Edge Davao 8 Issue 215

P 15.00 • 20 PAGESwww.edgedavao.netVOL. 8 ISSUE 215 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2016

DAVAO City Mayor Rody Duterte has urged those responsible for the

Mamasapano, Maguindanao raid last year to disclose who claimed the $5-million reward offered for the capture of inter-national terrorist Zulkifli bin Abdul alias Marwan and how it was divided.

In a post in his verified Facebook account, former North Cotabato Governor Emmanuel Piñol said Duterte made the statement when he

met with the families of two members of the SAF 44 in Zam-boanga City on Sunday, exactly a year after the raid.

“Duterte said authorities should tell the families of the slain police commandos how the reward money was shared,” Piñol said.

“Where’s the money?” he quoted Duterte as saying.

Piñol said according to Duterte, the operators of the raid, which resulted in the death of the Malaysian bomb

maker and international ter-rorist and also the killing of 44 members of the Special Action Force (SAF) and members the armed groups and several civil-ians in Mamasapano, Maguind-anao, “must tell the truth.”

Piñol said Duterte lat-er said that while the grief of the families of the victims could not be eased by materi-al things, the members of the raiding team must share in the reward money because “more than anybody else, they made

the supreme sacrifice.”The US government, which

has listed Marwan as one of the top international terrorists, of-fered the $5-million reward for anybody who could provide in-formation that could lead to the capture or killing of the Malay-sian bomb-maker.

Piñol said reward money for operations like the Mama-sapano raid to get Marwan is supposed to be given only to the informants but in actual

EDGEDAVAOSports

‘WHERE’S THE$5M REWARD?’

EDGE Serving a seamless society

DAVAO

Rody asks where the reward for slain terrorist wentVP bet Cayetano waxes hot with 37 points for City Hall Executives P16FWHERE, 10

PASSPORT QUEUE. People applying for passports at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) housed inside a mall in Davao City take a nap while lining up and waiting for the office to open. Applicants must line up long before dawn just to be sure they complete their passport application or renewal. Lean Daval Jr.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 215 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2016

DAVAO City administrator Jesus Melchor V. Quitain warned all multilevel

marketing (MLM) companies in the city to follow the laws and ordinances or they will be closed down.

This after Qutain bared yesterday that three other two MLM companies that have the same nature of business as Ja-cama Sales and Marketing met with the city government and

other agencies last week.Quitain said the three

companies were requested to cooperate with government agencies in order to clarify how their operations are be-ing conducted.

“I just told them to follow the rules, laws, and policies of the city, and if they cannot comply they have to stop,” he said.

Jacama’s office had been

locked on January 15 because its business permit was not in accordance with what it had applied for. In its application for business permit, the com-pany indicated it was a “retail” company that would do “a lit-tle wholesale.”

Quitain, however, said it turned out that Jacama’s op-erations and transactions “in-volved investments.”

He said during the meet-

ing with the three companies last week, it was also revealed two other companies have the same nature of business as Ja-cama.

Meanwhile, Quitain said the City Treasurer’s Office (CTO) has not yet started looking into the accounting re-cords of Jacama. He had earlier ordered the CTO to look into the records of Jacama because

2 EDGEDAVAO

NEWS

FREE PRINTS. Volunteers offer free t-shirt printing of different Duterte designs to help boost Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte’s presidential bid. The free t-shirt printing is scheduled every Sunday at Rizal Park in San Pedro Square. Lean Daval Jr.

FORMER Davao City May-or Sara Duterte-Carpio went bald anew, this time

in honor of the 44 Special Ac-tion Force (SAF) troopers who were killed in a bungled police operation in Mamamaspano, Maguindanao last year.

Duterte-Carpio had her head shaven exactly a year after the SAF men were slain during a clash with Moro Is-lamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Bangsamoro Islamic Free-dom Fighters (BIFF) on Janu-ary 25.

The elite troops were on a mission that day to arrest Ma-laysian bomb expert Zulkifli

Bin Hir, alias Marwan, when they were trapped and got waylaid by the Moro rebels in a cornfield. Marwan was also killed during the operation.

“SAF 44. Ok lang mama-tay para sa bansa kung sinabi sa inyo ang katotohanan kung baket kelangan mo mamatay,” Duterte-Carpio posted on her Twitter account.

“#truth #saf 44 I dedicate another #kalbo and another year of my profile pictures in FB, IG and Twitter to the 44 men who bravely faced death to keep us safe and secure in our daily lives. #salute,” she added.

Duerte-Carpio, who is seeking the mayoral post in May as the substitute of her father, Davao City Mayor Ro-drigo R. Duterte, accompanied her post with a photo of her having her head shaven by a barber.

Late last year, Duter-te-Carpio and her two broth-ers – Vice Mayor Paolo Z. Dute-rte and Sebastian Z. Duterte – had their heads also shaven at the height of their peoples’ clamor for their father to run for president.

The vice mayor eventually revealed they had their heads

THE Department of Ener-gy (DOE) appealed for the public’s cooperation

after sporadic attacks on the transmission towers of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) since 2015 that contributed to the worsening of Mindanao’s power supply.

In an emailed state-ment on Sunday, Energy Secretary Zenaida Monsada encouraged Mindanawons to take part in resolving the spate of bombings directed at the NGCP towers perpetrated by unidentified lawless groups.

“We are calling everyone’s cooperation to immediately resolve the ongoing issues in Mindanao, affecting not only NGCP, but the families, individ-uals and business entities who

are experiencing interrupted power supply,” she stated.

The public has been en-couraged to “be vigilant and report suspicious activities in critical areas through the NGCP.”

The power situation in Co-tabato City and the franchise areas of Maguindanao Electric Cooperative Inc. (MAGELCO) was restored Saturday morn-ing after suffering from nine hours of brownout due to the burning of an NGCP transmis-sion pole in Salimbao, Sultan Kudarat town in Maguindan-ao.

In a post on her Facebook on Saturday, NGCP Mindan-ao spokesperson Milfrance Capulong said that, based on initial findings, the burning of

MLM firms told to obey the lawBy ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

[email protected]

Sara goes bald for SAF 44By CHARLES RAYMOND A. MAXEY

DOE appeals for assistancevs. NGCP towers bombings

BALD AGAIN. Former Davao City Mayor Sara Z. Duterte-Carpio has her had shaven for the 44 Special Action Force (SAF) members who were slain in Mamasapano last year. Photo from Inday Sara Duterte-Carpio’s Facebook account

FMLM, 10 FDOE, 10

FSARA, 10

VOL. 8 ISSUE 215 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2016 3EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 8 ISSUE 215 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 20164 NEWS EDGEDAVAO

INFORMAL PARKING AREAS. This spot and many other areas along Roxas Avenue near the night market are turned into parking areas without being harassed by the traffic authorities. All kinds of vehicles, passenger and privately-owned use the instant parking areas. Lean Daval Jr.

THE chair of the Moro Is-lamic Liberation Front (MILF) has appealed

to Congress to give impor-tance to peace by passing the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) because it is “very important, more important than the elec-tion.”

Murad told a press con-ference on Sunday afternoon after unveiling a peace mark-er inside the camp with Man Hee Lee, chair of the South Ko-rea-based Heavenly Culture, World Peace Restoration of Light (HWPL), that what is at stake is the fate “not just of one politician but the entire Bang-samoro and the entire Filipino nation.”

In Manila, also on Sunday, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quin-tos-Deles said passing the BBL will not only improve the fate of the Bangsamoro region but also change the discourse on Mindanao as it will signal the

closing of the armed conflict with the largest Moro rebel group in the country.

“What we need to see at this point in time is the big picture. The farsightedness… because, in reality, this law is not only for the present but it will also affect the future of the Bangsamoro,” the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) press release quoted her as saying.

Deles said the passage of the BBL should not be passed on to the next administration but “rests on the incumbent political leaders we have to-day.”

“We will keep on pushing and not give up hope on this,” she said.

She acknowledged that “it’s a very tight window but those who know the legislative process said that it is still pos-sible.”

6 session days, or 3?

There are only six session days left starting Monday, January 25, until Congress adjourns for the election cam-paign. But Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on the BBL said the House agreed to vote on the bill on January 27 or on the third session day this week.

The House ended its pe-riod of interpellation on De-cember 16 and is now on the period of amendments. Its attendance record last week, however, was dismal. It ad-journed on Monday due to lack of quorum, started the turno en contra on Tuesday but Zamboanga Rep. Celso Lobregat didn’t finish because there was no longer a quorum. The session was adjourned on Wednesday, again due to lack of quorum. Session days are Mondays to Wednesdays.

The Senate has yet to ter-minate its period of interpella-tion. No discussion on the BBL

was made within the three-day sessions last week. On January 27, the target date of the House for passage of its version, the Senate will re-open investiga-tion on the Mamasapano Trag-edy that left 66 persons dead last year – 44 from the Special Action Force of the Philippine National Police, 17 from the MILF and five civilians.

The tragedy’s other ca-sualty was the Bangsamoro peace process as it became the game changer in the 18-year old peace process, 17 of that in negotiations to reach an agree-ment, the rest in implementa-tion.

The government and the MILF had earlier agreed that “the status quo is unaccept-able” and that they would work for the creation of a new autonomous political entity called the Bangsamoro, which would take on a parliamentary form of government. Carolyn O. Arguillas/MindaNews

MEMBERS of the House of Repre-sentatives are still

busy with legislative work a few days days before the adjournment of the 16th Congress. Most knowl-edgeable constituents in the country’s more than 200 congressional districts understand why their con-gressmen and women are not yet in their districts de-spite the onset of the 2016 local and national elections where many of them are candidates or supporters of candidates.

Among these lawmak-ers busy with last-min-ute legislative work this

late are Davao City’s Rep. Isidro T. Ungab and Davao del Norte’s Rep. Anthony “AGR” G. del Rosario.

Rep. Ungab, who heads the powerful House Ap-propriations Committee, will convene tomorrow (Wednesday) the bicam-eral conference commit-tee with Sen. Antonio V. Trillanes IV, head of the Senate civil service com-mittee, to consider the pro-posed government-wide salary increase.

The House and the Sen-ate versions will be harmo-nized in that bicam confer-ence to come with the Sal-ary Standardization Law,

a multi-year pay increase for the bureaucracy. The increase was supposed to have taken effect last Janu-ary 1, if not for the varying versions of the Senate and the House. The Senate ver-sion includes in the salary standardization military and police retirees, while the House version does not.

The inclusion of the military and police retirees will mean an additional P20 billion on top of the P58 billion allocated in the 2016 national budget for this year’s implementation alone, Ungab said. The pay scheme is for implementa-

tion for four years.“With two weeks left

before the 16th Congress adjourns, I’m currently working on another prior-ity bill, ‘An act removing/amending investment re-strictions in specific laws governing adjustment companies, financing com-panies and investment houses cited in the invest-ment negative list,’” accord-ing to Rep, AGR del Rosario, who heads the House com-mittee on economic affairs and senior vice chairman of the House committee on trade and industry.

“The bill will allow up to 100-percent foreign

ownership in the specified companies, thus allowing for further growth in the financial sector, ” the law-maker from the first dis-trict of Davao del Norte, who is running for the gov-ernor of the province.

Rep. del Rosario is either principal author or co-author of 18 bills passed into law. The most significant ones are RA 10667 –The Philippine Competition Law, and RA 10668 –Amendment to the Cabotage Law. Both were mentioned in Presi-dent Aquino’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) last year.

THE executive committee (Execom) for the 2016 Araw ng Davao is final-

izing the budget for this year’s celebration.

In an interview yesterday, Davao City Tourism and Op-erations Office (CTOO) head Lisette Marques said the bud-get was discussed by the com-mittee during its meeting last January 20 but no figures were decided on.

“We are consolidating all the budget. So I think, it was already scrutinized last week,” she said.

Marques said in the next meetings the committee can finalize its final budget de-sign and draft a quotation of

how much this year’s Araw ng Davao will need.

She said the committee is looking for the limitations that the group might encounter in the next days.

“Our ways and means committee through Art Milan (executive vice president) of DLPC (Davao Light and Power Company) is doing its best to raise the funds,” she said.

She said Milan is going to Manila to look for sponsors for this years celebration.

Marques said last year’s celebration cost P9 million, of which P5 million came from the city government

She said the next Execom meeting will be on January 27.

DAVAO City Water Dis-trict (DCWD) has sched-uled two separate sets

of water service interruption affecting some city parts.

First set is on January 27 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.. Af-fected are these areas in Brgy. Tigatto: Jade Valley Road (from junction of Diversion Road to Jade Valley Subd.), Purok 3, San Vicente Ferrer, Jade Valley Subd., Juliville Subd., NCCC Vil-lage, Sitio Uyanguren, Tigatto Relocation, Sto. Niño Hillside and Km. 8, Tigatto. This water service interruption will give way to the tapping of the new-ly installed 100mm diameter Polyvinyl Chloride () pipeline to the existing 150mm diame-ter PVC pipeline for the main-line improvement at Purok 3, San Vicente Ferrer in Brgy. Tigatto. Once completed, said project will allow for accom-modation of additional service connections.

Second set is from 8:00 p.m. of January 29 until 6:00 a.m. of January 30. Areas with

no water are Punta Dumalag, San Isidro Village, Gawad Ka-linga, Barrio Baki and Seagull Beach Resort. Areas that will experience low water pres-sure to no water are Matina Aplaya Road (from Norton Village to Matina Executive Homes), Norton Village, Tan Subd., Victoria Village, Alpha Homes, Del Carmen Village, Seaside Subd., RPJ Village, Ma-tina Aplaya Shanghai Village Homeowners Assn. and Ma-tina Executive Homes. DCWD crew will tap the newly in-stalled 250mm diameter steel pipe crossing at Matina-Apla-ya Road, Matina Aplaya for preventive maintenance pur-poses.

DCWD general manager Edwin V. Regalado asks for the understanding and coopera-tion of would-be affected cus-tomers. He also advises them to store enough water prior to the scheduled water inter-ruptions. Water supply may be restored earlier if work goes smoothly or later if unfore-

Murad to Congress: Pass BBLWater interruption incity parts Jan. 27, 29-30

Ungab, AGR still working on bills before HR adjournmentBy ANTONIO M. AJERO

Araw ng Davao budgetbeing finalized: LisetteBy ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

[email protected]

FWATER, 10

Rep. Isidro T. Ungab

Rep. AGR del Rosario


ECONOMY

THE structural retrofit-ting of the old Sasa air-port to become an “icon

of the richness of Mindanao culture” is expected to be completed by March this year, the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) said.

Janet M. Lopoz, MinDA executive director, said dif-ferent national agencies like the MinDA, National Com-mission on Culture and Arts, Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines target to trans-form the decades-old facility into a cultural village which will showcase the culture of Mindanao.

“There’s an ongoing dis-cussion on the design of the Mindanao Cultural Village,” Lopoz said.

The current design of the old Sasa airport, she said, is fit-

ted for cultural village which will also showcase cultures of member nations of the Brunei Darrusalam, Indonesia, Ma-laysia, Philippines-East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) sub-region.

Aside from being cultural heritage site, the village will also display champion com-modities of the island-region.

Lopoz said the contracted local artist who will do the de-sign of the cultural village is Architect Leandro Locsin.

Once the village is com-pleted, MinDA will sit as tem-porary manager of the facility, which is targeted to be a tour-ist destination for transient tourists.

The project is one of the major deliverables of MinDA on the Mindanao 2020 which is a peace and development

Old airport retrofitting done by [email protected]

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

FOLD, 10CHEAP AND TASTY. A sidewalk eatery along Chavez Street is fast becoming a popular hangout of workers, drivers, and students during lunchtime due to its grilled blue marlin sold for only P35 per order. Lean Daval Jr.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 215 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 20166 EDGEDAVAOTHE ECONOMY

[email protected] CHENEEN R. CAPON

AB O I T I Z - O W N E D Davao Light and Pow-er Co. (DLPC) is eyeing

to ink a supply contract with two independent power pro-ducers in Mindanao to cope with the decreasing power supply from renewable en-ergy sources and at the same time increasing demand in its franchise area.

“The distribution utility is now in negotiation with Alsons-owned Southern Phil-ippines Power Corporation (SPPC) for a 32MW supply that is expected to come in by April this year,” DLPC system operations manager engi-neer Zandro Chad G. Ramon

in yesterday’s Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Annex.

The agreement with the two power companies, once signed, would mean aa com-bined capacity of 112 mega-watt (MW).

Ramon said DLPC has al-ready signed service contract with Alsons Power Group Companies for the 18MW supply from the 100MW die-sel-fired Western Mindanao Power Corporation in Zam-boanga Peninsula.

“Once signed, DLPC will have a total of 50MW supply contract from the Alsons,” Ra-mon told reporters.

Apart from the service

contract it is pursuing with the Alsons Group, DLPC also targets to get 80MW supply from the first 300MW coal-fired power plant of SMC Global Power Holdings of the San Miguel Corporation (SMC).

“The 80MW supply from San Miguel is expected to come by July as the plant is expected to be online by first quarter of this year,” he said.

Ramon said DLPC has ap-plied for competitive supply pricing to Energy Regulatory Commission for the procure-ment of the 80MW contract supply from San Miguel.

The distribution utility

has to seek service contracts with other generation util-ities as the supply from the state-owned hydroelectric power plants of the National Power Corporation-Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (NPC-PSALM) continues to decrease be-cause of the El Niño phenom-enon, he added.

At present, DLPC is re-ceiving an average of 92MW to 105MW of its 151MW con-tract with NPC-PSALM.

Supply from other inde-pendent power producers like the Hedcor Sibulan and Hedcor Talomo decreased as well as the supply from

the Aboitiz-owned Therma South Inc. (TSI) because of the implemented corrective maintenance shutdown in preparation for its commer-cial operation on February 2.

“We have an average of 90MW deficiency in our sup-ply,” Ramon said. “This result-ed to almost four hours of rotating power interruptions split during peak hours and off-peak hours.”

The entry of new power supply from new contracts as well as the full commercial operation of the TSI could spare customers of DLPC from power interruptions, according to him.

However, Ramon feared that the worsening long drought season affecting hy-droelectric power plants will continue to pull down power supply of DLPC.

The demand of its fran-chise area, he added, is pegged at 340MW this month while it is expected to hit 370 MW as the highest demand either by summer or by No-vember this year.

DLPC has more than 350,000 customers in its franchise area which include Davao City, Panabo City, and municipalities of Carmen, Braulio Dujali, and Sto. To-mas.

DLPC to ink contract with 2 firms

VIRTUALLY ALL of the 23 firms under the AN-FLOCOR (Anflo Manage-

ment and Investment Corp.) are going to expand operations or open new business ven-tures this year, according to ANFLOCOR president Anthony Alexander N. Valoria.

Valoria spoke about the ANFLOCOR story in a speech Tuesday before the Rotary Club of East Davao headed by

neurologist Dr. Oscar Escu-dero, composed of entrepre-neurs, business executives, captains of industry and pro-fessionals.

He said the late Don Anto-nio O. Floirendo who came to Davao just after the World War II set up a Ford dealership in Mindanao called Davao Motor Sales or Damosa.

“While we are no longer in the business of motor vehicles,

we have grown to 23 operating companies, with a total asset base of P22 billion and over 16,000 employees,” Valoria said.

He said that in 2014 alone, the Anflo Group contributed over P1 billion in taxes to the coffers of government, he said, adding there is reason to be-lieve the amount will grow to P1.5 billion at the end of 2015.

He said Anflocor today is

divided into three divisions-- the Agriculture Division, the Industrial Division and the Real Estate and Resort Devel-opment Division.

“All divisions and the companies under them are firing strongly on all cylinders and we are actively pursuing expansion or diversification projects in all three divisions,” he said.

THE City Treasurer’s Office (CTO) collected P743.734 from business

permit renewal this year, way higher than the P706.036 it recorded for the same period last year.

This year’s collection rep-resented an increase of P37,

698 out of 32,340 permit appli-cations of the CTO operations from January 3 to 21.

Of the total application, 27,186 businesses are already paid marking an increase from last year’s record of 26,165 during the renewal period.

Last year, CTO also had

31,188 business permit appli-cations.

Of the total collection, P606.997 million came from business tax and P136.737 mil-lion from regulatory and other fees.

The total business tax came from the current business tax

dues, franchise holders, print-ing press and trucks and vans. It also includes the previous bal-ances, surcharges and interests.

The total regulatory fee col-lection, meanwhile, came from business plates, permit fee, gar-bage fee and other regulatory fees.

THE P108-million under-ground cabling project led by the Aboitiz-owned Davao

Light and Power Co. (DLPC) and City Government of Davao will be completed once attachments by different utilities are removed.

“Human na kami (We are al-ready finished). We are just wait-ing for other utilities to take out their attachments in our utility poles,” DLPC assistant vice presi-dent for reputation enhancement Rossano C. Luga, DLPC said during the Kapehan sa Dabaw at SM City Davao Annex Monday.

Luga said other utilities like telecommunication and cable TV providers also use the utility pole of DLPC to attach their connection

wires. “I have read in a newspaper

article that Sky Cable will also start fixing their cables in the area,” he said.

Apart from the Sky Cable, oth-er entities affected by the cabling system project are the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), Davao City Water District (DCWD), PLDT-SMART, Globe Telecom, DC Tech, Abratique and Associates, and BayanTel.

For DLPC, Luga said the utility has already energized its primary and secondary lines within the area covering the vicinity of Davao City Hall up to Sangguniang Pan-lungsod (SP) building since De-

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in the Davao Region is planning to estab-

lish 15 more Negosyo Centers this year in a bid to assist entre-preneurs start and manage their business, a trade official said.

“The opening of Negosyo Centers in Davao Region shall facilitate business entry and sus-tainability through provision of services to Micro and Small Enter-prises (MSMEs),” said DTI 11 di-rector Ma. Belenda Q. Ambi, in her presentation during the Regional Development Council (RDC) 11 recently.

She said six Negosyo Centers were put up last year in the region – Davao City, Digos City in Davao del Sur, Tagum City in Davao del Norte, Mati and Cateel in Davao Oriental and Nabunturan in Com-

postela Valley.She added that the estab-

lishment of these centers came following the implementation of Republic Act (RA) 10644, also known as the Go Negosyo Act.

This, she said, promotes job generation and inclusive growth through the development of SMEs.

Under Sec. 3, it states that the Micro, Small and Medium En-terprise Development (MSMED) Council will supervise the Nego-syo Centers.

It also states that the MSMED Council will encourage public-pri-vate partnerships in the establish-ment and management of Nego-syo Centers.

“The Negosyo Centers shall be responsible for promoting ease of doing business and facilitat-

Anflocor companies expandoperations in 2016: Valoria

Collection on permit renewal hits P743M

DTI eyeing to put up15 Negosyo Centers

DLPC says underground cabling completed soon

BLACKOUT SCHEDULE. Davao Light and Power Company (DLPC) assistant vice president for communications and branding Rosano Luga presents to members of local media the schedule of rotational blackouts that are expected to last for a week. Luga graced yesterday’s Kapehan sa Dabaw at the Annex of SM City Davao. Lean Daval Jr.

By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO [email protected]

FANFLOCOR, 10

FDTI, 10

FDLPC, 10

ANFLOCOR president Anthony Alexander N. Valoria


BIGGER PICTURE

Facing thewater crisisText and Photos by HENRYLITO D. TACIO

(Second of Two Parts)

SO much has been written and said about climate change. But there is one

crisis that has failed to ignite world leaders: water. And to think that water is one of the most important components for a person to live.

“A person can survive only three to five days without water, in some cases people have survived for an average of one week,” says thewa-terpage.com. “Once the body is deprived of fluids the cells and organs in the body begin to deteriorate. The presence of water in the body could mean the difference between life and death.”

“Water is the most pre-cious asset on Earth,” points out Dr. Sandra Postel, director of the Massachusetts-based Global Water Policy Project. “It is the basis of life.” She believes water problems will be right there with climate change as a threat to the hu-man future.

“Although the two are related, water has no substi-tutes,” Postel says. “We can transition away from coal and oil to solar, wind and other re-newable energy sources. But there is no transitioning away from water to something else.”

In a new report released by the Washington, D.C.-based World Resources Institute (WRI), the Philippines was one of the countries iden-tified to experience water stress, which is defined as “the ratio between total wa-ter withdrawals and available renewable surface water at a sub-catchment level.”

Of the 161 countries surveyed by the American think tank, the Philippines was ranked 57th under the “business-as-usual” scenar-io. The country got a score of 3.01 which, according to the study’s water stress threshold levels, is “high.” The ratio of withdrawals to available wa-ter is 40-80%.

The study went further, predicting the degree of water shortage for 3 specific sectors: industrial, domestic, and ag-ricultural. Agriculture got the highest score of 3.26, followed by industrial sector (2.96) and domestic use (2.92). The last two sectors were classified under the “medium to high,” which means the ratio of with-drawals to available water is 20-40%.

The only two members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations which topped the country were Singapore (ranked first, along with seven others: Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, San Marino, United Arab of

Emirates and Palestine) and Indonesia (ranked 51st). The United States was listed 47th while United Kingdom was 69th.

While there is still enough water for every Fil-ipinos these days, the water scarcity will be felt by 2040 -- that’s 25 years from now. “These country-level wa-ter stress projections are intended to provide useful information about potential future water situations that can help drive improved water management at the in-ternational scale,” notes the WRI study.

In the past, water was considered an infinite re-source. This thinking was exemplified by Adam Smith who pointed out in his clas-sic work -- The Wealth of Na-tions -- that unlimited supply of fresh water explained why it cost nothing, even though it was vital to all life.

But it’s not the case any-more. “Unlike the energy crisis, the water crisis is life threatening. The level of suf-fering and misery is almost beyond comprehension,” deplored Klaus Toefer when he was still the executive di-rector of the United Nations Environment Program.

“The necessary sense of urgency is lacking,” said the New York-based United Na-tions Development Program (UNDP) in a statement. “The facts have been staring us in the face for years. While de-mand increases, the annual available fresh water supply per inhabitant is regularly decreasing and is expected to fall to an average 4,800 cu-

bic meters by the year 2025 against 7,300 cubic meters in 1995.”

Earth is a water world as water covers 71% of the world’s total surface. This represents a volume of 1,400 million cubic kilometers, ac-cording to United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNE-SCO). Ninety-seven point five percent is too salty to be con-sumed or used for industrial or agricultural purposes. Fresh water represents 2.5 percent of the water total.

Water is free when it’s flowing in a river or splash-ing against rocks, but it isn’t as soon as people start using it. “It costs money to make good quality water avail-able from taps and then re-turn it to the environment after being treated,” writes Cristina L’Homme in article which appeared in UNESCO Sources. “And the consumer doesn’t always pay for it di-rectly when local authorities or the government are re-sponsible for supply.”

“Free water for individu-als is never free for society,” contends Lionel Robaux of the International Office of Water, especially since the cost of water has spiraled over the past few decades. Prices obviously differ from rich countries to poor.

Water is fundamental for life and health. “The human right to water is indispens-able for leading a healthy life in human dignity,” the UN Committee on Econom-ic, Cultural and Social Rights said. “It is a prerequisite to the realization of all other

human rights.”More often than not, peo-

ple who suffer the most from water stress are those living in urban areas. “It’s a major problem in cities,” Postel says. The Washington, D.C.- based Population Reference Bureau predicts that the urban popu-lation of the country will swell to 56% from the current 44%. As such, the problem is likely to go away.

The current “crisis in wa-ter and sanitation is -- above all -- a crisis of the poor,” notes the UNDP study, Beyond Scar-city: Power, Poverty and the Water Crisis.

A World Bank report said that studies of groundwater quality in some parts of the

country found 58% of the sampled groundwater were tested positive for coliform bacteria. Surveys done by some local government units have indicated that one half or more of their public water systems do not meet drinking water quality standards.

The UN Children’s Fund estimates some nine million people, mostly children, die annually, from water-borne diseases such as cholera, ty-phoid, dysentery, diarrhea, schistosomiasis, malaria, den-gue, and intestinal worm in-fection.

“The toll is equal to 75 large airline crashes daily,” stressed former UNEP Execu-tive Director Elizabeth Dowd-

eswell. “And yet the subject of freshwater is too often crowd-ed off the world media agen-da.”

Water should be given high priority as crisis is just around the corner. “I believe water will be the problem of the 21st century,” Andras Szol-losi-Nagy, a former UNESCO water specialist. “The scientif-ic community is crying out for better water management.”

UNDP consultant Roger Berthelot urged world leaders to pay attention to the crisis before it’s too late. “There will be no peace in the world un-less we are prepared to insure it now by tackling the prob-lems of water, which in some areas are catastrophic.”

Water from the faucet

Too many people, less water

Water is a limiting factor in growing rice.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 215 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 20168 EDGEDAVAO

VANTAGE

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

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EDITORIALNo choice

ONE of the things many Dabawenyos cannot understand is why the rotational blackouts are still being implemented by Davao Light and Power Company (DLPC) even after the inauguration of the

300-megawatt coal-fired power plant of sister company Therma South, Inc. (TSI) just a little over two weeks ago. During the opening, which was graced by President Benigno Aquino himself, the power plant was tout-ed to be the solution to the perennial power shortage that has beset not just Davao City but the entire island of Mindanao for many years now. The plant had had its share of protests from those who believe coal is not a sustainable and environment-friendly form of power generation, and it took a lot of work on the part of its owner, AboitizPower, to convince the city government to allow it to mount the project. The main come-on was that Mindanao needs a more stable source of base power because the hydroelectric plants on which the island has relied are prone to slow-ing down and even stopping during long dry spells. A coal-fired power plant was the solution, we were told, and we were also promised that the technology it would use is state-of-the-art and would not dirty up the environment.

With the rotational blackouts, however, it is apparent that the TSI plant is anything but the solution to our power problems. The finger is being pointed at El Niño, the weather phenomenon that causes drought on this side of the Pacific Ocean and which is leaving the power turbines dry. The TSI power plant notwithstanding, Mindanao still mainly relies on hydropower, and with the rains not having fallen for many months

now, these generators are having trouble running to fill our electricity needs. Of course other factors are also at play in the current crisis. Among them is the rather frequent bombings of towers of the National Grid Cor-poration of the Philippines (NGCP) which have damaged and sometimes even caused the collapse of these structures. The NGCP has called on the government and the private sector to help secure the towers, but this appears to be a peace and order matter that cannot be solved by mere police or military action alone. A comprehensive plan must be adopted that would address the criminal activity as well as the socio-economic conditions that give rise to such acts of banditry in the first place.

One of the fears is that the crisis could stretch out all the way to the month of May — a grim scenario considering that the election is going to be held that month. Indeed, this situation seems to play out almost by clockwork. One remembers that the same issue was raised in the months leading to the 2010 election, with many people expressing the suspicion that the administration then was setting up the entire thing to justify a failure of election should a blackout occur on election day itself. The power crisis also happened in 2013, and now it is rearing its ugly head again.

Whatever the reason, it is imperative that Mindanao finds a way to get out of the regular slump it is placed in by the lack of power. Coal, as we are seeing, is not a solution, and so perhaps it is really time government seriously look at more sustainable forms of energy. As we are seeing, we have no other choice.

SO, a P500-million capitol building of Magu-indanao will rise in Buluan, the hometown of Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu, reports Min-

daNews, January 20. The P500 million includes the P50 million for the 12-hectare site. Of the P450 million for the building, P300 million is from the P1.740 billion Land Bank loan of the provincial government, the P150 million from the province.

What the report did not clarify is this: The capital of Maguindanao is still Shariff Aguak (originally, Maganoy). The provincial govern-ment can transfer the capitol building but not change the capital which only Congress can do.

And more: this is the latest movement in the rigodon of capitols which started after the first division of the “Empire Province” and continuing only in Maguindanao depending on where the governor is from.

Question: Where next will the rigodon take the capitol?

When Cotabato was still the “Empire Prov-ince,” its capital was Cotabato Municipality, un-changed for centuries, even after it had become a chartered city on June 20, 1959. The capitol building was on PC Hill.

On June 18, 1966 when South Cotabato was created, the capital of the other portion of the “Empire Province” – still named Cotabato with the appellation “Mother Province” – was Paga-lungan, the hometown of then Gov. Datu Udtog Matalam and Rep. Salipada K. Pendatun. The capitol complex was built there for the provin-cial government offices.

In 1970, with the Ilaga-Blackshirt atrocities raging, then Gov. Simeon A. Datumanong trans-ferred the provincial government back to the capitol on PC Hill in Cotabato City. Pagalungan

remained as the capital of the “Mother Prov-ince”. When Carlos B. Cajelo took over as Cota-bato governor in January 1972, he held office at the PC Hill capitol.

On March 22, 1973, the “Mother Province” was split into three provinces: Cotabato or, pop-ularly, (North) Cotabato (capital: Kidapawan), Maguindanao (capital: Maganoy, now Shariff Aguak), and Sultan Kudarat (capital: Isulan). The capitols of Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat have never been moved out of their capitals.

In the case of Maguindanao, Datumanong was appointed governor. The provincial capitol was constructed on his land about two kilo-meters west of the national highway. Upon the creation of Regional Commission XII on July 7, 1975, he was appointed commissioner. During his less than two years as governor, on com-plaints due to inconvenience by the provincial employees who were mostly from Cotabato City, the government offices were moved back to the PC Hill capitol only to be later returned to the Maganoy capitol.

Datu Sangacala Baraguir, mayor of Sultan Kudarat town, succeeded as governor. Not long after his appointment, he had the provincial government offices transferred again to Cota-bato City.

After Baraguir, Datus Sandiale Sambola-wan, Zacaria Candao (before and after his stint as ARMM governor) and Norodin Matalam, were elected governors. Candao, during his first

governorship after Sambolawan, established the capitol complex at Simuay Crossing, Sultan Kudarat with Maganoy remaining as the pro-vincial capital.

Contrary to the MindaNews report, the pro-vincial government was moved to Shariff Aguak not in 1998 but in 2001. In 1998, Candao was reelected governor. After unseating Candao in 2001, Gov. Andal Ampatuan held office at Simuay Crossing. He transferred the provincial offices to Shariff Aguak after his convoy was ambushed at Quirino Bridge adjoining Cotaba-to City and Sultan Kudarat on July 3, 2001. (By some reports, it was simulated.) As MindaNews reported, he built a “P120-million capitol com-plex near his private residence” along the high-way.

Datu Andal, as he was popularly called, must have planned for his family to perpetually rule Maguindanao. With his third term to end in 2010, he picked his son, Mayor Andal Ampatu-an, Jr. of Datu Unsay, as his successor. Wanting him to run unopposed, he warned potential opponent Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael Manguda-datu not to run. The latter’s refusal to heed the warning led to the November 23, 2009 Maguin-danao massacre of 58 including 32 journalists, Mangudadatu’s wife, his two sisters and two lawyers.

That was the tragic irony that put an abrupt end to the Ampatuan political rule, perhaps never to rise again. Mangudadatu won the gov-ernorship and is now running for his third term. The P500-million capitol building is a sign of his plan to perpetuate his family’s rule in Maguind-anao? Will this happen and stop the rigodon de capitol?

He will win in the May 9 election? Will his

anointed family successor win in 2019? Win-ning in Maguindanao provincial election de-pends on how dominant blocs align and realign.

In his 2010 run, Mangudadatu was virtually unopposed; a Mastura was his vice governor. In his 2013 reelection, he had a Sinsuat for his vice governor as Datu Tocao O.Mastura opposed him. He is still allied with the Sinsuats in his May 9 reelection. The Sinsuats may oppose him in the 2019 election if denied the governorship. The Ampatuans and the Midtimbangs can ally with the Sinsuats. Mangudadatu needs the sup-port of other blocs to remain in power.

Back to rigodon de capitol, if a Sinsuat is gov-ernor will he or she hold office in Buluan? Will the provincial offices not be brought to Dalican, Datu Odin Sinsuat? If a Mastura or Baraguir is governor will the capitol not go back to Simuay Crossing? If one from the Matalam-Pendatun clan, will offices not return to Pagalungan? If an Iranun is elected, will the capitol not be located in Parang, Buldon, Matanog or Barira? Buluan is in the far edge of Maguindanao.

Unless the Maguindanao leaders change their political culture, the rigodon of capitols will not stop. The Pagalungan capitol complex rotted to the ground; that of Datumanong in Shariff Aguak was vandalized or cannibalized; that in Simuay Crossing is in state of deteriora-tion; the Datu Andal edifice will soon suffer the same fate.

Will the gods be kinder to the Mangudada-tu “state-of-art” capitol? Will the gods stop the rigodon? Who wants to bet?

(Author’s Note: Mind da News, the alternate of COMMENT, is a comment on current news. The author may be contacted at [email protected].)

IF you have an imported pet, please think twice before releasing it into the wild.

Such was the appeal of Dr. Theresa Mun-dita Lim, the director of the Biodiversity Man-agement Bureau (BMB), a line agency of the Department of Environment and Natural Re-sources. Otherwise, you will be contributing to an environmental problem called invasive alien species (IAS).

Lim said that once they are released into the wild, there is a tendency that they may multiply exponentially. “Once these invasive alien spe-cies start to proliferate, they are very difficult to control because they might have already re-placed other species with important functions in the ecosystem. It will require a deeper study before they could be eradicated,” the BMB head was quoted as saying by a national daily.

Described by the US Department of Agri-culture, IAS are plants, animals, and microbes not native to a region which, when introduced either accidentally or intentionally, out-com-pete native species for available resources, re-produce prolifically, and dominate regions and ecosystems.

AIS have been classified into microorgan-isms (avian malaria, banana bunchy top virus, rinderpest virus), aquatic plants (water hya-cinth), land plant (cogon, mimosa, African tulip tree), aquatic invertebrates (green crab, marine clam), land invertebrate (common malaria mosquito, golden apple snail, common wasp), amphibian (bullfrog, cane toad), fish (carp, Mozambique tilapia), bird (Indian myna bird, red-vested bulbul), reptile (brown tree snake), and mammal (domestic cat, goat, mouse, pig, rabbit, and red fox).

In the Philippines, the BMB has identified

about 170 alien or non-endemic species of plants, animals and in-sects that have been recorded as causing dam-age to agricul-ture and local biodiversity.

In Davao City and near-by provinces, the most pro-nounced IAS is the “golden kuhol.” During the 1980s, “golden kuhol” be-came popular as it was touted to be a delicacy. Because it was good food and equally good al-ternative source of income, enterprising farm-ers started raising “golden kuhol” in their back-yards.

But barely three years after its introduction to the Philippines, the snail which is said to have originated from the Amazon River in South America was practically everywhere. The snail multiplies rapidly, a characteristic that trans-formed them from being a rare delicacy to a dreaded pest.

“Golden kuhol” are very prolific; a female snail lays 200 to 500 eggs at a time, and be-tween 1,000 to 1,200 eggs during one month. They proliferate rapidly as their eggs and hatch-lings are transported by rivers and streams. They are dispersed to the rice fields through irrigation water.

“The introduced snail has caused one of the worst biological disasters ever to have affected

Philippine agriculture with its invasion of irri-gated rice fields,” said Dr. Rafael D. Guerrero III, one of the leading experts on fishery. “Because of its prolific breeding and voracious breeding habits, the snail is highly destructive to new-ly-planted rice seedlings.”

In the past, farmers apply pesticides to eradicate the “golden kuhol.” But these days, however, they utilize ducks to control the popu-lation of the pest. In fact, there are some farmers to hire other farmers with ducks to help them clean the rice fields.

Leading experts say that in the Philippines, the threat of IAS is more pronounced in the fish-eries sector.

In his report, “Impacts of Introduced Fresh-water Fishes in the Philippines (1905-2013): A Review and Recommendations,” Dr. Guerre-ro said that during those years in the study, 62 freshwater fishes were introduced in the coun-try for aquaculture (45%), ornamental purpose (42%), recreational fishing (6%) and mosquito control (6%).

The same review showed that 48 (77%) of the introduced fishes are beneficial, 10 (16%) are invasive and four (6%) are potentially inva-sive.

“Not all that are good for other countries is good for us,” reminded Dr. Guerrero, who was formerly the executive director of the Lagu-na-based Philippine Council for Aquatic and Ma-rine Research and Development. “In fact, it can be a big problem.”

Such is the case of knife fish, which has al-ready invaded Laguna de Bay. In an article pub-lished in Business Mirror, Jonathan L. Mayuga described the lake as “one of the biggest aqua-culture hub in the country” as it supplies “70%

of Metro Manila’s daily fish requirement, partic-ularly bangus (milkfish) and tilapia.”

Several IAS has been introduced into the lake; janitor fish and Chinese soft-shelled turtle. “The continuing proliferation of the dreaded knife fish in the lake, however, is now considered a major challenge by concerned government agencies as it threatens the lake’s biodiversity and challenges the lake’s economic productivi-ty,” Mayuga wrote.

The invasion of knife fish was first reported in 2012. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources believes the infestation “started with the accidental release by hobbyists in the river that drains to the Laguna de Bay. The fish even-tually found its way into the lake, where it now thrives and threaten to render other native fish extinct.”

According to the Convention on Biological Diversity, IAS is one of the main culprits of bio-diversity loss around the world. Just to eliminate those alien species cost the global economy hun-dreds of billions of dollars annually.

“After habitat loss, this biological invasion constitutes the greatest threat to biodiversity, and it has already had devastating consequenc-es for the planet,” says an official of the World Conservation Union. “The economic bill runs into tens of billions of dollars every year. Pests, weeds and pathogens, introduced deliberately or accidentally, reduce crop and stock yields, and degrade marine and freshwater ecosystems.”

In the film War of the Worlds (which was top-billed Tom Cruise), the Martians were de-feated by an Earthly infection – perhaps a bout of flu – to which they had no resistance. Real world aliens, however, are often made of sterner stuff.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 215 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2016 VANTAGE POINTS 9EDGEDAVAO

Invasion of alien species

Bet? Not end of Capitol rigodon

BY PATRICIO P. DIAZMIND DA NEWS

Henrylito D. [email protected]

THINK ON THESE!

VOL. 8 ISSUE 215 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 201610 EDGEDAVAONEWS

Old... FROM 5

Anflocor... FROM 6

Water... FROM 4

DTI... FROM 6

WHERE... FROM 1 MLM... FROM 2

DOE... FROM 2

DLPC... FROM 6

Sara... FROM 2

framework plan for the island region, according to Lopoz.

She earlier said that project will be a promotions center for Mindanao and will be funded by the Tourism In-frastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZACAAP and MinDA.

The rehabilitation and development of the old air-port has is projected to cost P179.34 million.

The first phase of the project alone which involves the structural retrofitting to

the old structure and rehabili-tation costs P93.5 million, she added.

Known as the Francisco Bangoy International Airport or Sasa Airport, the facility began operation in the 1940s catering to domestic and in-ternational flights. Airport operations, however, were stopped after the opening of the new terminal in 2003.

In 2008, there were pro-posals to convert the old air-port area into a business pro-cess outsourcing (BPO) hub.

practice it is usually shared be-tween the informant and those responsible in carrying out the operations.

“While government oper-atives are not supposed to get a share of the reward money, the reality on the ground is that police operatives also get to claim part of the reward in an arrangement made among the participants of the operation,” he said.

Piñol said Duterte also lambasted the government handlers of the families of the SAF 44 for their “incompe-tence” in attending to the needs of the families.

“You promised to give them (the families) a house but what was built was a dog house,” he quoted the mayor as saying.

He said Duterte told the families of two members of the SAF 44 yesterday that he knew “something” about the ill-fated mission and that he would be willing to tell the truth “under oath.”

Saying he was at the com-mand center in Andrews Base in Zamboanga City with Presi-dent Aquino and then interior

secretary Manuel Roxas III in the afternoon of January 25, he knew something on what transpired in the command center.

“I know something about the government action during the Mamasapano incident be-cause I was at the base camp with President Aquino, and if I am called to the Senate inqui-ry I will tell the truth of what I know because I have the moral obligation to tell what I know,” Piñol quoted Duterte as saying.

“If I will be called, I will be forced to tell the truth because I would be under oath, there’s no point in telling a lie with another lie,” he told Erica Pab-alinas, the widow of Chief Insp. Ryan Pabalinas, who led the predawn SAF assault on Mar-wan’s hideout in Mamasapano.

Duterte and Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, his running mate in the May presidential election, flew to Zamboanga City after a trip to Ipil town in Zamboanga Sibugay to attend a Federalism Forum orga-nized by the advocacy group Hugpong Pederalismo. EDGE-DAVAO

he wants to know if it has been paying the right taxes.

Quitain had earlier said the capital amount the company declared was only P250,000 even thought it had millions of pesos in transactions.

He also cited an adviso-

ry issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that said the company sells products “merely a ruse to make it appear that the company is engaged in the marketing and distribution of products.”

a transmission pole at 10:57 p.m. last Friday was due to power line sabotage.

She said that repair works were completed at 7:14 a.m. af-ter the NGCP constructed a modified lightweight tower to immediately restore power.

“NGCP is doing all it can to ensure continued, uninter-rupted power transmission services all over the country,” she said.

“However, power inter-ruptions caused by force ma-jeure events like sabotage and tower bombings are beyond our control,” she added.

Support from the nation-al government, local govern-ment units, law enforcement agencies such as the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines was encouraged to help secure the transmission lines to prevent further worsening the power situation in Mindanao.

18 towers down since 2015Last year, 16 NGCP towers

were bombed.According to Capulong,

seven towers were downed last December alone: Towers 25, 19, 20, 95, 68, 168, and 153.

Two towers were bombed in a span of three days this month.

The latest was Tower 50 of Agus 2-Kibawe 138 KV line located in the municipality of Bubong, Lanao del Sur, which was bombed last January 18.

Tower 63 at Purok 4, Ba-rangay Pagangan in Aleosan town, North Cotabato, along the Kabacan-Sultan Kudarat 138-KV line, was attacked last January 14 but restored last January 16.

“NGCP stresses that the bombings only aggravate the tenuous power situation in Mindanao. The incoming 600MW of generation capaci-ty from new power plants will not be sufficient to relieve Min-danao of its energy problems unless the bombing of trans-mission facilities are stopped,” she said.

Repair works on Tower 25 in Ramain, Lanao del Norte cannot be conducted and that Agus 1 and Agus 2 have re-mained to be isolated from the Mindanao grid after landown-ers Johnny Sambitori, Intan Sambitori, and Naguib Sam-bitori demanded that the gov-ernment pay unsettled claims for the lot where the tower stands.

At least 58 MW was lost in the Mindanao grid after the incident. Antonio L. Colina IV/MindaNews

shaven in support of their mother Elizabeth Zimmerman, who is fighting cancer.

Mayor Duterte, who is now seeking the presidency in the coming electoral exercise, on Sunday said the SAF men were led to the “lion’s lair” that fate-ful day.

Duterte also vowed to tell

what he knew about the oper-ation if ever he gets invited in the re-opening of the Senate inquiry in an attempt to uncov-er the real truth on the tragedy.

Duterte was in Zamboanga City last Sunday and met with the relatives of the two SAF men who died in Mamasapa-no.

Republic of the PhilippinesDepartment of Transporta-

tion and CommunicationLAND TRANSPORTATION

FRANCHISING AND REGULATORY BOARDRegional Office No. XI

Davao City

Petition for Renewal of a Certificate of Public Convenience to operate a PUJ DUAL Ordinary Regular Service

Case No. 2001-XI-02733

ALAN S. SEROY,Petitioner

x- - - - - - - - - - - - - - --x

NOTICE OF HEARING

Petitioner is a grantee of a Certificate of Public Con-venience issued in this case authorizing the operation of a PUJ-DUAL Ordinary Regular Service on the route: BUN-AWAN VIA SASA and for car-goes as dual service from said route to any point in Region XI with the use of ONE (1) unit, which Certificate will expire on January 31, 2017. In the petition filed on January 7, 2016, petitioner request au-thority to extend the validity of said certificate to operate along the same route with the use of the same unit previous-ly authorized.

NOTICE, is hereby giv-en that this petition will be heard by this Board on FEB-RUARY 9, 2016 at 09:00 a.m. at this office at the above address.

At least, TEN (10) days prior to the above date peti-tioner shall publish this No-tice once in a one (1) daily newspaper of general circula-tion in Mindanao

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

This petition will be acted upon by this Board on the ba-sis of its records and the doc-umentary evidence submit-ted by the parties, unless the Board deems it necessary to receive additional documen-tary and/or oral evidence.

WITNESS the Honorable BENJAMIN A. GO, CESO V, Re-gional Director, this 8th day of January 2016 at Davao City.

TERESITA DELA PEÑA-YÑIGUEZ

Chief Transportation Development Officer

Republic of the PhilippinesDepartment of Transportation

and CommunicationLAND TRANSPORTATION

FRANCHISING AND REGULATORY BOARDRegional Office No. XI

Davao City

Petition for Approval of Sale and Transfer Of Unit with Renewal a Certificate of Public Convenience to operate a PUJ DUAL Ordinary Regular Service

Case No. 2016-XI-00028(2001-XI-02859)

CONRADO U. IBASCO,Petitioner-Vendor

LUZ L. ATAMOSA,Petitioner-Vendee

x- - - - - - - - - - - - - - --x

NOTICE OF HEARING

Petitioners request author-ity for the Approval of Sale and Transfer executed by CONRADO U. IBASCO in favor of LUZ L. AT-AMOSA of a Certificate of Public Convenience with Equipment is-sued in this case authorizing the operation of a PUJ DUAL Ordi-nary Regular service on the route: TIBUNGCO VIA BUHANGIN and for cargoes as dual service from said route to any point in Region XI with the use of ONE (1) unit, which Certificate wil expire on November 4, 2016. In the same petition filed on January 11, 2016, petitioners likewise request au-thority to extend the validity of said certificate to operate along the same route with the use of the same unit previously authorized.ll valid and subsisting up to Decem-ber 15, 2019.

NOTICE, is hereby given that this petition will be heard by this Board on FEBRUARY 10, 2016 at 09:20 a.m. at this office at the above address.

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

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

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

WITNESS the Honorable BENJAMIN A. GO, CESO V, Re-gional Director, this 12th day of January 2016 at Davao City.

TERESITA DELA PEÑA-YÑIGUEZ Chief Transportation Development Officer

seen problems arise. The general public may

visit DCWD website (www.davao-water.gov.ph) and of-ficial Facebook page (www.facebook.com/davaowater) or call the Central Information Unit / Call Center through the 24-hour hotline 297-DCWD

(3293) and press “1” on their phone dial to listen to latest daily water updates. They may also call / text 0927-7988966, 0925-5113293 and 0908-4410653 for other updates, complaints, queries and mat-ters pertaining to DCWD ser-vices. (Jamae G. Dela Cruz)

In the Agriculture Divi-sion, Tagum Agricultural De-velopment Co. (Tadeco) is the group’s most known company and indeed has been the flag-ship of the Anflocor Group.

“The Philippines is the sec-ond largest exporter of Caven-dish bananas in the world, and we are second only to Ecuador as Ecuador simply has more hectarageplanted to bananas,” Valoria said.

However, the Philippines has the highest yield per hect-are and, within the Philippines, Tadeco has the highest yield per hectare by far, he said, “thus we lay claim to the title that Tadeco is the best banana plantation in the world.”

According to the Anflocor executive, “Tadeco is one of the very few Global Gap-certi-fied banana companies in the world and I am proud to say that we are a 100% Filipino crew.”

Anflo Banana Corporation ((ABC), Anflo’s vehicle for ba-nana expansion, has opened up 800 new hectares in Davao del Sur, Compostela Valley and Davao Oriental, Valoria said.

“For the Anflocor group, just as exciting and fulfilling as commercial success is the way we are able to uplift a commu-nity and the people therein; to enable the people to achieve their aspirations and dreams for their families and most es-pecially for their children,” he said, addding“we enshrined in Anflocor’s Vision Statement the phrase ‘and thereby be a vehicle for the sustained up-liftment of quality of life for the people in Mindanao.’

Valmoria also spoke about Damosa Land Inc.(DLI) which spearheads projects in the

Real Estate Division. He said DLI has launched

a number of new residential projects such as DamosaFair-lane in Lanang and Seawind in Sasa.

“Seawind will comprise of six buildings with over 1,000 units and with exciting ameni-ties,” he said, as he bared that Seawind was launched only last year and already the first three building are sold.

“DLI will launch other large projects this year, also with continuing projects un-der joint venture arrange-ments with Ayala Land such as Abreeza Mall and its surround-ing condominium towers as well as the Avida towers here in downtown Davao,” he said. “We have a similar project with Ayala Land in Cagayan de Oro City anchored on the Centrio Mall.”

Under the Industrial Di-vision, Valoria said, their new investments have been pri-marily in Davao International Container Terminal: first we diversified from only break bulk operations into contain-er port operations as well and now we are expanding such operations that will effectively double our current capacity by July 2016. And by that time, our new investment into container port operations would have reached P4.5 billion.

In 2015, the total contain-er through-put in DICT was 267,283 TEUs (or Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) which was up from 2014 by 17.2%. I esti-mate that to be a market share of around 56% of all the foreign container trade (meaning ex-cluding domestic containers) serviced by the various ports in Davao. ANTONIO M. AJERO

ing access to services for MSMEs within its jurisdiction,” it added.

According to Sec. 4 of RA 10644, the center also coordi-nates and facilitates processes of government related to the set-up and management of MSMEs; ac-cept and facilitate all registration application of MSMEs; coordinate with the respective local govern-ment units (LGUs) and liaise with concerned government agencies to process the duly accomplished forms submitted by the MSMEs.

It will also integrate a unified business process system for MS-MEs; monitor and recommend business-process improvement for MSMEs; encourage govern-ment institutions that are related to the business application pro-cess to help promulgate infor-

mation regarding the Negosyo Center; provide information and services in training, financing and marketing; and support private sector activities relating to MSMEs development.

The center will also co-orga-nize with the local chambers of commerce and other business or-ganizations a mentoring program for prospective and current entre-preneurs and investors; build local support networks and establish market linkages for MSME devel-opment; coordinate with schools and organizations on the develop-ment of youth entrepreneurship program; and encourage women entrepreneurship by giving wom-en access to information, support, training and credit facilities. (An-tonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)

cember 28 last year.“We have already pulled-out

our distribution lines in the area,” Luga added. “Since our lines are al-ready energized, it can now serve our customers in the area.”

The DLPC initiated the proj-ect by allocating P70 million for the excavation process.

Once all messy and tangled overhead wires are fixed, the DLPC will also remove the utility poles installed in the surrounding area which the project is piloted in a bid to improve the competitive-ness and attractiveness of the city to both tourists and investors.

“There will be more spaces in the area once the poles are re-moved,” Luga said, adding that the area can be compared with the

Bonifacio Global City in Makati City where the underground ca-bling system is already being im-plemented.

Setting wires underground, he said, make utility services like power and cable TV less suscepti-ble to extreme weather conditions and more business -friendly.

Luga also said the city govern-ment can replace pole with plants to improve the aesthetic aspect of the City Hall Area.

The project is anchored to Davao City’s Ordinance No. 0177 - 14 series of 2014 which states that “all electrical and telecommu-nication wires and cables within the vicinity of City Hall and the City Council will be placed under-ground.” CHENEEN R. CAPON

glass. It is not air-condi-tioned but the sea breeze is enough to make you fresh and cool. In the early morning of the 24th, I saw Armand and Kent already swim-ming at the beach front. I joined them later after taking some photos of them playing in the water. The two girls also came running. The sand is powdery white and even if you don’t wear slippers, you won’t have a hard

time standing out there as there are no “stones” that may cut the skin of your feet. A few hours before Christmas Eve, we went to a nearby beach resort where we had our din-ner. A band was playing before a group of visitors. Kent even sang a song which stunned us as we didn’t know that he could sing.

Last Christmas, I did the unthinkable to most Filipinos. I went together with my friends to see a soon-to-be-opened beach resort, did some island hopping, got mesmerized by a river, and climbed the upper portion of the Niagara Falls of the Phil-ippines. Two days before Christmas, we -- Arman-do Mortejo, Kent Abe, Nelcil Cyrus, and myself -- left Davao City even before the first rays of the sun came out. So early that Fritzie Avelino (the reigning Mutya ng Davao del Sur) was left behind. It was already 10 in the morning when we ar-rived at Cagwait, 32 ki-lometers away from the capital Tandag. Being a fourth class municipality, it was so peaceful. In fact, if someone drops a coin, you could probably hear

it. After eating our break-fast, we immediately went to the place where we would be staying for a couple of nights. Sunday Pareja, the owner himself of Wonderland Beach Re-sort, brought us there. It was a bungalow type, located at the upper por-tion of the two-hectare resort. There were two-story but we decided to stay at the second floor in order for us to see the clear view of the sea. A new different type of bungalow was being built just a few distances from where we were staying. Eight more will be built in the coming years. “A few guests have al-ready stayed here,” Pareja told us. The place is not far from the town proper. Each unit has a bathroom and a kitchen; more than half of it is enclosed with

EXPLORING SURIGAOIF YOU HAD A CHOICE, how would you want to spend the most celebrated season of the year: with your family or with your friends in some of the finest tourist attrac-tions in Surigao del Sur?

SURIGAO A4

The sand is powdery white and even if you don’t wear slippers, you won’t

have a hard time standing out there as there are no

“stones” that may cut the skin of your feet.

By Henrylito D. Tacio

TRAVELEDGEDAVAOINdulge!

Idylic Boslon Island.

Surigao’s famous Enchanted River

Sunday Pareja interviewed by the author

Selfie time at Naked Island.


A2 INdulge! EDGEDAVAOEVENT

2000-strong crowd turns upfor SM Lanang Premier’s New Year’s Eve party

ON DECEMBER 31, the Countdown to 2016 New Year’s Party at SM Lanang Premier saw over 2,000 guests joining the revelries at the mall Fountain Court grounds. The crowd got into the festive spirit, raving to the mixes of Davao-based DJs Niel Recinto and Pae Dobles and live percussions from DJ Elmer Dado and Gruppo Tribale. Local boy band, Next Option, performed songs while DJ Wacky Masbad hosted the event. Confetti and multicolored balloons rained on the guests as the clock struck 12 midnight. The Fountain Court was filled with families and friends having a ball at the al-fresco restaurants – Vikings, Mesa, French Baker, Dayaw Coffee & Tea, Kuya J Restaurant and Banana Leaf, which opened from 9pm to 1 am. The Countdown to 2016 New Year’s Party at The Fountain Court grounds was simulcast live nation-wide via GMA 7. It was organized by SM Lanang Premier with the support of Manic Nightnings Pro-ductions and GMA Davao (Regional TV). Now on its third year at the mall’s Fountain Court, the said event was set to draw tourists and locals alike to a fun party sans fireworks at the city’s premier life-style destination.


INdulge! A3EDGEDAVAOENTERTAINMENT

Barbie Forteza reacts to being called ka-peg ni Judy Ann Santos by Bb. Joyce Bernal

Stephanie Sol shows off abs for shootIT’S BEEN A YEAR since the Kapuso artist started her #project-StephFITup. It looks like her hard work paid off since she did an abdominal shoot for her birthday this year. “Bawal huminga,” she said on her In-stagram post while

looking all serious in the video. During her free time, Stephanie spends time in the gym to focus on de-veloping her physi-cal features. She said pertaining to her abdominal muscles, “Konting push pa, mapapasa akin ka rin. Pakipot ka sobra ha. Pinapahirapan mo ako pero pusuin kita.”

She also told her followers to accom-pany her to the gym, “Samahan niyo kasi ako para mas ma-in-spire at ma-motivate ako.” The actress-TV host may not have her dream body yet but she’s up to get it, “Far from where I want to be… but I will get there #On-eStephataTime.”

DURING THE PRESS CONFERENCE of That’s My Amboy, the show’s director, Bb. Joyce Bernal, declared: “Nakitaan ko na siya ng Judy Ann Santos na peg,” referring to the teleserye’s star, Barbie Forteza. When asked by the press why she thinks Direk Joyce feels that way, the young actress quips, “Feeling ko alam ko na kung bakit ‘yun ang naisip ni Direk Joyce,” talking about her once

“chubby cheeks.” Reporters were quick to comment, “Payat na payat na nga siya,” to which the actress jokingly admitted, “Hanggang ngayon naman po, ‘wag na po tayo magsinungaling.” On a serious note, Barbie confessed, “Nakakatuwa ng sobra sobra, dahil batikang director na po talaga si Binibini (Joyce Bernal). Tapos, ngayon ko lang nalaman, actually ngayon lang talaga, na ganun ‘yung tingin niya sa akin, nakaka-pressure tuloy,

dahil alam naman nating lahat na sobrang sobrang galing ni Ms. Judy Ann Santos.” She elaborates, “Masyadong, parang, hindi siya makatotohanan for me. Kasi parang ang layo, as in sobrang sobrang layo po talaga. Pero, I will do my very best, para ma-maintain ko ‘yung ganung vision sa akin ni Direk Joyce.” The actress also added, “Lalo akong nai-inspire mag-work, kasi parang ‘yung mga idols ko nakikilala na ako. Dream come true.”

R13/

*PG

R16 / *R16

G12:00 | 2:00 | 4:00 | 6:00 | 8:00 | 10:00 LFS

ALVIN & THE CHIPMUNKS:THE ROAD CHIP

Bella Thorne, Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting, Justin Long

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

THE BIG SHORT/*STAR WARS VII

12:00 | 2:00 | 4:00 LFS / * 6:00 | 8:00 | 10:00 LFS

CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES/ *JERUZALEM

John Travolta, Michael Pitt/* Yael Grobglas, Yon Tumarkin

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

Christian Bale, Steve Carell,

Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt/*Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher

THE 5TH WAVE

Chloe Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson

January 22 – 26, 2016

Watch Groundbreaking Indie Films for only P25 Exclusively on SKY PAY-PER-VIEWMORE AND MORE g r o u n d b r e a k i n g independent films have been making waves in the Philippine cinema industry these days. In fact, modern Filipino viewers are looking for more of these quality, unique, and creatively-crafted cinematic productions. If you and your family are into indie films, you don’t have to wait for annual film festivals just to enjoy these films.

Get to experience the artistic wonder of indie films right in the comforts of home with SKY’s latest offerings. Catch two quality indie films, Bitukang Manok and Resbak exclusively on SKYcable and Destiny Cable.

Bitukang Manok, directed by Alec Figuracion, is a horror-

suspense film about a seemingly never-ending road leading nowhere. It features Quezon Province’s famed Old Maharlika Highway, referred to as “Bitukang Manok” because of its sharp curves, where three groups of strangers find themselves isolated and trapped by mysterious, supernatural forces. As they try to leave and survive the long and winding road they must confront their psychological demons and challenge the unknown, unexplainable forces behind their situation. Bitukang Manok stars Missy Maramara, Guji Lorenzana, Ken Anderson, and Mara Lopez. Bitukang Manok will be aired on channel 22 (SD) and channel 702 (HD).

Kapamilya stars,

Nash Aguas and Ejay Falcon, star in the indie film, Resbak, directed by Toto Natividad. This is Nash Aguas’ first indie action film where he portrays the role of a street kid whose father (Ejay Falcon) used to be a notorious hitman. Eventually though, he found himself in the same criminal path as his father. However, despite attempts by his father to leave behind his old life, a random act of violence will bring him back to his old ways in order to save his son’s life. Catch Resbak in HD on channel 703 and SD on channel 23.

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On Christmas Day, we made it to the Britania Is-lands of San Agustin. Li-anga Bay, which faces the Pacific Ocean, has 24 is-lands and islets scattered all over its water. The group of islands is called Britania, named after its barangay. Most of the islands are unoccupied with minimal or no vege-tation but are surrounded with crystal clear waters. During our trip, we first went to Naked Is-land. There are no trees or huge boulders. It’s just plain white sand floating on top of the water. Next was Hagonoy Is-land. From a distance, we were mesmerized

by its beauty. Scattered throughout the island were few coconuts, which provided us some shade during our brief stay. The clear water was too good to be true. When our naked feet touched the powdery white sand, it felt great. We took more steps and before we knew it, we were running here and there. It was a haven, indeed. The third we visited was named Boslon, the largest among the group. After taking our lunch, we couldn’t resist the temptation of the cool waters. We took a plunge and really had fun time swimming. It was too good to be true. It was the

A4 INdulge!TRAVEL

SURIGAO A4 Hagonoy Island.

The author at Tinuy-an Falls.

perfect island to chill and stay for a while. It was almost one in the

afternoon when we left Boslon. Our final stop-over was Hiyor-hiyoran, the island with the most vegetation. There two boats docking and some people were swimming along its shores. But since we were tired already, we didn’t explore the island. After taking some photos, we decided it was time to go home. On the 26th, we visited the two most-often talked about: Enchanted River and Tinuy-an Falls. Staring at the Enchant-ed River looks like view-ing a photograph being photoshopped; it reminds you of the movie Blue La-goon. . The waters are so

crystal clear that you can see even the deepest part. If you don’t know much about swimming, try to swim in the area where there the shade of color is from blue to green; once it is darker blue, it means it is deep already. But what is baffling is that the waters look so shallow but no one really knows how deep the river is. There were some sto-ries circulated that a for-eigner tried to plunge into the visible riverbed and finds it unfathomable. Meanwhile, Tinuy-an Falls is touted to be the widest waterfalls in the country. Its critically ac-claimed majestic and

unique natural formation landed in some pages of international travel maga-zines. What makes Tinuy-an Falls exceptional is that the 95-meter wide wa-terfall plunges 55 meters (180 feet) high from the top of the three tiered cas-cading waters that looks like a huge white theatri-cal curtain. Wonderland Beach Resort, Britania Islands, Enchanted River, and Tinuy-an Falls. Indeed, what a wonderful time to see these places during the Christmas season. Perhaps this coming summer, I may plan to go back. Who knows?

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 8 ISSUE 215 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2016


COMPETITIVE EDGE

THE credit image of the Philippines got another boost with the latest pos-

itive rating action from NICE Investors Service, which cited governance reforms and in-vestment prospects resulting from an intensified campaign for infrastructure develop-ment.

NICE upgraded the coun-try’s credit rating by a notch from the minimum invest-ment grade of BBB- to BBB. The move has tightly secured the Philippines’ place within the investment-grade territo-ry.

In a statement released re-cently, NICE said the upgrade was anchored on “improved government transparency as well as enhanced environment backed by expanded infra-structure and social overhead capitals in the form of pub-lic-private partnerships.”

The upgrade came amid sustained rise in infrastructure investments. From 1.8 percent of gross domestic product in 2010, the government’s infra-structure budget rises to 5 per-cent of GDP this year.

Also, infrastructure con-tracts amounting to $4.8

billion has been awarded to private-sector investors since 2010, making the Aquino ad-ministration the most active in promoting public-private part-nerships for infrastructure.

The Philippines’ new cred-it rating with NICE is assigned a “stable” outlook, indicatingit may stay the same at least over the short termdespite chal-lenges posed by external de-velopments.

Compared with peers, NICE said, the Philippines is seen more resilient to shocks, including the impact of a slow-ing Chinese economy and mar-ket volatility arising from high-er interest rates in the United States.

“Considering its trade structure and strong FX [for-eign exchange] liquidity, the impact of global economic un-certainties such as slowdown of Chinese economy and US interest rate hike will be man-ageable,” NICE said.

The credit watchdog ex-pects the Philippines to sustain a robust economic growth of 6.3 percent over the medium term.

Meantime, economic offi-cials welcomed the latest cred-

it-rating upgrade, which marks the 24th positive rating action for the Philippines under the Aquino administration (9 out-look changes to “positive” and 15 actual hikes in credit ratings from various agencies).

“The string of favorable actions from credit rating agencies, the latest of which is from NICE Investors Service, resonates the process of eco-nomic strengthening that the Philippines has undergone over the years. Contributory to this process were sound mon-etary policy and bank supervi-sion, which have played crucial roles in promoting a stable inflation environment and a strong financial system,” BSP Governor Amando M. Tetang-co, Jr. said.

Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima remarked, “Virtu-ous cycles come from dogged discipline, even when political headwinds seem too strong. Expanded fiscal space has opened up a pandora’s box of opportunities in infrastruc-ture, allowing us to play a fast game of catch-up with our neighbors.

With increased transpar-ency, we have empowered

citizens who participate in the process of governance, and who--having known the gains reforms can bring--will refuse to roll back progress.” Purisi-ma also noted that with this latest credit rating action, Fitch remains the only agency to as-sign the minimum investment grade to the Philippines.

The Investor Relations Office (IRO) said upgrades in credit ratings have provided concrete benefits for the econ-omy, including improved busi-ness confidence and reduced borrowing cost for the gov-ernment. The latter has helped lower commercial lending rates for consumers and busi-nesses as well.

“The investment grade sovereign credit ratings that the Philippines now enjoys are a result of a long a tedious process of economic transfor-mation. Taking the country’s favorable credit image for granted -- and reversing the reforms implemented over the years -- would be costly. It is upon each Filipino to see to it that the economic transfor-mation of the Philippines is sustained over the long haul,” Martin said.

TWELVE engineering, in-formation technology, and math undergradu-

ates have received financial assistance as well as intern-ship and other opportunities after being presented with scholarship grants by mobile leader Smart Communica-tions, under its Smart Wire-less Engineering Education Program (SWEEP).

The latest batch of SWEEP scholars are Clarence Bermil-lo of Bataan Peninsula State University, Nicole Leonor and Roseanne Bautista of Batan-gas State University, Vener Quioge and Ma. Honey Santia-go of Bulacan State University, Newnie Mendoza and Adean Ladia of Mindanao State Uni-versity, Lemuel Doronio of Nueva Ecija University of Sci-ence and Technology, Janica Valenzuela of Polytechnic Uni-versity of the Philippines, JV Gervacio and John Carlo Puno of Technological University of the Philippines, and Amethyst Honor of University of South-eastern Philippines.

The SWEEP scholarship program was launched in 2011 to offer last-mile support to deserving graduating stu-dents taking engineering, IT, and science courses. Smart has awarded scholarships to 67 students in the last five years, many of whom have gone on to work for the company.

Ladia considers the schol-

arship a big help for his family. “My father died many years ago. Being the eldest boy, I now stand as father to my six siblings, one of whom is visu-ally impaired. This scholarship is a big blessing for us,” he said.

Bermillo is similarly thankful for the financial sup-port. “My father who used to work in Libya has not been able to go back because of the situation there, so I am very grateful for this scholarship.”

Ladia added that he is thankful for the opportunity to see firsthand how innova-tions are being developed by Smart. The 12 scholars, some of whom came from as far as Mindanao, recently toured Smart’s main headquarters in Makati City and the office of its innovations unit Voyager.

Gervacio said the schol-arship has motivated him to do better in school. “I have observed great improvement in my grades. The scholarship also helps me focus more on my studies because I no longer have to worry about money for school expenses.”

The scholarship is one of the components of SWEEP, Smart’s industry-academe linkage initiative which seeks to improve engineering and IT education in the country, and help schools produce indus-try-ready graduates or future technopreneurs (technology entrepreneurs).

GLOBE Telecom information and communication tech-nology (ICT) arm Globe

Business, through its IT Enabled Services Group, continues to be the leading ICT enabler of en-terprises in the country with its new partnership with global-ly-renowned pizza restaurant chain Shakey’s. Globe Business is boosting Shakey’s operations with its cloud-based solution of-fering Microsoft Office 365.

Microsoft Office 365 pro-vides enterprise-grade tools that bring together the new Office 2016 desktop applications which offer real-time communication and collaboration capabilities. With Office 365 provided by Globe Business, Shakey’s em-ployees can easily access, store, transmit, and manipulate infor-mation and applications, and

collaborate on files anytime, any-where on any computer or de-vice with an Internet connection.

Shakey’s signed up for over 800 Microsoft Office 365 licens-es and will use the cloud-based solution as their collaboration platform within the company, going beyond just email and Mi-crosoft Office. With the Office 365 licenses, Shakey’s employees gain access to collaboration and productivity apps such as One-Drive, SharePoint, Yammer, and Skype for Business, as well as strengthened privacy and secu-rity through Information Rights Management (IRM).

OneDrive and SharePoint enable convenient and secure file sharing, and save backup copies of company files by automati-cally synchronizing documents, pictures, and videos to the Mic-

rosoft cloud. Equally important is IRM or Information Rights Management which protects sensitive company information from unauthorized access (in-side or outside organization premises). Where quick and easy collaboration and communica-tion is key in delivering results, Yammer brings together people, conversations, content, and busi-ness data in an enterprise social private network across depart-ments, locations, and business apps.

To complete the collabora-tion suite, Skype for Business connects employees everywhere with a secure platform for pres-ence, instant messaging, voice and video communication, and virtual multiparty conference meetings over the internet that can be done from any device.

Smart presents latestbatch of SWEEP scholars

SWEEP scholars observe technological innovations being developed at the Smart headquarters.

Phl secures anothercredit rating upgrade

Globe brings cloud tech to PH service industry

(From left) Gerald James Garcia, Globe Business Industry Head; Dion Asencio, Globe Business VP for Sales; Mike Fraus-ing, Globe Senior Advisor for Enterprise and IT Enabled Services Group; Vicente Gregorio, International Family Food Services, Inc. (IFFSI) President and CEO; Jorge Concepcion, IFFSI General Manager; and Mauch Franco - IFFSI Chief Information Officer.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 215 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 201612CLASSIFIEDS

Advertise with

Tel No. 082.221.3601/224.1413Email: [email protected] [email protected]

EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 8 ISSUE 215 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2016 13EDGEDAVAO NEWS

‘Lunhaw Awards’ for environment opensDABAWENYOS who

advocate for environ-ment-friendly practic-

es are encouraged to join the 4th Lunhaw Awards that “rec-ognizes more exemplary envi-ronmental initiatives” by the people who heed the environ-mental policies implemented in Davao City.

In a statement, Interface Development Interventions, Inc. (IDIS) executive director Ann Fuentes said that she is hoping to receive more entries on the rainwater catchment systems (RCS) initiatives of the residents, communities, schools or businesses this year.

“Since 2013, the city gov-ernment has implemented a number of new environmental ordinances like the Rainwater Harvesting Ordinance which mandates the construction of rainwater catchment systems (RCS) for new buildings and residences. This year, we hope to recognize successful and best practices of RCS initiatives in residences, communities, schools or business establish-ments,” she said.

IDIS is co-organizer of Lunhaw Awards along with the City Agriculturist’s Office (CAO), the City Environment and Natural Resources (CEN-RO), the Davao Association of Catholic Schools (DACS), and the Davao City Water District (DCWD).

Fuentes added the RCS allows households and estab-

lishments re-use the water for domestic or industrial purpos-es.

“Even the simplest RCS can go a long way towards re-ducing our human footprint on the environment. Every small initiative that we take in protecting our environment is in fact a larger step towards realizing our collective dream for a Greener and Sustainable Davao City for our children and future generations,” she added.

“The Lunhaw Award is open to individuals, peoples organizations, schools, small and medium-sized enterpris-es, and civil society groups in Davao City. Entries will be selected along the following thematic categories: Energy & Water Conservation, Marine Resource Management, Green Building & Urban Greening, Forest-based initiatives, Pollu-tion Control, Organic Agricul-ture and Environmental Ed-ucation/Advocacy,” the state-ment read.

The criteria for judging will be 25 percent for environ-mental benefits, 20 percent for economic benefits, 20 percent for sustainability, 15 percent for replicability, 15 percent for innovation, and five percent for the number of years of ex-istence/practice.

The deadline for submis-sion of entries will be on Feb-ruary 19, 2016 while the winners will be announced during the Araw ng Dabaw cel-

GOLD EAGLE BEER GIVES BACK. Barangay Centro Norte in Culasi, Antique was the recipient of a GEB Multicab via Gold Eagle Beer’s Jamming sa Taboan promo. The program included an Interbarangay Crown Collection promo which engaged barangays in Visayas and Mindanao. Photo shows

(l-r) Panay Provinces Beer Region Sales Supervisor Jeckel G. Pansacala, Brgy. Centro Norte Chairman Lerma E. Salazar, and Culasi, Antique Mayor Ariel T. Alagos with the barangay’s new GEB multi-utility cab.

ebration in March 2016.Among the winners of

Lunhaw include Jojo Rom (2012) under Organic Agri-culture category, Ric Obenza (2015) under Forest-based ini-tiatives category, and Noel Ba-

tario (2015) under Energy and Water Conservation Category.

Rom was recognized for his efforts to mainstream and democratize organic urban container gardening as a strat-egy for food security

Batario, who is an electri-cian, was recognized for efforts as an advocate for renew-able energy. His eco-friendly house is equipped with full solar-powered lighting system.

Obenza, who is a long-time

environmental steward, plants seeds on a daily basis and teaches communities about reforestation. He continues his advocacy to regenerate endemic and indigenous bio-diversity. Antonio L. Colina IV

VOL. 8 ISSUE 215 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 201614 EDGEDAVAO

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different functional areas, such as the dining area, bedrooms, and living area, are all designed in differ-ent heights. The stairs sep-arates the dining area from

the living area. The bed-rooms are also set apart from the functional areas to give it more privacy.

The Terrain houses give homeowners a lot

of opportunities to style their homes according to their tastes. It is easier to do so with each functional area already separated and cleverly done so. There is no need for dividers to separate areas, saving even more space for them to en-joy.

A house on a sloped lot has the advantage of having different levels of views from their windows.

This gives the whole house an exciting vibe, not hav-ing the one-level, one-look feel to it. Entertaining in a terrain house would be interesting for the home-owners, who will definitely be proud of owning such a home.

The Terrain House se-ries is a product of Camel-la’s decades of expertise in building homes across the country. As a subsidi-

ary of Vista Land & Lifes-capes, the country’s largest homebuilder, Camella has a solid history of creating communities where home-owners thrive and live the good life.

More on Camella’s Ter-rain Houses are available at the Camella offices at Del-gar Bldg., JP Laurel Avenue (fronting Northpoint), Ba-jada, Davao City, or at tele-phone number 221-0716.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 215 • TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2016 15EDGEDAVAO SPORTS

SERENA Williams says she doesn’t remember much about the first

time she played Maria Shara-pova at the Australian Open.

It was 11 years ago, after all, way back in 2005. But she does remember the out-come.

‘’I was down a match point. I remember hitting it as hard as I could,’’ recalled Williams, who ultimately saved three match points in that semifinal. ‘’I remember, obviously, winning and that was really great.’’

Sharapova remembers

it, too. Mainly because her 17-match losing streak against Williams started that day.

Both players advanced Sunday to the Australian Open quarterfinals where they will meet in a high-pro-file rematch of last year’s fi-nal and the latest installment in their long running rivalry.

‘’I look forward to play-ing the best in the world, and that’s what she’s proven in the last year - the last many years,’’ Sharapova said about Williams after beating Be-linda Bencic 7-5, 7-5 in the

Maria Sharapova reaches for a forehand return to Belinda Bencic during their fourth

round match at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia,

Sunday.(AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

James Harden of the Houston Rockets handles the ball during the game against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bill Baptist/NBAE via Getty Images)

TREVOR Ariza has rediscov-ered his long-range shoot-ing, and that is really good

news for James Harden and the Houston Rockets.

Ariza scored a season-high 29 points, Harden had 23 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists, and the Rockets rallied for a 115-104 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.

Ariza made a season-high six 3-pointers after making five on Friday following a three-game stretch when he made just four combined. The always low-key Ariza downplayed his big game.

‘’I was just getting a lot of open looks,’’ he said. ‘’I had a bigger guy on me and I had the option of going by him when I shoot the ball, and I just felt good shooting.’’

Harden isn’t surprised to see what Ariza has done the past two games.

‘’He finally found a rhythm,’’ Harden said. ‘’We knew it was go-

ing to come.’’The Rockets trailed by one

entering the fourth quarter, but they used 14-4 run, highlighted by consecutive 3-pointers by Ari-za, Jason Terry and Josh Smith, to take a 98-89 lead with about nine minutes left.

Chandler Parsons made a layup for the Mavericks before Houston scored five straight points to push the lead to 103-91. Terry started that stretch with a 3-pointer and Smith juked Dirk Nowitzki to get open for a hook shot, and the Mavericks didn’t threaten again.

‘’We just can’t let them knock down shots and shots and shots and let them get good looks after good looks,’’ Dallas guard Wes-ley Matthews said. ‘’We got away from our game plan and things just didn’t work out for us.’’

Parsons had a season-high 31 points for the Mavericks, who dropped their second straight game.

FILIPINO boxing icon Manny Pacquiao will re-tire without getting the

chance to avenge his brutal knockout loss to great Mex-ican rival Juan Manuel Mar-quez, but the “Pacman” isn’t sweating it.

“It’s okay,” Pacquiao said, as quoted by Boxing Scene, during a press conference in New York.

Marquez was included in

the list of potential opponents for Pacquiao for his farewell fight on April 9, but the Mex-ican boxer was adamant that he does not want to face Pac-quiao again, believing that his victory in December 2012 should be the last chapter in their saga.

In what was the fourth meeting between the rival boxers, Marquez knocked Pac-quiao out with just a second to

go in the sixth round to finally get a decisive victory over the “Pacman.”

Pacquiao and Marquez battled to a draw in their first fight, and Pacquiao won disputed decisions in their next two rematches before Marquez definitively defeated him in their fourth – and it ap-pears, final – encounter.

“Let him enjoy what he did to me,” Pacquiao said of

Marquez. “Give him credit.”Instead of Marquez, Pac-

quiao will instead fight Amer-ican boxer Timothy Bradley Jr. for the third time. Bradley controversially defeated Pac-quiao in 2012, months before he was knocked out by Mar-quez.

Pacquiao has already avenged that loss, having out-pointed Bradley in their 2014 rematch.

RAY Parks continued his upward surge, deliv-ering quality minutes

in his first start as the Texas Legends recovered from a sluggish start to turn back the Idaho Stampede, 114-106, in the NBA Development League on Sunday at CenturyLink Arena in Boise (Monday, Ma-nila time).

The Fil-Am guard regis-

tered his D-League high eight points on 3 of 4 shooting as the Legends shook off a slow start to score their 14th victo-ry in 24 outings.

Parks also had five re-bounds and an assist in 22 minutes of action to help the Legends complete a weekend sweep of the Stampede. The two-time MVP in the UAAP also played 22 minutes in the

108-101 win over the Stam-pede the night before.

Brandon Ashley led the Legends with 25 points and Tu Holloway added 20.

Patrick Miller scored 19, Jamil Wilson had 17 and Toure Murry chipped in 15 for the Legends, who still have three games left in the road trip.

The Legends did not take

control until early in the third on a Wilson layup with eight minutes to play, 68-66.

The Stampede started hot and took a 30-25 lead and was six points ahead at halftime, 60-54.

Brandon Fields scored 21, EJ Singler had 16 points and Phil Pressey added 12 for Idaho, which suffered its 18th loss in 28 games.

RIVALRY Serena Williams vs Maria Sharapova rivalry comes again to Australian Open

Pacman not sweating KO loss to Marquez

Parks impressive in 1st NBA D-League start

Ray Parks gets his first start and goes 3 for 4 in 22 minutes of action for Texas. Photo from Texas Legends twitter

Harden’s triple-doubleleads Rockets over Mavs

fourth-round Sunday.Williams’ dominance

of the women’s game has created a gulf that is enormous between her spot at No. 1 and everyone else.

She has won 21 Grand Slam titles, including last year’s Austra-

lian O p e n ,

F r e n c h Open and Wim-

bledon. She’s won the Australian title a record six times in the Open era.

She came agoniz-ingly close to winning all

four majors last year, which would have made her the first person to complete a calendar-year Grand Slam in 27 years.

But losing, Williams said Sunday, just makes her want

to win more.

‘’For my whole career, I have been motivated by loss-es,’’ Williams said after beat-ing Margarita Gasparyan 6-2, 6-1, in just 55 minutes. ‘’That’s just been my thing. When I lose, I just get better.’’

Williams has powered through the first week at the Australian Open without dropping a set. Asked if her record against Sharapova gives her extra confidence, she said it doesn’t matter to

h e r who she plays.

‘’I just feel like I’m really confident in my game right now, not against her or against any other op-ponent’’ in particular, Wil-liam said. ‘’I’m just really looking at me right now, and I feel like if I can just continue to play well, then it could be good.’’

Put another way, when Williams is at the top of her game it is incredibly hard to beat her.


ALAN SIZZLES16 EDGEDAVAOSports

VP bet Cayetano waxes hot with 37 points for City Hall Executives

VICE presidential candidate Alan Peter Cayetano

put on an impressive play to lift the City Hall Executives to a 122- 118 victory over Everball Columbia in their friendly basket-ball game on Saturday night at the Davao City Recreation Center.

Cayetano, the tan-dem of presidential contender Mayor Ro-drigo Duterte, came through with game-best 37 points.

C h r i s t o p h e r “Bong” Go scored 31 points, including five baskets from behind the arc, for the City Executives who out-lasted Everball in the high-scoring contest.

Everball battled toe-to-toe with City Hall Executives all game long as it showed

its more balance of-fensive firepower.

But they could not pull the trigger down the stretch to pull away with the win over the much-com-pose City Hall Execu-tives.

Seven Everball players scored in dou-ble digits that pushed the City Hall Execu-tives defense to the limit.

Mending led all scorers with 15 points as Suarez, Kwantiu, Balisalisa and Angsinco made 14, 13, 12 and 11 in that order.

Barriga and De Guzman had 10 each for Everball.

Joel Aberilla made 17 points as Ricky Su-magang had 15 for the City Hall Executives. RJB

CHAT. Senator and vice presidential candidate Alan Peter Cayetano (left) chats with Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte’s executive assistant,

Christopher “Bong” Go, during a friendly basketball game at the Davao City Recreation Center Saturday night. RAPPLER PHOTO

Edge Davao 8 Issue 215

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