Edge Davao 9 Issue 255 by Edge Davao The Business Paper

VOL. 9 ISSUE 255 • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2017

EDGEDAVAO www.edgedavao.net

Serving a seamless society

P 15.00 • 20 PAGES A VENDOR displays flowers, chocolates and stuffed toys at his makeshift stall at Bankerohan Public Market in Davao City yesterday in preparation for the influx of customers who will buy Valentine’s Day gifts for their loved ones. Lean Daval Jr.

RODY ASKED TO HELP END DANECO CONFLICT DANECO-CDA says mandate stems from 2012 referendum 8 NPAs nabbed by By JIMMY K. LAKING

HE management of the Davao del Norte Electric Cooperative-CDA (Cooperative Development Authority) faction has called on the office of President Duterte to help bring about a closure to the conflict as to who should really manage the Tagum Citybased facility that provides power to Davao Del Norte and Compostela Valley, their CDA-registered or the DANECO under the National Eelectrification Administration or DANECO-NEA. Lawyer Baltazar Satur said the request for Duterte’s intervention was channeled to Secretary to the Cabinet Leoncio L. Evasco in Malacanang. “Of course, the problem could have been solved right off if the National Electrification Administration would concede that it does not have the general assembly’s mandate,” Sator, a former con-

gressman representing Davao del Norte’s First District, said. Engr. Albert M. Omega, DANECO-CDA chaiman of the board also told the Kapehan sa Dabaw, that Atty. Melchor Quitain on March 2016 had assured member-consumers that the conflict will be resolved once Duterte, then a candidate, would become president. He said DANECO-CDA’s mandate stemmed from the 2012 referendum whereby 49,056 member consumers voted for registration of DANECO with the Cooperative Development Authority as against only 1,773 who voted to remain under NEA control and 330 votes that opted for Securities and Exchange Commission registration. Also appearing at the Kapehan are DANECO-CDA general manager Engr. Jerod Osorio and director Inday Sis-

toza. Osorio said member-consumers have the advantage of tax exemption and patronage refund under CDA. “In addition, they are the owners of the facility,” he said. Omega attributed to the current management of DANECO its economic turn-around “from being saddled with net loss from 2001 to 2007 to net surplus from 2008 to 2012. “In addition, the company has been able to settle a P280 loan to PSALM and paid P60Million of its debt to NEA,” he said. He attributed the upgrading of equipment to DANECO. “Despite these, the NEAbacked people put up a parallel organization which is definitely not in good faith,” he said. The ‘other’ organization is named DANECO,Inc. or DANECO NEA. Omega said this has no ju-

ridical personality because it is not registered with the SEC or the NEA and “therefore, does not have the mandate to register electric cooperatives.” “However, until this time NEA is doing everything to subvert the will of the member-consumers of DANECO and in effect depriving its 150,000 member-consumers of the more than P1-billion paid share capital that will entitle them to patronage refund and dividend,” he said. Sator said that their group has already won 16 of the 26 various court cases filed against them by the other group. In return, he said, they (DANECO-CDA) have also filed cases against their adversary group, with more to come. DANECO-CDA chair Omega said that they are hoping the conflict between the two groups will be settled according to law. (JKL)

army in Sarangani

By ALEXANDER D. LOPEZ

adlopez0920@gmail.com

IGHT members of the rebel New People’s Army were captured by elements of 73rd Infantry Battalion following the series of armed encounters and pursuit operations in Sarangani province from February 8 to 12, the army’s 10th Infantry (Agila) Division reported. Captain Rhyan Batchar, chief information officer of

10th ID said army troopers were able to capture six NPAs on Saturday and another two last Sunday, February 12. Five of the six apprehended rebels on Saturday were with high-powered firearms, he added. Batchar identified the six as Simeon Salda, Jun Moda, Claude Palbe, Garzon Palbe,

EDGEDAVAO Sports IT’S UAE, NOT AUS Change of venue could hurt Horn’s chances P14

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EYE-CATCHING. A florist prepares bouquet of different varieties of roses at flower section of Bankerohan Public Market in Davao city a day before the celebration of Valentine’s Day. Lean Daval Jr.

Kessia Carol Tar: Byaheng Do30’s newest darling

ER father wanted her to become a lawyer. But Kessia Carol Tar had a different plan. The 20-year-old Kessia is a Certified Cost Accountant and Registered Bookkeeper. But instead of pursuing Law as her father wished, she ventured into business. Kessia, who comes from the indigenous Bagobo-Klata population, is the force behind the popular Kapeng Nitibo, a business she put up to promote a homegrown product and to help uplift her tribe’s cultural heritage. As the Bagobo-Klata tribe’s chosen ambassador, she has represented her tribe in the 2014 Hiyas sa Kadayawan competition, where she was second runner-up and named Hiyas sa Panaghiusa. She could have ended her involvement there, but then the idea of coming up with a

business that pays homage to her indigenous roots came up. Kapeng Nitibo was put up with just a meager starting capital. But slowly, the business has already made a name. After one of her promotional visits to City Hall, where she pitched her product at the meeting of the heads of departments, Kessia was invited by the Byaheng Do30 team to feature her coffee business. Little did she know that during the interview, the Byaheng DO30 Team saw her potential as a host. She was later offered the opportunity to become Mikee Aportadera’s co-host. Kessia said she’s very thankful for being part of the show, which only started airing in December. “This is such a big opportunity,” she said. “I still can’t

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Adoption cases up in Davao region By JERMAINE L. DELA CRUZ

N line with the nationwide Adoption Consciousness Celebration 2017, the Department of Social Welfare and Development Region XI reported on Monday that cases of adoption across the region have increased in the previous year. Guesting during the Kapehan sa Dabaw media forum at SM City Davao, Social Welfare Officer 3 Sheryll Dumalogdog said 184 cases of adoption was recorded in 2016, 8 cases higher than the 2015 record at 176. “Among these cases, we have children who were from the orphanages as well as foster homes,” said Dumalogdog. According to the social welfare officer, there are cases wherein adopted children

would inquire in their office about their biological parents. “Even atong mga bata nato nga na-adopt abroad. They were even escorted by their adopted parents para magtrace sa ilang ginikanan,” said Dumalogdog who added that in 2016, there were 10 cases recorded in which most of them are elementary and high school students. The social welfare officer also pointed out there were also some who are already professional and some who are married who inquire about their roots. “For overseas cases, the adopted child, we were informed by the Inter-country Adoption Board. Now this particular family will be coming so

we will be advised to contact the biological parents if indeed they can still be located,” she added. Dumalogdog said the agency briefs the parents on how to answer the inquiries of the adopted child in a way that is less offensive manner just to make the child understand the reason for adoption. Meanwhile, according to DSWD USec Mae Fe Templa, the agency has not recorded complaints against the adoptive parents coming from the adopted children because the agency assures the parents’ capability to provide the children their physical and emotional needs. However, Templa said that there are also cases where

DSWD would grant the request of the adoptive parents to return the adopted child to the center due to behavioral problems. The under secretary also stressed that as early as possible, children should be aware that they are adopted. “Sakit sa part sa bata nga makabalo sa uban kaysa sa ilaha (adoptive parents) mismo (It is distressing for the child to learn from other people they are adopted than to learn it from their own adoptive parents),” explained Templa. According to DSWD, a person can adopt a child if he or she: • Is of legal age. • Is at least 16 years older

HE National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) has practically blamed President Rodrigo R. Duterte for the breakdown of the peace negotiations between the government and communist insurgents, ascribing Malacanang’s abrupt decision to end the talks and arrest members of the group to an “emotional” outburst. NDFP adviser Luis Jalandoni issued the statement after President Duterte announced that he was scrapping a ceasefire with the NDFP-Communist Party of the Philippines-New

People’s Army (NDFP-CPPNPA) and ordering the arrest of NDFP consultants because the group was making unacceptable demands and negotiating in bad faith despite the government “walking the extra mile” and making various concessions. Jalandoni said the President’s decision, along with his statement branding communist insurgents as “terrorists,” was simply an “emotional reaction.” He added: “Baka reaksiyon lang ‘yan. Earlier, malakas ang sinabi ni Presi-

dente na gusto niya magka roon ng peace talks at maresolve ang mga problema gaya ng land reform, national industrialization, poverty (It could be just a reaction. Earlier, the President said he wants peace talks to solve problems like land reform, national industrialization, poverty),” Jalandoni told ABS-CBN News in a mobile phone interview from Utrecht. Jalandoni also portrayed the President as a gullible leader with the NDF adviser claiming that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)

killed three of its own soldiers in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon last Feb. 8 to make Mr. Duterte believe that the communist group’s armed wing— the NPA—conducted the attack and anger him into scrapping the peace process altogether. “It could be possible that the military themselves killed the soldiers [to railroad the peace talks] ... Because the NPA doesn’t have this policy to waste bullets in a single encounter,” Jalandoni told GMA-7 in a TV interview.

AFP open to localized Reds blame Du30 for peace talks collapse peace talks with NPAs T

HILE cognizant of what it described as dissent within the ranks of the rebel New People’s Army, the Armed Forces of the Philippines has indicated it was open to pursuing localized peace talks with rebels. This was stressed by AFP public affairs office chief Col. Edgard Arevalo ‘s press briefing in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City Monday. Request for such negotiations came from NPA groups

operating in the Visayas and Masbate, he added. These groups are reportedly surprised at the decision of their national leadership to terminate the unilateral ceasefire with the government effective 11:59 p.m. of Feb. 10. And while the military is open to such negotiations, Arevalo said a mechanism must be first crafted so that common ground rules between the two parties can be set-up. (PNA)

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EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 9 ISSUE 255 • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2017

ASEAN Convention vs trafficking in persons enters into force March

T GRIM ACCOUNT. Dr. Ruth Gamboa (left) of the University of the Philippines Mindanao (UP-Min), Save Our Schools (SOS) Network lead convener Luz Ilagan (right) and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) undersecretary Mae Fe Templas (partly hidden) show a hand drawn map of the location in Talaingod where the organization members composed

Ombudsman orders filing of raps against 4 Mindanao local execs

HE Office of the Ombudsman (Ombudsman) has ordered the filing of charges against Mayor William Duma-an and municipal treasurer Arnold Samon, both from Caraga, Davao Oriental; former Mayor Teodoro Acosta of Sominot, Zamboanga del Sur; and former Regional Director Yusoph Mama of the Department of Agrarian Reform (Butuan City). The Ombudsman found probable cause to charge Duma-an and Samon with violation of Sections 3(e) and 3(g) of Republic Act No. 3019, or the “Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act”, for non-compliance with the requirement of public bidding for the municipality’s projects. Probers found that in 2011,

Duma-an and Samon authorized and facilitated the procurement of heavy equipment worth P32.7 million. No public bidding was conducted for the said acquisition and payment was approved without the requisite documentation. As a result, the Commission on Audit (COA) issued a Notice of Suspension in December 2011, which ripened into a Notice of Disallowance in October 2012, after the respondents failed to settle the audit findings through the submission of procurement documents. The Ombudsman also found that the heavy equipment procured were not brand new. In a separate resolution, the

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DSWD: 82K Davao senior citizens given pension benefits in 2016

HE Department of Social Welfare and Development in Region XI reported on Monday that 82, 531 senior citizens across Region XI have benefitted from the agency’s Social Pension Program in 2016. During the Kapihan sa Dabaw media forum at SM CIty Davao, DSWD XI Regional Director Mercedita Jabagat said 20,287 of the beneficiaries are from Davao City. According to Jabagat, at present, while other beneficiaries receive their pension directly from their own local government units through their city or municipal welfare offices, recipients from Davao City have been receiving their pension from DSWD Regional Office since the City Legal Office is conducting a review of the memorandum of agreement between DSWD and City Social Welfare and Development Office for the latter to carry out the distribution of pension. “Hopefully if ma-finalize na ang review sa legal sa city ang MOA namo, kung iapprove na nila, sila na ang mag payout

(Hopefully, if the City Legal Office could finalize the review and approve the MOA, they would be the one to distribute the payout),” said the regional director. According to Jabagat, those who are qualified to apply for the program are indigent senior citizens 60 years old and above, and senior citizens without pension from the Social Security System or Government Service Insurance System. First implemented in 2011, the Social Pension Program initially benefitted indigent senior citizens 77 years old or more. The age qualification was lowered to 76 years old in 2014 and further to 65 years old in February of this 2016 and was further lowered to 60 years old at the later part of the year. Under the program, every qualified applicant can avail himself/herself of P500 pension per month. However, since the pension is given quarterly, the beneficiary could receive P1500 per quarter. JERMAINE L. DELA CRUZ

of biology professors and students from UP-Min conducted a medical and solidarity mission but were allegedly harassed and threatened by the paramilitary group Alamara on their way back to the city. The three women graced yesterday’s Kapehan sa Dabaw at the Annex of SM City Davao. Lean Daval Jr.

HE ASEAN Convention against Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (ACTIP) will enter into force next month, or 30 days after the Philippines deposited its instrument of ratification on the Convention. The Department of Foreign Affairs on Monday said the Philippines becomes the sixth ASEAN member state to ratify the Convention after Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar. The Philippines submitted the instrument of ratification on the Convention during a call by Permanent Representative of the Philippines on ASEAN Ambassador Elizabeth P. Buensuceso on ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh on February 7. In accordance with the terms of the ACTIP, the Convention will enter into force on the

30th day upon the submission of the instrument of ratification of the sixth ASEAN Member State. ACTIP, which was signed by the ASEAN Leaders at the 27th ASEAN Summit in November 2015, showcases the bloc’s commitment in addressing human trafficking as a regional problem and its resolve to find the most effective regional solution to combat it. ACTIP, which is the first regionally binding instrument on trafficking in persons aims to prevent and combat trafficking in persons, especially women and children, and ensure just and effective punishment of traffickers; protect and assist victims of trafficking in persons with full respect for their human rights; and promote cooperation in the fight against trafficking in persons among the ASEAN member states. (PNA)

DSWD celebrates 66th anniversary Pension program, livelihood assistance, cash for work funds for Region 11 set to rollout

By JERMAINE L. DELA CRUZ

CTIVITIES are lined up for the nationwide celebration of the 66th founding anniversary of Department of Social Welfare and Development . Regional Director Mercedita Jabagat said during the Kapehan sa Dabaw forum at SM City Davao Monday that for Davao Region, the celebration will kick off on Feb-

ruary 27 and will culminate on March 3. “We are looking forward to the presence of DSWD Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo who accepted our invitation to be the guest of the culmination program,” said the regional director. The celebration will feature the following activities: thanksgiving mass, blessing of

FULFILLED YEAR. Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 11 director Mercedita Jabagat (right), together with undersecretary Mae Fe Templa, holds a copy of the agency’s accomplishment report for 2016

facilities inside the compound, bazaar, garage sale, products display by Sustainable livelihood program (SLP) recipients and DSWD centers, free eye checkup and consultation, and comtech exhibit and turnover of system device. The celebration will also highlight the turnover of livelihood assistance and cash for work funds to beneficiaries

and rollout of social pension payout for senior citizens. In the data submitted by the regional office, 6,495 households across the region have benefitted from the agency’s Sustainable Livelihood Program in 2016. Meanwhile, in the same year, 82,531 benefitted from Social Pension Program; 20,287 of these are from Davao City.

during yesterday’s Kapehan sa Dabaw at the Annex of SM City Davao where they promoted activities for the nationwide celebration of the agency’s 66th founding anniversary. Lean Daval Jr.

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Supply, prices of goods in Surigao remain stable: DTI

UPPLY and prices of goods in earthquake-hit Surigao del Norte remain “normal”, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Sec. Ramon Lopez assured Monday. “Basically, normal supply conditions here in Surigao. Prices are stable since flow of goods is not affected and passing through ports and by land from Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, and Davao,” said Lopez who is in Surigao del Norte to conduct an assessment of the situation there. Supply of goods in the province remains stable because most of supermarkets were not damaged by the earthquake last Friday evening, he said. “Most supermarkets and stores like Parkway Mall, Absolute Essential Traders, TT and

Company were not affected. Only Gaisanao Mall was affected as some walls collapsed,” Lopez said. Moreover, DTI will roll out Diskwento Caravan on Tuesday to offer goods at lower prices. The department is ready to assist damaged livelihood caused by evening through its livelihood fund and the Pondo para sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso (P3) Program, the DTI chief noted. “We’ll do Diskwento Caravan starting Tuesday. We will talk also to affected Gaisano Mall to bring out and sell their goods,” Lopez said. “We also have livelihood fund for affected microbusinesses and also funding like P3 to micro borrowers,” he added. (PNA)

DA allocates P10M to develop Tawi-Tawi’s cassava industry

HE Department of Agriculture will allocate P10 million to develop the cassava industry of this province. Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol on Monday made the announcement as he visited the public market of this municipality and checked the farm and marine products being sold by farmers and fisher folks. Piñol, in his interaction with local farmers, was informed that they manually grate the cassava used to make a delicacy locally known as pangi, sold in markets here. “We have the money. We will fund it (cassava industry),” Piñol told the Philippine News Agency. Bongao Mayor Jimuel Que,

who accompanied Piñol to the market, said there is huge supply of cassava since vast tracks of land in this province are planted to such crop. The DA chief said the P10 million fund will be used to purchase tractors and graters as well as planting materials to boost the local cassava production. Piñol arrived here Monday and distributed P3.28 million worth of livelihood support projects to local farmers and fisher folks. BFAR Director Eduardo Gongona accompanied the DA chief in his visit to this province. They also held a dialogue with the local fisher folks and farmers to determine their other needs. (PNA)

Lawmaker calls for strict audit of mine rehabilitation fund

PARTYLIST lawmaker at the House of Representatives has called for a rigorous audit of the Mine Rehabilitation Fund (MRF) to ensure its transparent and accountable use. AKO Bicol Partylist Rep. Rodel Batocabe made the appeal in the wake of the impending closure of 23 mining operations and suspension of five mining firms by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). “The recent order of DENR brought the need to ensure the prudent use of the MRF. The next step is to rehabilitate these mined-out areas should their operations be halted by the government,” Batocabe said. “We cannot leave them in their abused states without the conscious efforts to restore them,” he added. Batocabe said no proper government audit is in place to safeguard the MRF from corruption and unbridled utilization.

The Bicol-based partylist lawmaker noted that the Commission on Audit does not have the function to police the use of these funds for the technical and biological rehabilitation of the affected areas. Under the Philippine Mining Act of 1995, mining companies are required to set aside 10 percent of the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programs (EPEP) costs, or P5 million (whichever is lower), to be used as a rehabilitation cash source. The said fund is managed by an MRF committee comprised of the Mines and Geosciences Board (MGB) Regional Director, DENR Regional Executive Director, and representatives of the Local Government Unit, Non-Governmental Organizations, and the Contractors. Batocabe pointed that the nature of the said fund under the mining act is not clear, thus inhibiting the government to carry out state audit. (PNA)

TAKING-OFF. PLDT executive vice president and chief revenue officer Eric Alberto (3rd from right) and Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII) president Ronald Go (4th from left), together with PLDT enterprise head Juan Hernandez (3rd from left), chief financial officer Chaye Revilla (2nd from left), Human Resources head Liza Sitchon (2nd from

right), chief customer experience and data analytics adviser Ralph Brunner (4th from right), E-PLDT chief operating officer Nerisse Ramos (rightmost) and Smart Telecommunications technology adviser Rudi Frey, lead the cutting of ribbon to formally launch the company’s vitro data center at PLDT office along c. Bangoy Street in Davao City yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

Payoneer Forum Davao empowers freelancers & online entrepreneurs By providing them with payment solutions

By JERMAINE L. DELA CRUZ

HE Payoneer Forum held at Park Inn by Radisson in Davao City on February 4 gathered together over a hundred freelancers, online entrepreneurs, startups and professionals and empowered them with the latest in online payment solutions and other digital business tools. Organized for the first time in Davao, the Payoneer Forum was organized by global cross-border payments company Payoneer, graced by an all-star cast of digital marketing, freelancing, and online business experts as speakers. These included LinkVistaDigital Inc. CEO and President Patrick Panuncillon, Opposed Media Director Mitch Miller, Freelancer Karla Singson, Mr. Outsource and Dreamwork Coworking Space CEO Regina Evangelista, and Payoneer

Philippines Country Manager Miguel Warren. Payoneer Country Manager Miguel Warren, who gave the session on “Payoneer: Connecting Businesses, Professionals, Countries and Currencies”, said they wish to impart knowhow about how global online connections can help freelancers and startups build sustainable businesses at low cost. “We just launched our Payoneer Philippines office in Manila in November 2016. With our work we hope to empower freelancers, startups, entrepreneurs, and professionals with practical knowledge about online payments and related business tips,” said Warren. Headquartered in New York, Payoneer provides online payment solutions to leading brands such as Airbnb,

Amazon, Google, Upwork and millions of small businesses around the world. With over 3 million users worldwide, Payoneer can send money to more than 200 countries in over 150 currencies. “Domestic digital advertising revenue reached $60 billion in 2016 but only 2030% of this amount went to big agencies. The rest went to freelancers and startups, giving ordinary folks room to become digital business successes,” said LinkVistaDigital Inc. CEO & President Patrick Panuncillon. Panuncillon gave a session on the topic “Becoming a Digital Marketing Success” during the forum, where he advised those wishing to be proficient in the digital marketing world to focus on efficiency, quality, and building relationships.

“Am I spending & investing enough to fuel growth? How much do I devote to innovation? Is my digital marketing strategy and methodology clear? These are some of the questions that we need to ask ourselves if we are to become successful digital marketers,” said Panuncillon. Mitch Miller, Opposed Media Director, gave a session on “Freelancer Equality 101”, an orientation on how to make the most of freelancing with such practical advice like not being easy to get, charging higher, and building a reputation as an expert. “Freelancers, online workers and entrepreneurs, don’t have to be exploited by bigger fish. People want what they can’t have so don’t be so easy to get. The more you charge

This shall be done through partnership with national government agencies such as the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) for implementation and regulation, the Department of Finance (DOF) for funding, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for giving incentives to small scale broadcasters, the Department of Environment and National Resources (DENR) for e-waste management, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) for economic impact, and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for financial subsidy in purchasing digital set top boxes. DICT Secretary Rodolfo Salalima said the switch to dig-

ital transmission will not only pave the way for a better TV viewing experience for Filipinos but will also ensure a more efficient and richer information dissemination in times of calamities. It has an Emergency Warning Broadcast System (EWBS) feature that allows the system to send early warnings for disaster preparedness and disseminate advisories and guidance on evacuation, food provisions, and medical assistance in times of disasters. Furthermore, migrating to digital from analog will free very high frequencies (VHF) that can be maximized for future broadband deployment for Internet. It will also foster a competi-

tive environment for the broadcasters to offer new services through datacasting and Broadcast Markup Language (BML). “A better Philippines in terms of broadcasting can only be achieved when there is collaboration among the government, its stakeholders, civil organizations, and private industries,” according to Salalima. The first day of the Digital TV Summit is dedicated for the launching of the DTTB Migration Plan and the Ceremonial Digital TV Switch On. Partners from the broadcast industry are expected to grace the event to express their support and commitment in the comprehensive national implementation of the DTTB Migration Plan. (PNA)

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DICT launches migration plan for digital TV broadcasting

HE Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) will launch the Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting (DTTB) Migration Plan in a two-day Digital TV Summit to be held at Novotel Manila, Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City from February 14 to 15, 2017. The DICT’s DTTB Migration Plan consists of comprehensive policies and regulations as well as technical and financial considerations that are essential for the Philippine’s migration to digital TV broadcasting. The plan will help ensure seamless transition from analog to digital that will further lead to a complete Analog Switch Off (ASO).

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Congress urged to prioritize bills that save lives, hike wages

DIGONG HELP SOUGHT. Davao Del Norte Electric Cooperative, Inc. Cooperative Development Authority (DANECO-CDA) chairman Engr. Alberto Omega (2nd from left) provides some updates on the group’s legal battle against its rival National Electrification Administration (NEA). Omega,

together with lawyer Bal Sator (leftmost), general manager Engr. Jerold Osorio (2nd from right) and director Inday Sistoza, graced yesterday’s Kapehan sa Dabaw at the Annex of SM City Davao. Lean Daval Jr.

UP students join call for transparent mining audit M

INING engineering students of the country’s premier university have joined the snowballing call for transparency and full disclosure in the mining audit conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on 28 mining operations across the country that it had ordered shut down or suspended. The DENR order, abruptly issued by its Secretary Gina Lopez last Feb. 2, has since been superseded by a resolution issued by the Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC), calling for “a multi-stakeholder review” of the affected mine sites, to “advise the DENR on the performance of existing mining operations in consultation with local government units (LGUs)” as provided un-

der Executive Order 79. “The review shall be based on the guidelines and parameters set forth in the specific mining contract and in other pertinent laws, taking into account the valid exercise of the State’s police power to serve the common good, especially of the poor,” the MICC resolution further read. In a statement, the University of the Philippines Mining Engineering Society (UP MINERS) said the suspension and closure orders issued by Lopez on the 28 mine sites “implies unemployment of new graduates of Mining Engineering, Geology, Metallurgical Engineering and other affected fields.” “In light of the recent events of mine suspensions and closures without legal ba-

sis, We, the University of the Philippines Mining Engineering Society (UP MINERS), reiterate our stance and advocacies toward responsible mining and call for transparency in the process of the mining audit done by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources,” the organization said. “For as long as the transparency of the mining audit remains inaccessible, as future engineers, we shall keep invoking our right to access detailed information regarding the said mining audit in order for us to know what needs to be improved in the industry and to aid in the advancement of the profession towards environmental protection so as to avoid the suspension of more mining companies compromising jobs and Filipino fami-

lies,” the UP MINERS said. “As students of the University of the Philippines, we uphold honor, excellence, and the values of responsible mining. We thus challenge the government to do the same,” it added. The UP MINERS, whose primary goal is to advance the Mining Engineering profession and help ensure responsible mining, questioned the credibility of the audit done by Lopez on the 28 affected mine sites. “For the DENR to ban the Mines and Geosciences Bureau during the [press] conference where the mine suspensions list was released places the integrity of the department and credibility of the audit in jeopardy,” the UP MINERS said. Even mine sites with an

dustry -- the approaching de facto lifting of quantity restrictions or QR on rice by June this year after the Philippine government did not purse for an extension of the QR on rice under the World Trade Organization (WTO) rule. The country has been imposing QR on rice despite its commitment, as a WTO member, to eliminate trade barriers to protect its vulnerable rice industry. Since its membership in the WTO in 1995, the Philippines was able to impose QR on rice for 10 years until 2005, and was extended twice until June 30, 2017.

Rosario said the QR lifting will result to failure of the livelihood for the 4,000 small-scale rice farmers. Farmers will also lack its vitality to train new generation of farmers to contribute for the future of the rice industry. He added that for the past years, subsidies from the government have not been sufficient for farmers. Nestor Diego, also a member of NMFS, expressed his worries once the QR is lapses. He said that it will be more difficult for the local farmers to compete in the market because with the influx of cheaper imported rice. He added that farmers are worried that traders will be more aggressive in buying imported rice than locally produced rice, noting that the lifting of QR will only benefit the private sector. He suggested that instead

of abolishing the QR, National Food Authority (NFA) should help establishing the rice industry in our country by buying more rice from local farmers. With these, NMFS and IRDF have urged the government to retain the QR on rice under its national law through the Agricultural Tarrification Act.

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Farmers call for extension of QR on rice T

HE Philippines is known as an agricultural country, with 47 percent of its 30 million hectares land area being utilized for agricultural activities. Its primary agricultural products are sugarcane, root crops, coconuts, and rice -- the staple food of Filipinos. While agriculture is a vital sector for the Philippines, it is also tagged as a damaged sector by the Integrated Rural Development Foundation (IRDF) in its book entitled “Rebuilding a Damaged Agricultural Sector”. IRDF, a non-governmental organization, noted that the country’s agriculture is a damaged sector because of impoverished pursuance of agrarian reforms, deregulation of the program for globalization, and the government’s faint support for the program. While the sector has yet to recover, another problem detonated in the country’s rice in-

Farmers call for QR extension In a press briefing last Feb. 8, Manuel Rosario, a farmer from Nueva Ecija and member of National Movement on Food Sovereignty (NMFS), shared the concerns of rice farmers with the de facto lifting of QR on rice.

Strengthening support, policies Moreover, University of the Philippines Los Baños Crop Sciences Professor Teodoro Mendoza said the weak agriculture sector of the country was due to insufficient budget for research and development, competition on labor, as well as lack of agricultural and labor productivity. IRDF noted that the country can re-establish its damaged agriculture sector through a “strategic reshaping of existing policies” for the long term development of the sector. (PNA)

SENATOR on Monday asked the Congress to prioritize bills that save lives or raise the minimum salary of government doctors. Sen. Francis Pangilinan made this statement stressing that only 10 percent of Filipinos in rural areas benefit from medical professionals. He also cited a World Health Organization (WHO) report that show 22,000 health professionals leave the Philippines every year to work overseas. “There are better earning opportunities abroad. The same can be said of our OFWs (overseas Filipino workers). If Congress focuses on improving other sectors, particularly the labor sector, many of our people would be empowered,” Pangilinan said. He further said this would benefit the poor and prevent them from resorting to crime to improve their lives. “They will not resort to crimes to better their lives. Improving the labor sector can help eradicate the cycle of poverty. This is a better deterrent against criminality,” he added. He said that increasing the

salary of government doctors is just the first step to take in improving the country’s labor sector. “We urge Congress to instead focus on bills that aim to save lives,” Pangilinan said, expressing hope that this measure will encourage our doctors to serve their communities. Pangilinan is principal author of Senate Bill 1628 which seeks to raise the minimum salary of government doctors from Salary Grade 16 (P28,417) to Salary Grade 24 (P56,610). Senate Bill 1268 or the Government Doctors’ Salary Upgrading Act of 2017 has so far been signed and approved in the committee level. Senators Antonio Trillanes IV, Risa Hontiveros, and Loren Legarda have filed similar bills heard by the Senate Committee on Civil Service, Government Reorganization, and Professional Regulation. Pangilinan has also filed Senate Bill 59 seeking to grant civil service eligibility to casual and contractual government employees who have been in continuous and efficient service for five years. (PNA)

Expanding Large Taxpayers unit part of tax system overhaul: DOF

INANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said expanding the scope of the Large Taxpayers Service (LTS) of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is a key component of the tax administration reforms under the Duterte presidency that will complement the proposed overhaul of outdated tax policies to make the system simpler, fairer and more efficient, especially for the poor plus low- and middle-income taxpayers. Dominguez said his marching orders to the BIR to accomplish this goal is to “go out and find” the other large taxpayers that have managed to avoid the Bureau’s registry so that it could significantly increase its tax effort, which, for the first nine months of 2016 alone reached P891 billion for the LTS, representing a 9.41 percent improvement over the same period in 2015. He likewise pointed out that the BIR collected over 15 percent more in January 2017 than what it did in the same period of the previous year. “Those opposing the tax reform program argue that we should focus on improving the tax effort instead of introducing new revenue measures. There is no argument about improving the efficiency of tax collection. We have, in fact, improved collection dramatically the past few months,” said Dominguez at the tax campaign kick-off ceremony of the LTS. Dominguez said, “However, we need to convince our legislators that we need to reform our tax policies to further improve collection efficiency. Our taxes should be rendered

simpler and fairer to generate the volume of revenues necessary to push our economic program forward.” The ways and means committee of the House of Representatives is currently discussing several tax reform measures filed in the Congress. House Bill No. 4774, which was filed by the committee chairperson Rep. Dakila Carlo Cua and endorsed by the Department of Finance (DOF), seeks the lowering of personal income tax rates along with donor and estate taxes, while at the same time, adjusting fuel and automobile excise tax rates and expanding the VAT base but retaining exemptions for seniors and persons with disabilities, among other revenue compensating measures. Dominguez said that while he finds the performance of the LTS “exemplary,” having accounted for the lion’s share of BIR collections despite being manned by only 564 “highly qualified and dedicated” personnel, more needs to be done to expand the current LTS roster of only 2,320 active large taxpayers. The LTS has set a collection goal of P1.152 trillion for this year, which is equivalent to 63 percent of the total BIR target of P1.829 trillion for the entire 2017. “I find the number of registered large taxpayers rather small, considering the rapid expansion of our economy,” Dominguez said. “If we are able to significantly add to the number of large taxpayers supervised by the LTS, I am sure we can increase the tax effort equally significantly,” he said. (PR)

7 SUBURBIA

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 9 ISSUE 255 • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2017

PH beauties vow to promote Maguindanao’s ‘inaul’ cloth S

100 couples to wed on Valentine’s Day in SoCot

ISS Universe Philippines Maxine Medina and Miss Philippines International Kylie Versoza on Sunday night vowed to promote Maguindanao’s “Inaul” cloth even as Medina vowed to wear the same cloth in future fashion shows. Medina was also elated with the Moro women’s skills in weaving the now famous cloth that some Miss Universe candidates wore during a fashion show in Davao City. Medina and Versoza were special guests, judge and host of Maguindanao’s local search for Miss Maguindanao Sunday night here. Medina expressed support to Maguindanao’s efforts

on empowering women with knowledge and skills like Inaul weaving. “I am happy to hear this, women should always have the avenue for empowerment, every woman is capable of doing anything, then if you can handle it, do it, go for it”, Medina, who was among the Final 6 in the recent Miss Universe pageant, told reporters. “Hopefully, in the coming days, I will display the Inaul gowns that are handmade by Moro women,” she said after a courtesy call with Maguindanao Governor Esmael Mangudadatu. Mangudadatu said the provincial government will

ARMM exec asks fugitive officials to come out, prove innocence

“I

T is better for them to surrender and prove their innocence in court.” These were the words of Lawyer Noor Hafizullah Abdullah, Department of the Interior and Local Government in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Midnanao (DILG-ARMM) regional secretary, to two Maguindanao town mayor wanted by law for their alleged involvement in illegal drugs. Mayor Rasul Sangki of Ampatuan town and Mayor Montassir Sabal of Talitay town, both in Maguindanao, were included in President Duterte’s narcolist in the ARMM and both remained at large. Sangki eluded arrest when government forces, led by Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG-ARMM) raided Barangay Saniag in Ampatuan town. But state forces recovered firearms, ammunition and improvised explosive devices in his alleged hideout. Sec. Abdullah said if both local government executives are

not into illegal drug activities, directly or indirectly, they should come out and prove their innocence in a proper forum. Both officials have been the subject of government law enforcement operations but both managed to run away with the law. On top of charges for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, Sangki and Sabal are both facing violations of Republic Act 10591 or Illegal Possession of Firearms and Explosives after government forces seized guns and explosives in separate raids on their homes. “Flight or escape is always an assumption or indications of guilt,” Abdullah told reporters. The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEAARMM) is now the lead agency in war on drugs after Pres. Duterte removed the duty from the PNP due to involvement of some to illegal activities in the guise of implementing the drug war. (PNA)

train more women in the “Inaul” weaving industry. “It will help our industry, it will help our women especially those wives and widowers of the rebels,” Mangudadatu said. The training was in partnership with Technical Schools Development Authority (TESDA) to train Moro women. After the cloth was displayed by Miss Universe candidates in Davao City, Mangudadatu said the demand for Inaul went skyrocketing that made him worry the supply could not meet the demand. And he got the support of Bai Nomina Odin Culi, an Inaul weaving expert, who decided

to stay in the country and provide more training for Moro women. Culi is an overseas Filipino worker scheduled to return overseas but decided to stay after she learned of the declining number of Inaul weavers. “I decided to stay, teach more weavers to save the Inaul industry from extinction,” she said in Filipino. Inaul is a fabric used by Moro people as “malong” (tube-type cloth). Mangudadatu said the centuries-old practice of weaving is considered as the highest form of artistic expression in Maguindanao and has been passed on from generation to generation. (PNA)

OME 100 live-in couples in Polomolok town in South Cotabato will finally say “I do’s” on Tuesday, Valentine’s Day, in a mass wedding activity sponsored by a local cooperative. Warren Cahayag, assistant manager of the Adventurers Multi-Purpose Cooperative (Amcoop), said Monday the selected couples, some of whom had been living together for many years, will be wed in civil rites at the municipal gymnasium. He said they earlier decided to hold a mass wedding to legalize the standing of their members and workers who are still in cohabitation status. “This part of our efforts to build up strong families as well as better communities,” said Cahayag, who is the cooperative’s assistant manager for employee relations and community development. As in a normal wedding cer-

HS students undergo paper flower workshop in Panabo

N line with the National Arts Month celebration themed: “Malikhain. Mapagbago. Filipino”, the city government of Panabo through the Tourism Promotions Section (TPS) facilitated a Paper Flower Workshop held last February 8 at the function room of the City Hall Building. The event was joined by 30 high school students from

various schools in Panabo. Mary Joy Gesta of San Vicente National High School expressed her gratitude for the opportunity she had through the workshop. “I am so grateful to be a part of this art workshop, this can showcase skills and creativity”, Gesta said. Mayor James Gamao, who was represented by Engr. Ju-

dith Lee, the city’s executive secretary stressed the importance of the workshop for the students. “This is your opportunity to earn extra money and to showcase your work”, Lee said. TPS head Cher Bastida said the training was aimed to provide high school students the avenue to boost their cre-

at Tagum City Hall. DSWD also released Php 15 million for Cash-For-Work and Skills Training of beneficiaries of the Modified Conditional Cash Transfer for Indigenous Peoples (MCCT-IP). Also in photo are Tagum City and DSWD officials. (DSWD)

ative minds. Their outputs will be exhibited at the Panabo Museum and will also be utilized during the important events in the city, Bastida added. Pababo commemorates National Arts Month every February pursuant to presidential proclamation No. 683 series of 1991. (Jasmine Paras/CIO Panabo)

Comval Gov Uy shares ‘bayanihan’best practices

DSWD @66. Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Policy and Plans Division Chief Estrella D. Brigole [2nd from left] leads the ceremonial turnover of wheelchairs to Tagum City Mayor Allan L. Rellon [3rd from left] during the celebration of the 66th Founding Anniversary of DSWD

emony, he said the couples will wear traditional bridal dresses and barongs, as well as have a grand reception afterwards, all courtesy of Amcoop. He said they will also provide the wedding rings, and the photo and video documentation of the ceremony. The cooperative had shouldered the expenses for the processing of required documents like residence and birth certificates, and certificates of no marriage or Cenomar of the beneficiaries, he said. Cahayag said they also facilitated the participation of the chosen couples to the pre-marriage counselling seminar conducted by the Provincial Population Office of South Cotabato, in cooperation with the Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office, Municipal Health Office and Municipal Agriculture Office of Polomolok. (PNA)

NE of the youngest Governors in the Philippines and the father of Compostela Valley Province was once again requested by the Gawad Kalinga (GK) Foundation, through its founder Mr. Tony Meloto, to share the province’s best practices in bayanihan. Giving inspiration once again, Governor Jayvee Tyron L. Uy shares the best practices of the province in the concept of GK during the conduct of the Social Business Summit 2017 on January 20-22, 2017 at the GK Enchanted Farm in Bulacan, Philippines. “Comval by far, is the only province in Mindanao that has made bayanihan its flagship program, rooted on the principle of “walang iwanan”

or no one shall be left behind, we can’t dare see people lose opportunities we could have given them,” said Gov. Uy. The bayanihan practice in the province started from the Uswag GK houses by providing houses to the poorest of the poor with former governor and now Senior Board Member Arturo Uy as the forerunner. From then, it spread to building of school classrooms through the “Kalinga sa Kabataan: Bayanihan sa Paaralan” program, and then to the reading program called the “Bayanihan para sa Karunungan.” Another bayanihan concept is the Adopt-a-child program which is under the nutrition program of the province

FCOMVAL, 13

8 VANTAGE EDGEDAVAO

EDITORIAL

Nature over money

IKE a case of a lover being made to choose between love and money, the former chose the first. That’s the case with mining. President Rodrigo Duterte made his stand last Saturday after flying over the mountains of Surigao and finding he had seen enough. By the time the President stepped on the ground from the chopper, he had pretty much seen the forest and not just the trees. He admitted nature cannot be restored anymore. The damage inflicted by mining operations have taken its toll on the environment. And with that, he is closing down mining. That could be the answer to the appeal made by mining companies recently

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ordered closed by Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Gina Lopez. The cost of closing down mining operations, according to the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP), is roughly P66.6 billion in annual production and P16.7 billion in taxes. There are some 1.2 million people dependent on mining for livelihood, either directly or indirectly. Despite the staggering impact, that is nothing compared to the impact on nature. The President has seen enough. As to the displaced workers, the government will find a new source of livelihood for them. It is never easy an choice. But it has to be made. ANTONIO M. AJERO Editor in Chief

NEILWIN JOSEPH L. BRAVO Managing Editor

JIMMY K. LAKING Associate Editor PHILIPPINE PRESS INSTITUTE

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VANTAGE POINTS

Santa Ana pier

HE choice of Santa Ana as the location of the port of Davao was chiefly due to the presence of export houses in that barrio, and the many abaca-pressing firms adjacent to the area. For one thing, there was already the Santa Ana pier that was mainly built from wood. But there were also other reasons why the new location was strategic in terms of administratively managing the various piers, docks, and jetties already existing in Davao. M.M. Saleeby, then manager in the Philippines of Hanson and Orth, a company engaged in hemp-buying, suggested in 1925 that the future new wharf, which at the time had already been allotted P100,000 for construction, be close to where the warehouses were. “Everyone is grateful for the prospective new pier, on which P100,000 will be spent this year, but we all hope it will be located at the end of the street where the export houses are, instead of beyond the old pier where traffic is always congested and where passage to and from the new pier work would only add to our transportation difficulties… “Besides the pier, other transportation and communication facilities are needed in Davao and warranted by the development there. For instance, the post office is in Davao while the export houses are all in the barrio of Santa Ana. We have to send our telegrams by messenger over this distance, two kilometers, and if after 5:30 p. m., when the post office will be closed for the day, he must then go on to the wireless station, a distance of two kilometers more.

“A branch FAST BACKWARD telegraph station should be installed in Santa Ana. Failing this, there should be telephone communication to Davao and the wireless station. It now Antonio V. Figueroa requires more time for our messages to pass between Davao and Manila than it does for them to pass between Manila and New York. For the former we ordinarily estimate three days. “A first class road is also badly needed north and south from Davao to connect the plantations with the capital and the port.” Two years earlier, H. Forst, general manager of Macleod and Company, one of the oldest American exporters of Manila hemp, also made a similar observation on the need to have a wharf capable of handling huge volume of cargo in Davao. In urging the American colonial government to be fair in appreciating the developments in Davao, he wrote: “There is really not one good port in the whole Gulf, for about three to four months during the year a very strong northeast monsoon blows steadily, which makes loading and unloading at the various plantations difficult and slow, as this must all be done by means of

ships’ boats. The pier at Santa Ana, constructed of native hardwood piles and timbers, was completed about a year ago and, considering ordinary wear and tear, should be good for three years more. “At low tide there are only sixteen feet of water at the end of the pier, which will prevent large ocean-going vessels from coming alongside. We all recall that the Shipping Board freighter Dewey loaded at Santa Ana and after a good deal of delay managed to take on about 4,000 bales of hemp. However, the vessel was loaded under difficulties; but with certain improvements, steamers of the same size should be able to take on cargo as cheaply and as quickly… “Davao should be made an open port as soon as possible. Immediate steps should be taken to improve port facilities so as to permit large steamers to call there. That means an extension of the present pier, or what would be much better-the construction of a concrete pier. Very little dredging would be required. Surely those Americans who have spent the best part of their lives in that isolated district and have given the best that is in them, are entitled to some consideration on the part of the government, and at a time when the future outlook is more promising than it has ever been before. “Zamboanga should not be favored at the expense of Davao. There is room for both. Direct shipment from Davao would not seriously interfere with interisland shipping. There is plenty of cargo which must be shipped south, and even with a monthly direct steamer there

would be sufficient produce left to fill tonnage now employed in the inter-island trade.” By 1940, the year before the Philippines was drawn in the global war, the Sta. Ana wharf, where the port of Davao was also found, was by now a bustling merchant quay. The 1941 Annual Report of the Insular Collector of Customs showed that the total gross receipts of the port from all sources in 1940 amounted to P791,170.93 compared to P658,501.78 in 1939, or an increase of P122,669.15. The value of its 1940 foreign trade, meanwhile, amounted to P17,571,411, with P1,484,019 representing imports and P16,079,519, for exports. In shipping, 1940 was a banner year. A total of 103 foreign-trading vessels entered the port. During the same period, 102 vessels engaged in the foreign trade were cleared as compared with 106 the previous year. Moreover, a total of 329 domestic vessels engaged in coastwise trade were entered during the year compared to 135 for the first six months of 1939. Also, a total of nine vessels were newly documented during the year, all for the bay and river traffic, while 106 vessels were licensed for the domestic trade during the same period. Today, the port of Davao has become one of the major seaports in the country, and its coverage includes piers, wharves, and small ports in Davao City and the Davao provinces where products, general cargo, vehicles, bulk cargo, minerals, and other transportable articles for maritime shipment, including interisland shipping, are handled.

“It takes three to make love, not two: you, your spouse, and God. Without God people only succeed in bringing out the worst in one another. Lovers who have nothing else to do but love each other soon find there is nothing else. Without a central loyalty life is unfinished.” ― Fulton J. Sheen, Seven Words of Jesus and Mary: Lessons from Cana and Calvary

hurting or laugh with you when THINK ON THESE! you make a fool of yourself. Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show Henrylito D. Tacio you the things henrytacio@gmail.com about yourself that make you special and even beautiful. There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are.” Or to quote the words of Robert A. Heinlein, author of Stranger in a Strange Land: “Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.” If you find your true love, that’s the time you have to marry the person. In other words, wedding is the next chapter. In A Kingdom of Dreams, Judith McNaught wrote: “The groom always smiles proudly because he’s convinced he’s accomplished something quite wonderful. The bride smiles because she’s been able to convince him of it.” That statement may seems funny but true. Here’s a more meaningful reason, as stated by Wendell Berry in Sex, Economy, Freedom, and Community: Eight Essays: “Lovers must not, like usurers, live for

themselves alone. They must finally turn from their gaze at one another back toward the community. If they had only themselves to consider, lovers would not need to marry, but they must think of others and of other things. They say their vows to the community as much as to one another, and the community gathers around them to hear and to wish them well, on their behalf and its own. It gathers around them because it understands how necessary, how joyful, and how fearful this joining is. “These lovers, pledging themselves to one another ‘until death,’ are giving themselves away, and they are joined by this as no law or contract could join them. Lovers, then, ‘die’ into their union with one another as a soul “dies” into its union with God. And so here, at the very heart of community life, we find not something to sell as in the public market but this momentous giving. If the community cannot protect this giving, it can protect nothing...” Just like life, marriage is not a bed of roses. It is a rollercoaster ride; there are ups and downs. As philosopher Socrates said: “By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you’ll become happy; if you get a bad one, you’ll become a philosopher.” Henny Youngman has another point of view. “Do you know what it means to come home at night to a woman who’ll give you a little love, a little affection, a little tenderness?” he asked. “It means you’re in the wrong house, that’s what it means.” Unknowingly, one of the things that can save a marriage from being ruined is to praise each other. But more often than not, a spouse usually finds something wrong with his or her partner. And so it came to pass that a married cou-

ple came to a counsellor for advice. No sooner were they seated than they started speaking at the same time in a duel of criticisms. When they finally stopped for lack of breath, the counsellor suggested that now they tell each other all the good they see in one another. There was total silence. Then each was given a pen and a sheet of paper and told to write down something praiseworthy about the other. Neither of them wrote. They both sat and stared at the paper. After what seemed like forever, the husband started to write something. At once, the wife also began to write -- fast and furiously. Finally, the writing stopped. There was silence again. The wife pushed her paper over to the watching counsellor. He pushed it back signaling that she was to give it directly to her husband. She reluctantly shoved the paper half way across the table. He took it and in turn, slid his paper towards his wife. Each began to read. The counsellor watched. Soon after, a tear slid down the cheek of the wife. She crumpled the paper in her fist and held it tight. That proved that she treasured the sudden revelation of good things her husband had expressed about her. The whole atmosphere of the room changed. There was no need for anything to be said. Praise had healed a thousand wounds. “The husband and wife left arm in arm,” wrote Carlos Valles who narrated the anecdote in The Next 500 Stories. Here’s an advice from Ogden Nash to make that marriage successful: “To keep your marriage brimming, with love in the wedding cup, whenever you’re wrong, admit it; whenever you’re right, shut up.”

*** N his book, How to Live Longer, Dr. Willie T. Ong listed marriage as one of the strategies for a longer life. “Statistics show that, on the average, married persons live longer,” Dr. Ong explained. “For single persons living alone, they may have no one to attend to them in cases of emergencies. Also, single persons may have less social support. On the other hand, married persons find fulfillment in their spouse and kids.” Marriage usually starts with love. Although there are people who marry for some reasons (like money and prestige, among others), love is the starting point. You know it’s real love when you experience what singer Bob Marley says: “Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you’ve never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more. You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you. “When something wonderful happens, you can’t wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are

In the name of love

EDGEDAVAO

10 COMPETITIVE EDGE

VOL. 9 ISSUE 255 • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2017

DOE overseeing Surigao quake power rehab efforts

N the light of the magnitude 6.7 earthquake that hit Surigao province on Friday, Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi today joined President Rodrigo Duterte and other cabinet members in extending the necessary assistance to all affected communities and individuals. “We are looking into the extent of the damages caused by the earthquake. We are addressing the immediate needs and concerns of our people on energy,” said Secretary Cusi, who stressed “safety is the top priority.” “We have to ensure an adequate, reliable and secure supply of energy and to execute fair pricing of petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel, kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG),” added Cusi. Cusi said his department is closely monitoring the power restoration efforts being conducted by the Surigao del Norte Electric Cooperative, Inc. (SURNECO). According to a National Electrification Administration’s report, 95% of SURNECO’s franchise area has been restored by 11:00 p.m. last night. The effort has so far energized the primary lines of Surigao City and all the municipalities of the province while the remaining 5% is still being addressed by the electric coop-

erative. SURNECO also reported the damage on its main office building, necessitating the transfer to their old building and covered court. Earlier, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines reported that there is no earthquake-related damage or sustained fault on transmission facilities. For the petroleum and oil products, the DOE has reiterated the implementation of Republic Act (RA) 10623 which imposes a “price freeze” on certain LPG and kerosene products being sold in the areas affected by the calamity. “With the declaration of a State of Calamity, government will impose a price freeze on basic energy commodities for 15 days, particularly for kerosene and household LPG,” said Cusi. “In order to effectively ensure the supply of petroleum products, oil companies are obliged to update the DOE of the operational status of their depots and gasoline stations within the areas to stabilize the supply and reduce chances of individuals who are taking advantage of the oil situation,” he added. “The DOE assures everyone that it will remain to be vigilant in protecting the interest of the public, “ Sec Cusi concluded. (PR)

Tagum Coop extends aid to flood victims in Davao

ESPITE the recent cruelty of the weather in Tagum City and the surrounding cities and provinces, Tagum Cooperative (TC) in cooperation with the Provincial Government of Davao del Norte never wavered in staying genuine in its commitment to serve the people especially those who are in dire need of help. Upon hearing the outbreak about the sudden upsurge of the water level in barangays in Tagum City, TC immediately readied relief packs to be provided to the flood victims. Residents of certain barangays: Canocotan, Pagsabangan, Bincungan, and San Miguel respectively received in kind goods and were served with hot rice porridge (arozcaldo) and boiled eggs hoping that it will give them assurance and comfort that TC will always lend a hand especially in tumultuous moments. TC also dedicated to reach out to areas in the Municipality of Carmen whose residents are greatly devastated by the calamity. Families displaced by the flood water were given food, water, and clothing as these primal needs are already difficult to obtain and purchase. In Asuncion, TC gave a very generous amount of rice and canned goods to unfortunate residents, young and old alike,

who have been victimized by malevolent flood. Compostela Valley Province particularly in the towns of Compostela, Monkayo, and Nabunturan received help from TC as they have requested for the same goods for their residents who were also affected by the flash floods. The TC teams who volunteered for the humanitarian service consisted of TC Board of Directors, officers and staff together with the Sisters Society led by TC Chairperson Monica L. Salido, M.M. ventured far-flung and floodprone areas notwithstanding the heavy downpour and exemplifying that TC is always ready to care and share. They have brought with them relief packs comprised of three kilos of rice, canned sardines and corned beef, coffee, sugar, loaf bread, and instant noodles. Food packs contains an ample amount of cooked rice, boiled eggs, and pancit. Residents who built tents along roads whose houses drown in the raging water were given the same provisions. In addition, one full tank of clean and potent Dumoy water completes the TC convoy. To date, TC has already supplied 4,900 units of relief and food packs pegged to be P1,000,000 coming from the coop’s Calamity Fund for the Community. (PR)

Uncover bold, new insights at the Worldbex Seminars 2017 K

NOWING very well that true progress entails a ceaseless pursuit for excellence, WORLDBEX returns for its 22nd installment with no less than a bigger and bolder presentation. Apart from boasting of the most extensive line-up of exhibitors, a highly anticipated component of WORLDBEX shows is its compelling line-up of pocket events and activities. Among which is the WORLDBEX Seminars, a series of talks and lectures held throughout the three-day show which tackles issues and trends that prove relevant and insightful for today’s industry practitioners. Headlining the theme of “Building Bolder Perspectives”, WORLDBEX Seminars 2017 is happening on March 16 to 18, from 8am to 5pm at the Philippine Trade Training Center.

fundamental industry knowledge and gain relevant and timely insights on how these matters have evolved and change in response to today’s times. Among those who will conduct the day’s lecture are Engr. Frederick Francis Sison for the 7th Edition of the National Structural Code of the Philippines; Archt. Hseng Iu Lim for An Introduction to Alternative Dispute Resolution Options: Mediation and Arbitration; Archt. Paulo Alcazaren, M.A. for Waterfront Re-development and Heritage Conservation in the Philippines; and Dr. Ernesto de Castro for The role of BIM in Transparency and Quality in the Constructed Projects

ture of Power and Energy by Engr. Eugene Araullo; A Big Step Towards Sustainability by Archt. Sonny Chionh Teow Hwee; Designing for the Aged and the Handicapped Need Not Be Boring by Idr. Chat Fores; and The Competitive EDGE by Archt. Amado De Jesus.

Future Fundamentals On March 16, attendees are invited to reassess their

Tech Appropriation On March 17, attendees are expected to acquire innovative approaches towards fusing construction and design with new technology with the following lectures: Into the Fu-

Everyday Harmony On March 18, sustainability and innovation takes center stage as the day’s speakers promote the need to promote environmental consciousness to create harmony in our surroundings. To close the year’s WORLDBEX Seminars are Engr. Abner Pahilanga with Water Distribution Hydraulic of High Rise Buildings; Ms. Shirley Sanders with How To Create a Sustainable Landscape, Your Practical Guide to Selecting, Combining and Positioning plants the right way; Archt. Dixi Mengote with Designing for Liveable Cities; and

“We’ve been together from the boom of the cement industry, to the bust and then to the boom again. We are happy that Cemex has once again chosen BDO to be its partner,” said Walter Wassmer, senior executive vice president of BDO. For his part, CHP Pres-

ident Pedro Jose Palomino said they appreciate the support BDO has extended to the cement firm. “We are pleased with the help and relationship,” he said. The continued growth of CHP’s subsidiaries, Apo Cement and Solid Cement, has made its Philippine op-

Archt. Annie Pugeda with Integrating Feng Shui in Basic Interior Space. To make the seminars accessible for industry professionals, WORLDBEX Seminars can be availed as a package. For the discounted rate of P7,000, attendees can attend all the scheduled talks for three days including lunch and snacks. Meanwhile, the regular rate of P3,000 per seminar also includes lunch and snacks. Organized by Worldbex Services International, the country’s leading events and expositions organizer, WORLDBEX 2017 is once again anticipated to break new grounds as it conjures its biggest and boldest edition yet. The WORLDBEX Seminars 2017 is just one among its many must-see highlights that serve to enhance visitors’ trade show experience. For more information, call (02) 656-9239 or go to www. worldbex.com.

BDO signs $280-M loans with Cemex DO Unibank, the country’s biggest lender, has signed a US$280-Million Peso equivalent term loan agreement with Cemex Holdings Philippines Inc. (CHP), an indication of the Bank’s firm support for the business prospects and positive long-term outlook of CHP.

AGREEMENT. BDO signed a US$280-Million Peso equivalent term loan agreement with Cemex Holdings Philippines Inc. (CHP), with the cement firm using the facility to refinance its long-term loan obligation with New Sunward Holding B.V. Present during the signing ceremony were (from left to right):

erations as the most profitable in the Asian region. CHP launched a very successful initial public offering (IPO) last year where a total of 2,337,927,954 shares were subscribed at P10.75 per share, giving the company roughly P25 billion in IPO proceeds. (PR)

Mary Ann Hipe, CHP treasury manager; Edmundo Soriano, BDO Unibank executive vice president; Pedro Jose Palomino, CHP president; Walter Wassmer, BDO senior executive vice president; Vincent Paul Piedad, CHP treasurer; and Ma. Concepcion Narciso, BDO first vice president. (BDO Photo)

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TRAVEL

STORM

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Despite the stormy weather, perfect A-frame waves can be still be seen. This is probably every surfer’s dream even with the muddy storm water.

CHASERS I THINK THAT WAVE CHASING SURFERS COULD ALSO BE YOUR MODERN DAY STORM CHASERS. Whenever there would be a storm for sure there would be waves. The kind of waves would also depend on the location. The waves could be too big and powerful for surfing or it could be extremely windy. Too much wind breaks the waves and makes the ocean’s surface choppy. Not exactly ideal for riding waves. During our crew’s stay in Dahican, the LPA just arrived and packed so much strength in the swell that the waves were powerful and huge. There was wind too. It was quite scary and risky to surf in this kind of storm swell. With Joven’s longboard just recently broken, none of us wanted to risk boards just to be able to surf. The rest of the crew decided to go northeast of Dahican to check out the other spots and see if the conditions were surf-friendly. I opted to stay behind

in Dahican Surf Resort since my sister and father would be picking me up in the afternoon to head back to Davao for a few days. Besides, I knew my skills and my surfboard wouldn’t be having the best time of my life out in stormy waves. I would be heading back to meet with the crew before we headed off to Surigao del Sur. Leaning quite on the extreme side of adventure, the rest of the crew drove off with all five surfboards on the top load of Joven’s car. Personally, I would not advice going out in storm weather unless you are extremely confident in your driving, swimming and surfing skills. Safety is top priority in everything! On normal and sunny

Joven Sambade Jr. probably figuring out if he’s going to brave the current to get another wave or head back to the car.

Alex Solitaria (top left) and Lisa Caldini waiting for a friendlier wave to ride on in Davao Oriental. weather, the waves in Davao Oriental’s coast would be pristine and clear. The hard rain made the sea look brown and quite uninviting to surf on but seeing the waves that day, the crew didn’t hesitate one bit! Taking out the boards and doing the best not to get the worst wipeout in not-so-ideal conditions,

the crew went on ahead to go storm surfing. With strong currents and too much whitewash, the surf session didn’t last that long though but not until everybody was able to catch waves. We called it a day and headed back to Dahican Surf Resort. The ride back home was also full of surprises with branch-

es falling right in front. Plus the possibilities of landslides happening any minute, it was hair-raising to say the least but it was definitely one for the books. So stay tuned for next week’s adventure in Surigao del Surf! For more stories, check out my blog: www.millennialmermaid.com

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VOL. 9 ISSUE 255 • TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2017

#LovetoEat this Valentine’s Day NOW SHOWING

February 9 – 14, 2017

KUNG FU YOGA/ *MOONLIGHT OVER BALER Jackie Chan, Aarif Rahman/ *Ellen Adarna, Vin Abrenica Guaranteed Seating & One Time Viewing Only

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THIS FEBRUARY, celebrate the season of love at SM Lanang Premier. Set your hearts racing and your tummies full at the metro’s premier shopping and lifestyle destination. Indulge in hearty eats and grab exclusive dining promos at the prime food spots at The Fountain Court. There’s a mix of deliciously Filipino and international food concepts to pick from in the area. FRENCH BAKER Treat your loved ones to a European-style feast at French Baker. Enjoy the restaurant’s special take on Spicy Seafood Pasta and Pork Chop Au Poiuvre. Choose as well from among the restaurant’s assorted desserts such as carrot and blueberry cakes and Parisian macaroons. For reservations, call 285-7475. BARRIO FIESTA Spread the love this Valentine’s Day at Barrio Fiesta at the 2nd Level of The Fountain Court. Share a sumptuous feast of Filipino cuisine with family and friends. Enjoy the restaurant’s signature Kare-Kare, Chicharong Pla-Pla and other flavour-

some dishes. For reservations, call 285-1584. VIKINGS Make your Valentine’s a date to remember with a trip to Vikings Luxury Buffet at SM Lanang Premier. Take delight in the restaurant’s Blackened Salmon in Broccoli Puree and Strawberry Aged Balsamic Glaze. Savour as well other hearty dishes by Vikings’ world-class chefs and heart-shaped doughnuts on the Doughnut Wall. For reservations, call 845-4647 or 285-5888. BISTRO SELERA For exotic dishes with a superb taste, visit Bistro Selera at the 2nd level of The Fountain Court. This homegrown restaurant’s Kanding Selera and Bacon Bagaybay offer a taste of something uniquely Mindanaoan with a twist. Then grab a glass of refreshing Mojito to cap off the night. For reservations, call 285-2184. CHOOBI CHOOBI If you’re craving for seafood, head to ChoobiChoobi to get a taste of its freshly cooked specialties like Stan’s Fried Black Pepper Shrimp and Baked Scallops. Choobi Choobi also has P1,000 GCs up for grabs this Valentine’s Day. Just take a shrimp photo toast on FB and tag #ChoobiChoobi #SeafoodSarap and #ShrimpHeartToast and the photo with the most number of likes will win the said prize. For reservations,

call 321-1828.

2593.

MESA Relish authentic Filipino cuisine at Mesa Filipino Moderne. One of its bestselling dishes – the Patatim – is bursting with flavour; you don’t want to miss it. Tofu Salad is also a healthy, delish option you could try at Mesa in SM Lanang Premier. For reservations, call 09177043672.

KUYA J For Filipino specialties in a homey yet classy setting, head to Kuya J at the 1st Level of The Fountain Court. Satisfy your tastebuds while managing your diet with Lumpiang Presko, a healthy dish filled with sautéed crabmeat and bamboo shoots rolled in malunggay wrapper. Try as well Kuya J’s Crispy Pata. For reservations, call 285-1773. Celebrate the season of hearts at The Fountain Court, SM Lanang Premier. Check out SM Lanang Premier’s official account on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for promos and event updates.

BULGOGI BROTHERS Go for international flavour this V-Day at Bulgogi Brothers. Choose from a wide array of delicious Korean dishes such as Unyang-style Bulgogi, a heart-shaped barbecue, and Fried Dumplings. For reservations, call 285-

VOL. 9 ISSUE 255 â&#x20AC;˘ TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2017

EVENT

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Capture love and win VIP tickets to Sarah Geronimo concert at SM Davao! SM Davao shoppers and mall-goers get a chance to win one of five VIP tickets to the Sara Geronimo concert. The concert which will happen on March 3 at the SMX Convention CenterDavao dubbed as Sarah

Geronimo The Great Unknown is produced by Viva Live. The show, where the band Hale is also expected to perform, will benefit the House of Hope for Kids with Cancer Davao. Shoppers and mallgoers may win VIP tickets by

taking a photo at the Valentines Centerpiece located at the event center of the Annex and post the photo on Instagram using the hashtag #Celebrateloveatsmcitydavao. Entries must follow the SM City Davao Instagram account and tag SM City Davao on their post. Promo will run until February 14. Winners will be electronically drawn and announced on February 15. Apart from the chance to win concert tickets, SM Davao mall shoppers may enjoy spe-

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cial treats from participating food tenants. On Tuesday, they can feel the air of love with their favorite love songs at the Love Beats, 6PM, Annex Event Center. Fun, quirky and thoughtful gift items are also available at the Valentineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day Bazaar happening at the main mall atrium. Treat, feel, bond and win at SM City Davao this season of love! For inquires, call 2976998. Like SM City Davao on Facebook or follow them on Instagram and Twitter for event and promo updates.

EDGE DAVAO PARTNER ESTABLISHMENTS Serving a seamless society

EDGEDAVAO

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EDGEDAVAO PARTNER ESTABLISHMENTS Serving a seamless society

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8 NPAs... FROM 1 Rene Ompao and Sabelo Colano. They were captured during pursuit operations in Sitio Tangis, Barangay Datal Anggas, Alabel, Sarangani. “Most of them are new recruits. Moda was in possession of an M16 armalite rifle while Claude, Garzon and Rene were with Garand rifles and Sabelo has a carbine rifle,” Batchar said. Two more NPAs fell into the hands of 73rd IB last Sunday as intensified military operations are being conducted in Sarangani province. Batchar identified the two as Nonoy Sanama and Morelo Sanama. The two were captured in Sitio Solutan, Barangay Datal Anggas, Alabel town at around 1:30 p.m. “Nonoy has in his possession an M16 Armalite rifle while Morelo has a Garand rifle when captured by the soldiers,” Batchar said. The eight captured rebels belong to Guerrilla Front 71 of the NPA operating in the provinces of Sarangani and Davao Occidental.

Troopers of 73rd IB engaged the rebels in a two-hour gunfight last Saturday morning in Little Baguio, Malita, Davao Occidental and Barangay Datal Anggas, Sarangani that resulted to the wounding of a soldier. Batchar identified the wounded as PFC Ricky Subera who suffered a gunshot wound in his abdomen. He is now undergoing medical treatment at Metro Davao Medical and Research Center in Davao City. Major General Rafael C. Valencia, commander of 10th commended the troops of 73rd for their accomplishments. He particularly lauded the exemplary conduct of 73rd IB troopers by observing the International Humanitarian Law in handling the captured NPA rebels. “While we are fighting, let us be compassionate and be respectful of the rights of each human being,” he added. He also encouraged the remaining NPA members to return to the folds of the law, rejoin mainstream society and support the people’s clamor for peace and an end to violence.

believe it. Only a few people are given the chance to work for Mayor Inday Sara, the local government, and the Dabawenyos.” Byaheng Do30 aired over GMA Channel 5 Davao from 8

am to 9 am every Sunday. The show presents the 10 priorities sectors and the 30 major projects and programs that Mayor Inday intends to accomplish within her threeyear term. CIO

Ombudsman has also found former Mayor Acosta liable for three counts of violation of Section 8 of RA No. 6713, or the “Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for

Public Officials and Employees,” due to his failure to file his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) for the years 2005, 2012 and 2013. (PNA)

the better they believe you are good at what you do. Be known as an expert to a small group for one specific thing,” said Miller. Karla Singson, who discussed “Fast and Furious: How to Fail Swiftly So You Can Succeed Faster” is a renowned Davao-based freelancer. Regina Evangelista, who gave a session on “How to Get Clients Online”, is Chief Executive Officer of Mr. Outsource and

Dreamwork Coworking Space. The Payoneer Forum is also supported by TechTalks. ph. “Online work is a great opportunity for Filipinos across the country to participate in the digital economy and uplift their lives outside of the traditional in-person employer-employee relationship. Payoneer’s solutions will help make online payment transactions more efficient” said Tina Amper, Founder of TechTalks.

Kessia... FROM 2

Ombudsman... FROM 4 Payoneer... FROM 5

EXTRA JUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF ESTATE with DEED OF ABSOLUTE SALE

Notice is hereby given that the estate of the late PEPITO CONSTANTINO DE LEON who died on November 1,1997 in Davao City has been the subject of an EXTRA-JUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF ESTATE with DEED of ABSOLUTE SALE executed among his heirs, per Doc. No314; PageNo.63; Book No. 31; Series of 2016, of the NOTARY PUBLIC ANTONIO L. LAOLAO JR. 2/7,14,21

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FIVE IN ONE. Federalism advocate lawyer Randolph Parcasio (left) says their group, Kilos Pederal sa Pagbabago, is proposing a five-state federal country which will be composed of Northern Luzon, Metro Manila, Calabarzon, entire Visayas and entire Mindanao and they also plan to

Adoption... FROM 2 than adoptee, except when the adopter is the biological parent. • Has the capacity to act and assume all the rights and duties incident to the exercise of parental authority. • Is of good moral character and has not been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude. • Is in a good position to support, educate and care for his/her legitimate and illegitimate children and the child to be adopted. • Has undergone the pre-adoption services. • An alien may adopt if he/ she has diplomatic relations with the Philippines, has been certified by his/her diplomatic or consular office or any appropriated agency that he/ she is qualified to adopt in his country, and that his/her government will allow the adoption. • An alien has been living in the Philippines for at least three continuous years prior to the filing of the application for adoption and maintains such residence until the adoption decree is entered

NEWS 11

translate the federal module to several local dialects. Parcasio, who was joined by Ma. Marilyn Rojas (right), made the pronouncement during yesterday’s Kapehan sa Dabaw at the Annex of SM City Davao. Lean Daval Jr.

Communists... FROM 2

Meanwhile someone is qualified for adoption is he or she is: • Any person below 18 who has been administratively or judicially declared available for adoption.

For the celebration set on February 11 to February 19 DSWD local officials conducted radio and TV guesting and setting of help desk at different SM Malls in Davao City and department agencies such as Department of Health (DOH), Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Education (DepEd), and Department of Interior and Local Government. The highlights of the celebration are the following: annual adoption forum at DSWD seminar hall on February 16 and the region-wide convention of adoptive families on February 18 at Garden Oasis Hotel Davao City.

The CPP has also lashed out at Mr. Duterte and branded him as a «double-speaking thug who only recognizes his own rules,» according to a report by CNN Philippines. “Duterte has gone berserk and upturned the entire peace process facilitated by the Royal Norwegian Government,” the CPP said. “Judging by his record in his Oplan Tokhang, Duterte’s all-out war is bound to set his fascist dogs in the AFP in a wild spree of human rights abuses against the people and gross violations of civil liberties,” the CPP added. After asking the US State Department last month to remove Jose Ma. Sison, the CPP’s founder and leader, from the terrorist blacklist so that the peace negotiations could move forward, Mr. Duterte has now branded the NDF-CPP-NPA as “terrorists” who are no different from the Abu Sayyaf Group. “They (the NPA) are burning equipment of companies who refuse to pay revolutionary taxes. They have wreaked havoc on the economy. So kung anong gustong gawin ninyo sa gobyerno o sa tao, eh gagawin ko rin sa inyo (So whatever you want to do to the government or to the people, we›ll also do to you),» he also said. On Feb. 4, Mr. Duterte had

announced that he was scuttling the peace talks with the communists. He blamed the collapse of the talks entirely on the rebels and criticized their demand for the release of hundreds of political prisoners. “I went out of my way, sometimes being humble. When they resort to insulting remarks – nilunok ko ‹yan (I put up with that) because I wanted to end a 50-year-old war,» Mr. Duterte said. “But apparently, it seems to me that itong mga terorista(these terrorists) want another 50 [years] of killing of Filipinos. Patayan tayong Pili pino ang gusto nila (They want us Filipinos to kill one another),» he said. Last month, the AFP called on the NDFP-CPP-NPA to show sincerity in pursuing peace talks with the government as it condemned a series of attacks and abductions by communist rebels in parts of Eastern Mindanao at a time when negotiations between the government and the rebel group were still ongoing. While the peace talks were ongoing in Rome in January, government troops and NPA insurgents also clashed in Makilala, North Cotabato, which left one rebel dead. It was the first firefight that broke the ceasefire declared by both parties in August last year.

international ISO-14001 certification that was acquired after over almost a year of audit and “which the [DENR] Secretary initially deemed sufficient to demonstrate a company’s high standards,” have not passed the audit done by Lopez’s team that consisted mostly of non-experts, including anti-mining representatives, the organization pointed out. The UP Miners questioned how an audit done by Lopez’s team was eventually preferred over an audit conducted based on international standards.

“The action by the DENR has instigated issues of employment panic and dilemma to future engineers and scientists of the industry, aside from the questionable mining audit itself,” the organization said. “It defeats the purpose of studying the technicalities and philosophies of the field and the industry when the industry itself is without a defined standard acceptable to the government.” The association said placing in jeopardy the future of new graduates and students of Mining Engineering, Geolo-

gy, Metallurgical Engineering and other affected fields, along with the plight of some 1.2 million people in the affected mine sites, is a “contradiction to the Secretary’s philosophy of anti-suffering.” According to the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP), Lopez “is slowly killing an industry that has faithfully paid billions in taxes and fees annually.” The mining industry paid P10.1 billion in tax revenues to the government in 2015. The mining operations ordered closed down or suspended

account for 46 percent or P4.6 billion of these tax revenues, the COMP said. The COMP also said that Lopez is attacking the only industry in the country “that has actually replanted over 20 million trees nationwide in the past few years alone. Moreover, about $22 billion (equivalent to around P1 trillion) in mining investments will be put on hold as a result of the government’s inconsistent policies on mining as shown by the recklessness of Lopez’s move, COMP added (Contributed)

• Legitimate son/daughter of one spouse by the other spouse. • An illegitimate son/ daughter by a qualified adopter/s to improve his/her status to that of legitimacy. • A person of legal age if, prior to the adoption, said person has been consistently considered and treated by the adopter/s as his/her own child since minority. • A child whose adoption has been previously rescinded. • A child whose biological parent/s has died provided that no proceedings shall be initiated within 6 months from the time of death of the said parent/s.

UP students... FROM 6

12 VALENTINE’S FEATURE EDGEDAVAO

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Love makes the world go ‘round By HENRYLITO D. TACIO

Tomorrow is Saint Valentine’s Day, All in the morning bedtime, And I am maid at your window, To be your Valentine.

-- William Shakespeare in Hamlet, Act 4, Scene 5

N the beginning, God created man and his name was Adam. But the Creator observed that he was alone and lonely. So, He allowed the first man to fall asleep and took one of his ribs and formed into a woman (“because she was taken out of man”). When Adam saw Eve for the first time, he was struck with her beauty. The Bible was silent what happened next but we’re sure Adam courted Eve relentlessly. At the end of the day, he won her heart and so God initiated the first wedding ever recorded. “For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). Today, love, courtship and marriage are still with us. But through times, however, these rituals – if you call them as such – have changed. Let’s start with love. “Love is an ocean of emotions entirely surrounded by expenses,” said Lord Dewar. “To be in love is merely to be in a state of perceptual anesthesia,” added humorist Henry L. Mencken. “To love is to suffer,” said award-winning movie actor and director Woody Allen. “To avoid suffering one must not love. But then one suffers from not loving. Therefore, to love is to suffer, not to love is to suffer. To suffer is to suffer. To be happy is to love. To be happy then is to suffer. But suffering makes one unhappy. Therefore, to be unhappy one must love, or love to suffer, or suffer from too much happiness. I hope you’re getting this down.” Aside from love, there is such thing as infatuation. “No one can understand love who has not experienced infatuation,” wrote Mignon McLaughlin in The Neurotic’s Notebook. “And no one can understand infatuation, no matter how many times he has

experienced it.” After that, courtship follows. “Men dream of courtship, but in wedlock wake,” Alexander Pope once wrote. This jibes with a proverb that states, “In courtship a man pursues a woman until she catches him.” “Courtship,” according to Laurence Sterne, “consists in a number of quiet attentions, not so pointed as to alarm, nor so vague as not to be understood.” Or, as an unknown author puts it, “The difference between courtship and marriage is the difference between the pictures in a seed catalog and what comes up.” When you are courting a nice girl, an hour seems like a second. But when you sit on a red-hot cinder, a second seems like an hour. “That’s relativity,” explained German-born theoretical physicist Albert Einstein. When a girl accepts a man, marriage is in the offing. “Marriage,” said British playwright George Bernard Shaw, “is an alliance entered into by a man who can’t sleep with the window shut, and a woman who can’t sleep with the window open.” That’s funny. This statement, coming from the mouth of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, challenges understanding: “The sum which two married people owe to one another defies calculation. It is an infinite debt, which can only be discharged through eternity.” “Never get married in the morning,” advises Paul Hornung, “because you never know who you’ll meet that night.” To which Rita Rudner countered, “I love being married. It’s so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life.” Truth is stranger than fiction, so goes a saying. And it is even more strange with it comes to love. There was this funeral-wedding ceremony

which most local people could not forget. The coffin bearing Editha in her wedding gown entered the church as scheduled. Her father was beside the coffin. Ahead was Editha’s godson who acted as ring bearer. The rest of the bridal entourage followed. Waiting at the altar was Tony, a security, who stood at the head of Editha’s coffin as the Protestant pastor officiated. When it was all over, the glass top of the coffin was lifted. He kissed her on the forehead and the cheek, while those near the coffin flinched at the strong smell of chemicals. The wedding ended. The dirge was played. The funeral started. Tony spent the night at Editha’s house, describing it as “my honeymoon night.” He said he placed Editha’s tangerine duster close to his chest as he lay remembering their days together. Tony and Editha went steady for several years. Four days before Editha’s death, they finally set the wedding date for June 28th. And then tragedy struck. Editha had a slight fever and hard time breathing. The town doctor was called who immediately gave her a shot. But she never recovered. She died the following day. Before she succumbed, she was able to whisper to Tony: “If I die, will the wedding still be held?” Tony confided, “Yes.” Love comes from the most unexpected places, so goes a line of a song. But for most stars, the first meeting happened on the movie set. That was how Hollywood actor Jeff Bridges met Susan Geston. Rancho Deluxe was filmed on a ranch where Susan was working as a waitress. He fell in love with her but he was having second thought. His fear of marriage surfaced during an interview with Reader’s Digest in 2006: “I don’t know how it is for women or for other guys, but when I was young and in my 20s, I had a fear of marriage. I thought it was a giant step toward death. So, I did everything in my power to resist it – the idea was frightening to me, man. Then I met Susan in 1974 while I was shooting the film in Montana, up in Paradise Valley at Chi-

co Hot Springs, and I thought, ‘Now, this is interesting.’” After dating, breaking up and making up, the two lovebirds married on June 5, 1977. “Till death do us part...” That’s part of the vow a couple takes when they tie the nuptial knot. But some marriages end – even before death. This is especially true when it comes to Hollywood marriages. Lola van Wagenen dropped out of college in 1958 to marry the then unknown actor named Robert Redford. The two were blessed with four children: Scott Anthony, Shauna Jean, David James and Amy Hart. But 27 years after blissful marriage, the two got divorced in 1985. Like Redford’s, the 26-year marriage of Kevin Costner to Cindy Silva ended in divorce. Both were dating when they were still in college. They got married in 1978 and divorced in 1994. But before that happened, they have three children: Anne Clayton, Lily McCall and Joseph Tedrick. Mel Gibson was married to Robyn Denise Moore for 29 years when they finally called it quits. Robyn was a dental nurse when Mel met him for the first time. The two were married in 1980. They were separated as couple in 2006 but it was until in 2009 that Robyn filed for divorce citing “irreconcilable differences” as the cause. However, it was only in 2011 that the divorce was finalized; the settlement was said to be the highest in Hollywood history: over US$400 million. All in all, the couple has seven children: Hannah, Edward, Christian, William, Louis, Milo and Thomas. But mind you, there are Hollywood marriages that were made in heaven, too. Charles Bronson married English actress Jill Ireland on October 5, 1968 – and they remained a couple until her death in 1990. The two met in 1962 when she was still married to Scottish actor David McCallum. The two actors were doing a movie entitled The Great Escape. He told David, “I’m going to marry your wife.”

In 1953, Paul Newman met Joanne Woodward. Five years later, he married her. They remained married for fifty years, until his death in 2008. Although one of the most-sought after actors, he was very faithful to his wife. In fact, they starred together in several movies. At one time, Newman was asked about infidelity, he famously replied, “Why go out for a hamburger when you have steak at home?” If fifty years is a record, wait till you know the marriage of Charlton Heston (yes the actor who appeared in Ten Commandments and earned an Oscar for Ben-Hur). When he died on April 5, 2008, he was married to Lydia for already 64 years. In the Philippines, perhaps the long-lasting marriage was between the late Fernando Poe, Jr. and Susan Roces. They tied the nuptial know on Christmas Day in 1968 when he was 31 and she was 27. “As far as I was concerned, we were able to adjust easily. I belong to a generation where wives were submissive to their husbands,” Roces told Greggy V. Vera Cruz of People Asia. “Since I had already achieved what I wanted in the career before I got married, I was willing to take one step behind him. FPJ ruled the family. He was the King, but the rules of the Queen must stay and must be followed.” Roces knew that her husband had other flings. “I love and admire him; and, apparently, there were many of us who did so. But I remain his one and only wife,” said actress

who is still appearing in some movies and television

series. Today’s generation may never heard of Barbara Perez and Robert Arevalo but old timers sure do. Their love story started in the 1960s, the time when Hollywood was casting Filipino actors in the movies. Perez was one of those being cast in Man is an Island (1962) which starred Jeffrey Hunter. Perez was invited to go to Los Angeles for publicity shots to promote the movie. One of those she met while there was the famous Hollywood actor, Cary Grant. “He had a gray suit and a yellow shirt,” she recalled. “I was tongue-tied and could not answer questions except with a yes or a no. He concluded by saying that he hoped I would sign up with the studio for a five-year contract.” Yes, Perez was offered for a five-year contract with Universal Studios. Arevalo learned about it and so he did the unthinkable: he proposed to hear by sending a telegram. “I didn’t want to call her long-distance because overseas calls were expensive even at that time,” he was quoted as saying. “We were both young and selfish and very much in love.” Perez rejected the Hollywood contract and instead signed the marriage contract. When she arrived at the airport, Arevalo asked her, “Will you marry me?” To which Perez answered affirmatively. Less than two weeks after that, the two were married in Baguio at the St. Joseph Church. Indeed, love makes the world go ‘round! (Photos from the net)

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EDGEDAVAO

NEWS13

Surigao quake might have DAVAO helped trigger new quake is in need of A

EDGE

Serving a seamless society

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NOTHER temblor may be in the offing along the Philippine Fault Zone which generated last week’s magnitude 6.7 earthquake off Surigao del Norte province. Movement of PFZ’s Surigao segment triggered such earthquake and may have also “disturbed” any of the adjacent Leyte and Mindanao segments, possibly increasing chance for a new temblor there, noted science research specialist Rhommel Grutas from Staterun Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs). “We can’t predict when that temblor will occur so communities atop such segments must prepare accordingly,” he said, cautioning about possible onslaught of another earth-

quake along PFZ. Ensuring structural stability of houses and other structures as well as regularly conducting earthquake drills are part of such preparation, he noted. Grutas said PFZ’s Leyte segment extends northwards up to Leyte island in the Visayas. PFZ’s Mindanao segment extends to Southern Mindanao, he continued. In its latest situation report this week, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said the magnitude 6.7 earthquake last Friday (Feb. 10) affected almost 5,200 people in Surigao del Norte. Eight persons were reported dead due to that earthquake

while 202 people sustained injuries, noted NDRRMC. NDRRMC also said the earthquake damaged school facilities, a hospital, roads, bridges, and around 1,034 houses in Surigao del Norte. According to Phivolcs, the 10:03 p.m. earthquake last Friday struck 14 kms north 78° west of Surigao City at a depth of 11 kms. That earthquake was of significant magnitude so there’s possibility this affected either the Leyte or Mindanao segment, Grutas noted. He, however, stressed it’s still too early to confirm if the earthquake actually affected any of those segments. He said data over time will indicate if such happened. (PNA)

helping malnourished children get back their health. Moreover, the recently launched “Bayanihan para sa Kalusugan, Kusina ng Kalinga, Bayanihan para sa Kalikasan” are also patterned on the same concept, making Compostela Valley as the only province making “Bayanihan” as a flagship program that encourage everyone to help support in terms of volunteerism and following the concept of participative governance.

“As we believe that in the last 8 years, it has always been the culture of caring, loving and sharing that sustained and strengthened our partnership with all stakeholders coming from private and public institutions. We have inculcated this bayanihan tradition among our Provincial Employees who never get weary of going beyond what is expected of them,” the governor added. He stressed further that

“leaders should pave the way for citizens to participate. We should carry the same weight as our constituents. Bayanihan tells us to believe on each other, to lean on each other. Because, we are always stronger together!” “We have achieved it simply because we believe that there’s no place in Comval, the bayanihan program that cannot reach,” Governor Uy ended. (Rey Antibo/IDS ComVal)

Comval... FROM 7

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IT’S UAE, NOT AUS Change of venue could hurt Horn’s chances By NEILWIN JOSEPH L. BRAVO

njb@edgedavao.net

ERTH, Australia -From Down Under to the desert. From hometown hero to a faceless fighter fed to a famous star. Forget about Jeff Horn fighting Manny Pacquiao in the former’s native Brisbane, Australia in front of adoring fans. Forget about barbecue weekend with ice cold beer on stubby cheering this homeboy out to say a legend. No, it’s not gonna happen. April 23, two days before the country celebrates ANZAC Day, will just be another cold autumn day in Queensland. What could have been the biggest boxing promotion of all time in the land Down Under has just gone pffft. According to Pacquiao’s adviser, Michael Koncz, Pacquiao vs Horn will “100 percent be in the United Arab Emirates”, either in Abu Dhabi or Dubai. The announcement apparently ended days of confusion on whether or not the fight will be staged at the 52,000-seat Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. “We have executed the agreement and 100 per cent the fight will be here in the UAE,” Koncz was quoted as saying in an interview witth Gulf News. “I apologise to the people of Australia and their government there for all the confusion. “It took us a while to get this deal together, there was a lot of confusion as to whether this was going to happen here in the UAE, but I’m here with full authority and power,” he added. It appeared the Queensland Government and Brisbane City Council had locked down the fight set for April 23 but negotiations fell through. Horn’s promoter Dean Lonergan couldn’t believe what he heard on Sunday. He said they are negotiating with promoter Bob Arum who he believes has the authority to represent the fighter not Koncz. “For the last six weeks I’ve been dealing with Bob Arum and Top Rank, since he’s the promoter of Manny Pacquiao, to put this together,” Lonergran said in a separate interview with the Sydney Morning Herald. “I’m talking today to

Brad Jacobs, the COO [chief operating officer] of Top Rank, and the other people from the Top Rank team and we continue to organise the fight and until I’m told otherwise by Bob Arum, as far as I’m concerned, we’ll just keep moving forward with Brisbane and trying to get the deal done here.” However, no less than the 38-year old Pacquiao has backed up Koncz’s announcement as he took to social media on Sunday morning and posted: See you in UAE for my next fight. With the fight moved out of Horn’s hometown, the undefeated former Olympic quarterfinalist may have to face one grim reality in this business. Being the upstart climbing up the ring against a boxing demigod like the eight-division world champion Pacquiao, he is no less than a sheep thrown into the lion’s den. Make no mistake about it. Rude as it may be, in the UAE, unlike Brisbane, Horn is just another nameless, faceless fighter being fed to a star. According to boxing experts, the immediate impact will be on the fight odds and how it is going to sell to a new boxing market known more for hosting the rich season-ending F1 race. The apparent change in venue and location will surely affect the young challenger’s chances. Not Pacquiao. “When a fighter’s chances of winning are as slim as Jeff Horn’s are against Pacquiao, home field advantage can be key for the underdog because he enters the fight having to deal with one less obstacle,” wrote Lee Cleveland in the fightsaga.com. “Moreover, you never know much fighting at home will inspire a fighter to go above and beyond, performance-wise.” The hometown crowd would have been the only fighting chance Horn has in his corner on fight night. The shift to UAE will turn everything to Pacquiao’s side given that the gulf nation is also home to thousands of Filipino overseas workers. In UAE, he will not only be fighting for the first time on boxing’s biggest stage. He will also be fighting in unfamiliar territory and, perhaps, in front of a pre-

dominantly pro-Pacquiao crowd. “Had the fight taken place in Brisbane, Horn would have probably had at least 40,000 of the 50,000 in attendance in his corner. His supporters may have, to some degree, uplifted and inspired him to fight on a level he’s never reached,” Cleveland said. That would have also given Horn the benefit of the doubt in close rounds. It is also worthy to note that the 28-year old Aussie has never fought outside Australia or New Zealand.

DESERT FIGHT. Manny Pacquiao will be fighting either in Abu Dhabi or Dubai against Australian Jeff Horn, according to his adviser Michael Koncz.

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Escandor Cup hoopfest moved to Feb. 26

SPORTS15 HIGH SCHOOL HOOPS. Ateneo de Davao University’s Francis Gabriel Escandor will lead the Blue Knights in trying to recapture the title. Lean Daval Jr.

By NEILWIN JOSEPH L. BRAVO

njb@edgedavao.net

HE 2017 Escandor Cup has been reset to February 26 from its original playdate of February 19. Ronel Leuterio, Samahang Basketball ng Pilipinas (SBP) 11 liaison officer, said the inter-secondary schools hoopfest was moved to give time for participating schools to submit their requirements. “We are moving it so that the schools can accomplsh all their required galleries,” Leuterio told Edge Davao in a message. The team gallery contains the

player profiles of the participating school including the attached student credentials. The new opening date will kick off at 8:00 a.m. at the Davao City Recreation Center with 12 squads competing for the coveted crown. Defending champion Holy Child Learning Center will be back to try to retain their title against archnemesis and two-time champion Ateneo de Davao University. The other prminent teams are darkhorse Assumption School of Davao and Ford Academy of the

Arts. Leuterio earlier announced the fourth edition of the annual secondary schools hoopfest aimed at providing high-level competition among the city’s top varsity squads. SBP Board of Trustee member and regional director Glenn Escandor tapped Leuterio to oversee the tournament as part of the basketball body’s year-round program. This year, public schools Davao City National Hih School and Danniel R. Aguinaldo National High School are joining the presti-

gious event for the first time making it more interesting. “Now, it’s going to be more competitive,” said Leuterio. “With the addition of DCNHS and DRANHS which are the top two public school teams in the city, the tournament is wide open.” Bunched with the Reds in Group B are Ford, Agro Industrial Foundation College, Holy Cross of Davao-Sasa, Daniel R. Aguinaldo National HIgh School and Davao Jones Academy. The Blue Knights meantime will have as groupmates Assump-

ARUM OR KONCZ?

Aussie promoters insist Arum is right man to negotiate for Pacquiao

ANNY Pacquiao revealed on Sunday that his April fight against Jeff Horn will be in the UAE, but Horn’s promoters are adamant it will still be in Australia as initially planned. Pacquiao, 38, posted: “See you in UAE for my next fight,” across all his social media accounts on Sunday morning. It came a day after the Filipino boxer’s adviser Michael Koncz held a press conference in Abu Dhabi with event organisers Al Afaq Tourism on Saturday claiming that the fight would be held somewhere in the UAE in April. This contradicted earlier claims that the contest would be staged in Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium in Australia on April 23. “We have executed the agreement and 100 per cent the fight will be here in the UAE,” Koncz had told

Gulf News. “I apologise to the people of Australia and their government there for all the confusion. “It took us a while to get this deal together, there was a lot of confusion as to whether this was going to happen here in the UAE, but I’m here with full authority and power,” he added. Koncz’ claims were quickly rubbished by Horn’s promoter Dean Lonergan on Sunday, who said only Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum had the authority to represent the fighter. “For the last six weeks I’ve been dealing with Bob Arum and Top Rank, since he’s the promoter of Manny Pacquiao, to put this together,” Lonergran told the Sydney Morning Herald. “We now get to the point where we think we can get

close to closing it so it’s going to be in Australia. “As far as I’m concerned this has totally come out of the blue. We’re just going to have to wait and see if there’s any substance to the story. “I’m talking today to Brad Jacobs, the COO [chief operating officer] of Top Rank, and the other people from the Top Rank team and we continue to organise the fight and until I’m told otherwise by Bob Arum, as far as I’m concerned, we’ll just keep moving forward with Brisbane and trying to get the deal done here.” Koncz had earlier said that Australia was just a backup plan and that it wasn’t up to Arum to decide. “When Bob said it will happen there [Australia] I asked him ‘what are you talking about?’ A promoter works for the boxer,

but the boxer doesn’t work for the promoter. “We have had a successful bond with him [Arum] but Manny is the boss. I told him why are you speaking to the media when it is just a backup plan?” Either, Koncz and Arum are genuinely at odds, or both men are feigning disagreement in order to use UAE speculation to get more money out of Australia. Until Arum speaks, or until an official from the UAE confirms a date and venue, the confusion will continue. Several claims of big fights being held in the UAE have never materialised. The last serious bout in the UAE involving a big name was when Britain’s Chris Eubank Senior fought Colombia’s Camilo Alarcon at Dubai Tennis Stadium in 1997.

BRISBANE HOPE. Australian undefeated welterweight Jeff Horn with Bob Arum.

MICHAEL KONCZ. Manny Pacquiao’s adviser

WHO’S THE LEGIT NEGOTIATOR? Fiipino boxing legend Manny Pacquiao with Top Rank promoter Bob Arum.

tion School of Davao, Jose Maria College, Emar Learning Center, Davao City National High School and Philippine Women’s College. Each group will play single round robin with the top two squads advancing to the crossover semis. Ties are broken by the winner-over-the-other rule otherwise, the quotient system applies.

Top PH riders get tough test in Le Tour

OUTHEAST Asian Games (SEAG) gold medalist Mark Galedo will lead local riders in their quest for top honors against foreign bets in the forthcoming Eight’’s Amazing Le Tour de Filipinas which will hit the road starting February 18 in the majestic foot of Mt. Mayon in Legaspi City, Albay. Galedo, 31, of 7-Eleven Road Bike Philippines and winner of the 2014 edition, and local riders will face a tough challenge from foreign riders led by Frenchman Thomas Lebas, the 2015 winner of Kinan Cycling Team’s roster for the Category 2.2 race Seventy-five cyclists representing 13 foreign continental teams and two local squads will start in Legazpi City and wind up 726.55 kilometers -- the event’s total distance -- northwards to Lucena City in Quezon Province on February 21. The foreign teams are Oliver’s Real Food Racing (Australia), Keyi Look Sport (China), Attaque Team Gusto (Chinese Taipei), Kinan Cycling, Team Ukyo and Bridgestone Anchor Cycling Team (Japan), Cartucho.Es Pro Cycling (Kuwait), CCN Cycling Team (Laos), Terenganu Cycling (Malaysia), LX Pro Cycling and Korail Cycling Team (South Korea), Nice Cycling( Switzerland) and Uzbekistan National Team. Carrying the fight for the Philippines are the 7 Eleven Sava Road Bike Philippines continental team and the PhilCycling National Team. The race which is sanctioned by Union Cycliste International (UCI), the world’s governing body of cycling, had its humble beginning in 1955 as “Tour of Luzon” is backed by 3E Logistics, Collab Printing Solutions, Destilleria Limtuaco, Integrated Waste Management, Inc. (IWMI), PLDT, U-Freight Logistics Inc. (UFL), Prudential Guarantee Insurance, Waste and Resources Management Inc. (WARM), Shopinas.com and UBE Express. “For the eighth edition, we decided to reverse the route -- from south to north,” said Donna Lina, President of Le Tour organizer UBE Media Inc. “The route is more technical this time because of the gradual upward gradient from Sorsogon to Lucena City.”” Stage One of the Le Tour -again presented by AIR21 and specially produced by UBE Media

Inc. - from L e gazpi City to Sorsogon City covers 164.5 kms. The cyclists will be flagged off with a picturesque view of Mayon Volcano sending them off and the mystique of Mount Bulusan staring at them as they negotiate a Category 1 climb and head to the finish on flat and well-paved roads. Stage Two on February 19 of the race that has Philippine Airlines as official airlines partner will again be a technical ride from Sorsogon to Naga City -- all of 177.35 kms but marked by the second King of the Mountain point on a deceptive climb on Tiwi’s hilly coastal road entering Camarines Sur via Sagnay town. With the MVP Sports Foundation, Smart Communications and Petron as principal sponsors of the race also ran by race officials of the PhilCycling led by Tagaytay City Rep. Abraham Tolentino, the Le Tour will embark on a relatively flat 177.35 kms Stage Three on February 20 from Naga City to Daet, Camarines Norte. And for the first time in Philippine Tour history, Tigaon town plays a major role as a turning point for the race which carries the theme for 2017 “Eight’s Amazing.” Stage Four of the race supported by Advance Solutions, Inc., Cargohaus, Inc., CCN Sports Philippines, Nague Malic Magnawa &Associates Customs Brokers (NMM), Phenom Sportswear and Unionbank on February 21 is the longest at 207.35 kms marked by a Category 2 climb over another enchanting Quezon landmark, Atimonan’s Tatlong Eme. (PNA)

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