Edge Davao 8 Issue119

VOL. 8 ISSUE 119 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

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HUGPONG HAS NO LINEUP YET Party at standstill as Mayor Duterte has yet to call caucus

EDGEDAVAO Serving a seamless society

INSIDE EDGE

CVO seizes tons of fish, chicken P2

GREENING THE EARTH. A young girl tries out her green thumb as she participates in tree-planting activity dubbed SMB Buhayin ang Kalikasan, a corporate social responsibility program of San Miguel Brewery, Inc. now on its third year, in Cua Compound, Km. 6.5 Matina Pangi over the weekend. Lean Daval Jr.

Starfish threaten coral reefs P3

By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

W

ITH less than a month before the start of the filing of certificates of candidacy for the 2016 election, the homegrown Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod has yet to come up with its lineup of candidates for local positions.

In an interview yes-

terday, city administrator Jesus Melchor V. Quitain, the party’s secretary general, said Hugpong has yet to convene since party chair Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte has not yet called a caucus.

“We are still waiting for the instruction of Mayor Duterte,” he said.

Quitain said the list

of candidates that will be supported by the party will depend on the guidance of Duterte.

“We will have to act sooner or later, (but) we will just have to wait,” he said.

The mayor had earlier said he wants his daughter, former Mayor Sara Z. Duterte, to replace him

as mayor since he is planning to retire from politics next year.

Sara, for her part, said her decision will depend on what the party wants.

Her brother, Vice Mayor Paolo Z. Duterte, had initially expressed his intention to run for mayor if his father will

FHUGPONG, 10

EDGEDAVAO Sports

Djokovic wins 10th major, turns back Roger Federer in finals Page 15

2 NEWS EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 8 ISSUE 119 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

NO EFFECT. Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Assistant Secretary Charles Jose says in a press briefing at the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) yesterday that the dispute between the Philippines and China over the West Philippine Sea does not affect the two countries’ bilateral trade as it increased by more than 17 percent in 2014 over the previous year. Lean Daval Jr.

Phl relying on int’t community over sea dispute with China

By FUNNY PEARL A. GAJUNERA

D

epartment of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Assistant Secretary Charles Jose yesterday said the Philippines is now relying on the support of the international community regarding the West Philippine Sea dispute with China.

Jose said the country will rely on the international community to convince China to follow the tribunal result which Jose expects to be favorable to the country.

China had earlier said that whatever the outcome of the case filed by the Philippines before the arbitral tribunal with regards to claims of the Chinese government to the West Philippine Sea, the latter will not comply with it.

“Sinabi na ng China nung nag file pa lang tayo ng arbitral case na they do not accept the arbitration process and they will not respect and comply with whatever decision that the tribunal will come up with,” Jose said.

He said that if ever the tribunal outcome will be favorable to the Philippines and yet the Chinese government will refuse to respect its decision, the only recourse of the country would be convincing the international community to follow the tribunal result.

“We will be relying to the international community to try to convince the China that it is for its best interest to respect and comply with

FPHL, 10

Another soldier nabbed for illegally firing gun

A

NOTHER member of the Philippine Army is now facing charges for illegal discharge of firearms for allegedly firing his pistol in Deca Homes in Barangay Tacunan, Tugbok District, Davao City.

Tugbok Police Station identified the suspect as Private First Class (PFC) Ian B. Cuñado, 27, a resident of Zone 3, Lim Extension, Digos City and a member of the 25th Infantry Battalion based in Monkayo, Compostela Valley.

Police said a concerned citizen appeared before the Community Police Assistance Center (COMPAC) in the area to report that the suspect had fired his .40 pistol.

Investigators immediately went to the area and confronted the suspect.

When police asked the suspect to show documents authorizing him to possess the firearm, the suspect failed to present any.

Operatives recovered

FANOTHER, 10

CVO seizes tons of fish, chicken

By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

T

HE Davao City Veterinarian’s Office (CVO) confiscated several tons of adulterated putrid fish and uninspected chicken meat in the three markets in the city during the weekend.

In an interview yesterday after the City Hall department heads’ meeting, assistant city veterinarian Esther Cherrie Rayos told reporters that the CVO confiscated a total of 70.5 kilograms of adulterated tuna and four tons of “hot” chicken in the markets in Matina Apla-

ya, Puan and Toril.

Rayos said the tuna was confiscated because they were no longer fresh and the vendors had wiped them with pork blood just to make them look fresh to the buyers.

“What they used to do was put red dye, but since that is illegal they resorted to using pork blood, which is still illegal,” Rayos said.

She said the adulterated fish easily rot. Aside from this, they also compromise the religious practices of some

groups that do not eat pork.

She said the CVO was able to apprehend four violators but these people were just warned that the city will file charges against them if they are caught committing the same violation.

As for the “hot” chicken meat, Rayos said they were conveyed by a meat van from Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur to Davao City.

Rayos said the personnel of the meat van failed to present a meat inspection

certificate, prompting the CVO inspection team to confiscate the hot chicken meat.

She said the chicken meat came from a dressing plant in Sta. Cruz.

Rayos said the CVO is now conducting a deeper investigation to determine if the city will file charges against the violators.

She said some of the confiscated chickens that are still edible will be given to social service institutions so as not to waste them.

Caballero in the area at around 4:45 p.m. when the suspect sensed that he was transacting with a police officer.

Police said the suspect ran inside his house and drew out a gun. The officer was able to shoot first to disable him but the suspect died due to the gunshot wound.

The police report did not state where the suspect was hit.

Police said they recov-

ered a caliber .22 Magnum pistol, the P500 marked money, and one small sachet of suspected shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) from the suspect’s possession.

Police also arrested three drug suspects during the operation, identified as Ariel Blanco, 54, a resident of San Miguel Village, Matina; Mahedi Juanday, 42, from Lugay-lugay, Bagua 2, Cotabato City; and Ameir Mentang, 29, from

Katul, Sultan Kudarat.

Police said the three were caught inside the house of Caballero having a shabu session.

Confiscated from their possession were a large sachet of suspected shabu and assorted drug paraphernalia.

The suspects are now facing charges for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Suspected pusher killed in buy-bust A

drug suspect was killed after allegedly drawing a gun at an undercover police officer who was conducting a buy-bust operation in Toril, Davao City on Sunday afternoon.

Toril Police Station identified the suspect as Fernando Caballero, 35, a resident of Prudential Village, Barangay Daliao in Toril.

Police said an agent was buying drugs from

VOL. 8 ISSUE 119 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

NEWS 3

EDGEDAVAO

AFP recovers NPA firearms

By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

T

REFRESHMENT. A passerby sips on an ice-cold buko juice at a roadside stall along R. Magsaysay Avenue yesterday to fight off the scorching afternoon heat.

Lean Daval Jr.

Starfish threaten Samal coral reefs

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

C

ORAL reefs in the Island Garden City of Samal (IGACOS) are being threatened by the rapid reproduction of crownof-thorns starfish that cause coral bleaching.

“This is already alarming,” Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) 11 regional director Fatma Idris told reporters during the Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Annex yesterday.

Idris said there are already some diving sites in the island that are infested by crown-of-thorns starfish.

She said the bureau has to conduct a research study to identify specific coral reefs in the island and in the

region affected by the starfish, which she referred to as a “pest.”

“This type of starfish sucks all the nutrients from the coral, allowing the latter to eventually die and turn white,” she said.

As one of the solutions, more than 7,000 government personnel and volunteers will participate in the 30th International Coastal Clean-Up activity along the coast of Davao Region on September 19 in a bid to conserve the health of the Davao Gulf and other bodies of water here.

Idris said some of the “scubasureros” or volunteer scuba divers are trained to

Despite dispute, Phl-China trade rose 17% in 2014: DFA

collect crown-of-thorns starfishes.

“This type of starfish has to be collected carefully because a single mistake could cause its faster reproduction,” she said.

Last year, BFAR 11 and some volunteer scuba divers were able to collect 26 sacks of crown-of-thorns starfish.

These were buried in a vacant lot in Samal and will be made into organic fertilizer.

The coastal cleanup will also collect garbage in the coastal communities along Davao Gulf.

Philippine Coast Guard Southern Mindanao commander Commodore Joselito Dela Cruz said the activity

will extend to Pujada Bay and Sarangani Bay. PCG auxiliary Philippine Information Agency (PIA) 11 regional direct Efren Elbanbuena said the activity will focus specially on coastal barangays of urban cities like Davao City.

“The bulk of the garbage collected in our past cleanup activities came from coastal barangays of Davao City spanning from Agdao to Matina,” Elbanbuena said.

Last year’s clean-up drive collected 5,000 kilos of garbage. It was participated in by more than 5,000 people, including local chief executives, government officials, and volunteers.

HE 39th Infantry Battalion recovered firearms, communication gadgets, equipment, and a Special Action Force (SAF) uniform from a camp of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Matanao, Davao del Sur. The Eastern Mindanao Command (EastMinCom) reported the soldiers were on security patrol at around 4 p.m. on September 13 when a civilian tipped them off to the location of the NPA’s war materials in Sitio Datalpitak, Barangay Colonsabak, Matanao.

When they reached the area, the soldiers found a M16 rifle with magazine and ammunition; a caliber .30mm Springfield Garand rifle with ammunition; a

4-liter gasoline generator; an ICOM VHF transceiver/ receiver with battery; and assorted clothes, including a PNP SAF uniform.

The EastMinCom said the recovered items were suspected to have been left behind by members of the NPA’s Guerilla Front 72 Far South Mindanao Regional Committee.

Meanwhile, NPA members allegedly burned a “Saddam” truck and a Delica van in Sitio Mangway, Barangay Pintatagan, Banay Banay, Davao Oriental on Saturday night.

The EastMinCom said the burning happened at around 7 p.m. of September 12, 2015. No casualty was reported.

N armed police officer who masqueraded as a journalist will face charges for infiltrating an exclusive human rights conference here, a human rights activist said Monday.

Fr. Christopher Ablon, spokesperson of Barug Katungod Mindanao (Mindanao Stand for Human Rights), said members of the Mindanao wide human rights group noticed the police officer who acted suspiciously while the conference was going on.

The human rights group held an exclusive conference over the weekend starting Friday to assess reports about alleged human rights abuses in many parts of Mindanao involving the indigenous people (IP), Ablon said.

He said that Senior Police Officer 3 Rolando L. Gomonit Sr. pretended to be a member of the local media to be able to get information about the names of the orga-

nizers and delegates of the conference.

Ablon said the participants called the police for assistance after noticing that Gomonit was armed.

Responding police officers seized the fully loaded .45 caliber pistols of Gomonit, two loaded magazines, and a mobile phone with camera.

Gomonit’s phone had pictures of the participants, the plate numbers of the vehicles used by the delegates, and names of the participants, Ablon said.

Ablon said Gomonit reportedly followed one of the delegates in entering the exclusive conference and introduced himself as member of the local media in order to gain entry.

Ablon said human rights lawyers are now preparing charges against Gomonit, who is presently detained at the local police headquarters here. (PNA)

Cop who posed as journalist faces raps A

By FUNNY PEARL A. GAJUNERA

T

HE total value of the bilateral trade between the Philippines and China increased by more than 17 percent in 2014 over the previous year despite the dispute of the two countries over the West Philippine Sea/ South China Sea. In an interview with Davao City media yesterday, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Assistant Secretary Charles Jose said the bilateral trade of the two countries was not affected by the dispute.

Jose said the West Philippine Sea issue is “not the sum total” of the relationship of the Philip-

pines and China.

He said during President Benigno Aquino’s visit to China in 2011, he had an understanding with then-Chinese President Hu Jintao that the economic trade of the two countries should not be affected by the West Philippine Sea issue.

“Nung nag State Visit si President Aquino sa China nung September 2011, nagkaroon sila ng understanding with then-Chinese President Hu Jintao na sinabi nila na ‘wag nating hayaan na maapektuhan ng usaping South China Sea ang other areas of our cooperation with

FDESPITE, 10

COASTAL CLEAN-UP. Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Auxiliary Leo Avila (rightmost) announces the upcoming 30th International Coastal Clean-Up activity along the coast of Davao Region on September 19 in a bid to conserve the health of the Davao Gulf during the Kapehan sa Dabaw at the Annex of SM City Davao yesterday. Avila was joined by PCG Commodore Joselito dela Cruz (second from left), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) 11 director Fatma Idris (second from right), and PCG Auxiliary Commodore Efren Elbanbuena . Lean Daval Jr.

4 SUBURBIA

EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 8 ISSUE 119 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

GenSan vows better hospital services with new info system

T

CABBAGE GIRL. A girl looks bored as she keeps watch of cabbage for sale at the public market in Malaybalay City. MindaNews photo by H. Marcos C. Mordeno. jpgVVC

HE city government has promised better services at the city hospital here with the rollout of its new information system.

Glenvil Gonzalez, assistant city administrator, said Monday the newly-launched system improves the overall operations of the city hospital, which was plagued by controversies these past years due to various problems.

He said the new hospital information system integrates data collection, processing, and reporting and ensures the proper use of the generated information.

“It addresses previous problems that affected the efficiency and effectiveness of the hospital’s services,” he said.

The development of the new hospital system was earlier pursued by the city government in coordination with the Department of Health (DOH) in Region 12.

Aside from the information system, the DOH-12 funded this year the improvement of the city hospital’s dietary, wastewater treatment and electro-cardiogram facilities through an PHP11.5 million grant from the agency’s Health Facilities Enhancement Pro-

gram.

Gonzales said the new system resolves vital flaws in the hospital’s system that triggered some controversies in the past.

“The city hospital had become controversial in the past because of some isolated incidents. (But) I can assure you now that these are now being addressed and that our city hospital is a working city hospital,” he said.

He assured that the hospital is currently fully equipped to address various medical conditions, especially emergency cases.

“We have good doctors, good consultants and have one of the best nursing staff in the city,” Gonzales said.

City Councilor Rosalita Nuñez, chair of the city council’s committee on health, vowed to provide the necessary support to various projects and initiatives concerning the city hospital.

She said her committee will continue to introduce legislations that will further improve the hospital’s services and operations.

“We now have a rejuvenated hospital that is ready to serve and we will make sure that such status will be sustained and improved in the process,” she said. (PNA)

Gov’t backs Bishops’ call to probe Lumad killings Dry spell to affect M

alacañang shares the concern of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) over the killing of three Lumad leaders by alleged paramilitary forces in Lianga, Surigao del Sur. Speaking over Radyo ng Bayan Sunday, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. said the Department of Justice (DOJ) is willing to investigate the incident as urged by the CBCP and other groups.

“We note the statement of the CBCP on the killing of Lumads. According to Justice Secretary (Leila) de Lima, the DOJ (Department of Justice) supports the call for an inter-agency probe of the incident,” he said.

“Government continues to ensure the safety of all citizens and that peace and order is maintained,” the Palace official added.

In calling for a probe on the matter, the CBCP in its statement said it is “profoundly disturbed” by accounts that some au-

thorities are “quick to exonerate” the militia group suspected to be behind the killings.

According to reports, Surigao del Sur Governor Johnny Pimentel earlier called on the Armed Forces of the Philippines to disband the paramilitary group Bagani Forces, which is allegedly responsible for the murders.

During an Inquirer multimedia forum last week, President Benigno S. Aquino III stated that “serving the people does

not entail killing any of our citizens.”

“There is no campaign to kill anybody in this country. There is a campaign to go after everybody who commits crimes regardless of who they are,” President Aquino said.

“I think we have an adequate track record to show the successes of people who have long been wanted that have already been apprehended and the process still continues,” he added. (PNA)

vulnerability to disasters of residents situated in danger zones,” she said.

Lorca said the municipal government of Tupi had requested for financial assistance amounting to P782,140 to facilitate the purchase of a two-hectare relocation site in Purok 10 of Barangay Bunao.

The municipal government of Banga has proposed for the development of a two–hectare relocation site in Barangay Lamba for residents of Sitio Lamfuco who were affected by flashfloods last June, she said.

Lorca said a team from their office and Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) in Region 12 will visit the

proposed relocation area later this month for the conduct of geological assessments.

She said the move is aimed to ensure that the identified relocation is suitable for dwelling and not a disaster danger zone.

In the selection of the relocation sites, Lorca said they consider the socio-economic and food security as well.

Lorcas said in Koronadal City and Tampakan town, they will also conduct site inspections and assessments along with the MGB for two more identified relocation sites.

Lorca said the provincial government will also assist

the two local government units in the acquisition of the relocation sites.

“The provincial government has taken resettlement program as the best strategy in terms of addressing disaster risks. We want to make sure that our people are safe at all times,” she said.

Meanwhile, Lorca said they have set aside some P2 million for the purchase of the sites in Tantangan and Polomolok towns which will be used for the construction of Muslim cemeteries.

She said the Sangguniang Panlalawigan already approved the release of financial assistance for the said purpose. (PNA)

SoCot allots P8.3 million for purchase of relocation sites, Muslim cemeteries T

HE Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (PDRRM) Council of South Cotabato has approved the release of funds amounting to P8.3 million which will be given as financial assistance to six city and municipal governments in the area.

Mila Lorca, acting head of the South Cotabato PDRRM Office, said the assistance will be utilized for the purchase of lots for Muslim cemeteries and relocation sites for informal settlers as well as families living in disaster-prone areas.

“This is to fast track the acquisition and development of the relocation sites and eventually reduce the

SoCot, SK, Sarangani

T

HE provinces of South Cotabato, Sarangani, and Sultan Kudarat in SOCCSKSARGEN Region will likely experience dry spell as “mature and strong El Niño” affects the country, the Regional Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) 12 warned.

Minda Morante, regional director of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) 12 and chair of the RDRRMC 12, noted in an advisory released Friday, September 11, that the three provinces are among the 21 provinces across the country that “may experience dry spell.”

Included in the list are Isabela, Sorsogon, Eastern Visayas (except Biliran), Zamboanga del Norte Misamis Occidental, Compostela Valley, Agusan del Norte, Surigao del Sur, Basilan, South Cotabato, Sultan, Kudarat, Sarangani, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

“A mature and strong El Niño is now present in the tropical. Consensus of climate models show that it will likely strengthen further before the end of the year and may last until the first half of 2016. This 2015-2016 El Niño event will potentially be among

the four strongest events since 1950,” Morante said, citing PAGASA-DOST and NDRRMC. Strongest El Niño occurrences were felt in 1972-1973, 1982-1983 and 1997-1998.

Dry spell is described as three consecutive months of below normal (21-60 percent reduction from average) rainfall conditions or two consecutive months of way below normal (more than 60 percent reduction from average rainfall conditions.

Sultan Kudarat, the advisory noted, may be among the provinces that will likely experience way below normal rainfall condition.

On Tuesday the OCD 12 and the NDRRMC 12 will meet member agencies for an update on the weather situation and projections.

In the same meeting, the Department of Agriculture will present updates on the effects of El Nino on the agriculture sector.

Potential impacts on foods, fisheries, water supply, environment as well as social, macroeconomic and security concerns will also be discussed, Morante said. (DEDoguiles-PIA 12)

EDGEDAVAO

5 ECONOMY

VOL. 8 ISSUE 119 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

PCA eyes coco hubs in Mindanao T

HE Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) is setting up coconut hubs in the different areas within the year with an allocated budget of P600 million to implement the project in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

PCA deputy administrator Roel M. Rosales said Mindanao will get half of the total funds. The coco hub dubbed

as Kaanib Agro Enterprise Program is a level support project of the existing Kaanib project that offers livelihood assistance to coconut farmers through coco farmers’ village project.

He said the project aims to make coco farmers become entrepreneurs making them owners of enterprises.

“This will let them engage

Electronics spike E

LECTRONICS remain the country’s top dollar earner, with total receipts of US$2.818 billion in July, the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation, Inc. (SEIPI) said September 10.

That’s 52.9 percent of total export revenues, said Dan Lachica, SEIPI President, adding that 79.74 percent or US$2.246 billion of total electronic products were components and devices from semiconductor companies.

Month-on-Month, exports grew by 10.24 percent from US$2.556 billion last June to US$2.818 billion in July. Year-on-Year (July 2015 vs. July 2014), exports

went up by 34.63 percent from US$2.093 billion to US$2.818 billion.

The country’s top five destination countries were China (22.64 percent), Hong Kong (15.93 percent), United States (11.25 percent), Japan (10.89 percent) and Singapore (9.35 percent).

Together, they get 70 percent of Philippine exports.

Three out of nine product sectors grew, with automotive electronics posting the biggest growth rate of 43.11 percent, from US$7.52 million in June to US$10.76 million in July.

Components and devices (semiconductors) also grew at 19.62 percent while communication and radar rose 12.56 percent.

in several coconut related businesses be it in coco sugar, coco coir, virgin coconut oil and other coco related by-products,” he said.

The project will be implemented in three years.

He said the first year will be spent for the provision of planting materials consisting of 500 seedling materials per hectare plus organic fertil-

izer. The second year is the sustenance of fertilization requirement and the third year on marketing and financing.

Rosales said small coco farmers don’t have financial resources or operating capital and “our focus is to empower them so they would also learn the business and would know how to link with the market.”

“The government is here to support them,” he added.

He stressed that their support is through the local government units in collaboration with farmers’ association/cooperative.

He said this is in the form of acquisition of equipment or building where the hub will be set up.

It will be like a private

public partnership and national agencies like the PCA team-up with the LGUs. He said they would be looking at how coco farmers can link up with the market citing, for example, that in Caraga Region their main market is geared towards mining areas in Surigao since coco coir is needed to prevent soil erosion. (PNA)

CAMELLA BROKERS LAUNCH. Camella Southern Mindanao cluster head Marlon Niño Escalicas delivers a motivational message to some 250 brokers who attended the Camella Panabo sellers’ launch on Friday afternoon. Lean Daval Jr.

6 NEWS

EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 8 ISSUE 119 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

Milkfish has export potential

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

M

INDANAO’S thriving milkfish industry has a huge potential for export to Asian Muslim countries but the lack of certification limit producers here to the local market, an official said.

“Mindanao has a huge production of bangus that could be exported in Muslim countries like Malaysia and Indonesia but it needs Halal certification,” Mindanao Integrated Aquaculture Association president Dr. Alex Tan said during the weekly Kapehans a Dabaw at SM City Davao Annex.

Tan said these two Mus-

lim countries have production areas for milkfish or bangus, but not enough to supply the daily requirement of the population.

In a bid to increase the competitiveness of the players in the aquaculture industry in the international export market, organizers of the three-day 17th Davao Trade Expo (DATE 2015) will be conducting a free seminar on Halal certification on September 26 at the SMX Convention Center in Davao City.

There will be also seminar on post harvest facilities like deboning machine and

FTA review sought T

HE Philippine banana export industry is urging the government for a review of the country’s Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with its trading partners.

“There is a need for a thorough review of our free trade agreements and assess our trading partners’ fulfillment of their commitments to ensure that we are at an outstanding edge in the trading game; in our case, the elimination or reduction of tariffs,” said Stephen Antig, executive director of the Philippine Banana Growers and Exporters Association Inc. (PBGEA).

Banana is still the country’s top fresh fruit export.

However, Antig said that industry players are now wary that they will eventually lose its market shares “if the government won’t be more aggressive in negotiating for reduced tariffs in countries where we export our bananas.”

He also mentioned that “production costs are increasing every year to maintain volume and quality, so much so that some multinational are already thinking about relocating to other countries which have investor-friendly policies.”

In fact, Antig said, some PBGEA members are already getting invitations to expand and develop banana plantations in Vietnam.

Philippine cavendish is still under the exclusion list of the country’s trading partners. “That means our buyers have to pay import duties ranging from 40 to 10 percent of the value of the goods. This poses as a stringent constraint and encourages our importers to get fresh bananas from our competitors at lower importation costs,” he noted.

The Philippines remains as the dominant supplier of fresh bananas to Japan, South Korea, China and New Zealand, but Vietnam, Indonesia, Mozambique and Cos-

ta Rica are slowly penetrating these markets.

In 2014, records from its Ministry of Finance showed that Japan imported fresh bananas from 12 countries, namely: the Philippines, Ecuador, Guatemala, Peru, Taiwan, Mexico, Colombia, Thailand, Costa Rica, China, Mozambique and the Dominican Republic.

In a letter sent recently to the offices of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Agriculture (DA), Antig pointed out that “it is only logical for Japanese importers to source part of their supplies from countries with zero tariffs to minimize business costs hence, reducing their demand for Philippine bananas.”

Some banana producers in Asia, particularly Vietnam, are threatening to grab the Philippines’ dominant position as the largest exporter of bananas in this region.

Vietnam produces around 30 different varieties of bananas in virtually all the regions of the country. Some of the bananas are quite unique from what a typical global consumer sees.

There has been increasing talk that Vietnam plans to industrialize its banana industry. Vietnam will soon scrap some of its traditional banana cultivars and instead grow what the “global market” demands.

Dr. Nguyen Van Khai, a well-known agricultural consultant, was quoted by Vietnam News Agency that bananas are among the 14 kinds of fruits which play an important part in the nation’s export industry.

Banana is replacing rice as a crop on 10 percent of the area currently under rice cultivation, adding to the 90,000 hectares already under banana cultivation.

The Philippines currently produces roughly 1.4 million metric tons (MT) of bananas per year and its

FFTA, 10

vacuum packing machine which will improve the manufacturing services of producers here in the island.

“Most producers here cannot export their product because they do not post harvest facilities that are necessary for them to be certified by the government aside from the lack of Halal certifications,” Tan said.

The seminars will be led by representatives from the National Commission of Filipino Muslims of Davao and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Central Office.

Tan said major produc-

tion areas of cultured bangus in Davao Region are in Panabo City in Davao del Norte and Malalag in Davao del Sur. The yield from these areas account for 40 percent of Mindanao’s total aquaculture production, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) 11 regional director Fatma Idris said in the same media forum. She, however, did not disclose the exact figure because of the lack of data at hand.

“Mindanao has the ability to compete with other bangus producing countries because we have a more ad-

vance and mature technology for bangus production,” Idris said, adding that the industry here have already identified mechanisms that will value add the fish.

She added that with the with the application of technology mastered and studied through researches in the past year, bangus producers here are now producing export quality bangus.

“Some bangus produces are already harvesting 500 grammers bangus which is the demand for export,” Idris said.

The agency, she added, is giving out post harvest

facilities and training to support the growth of the bangus industry in Davao Region.

Meanwhile, DATE 2015 event chair William Teves said the aquaculture industry is just one of the industries that will take the center stage in this year’s trade expo. Along with it is the livestock, poultry, and game fowl industry.

The aquaculture industry is also featured in the same expo in 2012.

The three-day expo is slated on September 25 to 27 at the SMX Convention Center in Davao City.

HUGE POTENTIAL. Mindanao Integrated Aquaculture Association Dr. Alex Tan (left), together with Davao Trade Expo 2015 chair Engr. Wilfred Teves, bares during the Kapehan sa Dabaw at the Annex of SM City Davao yesterday that Mindanao’s thriving milkfish industry has a huge potential for export to Asian Muslim countries. Lean Daval Jr.

Shellfish in Balite still unsafe S

HELLFISH collected from Balite Bay in Mati City of Davao Oriental is still not safe for human consumption, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) 11 said.

“The red tide alert has not yet lifted as per announced in the August 29 bulletin,” BFAR 11 regional director Fatma Idris told reporters in an interview after the Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Annex yesterday.

This, after laboratory result revealed that shellfish collected from the coastal

water of Balite Bay tested positive for paralytic shellfish poison last June, the onset of the rainy season.

Idris said the red tide was usually caused by siltation which was brought by the lack of mangrove trees planted near the coasts.

“All types of shelfish, including shrimps from the Balite Bay is not safe for human consumption. We need to be safe,” she added.

Idris said there still no reports of food poisoning in the area.

“Communities living

around the bay are well informed and educated,” she said.

Consumers in Davao City do not have to be worried because infected shellfishes do not reach public markets here, according to her.

“Most of our shellfishes come from Samal and Sta Cruz. These areas are not infected by red tide,” Idris said.

Despite the lack of incidences, Idris said consumers have to be safe to avoid paralytic shellfish poisoning.

Among the signs and

symptoms of the poisoning that can be felt after 30 minutes of ingestion range from headache, dizziness, nausea, floating sensation, muscular incoordination, facial/arm tingling, facial paresthesia (burning) and leg tingling or/and numbness.

“This can even cause death to those who consume contaminated shellfish,” she said.

Idris added that a person who ingested suspected contaminated shellfish should immediately seek medical assistance. CRC

Capital on Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management” will be hosted by the Rotary Club of Waling-Waling Davao in partnership with the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) -Region XI. The two-day training aims to equip the participants with basic information as well as updates on the National and International programs in Disaster Risk Reduction and

Management, Policies, System and Mechanisms. The event will also provide Rotarians the opportunity to discuss how each Rotary Club can complement government efforts in areas of mitigation and preparedness, response, and rehabilitation which will have a large impact on theclub’s respective geographical jurisdictions.

The prospect of integrat-

ing and mainstreaming the national program in disaster risk reduction and management in the community programs is highly anticipated.

Estudillo, former regional director of OCD, is encouraging concerned Rotarians to participate in this empowering seminar-workshop, saying that readiness cannot be postponed nor compromised.

Rotary Int’l District 3860 seminar set T

HE Rotary International District 3860 will hold a two-day conference and seminar workshop on September 18 and 19 at the Marco Polo Davao with more than 100 Rotary club presidents and other officers from RI District 3860 in attendance.

Led by District governor Salvador “Buddy” G. Estudillo, the event with a theme “Enhancing Human Resource

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VOL. 8 ISSUE 119 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

EDGEDAVAO

EVENT

Growing the trees of

tomorrow

SMB PR girl Meggy Santos

AVP/Plant Manager Roger dela Cruz

Text and photos by LEAN DAVAL JR.

G

ROW the trees of tomorrow by joining hands with us today.

This was San Miguel Brewery’s battlecry for its third treeplanting activity dubbed “SMB Buhayin ang Kalikasan” held at the Cua Compound, Km. 6.5 Matina Pangi in Davao City last Saturday.

A total of 1,800 Malibago trees were planted by employees of San Miguel Brewery Davao branch led by assistant vice president and plant manager Roger dela Cruz.

“We’re not just planting trees, we see to it that the trees grow for the future generation,” Dela Cruz said.

Last year, 1,100 out of 1,400 seedlings planted grew with the help of the volunteers composed mostly of residents of Barangay Matina Pangi.

SMB is also giving out P2,500 quarterly assistance for the seedlings to grow for one year plus P5 for live seedling or tree to be given every six months for the next four years.

This year’s activity was attended

by San Miguel Brewery, Inc.-Philippines HR and business affairs and communication head Rico Reyes, assistant vice president and area sales manager of SMB Mindanao John Lyndon Aguirre, HR manager of SMB Mindanao Suppply Center Jovic Bernardo, Barangay Matina Pangi chieftain Carmelo Arana and forester Cris Asibal.

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VOL. 8 ISSUE 119 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

UP AND ABOUT

Great Taste White to draw Choose Great, Win Great Raffle Promo winners JOIN Great Taste White as it names the winners of its Great Taste White: Choose Great, Win Great Raffle Promo.

Now on its third regional raffle draw, Great Taste White will reveal the winners for Visayas: two will get a MacBook Air each; four will bring home a white iPhone 6; and six will get a white iPad Mini each. Aside from these gadgets, one lucky winner will be awarded with P100,000 in cash tax-free and another, P200,000 in cash, tax-free.

Aside from the drawing of entries, mall goers can delight in the brand’s line up of games, goodie bags, Great Taste White coffee booth, photo booth, and a performance by actor, Edgar Allan Guzman.

Last September 12, The Great Taste White: Choose Great, Win Great Raffle Promo draw also had simultaneous runs at, North Luzon, South Luzon, Visayas and GMA. Coffee drinkers may still join and qualify for the fourth draw on September 26, and the National Grand draw on October 4. To join, they must simply collect any combination of five empty sachets of

Held at SM City Davao last August 29, the Mindanao regional draw of Great Taste White: Choose Great, Win Great Raffle Promo featured fun games, goodie bags, coffee and photo booths, and special performances. Mall goers at SM City General Santos can expect another dose of great treats from Great Taste White as it holds the third North Luzon regional draw of Choose Great, Win Great Raffle Promo on September 12.

any Great Taste White variant (Great Taste White Smooth & Creamy, Great Taste White Sugarfree, Great Taste White Smooth & Caramelly, and Great Taste White Smooth & Chocolatey) or one empty Great Taste White BigSAVE Pack. They must then put the required number of empty packs in a plain white envelope with a piece of paper

containing their complete name, birth date, current mailing address, mobile or landline number, store outlet where the product is purchased, email address (if available) and signature. One envelope qualifies for one entry, which can be dropped in drop boxes located in participating stores, supermarkets, and outlets nationwide.

“The Great Taste White: Choose Great, Win Great nationwide raffle promo lets consumers savor great wins,” says Julius Flores, Universal Robina Corporation (URC) Marketing Manager for Powdered Beverages. “This is Great Taste White’s way of giving back to its consumers for making it the leading brand in the white coffee segment,

and for making Great Taste one of the most patronized brands in the Philippines.”

Get the latest updates about the promo by visiting the official Great Taste White Facebook page (Great Taste White 3in1), Twitter Page (@ GreatTaste3in1) and website (www.choosegreatwingreat. ph).

Building better with HardieFlex Marco Polo Davao celebrates Mid Autumn Festival JAMES HARDIE PHILIPPINES and CitiHardware branch gathered engineers and contractors for the event “Build Better with Hardie™” in CitiHardware Digos, its newest branch located at National Highway, Brgy., Cogon, Digos City. The event highlighted the benefits of using James Hardie products, specifically the best-selling HardieFlex® line of fiber cement boards, for a wide variety of construction projects.

The “Build Better with Hardie™” event was just one of the many upcoming projects from the tried-and-trusted global brand, HardieFlex®, in its quest to improve building methodologies and technologies.

James Hardie and CitiHardware’s partnership

will forge a new way of building, one that is uncompromising and intuitive to the growing demands and needs of the local market.

James Hardie, the maker of HardieFlex®, is the world leader in fiber cement technology with 127 years of global exis-

tence. HardieFlex® building products are resistant to fire, termites, moisture damage, rotting, and impact. HardieFlex® building products can be used for a wide variety of applications for any construction project. These innovative fiber cement boards can be used for ceilings, walls, eaves, fascia, flooring, wet areas, and sidings. Available at all CitiHardware outlets nationwide. To find out more about HardieFlex® by James Hardie, visit www.jameshardie. com.ph .

THE Mid Autumn festival is the biggest Chinese celebration after the Lunar New Year where families and friends come together to share good memories over a good meal.

The Marco Polo Davao celebrates the festive season with a special dinner buffer at the Lotus Court for Php1,200 nett for adults and Php600 nett for kids on September 27, 2015.

The Lotus Court buffer spread will feature lechon, premium seafood, and mooncakes.

Marco Polo Privilege Card members can also avail of a 10% discount while senior citizens can

get a 20% discount.

Moon cakes in Lotus Cream and Black Mongo varieties will also be available in boxes of four at only Php1,288 nett. Guests can visit the

Marco Polo Davao’s Mid Autumn festival booth located at the hotel’s lobby to purchase boxes of moon cakes to take away to gift to family and friends.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 119 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

EDGEDAVAO

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ENTERTAINMENT

A tale of love and family in

Destiny Rose

GMA Entertainment TV offers a game-changing character-driven story in Destiny Rose.

A heart-warming tale of love and family, Destiny Rose will beautifully demonstrate that in one’s ability to love also lies a great power to become the person one dreams to be.

Multi-talented actor Ken Chan will delight Afternoon Prime viewers as he takes the challenge of portraying a transsexual woman who pursues her dreams into becoming an influential writer.

Ken participated in a series of auditions and delivered a string of thrilling and convincing performances all throughout, making him the perfect choice for the role to become Joey Flores Vergara.

Joey is a woman trapped in a man’s body. All his life, he only dreamt and hoped to be the best for his parents. Despite the fact that everyone around him was against his personal desires and wishes, he remained to be the loving and obedient child.

A passionate student and a loving son to his family, Joey will go through different setbacks in life but will continue to be patient and understanding.

All these positive qualities will outweigh life’s challenges and

Joey will become a stronger person in her new life as Destiny Rose.

As time passed, Joey faced more challenges in his journey to become a renowned writer and a full-fledged woman. Joey is now known as Destiny Rose.

Now that Destiny Rose has fulfilled her dreams, all she wants is to be with the love of her life and for her family to be complete once again. But what if her family, especially her estranged father, refuses to accept her? And what if the love of her life finds out that she only had sex reassignment surgery to become a woman? Will Destiny Rose still find happiness?

With all the challenges and triumphs of Destiny Rose, viewers would definitely love her.

Playing opposite Ken is Fabio Ide as Gabriele Antonioni, Joey’s Fil-Italian penpal. He will make Joey/Destiny Rose’s life more colourful as he becomes her one true love.

Completing the cast are esteemed TV and movie actors and actresses: Manilyn Reynes as Daisy Flores Vergara, Joey’s loving mother; Michael de Mesa as Rosauro Armani Vitto, a rich philan-

thropist who will be instrumental in Joey’s transition in becoming a woman; Jackielou Blanco as Dahlia, Jasmine’s mother who will make Joey and Daisy’s life difficult; ; Katrina Halili as Jasmine Flores, Joey’s ambitious cousin; Sheena Halili as April Rose Vergara, Joey’s kind-hearted sister; Jeric Gonzales as Vince, Joey’s first love; Joko Diaz as Joselito Vergara Sr., Joey’s strict father; Irma Adlawan as Bethilda, Armani’s sister who will make Joey’s life a living hell; JC Tiuseco as Lance, Jasmine’s boyfriend and accomplice in deceiving Gabriele; Ken Alfonso as Aris, Bethilda’s son who will eventually fall in love with Destiny Rose.

Directed by Don Michael Perez, behind this enthralling drama is the creative team composed of Creative Director Roy Iglesias; Creative Head for Afternoon Prime Dode Cruz; Creative Unit Head Des Garbes-Severino; Concept Creators Kenneth Enriquez and Wiro Michael Ladera; Headwriter Luningning Interino-Ribay; Writers Christine Novicio, Kenneth Enriquez and Wiro Michael Ladera; Brainstormers Gilda Olvidado, Jonathan Cruz and Jake Somera.

Witness the one-of-a-kind story of Destiny Rose, Mondays to Fridays, after Buena Familia on GMA Afternoon Prime.

the primetime slot. The scenes are simple but very touching. #Ningning.”

Meanwhile, Ningning (Jana) and Macmac (John Steven de Guzman) continue to spread happiness as they bond with kids and students in the

show’s school tours which are held every Monday. Ningning and Macmac recently visited Epifanio delos Santos Elementary School where they led the recitation of the country’s patriotic oath, and the students’ morning exercise during the school’s flag ceremony.

Don’t miss the continuation of Jana’s exciting adventures in “Ningning,” weekdays, before “It’s Showtime” on ABS-CBN Prime-Tanghali.

For more information about “Ningning,” just log on www.abs-cbn.com, or follow Twitter.com/abscbndotcom. Viewers may also catch up on full episodes and past episodes of “Ningning” through ABS-CBNmobile.

For more information, please go to www.abscbnmobile.com.

‘Ningning’ brightens up mornings of daytime viewers ABS-CBN’s top-rating daytime drama series “Ningning” continues to brighten the mornings of TV viewers as the series, starring Jana Agoncillo, brings inspiration and good vibes to kids and families.

As a support for the program, viewers and netizens expressed their positive feedback on social networking sites like Twitter where they posted tweets such as—“@winter_sky016: It feels good to watch Ningning. It brightens my mood because of the positive outlook that it shares. #Ningning;” “tfcgodfather: What I love most about #Ningning is not only the lightheartedness of the show but the appreciation shown to teachers. Thank you, ABS-CBN;” and “@ryanemmanuelS: This show is for

September 9-15, 2015

HENERAL LUNA/ *THE TRANSPORTER REFUELED John Arcilla, Epy Quizon/ Ed Skrein, Ray Stevenson, Gabriella Wright R13/*R13

11:25 | 1:40 | 3:55 LFS/* 6:10 |8:05 | 10:00 LFS

MAZE RUNNER: THE SCORCH TRIALS Dylan O'Brien, Nathalie Emmanuel, Thomas Brodie-Sangster R13

11:20 | 2:00 |4:40 | 7:20 | 10:00 LFS

PIXELS/ *SINISTER 2 Adam Sandler, Kevin James/ Shannyn Sossamon

R-16

PG/*R16

11:25 | 1:40 | 3:55 LFS/* 6:10 |8:05 | 10:00 LFS

EX WITH BENEFITS Derek Ramsay, Coleen Garcia, Carmi Martin R13

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

A4 INdulge!

EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 8 ISSUE 119 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

TRAVEL

Dusit International launches serviced apartments in Davao

WORLD-RENOWNED hotelier Dusit International has formally launched its serviced apartment, Dusit Thani Residence, in Davao City. Featuring 168 full-service units, Dusit Thani Residence is touted to open new options for upscale accommodations for long-staying business travellers from around the globe.

Distinctively Thai detail complement Filipino design elements and warmth in Dusit Thani Residence Davao. The renowned international hotel brand recently opened its showroom to prospective owners and investors.

New luxury serviced apartments launched. Dusit Thani International, renowned global hotel brand, has recently launched Dusit Thani Residence Davao, its latest project in the Philippines. The property features over 100 serviced apartments targeted to business and other long-staying luxury travellers. Formally opening the property showroom are (from left) Blue Development Inc. CEO Andrew Sparrow, Hoteliers Inc. Vice Chairman and President Evelyn Singson, “Dusit Thani Residence Philippine and Torre Lorenzo President Tomas P. Lorenzo. will offer a reprieve from the hustle and bustle of Dusit Thani Residences ful of the comfort of our urban Davao. We have in Asia, as the company’s guests. The design incorplanned this urban resi- other serviced apartments porates tropical elements dence and hotel to exude a are located in Dubai and that allow for shading and resort-like experience that Abu Dhabi. The property ventilation while maxicombines Filipino warmth is scheduled for turnover mizing the use of natural and joyfulness, and Dusit’s in 2018. lighting,” described Torre The main highlight of Lorenzo president Tomas trademark personalized Thai hospitality,” said Ms. the project is the “amenity Lorenzo.

Evelyn Singson, President theater” that fosters comDusit International and and Vice Chairman of munity and shared activi- Torre Lorenzo have tapped Philippine Hoteliers In- ties. Bound by the hotel Rchitects, Inc., to lead the corporated, the owning and the residential tower project development. The company of Dusit Thani blocks, the amenity theater firm has created landmark Manila, during the formal contains the swimming resort and hotel projects opening of the property pools, water features and in Boracay, Bohol, Ortidecks amidst a tropical gas, Cagayan de Oro and showroom.

Singson further men- landscaped setting. Com- Palawan. Rchitects, Inc. tioned that Dusit Interna- plementing this central is working with Manny tional has partnered with feature are the dining out- Samson + Associates established Filipino real lets, function rooms, chil- (MSA), a leading interior estate developer, Torre dren’s play area, and well- design company focused Lorenzo in the conceptu- ness facilities. An infinity on decorating for hospitalalization and construction edge pool will be located at ity projects across Southof Dusit Thani Residence the second level. east Asia.

“The architecture is and the adjoining dusitD2 The property is located Hotel. This is the first contemporary and mind- within Torre Lorenzo’s Siam 8000 property complex in Maryknoll Road, Lanang, Davao City. Once completed, Dusit Thani Residence will provide easy access to the main business activities in Davao yet still offers a safe and secure oasis at the end of a busy day. Guests and residents will enjoy rooms that showcase prime views of Davao’s city skyline and seascapes.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 119 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

EDGEDAVAO

CULTURE & ARTS

7

HISTORY OF DAVAO (5 of a Series) TH

Earthquakes of Davao

By ANTONIO FIGUEROA

T

HAT an 8.3 magnitude tremor may hit Davao region soon is something that is distressful. Less than a century ago, on April 15, 1924, a similarly-sized earthquake, with Mati City as epicenter, struck the region; it was the second strongest recorded earthquake to hit the country after September 1897, with a magnitude of 8.7. With only few populous centers around at the time, the casualty was estimated at only around five hundred.

But this is only a small part of the larger picture of earthquake literature available to us now, especially tremors that hit Davao.

1871 may go down in Philippine seismological history as the most-visited year by temblors. In fact, Fr. Miguel Saderra Masó, SJ, in his ‘Catalogue of Violent and Destructive Earthquakes in the Philippines,’ recorded four destructive quakes that year alone.

On June 28, 1871, and intensity VI quake hit the District of Davao, affecting the areas surrounding Davao Gulf, and the aftershocks lasted eight days. Over three months later, on Oct. 4, 1871, an intensity VII tremor, described as “very violent,” shook the region of Davao Gulf.

Two more followed: On Dec. 8, 1871, an intensity IX quake violently shook Lanao, Cotabato and Davao.

In particular, there were no

standing building reported in Cotabato and Polloc as a result of the calamity.

Two weeks later, on Dec. 19, 1871, another “very violent earthquake [affected] the length of eastern Mindanao, from Surigao to Davao.” This was measured at intensity VII. The following year, n intensity VI hit Davao region on Aug. 24, 1872.

On Feb. 10, 1894, an intensity VIII tremor in the Rossi-Forel Scale, hit Davao.

The missionary account described the disaster as follows: “Destructive earthquake [hit] southeastern Mindanao, having its epicenter in the region east of Davao Gulf. It produced many fissures and displacements in the mountains and cracks a few houses of wood in the towns of Mati and Sigaboy. The aftershocks continued on the 10th and 11th, occurring at intervals of about 5 minutes.”

On Oct. 9, 1903, an intensity VIII quake in the Mercalli Intensity Scale, shook Davao: “Destructive earthquake in the region east of Davao Gulf which damaged Manay houses in Mati, Caraga, Sigaboy, etc. Large fissures opened and several displacements occurred in the limestone layers of the Pacific coast near Caraga. A few aftershocks were felt on the 29th and 30th.”

There were also earthquakes recorded in Davao in 1913, 1929, and 1943,

which was, interestingly, was measured on the Richter Magnitude Scale, which was invented in 1935.

The late scientist Raymundo S. Punongbayan wrote in ‘Natural Disaster Mitigation in the Philippines’ (1994) that playing a big role in the changing landscape of Davao City were the subterranean tremors and tsunamis that struck it. The tremors did not only distort terrains, they also resulted in liquefaction that has forever changed even the courses of major waterways.

According to the US Geodetic Survey, liquefaction refers to the loose sand and silt saturated with water that can behave like a liquid when shaken by an earthquake, adding: “Earthquake waves cause water pressures to increase in the sediment and the sand grains to lose contact with each other, leading the sediment to lose strength and behave like a liquid. The soil can loose its ability to support structures, flow down even very gentle slopes, and erupt to the ground surface to form sand boils. Many of these phenomena are accompanied by settlement of the ground surface… that damage buildings, roads and pipelines.”

“Several meander scars,” a local researcher once wrote, “can be identified in the radar imageries

FHISTORY, 10

EDGEDAVAO

8 VANTAGE

VOL. 8 ISSUE 119 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

EDITORIAL Cooperation is key to saving Davao Gulf

I

t is not with a little shame that we acknowledge that the bulk of the garbage that ends up in the coast of Davao Gulf and in its very waters comes from Davao City. Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) auxiliary and Philippine Information Agency (PIA) 11 regional director Efren Elbanbuena yesterday said past clean-up activities around the gulf had focused on the coastal barangays of Davao City -- spanning Agdao and Matina -- because much of the garbage emanate from these places. In last year’s coastal clean-up activity, more than 5,000 kilos of garbage was collected, and much of this was found in the said urban coastal areas. To be clear, it is not just the coastal barangays that are to blame; garbage can come from farther inland and washed into the beach and straight to the ocean.

This is one of the biggest problems Davao City is facing. On the one hand, the garbage dump in New Carmen, Tugbok District is being filled up way faster than its projected life span of 15 years; on the other hand, not all of the garbage the city generates is collected in the first place and end up in the gulf.

This means we are producing way more trash than we are en-

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titled to, and worse, we are not disposing of it properly.

Several years ago, during the term of Mayor Sara Duterte, the city government tried to strictly implement the garbage segregation program which directed citizens to separate biodegradable from non-biodegradable wastes. The program had limited success mainly because it was implemented from a punitive standpoint and not as a community initiative; people were threatened with fines and even jail time instead of being encouraged to comply because it is for the common good.

The result was that some people threw their garbage far away from the designated bins for fear of making a mistake in how they dispatched their trash.

Today it is obvious that the city needs to implement a more comprehensive program for waste management, and it must be done in all levels. Government must make sure that all trash is collected, and the people must make sure they throw only that which the garbage dump can take in. Segregation is the key, and we must all cooperate to make sure none of our wastes find their way to the gulf.

AGUSTIN V. MIAGAN JR Circulation

GENERAL SANTOS CITY OFFICE CAGAYAN DE ORO MARKETING MARKETING OFFICE

LEIZEL A. DELOSO | Marketing Manager EDMUND D. RENDON Unit 6, SouthbankMarketing Plaza Velez-Yacapin Sts. Specialist General Santos City Cagayan de Oro City Mobile: (Smart) 0909-424-7990 Tel: (088) 852-4894

MANILA MARKETING OFFICE

ANGELICA R. GARCIA | Marketing Manager 97-1 Bayanbayanan Ave., Marikina Heights, Marikina City Tel: (02) 654-3509

EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 8 ISSUE 119 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

VANTAGE POINTS

9

There is still hope

“

You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us. And the world will live as one.” ― John Lennon *** When Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte announced that he won’t run as president in the forthcoming May election, a lot of his supporters were totally devastated; others were disgruntled.

In a press briefing held at Grand Men Seng Hotel, Duterte said: “After talking to my family and to all persons who are interested in my career as politician, and also those who are agonizing of waiting and who believe in me, I categorically state now, I will not run for presidency.”

The reactions of those who were present were understandable. After all, they see Duterte as the hope of this nation, the man who can turn the tide against graft and corruption. He is the only man who can save the country from total annihilation.

But a lot of them are not losing hope. A certain Susie Macaraeg wrote on Facebook: “We are still hoping and prayed for you Sir Duterte sana magbago pa ang isipan n’yo. We Filipinos need your service as president of our country Philippines. God bless you more and more power to our Pilipinas.”

Pittacus Lore, the story writer of I Am Number Four, reminded us: “When you have lost hope, you have lost everything. And when you think all is lost, when all is dire and

bleak, there is THINK ON THESE! always hope.”

American historian and playwright Howard Zinn penned: “To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based Henrylito D. Tacio on the fact that henrytacio@gmail.com human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.”

He continued: “What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.

Zinn further said: “And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”

This reminds me of a story shared by Willi Hoffseummer in 1000 Stories You Can Use: In one corner of the world squatted a sullen, sulking, chilly, friendless darkness.

Suddenly, there appeared in a forsaken corner a tiny light. It was small, but it was a light. Someone had put it there. It just stood there and radiated.

A passerby remarked, “Don’t you think you would be more useful somewhere else and not in this forsaken corner?”

“Why?” asked the little light. “I shine because I am a light. And because I shine, I am a light. I don’t shine in order to be seen. No. I shine because it gives me joy to shine, and to be a light.”

But when the gloomy darkness heard this, it gritted its teeth and full of fury tried to put the light out. But the gigantic darkness was powerless against this tiny light.

“When you think everything is hopeless, a little ray of light comes from somewhere,” said an inscription in an old inn in St. Mortiz in Switzerland. Martin Luther King, Jr. himself said: “Only in the darkness can you see the stars.”

In Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Laini Taylor wrote: “Hope can be a powerful force.

Maybe there’s no actual magic in it, but when you know what you hope for most and hold it like a light within you, you can make things happen, almost like magic.”

A long, long time ago, there lived a very

old man in North China. His house faced south and right in front of his door stood the two gigantic peaks of Taihung and Wangwu. They blocked his way to the south. So he sat down with his sons and made a solemn promise and then got out his hoe. They made up their minds to hack away those two mountains.

A neighbor saw them set to work and shook his head. “How stupid can one get?” he screamed. “It’s absolutely impossible for you to carry away these mighty mountains.”

The old man smiled and said, “Well, when we die, my sons will carry on the work. When they die, my grandsons will continue it. Yes, the mountains are high but they won’t get any higher. But our strength can still grow. With every bit of earth that we carry away we come closer to our goal. It is better to do something, than just sit around and complain that those mountains keep out the sunlight.”

And with complete conviction, the old man kept on digging. God saw it and was moved to send two of His messengers to earth. They lifted the two mountains onto their shoulders and carried them off.

American president Barack Obama once said: “The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.”

growing afMY TWO CENTS’ fluence and in-migration.

Traffic movement in the City’s core has slowed a bit, owing as well to the different drainage John Tria and road imecisouth@gmail.com provement projects in the Quezon Boulevard areas which are a major north to south artery. Congest this area and people move to other routes, causing similar traffic. Having seen the chaos of Metro Manila, we, who fear the same fate for Durianburg, ought to learn a few things from the following major observations: For one, government’s management of urban concerns in Metro Manila is itself a mess. The Metro Manila Development Authority, the superbody tasked with managing common issues besetting the different local government units that make up Metro Manila, has failed to manage the traffic within its area. The MMDA Chair has to balance between the elected mayors and himself, leaving him with a weak mandate to take action.

MMDA Chair Francis Tolentino can explain away the issues and “humbly yield his traffic management tasks to the national police,” but it has not solved the

perennial traffic problem. A few years back his agency embarked on measures such as a bus dispatching system meant to control unauthorized or “colorum” buses but this has not made a dent in over all congestion. I doubt if it is even implemented properly.

Luckily for us in Davao, and similar to Singapore, we have one chief executive and one local government unit that is accountable for urban concerns. It has been observed, for instance, that action is taken with greater dispatch during rush hours. The Traffic Management Center is viewed as being more responsive and proactive by fielding the right amount of enforcers as needed. Perhaps it’s not perfect, but action is taken, and engaged even before problems get worse. We can trust that congestion will be eased rather than exacerbated.

Singapore’s rules regarding vehicles and traffic are even stricter, as it imposes hefty fees for road users and compensates by building an efficient mass transport system. Davao’s public transport system is not as advanced as Singapore, but the enforcement on the streets, and the rules regarding jeepneys, still enable a commuter to get from point A to B within a consistently reasonable amount of time every day at different parts of the day. For instance, rush hour traffic adds about 10-20 percent more time to get from one place to another compared with, let’s say, a Sunday afternoon. That’s about the standard for any

modern city. The main problem we have for now is not having enough jeepneys during rush hours to accommodate all passengers. On the other hand , outside the rush hour, drivers complain about not having enough passengers to fill their jeeps.

Nonetheless, increasing migration into Davao threatens available public transport systems and promises congestion. Thus, several proposals for a citywide mass transit system are on the way before the problem gets worse. This brings us to the second major point: apart from having one accountable government, Singapore and Davao can develop plans and discuss them BEFORE the problem gets worse. Metro Manila will argue about solutions that should have been in place more than a decade ago. EDSA exceeded its capacity in the 1990s. It’s now 2015. All Presidents since then, and all their men and horses, have tried to put the best stopgap solutions but congestion has only gotten worse.

Doubtless, increased vehicular traffic is a fact in our city, as it is in all cities.

What matters more is how this traffic is managed, and how much government cares about its citizens so that they are not adversely affected by the congestion.

Comparing Manila, Davao, and Singapore, it is clear that Davao and Singapore officials try their best to manage traffic to keep congestion at manageable levels. Metro Manila is just lost.

Traffic Lessons Part 1: Manila, Davao & Singapore

M

ETRO Manila’s traffic has become the focus of national news over the last week. Carmaggedon is the phenomenon where motorists on their way home from work would be stuck in traffic till the wee hours of the morning – tired, sleepy, hungry, and angry. Jokingly, we hear proposals for manicures-while-in-traffic by the enterprising, while, some brazen souls take advantage of the standstill to steal side mirrors of cars. Anomie on the way.

Increased traffic congestion is a normal occurrence for any growing economy, but a lack of management will make it spin out of control. Studies by the Asian Development Bank officially estimate that traffic already costs Asian countries 2-5 percent of GDP annually due to lost time and higher transport costs. The increasing “motorization” of a growing economy like the Philippines is cause for concern as far as urban traffic goes. The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) report that sales in the first six months of this year are up by 21 percent to 131,465 units from 108,957 units in the same period in 2014. CAMPI further notes that passenger car sales have increased 30 percent year on year.

The Davao region, having grown at a higher pace than the rest of the country, risks choking its gateway city with the new cars as a response to a slowly

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its decision,” Jose said.

He also assured that the international community will back the Philippines in case the China will not follow the tribunal result.

“The international community cannot allow that we have a regional order where might makes right and where coercion would be an acceptable means of dispute settlement, instead the international community should promote a regional order which is governed by compromised by norms and by rule of law,” Jose said.

The Philippines will maintain a diplomatic approach to the Chinese government with regards to their claims on the West

Philippine Sea, according to him.

A bilateral negotiation between the Philippines and China since 1995 however, the China has an impossible condition that the Philippine cannot follow that leads to the filing of tribunal case.

The Chinese would want the Philippine to recognize the indisputable sovereignty of China with regards to the West Philippine Sea. The West Philippine Sea is also part of the South China Sea, however under the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEC) the Philippines has the claim of the West Philippine SEa since it is still under the 200 nautical miles of the country’s EEZ.

gun for the presidency next year.

He changed his tune a few days later, however, and said he was willing to give way to his father’s decision.

Second district councilor Louie John Bonguyan had also bared his intention to run for vice mayor next year no member of the Duterte family runs for the position.

For the third district congressional post, which will be vacated by third-termer Rep. Isidro Ungab next year, the names that have cropped up to fill the position are councilors Bernard Al-ag, Karlo S. Bello, and Myrna Dalodo-Ortiz.

Bello and Dalodo-Ortiz are last termers in City Council while Al-ag still has one term to go.

is only for 3-4 weeks during the sexless stage of the fry or what he calls as “the stage of sexual differentiation.”

“After withdrawal of the treatment,” he assures, “there are no residuals left in the system of the fish after 92 hours.” He based this statement from some studies being done.

“Since the fry are grown for at least 3-4 months for market and human consumption, it is very safe,” he says.

“There can, therefore, be no side effects if there is no synthetic hormone left in the systems of the fish.”

There is also the question of what happens to the metabolites (excreted compounds) of the synthetic hormone which are eliminated in the environment. Can they affect other organisms and affect people? Dr. Guerrero gives this answer: “Studies have shown that, in the tropics, the high temperature and the effect of sunlight breaks

down the metabolites into simpler compounds through biodegradation and photo-oxidation that have no effect on humans.”

Aside from those done in the Philippines, there are also studies conducted in other countries that showed endocrine disruptors from plastics and insecticides in the environment can influence the direction of sex of fishes and possibly humans who consume them towards femaleness or hermaphroditism and not maleness. “Methyl testosterone, which is for maleness, is therefore not in question,” Dr. Guerrero says.

The use of methyl testosterone for tilapia sex reversal is generally accepted throughout the world except in Europe which has a strict organic (no synthetics) policy. “So far, since its application more than 30 years ago, there is no negative or harmful effect on humans reported.”

cultivation area makes up approximately 19 percent of the total fruit farming area nationwide.

Currently, China needs to purchase around 20-30 MT per day, and Japan asks for 15-20 MT. As such, a number of provinces around Vietnam have switched to banana farming and invested heavily in banana plantations, due to increasing world demand. The business has bloomed in the area over the past decade as the crop has

become increasingly profitable for local farmers.

INCREASED IMPORTS China, Singapore and the Republic of Korea were also noted to have suddenly increased their imports of Vietnamese bananas.

Vietnam, however, admits it is actually in short supply of bananas for export.

Its preservation technology has yet to meet international requirements, and only a relatively few Vietnamese products have been licensed to penetrate the high-end

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from Cuñado’s possession an STI brand .40 pistol with scope worth P200,000, 10 bullets and extra magazine loaded with eight bullets, an empty bullet shell, and the army sling bag.

The police yesterday filed charges against Cuñado for alarm and scandal and illegal discharge of firearm through inquest proceedings before the City Prosecution Office.

Last week, the management of Isaac Robillo Hospital filed charges against Richard Dalion, 28, a member of 84th Infantry

Battalion based in Barangay Malagos, Baguio district, after he fired his service pistol inside the hospital room.

The soldier had an altercation with his wife inside room 212 and fired his caliber .45 handgun after reportedly failing to hold his temper. The bullet broke the window of the room.

Dalion was detained for several hours at the Calinan Police Station but was sent to Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) later after his blood sugar went up. ABFJ

as well as in the topographic maps [of Davao]. In fact, a comparison of recent and old topographic maps reveals that the Davao River used to meander to the east towards the city proper, but now flows straight to the sea.”

When the ‘Big One’ will strike Davao, only time can tell. But this does not necessarily mean the next tremor will come from the region.

Quakes with epicenter in nearby areas, as the one described in ‘Volcanoes and Seismic centers of the Philippines Archipelago’ (1904) can be as shocking.

“In June 1891, a violent earthquake [in Agusan del

Sur] was the beginning of a long and fearful seismic period. this earthquake produced the most awful havoc to the houses and ground; fortunately, owing to the wildness of the country, there was little loss of life or of property. The falling banks of the river dammed it in many spots. Long and wide fissures were opened everywhere, especially on the hills separating the Agusan valley from the Hijo and Salug rivers, which empty themselves into the Davao gulf. The earthquake lasted several minutes, and during this time, says an eyewitness, the ground was moving as the troubled sea.”

China,” Jose said.

He also said the Philippine government is willing to isolate and extract the South China Sea issue and deal with it separately and at the same time promote and strengthen

the other areas of coordination with China.

“With more than 17 percent increase of the bilateral trade, we can say that we have succeeded to isolate the West Philippine Sea issue,” Jose said.

enough supply of coconut, cacao and coffee. We need to plant more all of those tree commodities and ensure good quality, good processing, and good management,” Trimmel said.

Among the production facilities under MINPACT include fermentation tanks and solar dryers.

Most of the farmers who will benefit from MINPACT are coconut and cacao farmers, composed of 7,800 of the 10,600

farmers, he said, adding that they are pushing for the intercropping of both crops.

Support will also be extended to coconut farmers who need to replant old senile trees.

The ACDI/VOCA will work with the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) and Davao Regional Industry Cluster in the reproduction of mother palms to ensure proper replanting of good quality coconut trees.

markets, including the Japanese market.

Philippine banana exporters are seeking help from agriculture and trade and industry officials to negotiate for preferential or zero tariff with importing countries.

As of 2013, banana is the most imported fruit in South Korea as it accounted for 48.7 percent of the total fruit imports. The Philippines accounted for 98.7 percent of the imported bananas.

Soon, many export prod-

ucts of Vietnam to South Korea will be tariff-free, as it is already enjoying tariff-free status in Japan.

Observers from the agriculture sector are wary that the banana industry might be the next agricultural product to lose its dominant position in the world market following the export decline of sugar, coffee and coconut oil. All these three products used to be big players in their respective world markets. (PNA)

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VOL. 8 ISSUE 119 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

During the 2005 World Conference on Disaster Reduction (WCDR), 168 countries adopted the Hyogo Framework for Action to assist the efforts of nations and their communities to become more resilient to natural hazards.

Following their lead, the Philippines Republic Act 10121, also known as the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management of 2010 (PDRRM), was enacted several years later with the aim to develop, promote, and implement a comprehensive national disaster plan that would strengthen the capacity of the national government and the local government units (LGUs), build the disaster resilience of communities, and enhance disaster preparedness and response capabilities at all levels.

The Philippines has had more than its share of natural calamities. Typhoon Yolanda Republic of the Philippines Department of Transportation and Communications LAND TRANSPORTATION FRANCHISING AND REGULATORY BOARD Regional Office No. XI Davao city

Petition for Renewal of Certificate of Public Convenience to operate a FILCAB Ordinary Regular Service CRISPIN I. CAMPOS, SR. Case No. 2006-XI-00364 Petitioner

x- - - - - - - - -- - - -----x NOTICE OF HEARING

Petitioner is a grantee of a Certificate of Public Convenience issued in this case authorizing the operation of a FILCAB Ordinary Regular Service on the route: TORIL-ASTORGA, STA.CRUZ, DAVAO DEL SUR AND VICE VERSA with the use of ONE (1) unit, which Certificate will expire on November 27, 2016. In the petition filed on September 8, 2015, petitioner request authority to extend the validity of said certificate to operate along the same route with the use of the same unit previously authorized.

NOTICE, is hereby given that this petition will be heard by this Board on SEPTEMBER 29, 2015 at 09:00 a.m. at this office at the above address.

At least, TEN (10) days prior to the above date petitioner shall publish this Notice once in a one (1) daily newspaper of general circulation in Mindanao

Parties opposed to the granting of the petition must file their written opposition supported by documentary evidence on or before the above date furnishing a copy of the same to the petitioner, and may if they so, desire appear on said date and time.

This petition will be acted upon by this Board on the basis of its records and the documentary evidence submitted by the parties, unless the Board deems it necessary to receive additional documentary and/or oral evidence.

WITNESS the Honorable BENJAMIN A. GO, CESO V, Regional Director, this 8th day of September 2015 at Davao City.

TERESITA DELA PEÑA-YÑIGUEZ Chief Transportation Development Officer

shook the entire world when it took thousands of lives and destroyed millions of pesos worth of properties.The local and national government rushedto rescue. The response from other nations was overwhelming. Even children were reportedly breaking their piggy banks to contribute to the needs of the victims and their families.

The Rotary International, as a civic organization, also put together their resources. Millions of pesos were sent for rehabilitation programs in Yolanda-devastated areas.Rotarians brought their hammers and nailed houses back together to help make habitation possible again.

Now more conscious about the challenges of constant climate change, Rotarians continue to find ways and means to prepare themselves so they can be ready to respond anytime and be effective in mobilizing their members.

Republic of the Philippines Department of Transportation and Communications LAND TRANSPORTATION FRANCHISING AND REGULATORY BOARD Regional Office No. XI Davao City

Petition for Renewal of a Certificate of Public Convenience to operate an AIRCONDITIONED TAXI Service.

SILVINO S. ADORNADO, Case No.2000-XI-01918 Petitioner

x- - - - - - - - -- - - -----x NOTICE OF HEARING

Petitioner is a grantee of a Certificate of Public Convenience issued in this case authorizing the operation of an AIRCONDITIONED TAXI service on the route: WITHIN DAVAO CITY to any point in Region XI with the use of TWO(2) units, which certificate will expire on June 5, 2016. In the petition filed on September 8, 2015, petitioner requests authority to extend the validity of said certificate to operate along the same route with the use of the same unit previously authorized.

NOTICE, is hereby given that this petition will be heard by this Board on SEPTEMBER 29, 2015 at 09:10 a.m. at this office at the above address.

At least, TEN (10) days prior to the above date petitioner shall publish this Notice once in a one (1) daily newspaper of general circulation in Mindanao

Parties opposed to the granting of the petition must file their written opposition supported by documentary evidence on or before the above date furnishing a copy of the same to the petitioner, and may if they so, desire appear on said date and time.

This petition will be acted upon by this Board on the basis of its records and the documentary evidence submitted by the parties, unless the Board deems it necessary to receive additional documentary and/or oral evidence.

WITNESS the Honorable BENJAMIN A. GO, CESO V, Regional Director, this 8th day of September 2015 at Davao City.

TERESITA DELA PEÑA-YÑIGUEZ Chief Transportation Development Officer

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VOL. 8 ISSUE 119 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

AGRITRENDS 11

Sex changing the tilapia TEXT and PHOTOS By HENRYLITO D. TACIO

Harvesting tilapia HE Philippines is now one of the world’s leading producers of tilapia. In 2013, the Philippines produced 316.536 metric tons of tilapia, making it the fourth largest producer of tilapia in the world.

The record could perhaps be credited to a sex-change operation discovered by Dr. Rafael D. Guerrero III, an Academician of the National Academy of Science and Technology and former executive director of the Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development.

Tilapias are very prolific.

Pond-reared tilapia, which a natural ratio of 50% male and 50% female, mature as early as 60 days. They breed frequently, often every 30 days. At such growth rate, the competition for food escalates. And with reduced nutrition, the best attainable market size for the tilapia after four months (that’s the time they reach full maturity) is 150 grams.

Some studies have shown that the male tilapia grows faster and bigger than the female tilapia. The natural preference of tilapia growers, therefore, was all male tilapias. But how could male tilapias be selected and separated from the females? Was

T

Fried tilapia

it physically possible to select the fish for stocking in the ponds?

“One of the best methods to solve the overcrowding problem of tilapia is population control,” says Dr. Guerrero, already called The Father of Tilapia in the Philippines.

His solution is a process he calls “sex reversal technique” or SRT. “SRT is the process by which genetic female tilapia fry are converted into functional males through hormone manipulation,” he explains.

Traditionally, tilapias undergo manual sexing; but this task is too laborious. In manual sexing, the male is distinguished from the female by looking at the organ called the urogenital papilla, which is found near the anus of the fish. There are two openings in the female fish, and only one in the male fish.

“Manual sexing is cumbersome and time-consuming,” says Roy C. Alimoane, the director of the Davao-based Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center. “The technique is also only 80% accurate because of human error. Another disadvantage is that you can only sex fish when they are three months old. By then, they are almost fully grown.”

Dr. Guerrero, who has de-

voted most of his life to laboratory and applied science, was convinced that there was a more practical, effective and economical way of solving the problem.

A science sleuth, he first did an extensive literature quest. He studied the works of other scientists and came across the concept of using sex hormones to reverse the sex of fish developed by Dr. T.K. Yamamoto. The Japanese researcher had worked on the modaka, an aquarium fish, but the results of his study had not been applied commercially.

Dr. Guerrero became excited at the prospect of applying the concept on the Nile tilapia, the species propagated in the Philippines. So, when he went to the Auburn University in Alabama in the United States to earn his doctorate in Fisheries Management, he decided to work on the application of the artifi-

Tilapia raised in cages

cial sex reversal concept for his dissertation.

After almost two years of research, he came out with a dissertation entitled “Use of Androgens for the Production of All Male Tilapia.” It showed that the tilapia fry could be converted to allmale populations when fed with a synthetic male hormone for a certain period during the “sexless” stage.

According to Dr. Guerrero, the the yield of large-sized tilapias is significantly increased by 30-50% because of the faster-growing males compared to females and the control of reproduction.

Since its development as a “breakthrough,” the application of tilapia sex reversal has undergone a number of innovations. While at first it was believed that the treatment of fry could only be done under a shade, it is now being done in outdoor tanks and ponds.

As much as 90% of the tilapia cultured in the country is sex-reversed. “At least 50% of the tilapia produced in the United States, Canada, Israel, the Caribbean and Asia is sex-reversed,” he points out.

Although anyone with the proper know-how and equipment can prepare the hormone-feed and apply it, there is a tilapia sex reversal feed (SRT-95) now available in the market for those who find it more convenient and practical.

“Applying the sex reversal feed method with a success rate of at least 95 percent requires the production of the right age of the fry for treatment, preparation of the hormone feed or its procurement, and the proper application of the treatment,” Dr. Guerrero says.

It is also important that the fry to be treated be not more than three days from the time they are released by the mouth brooding females in breeding ponds when the fry are about 10 days old from hatching of the eggs and 9 millimeters to 11 millimeters in total length.

“The fry to be treated also need to be stocked in tanks or ponds at the proper densities and fed at recommended feeding rates for good growth and survival, and effective sex reversal,” Dr. Guerrero says.

Because of innovation,

Tilapia

there is now a much better commercial SRT feed and it’s called SR Premix. “From SRT-95 which was a single use feed for treating 4,000 fry with at least 95% male percentage of treated fish with proper use, we developed a sex reversal premix which can be mixed at one kilogram of the Premix with 9 kilograms of the fry feed to produce 10 kilograms of SRT99 for treating 40,000 fry,” Dr. Guerrero says.

But the question is: are those sex reversed tilapia safe to eat?

The synthetic sex hormone used in sex reversal technology is methyltestosterone, a man-made form of testosterone. A naturally occurring sex hormone, testosterone is produced in a man’s testicles. Small amounts of testosterone are also produced in a woman’s ovaries and adrenal system.

“Methyltestosterone is used in men and boys to treat conditions caused by a lack of this hormone, such as delayed puberty or other hormonal imbalances,” notes www.drug.com.

“Methyltestosterone is also used in women to treat breast cancer that has spread to other parts of the body.”

According to Dr. Guerrero, the oral treatment with methyltestosterone in tilapia

FSEX, 10

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DAVAO CITY MAIN OFFICE JOCELYN S. PANES Director of Sales Door 14 ALCREJ Bldg., Quirino Ave., Davao City Tel: (082) 224-1413 Telefax: (082) 221-3601 GENERAL SANTOS CITY MARKETING OFFICE EDMUND D. RENDON Marketing Specialist Mobile: (Smart) 0909-424-7990 MANILA MARKETING OFFICE ANGELICA R. GARCIA Marketing Manager 97-1 Bayanbayanan Ave., Marikina Heights, Marikina City Tel: (02) 654-3509

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VOL. 8 ISSUE 119 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

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VOL. 8 ISSUE 119 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

US-based NGO wants to aid Mindanao farmers P

Bloomberry reopens casino in South Korea

By ANTONIO L. COLINA IV

A

United Statesbased non-government organization is seeking to further strengthen the organized farmers, cooperatives, and associations in Mindanao in a bid to improve post-harvest management and quality of cacao, coconut, and coffee.

The Agricultural Cooperative Development International/Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance (ACDI/ VOCA) rolled out its new program called Mindanao Productivity in Agricultural Commerce and Trade (MINPACT), a fouryear program launched in September 2014 until September 2018.

In an interview Friday at the SMX Convention Center Davao, Thelonioius S. Trimmel, chief of party for MINPACT of ACDI/VOCA, said at least

10,600 farmers are seen to benefit from this new program that is expected to receive $8 million the from US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Around 600 value chain actors composed of providers, traders and financial institutions will also be tapped, he said.

“We are working full-value chain, focusing on production, establishment of nurseries and ensuring good planting material, farm-level training and cooperative-level training,” Trimmel said.

Even the value chain actors will be strengthened to ensure that they would extend the best services, most especially to the cacao sector which has an annual domestic demand of 50,000 metric tons.

The country can only produce 10,000 MT a

year, with 70 percent of its total production coming from the Davao Region.

Trimmel emphasized the need to support the farmers so that they can reach new markets.

The ACDI/VOCA, he added, has already signed a memorandum of understanding with identified partner cooperatives or associations.

“With the MOU, we identified what types of activities that we’re gonna be working on,” he said.

The training program includes strengthening their capacity as well as beefing up their knowledge on the opportunities for cacao, coffee, and coconut.

The NGO will also extend between $1 million to $2 million worth of grants to farmers for the

procurement of equipment and the implementation of some services.

“In this case, initial grants will be focused on establishing nurseries and beneficiary organizations, purchase of equipment and farming materials for the establishment of those nurseries,” Trimmel said.

He said they are eyeing to increase the production of coconut, cacao, and coffee before they will put up more processing facilities.

He added some of the processing facilities established under previous programs such as Success Alliance and CoCopal Project are underutilized for lack of production.

“Biggest issue facing the three commodities is the demand outstretches the supply, there’s not

FUS, 10

HILIPPINES-based Bloomberry Resorts Corporation (BRC) is set to re-open this month the casino of its new re-branded property on Jeju Island in South Korea under the new management of Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino. loomberry has a 96.23 percent shareholdings in Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino, 10 percent held directly and 86.23 percent held through its subsidiary Solaire Korea Co., Ltd. Under the new management of Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino, the newly renovated casino boasts of the latest state-ofthe-art table games and electronic gaming equipment open to foreign guests only. The Jeju Sun Casino, with its professional dealers, entertaining atmosphere and new Players Club reward system, is seen to enhance the travel experience while in Jeju.

“We are very excited to introduce Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino starting out with the re-opening of this world-class casino after only less than four months,” Bloomberry chairman and chief executive officer Enrique K. Razon Jr. said. “ This is our first operating overseas property, and we exerted much effort to put in place the ambiance and amenities that would enrich the gaming experience,” he added.

Re-opening the casino this month is the first phase of a multi-stage

refurbishment plan which was initiated last May. With the ongoing renovation schedule, the second phase is expected to be completed by December 2015.

The expanded casino facilities will include the refurbishment of the main lobby and new dining options. Moreover, the newly branded Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino will offer energetic entertainment and premium gaming facilities featuring the most popular games like baccarat, roulette, Sic Bo, blackjack and South Korea’s premier selection of the latest electronic games and slot machines that will set a new benchmark for lifestyle and leisure experience.

The Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino, boasting Jeju’s newest casino is located only five minutes away from Jeju International Airport. Jeju Sun Hotel & Casino is a destination casino resort that will feature 208 well-appointed rooms and suites, 2,125 square meters of gaming space, dining options that will feature fresh local produce and international cuisine, a trendy bar and lounge with signature cocktails curated by up-coming mixologists, and other hotel facilities with world-class amenities. The hotel has ample event space to celebrate all occasions.

Jeju Island is a cultural treasure, and is stamped by UNESCO as a world heritage site.

INTERNATIONAL GATHERING. HPAIR delegates wait their turn to use the Virtual Reality device.

Globe powers Asia’s largest student confab

I

N its push to provide services that enrich the Filipino digital lifestyle, Globe Telecom powered the gathering of business and youth leaders to collaborate and exchange best practices as primary sponsor of the Harvard Project for Asian and International Relations (HPAIR) Asia Conference.

HPAIR and De La Salle University (DLSU) partnered with Globe in gathering international students and young professionals throughout Asia. The confab focused on economic, political, social and cultural issues which were discussed through plenary sessions, panels, keynotes, workshops, and case studies.

Globe Telecom hosted “The Globe Dinner” which served as an avenue to experience a rich, wonderful, immersive socials and networking night for the delegates, the Globe leadership

team and employees to discuss and exchange best practices on digital innovation and service culture.

“Globe has taken the lead in enabling the Filipino digital lifestyle by connecting our customers through services that better their lives and communities. We are happy to host the Harvard team, exchange talent and ideas to help make a wonderful digital world,” Globe President and Chief Executive Officer Ernest Cu said in his keynote address.

Delegates had dinner at the taste cafeteria and were toured at the employee engagement areas and offices of the telco headquarters.

Spearheaded in 2009, the Globe Customer First Circle (CFC) program has seen the conception and birth of hundreds of customer-centric ideas and innovative solutions. Inspired by the culture of service, the CFC

program structure, processes, and incentives motivate Globe employees to take accountability and ownership over their transformative efforts in their respective functional spheres. With a stake in the business, employees feel a greater sense of fulfillment when they contribute their time and talent to the creation and delivery of value to Globe customers.

Globe has so far partnered with Google, Facebook, Viber, Spotify, NBA and Hooq to structure offerings that are relevant to its customers and further seed mobile data adoption.

The telco has also partnered with Wattpad to deliver access to crowd-sourced content to its customers.

The company’s broadband customers, on the other hand, surged 55 percent to 3.5 million from 2.2 million from year-ago level.

This helped realize a re-

markable 24 percent growth in broadband and fixed line revenues, totaling P12.3 billion compared with P9.9 billion a year earlier. Impressive gains in customer take-up was attributed to the success of the latest roster of broadband products and services, which offer exclusive access to a portfolio of entertainment content to enrich Globe customers’ digital lifestyle.

HPAIR is a student-run organization of the Harvard University Faculty of Arts and Sciences. HPAIR organizes Harvard University’s largest annual student conferences in the Asia-Pacific region. Since 1991, HPAIR has continuously gathered a growing pool of international students from top universities, renowned academics, business professionals, and political leaders to engage in the organization’s rigorous educational events.

SPECIAL DELIVERY. A giant Boeing 747 cargo plane from Malaysian Airlines lands inconspicuously at the General Santos International Airport last week to deliver replacement parts and equipment to the coal power plant of AboitizPower subsidiary Therma South in Davao City. The plane was chartered by AboitizPower and landed in GenSan just to expedite the repairs on the power plant’s Unit 2, which was damaged during a blackout last April. The power plant’s Unit 1, with another 150 MW, will start commercial operations this month and will deliver power to more than 20 electric cooperatives and distribution utilities in Mindanao.

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SWEEP

VOL. 8 ISSUE 119 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

GOOD JOB, TERRENCE. Gilas Pilipinas veteran Asi Taulava shakes the hand of teammate Terrence Romeo.

Gilas completes sweep of MVP Cup

T

HE Philippine national men’s basketball team got off to a strong start but needed to weather a late hot streak from Chinese Taipei as they came away with a 90-77 victory to complete a sweep of the 2015 Master Game Face MVP Cup on Sunday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

Gilas Pilipinas made it three wins in as many days after earlier wins over Talk ‘N Text and the New Zealand Saints before beating Chinese Taipei.

Andray Blatche led the way with 18 points and 12 rebounds to pace the Filipinos while Calvin Abueva came along late with six points in the fourth quarter to finish with 11.

Asi Taulava had 13 points and six rebounds despite limited playing time and Terrence Romeo added 12 markers. Jayson Castro was given the day off to rest.

Gilas led by as much as 20 but a late rally from Chinese Taipei but the game back to within single digits late.

The Philippines, up against the only team in this

tile that it could potentially face again in the FIBA Asia Championships, proved up to the challenge right from the opening tip.

Blatche set the tone, knocking down his first two three-point attempts and getting two the free throw line for a few more points.

He also set up a wide open triple for Romeo at the right corner before coming out of the game with eight points despite playing in just a little over four minutes.

They went on an impressive 19-2 run in the quarter and ended the period ahead by 12 points, 27-15.

Blatche hit a third trey early in the second period before Romeo took over, scoring seven points in the period en route to a comfortable 46-34 Gilas lead at the break.

Romeo led the way with 12 while Blatche had 11 at the break.

Gilas threatened to push the game into garbage time as early as the third quarter, with a dunk from JC Intal making it a 19-point game, 58-39, at the 7:00 mark.

Chinese Taipei, though,

showed s o m e signs of life with Lu Cheng-Ju, Chen ShunHsiang and Tsai WenCheng combining for seven consecutive points to push t h e m back to within a respectable margin.

ship campaign.

“We are stunned and deeply saddened by the passing of Hall of Famer Moses Malone, an NBA legend gone far too soon,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said.

“Known to his legions of fans as the ‘Chairman of the Boards,’ Moses competed with intensity every time he stepped on the court.”

Asked how the 76ers would do in the playoffs before they began, Malone replied, “Fo’, Fo’, Fo’,” — four, four, four — for the 12 playoff wins over three series it then took to capture the NBA

crown.

The Sixers went 12-1 in the playoffs, losing only once, to Milwaukee in the Eastern Conference finals, and Malone was named NBA Finals MVP. The inscription “Fo’, Fi’, Fo,’” — for the four, five and four games it actually took to claim the title — was put on team championship rings.

“It is difficult to express what his contributions to this organization — both as a friend and player — have meant to us, the city of Philadelphia and his faithful fans,” 76ers chief executive Scott O’Neil said.

d o w n

NBA legend Moses Malone dies at 60

M

OSES Malone, an American basketball Hall of Famer and three-time NBA Most Valuable Player who played for nine professional teams in a 21-year career, died Sunday at age 60.

According to multiple reports, Malone died in his sleep of an apparent heart attack at a hotel in Norfolk, Virginia.

Nicknamed “Chairman of the Boards” for his rebounding skills and “Big Mo” for his 6-foot-10 (2.08m) frame, Malone led the 1982-83 Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA title in his only champion-

ESCANDOR HOOPFEST. Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas regional director Regino “Boy” Cua presides over the ceremonial jump of the 2015 Escandor Group of Companies Basketball Tournament. Behind him is CEO and president Glenn Escandor.

In the fourth, Gilas again made a move. Matt Ganuelas-Rosser scored the first four points of the fourth quarter, including a huge two-handed slam from the baseline after receiving an assist from Abueva.

Abueva then capped a strong 8-2 start for Gilas with a putback that gave them a 20-point advantage, 81-61.

But again the Taiwanese refused to go away, catching fire and at one point knocking

three consecutive triples to come back to within single digits, 83-75.

Ranidel De Ocampo, though, doused the rally with a three for the Gilas side and Abueva scored on a tipin to make it a 13-point game with 2:33 remaining on the clock.

Chinese Taipei, which failed to win a single game in the four-team tournament, once again sat regulars Lin Chih-Chieh and Tseng W e n -

Ting.

T h e scores: Gilas Pilipinas (90) – Blatche 18, Taulava 13, Romeo 12, Abueva 11, Pingris 8, Hontiveros 7, Ganuelas-Rosser 6, Intal 6, De Ocampo 3, David 3, Thoss 2, Norwood 1.

Chinese Taipei (77) – Lu, 23, Chen SC 11, Liu 10, Tien 9, Tsai 8, Chen SN 8, Chen SH 6, Davis 2, Hung 0, Wu 0.

Quarterscores: 27-15, 46-34, 73-59, 90-77.

Djokovic wins US Open title N

OVAK Djokovic clinched his third Grand Slam title of 2015 and 10th career major with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 triumph over sentimental favorite Roger Federer in the US Open final.

Shrugging off a threehour rain delay and the overwhelming hostility of the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd, the 28-yearold world number one captured his second title in New York to add to his 2011 triumph.

The defeat shattered 34-year-old Federer’s bid to become the oldest US Open champion in 45 years and left him marooned on 17 Grand Slam titles, the last of which came at Wimbledon in 2012.

Djokovic added the US Open title to his Australian Open and Wimbledon victories this year.

Had it not been for a heartbreaking loss to Stan Wawrinka in the French Open final in June, the rock-solid Serb

would have been celebrating a rare calendar Grand Slam.

Djokovic’s 10 majors takes him level with American Bill Tilden and just one shy of Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver on the all-time list.

Federer was ultimately undone by 54 unforced errors and his ability to convert just four of 23 break points.

“I have tremendous respect for Roger and the challenge he presents,” said Djokovic, who is now 21-21 in career meetings with Federer.

“He’s the best player ever. I knew I needed to play my best in order to win. It’s an incredible evening.”

He added: “I love this sport and all these achievements are incentive for me to keep on going.”

10TH MAJOR. Novak Djokovic celebrates his win over Roger Federer.

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EDGEDAVAO Sports

VOL. 8 ISSUE 119 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

DOMINANT PERFORMANCE Esdevco-Genesis 88, Globe, White House win opener

F

rancis Gabriel Escandor went on a scoring rampage in a way that’s almost unstoppable as he carried the fight for Esdevco-Genesis 88 over Kadsia 7967 in the opener of the 2015 Escandor Group of Companies Basketball Tournament at the Genesis Gym on Sunday.

The youthful Escandor fired a game-high 30 points spiked with six triples in an all-game brilliance. The 6-foot natural forward, converted in the game into a pointguard, responded well to the new role as he also dished off nifty assists to his father Glenn who benefitted from the feeds with four triples to his name for a 12-point effort.

Gio Binoya played as playing coach for Esdevco which also has Matina Enclaves project head Gerals Garces in its line-up.

“We are still trying to gel as a team pero so far so good.

The experiment to put Ep (Escandor) as pointguard paid off,” said coaching consultant Ronel Leuterio.

In other opening day matches, GMI Globe defeated Mesa 73-63 while White House scored a come from behind

win over PPC 80-70.

Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas regional director Regino “Boy” Cua presided over the ceremonial ball with Escandor Group of Companies CEO Glenn Escandor.

UNSTOPPABLE. Francis Gabriel Escandor of Esdevco-Genesis 88 dribbles past his defender during the 2015 Escandor Group of Companies Basketball Tournament at the Genesis Gym. Escandor fired 30 points to lead his team past Kadsia.