Edge Davao 9 Issue 46

VOL. 9 ISSUE 46 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2016

P 15.00 • 20 PAGES

www.edgedavao.net

LACK OF QUORUM. An elderly man looks at the photographs of the incumbent officials of Davao City composed of Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte, Vice Mayor Paolo Z. Duterte and the city councilors from the three districts of the city placed at the main lobby of Sangguniang Panlungsod in time for the last regular session of the 17th City Council yesterday. The supposed last regular session yesterday did not pull through for lack of quorum. Lean Daval Jr.

EDGEDAVAO Serving a seamless society

VOTE BUYING Dubai OFWs offered up to P12,000 by 2 presidentiables

By NEILWIN JOSEPH L. BRAVO

V

njb@edgedavao.net

OTE buying in the OFWrich Dubai is reportedly rampant with offers ranging from AED 500 to as high as AED 1,000.

Dubai currency Arab Emirate Dirham has a current exchange rate or P12.80 as of yesterday. That means, votes fetch from P6,400 to P12,800.

According to a Dabawenyo Dubai-based safety officer who requested anonymity, some Filipinos reportedly receive offers from two presidential candidates.

The source told Edge Davao in a private message that offers reportedly from UNA presidential bet Vice President Jejomar Binay amounted

to AED500 (P6,400) while the offers from administration candidate Mar Roxas amounted to AED1,000 (P12,800).

The source added that those who agree to “sell” their votes are given a Comelec form already filled up for the candidate.

“Daghan ang nidawat pero dli na man matabang ang supporters ni Duterte diri.

Gidawat lang nila ang sapi pero pagabot sa sulod mukuha sila ug laing form,” According to the source, about 80 percent of OFWs in Dubai are for Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

“Duterte man ang mga OFW diri 80% pero dili jud

nato mawala sa isip na buhaton tanan tikas pra mapildi si Digong (Duterte),” the source said.

Filipinos in the United Arab Emirates are migrants or descendants of the Philippines living in the United Arab Emirates. More than 700,000 Filipinos live in the UAE, of which 450,000 live in Dubai, and they form 21.3% of the population of Dubai. Dubai is home to the largest population of Filipinos in the UAE, followed by Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. In 2007, Filipinos in the UAE sent more than US$500 million in remittances back to the Philippines.

Filipinos in the United Arab Emirates are primari-

ly migrant Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) employed in the architecture, construction, cargo shipping design engineering, energy, information technology, marketing, medical, real estate, retail, telecommunications, and tourism sectors or as domestic helpers.

The Philippine Department of Labor and Employment also has two Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLOs) in the UAE, in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. These offices, as well as agreements between the Filipino and UAE governments, have set the monthly minimum salary for OFW’s at US$400. Because of the high

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IGLESIA VOTING FOR DUTERTE? Pg4

EDGEDAVAO Sports EYES ON THE PRIZE P16 Davao’s Lascuna eyes Manila Masters title

2 NEWS EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 9 ISSUE 46 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2016

DU-RO. 1-CARE Partylist representative Cong. Edgar Masongsong (right) expresses his support to the candidacy of leading presidential bet Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte and LP candidate Rep. Leni Robredo in a press briefing at The Royal Mandaya Hotel (TRMH) yesterday. Masongsong was joined by DASURECO executives led by general manager Fred Guya (left). Lean Daval Jr.

INC VOTING FOR RODY?

Duterte camp hints of bagging endorsement of bloc-voting church

By NEILWIN JOSEPH L. BRAVO

I

njb@edgedavao.net

S the die finally cast?

Despite the denial of religious sect Iglesia ni Cristo on Monday that they have not announced any endorsements for the 2016 elections, the camp of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has hinted of bagging the coveted INC vote.

Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte yesterday hinted that the powerful Iglesia ni Cristo church is placing its vote on his father as its preferred presidential candidate.

Vice Mayor Duterte revealed this development in an in interview with Edge Davao although he cautioned that they will be awaiting the final announcement by the INC. As

of presstime, there was yet an announcement to be made by the INC. The younger Duterte said if the report is true, he will be very much elated of the development which came in the midst of a firestorm of controversies hurled at the pace-setting Duterte.

The Iglesia Ni Cristo earlier denied the viral photos on social media showing the endorsement letter signed by Brother Eduardo Manalo purportedly supporting Duterte.

In a report by GMA News, Iglesia ni Cristo spokesman Ka Edwil Zabala said they have not circulated a letter also known in the church as “tagubilin” showing the religious

group’s support for Duterte.

“The letter is not from Brother Eduardo Manalo,” Zabala was quoted as saying after being shown the supposed “tagubilin” that has since gone viral over the social media.

In the same report, Duterte reportedly met Manalo two weeks ago to present his program against crime, illegal drugs and corruption to the religious leader.

“Kung nanaisin ng Banal na Panginoon at ako ay mahalal sa darating na eleksyon, makakaasa ang milyun-milyong miyembro ng Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) na ipaglalaban ko ang kanilang karapatan at kapakanan bilang mamamayan at mananampalataya,”

Duterte said in a statement.

Vice Mayor Duterte said Sen. Bongbong Marcos is INC’s choice as vice president.

For the senatorial race, the INC vote reportedly endorsed Senate president Franklin Drilon, former senators Tito Sotto, Ping Lacson, Ralph Recto, Richard Gordon and Migs Zubiro, boxing superstar Rep. Manny Pacquiao, Rep. Win Gatchalian, former TESDA director general Joel Villanueva, former Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros, former MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino, and Rep. Martin Romualdez.

There are a total of 2,251,941 members of the INC in the Philippines, according

of Mindanao (UM) law school.

Batacan said of the 45 bar exam takers from Ateneo, 33, or 73.33 percent, passed the exam, much higher than the national passing average. He said 19 of the 45 examinees are first takers while the rest are retakers.

This year’s bar exam result released by the Supreme Court yesterday was a great success for UM. Alex Manocdoc, adminis-

trative assistant in the UM College of Law, told Edge Davao that seven out of their 19 first takers, or 36.8 percent, passed the bar exam, while nine retakers passed the test given November last year.

Manocdoc said UM graduates’ performance was an improvement over last year, wherein only two passed the exam, he said.

Only one out of our 32 first time takers passed the

bar exam last year, he said. The other one was a retaker.

Nationwide, a total of 1,731, or 26 percent, of takers passed the bar examinations last year. The passing rate of 26. 21 percent was the sixth highest since 2001, when 32.89 of exam takers made the cut.

Rachel Angeli Miranda, a graduate of the University of the Philippines College of Law, topped the bar examination.

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Davao City has 49 new lawyers

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

D

crc@edgedavao.net

AVAO City has produced 49 new lawyers as can be gleaned from the result of the November 2015 bar examinations.

Lawyer Ramon Edison Batacan, former president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines- Davao City chapter, told Edge Davao that 33 of the passers are graduates of the Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU) law school, while 16 are products of the University

MAGDALO BOMBING Dirty ops to bomb Magdalo HQ bared to discredit Duterte

T

HE camp of presidential frontrunner Mayor Rodrigo Duterte yesterday revealed a conspiracy plan that will lead to the bombing of the headquarters of the Magdalo group to discredit the PDP-Laban candidate.

Former North Cotabato governor Manny Pinol in a social media post said that “there is a verified report relayed to me that after the failed black propaganda efforts against leading presidential candidate Rody Duterte, a group of dirty tricks operators will undertake

the bombing of the Magdalo headquarters either late today or early tomorrow morning as part of a dirty tricks effort.”

Pinol said the bombing has been planned to create the impression that the Duterte group is composed of hot-headed members capable of employing terrorism to support their candidate.

“An intelligence report forwarded to me a few minutes ago by former military men associated with Senator Antonio Trillanes said the bombing

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Dela Rosa relieved over FB post, tagged as pro-Duterte

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HE Philippine National Police (PNP) relieved Chief Supt. Ronald Dela Rosa from his post as brigade commander of Reactionary Standby Support Force(RSSF) Brigade Commander.

Dela Rosa was relieved from his post allegedly because of his social media posts favoring a presidential candidate, which is a wrong move for a police official.

The former RSSF Brigade Commander’s social media posts were claimed to be partial and partisan.

Dela Rosa is a native of Davao City and a former chief in PNP Davao.

Police Deputy Director General Danilo Constantino

said on Tuesday that Chief Supt. Elmo Francis Sarona replaced Dela Rosa.

According to Constatino, Dela Rosa was appointed as trainor and speaker of National Headquarters for election release for he was the executive officer of the Human Resource and Doctrine Development (HRDD).

Constantino said that they would look over the possible administrative liabilities of Dela Rosa with regards to his social post.

Along with this, Constantino reminded all PNP officials and personnel to avoid political talks and to keep the national police non-partisan.

(PNA)

VOL. 9 ISSUE 46 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2016

NEWS 3

EDGEDAVAO

AFP formally launches NEMC for May 9 polls

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WAITING. Majority floor leader Bernard Al-ag checks out the time as city councilors who were present waited until 11 o’ clock before declaring adjournment as the last regular session of the 17th City Council yesterday failed to have a quorum as majority of councilors were campaigning for reelection. Lean Daval Jr.

HE Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) formally launched Tuesday its National Election Monitoring Center (NEMC) in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

Col. Noel Detoyato, AFP public affairs office chief, said NEMC is tasked to consolidate and coordinate information critical for the conduct of Safe and Fair Election (SAFE) 2016.

This is in line with the AFP’s task as one of Commission on Elections (COMELEC)’s deputized agencies.

Under COMELEC Resolution 10021, the AFP is deputized to assist in the execution of free, honest, orderly, peaceful, and credible national and local elections this coming May 9.

Detoyato said NEMC will utilize the AFP’s information-related capabilities to monitor the preparations for and the actual conduct of elections and the canvassing process.

It will also monitor election-related violence especially in identified election watch areas and provide necessary data for decision-making and execution of the COMELEC and its deputized agencies.

The AFP’s consolidated efforts to secure the elections will be coursed through its Unified Commands and the Joint Task Force-National Capital Region.

Operations related to the security of the polls will be done in coordination with the Joint Security Coordination Centers at the regional, provincial, and independent city levels.

Detoyato said NEMC will work in tandem with focused military operations, stakeholders engagement, and intelligence operations to deter all forms of threats to the conduct of the elections.

The AFP is ready with all its available resources to assist COMELEC for the conduct of SAFE 2016. (PNA)

POLICE officer, assigned in Misamis Oriental, was released Tuesday to the provincial local crisis committee headed by Governor Yevgeny Vincente Emano of Misamis Oriental.

Emano, together with religious leaders and Third Party Facilitators of the Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform (PEPP), formally accepted Senior Police Officer 4 Rene Rombo during a turnover in the remote village of Banglay in Lagonglong, Misamis Oriental.

The communist New People’s Army (NPA) released Rombo, one of the three police officers, captured when the NPA rebels mounted a coordinated road blockade in some areas in the Caraga Region and Northern Mindanao last April 1.

Rombo, who was assigned at the Municipal Police Station of Medina in Misamis Oriental, was held by the NPA rebels in a roadblock in Kinoguitan, Misamis Oriental.

The turnover last Tuesday was facilitated by a certain “Kumander Maya,” of the Eastern Misamis Oriental and Northeastern Bukidnon Command of the Maoist NPA. Top officials of the military and the police in Northern Mindanao ordered a seven day “stand down” of all the law enforcers in some areas in Misamis Oriental and part of Bukidnon until May 5 in order to facilitate the safe release of Rombo.

Emano, together with the local government officials and the PEPP, headed by the Bishop Felixberto Calang, negotiat-

Mt. Apo fire now A completely out

Rebs free Misamis Or cop

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

T

crc@edgedavao.net

HE Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in Davao region declared yesterday that the fire at Mt. Apo is now completely put out after more than three weeks of raging in the country’s tallest mountain starting during the Holy Week.

“Out na ang fire sa Mt. Apo kasi wala nang nakikitang usok sa area,”Fire Insp.Nestor Jimenez, BFP 11 chief of operations, said in the ABS-CBN report yesterday.

The cooperation among volunteers and the random rain showers in the area helped

fire fighters of surrounding communities put the fire under control.

A total of 111 hectares was damaged by the fire which started on Black Saturday.

The BFP will also start the investigation on the cause of the fire incident now that it

blaze is out.

Earlier reports said that the fire started allegedly at the peak of the mountain where three campers stayed.

Meanwhile, Mt. Apo, the country’s highest peak and a top tourist destination, is indefinitely closed for rehabilitation.

The “Brigada Eskwela” series served as venue for various activities such as medical outreach, tree planting, free circumcision for teenage boys, free haircut, and repair and repainting of the school buildings among others. The beneficiaries included mothers and children in the community.

Government of the Philippines (GPH) Chief Negotiator Professor Miriam Coronel-Ferrer stressed the need for such activities to be continuously implemented despite the non-passage of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) by the 16th Congress last February.

“Past disagreements have caused a lot of frustrations and heartaches but we cannot solve the problem and we cannot attain justice if we continue on a destructive path such as war. Let us continue the peace process for a peaceful and progressive Mindanao,” she said.

Ferrer also stressed the important role of women in the peace process. “You are the ones who can teach your children not to go back to war, to instill in their minds that justice cannot be attained

through armed conflict.”

For her part, Nabalawag Elementary School Principal Haima Dimasangcay thanked

the agencies involved for implementing Brigada Eskwela in conflict-affected and pover-

Brigada backs normalization in Bangsamoro villages

A

SERIES of multi-agency “Brigada Eskwela” activities has been successfully launched in 18 public elementary schools of Bangsamoro communities where Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) base commands operate.

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Department of Education in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DepEd-ARMM) joined forces in the delivery of health and basic services to 18 schools in the vicinity of the six previously indentured MILF camps last week.

The schools are located in the interior of the provinces of Maguindanao, North Cotabato, Lanao del Sur, and Lanao del Norte.

The joint initiative supplements the Government Peace Panel’s thrust in its normalization process and confidence-building measures to sustain the implementation of the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).

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F REBS, 10

ACOSTA VS RUMORS. Davao City First District Councilor Maria Belen Sunga-Acosta answers members of local media on the rumors that she will be left out

by Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod as one of the party’s City Council candidates in the First District in the May 9 election. Lean Daval Jr.

4 SUBURBIA EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 9 ISSUE 46 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2016

Malaria cases down P in Q1 -- DOH-ARMM T

HE Department of Health in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) on Tuesday announced it succeeded in its campaign against Malaria with the number of cases reduced during the first quarter of 2016.

Only 33 malaria cases were reported region-wide from January to March as compared to the same period last year where it recorded 68 cases, according to Dr. Kadil Sinolinding, Department of Health (DOH-ARMM) regional secretary.

He said 21 of the reported cases were from Sulu province while Tawi-Tawi and Maguindanao have nine and three cases, respectively.

Earlier, DOH-ARMM officials said the number of malaria cases in the region went down to 274 cases last year from 3,539, or a quarterly average of close to 900 cases, in 2012.

Sinolinding described the

consistent decline in malaria cases in ARMM as a major accomplishment for the agency and the regional government.

“Malaria is a disease that has bigger chances of eradication with the help of various stakeholders,” he said.

On May 2, the Health department conducted a forum aimed at strengthening its partnership with various stakeholders including regional line agencies and DOHARMM employees.

It also sought the renewal of commitments in totally eliminating malaria in the region.

Sinolinding said what is noticeable was that no death from the disease was recorded in ARMM in the first quarter of 2016. Malaria mortality rate in the region decreased to four deaths in 2015 from six deaths in 2010.

The region was earlier allotted P8 million for its malaria control efforts. The amount was distributed to the region’s

different provinces with priority given to areas that suffered most from malaria in the past.

The malaria control budget was downloaded to the region from the regular funds of the National Government and from other funding institutions such as Global Fund, Pilipinas Shell Foundation, Inc., Movement Against Malaria, and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Sinolinding emphasized that the “best weapon in combating malaria is right knowledge and right attitude.”

He advised residents to observe preventive measures such as wearing pyjamas and long-sleeve shirts and using mosquito nets when sleeping.

As part of its pro-active stance, Sinolinding said, DOHARMM regularly conducts onsite diagnostic tests and provides free treatment for malaria patients, which extends from three days to a month depending on the severity of the case.

PRO 13 deploys over 1,000 PNP personnel for poll duties

The department also distributes chemically treated mosquito nets to endemic areas in the region.

Malaria is a disease of the blood caused by the Plasmodium parasite. It is transmitted from person to person by the female Anopheles mosquito.

This type of mosquito primarily bites between 9:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. The disease can also be transmitted through blood transfusion and needle sharing.

Malaria symptoms include fever, headache and vomiting.

It begins 10 days to four weeks after infection, although a person infected may feel ill as early as seven days after the mosquito bite.

Sinolinding said malaria infection can develop into anemia, hypoglycaemia, or cerebral malaria in which capillaries carrying blood to the brain are blocked. Cerebral malaria can cause coma, lifelong learning disabilities, and even death. (PNA)

OLICE Regional Office 13 sent off more than a thousand officers and personnel as augmentation troops to the various police provincial, city offices and municipal police stations in the region on Monday.

The signing of the “Oath Of Non Partisanship” in connection with the forthcoming May polls by all police officers and personnel also highlighted the send off ceremonies.

Chief Supt. Rolando B. Felix, PRO 13 director, and other top police regional officials led the signing of Oath of Non-Par-

tisanship at the regional headquarters here at Camp Rafael C. Rodriguez.

Agusan del Norte Election provincial supervisor Atty.

Ernie F. Palanan served as the guest of honor and speaker for the occasion. Palanan also witnessed the mass oath-taking of non-partisanship.

Felix expects that the mobilized police personnel for the May polls, which would include their territorial forces in the provinces, city and municipal police stations, would reach more than 3,000 by weekend. (PNA)

Davao Catholic universities deploy 5,000 E-champ volunteers for polls

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ARIOUS Catholic universities in Davao deployed a total of 5,000 representatives to nine schools as Election: Clean, honest, Naccurate, meaningful and peaceful or E-champ volunteers for the May 9 national and local elections.

As part of its preparations, the Commission on Elections and the security sector conducted an orientation over the weekend regarding election policies and protocols and the volunteers’ role as poll watchers in the polls.

The Davao Association of Catholic Schools spearheads the E-Champ which campaigns for clean, honest, accurate, meaningful and peaceful elections.

The volunteers who are composed mainly of students will man voters’ assistance desks that will guide voters and will oversee and record election-related irregularities.

E-champ volunteers will be provided for with a kit that will contain a volunteer’s diary, guidelines sheet and notebook.

Nine areas of deployment are assigned to the E-champ volunteers namely the Daniel Aguinaldo National High School, Matina Aplaya Elementary School, Quezon Elementary School, Davao City National Highway School, Rizal Elementary School, Bolton Elementary School, Enrico Nograles Elementary School, Sta. Ana National High School and Roxas Elementary School.

Lawyer Romeo Cabarde, Jr., chair of the Ateneo de Davao University Community Engagement and Advocacy Council said complaints gathered by the volunteers will be forwarded to the poll body.

He recalled that in 2013 elections, volunteers also furnished the Comelec all complaints they recorded from the field. (PNA)

DOST issues IT certificates to 38,045 Mindanao teachers serving on national, local polls

T CABLE FOOTBRIDGE. The recently completed 97 Linear-Meter Hanging Cable Footbridge in Barangay Mamacao, Kapalong, Davao del Norte was built by volunteers of Kalahi-CIDSS, a poverty alleviation program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Through the

footbridge, children are now able to cross the river without fear especially when it rains while farmers can now easily bring their goods to the market and sell them. The bridge costs P 2,931, 948.00. (DSWD)

PNP: gun ban, OTBT net 348 guns in Region 9

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HE Philippine National Police (PNP) has confiscated 348 assorted firearms in its law enforcement operations for the past three months in the different parts of Region 9.

At the same time, they confiscated 2,286 rounds of ammunitions of different calibers and 21 grenades.

Chief Chief Miguel Antonio Jr., Police Regional Office-9 (PRO-9) director, told the Philippines News Agency that the confiscated firearms,

ammunitions and grenades were made through the strict implementation of the election gun ban and one-time big-time (OTBT) operations covering the period from January 10 until April 30, this year.

Antonio said that 227 of the 348 firearms were seized through the election gun ban implementation while the remaining 121 through OTBT operations.

Antonio said the Zamboanga Sibugay Police Pro-

vincial Office (ZSPPO) has the highest confiscation of firearms at 119 and followed second by the Zamboanga City Police Office (ZCPO) with 111.

The Zamboanga del Sur Provincial Police Office (ZDSPPO) and Zamboanga del Norte Provincial Police Office (ZDNPPO) ranked third and fourth with confiscation of 78 and 40 firearms, respectively.

Antonio said the ZCPO topped as far as the number of confiscated ammunitions

and grenades with 1,331 and 10, respectively.

He said the confiscation of ammunitions and grenades by the other police office were as follows: ZDSPPO, 473 ammunitions and one grenade; ZSPPO, 252 ammunitions and five grenades; and, ZDNPPO, 225 ammunitions and five grenades.

He said they also confiscated 63 bladed weapons while they were implementing the election gun ban and OTBT. (PNA)

HE Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Tuesday announced it issued certification as information technology (IT)-capable to a total of 38,045 Mindanao teachers serving as members of the May 9 Board of Election Inspectors (BEIs).

An IT-capable certification means the certified election inspector has the required skills to operate and run the vote counting machine (VCM), which the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will use for the coming political exercise.

In a statement released here, Secretary Mario Go Montejo said DOST had conducted the certification process in the 17 regions of the Philippines from March 1 to 30 this year, processing a total of 183,105 BEIs, including 43,291 teachers in Mindanao’s six regions.

DOST and Comelec signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) in January this year for the certification of members of the BEIs. Montejo said the role of DOST “is to certify that one of the BEIs is technically capable of operating properly our automated voting system,” as he referred to the need for BEIs to have the necessary skills to

operate the VCM. Nationwide, a total of 17,839 BEIs did not meet the requirements needed to be certified IT-capable.

Mindanao-wide, 5,246 BEIs of the 43,291 processed by the DOST failed to earn a certification. It means they cannot serve as BEI on Monday’s elections.

The successful teachers will serve in Region IX (Zamboanga Peninsula); Region X (Northern Mindanao); Region XI (Davao Region); Region XII (SOCCSKSARGEN); Region XIII (CARAGA); and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

For Southern Philippines’ six regions, the figures are Region IX (6,797 BEIs, 5,725 certified); Region X (8,677 BEIs, 8,256 certified); Region XI (8,211 BEIs, 6,801 certified); Region XII (6,884 BEIs, 5,072 certified); Region XIII (5,333 BEIs, 5,279 certified); and ARMM (7,389 BEIs, 6,912 certified).

Montejo said DOST has fielded many of its IT experts nationwide to perform the certification process.

In the national tally, 165,268 BEIs earned their certification out of the 183,105 election inspectors who un-

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5 ECONOMY EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 9 ISSUE 46 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2016

GAS PRICE UP. Petroleum companies implemented another “big time” oil price hike at 6 a.m. yesterday with gasoline prices went up by P1.50 per liter, diesel price by P1.35 per liter and kerosene by P1.40 per liter. Lean Daval Jr.

DLPC outage now down to 30 mins

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

T

crc@edgedavao.net

HE Davao Light and Power Co. (DLPC), an Aboitiz-subsidiary, is implementing a maximum 30-minute power interruption within its franchise area until May 5.

This, despite the fact

that the distribution utility had started receiving an additional 50-megawatt allocation from the 55-megawatt diesel-fired plant of the Southern Philippines Power Corporation (SPPC) in Alabel, Saranggani Province.

“Though Davao Light’s additional 50 MW contract with the SPPC has already come in, service disruptions may still be possible as 2 of the units of the said plant are currently undergoing a main-

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6 THE ECONOMY

EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 9 ISSUE 46 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2016

Peso to be on defensive mode until May 9 polls

T

HE Philippine peso is seen to stay on defensive mode until the May 9 national elections, an economist of ING Bank Manila said.

ING Bank Manila senior economist Joey Cuyegkeng said the performance of the peso depends on the developments ahead of the elections on Monday. ”History is not a good benchmark for that,” he told reporters after the joint economic briefing of the ING Bank and the Economic Journalist Association of the Philippines (EJAP) at Makati Shangri La Tuesday.

On Monday, the peso closed at its two-month low against the greenback at 46.96.

At the end of Tuesday’s morning session, the local

unit’s weighted average stood at 46.98.

Cuyegkeng said investors are considering the peso to weaken to as much as 47.50 due to election-related concerns. ”It all depends on what happens from now until the elections,” he said.

The economist said another poll-related survey that is scheduled to come out will play a major role in people’s choices.

“The pulse of the people on the ground is gonna be very important until the next few days. The outcome is gonna be very import,” he said. ”In the meantime the peso will gonna be defensive and will continue to underperform other Asian currencies,” he added. (PNA)

HE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) announced on Tuesday that it has released P842,500,000 to augment the Quick Response Funds (QRF) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

The funds will be used for the implementation of programs for El Niño, including the purchase of family food packs for prepositioning and disaster augmentation, cash or food for work programs, shelter assistance, and additional relief supplies.

The QRF is a built-in budgetary allocation that represent pre-disaster or standby funds for agencies in order to immediately assist areas stricken by disasters and calamities.

Aside from DSWD, the agencies that have built-in QRFs include the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of National Defense (DND)–Office of the Secretary and Office of the Civil Defense (OCD), Department of Education (DepEd), and Department of

UKAY. A florist examines a secondhand denim jeans being peddled by a lady hawker around San Pedro square in Davao City yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

More mixed-use projects DBM releases P842M to augment quick response funds of DSWD established in Davao City T F DBM, 10

PLDT advisory to subscribers: 3 tips to protect passwords

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ANILA, PHILIPPINES FOLLOWING the cyber theft of voters’ records from the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) database, PLDT and Smart Communications are encouraging their subscribers to take precautions to protect their online privacy and security.

According to published reports, the data breach disclosed voters’ personal information such as their names, birthdates, home and email addresses, the full names of their parents and in some cases passport details. These information can be used for identity theft and other fraudulent activities.

As a starting point, here are some simple, practical tips to ensure your peace of mind by properly managing your online passwords.

Update your passwords.

Make it a habit to change passwords regularly for all your online accounts – email, social (like Facebook and Twitter), online banking accounts among others.

Make your passwords strong. This means creating passwords with a mix of letters and numbers, with a mix of capital and lowercase letters, and with symbols like “&”

or “@”. Best to use passwords with at least six letters, numbers and symbols.

Avoid predictable passwords. Like birthdays (yours, your spouses or children, etc.)

Or common number or alphabet patterns like “123456” or “abcdef”. Or, predictable words like “password”.

PLDT and Smart are stepping up measures to strengthen your online security and will periodically share information that can help subscribers protect themselves.

When managing information regarding your PLDT and Smart accounts, please use only our official channels.

For PLDT, these are: the official websites pldt.com, and pldthome.com and its official social media accounts on Facebook are facebook.com/ PLDTpublicaffairs, facebook. com/PLDTHome, and facebook.com/SMENation, and on Twitter, @PLDTHome, @ PLDT_Cares, and @PLDTMedia For Smart, these are: the Smart hotline *888, the official Smart website smart.com. ph, and the official social media accounts facebook.com/ smartcommunications, twitter.com/LiveSmart and twitter.com/smartcares

By CHENEEN R. CAPON crc@edgedavao.net

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IXED-USE property development projects continue to grow in Davao City as reflected by the entry of more locators and construction of more spaces for business process management (BPM) operation.

“The city has not reached its saturation point yet,” said John Irene P. Del Ocampo, vice president for external industry promotions of the Association of Mixed-use Property Developers (AMPD), in yesterday’s Davao Business Forum at Dermpath at SM City Davao.

Del Ocampo said the growing economy of the city and the positive outlook of businessmen over Duterte’s for in president are driving the growth of the real estate sector.

She said the cooperation among the six AMPD members will prevent the industry from over construction of BPM and commercial spaces.

“We are unified. We advise our members to consider the available spaces first before constructing another property project,” she said.

Del Ocampo said the spaces in the IT buildings of the Felcris Centrale and the JFM Development Corporation in Matina Town Square are apt for leasing.

Del Ocampo said the spaces in the 10 floors for office and BPM operation in Felcris Centrale are still 10 percentoccupied, while the property of JFM was just launched last month.

She said two locators are

now considering to expand their operation in either one of the two BPM buildings.

The Felcris Centrale is open to inquiries from companies who require small areas.

With floor plate size of 1,200 square meters, she said, the management of Felcris can now divide the spaces into a minimum of 250 sqm per locator.

She said the growth in the industry can be seen with the continuous expansion of existing property developments in the city.

“Jason Huang of the Matina IT Park had already started the construction of its second building late last year,” she said. “It will have a total floor area of 14,500 sqm. once fin-

ished next year.”

Data from AMPD bared that 90 percent of the first building in Matina IT Park is occupied. Recently, the USbased BPM company Expert Global Solutions (EGS) started its operation, occupying the entire four-story building in the IT Park.

“Only the commercial spaces in the first building in the Matina IT Park are left unoccupied,” she said.

The Damosa IT park has 70 percent or 2,800 sqm of its total spaces are available for locators.

She also said the Lanang Business Park by Dominic and Sons Realty and Development Corporation is bringing in new

the DOJ a money laundering complaint against money remittance company PhilRem Service Corp. (PhilRem)and its key officials in connection with the stealing of USD81 million by hackers from the Bangladesh Bank in February.

Facing a complaint for violation of the Anti-Money Laundering Act specifically Sections 4(a), (b) and (f) are top officials of PhilRem, namely: Salud Bautista, President, Michael “Concon” Bautista, Chairman of the Board and Treasurer and Anthony Pelejo, PhilRem’s Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer.

Section 4 (a), (b) and (f) refers to money laundering acts, including transacting the monetary instrument or property, converts, transfers, disposes of, moves, acquires, possesses or uses said monetary instrument or property and performs of rails to perform

any act as a result of which he or she facilitated the money laundering offense.

The AMLC said that the unauthorized access to the Bangladesh Bank’s system amounted to “hacking” or “cracking,” which is punishable under Section 33 (a) of the Electronic Commerce Act. Based on the investigation conducted by AMLC, the stolen funds were credited to the fictitious bank accounts of Michael Cruz, Jessie Christopher Lagrosas, Alfred Vergara and Enrico Vasquez, which were all opened on May 15, 2015 at the RCBC Jupiter Branch in Makati City.

The AMLC added that the dollar and peso accounts under the name of “William So Go” doing business as Centurytex Trading, which were opened on Feb. 5, 2016 and July 30, 2014, respectively, were also fictitious.

Of the stolen funds, USD65,668,664.37, which were withdrawn from the accounts of Cruz, Lagrosas, Vergara and Vasquez, were transferred to Go and eventually to PhilRem. The AMLC stressed that of the US$ 65 million which were transferred to Go, US$ 13 million were transferred to the RCBC account of Abba Currency Exchange, Inc. (Abba) on Feb. 9, 2016.

That same date, USD3,230,000 were transferred from the Abba account to the RCBC account of Beacon Currency Exchange Inc. (Beacon).

On Feb. 5, 9 and 10, 2016 the balance of USD52,668,664.37 was transferred from the RCBC account of Go to the RCBC-Unimart Greenhills account of PhilRem. Likewise, USD15 million

F MORE, 10

Ex-RCBC branch manager shows up at probe of DOJ on USD81-M money laundering scam

F

ORMER Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) Jupiter branch manager Maia Deguito on Tuesday appeared at the preliminary investigation of the Department of Justice (DOJ) in connection with her alleged involvement in the USD81-million money laundering scam.

The money laundering complaint was filed by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) against Deguito and casino junket operator Kim Wong.

Deguito, accompanied by her legal counsel Atty. Ferdinand Topacio, asked the DOJ for an extension of one more week within which to file her counter-affidavit.

Topacio said that they asked for an extension to submit their counter-affidavit in light of the latest case filed by the AMLC against Philrem.

The AMLC filed before

F EX-RCBC, 10

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 9 ISSUE 46 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2016

Vasectomy:

7 HEALTH

Fatherhood interrupted

By HENRYLITO D. TACIO

“Vasectomy is one of the most effective methods of birth control; about 33 times more effective than oral contraception and about 90 times more effective than condoms but not immediately.” – Dr. Charles Davis, a clinical professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

“V

AS E C TO M Y is a safe and highly effective method of birth control accepted by many couples throughout the world,” assured the Atlanta-based US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

A form of permanent contraception, it “can prevent pregnancy by blocking the transport of sperm out of the testes.”

While it is common in the United States – where almost half a million of vasectomy procedures are performed each year – vasectomy is unpopular in the Philippines. Most Filipinos, according to a study done by the Department of Health (DOH) confused vasectomy with castration, which is the surgical removal of the testicle(s).

There are those who believe that once a man goes through with vasectomy, he would become effeminate and gentle. Others think that the procedure will make a man not to enjoy sex

*** anymore as he used to.

Vasectomy is the most effective permanent form of birth control available to men.

Contrary to what most people believe, vasectomy is a surgical procedure for male sterilization. During the procedure, the tube (vas deferens) of a man are severed, and then tied/ sealed in a manner so that the sperms are prevented from entering into the seminal stream (ejaculate).

A vasectomy is usually performed in a physician’s office or medical clinic. “My vasectomy was a piece of cake,” said Noel, a 35-year-old businessman who had undergone the procedure.

“I was as nervous as anyone about it. The worst part of the whole thing was thinking about it for a month after I made the appointment. It really was no worse than getting a filling at the dentist. I had no pain to speak of afterwards, and no swelling.”

Here’s an explana-

tion why a man can no longer get a woman pregnant once he undergoes vasectomy from medicinenet.com: “Sperm are made in the two testicles, which are inside the scrotum.

Sperm is stored in a tube attached to each testicle called the epididymis.

When a man ejaculates, the sperm travel from the epididymis, through the vas deferens, and then mix with seminal fluid to form semen.

The semen then travels through the urethra and out the penis. Before a vasectomy, semen contains sperm and seminal fluid. After a vasectomy, sperm are no longer in the semen. The man’s testicles will make less sperm over time, and his body will absorb any sperm that are made.”

Just because you have undergone a vasectomy procedure, you can immediately have sex with your partner.

Wait, if you must. “It usually takes several months after a vasectomy for all remaining sperm to be ejaculated or reabsorbed,” WebMd. com informs. “You must use another method of birth control until you have a semen sample tested and it shows a zero sperm count. Otherwise, you can still get your partner pregnant.”

In fact, there is still a small risk that the vasectomy will fail, which can lead to unintended pregnancy. According to medicinenet.com, among 1,000 vasectomies, 11 will likely fail over 2 years; and half of these failures will occur within the first 3 months after surgery.

The risk of failure depends on a number of factors. For example, some surgical techniques are more likely to fail than others. In addition, there is a very small risk that the two ends of the vas deferens will grow back together.

If this happens, sperm may be able to enter the semen and make pregnancy possible.

While it is true that vasectomy is safe and highly effective, there are some problems that could occur after surgery and over time, according to medicinenet. com.

“After surgery, most men have discomfort, bruising, and some swelling, all of which usually go away within two weeks,” the website points out. “Problems that can occur after surgery and need to be checked by a health care provider include hematoma (bleeding under the skin that can lead to painful swelling) and

infection (with fever and scrotal redness and tenderness as signs).”

Now regarding whether vasectomy will affect a man’s sex life, medicinenet.com has this answer: “Vasectomy will not affect your sex life. It does not decrease your sex drive because it does not affect the production of the male hormone testosterone. It also does not affect your ability to get an erection or ejaculate semen. Because the sperm make up a very small amount of the semen, you will not notice a difference in the amount of semen you ejaculate.”

There are men who don’t want to undergo vasectomy procedure because some studies showed it will increase a man’s risk of prostate cancer. In an article which appeared in What Doctors Don’t Tell You, it was noted that “the risk of developing prostate cancer after vasectomy jumps from seven per 1000 men per year to 11 per 1000 men per year - an increase of more than 60 per cent. The researchers confidently concluded that there was a genuine connection between prostate cancer and vasectomy, as the odds of these two findings being chance results were thousands

to one against.”

However, several studies later contradicted that study. In 1994, a very large-scale Danish report on every vasectomy case in Denmark over a 12-year period (nearly 75,000 men) compared their prostate cancer risk with the rest of the Danish male population – “and found no connection at all.”

The most recent study comes from New Zealand, a country with the highest rate of vasectomy in the world – and apparently meticulous cancer records.

It compared more than 900 men with prostate cancer with about 1200 healthy men, and found no difference in prostate cancer rates.

Now, the inevitable question: Can vasectomy be reversed? Yes, it can! WebMd.com has this information: “Surgery to reconnect the vas deferens is available. But the reversal procedure is difficult. Sometimes a doctor can remove sperm from the testicle in men who have had a vasectomy or a reversal that didn’t work. The sperm can then be used for in vitro fertilization.

Both vasectomy reversal and sperm retrieval can be expensive and may not always work.” All photos from the net

EDGEDAVAO

8 VANTAGE

VOL. 9 ISSUE 46 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2016

EDITORIAL

F

Dela Rosa a victim of politics?

OR posting a photo on social media, Chief Supt. Ronald dela Rosa was quickly relieved from his post as brigade commander of Reactionary Standby Support Force(RSSF).

The post was found to be improper by the Philippine National Police.

This was his post: “I am the Brigade Commander of the PNP RSSF (Reactionary Standby Support Force) composed of 8 battalions close to 5,000 personnel based in Camp Crame. Kayong mga mangdadaya at mangliligalig ngayong May 9 elections, humanda na kayo! WE WILL CRUSH YOU!!! Kung sa binisaya pa LIGSAN TA MO!!!”

For that, Dela Rosa was relieved from his post allegedly because of his social media posts seem to favor a presidential candidate. The PNP said the social media posts were partial and partisan.

Police Deputy Director General Danilo Constantino announced that Chief Supt. Elmo Francis Sarona replaced Dela Rosa.

According to Constatino, Dela Rosa was appointed as trainor and speaker of National Headquarters for election release for he

EDGEDAVAO

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was the executive officer of the Human Resource and Doctrine Development (HRDD).

What is the real reason for relieving Dela Rosa? It could be more than the posts.

Dela Rosa is a native of Davao and a former chief in PNP Davao City. He was a close ally of Mayor Duterte and was a known crimebuster when he was still chief of the Davao City Police Office.

After Dela Rosa’s relief, Constantino said that they would look over the possible administrative liabilities of Dela Rosa with regards to his social post. The PNP also reminded all officials and personnel to avoid political talks and to keep the national police non-partisan.

What about the three PNP officials who attended a lunch meeting with Mar Roxas? The three officials instead were defended by the PNP as not committing any partisan act.

Is there double standard in the PNP? Poor Gen. Dela Rosa had to be a victim in this political machinations as part of the bigger agenda which is the outcome of the national elections.

AGUSTIN V. MIAGAN JR Circulation

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EDGEDAVAO

“W

E are targeting that by 2016, Davao region will be rabiesfree.”

The statement came from Jinky Espino, then the rabies program manager of the regional office of the Department of Health.

Those words were spoken in 2014 yet.

Now, it’s 2016 and Davao Region, particularly Davao City, is still not rabies-free. As a matter of fact, the number of those infected with rabies has considerably increased, according to a report filed by our EDGE Davao reporter Armando B. Fenequito, Jr. Quoting Dr. Annaliza Malubay, the anti-rabies section head of City Health Office, “the number of rabies infection cases in Davao City has increased from last year,” Fenequito wrote.

In the first quarter of last year, the recorded number of cases of rabies was 1,553. In the same period this year, it surged to 1,906 -- that’s 22% higher!

“The rise in number of cases could be a positive indication that more people bitten by dogs or cats are already aware that this should seek immediate medical attention to prevent any person from dying due to rabies,” Dr. Malubay was quoted as saying during the I-Speak Media Forum.

Rabies is a deadly disease but some people dismiss it as somewhat nuisance. Such was the case of a school teacher who tried to save a cat but instead lost his life. He was bitten by the cat he was saving.

When people learned that he was bitten, they advised him to get an anti-rabies injection. But instead of heeding the advice, he replied that he was busy with the examination of his students.

True enough, the cat had rabies. Six months later, the rabies already manifested in the body of the school teacher. It was already too late to save him from death.

“Usually, rabies is eventually fatal once

A

VOL. 9 ISSUE 46 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2016

VANTAGE POINTS

9

Not yet free from rabies the rabies vi- THINK ON THESE! rus reaches the spinal cord and brain,” notes The Merck Manual of Medical Information.

The virus, however, takes at least 10 days -- usually 30- Henrylito D. Tacio 50 days -- to henrytacio@gmail.com reach the brain (depending on where the bite is). “During that interval, measures can be taken to eradicate the virus and help prevent death,” the Merck manual claims.

In the Philippines, about 300 to 600 Filipinos die of rabies each year, according to the health department. At least 50% of the victims are children aged 5 to 14 years.

People almost always contract rabies from the saliva of rabid animals. Any warm-blooded animal can be infected, but dogs are by far the commonest source. In fact, dogs are responsible for over 90 percent of rabies deaths in the country.

“The usual pattern of transmission is dog to dog and then from dog to human,” explains Dr. Mary Miranda, who was the leader of the rabies research program at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine, when interviewed by this columnist some years ago.

Children are at greatest risk, because they’re most likely to play with dogs. This has been confirmed by the United Nations health agency, which said that that up to 60% of rabies cases occur in people less than 15 years of age.

Though bites are the usual form of transmission, rabies can also be contracted if open wounds or mucous membranes in the eyes, nose and mouth come into contact with saliva

from a rabid animal, or if an infected person kisses a partner. In rare cases, victims contract it from inhaling the air-borne virus – in caves inhabited by rabid bats, for example – or by drinking unpasteurized milk from a rabid animal.

But how can you tell if an animal is rabid?

“A common clue is a sudden change of behavior, like drooling, unprovoked aggression, biting, aimless running and difficulty breathing,” informs Dr. Silvius Alon, a veterinarian who once worked with the Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center in Kinuskusan, Bansalan, Davao del Sur. However, some infected animals may become paralyzed or die suddenly without showing signs of illness.

If possible, any dog that bites a person should be confined and observed. “If the dog remains healthy for ten to 14 days, it’s safe to assume it’s rabies-free,” says Dr. Miranda. If the animal does show symptoms, the owner should contact the local health department or a veterinarian immediately and the dog should be humanely put down.

In humans, rabies symptoms can take weeks or months to appear. This presents a real problem when treating the disease because by the time symptoms have developed it may be too late to prevent death. When an infected animal bites a person, the virus travels along the nerves to the central nervous system where it incubates for up to three months. In this period the victim shows no signs of illness.

At the end of the incubation period, the virus multiplies rapidly, spreading to the brain and throughout the body, even to the eyes and extremities like hair follicles. Initial symptoms, in what doctors refer to as the “prodromal stage” of the disease, may be mild. They last from two to ten days and include a slight fever, headache, nausea and persistent loose cough. There may be pain, itching, tingling or

a sensation of cold at the bite site.

Then, in the “acute neurological stage,” symptoms become more and more frightening. For the next two to seven days, the patient becomes nervous, agitated, restless and irritable, and may salivate excessively. As the virus replicates in the brain, the victim experiences eye problems (like enlargement of the pupils), weakness of the facial muscles and hoarseness.

In one out of six cases, there’s hydrophobia – a fear of water. “In this stage, there is forceful, painful muscle spasms of the throat, which expel liquids administered orally,” says Dr. S.N. Madhusudana, associate professor of the Department of Neurovirology at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuroscience in Bangalore, India.

Finally, the virus overwhelms the brain and central nervous system. The patient falls into a coma, becomes paralyzed and dies.

What should you do if you’re bitten by a rabid animal? First, attend to the wound immediately. “Wash it with plenty of soap and running tap water,” instructs Dr. Madhusudana. “Then apply an antiseptic like iodine or betadine to kill the virus.”

As soon as the wound has been cleaned, seek medical help. Victims must be immunized as soon as possible so that antibodies can develop before the virus incubates. Injection must be done into the bite sites to neutralize the virus. “Once the virus reaches the brain, the antibodies are no longer effective,” says Dr. Miranda.

“Without timely treatment, rabies infection is 100 percent fatal,” pointed out Dr. Nancy Nazaire-Bermal, head of the clinical research and development of the Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics. “Rabies is the best example of an illness in which prevention is better than cure, as it is a vaccine-preventable disease.”

his triumphant march to the Palace by the Pasig river come 2022.

Don’t swallow that scary scenario peddled by that intellectual pygmy in Malacanang.

D o e s Bongbong Marcos deserve a Senate seat? I’ll let him answer that.

“I have a lot of ideas that I think will be of benefit to our people. I am the only one who has training in economics and I think that’s what is needed now.”

Bongbong obtained his social studies degree from Oxford University in United Kingdom. He pursued, but didn’t finish, a

masteral degree at the Wharton School of Economics. Edsa Revolution put a stop to his ambition.

have been named by Time Magazine as one of 100 most influential persons in the world in 2010.

Does Manny deserve to be a senator?

Manny has the answer: “God raised me from nothing to something. I think I am the right person, the best person to answer the poor.”

Bongbong and Manny: Two for the money

RE Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao for real?

Of course, they are. In fact, the harsh reality is that both are even larger than life.

Both are household names easily recognizable and undisputable crowd drawers.

But each had a contrasting beginning.

Bongbong was born with a silver spoon in his mouth when his father was a popular senator busy crafting laws for his countrymen.

Manny was born with a broken plastic spoon in his mouth when his father was busy making both ends meet to keep his family together.

------ 0 0 0-------

Now approaching 50, Bongbong is a political phenomenon in the making. A no-nonsense senator, he is eyeing a political office that is just one breath away from the presidency. If he gets the voters nod on May 9, there’s no stopping

------ 0 0 0-------

Manny Pacquiao, aka PacMan, who retired last month from boxing after beating Timothy Bradley and annexing the WBO Super Champion belt, is an authentic international sports icon. He is leveled as the greatest boxer of his era, and one of the greatest of all time.

He is in the same league as Muhammad Ali, Joe Lewis, Rocky Marciano, Sugar Ray Robinson, Julio Cesar Chavez, Mike Tyson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Evander Holyfield.

Manny was voted Boxer of the Decade for his brilliant exploits from 2000-2009.

He is the only boxer in history to have won world titles in eight different weight classes – flyweight to welterweight. He is the only Filipino and only Asian professional athlete to

------ 0 0 0-------

It’s getting quite clear to all that the 4Ps (Pantawid Pamilya Pilipino Program) is Gloria Arroyo’s legacy to the poor. This program is also known as CCT (Conditional Cash Transfer).

This is one program of GMA that the Aquino administration chose to adopt and continue to this day.

While Gloria has her 4Ps, Noynoy has his 4Is – which stand for incompetence, indecisiveness, insensitivity, intellectual dishonesty.

Noynoy’s other legacy is “no wang-wang,” which amounts to nothing.

10 NEWS VOTE... FROM 1

number of Filipinos in the UAE, OFW’s have called more direct flights from the UAE to the Philippines.

Meantime, CNN Philippines reported that senatorial candidate Greco Belgica on Tuesday (May 3) filed a petition before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to conduct an investigation on the alleged vote-buying incident involving Liberal Party (LP) standard bearer Manuel “Mar” Roxas II and independent presidential candidate Sen. Grace Poe. In the same CNN report, Belgica said he wanted Roxas and Poe disqualified from the presidential race for vote-buying.

“Para himukin ang imbestigasyon sa vote-buying na nakita sa kampo ni Secretary

Mar Roxas at Grace Poe. Hopefully imbestigahan ng Comelec for potential disqualification,” Belgica was quoted as saying in the report.

Belgica said the video showing LP members giving away envelopes that went viral on social media is enough proof that LP violated Comelec’s rules and regulations.

In the CNN interview, Belgica said he also has witnesses who can prove that Poe’s camp also engaged in vote-buying during their campaign in Baguio City, where some people were asked to wear white and attend Poe’s rally in exchange of P500 allowance.

Poe has denied she in involved in the vote-buying incident.

ed for the release of Rombo in coordination with the military and police.

Calang has expressed thanks to Emano, the local government officials, members of the local crisis committee, the military and the police, for the efforts that paved the way to a successful negotiation.

He said that aside from

Rombo, the NPA is also expected to release the three other captives composed of a police officer and two government troopers on May 3.

Calang said that the three other law enforcers who remained in captivity were SPO1 Warren Coñales, Private First Class Glenn Austia and Diven Abion Tawide. (PNA)

ty-ridden areas such as Barira in Maguindanao.

“We thank the leadership of OPAPP as well as the soldiers who are here today together with the DepEd for choosing us for a second time to be the beneficiary of this program by the government,” she said.

The school had its first Brigada Eskwela last year benefiting hundreds of families.

Dimasangcay also encouraged her constituents to be positive in all aspects of life and to help one another to achieve peace and development in their area and for the future of their children. (PNA)

tenance shutdown,” the DLPC said in a press statement yesterday.

Earlier, the DLPC announced that there will be “no more brownout from April 29 until May 5 because of the entry of the contracted supply from SPPC, although power supply will remain tight.”

The DLPC also assured Davao businessmen in a recent meeting at the Royal Mandaya Hotel last week that it won’t implement power outages starting May 6 because of the increased power supply allocation from the National Power Corporation (NPC) aside from the power supply from the 50MW sourced from SPPC. “Starting May 6, the NPC

allocation will be increased in preparation of the May 9 Election,” it read. “With this, no rotating power interruptions are projected from the period between May 6 to May 12 in relation to the 2016 Election.”

DLPC said there will be no blackout on the Election Day since there will be low power demand considering May 9 is declared as a national holiday.

The distribution utility expected power supply will normalize in June with the onset of the rainy season, entry of the 80-MW contract with the new coal-fired power plant from San Miguel Global Power, and the entry of the Filinvest Energy Corporation coal plants to the Mindanao grid.

Agriculture (DA).

When the QRF gets depleted, the agency may request for augmentation subject to the approval of the DBM. The budget department said the funds were charged against the FY 2016 National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (NDRRM) Funds in the national budget.

The General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2016 appropriated the amount of P19 billion as NDRRM Funds, which may be used as an additional funding source for the QRF of agencies when the QRF

balance has reached a critical level.

Status of DSWD’s QRF This is the second augmentation of DSWD’s QRF for 2016, according to the DBM. Last April 1, DBM augmented the QRF of DSWD in the amount of P662,500,000.

DSWD has P1,325,000 built-in appropriation for QRF under the FY 2016 GAA. Of the total P1,987,500,000 allotment it received this year, P1,515,558,746.33 has been obligated by the agency. Its QRF balance as of April 19 is P471,941,253.67. (PNA)

Rebs... FROM 3

Brigada... FROM 3

DLPC... FROM 5

DBM... FROM 6

EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 9 ISSUE 46 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2016

WALKING ADVERTISEMENT. A masseur with a placard dangled around his neck written with “HILOT” stands in front a huge gathering of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte’s supporters at Rizal Park hoping to attract customers. Lean Daval Jr.

INC... FROM 2

to the National Statistics Office (NSO). It is a 28% increase, from 1,762,845 in 2000.

In 2010, the Philippine census by the National Statistics Office found that 2.45 percent of the population in the

Philippines are affiliated with the Iglesia ni Cristo, making it the third largest religious denomination in the Philippines after the Roman Catholic Church (80.6%) and Islam (5.6%), respectively.

is planned to be undertaken today or tomorrow,” Pinol said in his post.

According to Pinol, the information revealed that two men riding tandem in a motorcycle will pass by the Magdalo headquarters where Trillanes will be holding a press conference and lob a grenade.

“You have to reveal this information otherwise the Duterte camp will once again be blamed for this act of terrorism,” the informant reportedly told Pinol.

The bombing was hatched after the black propaganda campaign against Duterte, including allegations that he kept hundreds of millions in accounts with the Bank of Philippine Islands, were proven to be false.

Sen. Trillanes earlier

charged that Duterte was keeping accounts with the BPI with an estimated P211-M. BPI officials, however, informed Duterte’s lawyer Salvador Panelo yesterday that there is no P211-M deposited in Duterte’s accounts and that bank records showed that there has never been any deposit in that amount since the accounts were opened years ago.

BPI officials also denied that the documents brandished by Trillanes during a press conference last week listing hundreds of millions in deposits in the alleged accounts of Duterte came from the bank.

The bank has said that Trillanes papers were not bank documents. NEILWIN JOSEPH L. BRAVO

derwent the DOST-conducted training, written and actual examinations, and certification for the operation of the VCM. The Automated Election System (AES) Law stipulates that an AES is one that uses “appropriate technology for voting and electronic devices to count the votes and canvass/consolidate results.”

Republic Act No. 9369 or the AES law mandates the DOST to perform the certification of BEIs in all the 17 re-

gions of the Philippines.

In an AES, at least one of the three members of the BEIs in all the 95,000 clustered precincts across the country must be IT-capable.

ARMM had 7,389 BEIs processed, with 6,912 certified for a 93 percent passing rate.

DOST also conducted the certification process for the overseas absentee voting (OAV), covering 317 BEIs, with 279 certified for a passing rate of 88.0 percent. (PNA)

this Saturday’s campaign implementation, pre-launching event was conducted last on May 2, Monday and will again take place on May 6, Friday in the same barangay.

The campaign offers an effective communication framework for future public health

programs focusing on dengue in order to create high significant level of awareness and motivation to observe dengue prevention practices for Davaoenos.

This is also supported by Bombo Radyo Davao DXMF 576 and Manila Bulletin.

MAGDALO... FROM 2

DOST... FROM 4

UPMin... FROM 11

More... FROM 6

dining and entertainment hub in the northbound Davao with 50 percent occupancy rate since it opened in March 2016.

Del Ocampo said average rent in the city’s spaces remained competitive and at par with other Next Wave Cities in the country. Pegged at an average of P400 to P500 per square meter, this rate continued to entice local and international BPM locators, she added.

Though the rental rate in Davao City doubled in the past five years, Del Ocampo said the existing rate is still lower than Manila and Cebu.

The AMPD is a private, independent local association formed to provide the needs of the real estate industry and to promote the interest of its members and the society.

With the assistance of the Davao City Investment and Promotions Office, the association unifies and sets policies to encourage sustainable development in the Davao City and to make the city as the most preferred real estate investment haven in the country.

“We’re targeting to invite more local developers to our members,” she added.

from Vasquez’ account were also transferred to PhilRem’s account.

Both Abba and Beacon also transferred a total of USD13 million to PhilRem’s RCBC account in Pasig City.

The AMLC said that Pelejo submitted a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) to AMLC. Under the STR, the PhilRem said that the transactions made were upon the instructions of “Go” but during the senate investigation, Salud said that the transactions were made upon the instructions of former RCBC Jupiter Branch Manager Maia Deguito.

The AMLC said that it was highly irregular that PhilRem would deal with Deguito and not the owner of the “Go” account.

“The foregoing circumstances clearly show that respondent spouses were aware that the funds were not legiti-

mate when they deliberately ignored the AMLA requirements…Had they done so, respondent spouses would have personally interviewed the real William Go and discover that the latter was not aware of the existence of the RCBC Account Nos. 9016455240 and 9010270206,” the AMLC said.

“Worse, respondent spouses converted and transacted the stolen funds with another fictitious account: Centurytex,” the complaint said.

“Philrem acting as a remittance agent actually co-mingled the funds and acted as a ‘cleaning house’. Philrem’s role was to make it extremely difficult to trace the source and flow of the funds by avoiding all anti-money laundering measures set by laws and regulations. The participation of Philrem is really to ‘wash’ the funds and conceal the money trail,” the AMLC added. (PNA)

than three times its 2015 target, with the bank contributing 83% of FWD’s total premiums in its first year in the Philippines.

“Our venture with FWD is in line with our brand and service promise of BetterBanking,” says Security Bank President and CEO Alfonso Salcedo, Jr. “Through the Security Bank-FWD bancassurance, we can provide a wide-range

of financial solutions to a significant number of Filipinos who are still uninsured. There is definitely so much room for growth for bancassurance in the country.”

FWD’s life insurance products may be availed at over 260 Security Bank branches nationwide. Financial advisers are on hand to assist customers with their queries and concerns.

Ex-RCBC... FROM 6

Security... FROM 11

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EDGEDAVAO VOL. 9 ISSUE 46 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2016

Aboitiz donated a total of 246 classrooms in 6 yrs

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SM, donors turn over big housing village for ‘Yolanda’ survivors in Tacloban City

F

OR 64-year old pedicab driver Rogelio Palma Consalida, November 8, 2013 is one date he will never forget for the rest of his life.

It was when super typhoon Yolanda made land fall in his hometown of Tacloban City in Leyte, and in just an hour he had lost all his possessions which took him several decades to build.

“Nawala sa amin ang lahat,” (“We lost everything,”) he declared and for over two years, he and his wife, Lolita, also 64, had to live in a cramped government housing site.

But life seems to smile on them once more as the couple are among the 400 family-beneficiaries of SM Supermalls’ biggest SM Cares Village for survivors of super typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan).

SM and its donors awarded 400 new houses in Tacloban City, Leyte to families who were hardest hit by the super typhoon in 2013. The village will be called “Pope Francis-CFC ANCOP Canada Community – SM Cares Village.” It is the biggest of all the four SM Cares housing project as the other villages only have 200 houses each.

The first village in Bogo, Cebu has been turned over

to beneficiaries in November 2014 while the second village in Iloilo City was inaugurated in October 2015. The fourth and last village in Ormoc City is undergoing construction and will be turned over in July this year.

The SM Cares Village in Brgy. New Kawayan in Tacloban is the third batch in the 1,000-house SM Cares Village housing project which was launched in the aftermath of Haiyan in 2013.

SM Prime officials headed by its President Hans T. Sy led the turnover ceremony accompanied by Tacloban City officials led by Mayor Alfred Romualdez.

Guests who attended the event included Leyte Archbishop John Du, Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines Neil Reeder, Mrs. Yedda Romualdez (representing Leyte 1st District Representative Martin Romualdez), Ricky Cuenca and Jimmy Ilagan of Couples For Christ-ANCOP, Mikee Romero of Global Port and Julian Payne of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.

400 houses were awarded to chosen beneficiaries for free. Aside from the houses, the SM Cares Village also has amenities such a basketball

court, street lamps, sewage treatment plant, materials recovery facility, rain-catchment system and provisions for water and electricity.

SM Cares, a division of SM Foundation and the corporate social responsibility arm of SM Prime Holdings, Inc., launched the housing project shortly after the onslaught of super typhoon Yolanda in November 2013 to give permanent and disaster-resilient houses to survivors of the typhoon in the Visayas region.

Through its tenants, business partners, service providers, employees and local communities, SM was able to raise the money needed to build the 1,000 houses, a moving proof of the people’s accord in times of emergency. Some of the donors for the SM Cares Village in Tacloban include Zonta Club, Duty Free Philippines, Forever 21, ANCOP, New Golden City Builders & Development and Philippine Daily Inquirer. Global Port and Sultan 900 donated the basketball court.

All the houses in the SM Cares Housing Village are disaster-resilient and have roofs made of concrete slab. Vetiver grass, with leaves that can be used for handicrafts, were used in the village to control

soil erosion and for better slope protection. Its roots reach up to 3 meters long.

To ensure sustainability of the project, community development programs have been put in place to make the change work for all beneficiaries. For the Tacloban housing project, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Palo (RCAP) and Couples For Christ-ANCOP (CFC-ANCOP) were the partners in charge of selecting the beneficiaries, training, livelihood and values formation to enable the new residents start a new life in their community.

SM said the SM Cares Housing Village is a testament to the solidarity that Filipinos and people all over the world have shown to help the survivors of super typhoon Yolanda. It is also personifies SM’s commitment to nation-building.

“SM has always been supporting communities and as a responsible member of the community, this project exemplifies our commitment to nation-building,” SM Supermalls, in a statement, said.

To know more about SM Cares and its advocacies, please visit www.smcares. com.ph or www.facebook. com/OfficialSMCares.

Security Bank wins‘Highly Commended – Best Bancassurance’at Retail Banker International Awards

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ECURITY Bank Corporation (SBC), with FWD Life Philippines (FWD), was recognized with the ‘Highly Commended: Best Bancassurance’ award at the 7th Annual Retail Banker International Asia Trailblazer Summit & Awards 2016 in Singapore.

The ‘Highly Commended: Best Bancassurance’ award is under the Products and Services category, which recognizes the best retail, investment, and commercial product and service offerings of banks across the Asian region

as proven by excellent service deliveries aligned to the organization’s vision, tremendous profitability of the business, and market leadership.

Security Bank and FWD signed their bancassurance partnership on September 2014 and officially launched the business in February 2015.

The venture achieved its 2015 full-year target in June, just five months after its official launch.

At the end of the year, the Security Bank-FWD bancassurance finished with volumes more

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Retail Banker International Asia Editor Lim Xiou Ann (leftmost) joins representatives from Security Bank and FWD during the 2016 Retail Banker International (RBI) Asia Trailblazer Awards in Singapore: (middle & rightmost) Delbert Ang-It, Security Bank Bancassurance Head and Irene Andas, FWD Chief Partnership Distribution Officer and Bancassurance Head.

INCE 2011, the Aboitiz Foundation, in partnership with AGAPP, has spent over P143 million to build 246 Silid Pangarap classrooms in 123 schools nationwide, benefitting over 55,000 kindergarten students.

In Mindanao alone, a total of 102 classrooms have been built all over the island. Twelve of which are scheduled for turnover this 2016.

A total of 30 AGAPP (Aklat, Gabay, Aruga Tungo sa Pag-angat at Pag-asa) Silid Pangarap kindergarten classrooms were recently donated by the Aboitiz Group, to the Department of Education (DepEd), putting the cumulative number of Silid Pangarap classrooms donated since 2011 at 246.

These Silid Pangarap classrooms, built in 15 schools nationwide, were turned over to the Department of Education (DepEd) last April 29 at Enderun Colleges, Taguig City as part of the Aboitiz Groups continuing commitment to education and are seen to benefit 1,800 kindergarten pupils.

“We in Aboitiz believe that a better-educated youth means a better Philippines. We believe that it is in education

where we can create the greatest impact so it is only fitting that we allocate the bulk of our CSR budget to it,” Aboitiz said.

In 2015, the Aboitiz Group spent a total of P415 million on corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives that had a positive impact on the lives of over 500,000 direct beneficiaries. Of this amount, P232 million or 56% was allotted to realize the Group’s promise of delivering a better learning environment for students through facilities and assets alike.

It was also last year that DepEd recognized the Aboitiz Group as a long-standing partner in the government’s bid to uplift the state of the country’s public education system, and as the Philippines’ biggest contributor to public education.

“Indeed, AGAPP Silid Pangarap is more than just a school building. To the excited and curious little girls and boys it has welcomed over the years, it is where their dreams and imagination are awakened and nurtured. It is our privilege to be able to do our part and we commit to continue doing our part to help make our youth become lifelong learners,” Aboitiz added.

Aboitiz Group built 246 AGAPP classrooms since 2011 including this twoclassroom building in Aclan Elementary School in Nasipit, Agusan del Norte which is a host community of AboitizPower subsidiary Therma Marine.

UPMin studes join CHO versus dengue P ELIGRO sa Dengue: Ayaw Papildi! Magpakabana. Magbantay. Maglikay., a dengue awareness and prevention campaign organized by a group of fourth year BA Communication Arts students of the University of the Philippines Mindanao in partnership with the Davao City Health Office (CHO) will be implemented this coming Saturday, May 7, 2016 at Wellspring I covered court, Barangay Catalunan Pequeño, Davao City from 9:00 to 11:00 in the morning.

This information drive campaign aims to raise awareness on dengue and to strengthen the promotion of dengue prevention practices to lessen dengue cases in the city, beginning with Barangay Catalunan Pequeño as the pilot barangay. Ms. Elizabeth

Banzon, Head of Tropical Disease Prevention and Control Division of the City Health Office will share her knowledge on the different types of mosquitos, possible dengue mosquito breeding sites, the spread of dengue mosquito, signs and symptoms of dengue fever, dengue medication and treatment, and dengue prevention practices.

In the implementation of the campaign, participants are encouraged to bring curtains (kurtina), pails (balde or palanggana), and mosquito nets (moskitero) for soaking treatment as part of dengue prevention. Fun dengue-related activities are prepared by the organizers for the participants who will attend the event. Information kits and prizes will also be given away. Prior to

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12 CLASSIFIEDS

EDGEDAVAO

EDGEDAVAO PARTNER ESTABLISHMENTS Serving a seamless society

EDGEDAVAO GENSAN PARTNERS Serving a seamless society

VOL. 9 ISSUE 46 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2016

INdulge!

VOL. 9 ISSUE 46 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2016

EDGEDAVAO TRAVEL

All out for mom

MOTHER’S DAY IS JUST A FEW DAYS AWAY and I am positive that loved ones are wracking their brains on what to give to the woman who gave them the gift of life. Material gifts may be good but oftentimes moms cherish the more simple things in life, such as spending time together, having a good family meal.

I have gone around Durianburg and these are some of the more notable happenings in the city made to celebrate mom.

A dine-in date with mom What better way to celebrate mom’s special day than to treat her to a sumptuous family lunch with a wide variety of culinary delights?

RBG Bar & Grill at Park Inn by Radisson Davao invites you to its Mother’s day celebration on May 8. Mom dines for free in our special family meal of salad, appetizers, two main courses, soup

and dessert.

RBG’s Mother’s day family meal is at Php2,299 net group of six to seven persons. Mom dines for free for a group of 8 persons.

Stay and dine perks

Seda Abreeza has prepared delightful treats for moms and the rest of the family to enjoy. The urban lifestyle hotel aims to give the best Mother’s Day stay and dining experience in this celebrated occasion.

Families may go for a staycation in style and comfort in Seda Abreeza’s room package from May 7 to 9, 2016. At Php 4,500 nett, Mom and the entire family may enjoy an overnight accommodation in a Deluxe Room with complimentary breakfast.

This also includes complimentary WiFi service 24/7, use of the hotel gym and pool, and one complimentary Spa Gift Certificate for the Mom per stay.

To complete the occasion, the hotel’s all-day dining restaurant, Misto, offers a Mother’s Day Lunch Buffet on May 8, 2016. Sous Chef Giovanna “Bang” Flores and her talented kitchen team prepares a buffet spread highlighting hotel specialties and family affair favorites.

The buffet includes dishes as the Angus Roast Beef, Lechon, and a Live Pasta Station. Desserts are also one of the highlights of the lunch buffet, as it includes: Lemon Meringue Eclairs, Caramel Chocolate Trifle, Angel Cake with Rose Frosting, Cin-

Polo Davao’s Chef Alex Destriza. Moms who dine on mother’s day will also get M&M candies and aprons.

Mother’s Day lunch and dinner buffets are at Php 1,300 nett.

Dine down memory lane Mother’s Day dining is made extra special at the Waterfront Insular Hotel.

Take your mom for a walk around the hotel’s historic gardens and catch up on childhood memories before settling down to have a good meal at Cafe Uno. For only Php 750 nett, enjoy a Filipino-themed buffet prepared by Chef Victor Barangan complete with unlimited juice drinks. Moms also get 50% off plus a special giveaway.

namon Roll Coffee Cake, Apple Pie, Lemon Layer Cake with Blueberry Buttercream, Strawberry Crinkle Cookies, Mother’s Day Themed Cakes, Cupcakes, Cookies, and one of Misto’s specialty cakes – Mango Sansrival.

Buffet price is Php 780 nett for adults, and Php 380 nett for kids aged 7 to 12 years old, and free for

kids aged 6 and below.

A candy-coloured mommy celebration Celebrate a candy-coloured mother’s day at the Marco Polo Davao’s Cafe Marco. Step into a world decorated with bright coloured candy and dine on a showcase of Filipino and Western Culinary delicacies prepared by Marco

Feast fit for a queen If it is a feast you and your mom are looking for then Vikings Lanang is the place to be.

Dig in to Crabs in Salted Egg Cream Sauce, Hot Molten Cake with Vanilla Salted Caramel Sauce and Popcorn, and Roasted Chicken Relleno in Caldereta Sauce aside from other regular favourites prepared by Viking’s executive chef Anton Abad for only Php788.

Aside from Viking’s famous group promos and discounts, Moms will get Viking’s limited edition Mother’s Day Super Mom mugs.

EDGEDAVAO

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VOL. 9 ISSUE 46 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2016

EVENT

Doing a Globe of Good towards a wonderful METamorphosis LIKE A LOWLY CATERPILLAR WRAPPING ITSELF IN A COCOON WITH THE HOPE OF ONE DAY EMERGING INTO A BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLY, so is the vision for the long-abandoned Metropolitan Theater which fell into disrepair and left covered in dirt and rust after an ownership dispute five years ago.

Not much is left of the theater’s former grandeur after decades of erosion and abuse. Its colors have faded with time. Graffiti were painted along its arcades and glass shards and pieces of broken tiles have reduced this once renowned monument into an urban ruin.

The theater’s bid to regain its former glory was not lost to Globe Telecom employees who volunteered recently for #METamorphosis, a clean-up and restoration campaign also participated in by UST College of Architecture

volunteers whose interest in the arts led him to help in the restoration drive.

“Although it will definitely take time for the theater to be completely restored, I still believe that if we make an effort to save this piece of cultural heritage -- one that has witnessed the growth of Filipino Art over the years -- perhaps one day, we can witness its complete metamorphosis unfold,” he said.

On the other hand, Masanori Takamoto can’t help but get sentimental in doing her part in the restoration, having heard

The main goal -- to clear the theater’s arcades, trim the surrounding grass, sweep the scattered debris, and collect trash – jobs which the volunteers happily accomplished. students and several other individual volunteers. The main goal -- to clear the theater’s arcades, trim the surrounding grass, sweep the scattered debris, and collect trash – jobs which the volunteers happily accomplished.

Lyber Taruc was one of Globe Telecom’s employee

wonderful stories from her mom who used to perform as a MET dancer. “I am delighted to learn that Globe provides an opportunity for me and the other employees to carryon my socio-civic engagements that started when I was still a university student.”

It was not all work, however. It was also a day of fun as volunteers were treated to a short program of music and guitar trio and intermission, a heritage tour of the theater, and lessons on the theater’s history and architecture by architect Mary Rajelyn

“Raj” Busmente.

The art deco building was designed by renowned architect Juan M. Arellano in 1935 and has been considered a national heritage, being one of Manila’s few remaining pre-war buildings.

The design was inspired

by the German song “On Wings of song” (Auf Flugen de Gesanges) written

by Heinrich Heine and put to music by Felix Mendelssohn. Despite its Western inspiration, the theater still retains its national “Filipinized” theme.

However, years of ne-

glect had led to the deterioration of the theater before it was deemed unusable. This prompted the National Commission for Culture and the Arts to lead METamorphosis.

“Globe as an employer provides its employees with opportunities to nourish their soul through community involvement.

This not only allows the company to give back to the country but also enables our employees to contribute to social development which in turn, keeps them happy and engaged,” said Fernando Esguerra, Director of Globe Corporate Social Responsibility.

Driven by its commitment to sustainability, employee volunteerism enables Globe to create a #WonderfulPH through nation building. Globe provides activity-based and skill-based volunteering to support the work of a partner community or organization by joining various advocacies and providing pro-bono services, skills transfer, or capacity building.

Everyone who shares the same passion for volunteerism and nation building, may explore opportunities with Globe by visiting: www.globe.com. ph/careers.

VOL. 9 ISSUE 46 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2016

EDGEDAVAO

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ENTERTAINMENT

Karla, Melai and Jolina brighten up mornings Ogie Alcasid joins Igan on Tonight with Arnold Clavio OGIE ALCASID GUESTS ON THIS WEDNESDAY’S EPISODE OF “TONIGHT WITH ARNOLD CLAVIO”.

Aside from singing, Ogie is also known for his talent in comedy. As he sits down with Igan, Mr. Songwriter will face some of the show’s “challenges” that will reveal things his fans have yet to know about him.

Ogie will also talk about his love story with wife and Poor Señorita star Regine Velasquez, sharing some of the ups and downs in their relationship as a married couple. In fact, Ogie dedicates his latest single, “Ikaw Ang Buhay Ko,” to the Asia’s Songbird. Ogie performs the song on TWAC. Watch Tonight with Arnold Clavio this Wednesday (May 4), 10:15 p.m. on GMA News TV.

V I E W E R S DEFINITELY WAKE UP TO A GOOD MORNING and celebrate the good life every weekday with favorite “momshies” Karla Estrada, Melai Cantiveros, and Jolina Magdangal in ABS-CBN’s morning talk show “Magandang Buhay.”

With its engaging topics and lessonfilled discussions, “Magandang Buhay” regularly creates buzz online and is a consistent

top trending topic on social media.

“We are very happy that we are always trending and that many viewers enjoy our show.

That’s what we really want for them – to have fun, relate to our stories, and learn valuable lessons in life,” said Melai.

The program’s viewership nationwide is also gaining ground and its ratings continue to strengthen according to Kantar Media.

First-time talk show hosts Karla, Melai, and Jolina, meanwhile, are

also receiving positive feedback from the entertainment media for their hosting skills and very good chemistry.

“Chemistry is something you just can’t learn through a workshop. It’s natural for us, mainly because we are really good friends,” said Karla.

“That is one thing we are proud of. Even before the show started, we already had a genuine relationship with one another. We didn’t have to go through any team-building activity because we already

know each other so well,” said Jolina.

“Magandang Buhay” triples the fun, learning, and experience for viewers in discussing real-life stories of ordinary people and even celebrities that will surely inspire them to live life to the fullest.

Don’t miss “Magandang Buhay,” Mondays to Fridays, 7:30 AM on ABS-CBN or ABS-CBN HD (SkyCable ch 167). Watch also for the latest episodes free on iwantv.com.pho skyondemand.com.ph for Sky subscribers.

GMA Worldwide celebrates 20th year in the business with new milestones GMA WORLDWIDE, INC. (GWI), A WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARY OF GMA NETWORK, is celebrating its 20th anniversary, marking two decades of showcasing GMA programs to the ASEAN region and beyond.

GWI is off to a rousing start this year as it scored another victory with its sale of two toprated Kapuso programs, Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real and My Destiny’s program formats to a Mexican production company, Altavision Producciones, following its groundbreaking sale of Munting Heredera’s rights to Telefilm Atlantico.

“All the popular telenovelas that aired in the Philippines were produced in Mexico,” explains Roxanne J. Barcelona, Vice President of GWI and an expert in program acquisition and syndication. “It makes us proud knowing that viewers in that part of the world will finally get to watch some of our very own productions.”

With 20 years of being in the content distribution and syndication business, GWI has become a force to reckon with

in the international content market, creating new and exciting opportunities for GMA programs and artists.

GWI recently concluded another successful exhibition at the prestigious MIPTV, the world’s most established TV and digital content market

and the largest gathering of entertainment industry professionals held yearly in Cannes.

This year’s MIPTV attracted nearly 11,000 delegates representing 100 countries, 1,620 production companies, 4,000 buyers, and 1,700 exhibiting companies including GWI. For this event, ongoing Kapuso programs Because of You, Hanggang Makita Kang Muli, The Millionaire’s Wife, Poor Señorita, and particularly Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real and My Destiny captured the attention of foreign buyers.

In 2015, GWI sold a total of 4,003 program hours to other countries such as Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, Thailand, Myanmar, Nigeria, Hawaii, Kenya and Zambia, significantly increasing its annual sales by 34 percent.

Truly at the top of its game, GWI is committed to bringing GMA’s content to more territories around the world, while further strengthening its presence in areas where the Kapuso brand continues to thrive.

May 4 – 10, 2016

JUST THE 3 OF US John Lloyd Cruz, Jennylyn Mercado R13

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

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR Chris Evans , Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson PG

1:00 | 4:00 | 7:00 | 10:00 LFS

MOTHER'S DAY Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts, Kate Hudson PG

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

THIS TIME James Reid, Nadine Lustre G

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

EDGEDAVAO

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VOL. 9 ISSUE 46 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2016

EVENT

DOT 11 awards Samal Dive Fest winners

By Bai Fauziah Fatima Sinsuat Ambolodto WITH ITS VAST LAND AREA, Davao surely has some things for everyone. Aside from the usual, Davao’s gulf tourism has since caught the attention of locals and visitors alike. With a very rich biodiversity, what’s under the sea is something to look forward to. As DOT Region 11 Director Robbie Alabado said, “Mindanao is where people would like to dive.”

The recently concluded Under Water Photo Contest, as part of DOT Region 11’s Visit Davao Fun Sale for 2016, is the first Davao Macrodiving contest. It was held from April 19 to 22, 2016 at the Island Garden City of Samal. The Samal Dive Fest was cosponsored by AirAsia, Fujifilm, Abreeza Ayala Malls and Carabao Dive Centre.

The awarding ceremonies took place last April 22, 2016 at the Saranggani Hall of the Marco Polo Hotel.

Spearheading the ceremonies was as our very own DOT Region 11 Director Roberto Alabado III, renowed diver-photographer Jerome Kim and Davao’s very own, Rhonson Ng.

The said event was well-received and attended by DOT Regional Directors from all over the country, divers, photographers, sponsors and friends from the media. Serenading the guests was Davao’s pride, Maan Chua. Said event was hosted was by Mikee Aportadera.

Photos were judged earlier in the day by Jerome Kim, Davao divers and photographers Jojie Alcantara and Stella Estremera.

As Glen Agustin said, “When it comes to diving, all roads lead to the Philippines”. To the winners, Congratulations! May this be just the start of an underwater adventure for everyone to enjoy and appreciate. For the coming

GENSAN PARTNER ESTABLISHMENT years, Cheers!

DOT Davao Region Photographer of the Year Cash prize and AirAsia roundtrip ticket Ton Ghela Compact Class Macro/ Super Macro Category 1st Place: Ronel Bacala 2nd Place: Karlou Butlig 3rd Place: Ivan Padullon Compact Class Marine Life Behaviour Category 1st Place: Ronel Bacala 2nd Place: Ivan Padullon 3rd Place: Karlou Butlig Compact Class Nubi-

branch/Crustaceaan Portrait 1st Place: Jose Rodriguez 2nd Place: Karlou Butlig 3rd Place: Ronel Bacala Open Class Macro/Super Macro Category 1st Place: Ton Ghela 2nd Place: Weng Racho 3rd Place: John Neri Open Class Marine Life Behaviour 1st Place: John Neri 2nd Place: Ton Ghela 3rd Place: Weng Racho Open Class Nubibr a n c h /C r u s t a c e a n Portrait 1st Place: Ton Ghela 2nd Place: John Neri 3rd Place: Weng Racho

DAVAO PARTNER ESTABLISHMENT

VOL. 9 ISSUE 46 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2016

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NEWS EDGEDAVAO Soldiers, cops recover explosives in T’boli town

We are now hiring for the ff. job vacancies:

1. CUSTOMER SERVICE OFFICER (C.S.O.) Scope of Work: • Handling of customer services (e.g. inquiries, complaints, scheduling of services) • Preparation of quotation for clients • STARTING SALARY: P12, 000 (BASED ON PRIOR EXPERIENCE)

2. TECHNICAL ENGINEER (T.E.) Scope of Work: • Installation/Programming/Configuration for the ff. products *CCTV, PABX, PABGM, INTERCOM, BIOMETRICS, ACCESS CONTROL, FIRE ALARM • STARTING SALARY: P13, 000 (BASED ON PRIOR EXPERIENCE) 3.ACCOUNTS MANAGER (A.M.) Scope of Work: • Sales & Marketing for New Clients • STARTING SALARY: P15, 000 UP (BASED ON PRIOR EXPERIENCE)

4. STORE SUPERVISOR Scope of Work: • Responsible for daily store operation • Handling of manpower

Please email your resume to: sales@vmtech.com.ph or marcxtian@yahoo.com For walk in applicants, you may call the ff. branches: Cebu Office: (032) 2380912 Globe: 09173293471 • Sun: 09255014723 Davao Office: (082) 2212789 Globe: 09177952469 • Sun: 09322448030

A

RMY and police personnel recovered on Monday a cache of improvised high-powered explosives allegedly owned

by New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in a makeshift bunker at a remote village in T’boli town in South Cotabato.

Lt. Col. Benjamin Leander, commanding officer of the Army’s 27th Infantry Battalion (IB), said Tuesday they discovered the bunker at around 5:30 a.m. at a portion of Sitio Tabudtud, Barangay New Dumangas in T’boli.

He said they found a total of 19 explosives composed of 12 anti-personnel and seven anti-tank land mines.

“It’s a temporary storage area for the explosives and they (rebels) just retrieve them from there when needed,” he said in a radio interview.

The Army official said

they located the bunker based on a tip from local residents who are already tired of the presence and activities of the NPA rebels.

The village is a known exit and entry point of NPA rebels based in the mountainous portions of T’boli.

NPA rebels had launched a number of attacks in the area in the past years, among them the raid on a police detachment, burning of several heavy equipment contracted by a company running a banana plantation, and the abduction of a member of the 27th IB. The operation on Monday was joined by a police team carrying the arrest warrants of NPA leaders and members who were tagged as behind these attacks.

Some of the suspects, who were earlier spotted in the village, were able to es-

cape prior to the operation.

Leander said they received reports that a number of residents of Sitio Tabudtud are sympathizers of the NPA and had been aware of the presence of the explosives.

He said the South Cotabato Provincial Police Office and the T’boli municipal police station are currently investigating the possible involvement of residents near the site and the owner of the lot in the establishment of the bunker.

“Some of them might have even helped the rebels in the establishment of the bunker so we’re looking at their liability as well,” he said.

Police are also determining whether the recovered explosives are part of a supposed plot by the NPA to disrupt the conduct of the coming May 9 general elections.

(PNA)

HE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has warned candidates that distribution of sample ballots by liners on election day is prohibited as it tantamount to campaigning, which is an offense.

Liners are individuals hired by politicians to distribute sample ballots outside polling places on the day of the election.

Atty. Lerdo Matildo Jr.,

first district election officer, told the Philippines News Agency the election law prohibits any candidate to campaign on election day to include the distribution of sample ballots.

Matildo said the last day of campaign is on May 7, which is two days before the day of the local and national elections.

Matildo said penalties include imprisonment from

one to six years, perpetual disqualification to hold public office, and perpetual disqualification to exercise your right of suffrage.

He advised the candidates to distribute their sample ballots on May 7 to avoid election offenses.

Meanwhile, Matildo has encouraged the voters to be vigilant and to report to them any election offenses committed by candidates. (PNA)

Comelec warns against distribution of sample ballots on election day

T

14 MOTORING EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 9 ISSUE 46 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2016

Take a ride with 2016 Toyota Avanza

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T’S often joked that the typical Filipino family is composed of at least seven people: the parents, the grandparents, two children, and a yaya. This has led to the rise of AUVs or Asian Utility Vehicles, since a 5-seater car can no longer suffice. Even with the phasing out of AUVs in the early 2000’s, the clamor for an affordable family carrier continued and manufacturers have gone through varied routes trying to serve an ever fickle market. The one that has always led the charge is Toyota and their Avanza. Now on its second-generation, it’s become the default choice for those who want seven seats but can’t afford an Innova.

But with an increasing number of choices in the small MPV segment, can the big minor change Avanza continue to lead?

While they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, there’s no contest when it comes to the Avanza’s looks. Picking up where the first-generation model left off, the two-box shape is pleasant and well-proportioned. It’s taller than it’s wider, but it hides that very well. The softened contours are now complimented by a 2015 update that introduces a larger maw, new alloy rims, and new tail lights. It successfully modernizes the small MPV flavor without deviating from the formula too much. There’s only one complaint: Toyota should remove the throwback pillar-mounted antenna to something much more modern—a fin-type antenna, perhaps?

Like its body shell, the Avanza’s interior is pretty much straight-forward.

Those familiar with a Toyota cabin, particularly the Wigo, would feel welcome because of the parts bin switches, steering wheel, button positioning, and ergonomics.

Compared to Toyota’s other Daihatsu-derived vehicle, it feels considerably more solid although there are inconsistent panel gaps and every surface is rock hard. The newest update adds a touch of luxury to an otherwise austere cabin with features such as dark brown fabric seats, piano black and aluminum accents, a touchscreen audio system ,and steering wheel controls all present.

The seating position isn’t as car-like as photos suggest because it’s high and upright, but it’s quite comfortable despite the flat seat

backs. The one unforgiveable thing here is the mirror-image gated shifter which reduces usability and increases confusion (you can actually select the wrong gear at times).

Depending on the quantity of people you need to fit at any given time determines whether or not you’ll consider the Avanza spacious. If five’s the norm and seven the exception, the Avanza’s quite good. The first two rows offer ample comfort even during long rush hour traffic. The second

row actually slides forward to accommodate the knees of those in the third row, but even then it’s best left as set of emergency jump seats.

That said, at least everyone gets their own headrests— even the often forgotten second row middle seat. ISOFIX anchors are also standard now. The third row folds up in a 50/50 split when not in use revealing a vast loading bay. Securing it requires you to hook them up to the second row’s headrest; this feels very archaic, but the added cargo flexibility it of-

fers is welcome.

With the Avanza looking every inch the people carrier, it’s expected to handle like one. Taking a page from the larger Innova, the Avanza uses a “proper” MPV architecture: body-onframe structure driving the rear wheels. Engineered to ferry seven people in such a compact footprint, it rides quite stiffly in all but the smoothest of surfaces.

With one or two passengers onboard, it’ll crash its way through concrete joints and potholes. It’s only when it’s loaded with four or

more people that the ride smoothens out. Despite the tallboy proportions, it feels secure and planted to drive even at speed, although understeer is the norm. The steering is light and requires more turns than usual, but the good visibility means it’s easy to dart this straight out of the box. The brakes though are quite touchy.

Sporting a longitudinally-mounted 1.5-liter 4-cylinder engine, the Avanza can dream of “sports carlike performance”. In truth though, it’s merely adequate. Having to push 1,100 kilograms, this 102-horse-

power, 136 Nm of torque engine shouldn’t feel taxed, but overtaking must be planned with care. From a standstill, there’s good pep and dealing with city traffic is a cinch. As the revs build up though, it starts to lose steam quickly.

That initial sense of urgency is replaced by the booming noise from the motor. It also doesn’t help that the gearbox takes a split-second to downshift after flooring the throttle. It feels like you’re hearing the engine first before you feel the power kicking in; as if it takes that long for power to go from the engine to the gearbox to the propeller shaft to the rear wheels. Thankfully, despite having to floor the accelerator to get decent pace in, fuel economy isn’t affected as much: 8.67 km/L. Going back to the question posted in the beginning: can the big minor change Avanza keep its lead in the small MPV category?

That depends. It’s the Avanza that started the trend of giving Filipinos a wellbuilt family carrier with more features than letters in their name. However, with more and more carbased choices coming in, all promising better handling and a cheaper price, Toyota is finding itself in a pinch. If you want a solid and robust 7-seater that won’t complain on rough roads or when full-loaded, the Avanza’s still the best choice. But as far as comfort goes, it’s starting to feel its age and the other choices seem to trump it in terms of value. All in all, despite the new trimmings, it doesn’t hide the fact that this remains a workhorse of an MPV. Whether or not that’s acceptable, depends entirely up to you.(www. carguide.ph)

VOL. 9 ISSUE 46 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2016

SPORTS 15

EDGEDAVAO

BACK TOO SOON? Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors may be back in the line-up for Game 3.

Curry to suit up in Game 3 S

TEPHEN Curry was expected back on the court for more light shooting Monday to test his sprained right knee, still with the hope he could be ready to return for Golden State’s Game 3 of the Western Conference semi-

finals Saturday at Portland.

Coach Steve Kerr said Monday that the reigning MVP wouldn’t be available for Tuesday night’s Game 2 with the Warriors up 1-0 in the best-of-seven series after a 118-106 win Sunday in the

opener.

Curry only briefly showed his face during the team’s shooting time Monday. Golden State didn’t hold a formal practice but instead watched film and shot around. He didn’t take any shots during

the portion the media could watch.

The superstar point guard sprained the MCL in his knee during a Game 4 first-round victory at Houston on April 24 when he slipped on a wet spot.

CAN’T STOP. Lebron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers led his team past Atlanta Hawks in Game 1.

Lebron, Cavs hold off pesky Hawks

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EBRON James scored 25 points, Kyrie Irving added 21 and the Cleveland Cavaliers withstood a strong comeback by Atlanta to maintain their chokehold on the Hawks with a 104-93 victory on Monday night in the opening game of their second-round Eastern Conference series.

James converted a critical three-point play with 2:09 left for the Cavs, who fell behind in the fourth after leading by 18.

Cleveland swept Atlanta in last year’s Eastern Conference finals and has won eight straight over the Hawks. Cleveland also improved to 9-0 against Atlanta in the postseason.

Dennis Schroder scored a playoff career-high 27 and

rallied the Hawks before they crumbled in the closing minutes. Atlanta’s offense bogged down in crunch time and the Hawks only scored two field goals in the final 4 minutes.

Paul Millsap added 17 points and 13 rebounds for Atlanta, which got just eight points from Jeff Teague.

James’ three-point play, which he punctuated by flexing his biceps, came after he stripped the ball from Schroder and the Cavs kept their possession alive with a pair of offensive rebounds, one by Tristan Thompson, the other

by J.R. Smith.

Game 2 is Wednesday night.

The Cavs didn’t show any rust following an eight-day

break after the first round until the third quarter, when their offense slowed and the Hawks got hot. But when it mattered most, the defending conference champions made the big plays, and as always, James led the way.

Kevin Love, who was injured when the teams met in the postseason last year, added 17 points but was just 4 of 17 from the floor. Thompson added 14 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end.

Cavs coach Tyronn Lue wasn’t worried about his team being overconfident despite its success over the Hawks.

“This team has our team’s attention,” he said before the game. “They’re a good team.

We know they’re capable of

scoring the basketball and playing great defensively.

We’re not going to overlook these guys.”

The Cavs came out strong and seemed intent on knocking out the Hawks. Love, who missed six of his first seven 3-pointers, knocked down a pair from long range and James finished a 2-on-1 break with a thunderous dunk to give Cleveland a 72-54 lead with 4 minutes left in the third.

With Cleveland’s sell-out crowd roaring, the Hawks looked to be in big trouble.

Atlanta, though, responded with its own deep barrage, draining four 3-pointers in a 16-3 spurt to close the quarter and pull within 75-70 entering the fourth.

Adamson lady clouters claim Asaphil titles

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DAMSON claimed two titles in the 10th Summer Grand Slam tournament at the Batangas Sports Complex.

The Lady Falcons overcame University of the Philippines, 7-6, to retain the Women’s Open championship.

It was an all-Adamson battle for the Women’s Club crown, with AdU-C nipping AdU-B, 8-7.

The Philippine Air Force, meanwhile, sustained its top form from the elims to the finals, clobbering the visiting Indonesian team, 9-2, to keep the Men’s Open plum in the tournament sanctioned by the Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines.

The San Antonio Bobcats survived Rizal Technological University, 5-4, to complete a

back-to-back title run in the Men’s Club division of the annual event sponsored by Cebuana Lhuillier.

Close to 50 squads, including teams from Indonesia and Malaysia, saw action in the tournament.

“The 10th year of the Summer Grand Slam has been nothing short of exhilarating. While some did better than the others, every team stepped up their game and delivered their best performance,” said Asaphil president Jean Henri Lhuillier.

“The high level of competition this year was an excellent way to celebrate a decade of this tournament.

I’m looking forward to supporting softball in the Philippines and to empowering more athletes in the coming years.”

USSELL Westbrook had 29 points and 10 assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder held on to beat San Antonio 98-97 on Monday night, evening the series at one game apiece when the Spurs failed to score on a wild sequence in the final seconds.

Kevin Durant added 28 points as the Thunder handed the Spurs just their second home loss of the season, rebounding from a 32-point beating in Game 1.

San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich complained to officials after the game that Dion Waiters went over the allotted five seconds to inbound the ball on Oklahoma City’s final possession. Replays showed Waiters elbowed Manu Ginobili to get the space needed to pass the ball to Durant, who was immediately stripped by Danny Green. Patty Mills missed an open 3-pointer, LaMarcus Aldridge lost the ball after grabbing the airball and Kawhi Leonard was unable to gather the ball before the buzzer sounded.

Aldridge had 41 points, but the Spurs shot 43 percent as a team after shooting 61 percent in the series opener.

Leonard was held to 14 points on 7-for-18 shooting. Ginobili was

the only other San Antonio player in double figures, scoring 11 points on 5-for-8 shooting.

San Antonio missed 12 of its first 13 shots, struggling to even hit the rim after seemingly making every shot it took in the opening quarter of Game 1. The Spurs missed six layups and Green awkwardly tossed a hard runner that ricocheted off the backboard.

Game 3 is Friday at Oklahoma City.

Aldridge had 13 points in the final quarter, including a pair of three-point plays. The All-Star forward drained his second 3-pointer of the season to pull San Antonio within 96-94 and then made three free throws after being fouled by Serge Ibaka to pull the Spurs within 98-97 with 13.5 seconds to set up the final play.

The series of missteps almost wiped away a strong outing by the Thunder.

Oklahoma City moved the ball much better than it did in the opener, providing the space it needed against San Antonio’s collapsing defense and providing Westbrook with room to drive and set up teammates, including a thunderous dunk by Stephen Adams after a pass backward.

Thunder levels series with Spurs at 1-1 R

16 EDGEDAVAO Sports

VOL. 9 ISSUE 46 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2016

EYES ON THE PRIZE Davao’s Lascuna eyes Manila Masters title

By NEILWIN JOSEPH L. BRAVO

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njb@edgedavao.net

AVAO City golfing pride Tony Lascuna will be among the top guns in the hunt for the Manila Masters title at Eastridge.

The veteran Lascuna, winner at Luisita, was drawn to play with Marvin Dumandan and Orlan Sumcad, while Guido Van der Valk of the Netherlands has been grouped with Cassius Casas and Jhonnel Ababa.

Among the top challengers are Miguel Tabuena and defendng champion Angelo Que as they battle for top prize of P650,000 Tabuena, looking for a follow-up to his victory in the kickoff leg at Anvaya Cove, will start with Charles Hong and Ferdie Aunzo.

Que is glad to be back on home soil and confident of retaining his Manila Masters title at Eastridge after a ninth-place finish in a Japan Tour event.

“I feel good and in great

shape. But I’m just really happy to be home because I’ve been away for three weeks,” said Que, who tied for 48th in the Panasonic Open in Chiba before pocketing around P1.5 million by placing ninth in The Crowns in Nagoya on Sunday.

Now he trains his sights on the Philippine Golf Tour.

He starts the tournament with Mars Pucay and Clyde Mondilla.

A host of Koreans are also out to score a breakthrough with Park Min Ung leading their charge along with Seok Jun Min, Kim Chang Yeon, Park Jun Song, Park Chan Jung, Kim Chang Hoi, Charlie Chang, Hwang Kang Youl and Kim In Jae. Dabawenyos Elmer Salvador, Jay Bayron and Rufin Bayron are also entered in the tournament that includes Michael Bi-

bat, Frankie Minoza, Jobim Carl o s , Mhark Fernando, Anthony Fernando, Jun Bernis, Joenard Rates, and Zanieboy Gialon are also seeing action in the tournament organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. and backed by Custom Clubmakers, adidas, KZG, Summit Mineral Water, Srixon, Pacsports, TaylorMade, Sharp and Champion.