Edge Davao 7 Issue 96 by Edge Davao The Business Paper

VOL. 7 ISSUE 96 • TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2014

P 15.00 • 20 PAGES

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EDGEDAVAO Serving a seamless society

WHERE’S THE REHAB FUND?A militant from Compostela Valley Province who participated in yesterday’s protest rally in front of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) peeks between streamers hand printed with slogans of grievances against the government. Simultaneous demonstrations were staged in Davao City yesterday led by various progressive groups in time for President Benigno S. Aquino III’s State of the Nation Address (SONA). Lean Daval Jr.

BPO BRAIN DRAIN By Cheneen R. Capon

Davao’s BPO industry suffering from lack of M competent grads

crc@edgedavao.net

any are called, few are qualified. The Information and Communication (ICT)Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry in Davao City is now facing undersupply of labor. This is according to atty. Samuel Matunog, chairman of the ICT- Davao Industry Development who said that colleges and universities in Davao Region are not pro-

FBPO, 10

See page 2

19 dead in Sulu attack

2 THE BIG NEWS EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 7 ISSUE 96 • TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2014

EFFIGY BURNING. Militant groups burn the effigy of President Benigno S. Aquino III and US President Barack Obama at Rizal Park along San Pedro Street in Davao City during yesterday’s protest rally in time for the president’s State of the Nation Address (SONA). Lean Daval Jr.

Australia, HK routes 19 dead in Sulu attack pushed in Davao T By Cheneen R. Capon

crc@edgedavao.net

uSInESS leader Philip Dizon urged the Mindanao Development authority (MinDa) to work on the establishment of the Davao- Hongkong and Davao- australia connectivity to make the city the economic hub in the East asean region. Dizon, president of the american Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (aCCII) said that government agencies should take advantage of the proximity of Davao to major hubs like australia and Hongkong.

“Some businessmen have to go to Jakarta then Singapore just to fly to Hongkong and australia,” he said during the Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City annex yesterday. Dizon said that the flights from and to Hongkong and australia carrying businessmen have been flying over Davao regularly for a long time but never landed here because there’s “no government agency working on encouraging” these airline companies to land in

avaO City’s security situation is back to normal after the information on possible terror threat was found to be unverified. “Basically back to normal na ang security dito sa city pero we’re still vigilant kasi hindi 100 percent na verified na may terror threat sa Davao City but once a threat it will always remain a threat,”Eastern Mindanao Command chiefof-staff Col. Louie C. Dagoy told Edge Davao in an interview during the General Membership Meeting of Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. at the Seda Hotel. Dagoy said that prior to the announcement of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo

R. Duterte on the possible threat which was from President aquino himself, the command has no idea of the possible terror attack in Davao City and other parts of Southern Mindanao. “Maliit ang Davao region para hindi namin agad masagap yan pero we cannot question because it is coming from the president himself,” he said. “Siguro ang nagbulong sakanya hindi from legitimate source pero hindi natin masisisi and presidente kasi naging maingat lang sya,” the chief said who guested in the meeting of the memebers of the chamber. He said that the armed

FAUSTRALIA, 10

HE armed Forces of the Philippines (aFP) said on Monday afternoon that the death toll from the unprovoked abu Sayyaf Group (aSG) ambush in Talipao, Sulu has now climbed to 19. Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala, aFP public affairs office chief, said the 8:30 a.m. attack was carried out by 50 aSG terrorists headed by Indang Susukan and Sibih Pisih. They attacked a convoy of 40 civilians and 10 barangay police aboard two public utility jeepneys. among the casualties were 13 women and six

men, while 13 others were wounded, including children. “The aFP condemns this heinous atrocity that victimized innocent civilians. This attack ca not be justified by any ideology and shows the abu Sayyaf’s terroristic nature. The military will continue its pursuit operations until those responsible are brought to justice,” Zagala stressed. This was also confirmed by 2nd Marine Brigade Brig. Gen. Martin Pinto in a interview with the Pna. “Two of the wounded children (among the 13 wounded earlier) have

died,” he said. Earlier, the military reported 16 dead in the 8:30 a.m. ambush on civilians by the terrorists. Of the fatality, 10 were males and six females. Pinto earlier said the attack could be attributed to a “rido” (clan war). The victims were on board two “Tamaraw” type vans when fired upon. He added that the estimated 50 aSG attackers were headed by one Idang Susukan. The victims were composed of 40 civilians and and 10 barangay peacekeeping action team mem-

bers. Earlier dispatch revealed that sixteen civilians were reported killed following an abu Sayyaf Group (aSG) ambush at Lower Lumapid, Talipao town, Sulu Monday morning. Initial reports said the incident took place around 3:30 a.m. 2nd Marine Brigade commander Brig. Gen. Martin Pinto said the attack could be “Rido” (clan war) related. The victims were aboard two “Tamaraw” type vans where fired upon. He added that some

F19 DEAD, 10

Security back to normal D

BREAK FROM PROTEST. A progressive group member who participated in yesterday’s protest rally against President Benigno S. Aquino III’s State of the

FSECURITY, 10 Nation Address (SONA) eats his lunch packed in a cellophane at Rizal Park along San Pedro Street in Davao City. Lean Daval Jr.

VOL. 7 ISSUE 96 • TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2014

NEWS 3

EDGEDAVAO

Ateneo to hold blood-letting

PROTECTION. A mall-goer uses an umbrella to protect himself from yesterday’s blistering afternoon heat while smoking at a mall’s designated smoking area. Lean Daval Jr.

By Vannah S. ang

vsa@edgedavao.net

HE ateneo de Davao university (adDu) will hold a blood-letting campaign dubbed as “The 2nd Dugong Bughaw” in commemoration of the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founding father of the Society of Jesus, on July 31. The blood donation activity will be divided into two segments. The first activity will be held at the adDu Jacinto Campus Thibault Grounds from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon and the second activity will be held at the adDu Matina Campus High School Quadrangle from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The campaign is open to everyone who wants

to donate blood as acts of volunteerism and generosity. Eligible donors are individuals who are 18 to 65 years of age in good health and neither anemic nor hypertensive. Participants must weigh at least 110 lbs. and pass the physical and health history assessment that will be conducted by volunteer doctors during the event. according to Rose Bataller, member of the university Community Engagement and advocacy Council (uCEaC) of adDu, they organized the blood donation activity due to city’s dwindling supply of blood for patients in need.

FATENEO, 10

Vigan City vies for Seven Wonder Cities of the World L

OCaL government units (LGus) in Panabo has encouraged residents to vote City of vigan to the united nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (unESCO) World Heritage new “Seven Wonder Cities of the World.” The City of vigan, the capital of the province of Ilocos Sur, is one of the few remaining Hispanic towns in the country. Its architectural structures,

designed with a fusion of Philippine-Oriental and Colonial Spanish culture, have remained intact for many years. It is currently one of the twenty-one (21) finalists of the new Seven Wonder Cities of the World along with Seoul, Perth, and Doha. The historically preserved city stands as one of the most untouched cities since the Spanish colonialism. It epitomizes the idea

FVIGAN, 10

Water service interruption in some Bangkal areas

OME areas in Bangkal will experience a seven-hour water interruption from 9:00 aM to 4:00 PM on July 31. affected areas are Royal valley Subd., San Juan Subd., Sto. niño Bulusan and parts of Central Park Subd. (a portion of Mt. Cordillera St. particularly from the corner of Mt. Matutum St. to the corner of Mt. Siera Madre St., streets of Mt. Batulao, Mt. Mariveles, Mt. Banahaw, Mt. Pinatubo, Mt. arayat, Mt. Mayon, Mt. Kanlaon, Mt. Makiling, Mt. Matutum, Mt. Sierra Madre, Taal Riverside and Taal Road). This water interruption is needed to give way for the tapping of the newly installed 100mm diameter Polyvinyl Chloride (PvC) pipeline to the existing 150mm diameter PvC pipeline for the mainline improvement at Queens avenue in Royal valley Subd. in Bangkal. Said project will allow accommodation of new ser-

vice connections. DCWD acting general manager Edwin v. Regalado asks for the understanding and cooperation of would-be affected customers and advises them to store enough water prior to the scheduled water interruption. Water supply may be restored earlier if work goes smoothly or later if unforeseen problems arise. The general public may visit DCWD website (www.davao-water.gov. ph) and official Facebook page (www.facebook. com/davaowater) or call the Central Information unit / Call Center through the 24-hour hotline 297DCWD (3293) and press “1” on their phone dial to listen to latest daily water updates. They may also call / text 0927-7988966, 0925-5113293 and 09084410653 for other updates, complaints, queries and matters pertaining to DCWD services. (Jamae R. Garcia)

PNoy to DOE : Coordinate with stakeholders to address impending power problem

RESIDEnT Benigno S. aquino III on Monday directed the Department of Energy (DOE) to coordinate with stakeholders to help address the impending power problem in the country. ”I’ve ordered DOE Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla to have discussion with the joint congressional power commission, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), power plant operators and stakeholders so that our capability to address the problem will be increased,” President aquino said during his Fifth State of the

nation address (SOna) at the House of Representatives in Quezon City. President aquino assured the government is doing everything to ensure that the growing power demand in the country, due to progressive economic investments, will be addressed. He noted a possible power crisis next year due to increasing demand, maintenance shutdowns of power plants, the El nino phenomenon and delay in the implementation of ongoing and upcoming power plant projects. aquino mentioned

there is no fast implementation of the 600 megawatts (MWs) shortage foreseen next year. He pointed out that if the household usage of electricity is increasing particularly in the summer months, the industries are expected to have a greater demand as well. Earlier, the DOE has reported incoming red alerts on the power supply, which will be issued likely in the summer of 2015. Petilla earlier recommended to the President to invoke Section 71 of the Electric Power Indus-

try Reform act of 2001 (EPIRa-2001) in order to curb the supply shortage, which allows the Congress to create additional capacity under its own terms and conditions. under EPIRa, the President may be granted emergency powers to accelerate efforts in providing additional supply to the grid and avert possible power shortage next year. Petilla said this include renting bunker-fueled generating facilities run by the private sector to prevent possible blackouts. (Pna)

OBS academy, Inc. is currently searching for eligible applicants in the city to avail their scholarship program. There are still a total of 260 available slots covering the Finishing Course for Call Center agents (FCCCa) and Software Development Course. The FCCCa was recently introduced by their educational program in response to the growing demand of Information Technology (IT) and Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) sec-

tors. The scholarship program was initiated in May offering a total of 490 slots with 400 FCCCa slots and 90 Software Development Course slots. as of now, there are still200 FCCCa slots and 60 Software Development Course slots waiting to be occupied. Eligible applicants are unemployed or underemployed individualswho are at least 18 years of age and high school graduates. a screening interview will be

conducted by consultants from the academy. Interested applicants need to bring an updated resume and visit JoBS academy located in LDL Building, at C. Bangoy Street or call 282-1470 or 0998-5509830 for additional information. JoBS academy, in partnership with the City Government of Davao, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Davao, Educational Benefits Systems unit (ESBu), and Tech-

nical Education and Skills Development authority, will provide P2,000,000for the FCCCa which costs P5,000 for each scholar and P2,700,000 for the Software Development Course which costs P30,000 for each scholar. The FCCCa educational program will take up 100 hours, while the Software Development Course will take up 240 hours. The scholarship program is offered for eligible

260 scholarship slots available at JoBS Academy J F260, 10

EDGEDAVAO

BIGGER PICTURE

VOL. 7 ISSUE 96 • TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2014

PAQUIBATO: FROM POVERTY TO PALM Duterte’s Paquibato oil palm project gets push from Malaysian consultant By Manny piñol Contributor

avaO City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s dream of turning the troubled and poverty-stricken Paquibato District into a vast Oil Palm production area owned by the people themselves received a boost from a Malaysian Oil Palm expert Tuesday who said the soil in the area is ideal for the crop. Malaysian Oil Palm expert Siew King Han who has been involved with the industry for 40 years and helped north Cotabato establish its Oil Palm industry visited the Paquibato area Tuesday and conducted a cursory assessment of the soil type of the district. “I am happy to report to you Mayor that the soil type in this area is ideal for Oil Palm farming. In fact, the soil quality is much better than most Oil Palm areas in Malaysia,” said Han, an agronomist who earned his degree from the university of Malaysia and spent 40 years developing Oil Palm plantations as consultant. Han’s favorable assessment of the soil quality visibly pleased the City Mayor who later vowed to allocate funds to support the project which aims to turn at least 4,000 hectares of the area, largely

(Photo caption: Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte receives a report from Malaysian Oil Palm consultant Siew King Han on the Paquibato soil suitability assessment as former North Cotabato Gov. Manny Pinol looks on. Photo by Kiwi Bulaclac.) believed to be controlled by the new People’s army (nPa), into an Oil Palm production field which will provide income and employment to the people who own the land.

In a partnership scheme designed by former north Cotabato Governor Manny Pinol, a close friend of Duterte, the City Government will initiate the project through a

Plant-now-Pay-Later program by providing planting materials to the landowners. The landowners, on the other hand, will allow an Oil Palm investment

BRIGHT FUTURE FOR PAQUIBATO. An oil palm plantation in Malaysia.

group composed of local businessmen who are supportive of Duterte’s development initiative to develop the area. The investors’ group will provide the technical support, fertilizers and pay the wages of the farm owners or their children who will work in the development of the Oil Palm farms. The investors’ group will also establish and Crude Palm Oil Mill to process the fruits produced from the Paquibato area. Duterte tapped Pinol in designing the program for the area which he later called “The Paquibato People’s Economic Empowerment Initiative” or “The Paquibato Initiative” because of the latter’s experience in rural development which was largely credited for reducing the poverty incidence in north Cotabato from 52% in 1998 to only 26% when Pinol’s nine-year term ended in 2007. “I know that many of you here are members of the nPa or at least you have brothers, sisters or relatives who are with the nPa but let us not talk about that. you are in Davao City therefore I am your Mayor and you are

my people,” Duterte told the big crowd which gathered from a public forum on The Paquibato Initiative. “We have been killing each other for so many years. It is now time for us to have peace and work to improve our lives. This was my promise to you - I will not rest until we have achieved peace and progress,” the Mayor said. “I will allocate funds to ensure that you will have livelihood projects during the years when you are waiting for your Oil Palm to bear fruit. I promise you the City Government will not impose taxes on your farms while you are recovering but I also ask the nPa not to impose revolutionary taxes on the people,” he said. Duterte said that other areas in the district which are not suitable for Oil Palm because of the slopes could be considered for other crops like rubber trees. a city-government sponsored forum on Oil Palm farming is scheduled to be held at the Mandaya Hotel after the Kadayawan celebrations with experts in Oil Palm and bank financing as resource speakers.

THE ECONOMY 5

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 7 ISSUE 96 • TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2014

EDGEDAVAO

Holcim posts P18.7-B sales in Q2 By aRManDo B. FeneQUiTo JR.

abf@edgedavao.net

EMEnT manufacturer Holcim Philippines, Inc. post-

ed P1.65 billion or 18.7 percent net sales in the second quarter as con-

INVESTMENT FORUM. Philip “Sonny” Dizon (right), president of American Chamber of Commerce-Davao, appears to be in serious conversation with Keisuke Nakao, president of Japanese Chamber of Mindanao. Dizon and Nakao graced yesterday’s Kapehan sa Dabaw at The Annex event center of SM

struction activity went full swing during the summer months.

In a statement, Holcim Philippines’ second quarter revenues grew

City Davao where they announces the staging of Southern Mindanao Growth Corridor (SMGC) Investment Forum 2014 at The Marco Polo Davao on September 19 which aims to change the paradigm of Davao region to not just dedicated for agriculture but also for manufacturing. Lean Daval Jr.

year-on-year by 8.5 percent to P8.81 billion after sales further picked up from this year’s strong start. Construction gained momentum particularly in the visayas due to the ongoing post-calamity reconstruction. “On top of the sustained government and private sector spending, we now see some major Private-Public Partnership projects being implemented in the metropolis, hence, our strong sales. We were able to meet this huge demand with our ability and commitment to keep the market supplied during this period of robust growth,” said Holcim Philippines Chief Executive Oiffcer (CEO) Eduardo Sahagun. The statement said that for the first half, the company booked Php16.86 billion in sales and Php3.32 billion net income which is higher by 10.3 percent and 8.7 percent

than last year. It is stated that in the coming months, the Holcim Philippines chief said the company’s focus will shift to complete the regular maintenance of its plants safely, on time, and within budgeted costs. The Holcim Philippines CEO said completing the periodic maintenance activities is crucial to the company’s ability to support the market especially with the current pace of construction activity likely to be sustained in the medium term. Holcim is one of the world’s leading suppliers of cement and aggregates (crushed stone, gravel and sand) as well as downstream activities such as ready-mix concrete and asphalt. It operates four cement plants in La union, Bulacan, Misamis Oriental, and Davao which has more than 1,700 total employees.

6 ECONOMY

VOL. 7 ISSUE 96 • TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2014

4Ps cash grants in R12, Marawi reach P6.36B T HE national government has released a total of P6.36 billion in cash grants in the last three years to beneficiaries of its flagship conditional cash transfer program in Region 12 and parts of the autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (aRMM). Bai Zorahayda Taha, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Region 12 director, said Monday such funding were released directly to 222,366 “poorest of the poor households” in the area that are covered by the initiative, which is also called Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps. She said the program is being implemented by DSWD-12 in 1,287 barangays in Region 12’s four provinces and five cities, and in Marawi City in the aRMM. Region 12 comprises the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and north Cotabato as well as the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Cotabato, Kidapawan and Tacurong. Taha said the number of 4Ps beneficiaries in the area has increased by nearly 77,000 households in the last three years. She said that from 145,421 households in January 2011, the num-

ber of beneficiaries rose to 202,851 in 2012 and 214,376 by the end of 2013. In the last six months, she said they have enlisted a total of 19,515 more household-beneficiaries into the program as part of its continuing expansion. The program presently serves a total of 75,015 households in north Cotabato; 43,079 in Sultan Kudarat; 40,261 in South Cotabato; 31,243 in Sarangani; 11,633 in Cotabato City; 11,620 in this city; and, 11,515 in Marawi City. In terms of the released cash grants, the official said the figures increased by around P5 billion in the last three years. In 2011, she said the agency released a total of P1.075 billon in health and education grants to active 4Ps beneficiaries in the area. It increased to P1.683 billion in 2012 and P2.51 billion as of the end of 2013, she said. In the last six months, she said they have so far released around P1.095 billion cash grants to the area’s beneficiaries. 4Ps is a poverty reduction and social development strategy of the national government that provides conditional cash

UMEMPLOYABLE. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Industry Development chair lawyer Samuel Matunog (right)discusses during this week’s edition of Kapehan sa Dabaw at the Annex event center of SM City Davao the problem of workers who are unemployable in the Business Process

Outsourcing (BPO) industry in the Davao region. With him are Jobs Academy trainer, Hershe Tinapay (left), and president, Belinda Torres (center), who said that her institution is looking for scholars to fill up the shortage in the BPO industry Lean Daval Jr.

grants to “poorest of the poor” households to improve their health, nutrition and education. The program provides beneficiaries cash grants of P500 a month for health and nutrition expenses and P300 a month per child for educational expenses. a household with three qualified children could get P1,400

area this year based on the commitment made by the national government, specifically in the last state-of-the-nation addresses of President Benigno aquino III. She said they have identified a total of 93,984 households that are eligible under the extension of the grant’s coverage to children within the 14 to

18 age bracket. The validation of the eligible children under the expanded education component is currently ongoing, she said. “We’re targeting to enroll around 75,000 more households in the next six months to meet our target of 297,862 beneficiaries for this year,” she added. (Pna)

socio-economic development. These include components of the P1.135 billion city circumferential road, opening and concreting of tourism roads, the continuing expansion to four lanes of the region’s national highways and primary roads as well as the concreting of the secondary roads, he said. In 2011, he said they accomplished a total of 245 projects worth P3.87 billion in 2011 and an additional 264 worth P4.35 billion in 2012. He said they implemented 1,264 more projects worth P6.56 billion last year that were endorsed by the national government under 2013 infrastructure program. Tamayo said the 2013 program includes five tourism road projects worth P340.89 million that were endorsed by the national government to help enhance the region’s tourism potentials. It covered for rehabilitation and concreting of three key access roads leading to emerging ecotourism and

adventure sites in Makilala town in north Cotabato and in the municipalities of Glan and Maitum in Sarangani, he said. Of the total allocation, the official said P33.46 million was drawn from the savings made by the agency through the implementation of competitive and transparent bidding process for the tourism road projects. as of last June 30, Tamayo said they have so far posted an average accomplishment rating of 94.61 percent for the 2011 to 2013 infrastructure programs. He said such accomplishment rating is considered the highest among the country’s 16 regions and they are currently doubling their efforts to meet the assigned targets or timeline of the implemented projects. “We’re currently addressing various gaps to fast track the implementation of our projects, specifically conflicts concerning road right-of-ways and other related problems,” Tamayo said. (Pna)

aSIC Energy Corporation, through its subsidiary PT Basic Energy Solusi, will proceed on the production testing of their fourth oil well in Indonesia. Based on a disclosure from the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Monday, the fourth oil well will undergo wire logging and production testing soon,

after having reached its target depth on July 24. The disclosure added that immediately after the production testing, other studies will be conducted to continue to the oil production phase. Moreover, Basic Energy Corporation stated that operations are ongoing on the third and fifth wells.

Earlier, PT Basic Energi Solisi cited that necessary preparations for the operation on the sixth well are being conducted. Similarly, the company added that more studies will be done to enhance oil recovery before it moves towards construction of production facilities and the production phase. (Pna)

uRInG his administration’s first four years, President Benigno aquino III has brought multi-billion-peso funds for infrastructure projects in this city, which is now considered as the fastest tourism and investment hub in the Bicol Region. Legazpi City Mayor Noel Rosal said the first remarkable infrastructure project by President aquino in this city is the Php

500-million pumping station that aims to address the perennial flooding problem in the city during heavy rainfall. “We’re very grateful to President aquino because he really cares for and loves Legazpi City because for four years, he has infused multi-billion-peso funding for infrastructure development. These initiatives are making Legazpi the fast-rising economic and tourism hub in the

country,” Rosal said. He said several ambitious projects are lined up for the development of Legazpi this year, funded by the national government, and these include: the Php 140-million four-lane yawa bridge, Php 200-million mega highway, Php 8-million core shelter program in Barangay Dapdap, and Php 10-million school classrooms for upland national high schools, among others. (Pna)

Gov’t infrastructure investments in Soccskargen reach P14.7B in 3 years

HE national government has invested around P14.7 billion in the last three years for the implementation of various priority infrastructure projects in parts of Region 12 or the Soccsksargen Region. Reynaldo Tamayo, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region 12 director, said Monday such funding covered for the construction and development of 1,773 projects that were set under the region’s infrastructure program from 2011 to 2013. He said these are on top of the 228 projects worth P5.17 billion that were approved by the national government under the region’s 2014 infrastructure program. Region 12 covers the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, north Cotabato and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan and Cotabato. Tamayo said the implemented projects comprise major roads, bridges and other structures that were deemed vital for the area’s

monthly. 4Ps only used to cover households with children up to age 14 but it was expanded up to age 18 starting this year to allow beneficiaries in the elementary level to continue their schooling until high school. Taha said they will continue with the program’s expansion in the

Basic Energy to proceed testing on 4th oil well in Indonesia

President infuses multi-billion-peso funds for infra projects in Legazpi D

7 ENVIRONMENT

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 7 ISSUE 96 • TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2014

NORMA MONFORT. Bat conservation advocate.

SAVING FRUIT BATS Text and photos by geRRy T. eSTReRa

T has more bats than people. The Island Garden City of Samal in southern Philippines has about 90,000 people living in 30,130 hectares but it has more than two million bats in 23-hectare protected area in barangay Tambo, Babak District. Each month, the population of bats is growing. “I have never seen such an immense number of bats,” says Roy C. alimoane, who recently visited the place. “The caves are overflowing with bats that are cramped very closely together hanging upside down, coating the large walls of the caves. Some are continuously flying, while several others are seen clinging out in the open so close to the ground.” Samal has about seventy caves, which used to be inhabited by these bats. unfortunately, most of these caves are now empty. In some parts of the island, bats are hunted for food by people (particularly during the beer drinking sessions). They are also killed because some people think of these as supernatural beings like vampires. Their natural homes like caves are disturbed because of guano mining and swiftlet nest collection. Bats are also threatened by natural predators like snakes and calamities like earthquakes and forest fires. But thanks to norma Monfort, the million of bats living in a cave with five openings are safe from

people’s intrusion. “angels of the night” is how she calls the nocturnal creatures. “They are angels because the service they do for humanity and the environment is invaluable,” she explains. “They have always been the major agents of reforestation.” Monfort, who is the founder and president of the Monfort Bat Cave and Conservation Foundation, considers bats are the front line warriors against climate change. “They are pollinators,” she points out. “They maintain so many species of plants, trees and fruits that are habitats for other important species. If we lose them completely, we stand a great chance to never again enjoy the wonderful fruits and plants we have today.” There are more than 1,100 bat species in the world. The Philippines is home to 26 indigenous bat species – more than any other country. Most of these bats are threatened. “The threat to bats in the Philippines is quite serious considering that very little literatures and researches have been published about them,” says Monfort. “In addition, bats are still misunderstood until now. In fact, only very few Filipinos are aware about the importance of bats to the environment and to our economy. Because of this, it is much easier for people to hunt bats down because they feel bats are dispensable.” The bats that inhabit

Monfort’s place are called Geoffroy’s rousette fruit bats, known scientifically as Rousettus amplexicaudatus. The fruit bats have been there since the very beginning. She was barely walking when the family would seek shelter inside the cave during the Second World War. Japanese war planes would circle around Samal Island before bombing the adjacent Davao. “Together with some of our neighbors, we would run to the backyard cave,” she said. Only few bats inhabit the cave at that time. after the war was over, the family built a house near the cave, which was already inhabited by bats. The family moved to Davao and lived there. But during weekends and holidays, she would accompany her father going to the farm, as she called their Samal residence. When she was already a teenager, she and some of her friends would venture going inside the cave to see the bats. “To me it was a ‘matter of fact thing.’ I don’t recall being amazed,” Monfort admits. “It was simply; these are bats!” But growing up and seeing bats made her to take care for these creatures. She describes them as “meek and gentle and keep grooming themselves.” When they come out at night, they go out in an orderly manner like doing a circadian flight. “Instead of fear, I feel being

amazed and stand in awe before such a great sight,” she says. “you marvel and become inspired at God’s creation.” Fortunately, her parents gave the land as her inheritance. Monfort loves the bats that she thought of protecting them from leaving the cave. But with the government’s agrarian reform laws, which limit individual ownership of agricultural land, she may loss the land where the bats are dwelling. She raised her own funds to bring the respected scientists from Bat Conservation International (BCI) to her cave to advise the best way to ensure continued protection of her bats. Together with BCI and six other government and non-governmental organizations, Monfort signed an agreement protecting the cave as the Monfort Bat Conservation Park in 2006. Within six months, Monfort also created the Philippines Bat Conservation, an environmental group that reaches beyond her colony to promote conservation of all Philippine bat species. In 2010, the staff from the Guinness Book of World Records came and found out there were about 1.8 million bats residing in the 280 meter long cave. That’s a density of 645 bats per square meter. The huge number made it as the world’s biggest colony of fruit bats. The following year, an american cave-map-

ping expedition stumbled upon an unusually high number of pregnant bats in theMonfort bat colony. The bat species does not usually give birth in the first month of the year, making the discovery a “big surprise” and forcing the scientists to halt their mapping project, Monfort reports. The cause of the bat baby boom is unknown. However, Monfort suspects one factor may be that the cave is protected from humans as an ecotourism site, which allows their numbers to grow. Today, an estimated 2.4 million bats taking refuge at the cave. This alarms Monfort so much so that she is thinking of setting up a chiroptorium, a combination of the word “chiroptera” (for hand wing bats) and “torium” from auditorium. Monfort also wants to put up an artificial bat cave for interactive viewing of both visitors and researchers. as she explains, “This will eradicate the two nagging questions: Can humans transmit diseases to bats with the growing numbers of visitors coming to see the bats? Would these increasingly horrific numbers of bat population transmit any diseases to humans? So far, there are no researches done on these. But what we know is that since the existence of these bats in the island, there has been no record of diseases or even rabies coming from bats.” although she lives in

Davao City, she comes to her Samal property every now and then. When she’s there, she roams around the property. With a notebook, she writes down the things her staff has to attend to. “It is tough for me because the property is slightly sloping and I get overwhelmed with the size of the land,” she admits. “But I have to do it. This may be the last bastion of bats in the country in the near future.” When she enters the sanctuary, referring to the bat cave, she literally talks to her “angels” and say, “Hi! Bat Mama is here.” “Everything remains rustic,” she says, “and I just try to use indigenous materials. I also make sure that the bats are fully protected.” In 2011, Monfort was honored as one of the “Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund Conservation Heroes.” The award is bestowed to “extraordinary individuals who are passionate about protecting animals and habitats in areas of critical concern.” Winning the award, she said, means helping further the cause of bat conservation in the country and elsewhere. In her letter to her friends, she wrote: “That I have been given this recognition is simply signaling more work lies ahead for me using this ‘tool’ and putting it into good use… There is so much to be accomplished that I plan to leave behind for the children of the world…”

EDGEDAVAO

VANTAGE

VOL. 7 ISSUE 96 • TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2014

EDITORIAL

The 100 millionth baby

HE 100 millionth Filipino, a girl, was born last Sunday. The birth is froth with implications given that one of the country’s grave problems is admittedly population explosion. One wonders whether a very small country, poor at that, like the Philippines can really afford to feed, clothe, educate and care for 100 million people. are Filipinos producing enough food to feed themselves and solve the growing hunger manifested in severe malnutrition, especially among children of the poorest of the poor. Do we have enough schools and teachers to educate all the children that we produce, enough funds to spend for medicine and health services needed by the sick, especially during disease outbreaks? Is government and the private sector doing enough to check population that is growing exponentially, knowing fully well that many if not most of our social

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problems are spawned by a runaway population? When will we ever have national leaders brilliant enough to find solutions to this exacerbating problem, and creative enough to handle their perennial opposition of the church to any form of family planning? We also wonder what other social pressures will our country endure as a result of this huge growing population now and in the future? Disappointment THERE was not enough time to make an analysis of President aquino’s 5th State of nation address (Sona) as we went to press yesterday. However, one thing that disappointed listeners was the failure of the President to discuss the Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill. The President certainly owes the FOI advocates an explanation. ANTONIO M. AJERO Editor in Chief

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VOL. 7 ISSUE 96 • TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2014

Signifying a make or break chance

HaT’S nEW aBOuT SOna? Mulling over the past four State of the nation address (SOna), people perhaps have already accumulated a lot of contemplations. It would seem that these thoughts germinate from the manner of their day-to-day life under the aquino administration. Sure, a SOna provides a venue for the sitting president to enumerate all his achievements during the previous years and it goes without saying that we ought to know as citizens. Much of what comprised the customary presidential message to the nation no matter how extensive is expected, after all, SOna is a well-defined and well-calculated proclamation crafted by the best of minds – highly-paid wordsmiths and speechwriters. For the fifth time, President Benigno Simeon aquino III delivered his much-awaited SOna yesterday, July 28, 2014. now the wary public can see what a difference three and a half years can make. The declining popularity of President aquino after more than a three-year reign, which is oftentimes exaggerated by the critical press, has led to much speculation about the fate of the aquino administration. Ironically, there are disturbing aspects of any SOna being delivered by whoever is in power certainly because the entire Filipino population expects something new during the significant moment where the Chief Executive presents in details his performance during the previous years and what he ought to do in the remaining years of his incumbency. again, to recapitulate people understand notably political analysts and pessimists that a SOna is nothing but a well-crafted speech embellished with tantalizing and captivating words expert-

ly prepared by highly-paid wordsmiths and speechwriters. Just about every political experts and adversaries were predicting that the President’s fifth SOna would be similar and as enthralling as the previous presidential speeches full of hackneyed phrases and worn-out statements. Because of this, only the people’s perception had changed. The people, supposedly the President’s “bosses” are now cautious of the country’s much-hyped growth and development stories. and the big worry is that President aquino’s remaining two and a half years in office presents a greater challenge as well as it signifies a make or break opportunity to his administration. The President, through its favorite catchphrase “Daang Matuwid,” (Straight Path) is in a position to force the inclusion and resolution of mounting critical issues. But no matter how political adversaries, harsh critics and militant and progressive groups frown and grin, there’s one thing President aquino has to be able to do after the SOna : use his political leverage to push for a strategic vision, which incorporates economic reform, respect for human rights, and rule of law, transparency and accountability. nevertheless, there are reasons to believe that the aquino leadership will most likely honor its commitment of “Daang Matuwid” and give people a high degree of importance.

But the government cannot just continue talking about growth and sustainable development without addressing crucial issues such as the Framework agreement on the Bangsamoro (FaB), diplomatic stalemate with China over the disputed islands in the West Philippine Sea, rising crime rate, joblessness and grinding poverty. Furthermore, it has to fast track the resolution of the shameful PDaF and DaP fund scandals that rocked the aquino leadership. It should likewise think of a durable and lasting peace and order condition. a comprehensive security agenda for peace and stability, with a formula of conflict solution acceptable to all parties – the MILF, MnLF, nDF-nPa and foreign elements is urgently needed. With a peaceful environment rightly in place, it will increase its importance politically and economically. although many difficulties and pressing concerns lie ahead, President aquino may be able to do more to govern effectively than just put a smiling face on the leadership’s declining popularity. as it is, in his remaining years in office, the President will be judged on how he manages the economy, basic socio-political problems, rising crime, drive against dishonesty in all levels of public life because public dissatisfaction and distrust had risen with the perception that the aquino administration has not been able to tackle, in particular, widespread corruption and rampant smuggling. Most importantly, the Filipino nation expects more from President aquino after his fifth protest-marred SOna and they want more than the “Daang Matuwid,” and of his broad-grin and press-friendly attitude. Simply put, they want progress and prosperity.

men – usec Rico Puno, then Manila Mayor alfredo Lim, the crisis committee chairman. M o r e blunders followed. There was the antonio Trillanes’ secret attempt at revolving the Spratly Islands crisis via a backdoor negotiation by a junior senator with zero experience in such a delicate job. Then a funny thing happened inside a mall in Greenhills where P-noy’s political adviser made a mockery of Ronnie Rickett’s anti-DvD piracy campaign by buying pirated DvD’s worth P 1,000. Despite public clamor for his ouster, P-noy still kept him under his wings. P-noy simply ignored public opinion. and then came DaP, the mother of all blunders. The Supreme Court says it is unconstitutional, P-noy disagrees. and he wants the Court to change its mind, or the country will suffer a constitutional crisis. Will there be one? Let’s wait and see.

SOna –Sana wala na! The President should stop delivering the SOna before a joint session of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It costs millions for the government and is a pain in the neck for the PnP security groups tasked to maintain order on SOna day. The SOna can be delivered in Malacañan, and covered by all the major television networks. For good measure, the government should print copies of the speech and distribute these to all the barangays in the country. any citizen may get a copy of the Sona for free. The cost of printing should not be a problem. use the money allotted for PnP security forces. as for the lawmakers, they can go to Malacañan or they can just stay home and watch the President on television, or go to their favorite hotel. oOo Former senator Joker arroyo once described the SOna as “fairy tale.” Critics of the President flatly call it a “pack of lies.” Me? Sana wala na yan. It’s a total waste of time. Its pomp is artificial, and its pageantry is superfluous. Simply put, it’s an empty show that benefits no one, except magnify the President’s false sense of accomplishment.

Mother of all blunders

RITICS of President aquino grudgingly concede that he is not corrupt. But they are quick to say that the bachelor chief executive is not an honest leader. They cite instances and circumstances that manifest his penchant for giving dishonest explanations justifying his actions, and inactions and those of his favorite appointees. Mr. aquino lied and in not firing former LTO chief Lourdes Torres, former customs commissioner Buddy Biazon, former usec Rico Puno, and the current hottest potato, DBM chief Florencio abad considered as the brains behind the unconstitutional Disbursement acceleration Program (DaP). But aquino’s patent dishonesty was evident in all his four Sonas wherein he painted a robust picture of the nation under his ”matuwid na daan” stewardship. His fourth Sona is a re-affirmation of the three previous affirmations of a tiger economy in the making. P-noy’s administration is undisputably the most “blunderous” ever. The first blunder was the Luneta hostage-taking drama that resulted in the killing of eight Chinese tourists. The incident happened just seven months after P-noy sat in Malacañan. That hostage-taking crisis exposed the incompetence of P-noy’s top hench-

VANTAGE POINTS

Ever heard of management by wandering around? WORM’S EYEVIEW By Manny ValdehueSa

1 of 2 part

EOPLE generally don’t comment, but walking around certain barangays reveals a marked contrast between two distinct residential areas. One area is the privately built and managed subdivision or “township” delineated from the rest of the jurisdiction by a perimeter fence and guarded entrance. The other area is the larger portion of the barangay, the public domain, not fenced and not guarded except maybe by tanods; it is maintained by the local government. The private enclave is where the middle and upper classes live—mostly affluent, with elegant homes in well-maintained blocks or neighborhoods. The public domain, more densely populated, is where most people live; their houses simpler, mixed with other structures sprawled about with no pattern or particular standard, streets and sidewalks poorly maintained or even squatted on. The difference in atmosphere and appearance between the two residential areas is a study in contrast: on one hand, the privately-managed enclave—well planned, orderly, properly maintained; on the other, the public domain—shabby, disorderly, poorly-maintained. ***** This contrast places the local government in an unflattering light. It propagates the bias that government cannot manage things properly or efficiently; it makes public officials out to be remiss or careless in their duties and obligations to the community. It’s a contrast that gives the science of public administration a bad image— that governance imposes no standards, that public service requires no esthetic sense, that government can’t be counted on to do even the basic chores in a community. Officials reinforce these biases when they are neglectful, leaving the public domain unsightly with uncollected trash or careless about trash collectors that leave debris behind, and tolerant of squalor. anyway one looks at it, this negative portrait of the community is a disservice to government and an affront to the citizens. It invites disrespect and promotes disloyalty, as when a citizen gets disgusted and abandons his community or the country. ***** Public officials who tolerate this unflattering condition of their community are unfit for public service. They deepen cynicism towards the government, discrediting themselves and the office they hold as well. unfortunately, this problem isn’t going away anytime soon. It’ll persist as long as the political system is dominated by poorly-educated voters who confuse popularity with competence—and continue electing incompetents and misleaders. yet it’s a simple problem really—like the issue of filthy public toilets: simply require janitors to clean them every so often, and make sure they do! (Oh, but do hire janitors and cleaners, it’s a necessity for maintaining public health.) To be sure, how to maintain peak performance among personnel is the never-ending challenge to administrators. That’s why public administrators need to be followed up and reminded to be responsive to the public. no public servant should get away with poor performance, low standards, or neglect and inefficiency with impunity!

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 7 ISSUE 96 • TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2014

Payment online pushed By aRManDo B. FeneQUiTo JR.

abf@edgedavao.net

HE Davao City Information and Technology Center (CITC) will push for the online payment system in some transacting offices in the city government. Engr. Ricarte D. Franco, CITC head, told reporters yesterday that effective august, they will implement the point

of payment system in the City Engineer’s Office (CEO) and City Treasurer’s Office CTO. “Online na pud ang collection. Kung pila ang amount na collect sa City Engineer’s mao pud ang mo reflect sa City Tresurer’s Office, ” Franco said. Franco said the proposed online system will help address the red tape

problem inside the offices since the list of their payment will be available for the taxpayer. “Kay online naman, makabalo na ang taxpayers kung pila ilang bayran,” Franco said. He admitted that the old system is really prone to red tape and extortion since there are many applicants who will just pay

ducing competent and employable graduates for the requirements of the BPO industry in the region. “We have 20,000 graduates in the region every year but we still lack of talents that will cater the requirements of the BPO companies,” Matunog said during the Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City annex. Matunog projects that by the end of 2016, a total of 37,000 vacancies are still needed to be filled up in Information and Communication Technology- Business Process Outsourcing (ICT-BPO) sector despite the large volume of college graduates the region is producing. He said that the 37,000 vacancies will come from BPO companies which will be relocating in Matina IT Park, Lanang IT Park and Felcris IT Park which are expected to become operational before 2016. “as of today, the sector is in need of 9,000 talents pero hindi pa rin mafill-up kahit marami tayong grad-

uates,” he said. at present, the industry has a total of 21,000 full time employees working in the ICT-BPO industry in the region. This industry can pay new graduates and even undergraduates from P12,000 to P15,0000 according to Matunog, the lack of proficiency in English language and efficiency in communicating ideas are among the problems employers are facing, especially with new graduates. He said that schools are not producing industry-ready graduates, but this can be addressed through capability-enhancing trainings. In addition, the lack in pool of talents also prevent more BPO companies from relocating in the city. “We have plenty of space of relocation of BPO companies but we need to address first their initial requirement of industry-ready employees,” he added. “These BPO companies

only have a minimum of three month in peparation for the relocation. It is important that by the time they get here we have enough supply of manpower for both voice and non-voice sector of the ICT industry,” he said. In order to address the problem on the supply of talents, Matunog said that the industry is closely working with local government unit of Davao City and Technical Education and Skills Development authority 11. Matunog said that the City Government alloted P5.4 million for the scholarship program for the ICT-BPO industry. More than 200 scholarship slots are available in Jobs academy and MTC academy. He also said that the industry will be also meeting with school owners nd administrators this week to discuss on the the requirements of the industry and how schools can help in this problem. CRC

Forces of the Philippines together with Philippine national Police in the region are still working together to ensure the safety and security in the city despite report is still unverified. However, american Business Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. president Philip Dizon said that the theraw and unverified reports on

terror threat caused negative effect in the business sector. “They should not make it public kasi later lumabas na haka-haka lang ang report,” Dizon said. Dizon said that as an effect of the announcement, the British Government issued a travel ban thus affecting the number of investments coming in the city.

The tourism industry was also affected by the announcement. Lisette Marques, Davao City Tourism Operations Office (CTOO) officer-in-charge confirmed through reports from Department of Tourism 11 that there were there hotel bookings and events cancelled as immediate response to the news onterror threat. CRC

“True to our mantra to be men and women for others, we are doing this (blood donation) on the feast day of St. Ignatius, in order to collectively contribute to the blood supply in the city given the increasing demand for blood due to the consistently increasing cases of Dengue, accidents, and other circumstances needing blood,” she said. Based on the record of the Department of Health (DoH) Region XI through their Regional Epidemiology Surveillance unit (RESu), The city accounted for 688 out of the 1,052 cases of Dengue and 476

out of the 683 cases of Measles in the region during the first quarter of the year. Davao City is currently holds the highest record for Dengue cases in the region as Talomo South, Buhangin, and Talomo north have the highest number of cases with reported deaths as well. Bernard al-ag, city councilor, stated that the city needs 200 donors a day to address the increasing demand of blood supply. “The city is short on blood supply” he said during a health forum conducted by the DoH.

The Philippine national Red Cross only contributes around 30 to 35 percent of the blood supply in the city as they need to cater to the neighboring provinces of Davao del Sur, Davao del norte and to as far as the city of Cotabato. The uCEaC plans to conduct the blood-letting program every year, during the feast of St. Ignatius de Loyola. “It is because of the increasing demand and the dwindling supply of blood that we thought of making our blood-letting program a regular campaign annually during St. Ignatius day,” Bataller said.

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fixers inside the offices to hasten their permits. Franco believes that the proposed system will boost the tax collection on building and other permits unde CEO. alhtough, he cannot say the precntage of increase will be collected since they are still on the process of completing the system.

“We are in the midst of converting the data, completing the building permit system nga mahimong online og ma integrate and pint of payment system, ” he said. Franco said the online payment system can be browsed and be paid through internet which can give accessiblity to the taxpayers for their

payments. Franco hopes that the system will be completed within this year so that all hastles on paying taxes. at present, he said that they only have in their website list of the requiremnts needed in procuring permit and the statement of accounts of the taxpayers.

teenagers were among the fatalities. Pursuit operations are now ongoing even as the motive for the attack is still being determined. Meanwhile, military

sources said the aSG attack was headed by Idang Susukan and Sibih Pisih. The two headed a group of 50 aSG brigands who attacked 40 civilians and 10 barangay police action

team members. Ten of those killed were male while six were female. Thirteen others, including children, were reported wounded in the attack. (Pna)

the city. “We need connectivity to Hongkong because this is where people do their business transactions. It is where they put their orders to factories located in China,” Dizon said, adding that most of these businessmen have been there for consumere products like shoes, clothing among others . Connectivity will be sustainable because businessmen will continually fly-in and out of Hongkong and australia, Dizon said. He also added that Minda should take the advantage of the opportunity of having a regular or at least 3 times a week because other countries in the Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines- East asean Growth

area don’t have daily flights yet. according to him, the success of BIMP-EaGa lies on the connectivity of nations to major hubs. He said the government should address the issue on connectivity instead on focusing on local products the country can produce. Dizon said that the commonness of products of the four countries is one of the problems that should be confronted in the BIMP-EaGa program. “Kota kinabalu have copras and we have the same product. They have processing plant, we have the same. This means na walang symbiosis among the nation,” he said that it just create competition.

Dizon said that there recommendation will be included in the position people they are planning to submit to MinDa after the Southern Mindanao Growth Corridor (SMGC) Investment Forum slated on September 19 at Marco Poloce Davao. about 200 businessmen coming from Japan, Europe and united States are expected to participate the one-day forum orgainized by aCCII, Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Mindanao (JCCM) and European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines. “These businessmen are ready to invest here,” JCCM president Keisuke nakao , adding more business matching will happen in the forum. CRC

of a “historical living musueum” which has become a favorite tourist destination in the Philippines. The Sangguniang Panlungsod Resolution no. 223 series of 2014 has been approved by Jose L. Silvosa, mayor of Panabo, as a reminder for all city residents to actively support the City of vigan to aid its advance to the final round of selecting the Seven Wonder Cities of the World. If vigan succeeds, then it will give the coun-

try a new reputation in the field of international tourism. The Resolution no. 334 series of 2014 which states, “Earnestly encouraging all Panaboans in all sectors to support and to vote the heritage City of vigan in its bid to be one of the new Seven Wonder Cities of the World” was also sponsored by the Chairman of the Committee on Tourism and Renante Bangoy, city councilor. It is fully supported by the mem-

bers of the 6th City Council of Panabo and the City vice Mayor James G. Gamao, Sangguniang Panlungsod presiding officer. The winners will be determined through vote cast on the official website of the new 7 Wonders Foundation, www.new7wonders.com/en/cities, or by simply texting “vIGan” to 29290777. The new Seven Wonder Cities of the World will be announced by the foundation by October 7. vSa

individuals who want to enhance their communication skills and increase their chances of being qualified for a lucrative job in call centers. The modules of the courses include accent, grammar, and spontaneity development. according to atty. Samuel Matunog, chair of ICT Davao Industry Development, the scholarship program provides tangible proof that the city goverment is supporting the growth of the IT and BPO industry. “I hope workers and parents will take advantage of this opportunity because

opportunities in these sectors (IT and BPO) pay quite well. Whether you last in the BPO sector or not, the skills garnered from the program will be value added to every employee,” he said during the weekly Kapehan sa Dabaw at the SM City Davao annex yesterday. “We have worked so hard to get the government to invest here because we know that it will have a lasting effect on the development of our community providing decent jobs for workers. We want to increase the employment rate and bene-

fits for people in need of this opportunity,” he explained. JoBS academy is a school that provides Bachelor and Diploma courses such as Bachelor of Science in Business administration (BSBa) and Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSIT) thgat specializes in Software Development, Digital animation, and Game Development. It has existed for 5 years and is still active in its commitment to provide quality education and appropriate employment through its partner industries. vSa

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EDGEDAVAO VOL. 7 ISSUE 96 • TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2014

WHEN STROKE STRIKES By geRRy T. eSTReRa

PEaKInG before an audience of graduating students, 52-yearold Sean suddenly lost sight in his left eye and stumbled over his words. The business executive quickly recovered and completed his speech. Sean blamed stage fright, but his doctor was concerned. Tests revealed severe blockage of Sean’s right carotid artery. He had suffered a transient ischemic attack (TIa), a brief period when blood fails to reach a specific area of the brain. Although TIA is fleeting, it should not be ignored. Some neurologists estimate that up to onethird of people who experience a TIa later suffer a stroke which, according to the World Health Organization, is the third leading cause of death worldwide. Stroke affects an estimated 20 million people each year. In the Philippines, stroke affects about 500 out of 100,000 people, reports Dr. Jose navarro, author of “Prevalence o Stroke: Community Survey,” which appeared in The Philippine Journal of neurology. “Don’t confuse a stroke with a heart attack,” reminds Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld, bestselling author of The Best Treatment. “a stroke is what happens when the blood supply to a portion of the brain is interrupted; a heart attack is what you suffer when the blockage is in an artery within the heart.” There are two types

of strokes: ischemic and hemorrhagic. “about 80 percent of strokes are ischemic – due to a blocked artery,” explains The Merck Manual of Medical Information. “Brain cells, thus deprived of their blood supply, do not receive enough oxygen and glucose (a sugar) which are carried by blood.” aside from TIa, other common early symptoms of ischemic stroke are the following: sudden weakness or paralysis of an arm, a leg, or one side of the body; sudden dimness or loss of vision, particularly in one eye; sudden confusion, with difficulty speaking and understanding speech; loss of balance and coordination, leading to falls; sudden severe headache with no apparent cause; and abnormal sensations or less of sensation in an arm or a leg or on one side of the body. “Many other symptoms may also occur,” the Merck manual points out. “People who have a symptom that suggests an ischemic stroke should seek medical attention immediately.” The other 20 percent of strokes are hemorrhagic – due to bleeding in or around the brain. “In this type of stroke, a blood vessel ruptures, interfering with normal blood flow and allowing blood to leak into brain tissue,” the Merck manual explains. “Blood that comes into direct contact with brain tissue irritates the tissue and can cause scarring, leading to seizures.”

The Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, based in Minnesota, says one cause of hemorrhagic stroke is an aneurysm, which caused the death of martial arts icon Bruce Lee and american comedian John Ritter. This “ballooning” from a weak sport in a blood vessel wall develops with advancing age. Some aneurysms may also form as a result of a genetic predisposition. “as aneurysm forms, the vessel wall becomes thin and stretched,” the Mayo Clinic points out. “an aneurysm that grows to at least three-eights of an inch in diameter (about the size of the head of a thumbtack) is most likely to rupture.” But the most common cause of hemorrhagic stroke is high blood pressure (hypertension). There are about 12.6 million Filipinos with hypertension and half of them are not aware of their condition until they begin to suffer illnesses that have associated complication with hypertension. “Hypertension per se does not kill, but the complications are the ones that disable and kill a hypertensive,” says Dr. Rafael Castillo, a cardiologist at the Manila Doctors’ Hospital. “Too much pressure can cause the bursting of a vessel – especially if that vessel has been weakened by age and the excess pressure of hypertension,” writes Dr. Julian Whitaker, author of Reversing Hypertension. “Hyperten-

sion also contributes to atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis, the narrowing and stiffening of the arteries that increases the likelihood of blood clots cutting off blood supply. When either of these scenarios occurs in an artery in the brain, the result is a stroke.” “Hemorrhagic strokes are less common than ischemic strokes but more often deadly,” warns the Mayo Clinic. “about 50 percent of people who have hemorrhagic strokes die compared to about 20 percent for ischemic strokes. Strokes that occur in young adults are typically hemorrhagic.” according to the Merck manual, stroke usually damage only one side of the brain. Because nerves in the brain cross over to the other side of the body, symptoms appear on the side of the body opposite the damaged side of the brain. Stroke afflicts people at the prime of their age and the peak of their career. aside from hypertension, other risk factors include family history of stroke, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, atrial fibrillation, high blood cholesterol level, smoking and those who previously had suffered from TIa. People eating diet rich in saturated fats, living sedentary life, and who are heavy liquor drinkers are also at risk for stroke. Experts urge Filipinos to be aware of the symptoms and should know who to call and go to in

case stroke happens. Once the brain is damaged, it is already irreversible. “Prompt attention could make a big difference in the outcome following a stroke,” says Dr. Willie T. Ong, an internist-cardiologist and author of several health books. There are no known first aid treatments with this illness which many patients think are sufficient to reverse the stroke process. according to Dr. navarro, the treatments readily available to prevent grave disability from stroke can only be obtained from the hospitals. a study conducted by the national Stroke association in the united States has shown that 80 percent of stroke is preventable. In fact, the incidence of strokes in Western countries in recent decades has declined, mainly because people are more aware of the importance of controlling high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels, and quitting smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages. “Controlling these factors can go a long way in preventing stroke,” the Merck manual claims. Those who suffered from strokes should not fret. There is life after a stroke. Look at the case of Patricia neal, who suffered a series of near-fatal strokes in 1965. Though pregnant at the time of the first stroke, she bore a normal child. She resumed her acting career in 1968 and received an academy award nomination for Best actress for

her electrifying performance in The Subject Was Roses. Quite a feat! american president Dwight David Eisenhower made a quick and complete recovery from stroke in 1955. The following year, he was reelected a second presidential term. In retirement, he remained active in politics and wrote three books. an avid golfer, he scored his only hole in one in 1968, 13 years after his stroke and a year before his death. Before becoming the 38th u.S. President, Gerald Ford was a star on the university of Michigan football team and a lieutenant commander in the navy during WWII. He suffered a stroke during the 2000 Republican Convention at age 87. Other american presidents who have experienced a stroke include Thomas Jefferson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Ford’s predecessor, Richard nixon. But despite all the odds, they continued to be in the limelight in the remaining days of their lives. Hugh Hefner, the controversial magazine publisher who launched the Playboy media empire in his late 20s, suffered a stroke in his late 50s. He later described this incident in 1985 as a “stroke of luck” for how it changed the direction of his life. a few years after the stroke, the famous bachelor married, though that marriage officially ended in 2010.

12 CLASSIFIED

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Billiard Supplies

Phone Nos.

Cell Nos.

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INdulge!

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EDGEDAVAO

Gone to the birds TRAVEL

WE often associate Hong Kong with endless shopping, great food, and parties galore. This visit back to Hong Kong though, I decided to go local and explore the many market streets in Mongkok away from the tourist spots and where the locals visit to buy items for their everyday needs. One such market in Hong Kong is the Yuen Po Street Bird Garden. Located at the edges of Mongkok, the Yuen Po Street Bird Garden is a traditional Chinesestyle park with soaring gateways and themed courtyards complete with a fabulous Moon Gate. Each courtyard is flanked by rows of trees and bird stalls where the local bird fanciers and traders meet and share their their experiences. The energetic shrill and colours of the many songbirds overwhelmed me as I slowly weaved in and out of the stalls that sell anything and everything related to the upkeep of birds. The 200 marble screens depicting the many different species of birds

mounted on the walls of the garden also add to the charm of the area. If you arrive early you can even see the local bird fanciers taking out their feathered friends for some fresh air. The Hong Kong Chinese had traditionally liked to keep birds as pets. Here you see the old men with their cages taking their birds for “walks” much like you would take your dog to the park. Besides showing off their birds singing skills, it is also a way for the old folks to come and socialise, they hang the cages from the tree branches, and together with their fellow bird-

The colorful bird market.

owners partake in a card game or just simply have a chat. The Yuen Po Street Bird Garden can be reached by either the D2 exit of the Mongkok East MTR Station or a longer but more scenic walk through the Flow-

One of Yuen Po’s many gateways.

Chit-chatting under songbirds.

er Market road via the B1 exit of the Prince Edward MTR Station. Follow me on Instagram or on Twitter @kennethkingong for more travel tips, foodie finds, and happenings in, around, and beyond Durianburg.

Pet songbirds in bamboo cages.

Locals feeding birds crickets.

EDGEDAVAO

A2 INdulge! UP AND ABOUT

Send school colors flying with official UAAP merchandise for Season 77 WiTh University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 77 now underway, ABS-CBN Licensing is proud to announce that its official UAAP-themed merchandise, UAAP Watches by Swap, UAAP Bags by hawk Bags, and Zeal’s UAAP-themed scarves are now up for grabs all around the country. Following a partnership with the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) and ABSCBN, SWAP by Tomato Time released the latest UAAP-themed collection of SWAP watches that highlight the league’s eight universities:Adamson University, Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University, Far Eastern University, National University, University of the East, University of the Philippines and University of Sto. Tomas. Each university is uniquely represented having trendy details such as university logos in watch faces with corresponding school colors available in interchangeable silicon straps. Each SWAP UAAP watch is waterproof and interchangeable, and allows students and fans alike to create a stylish look by swapping different silicon straps according to your fashion taste and mood. hawk Bags and the UAAP have also come up with a limited-edition line of UAAP-themed backpacks just in time for Season 77. The bags are made with the finest materials and accessories available; and subject to the strictest quality control. The use of heavy duty zippers, weather-resistant fabrics, dual density foam for the straps, and lock-stitch technology ensure its users that these backpacks will last for many seasons. The backpacks’ designers are constant in blending creative elements with lifestyle trends, while reflecting the style of hawk Bags’ customers with stylish and vibrant tones. Also out in the market now are UAAP-themed scarves by Zeal. These scarves come in eight different designs, each rendered to represent each of the UAAP member schools. UAAP SWAP watches are available at selected Tomato Stores, Tomato Time kiosks, and online at www.tomato.ph. UAAP Bags by hawk are available at The SM Store branches nationwide. For the UAAP-themed scarves by Zeal, die-hard UAAP fans can visit www.facebook.com/zealsport for more details on how to order.

SM ACCeSSOrieS hAS A SPeCiAL TreAT jUST fOr The LAdieS. Celebrate ladies’ month with us! Get a free foldable overnight bag with your SM Advantage, SM Prestige, or BdO rewards Card, for every P1000 minimum single receipt purchase at the Ladies’ Accessories department. Plus avail up to 50% off on selected items. Promo period is from August 1 to August 13 only.

VOL. 7 ISSUE 96 • TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2014

Rico Blanco rocks Smart’s Deezer app launch event

PREMIuM music streaming service Deezer has finally reached Manila via wireless services leader Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) in a party launch held July 9 at Raven, Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, the face of Deezer, musician Rico Blanco performed before a packed crowd to introduce a bigger and better way to discover music.

Originating from France, Deezer contains more than 30 million songs in its library. The app is also available in over 180 countries worldwide. “We are very happy to secure this partnership with Deezer,” said Kathy Carag, Smart Postpaid Marketing Head. “We have brought you SPINNR and now Deezer to beef up our music portfolio. We know that music is life for many Filipinos and now Smart is making it possible for Filipino music lovers to enjoy what they want to hear with the clarity and features they truly deserve.” Deezer’s music discovery features such as Flow, Hear This and Explore combines the best of man and machine - recommendations made by its 50 music editors worldwide as well as its smart algorithms. This ensures that music recommended to the user via Deezer is personalized to his or her music taste. “Deezer’s man and machine intelligent recommendation features relies on both the technical feature of suggesting what songs or artists are worth listening to and 50 music editors all over the world who are also taking into account the choices of the Deezer subscriber. The more I listen to tracks I want on my playlist, the more Deezer recognizes what kind of songs I’m looking for.” Rico added, “I have been using Deezer for quite

OPM rock icon rico Blanco, the face of the Smart - deezer partnership, wows the crowd with his legendary hits and unforgettable showmanship

from left: Steven frank, Business development Manager for Asia, deezer; dona inthaxoum, Label relations head for Asia & Oceania, deezer; Mellissa Limcaoco, innovations and Product development Group head, Smart; Kathryn Carag, Postpaid Marketing head, Smart.

dj, host, and model Sanya Smith enjoys the power of deezer’s 30-million-track catalog, now available to new and existing Smart Postpaid subscribers.

Celebrity couple divine Lee and Victor Basa glam up the Smart & deezer Launch event at the raven Boutique Club on july 9.

some time now and I have been personally recommending it to friends for quite a while. I’ve been listening to songs and artists suggested by Deezer based on my listening history and I would not have discovered this world of wonderful tracks and artists if not for this music app. It’s like taking music cues from someone that truly knows you like when a friend buys you a CD that he knows you will like, Deezer does that to me. It has turned my music discoveries into exciting adventures.”

Premium offers Deezer’s premium offers will initially be available to Smart Postpaid subscribers through unlisurf Premium Plans starting at just P1,174 a month, bundled with the year’s latest smartphones and unlimited LTE surfing. users, for example, can get the Sony Xperia M2 at unlisurf Premium Plan 1174, with unlimited mobile surfing, free calls and texts, and a Deezer Premium+ subscription already included in the package. Other phones available

include the Nokia Lumia 1020 at Plan 1675; and the Sony Xperia Z2 as well as the Samsung Galaxy S5 at Plan 2175. As an exclusive perk to early subscribers, Smart will be giving those who sign up for any of the unlisurf Premium Plans a P175 bill rebate for six months. Existing Postpaid subscribers, meanwhile, can take advantage of the various Deezer Music Packs that come with a free Deezer Premium+ subscription. These include Deezer Daily for Php25 (1day Deezer access plus 25 SMS and 10MB of mobile data for Deezer streaming), Deezer Weekly for Php125 (7-day Deezer access plus 125 SMS, and 50MB of mobile data for Deezer streaming), and Deezer Monthly for P250 (30-day Deezer access plus 250 SMS, and 100MB of mobile data for Deezer streaming).

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EDGEDAVAO

INdulge! A3

ENTERTAiNMENT

TV5 supports Paolo Bediones amid alleged sex video scandal TELEViSiON NETWORK TV5 expressed support for news anchor, Paolo Bediones amid a sex video allegedly featuring the host that is making the rounds on social media. in a statement, TV5 says “The recent issue involving our news anchor,

Paolo Bediones, on social media is a purely personal and private matter in which TV5 has no involvement or desire to intrude.” “We accord our employees and talents all respect that are due them for their privacy and personal action or decision.

“We disapprove strongly the malicious and wanton publication of the video, an act that clearly violates pertinent cybercrime laws. “We firmly express our support for our anchor Paolo Bediones in the face of a controversy that represents nothing more than an attempt to smear his repu-

tation.” The name of Bediones trended on Twitter last Saturday because of the spread of a sex video allegedly featuring the news anchor and an unidentified woman. Bediones and his manager have not commented as of press time.

Julia Montes credits ‘Ikaw Lamang’ for becoming a better actress JULiA MONTES is very thankful to ABS-CBN’s master teleserye “ikaw Lamang” for honing her to become a better actress through the character she portrayed, Mona. “Before ‘ikaw Lamang’ started, i was so nervous because i didn’t know if i can act side by side with the big stars who are part of the cast. But eventually, i became at ease because they were always generous and were ready to help me give justice to my role,” said Julia. Meanwhile, tension between Samuel (Coco Martin) and Franco (Jake Cuenca) will surely heat up in “ikaw Lamang” now that Mona is gone. how far will Samuel go to get the justice that his wife deserves? Will he continue to wage war against

Franco and Maximo (Ronaldo Valdez) now that the lives of his loved ones are at risk? how will Mona’s death change the lives of Samuel, Franco, and isabelle (Kim Chiu)? “ikaw Lamang” is the master teleserye of ABSCBN which is under the production of Dreamscape Entertainment Television. Don’t miss the heartpounding scenes in the timeless master teleserye, “ikaw Lamang” weeknights after “hawak Kamay” on ABS-CBN Primetime Bida. For more information about “ikaw Lamang” visit the show’s official social media accounts Facebook.com/ ikawLamang.Online, Twitter.com/ikawLamang_TV and instagram.com/ikawLamang_TV.

‘Bet ng Bayan’ kicks off nationwide auditions in Cebu and Bacolod WhiLE thousands of aspirants from the regions travel all the way to Metro Manila hoping for a chance to enter show business, a new talent show is going to do things the other way around. GMA’s upcoming realitytalent search Bet ng Bayan goes to the regions to scour for the best bets and bring them to Manila to compete with other exceptionally talented contestants. hosted by no less that Asia’s Songbird Regine Velasquez-Alcasid and Kapuso prime leading man Alden Richards, Bet ng Bayan is open to all Filipino singers, dancers, and other novelty performers; the nationwide auditions of which started in SM City Cebu and SM City Bacolod last July 25 to 26. The Queen City of the

South and the City of Smiles welcomed all hopefuls who showed off the best of what they’ve got in either one of the three categories: Bet na Singer/s, Bet na Dancer/s, and Bet na Kakaibang Talento (Novelty Act). The singing competition dubbed “Bet na Singer/s” is open to both non-professional and professional

singers without a recording contract, at least 15 years old and may be an individual or a group composed of twofive members. Meanwhile, the dancing competition dubbed “Bet na Dancer/s” is open to nonprofessional and professional dance groups with a maximum of 12 members who are at least 15 years old.

The third category, “Bet na Kakaibang Talento” is open to individuals or groups of up to six members who can display unusual talent/skill or entertain via novelty acts or unique performances. interested applicants are expected to prepare a twominute act, and bring with them a copy of their birth certificate, picture, and an iD with address. The next auditions are scheduled in SM City Fairview; SM City Sta. Rosa; and SM City Gen. Santos on August 1 & 2. To know more about the latest updates on the Network’s regional events, follow GMA Regional TV on Twitter via www.twitter. com/GMARegionalTV and on instagram via www.instagram.com/GMARegionalTV.

SHE'S DATING THE GANGSTER Daniel Padilla, Kathryn Bernardo PG 13

12:40 | 3:00 | 5:20 | 7:40 | 10:00 LFS

STEP UP ALL IN Ryan Guzman, Briana Evigan PG 13

12:40 | 3:00 | 5:20 / 7:40 | 10:00 LFS

DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES Andy Serkis, Gary Oldman PG 13

R-16

12:00 | 2:30 | 5:00 | 7:30 | 10:00 LFS

HERCULES Dwayne Johnson R 13

12:40 | 3:00 | 5:20 | 7:40 | 10:00 LFS

EDGEDAVAO

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EVENT

All for the bride at Kasalang Filipino By Kenneth Irving Ong ONE of the country’s biggest bridal fair, Kasalang Filipino 2014 recently held its fourth leg at the Activity Center of the Abreeza Mall last July 25 to 27. A unique bridal fair showcasing some of the best local suppliers, party organisers, hotels, resorts, wedding photographers, pastry makers, and everything a bride needs on her wedding day, Kasalang Filipino is one of the biggest bridal shows in Davao City. The show also ties key cities in the Philippines with one objective of promoting the local wedding

and tourism industry. The fair also had a makeup showcase and Gandang Pinay Bride Bridal Make-up Contest by Ever Bilena as well as “Kasalang Filipino... with a Tupper-Twist” a wedding table presentation competition in partnership with Tupperware Philippines. Kasalang Filipino 2014 will also be held at Imus, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Manila, and Cebu.

Call: 224-0733 • Tionko St., Davao City

13 COMMUNITY SENSE Halad Mission Group Foundation: Life is a Mission I EDGEDAVAO

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By MaCy FaRiolen

nDIGEnT parients of Mati City became beneficiaries of the recent Halad Mission Group Foundation’s second halad activity dubbed as “Halad sa Mati: Minor and Major Surgical Mission” at the Davao Oriental Provincial Medical Center and City Health Office on July 24-26, 2014. The project was spearheaded by Dr. Rolley Rey Lobo, HMGF President, Dr. Max Libre of uCCP Foundation and Dr. Ben Hur Catbagan, Jr, City Health Officer with the cooperation of Mayor Carlo Rabat and vice Mayor Glenda Rabat-Gayta, LGu Mati and the Province of Davao Oriental. a total of 70 patients were beneficiaries in the Halad activity. Minor Cyst surgery had successfully catered 11 patients; Eye surgery, 31; Thyroid, 15; Hernia/ Hydrocele, 9; Excision of Breast Mass, 2; Foreign Body removal, 1 and; Hemangioma, 1. The beneficiaries were all hopes up and grateful for the

L-R, T-B: Dr. Rolley Rey Lobo and MIS SPMC surgeon volunteer in an intense major surgical operation; the two most toxic Thyroid patient-beneficiaries of the HMGF Halad Mission; Martin after his successful major Hernia surgical operation. project because everything was free of charge. The funds for the surgical mission came from the Summer Frolic Party on Waves last april 4-5, 2014, LGu Mati and the other private sponsors. Halad sa Mati surgical mission has 50 volunteers comprising surgeons, anesthesiologists, ophthalmologist, nurses and others. The Southern

Philippines Medical Center Surgical team graced the event with their major participation together with the other service teams, uCCP Foundation, Minimally Invasive Surgery-SPMC, City Health Office and LGu Mati. The recent event was only part 2 of the 2nd official halad activity because the 1st part kicked off last June 28-29 at

Cabuaya, Mati City with 320 beneficiaries of IM and Pedia Consultation and Minor Surgical Operations. The HMGF also gave lecture on CvD patients coming from Cabuaya, Luban and Lanca. MIS, uCCP, Dr. Rolley and Joan Lobo and children, Dr. Ben Hur and Dra. nida Catbagan and Dr. Josil Cruz worked together to make the halad mission

in Cabuaya successful. “Life is a mission” is the Halad Mission Group Foundation’s official tagline. The group started in the year 2003 founded by Dr. Rolley Rey Lobo, Dr. Ben Hur Catbagan and Dr. Max Libre. The spirit of volunteerism and the passion to help, serve and answer the needs of our indigent brothers and sisters ig-

nited the flame to realize their mission. HMGF’s 1st halad activity approved by the SEC skyrocketed on Dec. 20-21, 2013 at Governor Generoso, Davao Oriental and this will be an annual surgical mission to be done twice every year from then on in the City of Mati spreading out to the neighboring towns and barrios.

14 SPORTS

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 7 ISSUE 96 • TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2014

WHO’S THE BOSS? TOUR WINNER. Vincenzo Nebali completes his triumphant ride to the Champs Elysees.

OuR de France yellow jerseys are usually won high in the mountains or on the time trials, even a mixture of both, but vincenzo nibali's triumphant ride to Paris began on unfamiliar terrain - the cobblestones. In driving rain on the feared cobbles of northern France, cyclists crashed off in stage five in all directions, some, like 2013 champion Chris Froome, terminally. However, with twice former champion alberto Contador losing two minutes as he tip-toed around the greasy curves, nibali calmly rode through the mayhem to seize control of the race and never looked in danger of relin-

Nebali: A win made on cobbles quishing his hold. When Contador crashed out on a descent during the 10th stage, nibali's path to glory was clear. "The cobblestones stage was the most important for the overall victory," nibali said on the Champs Elysees on Sunday after an emotional rendition of the Italian national anthem. "I was nervous about that day although I knew I could do something great. My sports director said go out and enjoy it and I said what is there to enjoy, it's pouring with rain?! "But I rode calmly. I think my mountain bike experience helped on

MAN IN THE MIDDLE. Andray Blatche has joined the SMART Gilas Pilipinas in practice.

that day as I felt in control of my bike." With Froome and Contador out, nibali was a cut above the rest of the field in the mountains and he extended his lead, leaving France's Jean-Christophe Peraud and Thibaut Pinot to jostle for the second and third steps of the podium with Spain's alejandro valverde. Some suggested nibali would not have won with Froome and Contador still there fighting in the mountains, but nibali said: "I think I would still have done a great race but for sure it would have been harder because they are both great climbers and great leaders.

"But I prepared well for this race and it showed it on the mountain stages. at every mountain finish I was there. I was feeling great. "Froome and Contador are great champions and I hope I will be able to race against them next year." Fellow Italian Mario Cipollini, a sprinter who won 13 Tour stages in eight participations but never reached Paris, said nibali was a worthy champion. "I think he would have won anyway this year even if they hadn't crashed," he said. "He has proved he can manage a race well." nibali is now the

sixth man to win all three grand tours after Belgian Eddy Merckx, Frenchmen Jacques anquetil and Bernard Hinault, Italian Felice Gimondi and Contador. "I've never really thought about records or history I just take each stage of my career, step by step," said nibali, who kissed his parents, his wife and five-month old daughter Emma vittoria shortly after crossing the line. "I won the vuelta in 2010 and the Giro last year. Winning the Giro was a massive emotion because when I was young I watched it every day. I grew up watching Pantani."

Nibali is the first Italian to win the Tour since the late Pantani in 1998. "It was a tough race. It's tough to be there on the podium actually. I was very emotional," he said. "My memory was two years ago standing on the podium in Paris and looking across to (Bradley) Wiggins and hoping that I could be there one day. It's a huge honour and this has been a fantastic day. "I anticipated that no feeling of happiness could be compared to what we feel on the podium at the Champs-Elysees. It's even more beautiful than what I could imagine."

ILaS Pilipinas had its first official practice session Saturday in Miami, the start of a rigorous two-week training camp in preparation for the FIBa World Cup in Spain set aug. 30 to Sept. 14. The first practice session also marked the first time that nBa veteran andray Blatche joined the national team. Blatche was granted naturalization, thus allowing him to play for the Philippines in various international tournaments. The 6-foot-11 Blatche, who recently played for the Brooklyn nets, posted a photo of his no. 11 Pilipinas jersey on his Instagram account @draylive, saying: “very thankful #puso.”

Last month, Blatche was in here for a quick visit. He met with several Gilas Pilipinas players, but there was no training session. Gilas Pilipinas Coach vincent “Chot” Reyes, on his Twitter @coachot, posted three different photos of the practice session, one with Blatche taking part in the drills, while another photos showed Jimmy alapag talking to american Coach Tab Baldwin, who rejoined Gilas Pilipinas in Miami. The 58-year-old Baldwin, who served as coach of the national teams of new Zealand, Lebanon and Jordan, has been tabbed by Reyes to be part of the Gilas Pilipinas coaching staff since 2013. Baldwin’s presence is a big help for Gilas Pilipinas, given his coaching experi-

ence in international competitions. He steered new Zealand to a semifinal stint during the 2002 FIBa World Cup in Indianapolis, as the Tall Blacks edged Puerto Rico in the quarterfinal stage (65-63), but they lost to eventual champion yugoslavia in the Final Four (89-78). alapag tweeted, “Day 1 in the books! #GilasPilipinas” via @Jalapag3, while La Tenorio posted a picture on the popular photo sharing site of him icing his legs at a bathtub “Recovery after 1st day of training” @ La_Tenorio. after the two-week training camp in Miami, Gilas Pilipinas will then proceed to Spain for a series of friendly matches, and the national team will also participate in a four-team Invitational meet in France.

Blatche joins Gilas in Miami G

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EDGEDAVAO

Kevin Love withdraws from Team USA

EvIn Love still doesn't know where he will play next season, his nBa future hanging in the air while a seldom-used league rule complicates a potential trade to Cleveland. The only thing certain from a basketball standpoint for Love is that he won't be playing for Team uSa this summer. Love had to withdraw from Team uSa's roster while the Minnesota Timberwolves field offers for their three-time all-Star, a process that was extended when Cavaliers rookie andrew Wiggins signed his contract this week. Love is the latest allStar to pull out of Team uSa, which begins its training camp in Las vegas next week to prepare for the FIBa World Cup in Spain. In recent weeks the americans have lost Blake Griffin, LaMarcus aldridge and nBa Finals MvP Kawhi Leonard. They have 18 players remaining and will choose 12 for the World Cup of Basketball roster. Love, who won gold medals at the 2012 Olympics and 2010 world championship and was one of the first players to commit to play this summer, told uSa Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo that he would be unavailable for training camp that starts Monday. "He wants to play but it's a little bit of a sign of the times when you look at the league in terms of con-

tracts, rumored trades," Colangelo said. "all of those circumstances put players in a funny position." The Cavaliers have been in pursuit of Love since before the draft. Their chances of landing Love, who can opt out of his contract next summer and has told the Timberwolves he wants to play for a contender, increased exponentially when LeBron James chose to return to play in Cleveland. The Timberwolves have demanded Wiggins, the no. 1 overall draft pick, in a package in return for Love and the Cavaliers have gradually softened on their position to include the dynamic 19-year-old wing player in trade talks. under nBa rules, Wiggins cannot be traded until 30 days after he signed his contract with the Cavaliers. That means any possible deal could not be completed and announced by the teams until aug. 23 at the earliest. That length of time allows other teams to make offers for Love as well, but also makes it too risky for Love to participate with Team uSa. an injury could derail any trade possibilities, so Love had to take the difficult step of informing Colangelo on Friday night that he would not be able to participate. It had to be a tough call for Love to make. He has long held playing for Team uSa as one of the highest honors possible and has

NBA ROUNDUP

referred to his experience of winning gold in London as the pinnacle of his young career. While other big stars like James were stepping away from the team to get some rest this summer, Love took pride last year in joining with Kevin Durant to be among the first elite players to recommit to the World Cup team. "I think he truly is remorseful," Colangelo said. Love was a vital piece to the London team, giving the americans a rebounding presence and a much-needed big man to stretch the floor. But Colangelo said the team would be able to get by without him, pointing to an experienced roster and rising star anthony Davis, who was on the Olympic team but played only sparingly. "It's not like there's a barrel full of power forwards that can rebound and shoot the ball like Kevin Love," Colangelo said. But in international competition, where teams generally play smaller than they do in the nBa, players such as Indiana's Paul George and Dallas Mavericks forward Chandler Parsons could help fill the void. DeMarcus Cousins, andre Drummond and Kenneth Faried are the other big men on the roster that could give the americans a presence in the paint. "Someone is going to have an opportunity to step up," Colangelo said. "We're kind of anxious to get started to look at this."

OUT OF THE WORLD CUP. Kevin Love has begged off from the Team USA squad in the FIBA World Cup. He is the second big star after Blake Griffin who turned down national duty.

Scott: I’m the new LA coach

yROn Scott said in a television interview that he is the new coach of the Los angeles Lakers but the team insisted that an agreement has not yet been reached. ESPn reported Saturday that the Lakers and Scott agreed on a fouryear, $17 million deal. The Lakers hold a team option on the final year of the deal. "It feels fantastic," Scott told KCBS-Tv on Saturday

night. "This is a dream come true. I always wanted to coach the Lakers, especially when I got to coaching. It's so unreal. I have to thank (general manager) Mitch (Kupchak), Jeanie and Jim Buss to give me this opportunity." However, the Lakers said nothing is set. "There is no done deal," a source told the Los angeles Times. Lakers owner Jim Buss reportedly made Scott a

verbal offer on Thursday and Scott and his representatives were reviewing it. --Cleveland Cavaliers star forward LeBron James is switching back to wearing jersey no. 23. James wore that number in high school and during his first stint with the Cavaliers. He changed to no. 6 during his fouryear stint with the Miami Heat, where he won two nBa titles.

a Former Philadelphia 76ers player Allen Iverson walks onto the court at the Wells Fargo Center.

Mintal...

FFROM 16

HS), Davao Central High School (DCHS), Philippine Women’s College (PWC), Calinan national High School (CnHS) and nikkei Jin Kai (nJK). In Group a are Emar-a (Emar-a), aLnHS, Southpoint School (SPS), Rizal Memorial Colleges (RMC),

St. Paul College of Davao (SPCD), Elias Lopez national High School (ELnHS) and Crossing Bayabas national High School (CBnHS). Technical official albert Ryan Lim said the DFa under 12 Boys Grassroots Tournament will

kick off on august 2 at the Tionko football field 2. The scheduled game are: (Group a) 7:30am adDu vs. Southpoint School; (Group B) 8:30pm Lasang FC vs. Catalunan Grande; and (Group C) 9:30am Hyenas FC vs. Black Knights FC.

street ball peers, Ball up, for a friendly match against a local selection which will be named soon,” Reyes shared during an intimate gathering for the press at Stephon Marbury’s, another former nBa superstar, outreach project launching held at the Bonifacio Global City recently. "It's what he wants and he has a couple of schedules right now for basketball clinics. He's doing clinics for kids, that's already the direction he's (Iverson) wanting to go so we want to support him."

In a short statement, Iverson himself expressed his excitement. “I’m looking forward to my coming visit to Manila. I’ve heard a lot of good stories about the Philippines, specifically about Filipino basketball fans. See you all real soon,” said Iverson via e-mail. Reyes, Iverson’s representative in asia, and his uS management team, Moore Management Entertainment, recently sealed the deal with PcWorx to bring the former nBa MvP and four-time scoring champion

to the Philippine for a charity basketball game that will benefit Gawad Kalinga. However, Reyes was also quick to give a disclaimer that Iverson will not be donning a uniform and step on the court to showcase his cat-quick crossovers. Iverson was the top rookie pick in the 1996 nBa Draft and went on to be one of the history-making names in the league. Iverson’s forthcoming Manila visit, dubbed “all In”, will have its media launch this august 1 at the nBa Café.

‘The Answer’is coming

FTER stop-and-go negotiations, the long wait will soon be over after former nBa star allen Iverson’s local agent confirmed his Manila visit this november. Sheryl Reyes, agent of imports and former and current nBa and PBa players around asia, bared that the former 11-time all-Star will be coming to the Philippines for a series of charity events. “For this particular event, allen will be introduced as a coach. He will be bringing with him his

16 EDGEDAVAO Sports

CLEAN SLATE

FLOATER. Bong Go scores on a floater on his way to a 42-point explosion for the Executives. Lean Daval Jr.

VOL. 7 ISSUE 96 • TUESDAY, JULY 29, 2014

‘Boss Brothers’lead City Hall Execs B OnG Go was in his usual fiery element filling in the figurative big shoe on a day the other half of the “Boss Brothers” Glenn Escandor brought in a bigger shoe, literally that is, and hobbled throughout the match. Good thing, Go’s guns were ablaze as he scattered 42 points to lead the City Hall Executives to a 8873win over the Judiciary in the 2014 CMO-IBP Basketball Tournament at the Hall of Justice Covered Court in Ecoland. IBP-Davao survived BJMP 98-87 to share the top spot with the Execs with identical 2-0 win-loss slates. Go came through 28 of his 42 in the final two quarters, including a game-changing spurt in the third canto that shut out the Judiciary. With the Judiciary threatening to surge back after cutting down the gap to 56 – 61, from double digit, Go nailed three triples to push the Executives back on track.

The Executives went on to take a 68 – 56 lead entering the pay off period and were never threatened along the way. a three pointer by Glen Escandor, who accidentally brought the size-13 neon green shoes of his son Francis Gabriel, capped a big rally by the Executives en route to a 24-14 lead at the end of the first canto. Escandor, visibly had a hard time to get his rhythm due to discomfort caused by the much bigger shoe size—no fault to having the same colorway with that of his son’s pair. Before the match, Escandor had emerged as the go-to option for the Execs once the defense collapses on the tightly-marked Go. Warren Cloribel and Eugene Labor chipped in 16 and 10 points respectively for the Executives who were up at the half, 43 – 38. Ryan Escorido scored 21 points for Judiciary which dropped to 1-1 slate. Playing much com-

posed down the stretch, IBP-Davao pulled away late to overwhelm BJMP and replicate its huge win over IBP-Davao del norte two weeks ago. Gil Ciudadano and Chug Cadiogan provided the spark for IBP-Davao, racking up big numbers of 25 and 23 points respectively. But it was adrian Paguican who delivered the dagger points down the stretch as he scored 8 of his total 13 points in the final canto to lead IBP-Davao close out the hard-fighting BJMP side. BJMP remained winless in two outings despite the laudable effort of Lanzuela, Frondoza and Sumagang. In the other match, armand Dioso dished out another monster game to carry the IBP-Davao Oriental to a 112-67 victory over IBP-Davao del norte. Dioso, who had 29 points against the Executives two weeks ago on a losing cause, scattered 41 points. (Rico Biliran)

Mintal, Ateneo A take opener in DFA Inter-High

InTaL national High School (MnHS) and ateneo de Davao university team a (adDu-a) posted convincing wins at the start of the Davao Football association (DFa) Inter- High School tournament at the Tionko grounds last Saturday. MnHS showed too much power in demolishing International Christian School of Davao (ICSD), 14-0 for Group C in the first game. adDu-a, on the other hand, routed Emar B, 9-0 in the main game for Group a. DFa president Edward “Chaya” Lam said

the games will resume on July 29 with free matches. Holy Cross of Mintal takes on Philippine College of Technology in the first game at 1:30 p.m. followed by ateneo B against university of Mindanao at 3 p.m. The main match at 4:30 p.m. pits Emar a versus aL navarro national High School (aLnHS). HCM and PCT are bracketed in Group C together with MnHS, adDu-B, uM and ICSD. adDu-a and Emar-B are in Group a with the Davao City High national High School (DCn-

FMINTAL, 10

DRIVING THE LANE. Glenn Escandor (81) of the City Hall Execs drives through the lane against a Judiciary defender using a pick from a teammate. Lean Daval Jr.