay politicians’ private armed groups and to determine if more security forces would be deployed during the registration of voters. He said he wanted the region to have a clean slate before the holding of the next ARMM elections on May 13 next year. Robredo said there was a difference of more than 500,000 voters in the 2007 and 2010 list of registered voters. The National Statistical Coordination Board said there 1,692,468 registered voters as of 2010, from out of a total population of 4,120,795 as of August 2007 estimate. The region is composed of two cities, 116 municipalities and 2,490 barangays. During the press conference held at the Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao, Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Alonto-Adiong Jr. appealed to politicians from neighboring provinces outside of the ARMM to refrain from sending their residents to be registered in the ARMM so it can clean up the voters’ list. At the opening of the ARMM LGU Convention on Local Governance, ARMM Executive Secretary Anwar Malang an-

Gensan... FFROM 3

City Mayor Darlene Antonino-Custodio said the city government will also launch orientation seminars in the coming weeks for local operators and drivers of tricycles and jeepneys as well as other local stakeholders. “Tourism promotion should not only be our concern but it should involve all sectors,” she said. The tourism orientation seminar series was launched by the city government as part of the 10th Yaman GenSan or Business Month celebration, which formally opened on Wednesday. Yaman GenSan, which stands for Yabong…

nounced the regional government was considering a general amnesty for all gun holders to have their firearms listed and registered. Sought for his opinion after the press conference, Robredo said the plan of the ARMM to conduct a general gun amnesty should be coordinated with the Philippine National Police. He expressed reservation at such plan because “the usual practice is for these people to surrender only their old firearms, not the new ones. I think the ARMM should need more time to assess this move,” he said. [MINDANEWS]

No voter registration extension in ARMM

EGISTER on July 9 to 18 or you lose your right to vote. This was the message of Local Governments Secretary Jesse Robredo to officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) on the last day of a two-day conference here Wednesday. “The voter has to adjust to the process. If you do not want to adjust, don’t register,” Robredo told regional officials, provincial governors and mayors from the ARMM’s 116 towns and two cities gathered for the ARMM LGU Convention on Local Governance. It was the first time regional, provincial and local officials of the 22-year old ARMM, the region that has earned a reputation for being the country’s “cheating capital,” gathered for a convention.

Requests for extension of the registration beyond the ten-day period were proposed during the open forum, but Robredo repeatedly said the voter must adjust to the process. Maliliit na Negosyo sa GenSan, was launched in 2003 as homage to the thriving local micro, small and medium enterprises or MSMEs, which constitute 99 percent of the city’s businesses. The month-long celebration, which is held every third week of June until the third week of July, was aimed to spur economic activities during the period, which is considered as “lean months” business-wise. The activities include trade fairs, skills/techno trainings and seminars as well as business and investment conferences and forums. [ALLEN V. ESTABILLO / MINDANEWS]

SPORTS

VOL.5 ISSUE 79 • JUNE 22 - 23, 2012

Shining like a Gem

Diamante scores 2 goals in win over Malaysia

By Neil Bravo

HAT the senior Azkals could not do, this bunch of kids can. The Philippines Little Azkals Under-14 side dominated their Malaysian counterparts on Wednesday to score its second win in the Japan-East Asean Football Exchange Programme U-14 Youth Football Festival at the JGreen Sakai football complex in Osaka, Japan. A 2-1 win against the Malaysians put the Little Azkals back on track in the tournament after they suffered 0-2 setback to Indonesia earlier in the day. The now tote a 2-1 win-loss record after they got off to an auspicious debut on Tuesday where they blanked Brunei 3-0. Darius Joseph “Jed” Diamante, the Little Azkals’ team captain from Davao, scored all of the Little Azkals two goals inside the first 13 minutes of the match played over two 25-minute halves. Barely heating up, Diamante drew first blood in the 8th minute when he conspired with teammates Ray Sanciangco and fellow Davao mainstay Javi RomeroSalas. The troika executed their vaunted combination play perfected from their recent training in Sicily, Italy and their recent stint in the Asian Football Federation U-14 Football Festival in Kota Kinabalu. Diamante cut through his attack, took a nifty penetration pass from RomeroSalas before outsmarting the Malaysian keeper with an overhead lob on a 1v1 play. Riding on that early momentum, the Little Azkals reprised the same play five minutes later with Diamante con-

spiring with Majordean Ebarle and Marco Casambre who sent a long pass to the streaking Diamante for another 1v1 play inside the box. The Malaysians could not find the net despite several attempts in the face of an inspired Philippine defense. It was only in the final minute that the Little Azkals yielded a goal to the Malaysian side for the final scoreline. The Philippines-Malaysia encounter in the Under-14 division came after the two countries’ senior teams played to a scoreless draw in an international friendly in Shah Alam Stadium in Kuala Lumpur last June 1. The two nations also battled to a 1-all draw in Manila in February. The Malaysia Tigers are the reigning Suzuki Cup champions.

LITTLE AZKALS GEM. (top photo) Jed Diamante shows his fine form in the match against Malaysia at the JGreen Sakai football complex in Osaka, Japan. The Little Azkals team captain scored two goals against Malaysia.

Destined to be King

ROM where I sit, Lebron James is just a heartbeat away from his coronation. James is down to the last 48 minutes of his quest for his first NBA title and he hopes it will come the first chance that he gets. Those three chances begin with today’s Game 5. Playing one more time at home, James should not let this slip away. Otherwise, he will have to arrange for his coronation in enemy territory in Oklahoma. James would prefer to set his annointment to the throne today in Miami. South Beach must have laid the trappings now of his coronation two years after he left Cleveland in a decision many thought would be a curse. But James had lived by all the hate. He worked his way back to some degree of respect, starting with his explosion at Boston in Game 6 to forge a Game 7 just when he was 48 minutes away from another devastating season. From a distance, Cleveland and the entire state of Ohio will be watching their once beloved son as he chase his kingly crown this morning in Miami. It must have pained them so much to see him go two years ago, but now that their lost son is in the verge of his arrival at the Asgard of hoops, Ohio must be keeping a burning inner pride for a boy who is destined to be King. They would have wished to be around to offer him the regalia that go with royalty. Yes, King James will be crowned King. Whether it comes today or in the next two games of the Finals, there is no stopping his enthronement. Legend has it that the royalty is sought. It finds the next King, not the next King finding the royalty. The Kingdom seeks the ruler. Not the ruler seeking the Kingdom. In the case of Lebron James, he sought the throne from Cleveland to Miami. He was tested to the hilt. Twice before, he was in the same situation, breathing closer to his dream royalty. Twice over, he was denied.

(Lower photo) Diamante celebrates with teammates Marco Casambre and Javi Romero-Salas. (Below) Diamante grimaces in pain after colliding with the Malaysian keeper.

WBO rules: Manny won by unanimous decision

HE World Boxing Organization (WBO) favored Filipino Manny Pacquiao as the clear winner in his highly-disputed welterweight championship fight with American Tim Bradley two weeks ago at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Based on the scorecards of the five international judges commissioned by the boxing body as panel members tasked to review and tally the scores based on the video of the June 9 title bout, all of them had the 33-yearold Pacquiao winning the match – with four of the judges scoring it in convincing fashion. WBO president Francisco `Paco’ Valcarcel didn’t

But Bradley will keep title

divulge the name of the judges, but disclosed that the five-member panel had it for the Pacman by scores of 117-111-, 117-111, 118110, 116-112, and 115-113. Pacquiao the least surprised by the review, saying: “Alam naman natin sa puso natin kung sino talaga ang nanalo.” The outcome was in stark contrast to the official scorecards which had the 28-year old Bradley winning by a stunning split decision. Judges Duane Ford and CJ Ross scored it both 115-113, while Jerry Roth saw it for the Filipino southpaw, 115113. For his part, Valcarcel admitted he also had the

sensational boxer from the Philippines winning, eight rounds to four. But the WBO president made it clear the boxing body doesn’t have the power to overturn decisions in title fights. Instead the most it can do, according to Valcarcel, is `to authorize a rematch.’ Valcarcel had to convene the WBO `championship committee’ comprised of five international judges in `accordance with the rules of procedure’ by the ring body following the public outcry about the outcome of the title encounter, which majority believed Pacquiao won convincingly. A rematch clause has been enclosed in the fight

contract. Pacquiao initially appeared interested in invoking his right to accept it, but of late, has been exploring other possible options, including a fourth fight with Mexican rival Juan Manuel Marquez. In light of this development, Valcarcel said he will be leaving the decisionmaking to Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum and Bradley’s manager Cameron Dunkin. “Cameron Dunkin and Top Rank, they have all received the information,” Valcarcel said. “Since they all work with the same promoter, they are working on that and we will leave that to them.” (spin.ph)

EDGEDAVAO

GTE GOLF. Boy Tan studies his putt during the recent GTE Memorial Golf Tournament at the Apo Golf and Country Club. (Boy Lim)

San Antonio first denied him brutally in four straight games. Then came last year’s debacle in Dallas. James sought his benediction, he was blasted twice in blasphemous proportions. Then James thought, he can only be King with an army of power. He sought for the army of strength, even if it cost him his people’s respect and love, and branded him as a traitor. And now, he is close to his enthronement where crowning ceremonies are treated either as religious or political rituals. In the eyes of the world, Kings are ordained by God. They are not merely historical symbols but also figureheads of power. This is what James had always in mind. Why is James’ enthronement so hyped about? Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant—they all amassed championship rings enough to build a dynasty. Here is a man who was touted to be King the moment he stepped on the NBA floor. He went through two teams, three finals, and a decision that changed how the world looked at him. He was pictured as a selfish knight who deserted his army to ensure a personal victory. Does the world still look at James as an icon of treason? Or have they forgiven his ambitious passion for a Kingly throne? James will know today. Even among Kings, respect is won, not in the triumph of battles, but in dignified humility beyond the damages of desertion. Destiny awaits James.

INdulge!

VOL.5 ISSUE 79 • JUNE 22 - 23, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

ARTS & CULTURE

Jad Montenegro

The Indie Muse: Jad Montenegro and her band

Jad Montenegro launches her first EP album

RIGHT away, you can tell that Jad Montenegro is one of a kind.

It’s not just because of the shock of red hair, which could also be blue or green or purple or a curious palette of all of the above, depending on her mood. It’s not just because of the tulle skirts, chunky boots, and other ragtag elements that make up her personal style, prompting less liberal eyes to do a double-take. It’s the image that arrests you when you happen to catch her at the music bars where she can be found playing on weekend nights: the delicate, pale-skinned,

Khuko Luzada on guitar

wide-eyed pixie with the jarring hair and grunge-meets-RainbowBrite getup, hefting a guitar that looks enormous when strapped over her small frame, singing in a soft, childlike voice that’s no less commanding in its frailty. See, Jad is a musician. An indie musician. An indie musician in a place that offers a dearth of opportunities for people like her to advance their craft, never mind the shortage of audiences for the kind of music she creates. But does that bother her? “I’m perfectly fine with it,” Jad declares. As someone who once moon-

lighted as a pop-punk guitarist while a student in Quezon City, the move back to Davao is one Jad does not regret. “I spent college in Quezon City, going to a lot of gigs. Honestly, it’s a little bit of a rat race out there. Not that I’m saying I don’t feel up to the challenge, but I was truly able to listen to myself out here, in this quiet city called Davao.” With the help of bassist Pjoe Sabanpan, drummer Dave Ibao, and lead guitarist Khuko Luzada, Jad writes her songs, performs at gigs, and releases her material out into the online ether, a move that has lured a listenership well beyond her geographic location. In addition to getting airplay in local radio stations, she nabbed awards from Mindanao cable TV show Muzika Del Sur, which gave her the Best Pop Artist plum in 2009 and the Best Music Video honor for her single “The Backyard” in 2010. Recently, her folk-flavored acoustic croonings have reached discerning ears all the way across the country, landing her a space in Manila-based websites. Now, Jad and her bandmates are a day away from launching their self-produced first EP Fixed Points and Pendulums—all on their own initiative, ingenuity, and unbridled talent. I am one of those who have witnessed this delicate, paleskinned, wide-eyed pixie perform her gentle guitar rhythms in music bars on weekend nights. Wildly colored hair and grungemeets-Rainbow-Brite fashion aside, the experience has always

Dave Ibao on percussions

Pjoe Sabanpan on bass

been one that inspires hushed awe and admiration. But don’t just take my word for it. On Saturday, June 23 at 9PM, head to the third floor of Southspot Studios at 59-B Aala Bldg, Anda St. and see this Davaoena singer-songwriter play a strippeddown set of her originals in the first leg of the Fixed Points and Pendulums launch. Azimuth,

Anne & the 05s, and Foursided Circle will also be playing intimate acoustic sets. A door charge of P150 gets you in, and it comes with a CD copy of the six-song EP plus a free drink. For more information, visit jadmontenegro.com and facebook. com/jadmontenegro. For inquiries, email jad_montenegro@yahoo.com.

EDGEDAVAO

A2 INdulge!

VOL.5 ISSUE 79 • JUNE 22 - 23, 2012

TRAVEL ENTERTAINMENT

Apple of my eye

The Apple Store from the outside.

love Hong Kong, for its food, for its vibe, for its shopping, and also for its stunning architecture. Where else in the world can you find two of the world’s tallest skyscrapers, namely Two International Financial Centre (IFC) and International Commerce Centre (ICC), facing off against each other across a picturesque harbor? Of course beautiful design is not limited to just ultra tall buildings, as every nook and cranny of Hong Kong has a design gem worthy to be discovered.

Enter the Apple Store Hong Kong. Located at the IFC Mall, this gem of a store is one of the biggest Apple stores in Asia and occupies one wing of the mall. Visible from the Star Ferry walkway, the store is like a shining beacon for everything Apple. Of course being an Apple fanatic, I just HAD to take a peek and to also get the battery of my MacBook Pro replaced while I was at it. On arrival, I immediately loved the modern minimalist interiors that were airy and at the same time cozy in a utilitarian fashion. The store was a beehive of activity with people checking out the latest gadgets being offered by Apple with Apple geniuses on stand-by to answer each and every question. Everything was designed to be efficient and clean, no clutter here. The centerpiece of the store is Apple’s trademark glass staircase in the

The Apple Store was a beehive of activity with Apple Geniuses attentive to your every need.

Goofing around on the glass staircase.

The Apple Store’s beautiful glass staircase.

middle of the store which was a sight to behold that connects the lower sales floor to the upper service floor. The Apple geniuses were fast and efficient in dealing with my issue and I was immediately given an appointment to have my MBP diagnosed. After just a couple of

minutes, it was confirmed that my battery needed to be replaced. I was at first hesitant since normally in the Philippines, it would take at least a month to get your MBP’s battery replaced. Imagine spending a month away not being able to work? Good thing they had the

right batteries in stock and in just a couple of hours, I have my MBP back quick, efficient and pain-free. I guess everything in Hong Kong is designed to be quick and efficient, but at least for now, I believe I’d like to spend a little more time spending time hanging out and enjoy-

VOL.5 ISSUE 79 • JUNE 22 - 23, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

INdulge! A3

ENTERTAINMENT

5 things about Twilight’s epic end TWI-HARDS, Krisbians and Robsten lovers unite—it’s finally here.

Obviously, the “It” we’re referring is the brand-new Breaking Dawn Part 2 trailer, which hit the web this morning on none other than Mr. Edward Cullen’s 111th birthday (damn, he looks good for his age!). But unlike the sexually charged Part 1, this trailer packs a whole lotta action, ridiculous amounts of red eyes and, of course, some epic shots of the Twilight trifecta—Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart. So, since a minute or so of Twilight goodness is far too little for today’s birthday celebration, we present you with five fabulous moments from the brandnew Part 2 trailer! 1. Robsten Is Oh-So-InLove: Forget the highly anticipated and super-lame sex scene in the first flick! We’re past the big bang in Part 2 as Bella and Edward are busy being the cutest

vampy fam ever and raising their sweet little girl. “I was born to be a vampire,” Kristen waxes in the opening of the trailer. Can’t argue with that! And, dare we say, we love Robsten even more in their fullblown-fanged-out-coldblooded form. 2. Vamps and Were-

wolves Unite!: “That’s a lot of red eyes,” Jacob quips as a roomful of vamps stare down the dude. But really, what would the last Twi-flick be without the bulging biceps and oneliners of Mr. Taylor Lautner?! Seriously, the T.Laut ‘tude is back in full force in the Part 2 trailer as he

Prince William is now 30!

How much is he inheriting from Pricess Diana?

HAPPY birthday indeed, Prince William.

Queen Elizabeth II’s grandson turned 30 Thursday and—while the royal wasn’t exactly hurting for pocket pence—will have access to the sizable inheritance left him by his mum, Princess Diana, who died in a car crash in 1997. While that isn’t exactly a cause for celebration, considering the reason the money is there in the first place, we imagine that Will, with the help of wife Kate Middleton, will put the pounds to good use rather than just blow the wad on polo ponies or some such trifle. So just how much money is in the young royal’s coffer now? According to London’s Telegraph newspaper, Diana left an estate estimated at close to 13 million pounds—which, at the current exchange rate, equals about $20.4 million—for her two sons. An inheritance tax of $13.4 million was deducted, but through careful management and investment the account should have beefed back up to around $20 million, and William gets half.

“Whatever the financial position might be, you will see no obvious change of lifestyle over the coming weeks or months,” a royal aide told the paper. When Diana drew up her will and created a trust for Will and Prince Harry, 27, they were originally able to access the money when they each turned 25, but the executors of her estate changed it to 30 following her death. The brothers have been receiving interest from the principal sum since they each were 25, per the Telegraph.

So, now that we know Will isn’t throwing himself a $10 million birthday bash, how is the Royal Air Force captain going to celebrate? “William is going to be spending the day working,” a royal source tells E! News. “He will be in Gloucestershire to complete a search and rescue course. But he will be marking [his birthday]. He’s going to be having a private celebration with friends and family. “Very low-key,” the source added. “A simple celebration.”

joins forces with the vampires to protect Bella and her babe. But that’s not all (spoiler alert!) he’ll also fall even more in love with Renesmee (remember, he imprinted in the first flick)! Creepy, but cute, right? 3. K.Stew Is One Protective Mama Bear: “I’ll never let anyone hurt you,” Bella

says as she kisses her daughter’s forehead. Talk about maternal instincts! Kris transforms into one of the most adorable mama’s we’ve ever seen and she’s determined to protect little Renesmee— who the Volturi believe is an immortal child. Aww. How sweet is Mama

Stew?! 4. The Volturi Are Coming: Let the action-packed vampy goodness begin! The Volturi are after the Cullen family because they believe Renesmee is an immortal child. We know—as Bella says— ”she was born not bitten” but the Volturi believe the Cullens have broken the all-holy vampire laws. And from the looks of those creepy black cloaks, things are about to get a bit scary on the big-screen as the Volturi prepare to attack. We. Can’t. Wait. 5. The Gang’s Ready to Fight to the Death: Now, before revealing too much, we will ‘fess that the ending’s not quite as climatic as it may appear. But regardless, Bella, Edward, Jacob, the Cullens, the werewolves and a slew of other characters are all ready to fight against the Volturi in order to protect Renesmee. As for the rest? Well, you’ll have to wait until Nov. 16 to see how it all plays out.

A4 INdulge! UP & ABOUT ENTERTAINMENT

EDGEDAVAO

VOL.5 ISSUE 79 â&#x20AC;˘ JUNE 22 - 23, 2012

Get your pampering treats at Abreeza Mall PAMPER yourself after you shop at Abreeza Mall. From June 20 to 22 and on June 25 to 28, get your PAMPERING TREATS at the Abreeza Activity Center. For every minimum purchase of 500 pesos or a minimum purchase of 1,000 pesos from Robinsons Supermarket, you get a discount stub from the Concierge that entitles you to 50% off on a variety of spa services like manicure, pedicure, foot spa, haircut, and threading. Plus you get to enjoy free back massage and hair styling. Be pampered by Abreeza Mallâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s health and wellness shops such as Posh Nails, Salon de Rose, Bioessence and Hairzone. You can also shop for your pampering must-haves and avail of free services from Watsons, Robinsons and Shiseido. For further inquiries, visit the Concierge or check out www.facebook.com/AbreezaMall for more updates on mall store sales and events.

EDGEDAVAO

SPORTS

VOL.5 ISSUE 79 • JUNE 22 - 23, 2012

‘’We didn’t get here just to make it here and say we did.”

Kevin Durant

EDGE SCOREBORD

“ I have a job to do, and my job is not done.”

48 minutes to wait Lebron James

IAMI -- LeBron James has never been here before. Forty eight minutes could be the longest 48 minutes of his life. He’s been in nearly every imaginable situation everything over his nine seasons marked by three MVP awards, three trips to the NBA Finals with two teams and one decision that changed everything. And now this: For the first time, he’s one win from a championship. ‘’I have a job to do,’’ James said Wednesday. ‘’And my job is not done.’’ The job might get done

Thursday night (Friday in Manila), when the Miami Heat - up 3-1 in this title series - host the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 of the finals. Even after leaving Game 4 late with a cramp, James is on the cusp of finally becoming a champ. He was swept in his first finals trip in 2007, then he and the Heat fell in the 2011 title series in six games. After countless ups and downs, the 804th game of his career may be the one that ends his title quest. ‘’I have no idea what I’ll say before we go out there,’’ said James, who

got treatment against Wednesday but said soreness that followed the cramps in his left leg was easing. ‘’It kind of just comes to me when I’m getting ready to go out there and stand on the floor. But hopefully whatever I say will inspire our guys to go out and give a good show.’’ James joined the Heat in 2010 after Miami convinced him that he would have enough help to win a championship - more specifically, that he wouldn’t have to carry the load by himself, like he did so many times in Cleveland over his first seven sea-

‘’This team, I think we understand that the moment is the biggest thing.’’ – Dwyane Wade

sons. The Heat were keeping Dwyane Wade, adding Chris Bosh and filling out the roster with a mix that would be best described as unconventional. If that axiom - more options are better - actually needed to be proven, it was done in Game 4. James could not finish the game, though he returned after the first wave of cramps hit and delivered a key 3-pointer. With James watching the final minute, Wade and Mario Chalmers helped close out the Thunder, Miami winning 104-98 to move one win away from the franchise’s second cham-

pionship. The Thunder expect the same from themselves. At least, they hope that’s the case. No team in finals history has successfully rallied from a 3-1 series deficit, or even forced as much as a Game 7 when presented with that scenario since the league went to its current 2-3-2 finals format in 1985. But Oklahoma City’s losses in this series - in each of the last three games - have come by four, six and six points, respectively. A play here, a bounce there, this series might look a whole lot different.

And that’s why the Western Conference champions are conceding nothing. Russell Westbrook scored 43 points for the Thunder in Game 4 - and they were for naught. It was the second time in these playoffs that someone had scored at least that many against the Heat. And like Boston’s Rajon Rondo, who dropped 44 on Miami in the Eastern Conference finals, Westbrook walked off the court with a loss. It might take more than leg cramps to keep James off the court for too long in Game 5.

“I just don’t understand why we start out the first quarter the way we did, with the lineup that we had, and all of a sudden we change and adjust to what they had going on.” – Kendrick Perkins

SPORTS

VOL.5 ISSUE 79 • JUNE 22 - 23, 2012

EDGEDAVAO

Ready for coronation F

ROM the looks of it, Miami is set to finish the job at home today. Now Oklahoma City needs to break away from the usual to stop the bleeding. Game Five of the NBA Finals is set this morning, Manila time, at the American Airlines Arena with the Heat looking to take the one more win needed to finally nail down their second NBA title and end the long overdue coronation of Lebron James. At the other end of the court is a young bunch of Thunder hoping to extend the series and bring it back to Oklahoma City. Lead management is a big issue Scott Brooks will be looking to address after twice squandering twin-digit advantages and eventually the games. Another key for the Thunder should be James Harden or any other Thunder who would be willing and able to step up because on the other side, there’s always someone in Miami who shows up to take that spot as the third man in the Big Three. It was Mario Chalmers who came up big in Game Four, matching Dwyane Wade’s 25 points and hitting 12 in the fourth quarter en route to a 104-98 victory that gave them a 3-1 lead in the title series. LeBron James was the leader with 26 points including a clutch triple fired on an aching left leg. Kevin Durant was active as

usual, and Russell Westbrook was explosive as usual. But again, the Harden that shone in Oklahoma was a noshow in Miami—making five points on two-for-10 shooting. Westbrook had a monster game with 43 points and Durant came up with 28, but unless somebody helps, King James will have his coronation on Friday. Miami’s Big Three experiment fell short of expectations when it bowed to the Dallas Mavericks last year but with Shane Battier and Chalmers making significant contributions to the Wade-James duo this part of the season, the Heat look all set to win their second title after the Shaquille O’Neal-Wade powered team went all the way to the top in 2006. Battier was the other star in a losing effort in Game One, had good numbers in the next two games and is expected to deliver when needed in Game Five, while Chris Bosh could also reprise his role as third man in the Heat’s threepronged attack. James has so far scored 117 points and Wade 93 in the series, with a balanced backup crew of Bosh (49), Battier (47) and Chalmers (42). Durant and Westbrook carry the scoring load for Oklahoma City with 121 and 116, respectively, followed by Harden (43) and Serge Ibaka (26).