Edge Davao 6 Issue 99

P 15.00 • 20 PAGES

EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 6 ISSUE 99 • THURSDAY, AUGUST 01, 2013

www.edgedavao.net

Serving a seamless society

READY FOR FLIGHT. One of the choppers of Vibrant Earth Movers, Inc. undergoes routine inspection and maintenance yesterday at the old Davao International Airport in Sasa, Davao City.

Lean Daval Jr.

Zarate: Probe Sid AT A GLANCE:

• House Minority bloc to file resolution on Monday to probe congressmen, senators, Malacañang • Rep. Zarate says “it’s nothing personal” • Scrapping of pork pushed

By NEILWIN JOSEPH L. BRAVO

B

njb@edgedavao.net

AYAN Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani “Kaloi” Zarate yesterday said the reported involvement of Davao City 3rd district Rep. Isidro Ungab to the pork barrel scam is “particularly upsetting” and not even the latter’s denial should exonerate his fellow Dabawenyo legislator.

In the midst of the latest controversy which has rocked the administration’s political party, Zarate told Edge Davao in a telephone interview late last night that a wide-ranging investigation into the pork-barrel scam is now becoming more pressing.

Zarate said the minority bloc of

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte arrives at Camp Panacan after facilitating the release of five soldiers abducted by rebels in Paquibato District on June 17. Lean Daval, Jr.

Congress will formally file a resolution on Monday calling for a House investigation on the alleged pork barrel scam.

“We met today and we have agreed to formally file the resolution which we believe is the rightful thing

FZARATE,10

INSIDE: Rebs release 5 soldiers Woman gives birth in LRT station RMH Cup begins Sunday

2 4 14

2 THE BIG NEWS EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 6 ISSUE 99 • THURSDAY, AUGUST 01, 2013

PPCRV urges Comelec to extend voter’s registration

A

N election watchdog urged the Commission on Elections Wednesday to extend the 10-day voter’s registration for the forthcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls.

In an interview, Henrietta de Villa, Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting national chairperson, said they are asking the poll body to extend the registration since there are still number of qualified voters that have yet to register because of the long queue outside the Offices of Election Officers.

“Maybe there is a need to extend it because a lot of people are calling me about it, but I don’t know about the preparedness of the Comelec,” she said.

The PPCRV head said she received numerous text messages reporting that there are many people have yet to register due to long lines outside

the EOs offices.

“A lot of people texted me regarding the long lines because they said the Comelec can only accommodate up to 500 people per day so a lot of people really have yet to register,” De Villa said.

Meanwhile, she revealed that she received a report that people failed to register because a certain group is being prioritized in the giving of number such as in Caloocan.

However, De Villa said that she already informed the Comelec’s Election and Barangay Affairs Department about the report.

Likewise, she said that there are also reports of people being used to line up early to fill up the allotted slots so as to discourage other applicants from registering.

The last day of the 10 day registration period for the Barangay and SK polls is July 31. [PNA]

THEY’RE YOURS. Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte turns over abducted soldiers to their superiors led by BGen. Ariel Bernardo (left), commanding general of the 10th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army, following their release

Rebs release 5 soldiers

By EJ DOMINIC FERNANDEZ ejf@edgedavao.net

T

HE five soldiers abducted by the New People’s Army (NPA) last June 17 in Paquibato were finally released to Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte yesterday.

The soldiers—Cpl. Emmanuel Quezon, Pfc. Ronald Gura, Pfc. Bernie Padilla, Pfc. Donato Estandia and Pvt. Marteniano Pasiagas Jr.--- were released by the NPA in Bangkaan,

Paquibato district and immediately flown aboard two helicopters to the Philippine National Police (PNP) regional command at Camp Panacan accompanied by Mayor Duterte The mayor said, “I am glad that the NPA strictly followed the protocol by adhering to the Geneva Convention and not harming the soldiers. All’s well that ends well.”

The mayor himself worked for the release 10th Infantry Division commander Major General Ariel Bernardo said the soldiers would undergo a medical check-up in Camp Panacan, after which they will be reunited with their families.

He added that the soldiers would return to duty as soon as they are declared physically, mentally and emotionally ready, adding

that charges would be filed against the abductors and those who aided the rebels, since forcible detention is a crime punishable in our Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL).

The five soldiers were abducted at gunpoint last June 17 in Sitio Lubas, Brgy. Paquibato Proper.

by the New People’s Army (NPA) yesterday at Camp Panacan in Davao City.

Lean Daval Jr.

City’s top hazards: Floods, landslides, storm surge

By GREGORIO G. DELIGERO

B

greg@edgedavao.net

ROCHURES and fliers hype about Davao City’s being outside the typhoon belt, with its chain of mountains protecting it from strong winds, certainly among the “good reasons” for investors to pour in capital and tourists to come and savor the warmth of its hospitality and enjoy its many natural attractions.

True, the city itself may be typhoon-free, but in recent years there have been calamities occurring

when least expected.

According to the Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessment Report on Davao City, an ongoing joint climate change adaptation program by the city government, UN-Habitat and World Food Program, the city’s top environmental hazards “that may intensify in the coming years” are floods, landslides, storm surges and sea level rise.

The report says vulnerable to flooding, sea level rise and storm surges are the

FFLOODS, 10

Capalla lauds Pope’s remark on gays

P

APPREHENDED. A Land Transportation Office (LTO) enforcer issues a temporary operator’s permit (TOP) to a hauler truck driver after he was appre-

hended for illegal parking along the old Airport Road in Sasa, Davao City yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

OPE Francis’ statement on the gay community was full of “compassion and prudence,” according to former-Davao Archbishop Fernando Capalla.

Pope Francis, before leaving Brazil last Sunday, told reporters, ““If gay persons seek God and have goodwill, who am I to judge them?”

Capalla told this reporter yesterday that the statement was “full of wisdom and knowledge of human nature, compassion and prudence.”

He said, the Pope’s statement, in original Portuguese as spoken in Brazil, reflects a Christ-like

humility which means, “do not judge, so that you will not be judged.”

Capalla said the Pope is befitting the person inspired by St Francis of Assisi, who was a friend of every being, including animals, birds, the sun and the moon.

The Pope’s statement was in response to a question on whether there is “gay lobby” in the Vatican.

The Pope came from a week-long tour of Brazil where three million people gathered on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach in celebration of the world Catholic Youth Festival. EJF

3 SUBURBIA

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 6 ISSUE 99 • THURSDAY, AUGUST 01, 2013

Digos City

MOA for P3.5-M clonal nursery inked

T

O effectively implement the government’s National Greening Program (NGP), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Southern Philippines Agribusiness and Marine and Aquatic School of Technology (SPAMAST) for the establishment of a P3.5 million-worth of clonal nursery complex and related facilities within the area of SPAMAST located in Matti, Digos City.

The signing of the MOA was held at DENR Central Office in Quezon City.

DENR Secretary Ramon J. P. Paje signed the agreement together with SPAMAST President Irvin C. Generalao.

Aside from the financial support for the construction of the nursery complex, DENR will also provide technical guidance in the selection of species to be planted, species-matching for planting sites and propagation of selected species as well as be responsible for the

KORONADAL CITY

preparation of selected sites for planting in the locality.

DENR will also give updates on reforestation techniques and methodologies based on existing DENR research outputs, experiences and policies.

On the other hand, SPAMAST shall oversee the establishment, maintenance and operation of the clonal nursery complex and be responsible for the production of quality planting materials for NGP-related activities.

The school also have a project management office and assign some staff to manage and coordinate with the DENR in the implementation of the project.

Using its network, SPAMAST shall assist in the distribution and outplanting of seedlings raised in the nursery complex.

NGP is one of the government’s priority programs spelled out under Executive Order No. 26 signed by President Benigno S. Aquino III on February 24, 2011. It is

The on-going construction of DENR-funded clonal nursery complex inside SPAMAST. geared to attain food security, poverty reduction, biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation and adaptation

and sustainable development. It aims to plant 1.5 billion trees covering about 1.5 million hectares of the country’s public do-

mains such as forestlands, mangrove and protected areas, among others, for a period of six years from 2011 to 2016.

TAGUM CITY

In 2013, Region 11 has the target to plant 8,407,012 seedlings covering a total of 16,800 hectares. [DENR 11]

P10M worth of crops, infra lost in floods, slides DN LGUs urged to invest in climate change adaptation A A N estimated P10-million worth of agricultural crops and infrastructure were damaged as a result of the recent flashfloods and landslides that ravaged eight barangays in Koronadal City.

Cyrus Urbano, Koronadal City administrator, said Wednesday such figure was based on the initial damage assessment reports submitted to the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) by the

MATI CITY

city engineering and agriculture offices.

He said the damage to infrastructure has reached nearly P7 million while those on agricultural crops was listed at around P3.1 million.

“This assessment does not include the damage to properties of the affected households,” said Urbano, who heads the CDRRMO. The CDRRM Council headed by Koronadal City Mayor Peter Miguel passed a resolution last Monday declaring the en-

tire city under a state of calamity due to the effects of the floods and landslides.

A CDRRMO report showed that the floods and landslides affected portions of barangays Assumption, Mambucal, Sta. Cruz, San Isidro, Carpenter Hill, Namnama, Concepcion and Zone 3 in Poblacion.

Urbano said their assessment is still ongoing for the damages wrought by the calamities at the household level, especially those affected by the floods in barangays

Zone 3, San Isidro and Assumption.

Portions of the three villages were submerged in waist-deep floodwaters following hours of continuous rains last Friday that caused the critical Bulok Creek and several waterways to overflow.

The almost nonstop rains were spawned by a passing Low Pressure Area that was embedded in a prevailing Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) affecting Mindanao. [Allen V. Estabillo / MindaNews]

701st Brigade has new commanding officer

C

OL. Benjamin Madrigal assumed the duties and responsibilities as commanding officer of the 701st Infantry (Kagitingan) Brigade from its outgoing commander Brigadier General Rey Leonardo Guerrero during the change of command turn over rites at the 701st IB Headquarters in Sitio Magay, Barangay Don Martin Marundan in the City of Mati last Monday.

The ceremony was presided over by Briga-

dier General Hernando Iriberri, who himself was recently installed as new chief of the Army’s 7th Infantry Division.

Iriberri spoke highly of the job Guerrero has done over the past year as an accomplished military officer during his stint as commander and for the impact of his outstanding services.

Included in the long roster of Guerrero’s accomplishments is the massive clearing opera-

tion through the conduct of the Peace and Development Outreach Program (PDOP) activities, which led to the dismantling and surrender of more than 3,000 members of underground organization and submission of almost 200 members of the rebels groups. Guerrero also led the efficient response to typhoon Pablo through disaster rescue and relief operations, provided support to the local government programs, engaged

in protection of environment, among many others.

“I leave contented with the thought that I had contributed my modest share to the improvement of peace and security condition in the area of my responsibility and thankful for partners who helped in the accomplishment of my mission,” Guerrero said who came to the province more than a year ago as a Colonel and now leaves as a General. [PR]

N officer of the Climate Change Commission urged the local government chief executives to include climate change and seawater level-rise vulnerability to their development plans.

Speaking during the Regional Summit for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council for Local Chief Executives in the Bulwagan Hall at the provincial capitol of Davao del Norte yesterday, Mario Rangasa, community adaptation officer of the Climate Change Commission said seawater level rise is real and poses a threat to the survival of many communities in the country.

Rangasa chairs the Local Climate Change Adaptation for Development, Inc. based in Legazpi City.

He said integration of disaster management and climate change adaptation to the development plan is important so that affected communities can cope and come up with adjustments to change of environment brought about by a natural catastrophe.

“The bottom line here is the safety of the residents in the community,” Rangasa said.

He also stressed that local government units must take the risk reduction management and adaptation to climate change as investment of scientific tools, human resources and equipment so that decision-making on mitigation, response and adaptation by the chief executives will be anchored on scientific data.

Rangasa said it is the moral responsibility of the local government units to invest on disaster risk and vulnerability reduction.

“Let’s also work closely with our disaster agencies like the Office of Civil Defense, Phivolcs and the PAGASA to give ample advisories on preparation, mitigation, response and adaptability measures to the people,” he said.

During the summit, he presented a projection of the impact of seawater-level rise from three to six meters to many urban areas of the country.

Governor Rodolfo del Rosario of Davao del Norte revealed that his administration has allotted enough budget for risk reduction. [PIA 11Joey Sem G. Dalumpines]

4

EDGEDAVAO

NATION/WORLD

VOL. 6 ISSUE 99 • THURSDAY, AUGUST 01, 2013

LAST DAY. Thousands of registrants waiting for their turn to register for the Barangay and SK elections on the last day of registration. Some are already sleeping on the streets, on Wednesday July 31,2013 at the COMELEC Dasmarinas, Cavite, City Hall. [PNA/Avito C. Dalan]

MANILA

UK gov’t warns citizens vs travel to parts of Mindanao T

HE United Kingdom issued an advisory against traveling to parts of Mindanao in the wake of the explosion in Cagayan de Oro City, and clashes between rebels and the army in Maguindanao.

“The Foreign and Commonwealth Office

MANILA

(FCO) advise against all travel to south-west Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago because of on-going terrorist activity and clashes between the military and insurgent groups,” the travel advisory, issued Tuesday, July 30, read.

The area identified

by the UK FCO covers the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), Soccsksargen, the provinces of Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga del Sur and Lanao del Norte, and the cities of Zamboanga and Isabela.

“The FCO advise against all but essential

travel to the remainder of Mindanao for the same reason,” it added.

A “high threat” from terrorism, including kidnapping, is also being cited by the advisory.

On Tuesday, members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom

Palace leaves decision on brgy elections to Comelec

M

ALACAÑANG is leaving all barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan election-related issues to the Commission on Elections.

Several groups have asked Pres. Aquino to convince the poll body to extend the voters registration which ends today but Presidential Spokesperson Edwin

MANILA

Lacierda said the Palace cannot dip its hands on election matters.

“They have their own rules and regulations. We leave it with them because it’s their primary jurisdiction.

Legally and theoretically, they know better how to do these things and we don’t wanna intrude,” Lacierda said at a media briefing.

The Comelec said they would no longer extend the 10-day registration for the synchronized barangay and sangguniang kabataan elections set in October.

Last minute registrants troop to various Comelec offices today to register either as first-time voters or transferees.

Meanwhile, Lacierda said Pres. Aquino had ordered Interior Sec. Mar Roxas to study a proposal to abolish the SK. Some lawmakers have proposed the abolition of the SK because it is apparently a breeding ground for corrupt practices among the youth.

[PNA]

Woman gives birth in LRT station A

25-year-old woman gave birth to a boy on Wednesday morning at the Blumentritt station in Manila of the Light Rail Transit Line 1.

LRT Authority spokesman Hernando Cabrera said Lea Lubiano, a resident of Gerona Street in Tondo, Manila, took the LRT Monumento-bound train with her husband com-

ing from EDSA station.

Cabrera said Lubiano suddenly felt labor pains as the train approached Blumentritt station at around 9:40 am.

“The mother was on her way out of the station and was at the train platform when she delivered her baby... It seems like the couple didn’t really anticipate that the

woman will deliver her baby today,” Cabrera said.

He said Lubiano was assisted by Red Cross volunteers identified as Michael San Luis and Solicitor Mercado.

Red Cross volunteers are deployed in every LRT station as part of an existing agreement between the two agencies.

Cabrera said that

even security guards assigned in LRT stations are trained to give first aid during medical emergencies.

He added that the LRTA has its own medical team aside from the volunteers.

Cabrera said the mother and her newborn were rushed to Tondo General Hospital for proper medical care.[PNA]

Fighters (BIFF) attacked army detachments in Maguindanao, forcing the closure of a national highway linking Cotabato and General Santos cities.

The clashes killed at least 8 rebels and wounded 5 others. Travel on the national high-

way returned to normal Tuesday afternoon.

On Friday, July 26, an explosion occurred in Cagayan de Oro, after a still-unidentified suspect left an improvised explosive device concealed in a black bag outside a bistro. Eight people died. [Rappler.com]

PNoy aware on events at BOC

A

Palace official on Wednesday said President Benigno Aquino III is very much aware of the events happening at the corruption-ridden Bureau of Customs.

At a media briefing, Presidential Spokesperon Edwin Lacierda said the President knows the “battlefield” - referring to the agency that got a lashing at the recent State of the Nation Address.

“There’s an intel for Customs... part of the process of instituting reforms is to know the battlefield and the lay of the land and what the reforms are would be in response to the lay of the land,” Lacierda said.

Since Aquino rebuked the agency last week for its inefficiency in battling smuggling, Palace officials remain tightlipped on the reform measures it would undertake in the bureau.

Lacierda was reacting to a statement made by administration senator Antonio Trillanes IV that Aquino knows who are the “padrinos” (godfather) linked to smuggling.

The official said he talked to Trillanes on Wednesday morning but did not discuss the senator’s claim.

“I spoke to Senator Trillanes and he was saying that he supports the president’s call for reforms and were just waiting what reforms will be.

We did not discuss the issue particularly on the who are the corrupt officials,” he said.

Several high-ranking officials of the BOC revealed of “powerful” forces within and outside the bureau but refused to name them.

Meanwhile, BOC Commissioner Rozzano Rufino Biazon started initiating reforms at the bureau by asking district collectors to leave their posts.

Again, Lacierda kept mum and did not provide a definite answer when asked if these were some of the reforms being laid out to weed out corruption in the bureau.

“If I answer you one way, there would be a lot of implications and unintended consequences. You will know, let’s wait for the reforms,” he said. [PNA]

THE ECONOMY 5

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 6 ISSUE 99 • THURSDAY, AUGUST 01, 2013

Financial access for entrepreneurs, farmers top agenda in MinBizCon W

ITH Mindanao now in the “radar of the government,” problems of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and farmers in accessing financing will be among the major issues up for discussion during the 22nd Mindanao Business Conference (MinBizCon) in Davao City, a business leader said.

John Gaisano Jr., MinBizCon conference director, said that access to financial institutions has cropped up as among the main concerns brought up in the series of consultations around the island a few months ago in preparation for this year’s MinBizCon. “The process of accessing loans with financial institutions will be addressed by the government to help MSMEs enhance their ventures,” he told MindaNews.

“Based on our consultations with local business leaders, they have a general perception that this government is now

giving Mindanao ‘no longer’ a third class treatment but a special one,” Gaisano added.

Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima will discuss “Reforms in the Financial Sector: Providing SMEs More Access to Financing,” organizers said.

The MinBizCon is slated on August 8 to 10 at the SMX Convention Center with the theme “Moving Towards ASEAN Business Integration.”

Purisima will speak afternoon of August 8.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala will follow him with the topic “Financing the Agricultural Sector.”

This year’s MinBizCon, which promises to be a “problem-solving” conference, is breaking traditions, according to the updated program released by organizers on Tuesday.

For one, President Benigno Simeon Aquino III is slated to appear on the opening day. In the past MinbizCons, the president would usually grace the event at the

last day of the conference to accept the submission of resolutions.

President Aquino was originally set to speak on August 10.

Also, the United States Agency for International Development, through its Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) program, is no longer part of

BUSINESS TALK. Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) vice president for Mindanao Ricky Juliano (right) and Davao City Chamber of Commerce president Daniel Lim bare that infrastructure development and power problem are the main issues which will be tackled in the upcoming

the event. The GEM program ended several months ago.

Since the MinBizCon started in 1992, GEM has been backing every annual

event until last year in partnership with the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

[Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews]

22nd Mindanao Business Conference (Minbizcon) slated on August 8-10, 2013 at SMX Convention Center during yesterday’s Club 888 media forum at the Marco Polo Davao. Lean Daval Jr.

6 THE ECONOMY Stat Watch 1. Gross National Income Growth Rate (At Constant 2000 Prices)

7.1 1st Qtr 2013

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

7.8 1st Qtr 2013

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

USD 3,741 million Feb 2013 USD 4,708 million Feb 2013 USD -967 million Feb 2013 USD -640 million Dec 2012 P 4,964,560 million Feb 2013

8. Interest Rates 4/

2.4 % Mar 2013 P113,609 million Mar 2013 P 5,281 billion Mar 2013

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

P 41.14 Apr 2013

12. Stocks Composite Index 6/

6,847.5 Mar 2013

13. Consumer Price Index 2006=100

132.8 Apr 2013

14. Headline Inflation Rate 2006=100

2.6 Apr 2013

15. Core Inflation Rate 2006=100

3.1 Apr 2013

16. Visitor Arrivals

418,108 Feb 2013

17. Underemployment Rate 7/

20.9% Jan 2013

18. Unemployment Rate 7/

7.1% Jan 2013

MONTHLY AVERAGE EXCHANGE RATE (January 2012-April 2013) Month Average December November October September August July June May April March February January

2013

2012

2011

40.67 40.73

42.23 41.01 41.12 41.45 41.75 42.04 41.91 42.78 42.85 42.70 42.86 42.66 43.62

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

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 Cebu Pacific Thu

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

VOL. 6 ISSUE 99 • THURSDAY, AUGUST 01, 2013

EDGEDAVAO

Biz groups plan trade mission to Indonesia for ro-ro project A

trade mission being organized by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and its affiliated chambers in the cities of Davao, General Santos and Sarangani are bound in October 2013 for Manado in North Sulawesi in Indonesia to expand the list of products to be shipped along the Celebes Sea corridor under the roll-on-rolloff (RO-RO) transport scheme.

This was announced by Miguel B. Varela, president of the PCCI, who said that small and medium entrepreneurs (SMEs) in both the Philippines and Indonesian sides have been positioning for the declaration by the Indonesia central government of Bitung town in Manado as an international port.

The Davao-General Santos-Bitung RO-RO is part of the ASEAN RO-RO transportation project initiated by the ASEAN Business Advisory Council-Philippines (Phil-BAC) and PCCI. It is formally carried out by the Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCCI) and the Bitung Chamber of Commerce through a Memorandum of Cooperation signed during the Davao investment forum in November last year.

The chambers, in cooperation with their respective governments, aim to increase bilateral trade and to support opera-

M

PCCI lauds mid-year economic performance

ANILA – The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry is satisfied with the economic performance of the Aquino administration during the first six months of the year.

PCCI President Miguel Varela said in an interview that President Benigno Aquino III is doing well in raising the Philippine economy.

“The leadership (of Aquino) has triggered so many positive developments,” Varela said, noting that Aquino’s “tuwid na daan” is not only resolving issues on bureaucracy but also prompting the private sector to cooperate with the government.

He said Aquino’s good governance encourages local businesses to be more optimistic in the country’s economy.

The President’s “tuwid na daan” also touched the foreign investors aside from local entrepreneurs, he added.

The PCCI head said the government’s public-private part-

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

tions of SMEs as the ASEAN economic integration scheme takes full effect in December 2015.

“The bilateral trade between Mindanao and Manado will grow faster when Bitung as an international port deletes certain products in its negative list,” Varela said. “These deleted products are then treated as ASEAN-originated products exempted from customs duties and subjected to zero-tariffs.”

Among these products are processed foods, garments and electronics items. In 2010, North Sulawesi’s exports to the Philippines was estimated at $ 6.84 million mainly of crude coco oil, copra, desiccated coconut, crude palm oil, coconut charcoal, and frozen fish. It bought $ 147.9 million-worth of Philippine goods such as capital goods, raw materials and consumption goods.

Official Indonesian government news stated that declaration of Bitung into an international port await the approval of the central Indonesian government.

Bitung is the location of the 512-hectare Tanjung Merah industrial center. When completed, the center would host commercial and industrial areas and support facilities such as an international port.

The local chambers of Davao City, General Santos City and Sa-

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 Manila-Davao-Manila

nership program elevates the country’s focus on better infrastructure.

He commended the PPP program as it helps a lot in the infrastructure sectors by generating more job to people in the said industry. ”Better infrastructure plays an important role in the productivity of a company,” he noted.

Varela also mentioned the government’s effort to allocate funds to help the private sector specifically the small business players in the country took part in the growing economy.

One of these programs is the shared service facility program of the Dept. of Trade and Industry in which the government is releasing fund of P700 million within a year to help the micro, small and medium enterprises in the country through upgrading their equipments for higher productivity and promote products’ competitiveness in both local and global market.

(PNA) as of May 2013

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

BY THE NUMBERS Within Davao C ity, there are

7,278

jeepneys and m ultic deployed along abs

131 routes.

SOURCE: LTFRB

rangani are now alerting their members about business opportunities to be created by faceto-face matchings in October in Bitung town and Manado city.

“There is nothing like exchanging first-hand information about rules of trading and verifying product costs with Indonesian customs, the counterpart chambers, and the prospective

trading partners,” Varela said.

“Business would be conducted with predictability and there would be little margin for error and miscommunication.”

Varela said that higher cargo volumes both ways would increase the benefits to be enjoyed by small and medium enterprises availing themselves of the Ro-Ro project. [PNA]

Bloomberry posts P23-M profit

E

NRIQUE Razon-led Bloomberry Resorts Corp.

(BLOOM) which owns Solaire Resort & Casino in Pagcor’s Entertainment City generated P3,598.9 million in revenues in the second quarter of 2013. The company also turned a net profit of P22.7 million during the quarter.

Gross gaming revenues during the quarter amounted to P3,893.3 million followed by non-gaming revenues coming from the hotel, food and beverage, retail and others totaling P267 million. Interest income contributed P14.9 million to revenues.

Stripping out promotional allowances of P576.4 million, gaming revenues accounted for 92 percent of total revenues while non-gaming revenues and interest income accounted for 7.4 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively, of the total.

After the opening of the property in March 2013, the Bloomberry Group focused its efforts in ramping up its gaming

Cebu Pacific Tue/Wed//Sat 5J965 / 5J968 13:35 Silk Air Mon/Sat MI588 / MI588 13:35 Silk Air Wed/Sun MI566 / MI566 15:20 Silk Air Thurs MI551 / MI551 12:05 Cebu Pacific Mon/Tue/Wed/Fri 5J507 / 5J598 15:00 Philippine Airlines August 15:55 Mani2Mani 16:50 Zest Air Daily Z2524 / Z2525 16:05

business by unveiling numerous programs, events, promotions and other strategic marketing activities. It was during the second quarter of 2013 when the Group signed up several junket operators, bringing in foreign VIP players.

BLOOM’s total expenses were P3,658 million during the second quarter with the bulk accounted for by operating expenses followed by cost of sales, interest expenses and financing charges and foreign exchange losses.

Enrique K. Razon Jr., BLOOM chairman and president, said: “It is gratifying to know that Solaire has begun to generate profit after only a few months. I am confident that this trend will continue. At the same time, there is no let-up in our ramp-up programs, many of which are already on stream.”

This strong ramp up in gaming operations was able to bring up the Group’s gross revenues by a significant 52 percent CMGR, from March 2013 to June 2013.

Manila-Davao-Manila Davao-Singapore Davao-Singapore Davao-Singapore Cebu-Davao-Cebu

14:05 18:55 18:55 15:45 15:30

Cebu-Davao-Cebu

16:45

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 6 ISSUE 99 • THURSDAY, AUGUST 01, 2013

SCIENCE/ENVIRONMENT

Illegal sale of mercury-laced cosmetics in Davao City bared S

KIN whitening cosmetics containing dangerous levels of mercury, a potent neurotoxin, are being sold in Davao City in brazen violation of the law.

The Interface Development Interventions (IDIS) and the EcoWaste Coalition, which are based in Davao and Quezon Cities, respectively, made the discovery after obtaining 7 skin lightening products with mercury up to 6,633 parts per million (ppm), way above the 1 ppm limit under the ASEAN Cosmetics Directive.

Ann Fuertes, IDIS Executive Director, deplored the sale of mercury-tainted cosmetics as “a direct affront to the right of consumers to non-hazardous

products,” stressing that “stopping such illegal trade will help in reducing the amount of mercury that gets into our bodies and the environment.”

“We therefore urge the local government and police authorities to get to the bottom of this wicked trade of poison cosmetics in the city and bring violators to justice,” she said.

Fuertes added that the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) should actively disseminate its recall advisories to inform and guide cosmetics vendors and consumers, as well as help law enforcers in performing their duties.

For her part, Aileen Lucero, EcoWaste Coalition National Coordinator,

prodded the public to be extra careful when buying cosmetics promising fairer skin complexion and reject unauthorized and insufficiently labeled ones, including those that do not truthfully disclose their chemical ingredients.

She pointed out that “brown is beautiful” and that the quickest way for consumers to avoid mercury exposure in cosmetics is for them “to be satisfied with their natural skin tone and not to use synthetic means to whiten the skin.”

The groups procured the 7 skin whitening cosmetics, costing P75 to P150 per product, from several shops located at Chinatown and other

places in test buys conducted on July 28-29 in Davao City.

In addition, the groups also obtained a number of cheap skin whitening products sold for P20 each that have no market authorization from the FDA. Using a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer, a device that can measure the concentrations of heavy metals in consumer products and other media, the groups detected high levels of mercury in the following products: 1) Erna Whitening Cream with 6,633 ppm 2) Jiaoli Miraculous Cream with 5,508 ppm 3) S’Zitang (golden yellow box) with 4,828 ppm

Arctic methane an economic ‘time bomb’

REDUCED SEA ICE COVER. Increasing temperatures in the Arctic region are reducing sea ice cover and increasing the possibility of methane leaching from the sea bed.

S

CIENTISTS say that the release of large amounts of methane from thawing permafrost in the Arctic could have huge economic impacts for the world.

The researchers estimate that the climate effects of the release of this gas could cost $60 trillion (£39 trillion), roughly the size of the global economy in 2012.

The impacts are most likely to be felt in developing countries they say.

The research has been published in the journal Nature.

Scientists have had concerns about the impact of rising temperatures on permafrost for many years. Large amounts of methane are concentrated in the frozen Arctic tundra but are also found as semi-solid gas hydrates

under the sea.

Price of gas Previous work has shown that the diminishing ice cover in the East Siberian sea is allowing the waters to warm and the methane to leach out. Scientists have found plumes of the gas up to a kilometre in diameter rising from these waters.

In this study, the researchers have attempted to put an economic price on the climate damage that these emissions of methane could cause. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, even though it lasts less than a decade in the atmosphere.

Using an economic model very similar to the one used by Lord Stern in his 2006 review of the economics of climate change, the researchers examined the impact of the release

of 50-gigatonnes of methane over a decade.

They worked out that this would increase climate impacts such as flooding, sea level rise, damage to agriculture and human health to the tune of $60 trillion.

“That’s an economic time bomb that at this stage has not been recognised on the world stage,” said Prof Gail Whiteman at Erasmus University in the Netherlands, and one of the authors.

“We think it’s incredibly important for world leaders to really discuss what are the implications of this methane release and what could we indeed do about it to hopefully prevent the whole burst from happening.”

The researchers say their study is in marked contrast to other, more

upbeat assessments of the economic benefits of warming in the Arctic region.

It is thought that up to 30% of the world’s undiscovered gas and 13% of undiscovered oil lie in the waters. Transport companies are looking to send increasing numbers of ships through these fast melting seas. According to Lloyds of London, investment in the Arctic could reach $100bn within ten years.

Methane belch But according to the new work, these benefits would be a fraction of the likely costs of a large scale methane emission.

The authors say a release of methane on this scale could bring forward the date when global temperatures increase by 2C by between 15 and 35 years. [BBC Nature]

4) Jiao Li 7-days Specific Eliminating Preckle AB Set with 4,071 ppm 5) S’ Zitang 7-days Specific Eliminating Freckle AB Set with 3,409 ppm, 6) White Magnolia Powerful Spot Remover Repair Essence with 3,406 ppm, 7) Jiao Li Speckle-Dispelling & Whitening Cream with 3,042 ppm The FDA has yet to ban Erna and White Magnolia, while Jiaoli and S’Zitang are among the 93 skin whitening products banned by the agency for containing mercury above the allowable limit.

According to the FDA, “there have been cases of adverse health effects brought about by highly toxic mercury in cosmet-

7

ic products, such as kidney damage, skin rashes, skin discoloration and scarring. Chronic use reduces the skin’s normal resistance against bacterial and fungal infections.”

“The transfer of mercury to fetuses of pregnant women may manifest as neurodevelopment deficits later in life,” the FDA warned The manufacture, importation, selling or offering for sale of cosmetics without FDA approval or found to contain harmful or toxic substances is in direct violation of Republic Act No. 9711 , the Food and Drug Administration Act, and Republic Act No. 7394, the Consumer Act of the Philippines.

Waste-to-electricity tech best option for LGUs saddled with garbage woes

A

N official of the multi-national company Procter & Gamble said their stateof-the art technology that can convert wastes into electricity is the best option that can be taken by local government units (LGUs) that are unable to build their respective sanitary landfills for lack of funds and space.

Clint Navales, country communications manager of P&G Philippines, said the technology is at no cost at all to the LGU partners, except for a three-hectare rent-free lot where the project will be built and can take a big volume of wastes that normally go to landfill or dump site.

Noting that many LGUs

are now confronted by big volume of wastes generated in homes, factories, markets, shopping malls and schools, Navales said the wastes-to-electricity technology is the best option left for them.

He said the technology was first presented to officials in Antipolo City and then to all the LGUs in the Fourth District of Pangasinan, which surprisingly readily identified the land where the waste-to-electricity plant can be put up.

“This technology was already tested in developed worlds but not in any developing country like the Philippines,” explained Navales. “If ever, this will be the first in any developing world.” [PNA]

Larger scale shift to eco-friendly chillers anticipated

A

N official expects gains from the Philippine Chiller Energy-Efficient Project to drive mass replacement of chillers that are not environment-friendly, energy-efficient and have refrigerants with substances that deplete the ozone layer.

“This project is expected to demonstrate potential savings for building owners and result in a larger scale replacement of such chillers in the country,” said PCEEP task team head Viraj Vithoontien from World Bank that’s backing the undertaking.

He noted PCEEP provides grants to qualified recipients so they can replace their inefficient chillers with eco-friendly ones to reduce respective greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, energy consumption and ozone depletion.

Others can enjoy the same gains if they shift to eco-friendly chillers, he continued.

“When completed, PCEEP is expected to replace about 50 chillers and result in GHG emissions reduction of 62.4 ktCO2 and about 30 GWhr of reduced electricity usage,” he said.

[PNA]

8 VANTAGE EDGEDAVAO

EDITORIAL

N

VOL. 6 ISSUE 99 • THURSDAY, AUGUST 01, 2013

What a dare!

EWLY-REELECTED Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillantes IV has challenged President Noynoy Aquino to name the so-called “godfathers” behind “untouchable” corrupt officials of the Bureau of Customs. The news story said that the President knows who they are (the padrinos).

This is a daring challenge from someone belonging to Team Pinoy for whom the President campaigned hard in the May 13, 2013 elections.

This is a challenge that should not be ignored by Mr. Aquino if only to prove he is really serious about ridding the BOC of incorrigible grafters whom he himself branded “thickfaced” and “gall-less” in his July 22 State of the Nation Address (Sona).

This is a golden opportunity for the President to show not just to us, Filipinos, but the whole world that he means business in his “daang matuwid” (straight path) governance.

Such a show of political will would gain respect and high regard for this country among the community of nations it

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had not enjoyed since the 1986 Edsa Revolution led by his late mother, former President Cory, that ousted the Marcos conjugal dictatorship.

The current ferment at the BOC was initiated by the President himself when he angrily lamented in his Sona the failure of his government to check corruption in the BOC. The President’s revelation triggered the tempest now swirling around the BOC, and the only way to put closure to all this mess is for him to just bite the bullet, name names no matter who gets hurt.

Some quarters have even suggested that the President should personally take over the reigns of the BOC and crack the whip. But there is no need for such an extreme, unseemly solution.

Why doesn’t he just order BOC Commissioner Ruffy Biazon to bite the bullet himself and clean up this rotten government entity once and for all. If he can’t do it, accept his resignation and look for a replacement. Somewhere in that haystack, there is a needle.

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GREGORIO G. DELIGERO Associate Editor

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

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EDGEDAVAO VOL. 6 ISSUE 99 •THURSDAY, AUGUST 01, 2013

G

VANTAGE POINTS

Homegrown culinary fashion

REAT CUISINE EXPERIENCE – Whatever the reasons, many of our people are willing to pay to eat good food at reasonable price. At the different locations all over Davao City – parks, sidewalks, vacant lots and food junctions, you will see and hear groups of friends, families and couples flocked in hordes at the vast grill joints laughing and chatting while enjoying their favorite beef, pork or chicken barbecues.

Enduring grill owners here have for a long time served sauce-slathered pork, chicken barbecues and beef steaks aside from the other popular grilled foodstuffs – pusit, litsong manok and manok inasal. Most of the time diners were enthusiastic and grill owners explained that people have so much fun using their bare hands to swirl slices of barbecued chicken, pork or beef. Still, grill proprietors insist that constant customers know best. The riddle is out although there’s no candles flickering at their tables, but large plates or spread banana leaves full of grilled foodstuffs cooked in a fiery wood charcoal sizzled in the grill pit.

Local food reviewers called the grill restaurants as “great date food” centers.

Dragged in by enthusiasm on native culinary style every diner embraces the great food experience. And grill restaurants are not just for groups of friends, families or dating couples, but for everybody who had the penchant to pay hard-earned money for a reasonable and delectable fare.

What’s more, all the preparation works are done for customers, which is one of the reasons some grill joint owners in the city have doubled the size of their restaurant chain to more strategic locations during the

past two years.

With families, groups of friends and couple spending approximately 20 to 25% of their food budget on meals outside home, they enjoyed the experience – sort of.

And here’s more. On several crowded, concrete and dusty roads in the commercial districts of Davao City stands a testament of the Dabawenyos entrepreneurship spirit: food venture. The key to the success of persistent business-minded people is actually found in a place dedicated to a uniquely local culinary fashion – talipapa and roadside beef soup cooking or known locally as bulalo and balbakua. The small-time entrepreneurs’ dream is making their modest eateries ubiquitous in, eventually, throughout the city. There is more. The bulalo and balbakua food business is symbolic of the Dabawenyos’ economic maturity in which both the risk of joining entrepreneurship and the potential reward are unsure.

Fundamentally, the element of success in the beef soup cooking scheme is the preparation – fresh ox legs and tails, appetizing ingredients, equally fresh vegetables and flavorsome condiments. Nonetheless, the bulalo and balbakua style of cooking is not new. It has long been popular among locals, transient traders and frequent visitors in the once undivided province of Davao, and it is

also similar to hot pot cooking in other provinces and elsewhere in the country with beef as the main ingredient.

What actually makes beef soup cooking uniquely Dabawenyo in taste is its spicy, sticky soup of onion, garlic, ginger, chilies, peppers, and of course, secretly-prepared condiments. As you can see, diners usually sit on benches or stalls around a small roadside makeshift stall restaurant sipping sticky soup and dipping everything from vegetables to ox tail and vocal chords into the broth.

Furthermore, food enthusiasts say it’s not for the prim and self-conscious simply because a bulalo or balbakua meal is likely to be accompanied by lots of bottled cold beer, if not bottles of liquor and under a baking heat during sweltering summer days - plenty of sweat as well. Oftentimes, low-keyed food lovers like drivers, salesmen, construction workers, and ordinary employees among others find the beef soup addictive – perhaps not surprisingly: these restaurants have been known to secretly spike their sauce with especially and delicately prepared condiments, which many heard lot of things about it – aphrodisiac.

Despite the presence of fine gastronomic restaurants, grill joints and different food outlets throughout the city, the modest eateries offering delicious bulalo and balbakua still posed a threat to these food establishments. That’s precisely because the ordinary people in the streets that comprised the bulk of customers continue to patronize a delectable beef soup meal at a very affordable price.

On such hope hangs the sought-after restaurant owners’ idea to consider an expansion plan. Not a bad idea.

Online education can be good or cheap, but not both

D

URING his recent economic address at Knox College, President Barack Obama briefly referenced the promise of online learning. Specifically, he celebrated the fact that some colleges are “blending teaching with online learning to help students master material and earn credits in less time,” a development that holds great potential to contain the rising cost of higher education.

Yet this potential is still a long way from being realized, as demonstrated by a recent hiccup at California’s San Jose State University.

Like many of America’s public universities, San Jose State has struggled in recent years to increase its graduation rate.

Only 8 percent of students who enrolled as full-time first-years in the fall of 2003 managed to complete their bachelor’s degree in four years, a share that climbed to 46 percent over six years. For students who enrolled in the fall of 2005, the numbers barely budged, with 7 percent finishing in four years and 46 percent finishing in six years. San Jose State has an ambitious plan to increase that share, which includes San Jose State Plus, a new effort to harness the potential of online learning.

The San Jose State Plus initiative is a wonderful example of innovative public sector thinking. Rather than build new online courses in isolation, San Jose State partnered with edX, a non-profit organization founded by Harvard and MIT, and Udacity, a highly-regarded education startup, to create courses that were rigor-

COMMENTARY

BY REIHAN SALAM

(1st of two parts) ous, accessible and cost-effective.

But as Jason Dearen reports, earlier this month San Jose State suspended five of its new online courses, all of which were offered in conjunction with Udacity and had no classroom learning.

The courses — in elementary statistics, college algebra, entry-level math, introductory programming and introductory psychology — were in theory exactly the right kind of courses for an online instructional provider to teach, as they covered basic introductory material.

Outsourcing this kind of teaching could in theory be an enormous boon to the bottom line of colleges and universities, as the most effective providers could spread their online courses across the country, sparing the need for large numbers of expensive faculty members. Indeed, Udacity’s entry-level courses were offered for $150 each, far less than the $620 San Jose State charges for traditional classroom-based courses.

The problem, however, is that between 56 percent and 76 percent of students who took the final exams ultimately failed them. Udacity has acknowledged that the results of its collaboration with San Jose State have been disappointing, and the startup is committed, in classic

Silicon Valley fashion, to learn from its mistakes. That online learning will experience growing pains is to be expected.

But what if there is no free lunch to be had? That is, what if the only way to reduce the failure rate in online courses is to blend them with some of the more labor-intensive — and thus, more expensive — aspects of traditional education? Recently, a good friend of mine — a tenured academic who has the good sense not to publicly weigh in on higher education controversies — suggested that “massive online open courses,” better known as MOOCs, represent the logical culmination of a long-term trend in higher education. As the higher education sector has increased its reach, it has been recruiting students who are less prepared for rigorous instruction and less committed to completing their degrees than those who came before them. Tyler Cowen, the George Mason University economist and co-founder of Marginal Revolution University, a popular massive online open course, has argued that U.S. higher education institutions already reach the easiest students to teach (the “low-hanging fruit”), and so efforts to expand higher education access means reaching students who either face serious obstacles to graduating or who are otherwise less inclined to stick around. It is no coincidence that while only one-fifth of college enrollees failed to complete a degree in the 1960s, the number has since increased to onethird.

9

Sequestration as government malpractice ANALYSIS

BY ELLEN SIGAL

I

N regard to the Food and Drug Administration, the sequestration could ultimately cost lives.

Breakthrough medicines that could save lives may not reach patients as fast as possible, in part because FDA funding has been cut by $209 million — or more than 5 percent. That figure includes $85 million in user fees already paid by industry, but frozen by Congress.

Those affected are people who have run out of options for other treatments. There is a process to expedite FDA approval for breakthrough drugs. But because of sequester cuts, the FDA won’t have the staff resources to get the lifesaving drugs to patients.

This is government malpractice — every bit as deadly as the medical kind. Here’s why.

Last year, Congress passed a law creating a new FDA designation for “breakthrough” drugs to treat life-threatening diseases where “preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the drug may demonstrate substantial improvement over existing therapies.”

The designation triggers direct participation by high-level FDA officials in helping devise creative research plans to expedite review and possible approval. Because these are by definition revolutionary drugs, the FDA and drugmakers meet more frequently and work together more closely to speed the benefits to patients.

But this kind of engagement — directed by Congress — requires increased FDA resources at a time when the sequester is taking money away from an already underfunded agency.

Who loses? Thousands of people every year. People of all ages who have run out of options to treat terrible diseases like mantle cell lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia and multiple myeloma. Men, women and children who wait for a drug on the verge of approval that could allow them to live months or years longer.

For example, Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a form of muscular dystrophy affecting around one in 3,600 boys. This terrible disease attacks the muscles beginning around age six. Deterioration follows quickly, often leaving these boys wheelchair-bound before they are teenagers. Their average life expectancy is only 25. There is no cure.

Right now a promising new treatment for DMD is in development. The drug, drisapersen, has received a “breakthrough” designation, and researchers are hopeful it will prove effective.

It is not certain that drisapersen will, or even should, get final FDA approval. But it is certain that the benefits of the breakthrough designation will not be realized if the FDA doesn’t have the resources to do the work.

We need to give this, and all of the other potential breakthroughs, the attention they need.

Patient groups, drug companies and the FDA are all worried about the impact of slowing down breakthrough work — especially since there are currently 24 drugs designated as breakthrough. The FDA has already frozen hiring for hundreds of scientists it needs to assure safe and effective treatments are making their way to patients.

Due to sequester cuts, FDA reviewers often can’t even attend major research conferences where data on drugs they will review are presented.

Making matters worse, sequestration has meant reduced spending on basic research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and institutions all across the country.

Less spending by NIH leads to fewer lifesaving drugs in the pipeline at the FDA. In the end, it’s all quite personal for those of us on the frontlines of the fight against disease. We see people we know whose lives go on because of new treatments. But we also watch people die for want of an effective treatment. The sequester is stalling medicines that could save their lives.

Government malpractice in the form of sequestration is a problem of our own making, and Washington can fix it. We must not pay our debts with the lives of our mothers, fathers, sons and daughters. Budgets for the FDA and for basic research that leads to breakthrough medicines must be restored.

10

VOL. 6 ISSUE 99 • THURSDAY, AUGUST 01, 2013

Zarate..FFROM 1 to do. If those involved from the House to the Senate should wish to clear their names then this is the avenue to do so,” Zarate said.

The controversy on the alleged misuse of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) has unearthed alleged involvement of ranking allies of the Aquino administration, particularly from the ruling Liberal Party.

“This is nothing personal against Sid. This involves Congress, Senate and Malacañang,” said Zarate.

On Tuesday, Rep. Ungab maintained that there was no irregularity in the financial assistance he extended to Kaupdan para sa Mangunguma Foundation, a non-government organization which he said is duly accredited with the Department of Agriculture.

Ungab said those who accuse him of irregularity may check with the beneficiaries

and the Commission on Audit. He also denied knowing personally businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles who is in the center of the pork barrel scam.

Zarate, however, said in an earlier statement that “it is particularly upsetting that House Appropriations Committee chair Rep. Isidro Ungab was among those identified as beneficiaries of the graft-laden 10-billion peso pork barrel scam. As a stalwart of the Liberal Party and chair of the powerful Appropriations Committee, Rep. Ungab’s being in the list of beneficiaries of this scandalous wastage of people’s money goes on to show that this scam is as much as a sin of the Aquino administration as it is with those identified with the previous administration.

According to the first-term party list solon, Rep. Ungab’s claim

to have no knowledge of the scam will not and should not automatically exonerate him from the charges.

“As the appropriations Committee Chair, the more that he should submit himself to an investigation. It is unsettling that he heads the very committee that will push and defend the existence of the pork-barrel in the 2014 national budget,” he said.

“While I know Rep. Ungab during his days at the Davao City Council, it would be a disservice to Davaoeños if he would be spared from any investigation and penalty, if need be, on account of his current status as a Liberal Party stalwart. I urge for an expeditious probe on this matter by the House of Representatives.

According to Zarate, the Liberal-party led House leadership “should be held accountable to the people.”

areas located along the waterways and coastlines where a large number of informal settlements are deemed to be at risk.

The top seven hotspot barangays in this regard are Bucana, Ma-a, Matina Pangi, Tigatto, Talomo, Matina Crossing and Matina Aplaya. These barangays are located along the major water ways of the city---the Davao River, Talomo River and Matina Pangi River.

“The severity of the impact of these hazards on various sectors and the physical framework and infrastructure are non-quantifiable.

However, an emerging pattern seems to point that the intensification of these hazards will likely occur in the coming years. It is encouraged that the city will include policies and programs that will make the city climate change resilient in the coming century,” the report says.

In terms of households, there are 146,930 households at risk from floods and 8,970 household at risk from landslides.

From 2000 to 2012, the report says there were 70 recorded occurrences of floods in

the city affecting a total of 39,316 families, 2,292 structures and causing damage totaling P76.6 million. The floods caused 46 recorded deaths. A more recent large flooding by the Davao River occurred on January 20, 2013 which affected 5,165 families.

Davao City has identified and delineated areas which are susceptible to flooding and landslide based on the Terrain Analysis Study conducted by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB).

According to the study, there are 6,696.55 hectares of lands that are highly susceptible to flooding and 12,934.71 hectares that are very highly susceptible to landslide.

Based on the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) recently approved the city council, the areas susceptible to landslide are located in the upland areas with steep slopes.

“These areas are prone to mass movement which can be triggered by rain. Areas which are naturally susceptible to mass movements are the denudational landforms.

These areas are found mostly in the Marilog

and Paquibato districts,” according to the report.

The plan recognizes that portions of flood and landslide prone areas are also a valuable land resource where development may still be introduced but restricted and “that all development applications shall be assessed accordingly, taking into account ecological factors as well as social and economic.”

“Habitation in such areas will be encouraged to adopt mitigating measures in order to reduce the impact of flooding and landslides on individual owners and occupants of flood and landslide prone properties, and to reduce private and public losses resulting from the mentioned hazards,” it said.

“The level of disaster preparedness is a major factor in the mitigation of natural disasters. Mitigation of the effects of the disasters and protection against hazards require both structural and non-structural measures. Therefore, these areas should have a strict management plan and policies for settlements,” it added.

Floods.. FFROM 2

EDGEDAVAO

Senate to cut ‘pork,’ have it abolished by 2016 T

HE Senate, especially Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, thinks that it is about time to cut the ‘pork.’

Santiago, chair of the Senate committee on constitutional amendments, revision of codes, and laws said Wednesday the Senate is ready to cut pork barrel of senators and congressmen in half for 2014.

The pork barrel for 2014 will further be cut in half by 2015 until it is finally abolished by 2016, according to Santiago, who filed a Resolution calling

for the phasing out of the pork barrel by 2016.

At present, the PDAF allocated to each senator is P200 million per year, and P70 million to each congressman per year.

For a full term of six years, a senator is expected to receive P1.2 billion, while a congressman is expected to receive P210 million for each three-year term. In practice, some receive more, others less, than their regular pork barrel.

“Of course, the best solution is to discontinue

the pork barrel system by reducing what has been proposed by the President in the 2014 budget for PDAF to zero,” Santiago said.

“Senators and congressmen are expected to pass laws and exercise oversight functions over the Executive Department’s implementation of existing laws,” she further said.

“We are not expected to build roads, bridges, and other infrastructure projects,” she added.

[PNA]

three teams from each bracket then moved into a six-team championship round, where teams played each other once to determine the champion.

FOR SIX MONTHS, THE PHILIPPINE national team was on a mission to regain the Asian championship it won in 1967. The country’s heartbreaking defeat at the hands of host Japan in 1971 remained fresh in the memories of Filipino basketball fans, especially after Japan’s coach boasted that his team could easily beat the Philippines. That year, Japan’s defenders jammed the guns of the Philippines’ best offensive player to fashion a 93-69 victory.

As early as May 1973, the team was already practicing with the goal of winning the championship in home soil. Coach Valentin “Tito Eduque and assistant coach Caloy Loyzaga plucked 12 players from the Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association — centers Alberto “Big Boy” Reynoso, Manuel Paner, Ramon Fernandez, Abet Guidaben, and David Regullano; forwards William “Bogs” Adornado, Ricardo “Joy” Cleofas, and Jimmy Mariano; and guards Robert Jaworski, Francis Arnaiz, Rogelio “Tembong” Melencio, and Rosalio “Yoyong” Martirez.

Named as an alternate was Larry Mumar, a mainstay of the 1971 national squad.

Conspicuously missing for the team were longtime national stars Danilo Florencio and Adriano “Jun” Papa, who were slapped lifetime bans by the Basketball Association of the Philippines for their involvement in a game-fixing scandal during the 1973 MICAA championship between Crispa and Mariwasa. Florencio and Papa were the top two offensive players in 1971, and were considered shoo-ins for the spots occupied by Martirez and Cleofas in 1973.

Eduque opted to go tall, with at least five big men on the team. Guidaben was the tallest player in the lineup at 6-foot-5,

but he was considered a greenhorn and was hardly utilized. Mariano stood 6-foot-4, but possessed a soft shooting touch.

Reynoso, though only standing 6-foot-2, was a beefy center who was an impregnable inside the paint. Robert Jaworski, the team’s courty general, provided good size in the backcourt at six feet tall.

WITH THE VENUE PACKED TO THE RAFTERS for every single Philippine team game, the players went to work.

They beat Pakistan in their first game by 78 points and followed that up with victories over India (36 points), Indonesia (31 points), Singapore (81 points), and Taiwan (17 points). The Philippines topped its bracket with an average winning of 46.6 points, while Taiwan and India also qualified for the championship round.

In the other bracket, South Korea, led by the eminent Shin Dong Pa, showed its class by running roughshod over the competition with an average margin of 44.2 points. They beat Japan in their last game, 88-79 in a battle of unbeaten teams.

South Korea wound up on top of the bracket with an immaculate 5-0 card, followed by Japan and Iran.

The championship round cast was set.

In their opening assignment in the title round, Eduque’s charges found difficulty cracking the tough Iranian team.

They eventually held the Persian nation off in the second half to win 88-80.

After getting criticized in the media for their lackluster performance, the Filipinos came back resoundingly against rival Japan, clobbering the Nippons, 89-68. It was a huge emotional win for the Philippines as boisterous fans cheered them on the whole game and heckled Japanese star players Masatomo Taniguchi and Shigeaki Abe. The rest of the nation was also tuned into the game, watching live over KBS-9.

With their emotions at an all-time high, the Philippines pulled off two convincing re-

peats against Taiwan (37 points) and India (26 points) to set the stage for a virtual winner-takeall game against the only other unbeaten team in the tournament, South Korea.

IT WAS NO STRANGE TWIST that these two teams would duke it out on the last day of the tournament. South Korea had also been equally impressive with Shin, the tournament’s eventual top scorer, leading the way. They won all their games in the championship round convincingly and were poised to give the biggest problem for the Philippine team.

But the Philippines was ready. They were familiar with Shin, their tormentor in the 1967 tournament. Buoyed by the presence of a loud and supportive crowd that filled up the Rizal Memorial, the players were prepped to achieve destiny.

With Adornado scorching the hoops and Melencio, Jaworski and Arnaiz taking their turns guarding Shin, the game was close in the first half.

At halftime, the scoreline read 48-all.

It was in the second half when the Philippine team finally took over.

A slight commotion ensued when Melencio got entangled in a loose ball situation against a Korean player.

Cooler heads intervened but it also helped the Philippines build momentum to take over the game. Jaworski’s masterful quarterbacking, Adornado’s sniping, Melencio’s hard-nosed defense against Shin, and the heads-up play of Fernandez inside the paint proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. The Philippines won convincingly, 90-78 to win its third Asian title, the most among all countries in the region at that time.

With the win, the Philippines qualified for the 1974 FIBA World Championships in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The team wound up finishing 13th overall after winning two of its five games.

How.. FFROM 15

11 ICT HUB

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 6 ISSUE 99 • THURSDAY, AUGUST 01, 2013

LG Optimus G Pro finally introduced in PHL market L

G is no stranger to the phablet scene, and just recently, the firm introduced the LG Optimus G Pro. It’s the Korean company’s next large-screened offering after the 5-inch Optimus Vu, which has an odd 4:3 aspect ratio instead of the traditional 16:9 affair.

The Optimus G Pro packs a 5.5-inch IPS display, and this time, LG got things right on the aspect-ratio department by opting for a 1,080 x 1,920 resolution (16:9).

Where it goes awry is the timing: The device is only making its way to Philippine shores now, whereas comparable top-of-the-line Androids like the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the Sony Xperia Z have been on the local market as early as April.

That’s an eternity in the highly competitive tech space.

Besides flaunting some of the thinnest be-

zels around, the Optimus G Pro also features an illuminated physical Home button and a rear panel with the same holographic checkerboard design as the LG Optimus G. But whereas the latter rocks a unibody design, the former has a removable back cover that peels off to reveal a 3,140mAh battery.

The device is armed with a 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 chip from Qualcomm, Adreno 320 graphics, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of internal memory with microSD expansion for up to 64GB of extra storage.

‘Smart’ features The LG Optimus G Pro has two cameras: a 13-megapixel rear cam and a 2.1-megapixel front-facer that can record 1080p videos. Both can be used simultaneously to capture stills or footage, meaning you can

use the device to include both the subject matter and you, the user, in one frame, thanks to its dual-camera, picture-in-picture feature.

Another LG-made software enhancement is Smart Video. Briefly put,

it tracks your eyes and pauses a video when you look away from the display—just like Samsung’s Smart Pause.

There’s also VR Panorama, LG’s take on Google’s Photo Sphere, for creating 360-degree pan-

oramas in any direction.

The LG Optimus G Pro comes with QRemote 2.0, and this, coupled with an IR blaster, lets you control your TV, set-top box, audio system, Blu-ray player, and other home electronics.

“biometrics kit” folder has been discovered in the latest beta version of iOS7 (Apple’s iPhone and iPad operating system), confirming the ongoing reports that the iPhone 5S will have a fingerprint scanner embedded in its homekey.

The folder and its supporting text string, which even describes a person holding the device while applying their thumb to the button, was first dis-

covered by developer Hamza Sood.

Rumors that Apple intended to add a new layer of security to its devices started back in 2012 when the company acquired AuthenTec, which builds one of world’s smallest banking standard biometric scanners. Since then, further reports have emerged from Apple’s supply chain partners concerning issues with integrating the technology into the

phone’s chassis and finding a protective coating that doesn’t adversely affect its ability to correctly identify fingerprints.

So, should we be getting excited? The simple answer is yes. Without the owner’s fingerprint to unlock a device, it becomes worthless to phone thieves and, more importantly, biometrics are truly unique and therefore a much better alternative to current text-based passwords when it comes

to securely setting up and accessing everything from social media to web mail and cloud storage.

Truth be told, the faster that a company or an individual can put the traditional password out to pasture, the better. According to the latest research from Nuance Communications, the voice and language technology company, 85 percent of US consumers have already lost faith with current online authentication methods -- i.e., user IDs and passwords -- and two thirds of consumers already have 11 different usernames and passwords that they need to constantly remember in order to use online services.

And with so many different logins to keep track of, it’s little surprise to learn that the same survey discovered that 80 percent of respondents admitted recycling their login details across multiple sites -- despite the security risks that entails.

And unless something like Apple’s fingerprint sensor can replace passwords, the problem is going to get worse and the likelihood that consumers will leave themselves exposed to cyber attacks will increase. [AFP]

ACEBOOK on Tuesday got into the business of publishing mobile games, offering developers help at going global with smartphone or tablet titles in exchange for a share of revenue.

The leading social network announced a Facebook Mobile Games Publishing pilot program in which it will work with small or medium-sized developers and promote their works in the online community.

“There are many developers with awesome mobile games who don’t yet have the upfront resources for a paid strategy, and we want to help them find a path to success,” Facebook software engineer Victor Medeiros said in a blog post.

“We are using our unique reach and targeting capabilities to help games in our program find and engage a valuable audience of the right users.”

More than 800 million members of the social network use Facebook mobile applications, and 260 million of those people play games on Facebook, according to Medeiros.

Like the Optimus G before it, LG’s latest phablet ships with Android Jelly Bean 4.1 out of the box and supports LTE. If all this sounds rather alluring to you, then be ready to shell out P27,990.

iPhone to have fingerprint scanner beta code suggests Facebook toys with mobile game publishing A

F

Facebook has made a priority of following its more than one billion members onto smartphones and tablets, and of finding ways to make money from visits by users on mobile devices.

Along with mobile ads in the form of “promoted” posts, Facebook makes commissions for getting members to install applications made by outside developers.

Facebook shares have climbed to new highs since the California-based company last week reported quarterly earnings showing surging mobile revenues that some saw as a turning point for the social networking giant.

The shares were up again on Tuesday, hitting $37.18 in late trades.

Facebook shares fell sharply after the highly anticipated IPO in May of last year and have yet to get back to the offering price of $38.

Analysts have been keen for Facebook to prove it can profit from members increasingly opting for smartphones or tablets instead of desktop computers to get online. [AFP]

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VOL. 6 ISSUE 99 • THURSDAY, AUGUST 01, 2013

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14 SPORTS

VOL. 6 ISSUE 99 • THURSDAY, AUGUST 01, 2013

EDGEDAVAO

RMH Cup begins Sunday T

HE Royal Mandaya Hotel Cup returns for its fourth season on Sunday with 16 top-rated teams from Davao’s schoolbased leagues taking part in this elite tournament.

Opening program is set at 8:30 a.m. at the Davao City Recreation Center.

Ten teams led by defending champion Ford Academy will be contesting the Cadets Under-14 title while six squads paced by defending titlist Ateneo de Davao Univer-

sity in the Mini Under-12 division.

Tournament director Jek Melendres told sportswriters yesterday that everything is set for Sunday’s opening of the tournament supported by Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and his Vice Mayor son Paolo.

“It’s all set and we just have to do the drawing of lots on Friday in order to determine the pairings on the opening day,” Melendres said.

SBP representative Rico Biliran said that the format in the Cadets division will

have all teams going through a single round robin eliminations with the top four squads advancing to the semifinals where they will play another round. In the Mini division, the top four squads advance in the crossover semis following the “1-4 2-3” format.

The other teams taking part in the Cadets division are Ateneo de Davao University, Holy Child College of Davao, Assumption College of Davao, University of the Immaculate Conception, Precious In-

ternational School, Daniel R. Aguinaldo National High School, Holy Cross of Davao College, Philippine Women’s College, and SPED-Lamb of God Buhangin.

Six players born 2000 is required mandatorily in the lineup while the rest are born 1999 or later.

The line-up allows for 12 to 15 players.

In the Mini division for players born 2001 or later, the other contenders are Holy Child College of Davao, Precious IS, Assumption College of Davao, UIC and PWC.

NOT 100 PERCENT. Jason Castro, shown here during the All-Star Weekend in Digos City last May, is

a doubtful starter for the Nationals in the FIBA Asia which starts today.

Lean Daval Jr.

Sports consultative meeting set Aug. 15 T

HE City Mayor’s Office Sports Development Office is calling all stakeholders in the city for a consultative meeting on August 15 in an effort to produce more outstanding athletes coming from the grassroots level to local, national and international competitions.

New city sports chief William “Butch” Ramirez, a former Philippine Sports Commission chairman, said that the meeting will be held from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the third floor of the Sangguniang Panglungsod building function room “Our office is currently expanding our goal in providing development

programs for the masses and for our athletes,” said Ramirez.

The CSDO aims to strengthen the National Sports Associations (NSAs), private and public schools, Indigenous Tribes, barangay, private and public sectors, media, Muslim and religious groups and the community on sports programs to form positive core values and character in order to contribute to building a healthy and sports minded community.

“From this, we produce athletes in the grassroots level excelling in local, national and international competitions,” said Ramirez.

RDO, Castro not yet 100 percent

P

HILIPPINE national men’s basketball stars Jayson Castro and Ranidel De Ocampo are not yet 100 percent after sustaining separate ankle injuries in their last tuneup match, but the Talk ‘N Text duo are back practicing with the team.

“I don’t think you can’t stop them from playing,” Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes said during the press conference on Tuesday. “This is the biggest battle of our lives.”

Castro and De Ocampo participated in Gilas training sessions on Monday and Tuesday

after taking two days off. They expect to be ready to do battle when the team takes on Saudi Arabia in their FIBA Asia Championship opening assignment on Thursday.

“We’re fortunate that their injuries were not serious. But we still have two days and hope they can recover quickly,” added Reyes.

De Ocampo injured his ankle against Kazakhstan last Friday and asked to be subbed out.

He feared a more serious injury because of the pain he felt that left him with difficulty putting weight on his ankle. (InterAKTV)

INdulge!

VOL. 6 ISSUE 99 • THURSDAY, AUGUST 01, 2013

EDGEDAVAO

STYLE

Nanding’s priceless gift

By NEILWIN JOSEPH L. BRAVO Photos by Lean Daval Jr. SAMMY and Evelyn Afdal were both dressed up and ready for the mass that Sunday of July 28th. Their children Christine, Danny Boy and Eden were with them and dressed for the service too. For Christian families, Sunday masses are a regular fair—a holy obligation to devote time for their faith.

For the Afdals, this was no ordinary Sunday. This was one for the family’s treasure chest of memories. For one, Sammy and Evelyn are celebrating their 34th wedding anniversary. For another, it was the blessing of the family-owned Secdea Beach Resort in sitio San Isidro in nearby Island Garden City of Samal.

Sammy and Evelyn’s guests that day were a

The “kiss” sweeter the second time around 34 years after.

Sammy and Evelyn walk down the aisle once more.

EDGEDavao Davao Partners

virtual short list of immediate family and friends.

The Afdal matriarch, 93-year old Eden, was joined by the rest of the closely-knit Afdal kins.

Present too were Sammy’s close buddies in a group called “Nanding’s Boys” – a name coined after a group of Dabawenyo professionals and businessmen who are self-confessed “knights” of retired Davao Bishop Fernando “Nanding” Capalla. Those who were around were Anflo Group of Companies retired vice president Anthony Sasin, Kar Asia president Al Barreto, former Philippine Press Institute president Nilo Claudio of Daily San Pedro Express (now a poultry-raiser) and publishereditor Antonio Ajero of Edge Davao.

Not to miss the special event was Bishop Capalla who came with his

With Bishop Nanding Capalla.

“Nanding’s Boys.” Bishop Nanding, (he later admitted) had been in the resort several times to personally prepare the occasion. He was like the event coordinator, giving his personal touch to the preparations of the mass where Sammy and Evelyn renewed their marital vows. The retired

bishop composed the vow of renewal for the couple and facilitated the preparations for a choir composed of Indonesian postulants whipped into musical perfection.

“They don’t sing English songs but they learned these songs in three days,” Bishop Nanding told us on the way to

With “Nanding’s Boys” (l-r) Al Barreto and wife, Nilo Claudio, Anthony Sasin and Tony Ajero.

the resort.

So touched were Sammy and Evelyn of Bishop Nanding’s ‘personal touch’ that they admitted words were not enough to thank him.

The renewal of vows was held inside Villa 1 of the world-class resort with rows of Lazy Boy

FNANDING’S,A4

EDGEDAVAO

A2 INdulge!

VOL. 6 ISSUE 99 • THURSDAY, AUGUST 01, 2013

UP AND ABOUT

Tinta at Musika @ NCCC Mall Aug. 17

EVENTS

Brothers bring new mono-laser printer to town

By EJ DOMINIC FERNANDEZ ejf@edgedavao.net

Model Amephil Jopia pf Davao City shows the winning piece at her back made by artist Dorel Paul Chan, who is organizing the Tattoo contest on August 17 at the Kadayawan Hall of the NCCC Mall in Davao City.

A tattoo contest and musical performances of different bands will be featured in one day at the Kadayawan Hall of the NCCC Mall on August 17 here.

The “Tinta at Musika” event is in celebration of the annual Kadayawan Festival and presented by NCCC Mall, Samadhi, Anito, GMA News, RCBC, Dickies and Smoker Fight Davao.

“We’re expecting more than 50 tattoo artists from all over Mindanao,” said organizer artist Dorel Paul Chan at the SCOOP of The Royal Mandaya Hotel.

Also present at the weekly public service program sponsored by TRMH, Genesis 88, Beefit Gym and

Aerobics, Mulatto Outdoor Apparel and Dexter’s Pizza at The Stadium was Dr. Vince Vicente of Smoker Fight MMA Davao.

The categories are the tattoo competition, henna and body painting. There will also be a seminar from the Department of Health and workshops on tattoo.

“Bands will also be performing while waiting for the winners,” Chan said.

Registration fee is P1,200 for the on-the-spot tattoo, P500 for henna and P200 for pre-made tattoo.

The first 35 registrants can get a free tattoo machine.

A mixed martial arts competition by the Smoker Fight MMA Davao will immediately follow right after the event.

50% discount in scuba diving course for photogs, students Underwater photographers and marine biology students can avail of the 50% discount for a course in scuba diving from a certified PADI instructor here.

“Grab this chance to be a certified PADI Open Water and get a 50% discount for the enriched air diver certification,” said PADI licensed instructor Emmanuel Santa Cruz of South Shore Divers.

Santa Cruz said that the village people might possibly get sick and their eyes, lungs and skin will also get infected. He said that using the enriched air nitrox in diving is the safest way.

“Blend your mix to dive longer. Let’s dive nitrox,” he said.

Nitrox diving can allow divers to stay longer underwater which is good for undewater photographers and marine biology students.

“This course is de-

signed to introduce students to the planning, safety aspects and benefits of diving with enriched air.

The programme addresses the use of enriched air with 22 percent to 40 percent oxygen, with emphasis on enriched air with 32 and 36 percent oxygen,” Santa Cruz said.

South Short Divers, which is located in Marfori Heights, is also offering a group pack for five students or more and get 15% discount for a PADI Open water diver license.

The other PADI Dive courses offered by SSD are the Open Water Diver, Advanced Open Water Diver, Rescue Diver, Dive Master, Drift Diver, Digital Underwater Photography, Wreck Diver, Deep Diver, Peak Performance Bouyancy and PADI Aware Coral Reef Conservation. For more inquiry, call tel. no. 3002574 or 09177003590.

Japanese designed printing technology lands in the south as Brother Industries Ltd Launched the new monochrome laser series in Davao City last Monday, July 22.

Brother proudly introduces a time-efficient, cost-efficient, and space saving monochrome laser printers specifically designed to embody the company’s “customerfirst” approach.

Glenn Hocson, the Country Manager of Brother International Corporation Philippines (BICP), boasts of a product line that truly provides “a winning combination of exceptional reliability with high quality printouts at irresistable value.”

The printer series includes four new models: the DCP-1510, the HL1110, the MFC-1815, and the MFC-1810.

These products were created t specifically exceed client expectations of owning printers that are not only hig quality and cost efficient but also exceptionally reliable and prints extremely fast.

Each of the printer prints 10/21 pages per minute. This feature allows the user to be more productive on other things. Its speed does not disable the high quality printing and accuracy of the printer too.

Brother International Philippines deputy general manager for sales and marketing, Masao Kasagi, told this reporter that 80

percent of the printers being used in the Philippines are Ink-Jet printers.

He said, only corporate businesses use monolazer technology printer, but with their new product, it will be more affordable for perosnal use.

“Our edge among others is that our product is more affordable, but is very reliable,” he said. “We used a lot of cutting edge technology to make our product affordable but reliable at the same time.”

“The series is a dream come true for users who want it all – reliability, affordability, and design,” Hocson said.

The old saying, “you have to trust the Japanese for they know the way,” is proven true with this technoilogy that Brothers bring to the world.

VOL. 6 ISSUE 99 • THURSDAY, AUGUST 01, 2013

EDGEDAVAO

INdulge! A3

ENTERTAINMENT

Billy blasts critics

NOW SHOWING 11:40 2:00 4:20 6:40 9:00

11:20 1:45 4:10 6:35 9:00

11:10 1:45 4:20 6:55 9:30 RESERVED SEATING

12:15 3:00 5:45 8:30

An exasperated Billy Crawford lashed out at critics Monday for dragging Coleen Garcia’s name into his controversial breakup with Nikki Gil, his girlfriend of almost 5 years.

The 31-year-old singer took to the image-sharing service Instagram to address netizens who claimed Garcia, Crawford’s “It’s Showtime” cohost, had a part in his separation from Gil. Crawford, who uses the Instagram handle “billyjoecrawford,” made the comment on a photo posted by comedian-host Vice Ganda under his account “praybeytbenjamin.”

The photo, which shows Vice Ganda with his co-hosts on “It’s Showtime” -- Jugs Jugueta, Teddy Corpuz, Vhong Navarro, Anne Curtis, Jhong Hilario and Ryan Bang -- is captioned, “I missed my Showtime sibs a lot. Great to be back.”

Vice Ganda was recently on leave from the noontime program to re-

cover from polyps found in his vocal cords. He returned on Monday, July 29.

The same day marked the start of Crawford’s prolonged leave from “It’s Showtime,” which he announced in a live interview on “The Buzz” Sunday.

Although Crawford was not in the photo posted by Vice Ganda on Monday, the singer’s name was brought up in the comments when a number of netizens speculated on his break-up with Gil. The “Bright Lights” hitmaker, in his “The Buzz” interview, emphasized there was no third party in the relationship. He only said that he needed to “find myself,” which is also the reason why he will be leaving the country to spend time with his parents.

A number of netizens, however, insisted on discussing the supposed romance between Garcia and Crawford, which the latter answered through his own comment.

11:00 2:20 5:40 9:00

12:45 3:30 6:15 9:00

MAN OF STEEL

DESPICABLE ME 2

PACIFIC RIM

1:05

4:05

6:15 9:00

“What the hell is wrong with you people?

There is nothing about me and Coleen! You guys are just so wrong, man,” he said.

He challenged his critics to face him, and went on to call them “narrowminded” for discussing others’ personal lives without any intimate knowledge of their relationships.

“May problema kayo sa akin, ako na Lang. Huwag ninyong idamay mga taong walang kinalaman sa hiwalayan naming ni Nikki. Punta kayo sa ABS, harapin nyo ako Lakas nyo magsalita tunkol sa kung anong nangyayari eh. Pero wala kayong alam!!!

“As much as im lost and unhappy. You guys got major problems with your lives. Narrow minded people! Open your eyes and look in the mirror and ask your self. Are you content with your life talking about others? Of course not, you guys are perfect!

May God bless you all!!!

Not even being sarcastic.

Bless you all,” he said.

Marijuana found on Justin Bieber Tour Bus It’s one step forward and one back for Justin Bieber.

As a spokesperson for the singer issues a firm denial about last week’s spitting incident, the Canadian crooner is in the spotlight again after U.S. Border Patrol confirms marijuana was found on one of his tour buses.

Omg! has confirmed that the pot bust took place on Sunday as the vehicle, which was not (we repeat not) transporting the 19-year-old at the time, was crossing the Ambassador Bridge from Windsor, Ontario, to Detroit, where Bieber had a show that night at the city’s Joe Louis Arena.

“During the

secondary inspection, a K-9 alerted to the presence of drugs and a subsequent search of the bus revealed marijuana and drug paraphernalia,” a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson tells omg!.

“Officers seized the marijuana and paraphernalia and issued a penalty to the driver. The bus and passengers were released without further incident.”

Coincidentally, Rihanna’s entourage had a similar experience at the same checkpoint back in March. On one of her 10 tour buses — one she wasn’t on — an unnamed passenger had pot and was cited.

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A4 INdulge!

EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 6 ISSUE 99 • THURSDAY, AUGUST 01, 2013

Nanding’s.. FFROM A1

STYLE

EDGEDavao Davao Partners

Bishop Capalla blesses one of the cottages with Christine holding the candle.

The Afdals with Bishop Capalla. Eden, Christine, Evelyn, Sammy, and Danny Boy. couches arranged as mass velop the resort and their seats. Eden, the young- absorptive capacity is still est daughter, lighted the limited. “We require early candles, while Christine bookings like two weeks and Danny Boy read the lead time because we are scriptures. always fully-booked. We After the mass, Bishop don’t want to disappoint Nanding rode on a golf people when they come cart and blessed the vil- here.” las and cottages inside the Things are just startvast resort. Secdea, which ing to get exciting instands for Sammy, Evelyn, deed for Secdea and for Christine, Danny Boy, Sammy, whose passion Eden Afdal, boasts of two for motorcycles, airplanes main villas and 12 cottag- and golf, will soon find es, and a total inventory of fulfillment in the resort.

25 rooms. It has a restau- Sammy admits among his rant, gym, infinity pool, plans are to build a 9-hole tennis court, basketball golf course around the court (soon to become a area aside from the memcovered court), and a la- bers-only Flight Training goon. For beach lovers, Center that’s going to be the safe beachfront is pro- in place soon. tected with a breaker.

Back to that Sunday For the fun-seekers, special event, Evelyn there are the different wa- couldn’t hide her hapter sport rides like jestskis, piness with the blessbanana boats and paddle- ings the family received. boats. For those who wish Tears of joy welled down to take their adventure trip her cheeks as soon as the to another level, there’s the couple was blessed once kayaks, rapelling area and more by Bishop Nandwall-climbing facility. ing 34 years from the day Christine, who man- they first exchanged “I ages Secdea, says there do’s.” are more to expect in the For Sammy and Evresort. “We have a 100-ca- elyn, it was a blessing so pacity function room priceless they swear to coming up, a mangrove take their love for each maze, beach volleyball other and their children court, island seaweed for another 34 years or so. farm, and an obstacle And for Bishop Nandcourse.” ing, there goes simply anFor now, Christine says other of his Sunday minthey are still trying to de- istries.

The signature giant signage of Secdea Beach Resort.

SPORTS 15

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 6 ISSUE 99 •THURSDAY, AUGUST 01, 2013

PRESSURE-PACKED Gilas embrace pressure of country’s hopes

HIGH HOPES. The 2013 Philippine National Team with coach Chot Reyes at the helm will embark on a mission beginning today.

G

ILAS Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes readily admitted that he and the national team are feeling enormous pressure ahead of the FIBA Asia Championship, especially as the tournament will be held in the team’s “home court.”

The Philippines is hosting the FIBA Asia Championship for the first time in 40 years on August 1. Reyes said the entire squad is aware of the enormity of the task they are facing.

“We’ve talked among ourselves, with the team, that the way to handle the pressure is to acknowledge that it is there,” Reyes said in a press conference at the Mall of Asia Arena on Tuesday.

“We cannot deny it, we cannot sweep it under the rug. We have to acknowledge it, so that we can embrace it,” he added.

But Reyes also stressed that the toughest pressure will come from within themselves as well as from the teams they play.

“I don’t think there is any bigger pressure that the pressure we put on ourselves, and I don’t think anybody will pressure us as much as the teams on this table will pressure us,” he said.

“The biggest pressure will come from these

teams – the teams that are going to come at us and are going to play us. We have to be ready for that,” he added.

As for the pressure that comes with playing in their home court, Reyes said it is something that they welcome.

“It’s hard. There are a lot of expectations playing on our home court, but I will rather be playing at home than anywhere else,” he said. “That’s just something that we have to embrace.”

Reyes believes Gilas Pilipinas has what it takes to make it at least to the semi-finals of the championship, but also notes that “there is not going to be one easy game.”

“Everybody knows what we (Gilas) have gone through,” Reyes said. “We have made most of the time that was given to us.

I think this team is going to come out fighting tooth and nail.”

“The only thing I can promise is nobody is gonna try harder than your team,” he added.

Gilas Pilipinas is bracketed in Group A of the tournament along with Jordan, Chinese Taipei and Saudi Arabia. They begin their FIBA Asia campaign on August 1 against Saudi Arabai at the Mall of Asia Arena.

How the Philippines won in 1973 O

N Thursday, the Philippines will once again serve as the host of the top regional basketball tournament in Asia for the first time in 40 years. This marks the third time the country will host the FIBA Asia Championship — Manila also hosted the tournament then known as the Asian Basketball Confederation Championship in 1960 and 1973, both times at the historic Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

This year, the Mall of Asia Arena will serve as the basketball capital of Asia from August 1 to 11 when the best teams in the region take part in the monumental event.

The top three teams will take part in the FIBA World Cup to be held in Spain next year.

Only five countries have ever won the Asian basketball championship, with the Philippines winning five titles — in 1960, 1963, 1967, 1973, and 1985. China leads everyone else with 15

LEGACY. The last Asian champion squad the country produced was the 1973 team that had the likes of Robert Jaworski and Mon Fernandez. championship, the Philippines is second, while South Korea, Japan, and Iran are all tied at two apiece. Curiously, all five teams are penciled as contenders in this year’s staging, with China and Iran — winners of the last seven titles — as favorites.

MANILA HOSTED THE ASIAN CHAMPION-

SHIP IN 1973, during the Martial Law period. The games were held at the oven-like Rizal Memorial Coliseum, which held up to 8,000 fans. A total of 12 teams participated in the tournament, led by the host country, defending champion Japan, 1969 titlist South Korea, and the Republic of China (Taiwan).

Two brackets were formed — Group A included South Korea, Japan, Iran, Thailand, Malaysia, and Hong Kong while Group B was made up of the Philippines, Taiwan, India, Indonesia, Singapore, and Pakistan.

Each group played a round-robin in the preliminary stage. The top

FHOW, 10

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EDGEDAVAO Sports

VOL. 6 ISSUE 99 • THURSDAY, AUGUST 01, 2013

With Dwight Howard gone, Pau Gasol is back as the Lakers’

CENTER OF ATTRACTION P

AU eager to reclaim spot left by Dwight BARCELONA, Spain (AP) -- With Dwight Howard gone and Kobe Bryant injured, Pau Gasol is looking to reassert

Pistons tab Jennings D

ETROIT (AP) -- The Detroit Pistons have made another move in their busy offseason, acquiring Brandon Jennings as they desperately try to end their four-year postseason drought. from the Milwaukee Detroit landed the point guard Bucks for point guard Brandon Knight and two prospects, according to a person familiar with the deal.

The person, who spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because the trade hasn’t been announced, said Jennings has agreed to a $24 million, three-year contract with the Pistons. The person said Detroit will also give up seldom-used Ukrainian center Viacheslav Kravtsov and forward Khris Middleton in the deal.

himself as a leader of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Knees allowing, he wants to be the dominant player of old who helped Bryant & Co. win NBA titles in 2009 and 2010. ‘’I think I have the most uncertain period behind me,’’ Gasol told The Associated Press on Tuesday. ‘’The team has suffered a lot of changes, but as far as me, I am back in the position of a lot of responsibility, which I like, and I’m just going to focus on getting healthy. ‘’Now with Dwight gone I am the reference inside and I am m o r e like I was a couple o f

years back when we made the finals three straight times and won two straight championships,’’ he added.

The Lakers enter a difficult point, with Howard snubbing the storied club to sign with the Houston Rockets. Bryant is still out indefinitely recovering from a torn Achilles tendon.

Gasol wasn’t surprised by Howard’s decision to leave after just one season because it was ‘’always a possibility.’’ He described his former teammate a ‘’nice guy’’ and a ‘’hard worker.’’

Gasol spoke to the AP in the Barcelona airport, where he had just returned from a trip as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador to a refugee camp established in Iraq for the thousands fleeing the violence in neighboring Syria. Gasol called attention to the shortages of water, medicine and schools in the camp that was built for 15,000 but has taken in 50,000.

Gasol said this work provides balance to his life as a pro athlete. It contrasts with the commotion surrounding his team, especially during last season when the Lakers were swept in the first round of the playoffs after beginning the year as a title contender.