Edge Davao 6 Issue 251

P 15.00 • 20 PAGESwww.edgedavao.netVOL. 6 ISSUE 251 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 7-8, 2014

[email protected]

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO [email protected]

EDGE Serving a seamless society

DAVAO

FBIG, 10

FHOT, 10

BIG FUNDING NEEDEDInformal settlers in riverbanks need relocation

WITTY. Mutya ng Dabaw 2014 finalist Mary Joyce Villanueva wittily answers queries from members of local media during yesterday’s I-Speak media forum at City Hall. Lean Daval Jr.

PARK MASSAGE SERVICE. A man indulges in a back massage at Osmeña Park along Magallanes Street in Davao City yesterday morning. Park massage therapists recently sought Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte’s help after some members of the Davao City Council wanted them out of City parks. Lean Daval Jr.

Councilor Bernard Al-ag, chairman of the sub-committee on housing and subdivision for medi-um-end projects, said that the implementation of the new zoning ordinance will need funding in the mil-

lions of pesos for relocation of settlers near the river-banks.

Al-ag said that they they are looking at high-risk and protected areas, such as riv-erbanks, in the zoning ordi-

Summer will be hot-ter for Mindanawons as restoration of the

210 megawatts (MW) Steag State Power Inc. (SPI) Mindanao coal- fired power plants will take about three months.

Initial evaluation by SPI bared that it will take 8 to 12 weeks before

Steag 1 and 2 can be fully restored to the grid.

The two units have a generating capacity of 105 MW each.

Investigation showed that both units went off the grid after sustaining damage to their turbine-

Hot summer coming up

THE Davao City Council will ask for more funds to implement the new zoning ordi-nance that would relocate shanties near riv-erbanks.

VOL. 6 ISSUE 251 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 7-8, 20142 EDGEDAVAO

THE BIG NEWS

SYMBOLS. A young boy checks out the Waling-waling flower and the Durian fruit, Davao City’s two famous symbols, which are the centerpiece of a fountain at Quezon Park along San Pedro Street in Davao City yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

THE Mindanao re-gion will gain an advantage in next

year’s Association of Southeast Asia Nations (Asean) integration if the Comprehensive Agree-ment on the Bangsamoro state is finally approved.

Undersecretary Lu-isito Montalbo, execu-tive director of the Office of Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) said during the media launching of the Bangsamoro Develop-

ment Plan (BDP) at Wa-terfront Insular Hotel last Wednesday that invest-ments will pour into parts of the country which share the Muslim culture with Malaysia and Indo-nesia.

“This can be a spring-board for Asean integra-tion, particularly with those two big countries that are dominated by Muslims,” said Montalbo.

He added that if the Bangsamoro state is im-plemented, threats to

peace will be immediately eradicated and more in-vestments will come in.

Montalbo said the agreement will be signed within this month and that implementation of the development plan would immediately fol-low.

“We are encouraging the private sector to in-vest in the Bangsamoro because there’s a greater promise for peace and de-velopment and we would

JUST over 200 con-tingents are expect-ed to join the Parada

Dabawenyo on March 16 as part of the celebration of the 77th Araw ng Dabaw.

Last year there were 335, and organizers want this year’s event to be more manageable and not too overly long.

Participants joining the half-day parade include entities from private com-panies, schools, officials of local government units, national agencies, non-gov-

EXPECT warmer days ahead as the north-east monsoon starts

to weaken, the Philippine At-mospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Ad-ministration (PAGASA) said on Thursday.

PAGASA weather fore-caster Aldczar Aurelio said that cold weather can still be experienced but only in northern Luzon due to the weakening northeast mon-soon.

MALACANANG on Thursday urged the stakeholders

to help the national gov-ernment in improving the power supply in Min-danao, which is currently experiencing rotational brownouts.

Presidential Com-munications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio B. Coloma Jr. said in a Palace press briefing that the rotation-al brownouts are caused by the shortfall of power supply on the island.

At present, three new coal-fired plants are being

completed in the area. Of these, two are expected to be on-stream in 2015 and the other one in 2016.

While the three power plants are still under con-struction, the government is also using other means to prevent the rotational blackouts, including im-proving the 210-mega-watt Steag coal-fired power facility in Misamis Oriental.

“I think what is appar-ent here is that kailangan talaga iyong tulung-tulong (we need to help each oth-er),” Coloma said, refer-ring to combined efforts

of the government, power users, distributors and generators.

Coloma said that stake-holders can also volunteer to use their own genera-tors to augment the total supply, for which they will be given compensation.

“This is a systemic problem that requires a systemic solution to be provided by all of the stakeholders,” he added.

He also said that the government remains, on a daily basis, focused on providing enough supply for Mindanao’s power de-mands. [PNA]

ASEAN INTEGRATION

Bangsamoro approvalgives Mindanao an edge BY ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

[email protected]

Stakeholders urged to cooperate in boosting Minda’s power supply

NEW LOOKFewer contingents in ‘Araw’

[email protected]

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

Warmer days are here again

FWARMERL, 10

FNEW, 10 FASEAN, 10

VOL. 6 ISSUE 251 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 7-8, 2014

THE Malaysian firm Push Technologies In-ternational Inc., sole

distributor of IFCA software, yesterday launched its latest, and high-tech version, 5 (v.5).

IFCA software v.5 pro-vides a solution to the grow-ing demand of hotels, resorts, and clubs for advancement in delivering fast, reliable and up to date services.

The mushrooming of three star hotels encouraged the firm to venture in the metro, adding that it has con-centrated its operations in Luzon for the past 10 years.

Rudy C. Aguilar, senior manager of Push, said in a press briefing yesterday at the Royal Mandaya Hotel that they incorporated new features, like localization in which users can make their yearend report which is needed in agencies like Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Department of

Tourism (DOT).The latest version is also

capable of delivering multi-ple tasks, thus ensuring that all services on hospitality will be efficient to satisfy their cli-ents.

“In this new version, we incorporated billing and res-ervation,” he said, adding that jobs done by three people can be maximized by a single person.

“All they need is to secure that they have a reliable net-work server,” Aguilar said. The software will be installed in the main server which can be extended to other work stations.

It can also provide solu-tions for hotel management, point of sale, event manage-ment, facility management, club membership, and finan-cial management.

Aside from hotels and resorts, the globally-known

3NEWS

ARAW NG DAVAO ACTIVITIES. James A. Zimmerman gives the details of this year’s Parada Dabawenyo and City Hall Employees’ Day which are part of the 77th Araw ng Davao celebration during yesterday’s I-Speak media forum at City Hall. Lean Daval Jr.

ROAD MISHAP. A road mishap involving three vehicles due to reckless driving and lack of respect to fellow drivers causes a heavy traffic build up in Km. 9 Sasa, Davao City Wednesday evening. Lean Daval Jr.

THE World Bank (WB) vows to continue sup-porting the Bangsam-

oro Development Plan and the development of Mindan-ao.

WB acting country direc-tor Chiyo Kanda said in her speech during the Bangsam-oro Development Plan media launching last Wednesday that as administrator of the Mindanao trust fund they will provide financial and technical assistance to the planning process.

Kanda said that the plan-ning process demonstrates how the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are working together to deliver a tangi-ble dividend to communities

from the peace process with the help of development partners, civil society groups and other stakeholders.

“The plan will outline strategies to build legitimate institutions to help foster a sense of security among communities, get more chil-dren back to school, provide justice and create jobs,” said Kanda, adding that it is in line with global lessons how to successfully address the roots of violent conflict.

She said that transform-ing institutions is difficult in situations in such areas with a track record of violence and mistrust, and expectations are too low,

“Such that nobody thinks

SUN LIFE Asset Man-agement Company Inc. (SLAMCI) registered

a 300-percent increase in gross sales last year due to various positive factors.

This was bared by SLAM-CI President Reina Pama to Davao media practitioners

and bloggers during the launch of “Invest and Travel,” its newest investor promo in Davao City yesterday.

Ms Pama pointed to the booming economy of the Davao region as one of the positive reasons behind the firm’s impressive perfor-

mance, aside from the grow-ing number of firm’s finan-cial advisors who have been aggressive in reaching out to potential investors.

She also credited the growing number of financial-ly-literate Dabawenyos who now understand and appre-

ciate better the advantages of investing their disposable income.

During the promo launch, Michael Oliver G. Manuel, managing director of Asia Investment, Sun Life Assurance Company of Can-

THE House Commit-tee on Constitutional Amendments con-

ducted only four hearings to release its report on Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.’s Reso-lution of Both Houses aiming to amend certain economic provisions of the 1987 Con-stitution.

Davao City Rep. Mylene Garcia-Albano, chairman of the committee, said in a text message that members of her panel have already signed Committee Report No. 119, or the Resolution of Both Houses (RBH).

“We filed the report last Wednesday at the Bills and

Index, now they will submit it to the Committee on Rules, hopefully by next week, for them to calendar it for 2nd reading, then schedule it for sponsorship and debate,” she said.

The resolution amends economic provisions of the Constitution, particularly on

Articles XII, XIV and XVI.Albano, however, said

that sponsorship speech and debates may start at the ple-nary once Congress resumes session on May 5 after the Lenten break. Congress will go on recess on March 15.

In particular, the reso-

World Bank to continuesupporting BangsamoroBy ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

[email protected]

SLAMCI VISMIN gross sales up by 121%

Sun Life gross sales in Davaoup 300 %; new promo starts

House committee releases Cha-cha report

FMALAYSIAN, 10

FWORLD, 10

FCHA-CHA REPORT, 10

FSUN, 10

Malaysian firm PTII launches hi-tech v.5

[email protected]

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

[email protected]

By ANTONIO M. AJERO

VOL. 6 ISSUE 251 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 7-8, 20144COMPOSTELA VALLEY

SOUTH COTABATO

TAGUM CITY

EDGEDAVAO

SUBURBIA

HOMEWARD BOUND. Moro women farmers carry sacks of rice, which they gathered from the newly-harvested farm in Barangay Panicupan, Pikit, North Cotabato on Wednesday, March 5. [MindaNews Photo by Keith Bacongco]

A G RO U N D B R EA K-ING ceremony for the construction of a

Rice Processing Center was held in Brgy. Maparat, Com-postela on March 6, 2014 with national and local offi-cials leading the ceremony.

The P12.4M project comprises a multi-pass rice mill with a minimum output capacity of 1.2tons/hr, 2 sets batch re-circulat-ing dryers with individual capacity of 18 tons/batch Palay output and equipped with biomass fed-furnace, a weighing scale (Bascula),1 unit portable moisture me-ter, and 1 unit warehouse with a total area of 550 sq.m.

Department of Agricul-ture (DA) USEC Dante Deli-ma and DA RED Remelyn R. Recoter challenged the rice farmers, once the project will become operational, to maximize the project say-ing they have to organize production as the rice mill has a minimum output of

1.2 tons per hour. Delima also said the timetable of the project would be in time for the wet season for the next cropping season.

Comval Gov. Arturo Uy and Compostela Mayor Lema Bolo expressed their deep gratitude saying this will greatly help a lot espe-cially that the town is con-sidered the rice granary in the province.

Also gracing the cere-mony are NFA Reg. Dir. Ed-gar Bentulan, Carlito Car-rasco of IMO Manager-NIA Comval, Reg. Manager John Celeste of NIA XI, Chief Reg’l Agricultural Engineering Section Danilo Alesna, Reg’l Rice Focal Person Edel Don-donilla, other provincial and municipal officials.

Meanwhile, in the afternoon, DA Secretary Proceso J. Alcala visited Comval to lead the Regional Consultative Dialogue with the Banana Industry held at the Social Hall, Capitol. [Me Maestre/IDS ComVal]

Rice processing center soon to rise

SARANGANI officials have put up an initial P500,000 in reward

money for information that would lead to the ar-rest of the suspects and possible masterminds in the ambush on Friday last week that led to the fatal cardiac arrest of the may-or of Maitum town.

Glan Mayor Victor James Yap, president of the province’s League of Municipalities of the Phil-ippines (LMP) chapter, said Thursday they raised the reward money to help speed up the resolution of the ambush on Maitum Mayor George McPherson Perrett, who died in a pri-vate hospital here several hours after the attack.

“This could encour-age the possible wit-nesses to come forward and help resolve the case,” Yap told reporters.

The mayor said they were able to raise some P300,000 out of the LMP chapter’s funds and Sa-rangani Rep. Emmanuel Pacquiao contributed an additional P200,000 from his own resources for the reward money.

Perrett is a close ally and party mate of Pacquiao in the Peo-ple’s Champ Movement (PCM), a local political party founded by the boxing icon.

Yap said they are

ready to give the reward money any time to any tipster or witness who could positively identify all those involved and behind the ambush.

“They can approach me or any of our police officials. We can pro-vide them proper se-curity and they can re-main anonymous in the course of the proceed-ings,” he said.

Perrett, his wife El-sie and five aides were on their way home to Barangay Kalaneg in Maitum at around 10:30 p.m. last Friday when they were ambushed by unidentified gunmen.

The mayor and his companions attended an arts and culture event in the town proper of Mai-tum and were on their way home when the inci-dent happened.

The mayor, who was then driving their Toyo-ta Fortuner sports util-ity vehicle, and another aide were hit on the leg but Elsie, who is a for-mer three-term mayor of Maitum, and their four other companions were unharmed.

Perrett was rushed to the St. Elizabeth Hospital here for treatment but died of cardiac arrest due to severe loss of blood at around 2:30 a.m. on Sat-urday. [MindaNews]

P.5-M bounty up for arrest of suspects in mayor’s ambushENVIRONMENT work-

ers in South Cotabato province have demol-

ished an initial 35 illegal structures in parts of Lake Sebu as part of the continu-ing massive cleanup of the critical lake.

Lake Sebu Mayor An-tonio Fungan said among those demolished were re-sort cottages, fish cages and other structures situated in the initial 20 meters from the lakeshore and those lo-cated near the outlets of the lake.

He said the demolition team, which comprised personnel from the munic-ipal government and the Provincial Environment Management Office, also destroyed several shanties that were illegally put up along the lake.

The structures were demolished for violation of

the provisions of the mu-nicipal revenue code, which sets the proper use of the lake waters and resources, he said.

“The demolition activ-ities are presently ongoing and we will not stop until we finally clean up the lake of these illegal structures,” the mayor said in a radio interview.

The demolition team launched the cleanup of the illegal lake structures two weeks ago based on an order issued by the mu-nicipal government and the provincial government of South Cotabato.

Fungan said they ini-tially scheduled the start of the demolition last January 20 but was eventually de-ferred until February 11 based on a request from the affected sectors.

He said they approved

the temporary suspension of the demolition or clean-up after local fish cage and resort operators promised to demolish their illegal-ly-built structures them-selves.

The mayor said that prior to the start of the demolition activities, the affected fish cage and resort operators asked for anoth-er stay until June supposed-ly to give them enough time to self-demolish.

“We did not give in to their request as we felt we’ve given them enough time already and it’s now time to properly imple-ment the regulations gov-erning the lake,” he said.

Meantime, Zaldy Arta-cho, Lake Sebu municipal agriculturist and among those supervising the dem-olition activities, said in a statement that they have

so far cleared the first 20 meters from the lakeshore and re-established the pas-sage way to the lake’s out-lets.

He said most of the lake’s designated passage ways had been covered with illegal structures, which now occupy two to three kilometers from the lake’s shores.

Artacho said the de-molished structures com-prised of two concrete re-sort cottages, six semi-con-crete cottages and 27 fish cages and other light struc-tures.

The provincial govern-ment of South Cotabato and the municipal govern-ment issued the go-signal for the demolition of illegal structures along Lake Sebu to help address its deterio-rating condition. [MindaN-ews]

35 illegal structures in Lake Sebu demolished

THIS year’s Barangay Musikahan show-cased an array of

amazing performanc-es during the two-night grand finals, which show-cased grassroots talents coming to Tagum City ‘s rural and urban baran-gays, bringing in a festive atmosphere at Tagum City Trade and Cultural Center.

Barangay Musikahan

is a variety show high-lighting on the musical creativity of Tagumeños with its theme “Tagu-meño Bisag Asa: Babalik Ka Rin.”

Performers are ordi-nary folks in the baran-gays who conquered the stage with an hour-long performance per entry. Prior to the grand finals, an elimination round for

both the rural and urban barangay categories was held in their respective areas.

Barangay Pandapan was declared as champi-on in the rural category, followed by New Balam-ban as first runner up and Nueva Fuerza as second runner up.

In the rural category, Magugpo East grabbed

the championship spot followed by Visayan Vil-lage and San Miguel as first and second runners up, respectively.

Champion barangay was awarded with a cash prize of 80,000 pesos, while the first and sec-ond runners up receive 70,000 pesos and 60,000 pesos, respectively. [Glei-za Delgado/CIO Tagum]

Local talents exhibited in Barangay Musikahan

SARANGANI

VOL. 6 ISSUE 251 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 7-8, 2014 5EDGEDAVAO

THE ECONOMY

IN view of the Mindan-ao power situation, the Department of Energy

(DOE) has provided imme-diate and long-term solu-tions to address the power shortage in the region.

In 2010, the Aquino gov-ernment, through the DOE, has laid down ground works for Mindanao, given that the region has been expe-riencing power shortage of about 200-400 megawatts (an average of 4-hour ro-tating brownouts) affecting businesses and the Mind-anaoans. The outages were due to the increasing sup-ply-demand gap brought about by the lack of entry of new power projects, and the derating and non-operation of power plants in the region in the prior years.

In the short-term, the DOE in partnership with the energy stakeholders has added 128 MW in capacities through the introduction of new power capacities which includes the 15 MW EEI

Diesel Peaking Power Plant, (2013) and 15 MW Mapalad Diesel Power Plant (2013), and re-commissioning of the 98 MW Iligan Diesel Power Plant (2013).

The DOE also pushed for the rehabilitation and uprating of the Agus 6 Pow-er Plant Units 1 & 2 from 50MW to 69MW as well as the infrastructure develop-ment along Balo-I plains in coordination with Depart-ment of Public Works and Highways to maximize the capacities of Agus 1 and 2.

Alongside these mea-sures, the DOE also initiated several programs and mea-sures to provide the power of choice and draw in all available resources for the benefit of the region: the In-terim Mindanao Electricity Market (IMEM), Interrupt-ible Load Program (ILP) and the Modular Gensets Program. These programs are on a voluntary basis and serve as options for elec-tric power providers and

consumers to manage their power requirements with the corresponding costs.

For the long-term, the DOE has facilitated the entry of new power investments such as the 300 MW Coal-Fired Therma South Energy Project located in Davao del Sur and the 200 MW South-ern Mindanao Coal-Fired in Sarangani that will add another 500 MW by 2015. Meanwhile, the 405 MW Coal-Fired Power Plant of FDC Utilities Inc. in Misamis Oriental will come online by September 2016.

“It takes 2-4 years to build a new power plant. We in the energy sector realize that the problems that we face now require long-term solutions,” Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla earlier stated, adding that “facil-itating investors’ interest to bring in new capacities to meet the increasing de-mand is a priority not only in Mindanao but across the country.”

DOE continues to provide solutions to power woes

FRESH. A fish retailer browses through the buckets of newly-delivered milk fish at the fish section of bagsakan area in Bankerohan Public Market yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.


MEMBERS of the So-cial Security System (SSS) now have the

option to receive their sal-ary loans through Citi Visa Prepaid cards that provide borrowers a quicker, safer and more convenient means of receiving their loan pro-ceeds.

SSS Vice President and Officer-in-Charge of Lending and Asset Management Divi-sion May Catherine Ciriaco said the agency will pilot the SSS Citi Visa Prepaid Card on March 6, 2014 for members applying for salary loans at SSS branches in Diliman, Quezon City and in Buendia, Makati City, which both ac-count for a high volume of salary loan applications.

“Members with the SSS Citi Visa Prepaid Card can get their salary loan funds electronically within days, instead of waiting for two weeks for their loan check to arrive through the mail. They no longer need to en-cash the check at the bank since they can already con-veniently access their funds through ATM withdrawal, or by swiping their card for purchases at Visa-accredited merchants in the Philippines and overseas,” Ciriaco added.

SSS’ partnership with Citi Philippines and Visa is in line with the pension fund’s thrust to improve service delivery, enhance loan pro-cessing, and eliminate fraud. It also addresses problems with misdelivered, stolen or lost checks, which take time to replace, further delaying the loan release to the mem-ber.

“Citi is proud to partner with SSS in this innovation, which will offer advantages not only to SSS members across the country, but also to SSS the institution,” re-marked Batara Sianturi, CEO for Citi Philippines. “Elec-

tronic payment is the wave of the future, providing con-venience as well as speed and enhanced security to every user. This partner-ship gives testament to Citi’s commitment to serve as pay-ment solutions provider not only to the private compa-nies, but to the public sector as well.”

The SSS Citi Visa Pre-paid Card is accepted at more than 15,000 automat-ed teller machines (ATMs) and over 200,000 Visa part-ner merchants in the Philip-pines, as well as for online purchases. Members can use their cards globally wherev-er Visa is accepted, at tens of millions of retailers and to withdraw local currency at 2 million ATMs in more than 200 territories and countries

worldwide.“Visa has helped govern-

ments worldwide to operate more efficiently through the use of electronic payments. Our collaboration with SSS and Citi Philippines is a great example of how a Visa Prepaid card can be used to provide a more convenient, secure and efficient system to disburse salary loans to the tens of millions of SSS members in the country.” said Peter Maher, Visa Group Country Manager for South-east Asia.

“‘Point-of-sale’ pur-chases made using the card carry no additional charges or fees, while withdrawal charges will apply for all ATM transactions, depend-ing on the bank owning the ATM,” Ciriaco noted. “The

prepaid card requires no maintaining balance and can be used for various promos offered by Visa partner mer-chants.”

To avail themselves of this service, interested bor-rowers must first file their salary loan application at SSS Diliman or SSS Makati-Buen-dia. After securing SSS’ ap-proval of the loan, members must submit their SSS Citi Visa Prepaid Card Applica-tion Form and a photocopy of one government-issued ID to the designated Citibank lane at the same branch.

Ciriaco said the SSS will release the card directly to the member on the same day, with the loan proceeds credited within three to four days. The SSS Citi Visa Prepaid Card will be issued

free to members, while P150 will be charged as replace-ment fee for lost or damaged cards.

“The card will be valid for three years from the date of issuance. It is also reload-able, so members renewing their salary loans can get their new loan proceeds us-ing the same prepaid card, as long as it is within the card’s validity period,” she said. “Members will be notified thru text message if their loan has been already loaded into their account.”

Only SSS can deposit funds into the prepaid card accounts. For secure access, a Personal Identification Number or “PIN” is required before any card transaction can be made, Ciriaco ex-plained.

Cebu Pacific Daily 5J961 / 5J962 5:45 Manila-Davao-Manila 6:15Zest Air Daily Z2390 / Z2390 5:45 Manila-Davao-Manila 6:25Cebu Pacific Daily 5J593 / 5J348 6:00 Cebu-Davao-Iloilo 6:30Philippine Airlines Daily PR809 / PR810 6:10 Manila-Davao-Manila 7:00Philippine Airlines Daily PR819 / PR820 7:50 Manila-Davao-Manila 8:50Cebu Pacific Daily 5J394 / 5J393 7:50 Zamboanga-Davao-Zamboanga 8:10Cebu Pacific Daily 5J599 / 5J594 8:00 Cebu-Davao-Cebu 8:30Cebu Pacific Daily 5J347 / 5J596 9:10 Iloilo-Davao-Cebu 9:40Cebu Pacific Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri/Sun 5J963 / 5J964 9:40 Manila-Davao-Manila 10:10Philippine Airlines Daily PR811 / PR812 11:30 Manila-Davao-Manila 12:20Cebu Pacific Daily 5J595 / 5J966 12:00 Cebu-Davao-Manila 12:30Cebu Pacific Thu 5J965 / 5J968 12:55 Manila-Davao-Manila 13:25

Cebu Pacific Tue/Wed//Sat 5J965 / 5J968 13:35 Manila-Davao-Manila 14:05Silk Air Mon/Sat MI588 / MI588 13:35 Davao-Singapore 18:55 Silk Air Wed/Sun MI566 / MI566 15:20 Davao-Singapore 18:55Silk Air Thurs MI551 / MI551 12:05 Davao-Singapore 15:45Cebu Pacific Mon/Tue/Wed/Fri 5J507 / 5J598 15:00 Cebu-Davao-Cebu 15:30Philippine Airlines August 15:55 Mani2Mani 16:50Zest Air Daily Z2524 / Z2525 16:05 Cebu-Davao-Cebu 16:45

as of May 2013

Stat Watch

MONTHLY AVERAGE EXCHANGE RATE (January 2011-September 2013)

Month 2013 2012 2011

Average 42.23 43.31December 41.01 43.64November 41.12 43.27October 41.45 43.45

September 43.83 41.75 43.02August 43.86 42.04 42.42

July 43.35 41.91 42.81June 42.91 42.78 43.37May 41.30 42.85 43.13April 41.14 42.70 43.24

March 40.71 42.86 43.52February 40.67 42.66 43.70January 40.73 43.62 44.17

7.1 1st Qtr 2013

7.8 1st Qtr 2013

USD 3,741 million

Feb 2013USD 4,708

million Feb 2013USD -967

million Feb 2013USD -640

millionDec 2012

P 4,964,560 million

Feb 2013

2.4 % Mar 2013P113,609

million Mar 2013

P 5,281 billion

Mar 2013

P 41.14 Apr 2013

6,847.5 Mar 2013

132.8 Apr 2013

2.6 Apr 2013

3.1 Apr 2013

418,108 Feb 2013

20.9% Jan 2013

7.1% Jan 2013

1. Gross National IncomeGrowth Rate(At Constant 2000 Prices)

2. Gross Domestic ProductGrowth Rate(At Constant 2000 Prices)

3. Exports 1/

4. Imports 1/

5. Trade Balance

6. Balance of Payments 2/

7. Broad Money Liabilities

8. Interest Rates 4/

9. National Government Revenues

10. National government outstanding debt

11. Peso per US $ 5/

12. Stocks Composite Index 6/

13. Consumer Price Index 2006=100

14. Headline Inflation Rate 2006=100

15. Core Inflation Rate 2006=100

16. Visitor Arrivals

17. Underemployment Rate 7/

18. Unemployment Rate 7/

Indicator Latest

1. Gross National Income Growth Rate (At Constant 2000 Prices)

6.8 2nd Qtr 2013

2. Gross Domestic Product Growth Rate (At Constant 2000 Prices)

7.5 2nd Qtr 2013

3. Exports USD 5,045 million

Sep 2013

4. Imports USD 5,711 million

Sep 2013

5. Trade BalanceUSD -665

million Sep 2013

6. Balance of Payments USD 692

million Jun 2013

7. Broad Money LiabilitiesP 5,980,938 million

Aug 2013

8. Interest Rate 2.0 % Sep 2013

9. National Government Revenues

P 127,336 million

Sep 2013

10. National government outstanding debt

P 5,609 billion

Sep 2013

11. Peso per US $

P 43.83 Sep 2013

12. Stocks Composite Index

6,191.8 Sep 2013

13. Consumer Price Index 2006=100

135.2 Oct 2013

14. Headline Inflation Rate 2006=100

2.9 Oct 2013

15. Core Inflation Rate 2006=100

2.5 Oct 2013

16. Visitor Arrivals 382,022 Aug 2013

17. Underemploymen Rate

19.2% Jul 2013

18. Unemployment Rate 7.3% Jul 2013

6 THE ECONOMYSSS salary loans release thru prepaid cards now possible

SECURITY Bank Cor-poration (PSE: SECB) held its annual eco-

nomic and business forum today at the Makati Shan-gri-la Hotel entitled “What Lies Ahead: Economic and Business Forecast 2014”. The much-awaited ‘by in-vitation only’ event gath-ered some of the indus-try’s top decision-makers and business leaders from across different industries.

Bangko Sentral ng Pili-

pinas (BSP) Governor Hon. Amando M. Tetangco, Jr. gave the keynote message while other guest speak-ers were: William Pesek, Jr., Asia-Pacific Columnist for Bloomberg, who pre-sented the global econom-ic issues and its impact to the Philippines and Asia as a whole; Rodrigo E. Rive-ra, Sr., President & CEO of RD Corporation, one of the biggest fishing companies in the southern Philip-

pines, who shared his in-sights about business op-portunities and prospects for various industries; and Daniel Corpuz, Undersec-retary of the Department of Tourism, who spoke about the government’s national tourism plan and opportunities in the tour-ism sector. David Celdran, TV Anchor of ANC News Channel, served as the host and moderator at the open forum after the pre-

sentations.Security Bank orga-

nizes this regular event in line with its continuing program to provide rel-evant business analysis and economic forecasts to its valued clients from the corporate, treasury, investment, commercial and retail banking seg-ments.

Recently, Security Bank launched its re-branding campaign that

highlights its focus on the growth of its retail bank-ing segment. Security Bank believes that “The bank who understands you best, puts you first”. Its new brand promise, “BETTER BANKING” and “YOU DESERVE BETTER”, underscores its commit-ment to differentiate it-self from the rest of the market by being one of the few banks that truly listens to its clients.

Security Bank holds economic, business forum

SEASON. Summer is just around the corner as most ready-to-wear outlets in Davao City now display summer wear such as bathing suits. Lean Daval Jr.


ENVIRONMENT

JAMIE Foxx, who plays the villain, Electro, in the highly anticipated

motion picture The Amaz-ing Spider-Man 2, will be joining his co-stars, An-drew Garfield and Emma Stone, in calling on a global community to take simple action online to protect the planet.

As part of Earth Hour Blue, the revolutionary pro-gram launched by WWF’s Earth Hour, Foxx will sup-port ‘Light Up A Village’, a clean energy project from WWF-Uganda. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ac-tor is urging participants to go online and contrib-ute funds to the ‘Light Up a Village’ crowdfunding project, which will provide solar lights and energy ef-

ficient mud stoves to fam-ilies living around an area in Uganda that has come to be known as the “Earth Hour Forest.” Through the simple steps of supporting these vulnerable communi-ties, the project aims to em-power the locals to become the future protectors of the soon to be rehabilitated for-est area.

Foxx was inspired by a passionate video from a small community of Su-

per Heroes in Uganda who came together to show how the project could protect the newly plant-ed trees by meeting the basic energy needs of the locals. The video explains how just one energy effi-cient mud stove can save up to 33 trees from being cut down annually and also save money by reduc-ing a family’s expenses on firewood and charcoal. “Earth Hour isn’t just about lights off – it’s about peo-ple across the world com-ing together throughout the year to join forces to improve the planet. If you haven’t yet, you need to get involved. Never underes-timate your power. Never underestimate what you can do,” said Foxx.

In conjunction with the Earth Hour 2014 celebrations in Uganda, one million trees will be planted across the coun-try by youths over the next year, with the major-ity earmarked to help fill the 2700 hectares of land marked out for the Earth Hour Forest initiative.

Another global solu-tion-driven crowdfund-ing project on Earth Hour Blue for people to back is a Colombian conservation project for The Amazon that aims to protect en-dangered species like the jaguar, Andean bear, and the pink river dolphin, and work with indigenous communities to use and re-store natural resources in a responsible way.

Jamie Foxx joins Spider co-stars in Earth Hour ‘blue revolution’ COUNTRIES such as

Burkina Faso, Peru, Mauritius, Mongolia,

and Senegal are set to boost their economies through a shift of investment and policies towards a new generation of assets that include clean technologies and resource efficient in-frastructure, green skilled labour, well-functioning ecosystems, and good gov-ernance. Such a transfor-mation, supported by the UN-led Partnership for Ac-tion on a Green Economy (PAGE), will pay significant dividends in social, envi-ronmental and economic terms. PAGE aims to extend its support to a total of 30 countries by 2020.

Well over US $11 mil-lion were announced in support of PAGE activities by donors including Fin-land, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Sweden and Swit-zerland. The announce-ment was made at the first Global PAGE Conference,

hosted by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), under the auspices of His High-ness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The event attracted more than 30 ministers of finance, environment, labour and trade from around the world in addi-tion to high-level UN offi-cials, international experts, representatives from the business community and civil society.

In his welcome ad-dress, the UAE Minister of Environment and Water, Rashid Ahmed Bin Fahad, speaking on behalf of His Highness Sheikh Moham-mad Bin Rashid Al Mak-toum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, referred to the UAE’s Vision 2021 and Green Growth Strate-gy, which was launched in 2012.

New UN-led global partnership to help green 30 national economies by 2020

THE United Nations’ in-augural World Wild-life Day kicked off last

March 3 with events around the world, as global attention turns to a US $19 billion illicit trade - the fourth largest in the world - that includes elephant poaching, great ape theft and the illegal transport of timber.

The third of March was also the day of adoption of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Spe-cies of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1973.

“The United Nations’ first World Wildlife Day coincides with renewed attention being paid to the escalating crisis of wildlife poaching. While pro-viding us with an opportunity to celebrate the fantastic di-versity of life on earth it also reminds us of the urgency and responsibility to care for and protect it,” said UN Un-der-Secretary-General and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director Achim Steiner.

“While governments have a key role to play, we as citizens of countries across the globe have a vital role to play in shut-ting down the markets that sustain this illegal trade which threatens the survival of iconic species such as elephants and rhinos, but also of other threat-ened animal and plant species.

For the past four decades UNEP has worked to support nations to establish legisla-tion at both the national and the global level to combat poaching and the illegal trade in wildlife. This has helped countries to more effectively protect our wildlife heritage. Environmental crime contin-ues to undermine these ef-forts. World Wildlife Day is an opportunity for all of us to re-connect to this vital and urgent cause,” he added.

In its resolution designat-ing World Wildlife Day, the General Assembly requested the CITES Secretariat, in col-laboration with relevant orga-nizations of the United Nations system, to facilitate the imple-mentation of the Day.

Among other things, the resolution recognized the in-trinsic value of wildlife and its many contributions to human well-being and sustainable de-velopment, including ecolog-ical, genetic, social, economic, scientific, educational and cul-tural.

Estimated by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) at US $19 billion, the illicit trade in wildlife denies humanity of these essential services, and contributes to the rapid de-crease in the numbers of thou-sands of species worldwide.

It is estimated that current trends of species extinctions are between 100 and 1,000 times higher than the naturally expected levels.

“Wildlife is cherished in its own right and for the con-tribution it makes to our per-sonal well-being - from food to medicine - from culture to recreation,” said CITES Secre-tary-General John Scanlon.

“Our wildlife is suffering from illegal trade. Let’s do all we can, as citizens and con-sumers, to bring illegal wildlife trade to an end. In doing so we will secure the future for wild plants and animals, as well as for ourselves,” he said.

In addition to the illegal trade, climate change - which is linked with the burning of fossil fuels - is also impacting many animals and plants and in myriads of ways.

Polar bears in the Arctic are threatened by thinning ice, baleen whales must make longer journeys between their feeding grounds, and many

migratory birds that rely on wetlands and lakes for food are increasingly facing water shortages.

These changes could spell decline and even extinction for some species without an urgent transition of our econo-mies and our lifestyles towards a low carbon economy.

Meanwhile, wildlife crime continues to threaten the lives of rangers in their fight to stem the illegal tide. It is also often linked with the exploitation of disadvantaged communities, human rights abuses and oth-er challenges to inclusive, sus-tainable development - includ-ing by jeopardizing livelihoods around the world.

Such theft of natural re-sources is rapidly emerging as a new challenge to poverty

eradication, sustainable de-velopment and a transition towards an inclusive Green Economy.

The illegal trade in wildlife - considered the fourth largest in the world after narcotics, counterfeiting and human traf-ficking - also has major impli-cations for international peace and security.

Wildlife is now trafficked internationally much like drugs or weapons, with crimi-nals operating largely with im-punity and little fear of prose-cution.

A recent INTERPOL report reveals that large-scale ivory seizures - which reached an all-time global high in 2013, with 18 seizures accounting for some 41.6 tonnes of ivory - typically indicate the partic-

ipation of organized crime, with trafficking syndicates op-erating in multiple countries simultaneously.

In recent years, interna-tional action to combat the il-legal trafficking in wildlife has accelerated rapidly.

In December 2013, a French-government-hosted Summit for Peace and Security in Africa highlighted that the establishment of terrorist and criminal networks - including poachers and traffickers in endangered species- were a direct threat to peace and se-curity in Africa and worldwide.

Most recently, the UN Security Council has, in two separate and unanimously ad-opted resolutions, recognized the direct link between the illegal exploitation of wildlife

and ongoing conflicts in cen-tral Africa.

It noted specifically that the illegal exploitation of nat-ural resources - including poaching and the trafficking of wildlife - was linked to the proliferation of weapons and was one of the “major factors fueling and exacerbating con-flicts” in the Great Lakes re-gion of Africa.

In 2010, the CITES Sec-retariat, INTERPOL, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the World Bank and the World Customs Organization joined forces to create the Interna-tional Consortium on Combat-ing Wildlife Crime (ICCWC), which works to ensure that perpetrators of serious wild-life crimes face a formidable and coordinated response.

Far-reaching impact of $19 B illicit trade of flora and fauna highlighted

Jamie Foxx

VOL. 6 ISSUE 251 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 7-8, 20148 EDGEDAVAO

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EDITORIAL

FORBES, a prestigious international business magazine, once again has come out with the world’s wealthi-

est men. All billionaires in US dollars, 10 of them are Pinoys, led by mall tycoon Henry Sy of the SM chain and other busi-ness interests. He ranks 97th in the list of 1,645 billionaires from 69 countries. The other nine in the elite circle of Pinoys are John Gokongwei of Cebu Pacific, Tony Tan Caktiong of Jollibee Foods, Andrew Gotianun, Andrew Tan, David Consunji, Enrique Razon, George Ty, Lucio Tan, and Roberto Coyuito Jr.

If one scrutinizes the list, the gentle-men billionaires are not really Pinoys in

the strictest sense of the word. Rather, they are Chinoys, as borne by their Chi-nese family names, their chinky eyes, fair complexion and other physical attributes usually associated with people who trace their ancestry to China. Yes, except for Razon, who must have Spanish roots.

We are not trying to split hair and cre-ate ethnic division. Our point here is that the Filipino billionaires are known hard workers, mostly with humble be-ginnings.

Their lives are worthy of emulation. They should be role models of all Filipi-nos, whatever their racial origin, indige-nous or foreign.


Part 1 of 2

BY JOHN LLOYD

COMMENTARY

BY EDWARD HADAS

ANALYSIS

AQUILES Z. ZONIOCorrespondent

VANTAGE POINTS 9EDGEDAVAOWhat church leaders failed to see?

The ongoing ethics struggle of banks

WHAT’S THE STATUS OF THE CONTRO-VERSIAL RH BILL? – People are won-dering what happened to the equally

important measure which was overshadowed by the pork barrel scam and other appalling fi-nancial scandals that rocked the Aquino admin-istration. We are referring to the controversial Reproductive Health Bill. Here’s a summary of what transpired previously when the Aquino administration recognized the problem on pop-ulation as one of its primary concern.

At the onset, the leadership was confronted with this critical question: “What to do in a coun-try growing ever more populous, comfortable on what it have presently in life and trapped in the embrace of backward beliefs and behind the dictations of the church?” As a result, the leader-ship of President Benigno Aquino III has come up with a very realistic plan – the passage and approval of a Reproductive Health Bill.

However, stiff opposition to the measure also comes into play what with the leaders of the Catholic Church and over-pretentious pro-life advocates raised up in arms to block the approval of the bill. After months of intense deliberations in Congress and the wary public patiently waiting of the outcome of the debates, the Senate finally approved the measure. To the Church hierarchy and many self-proclaimed pro-life groups, it’s all part of the government’s strategy by shifting away from the country’s real prevailing problem – joblessness and grinding poverty.

These groups argued that population is not really the main problem rather it’s the govern-ment’s dismal failure to provide for the people’s basic needs – jobs, food, shelter, education and medical care. And the long and tedious debate continued with no resolution in sight. Pro-life advocates filed a petition before the Supreme Court to reexamine the RH Bill. On the one side are Church leaders and so-called pro-life move-ments. They assert during the oral arguments that the RH bill is totally a defective ruling. On the other side are rational-minded pro-RH Bill

groups joined by big business c o r p o ra t i o n s who demon-strate all-out support to the government’s population con-trol and family planning poli-cies. They say it’s about time to implement a very significant measure.

Well, time and again even legal experts always say that there is no such thing as a per-fect law. It may be have some defects referring to the RH Bill, but not as flawed as claimed by harsh critics of the controversial measure. The pro-RH Bill firmly believe that the proposal is the ultimate answer to the country’s burgeon-ing population because the Philippines is now home to an estimated 96 million people. The predecessors of President Aquino were ineffec-tive in implementing their population control and family planning program due to some ag-gravating factors.

For instance, they avoided a clash with the influential and assertive leaders of the Catholic Church who strongly condemned contracep-tives and artificial methods of birth control. Be-ing a predominantly Catholic country, previous administrations adhered to the dictations of the Church that is against any method controlling senseless birth. It only promotes the rhythm method, which is rather unfortunate because it has been persistently violated by both married and unmarried couples. Certainly, the Catholic Church which counts 85 percent of the popu-lation as members will not tolerate any govern-ment scheme that promotes contraception.

The projection of the Church is even more terrifying. Its top leaders continue to inculcate in the minds of the faithful that the RH Bill is

promoting abortion. And they further stressed that it’s an organized efforts of the government that they perceived as transplanting anti-life and anti-family laws into our social order. In re-ality, though, what the Church leaders failed to see is that several thousand of women yearly are estimated to have an abortion to deal with the financial and emotional strain of unwant-ed pregnancy despite the fact that abortion is strictly prohibited and against the teachings of the Catholic Church.

A government population control and fam-ily planning program will only be effective and successful if our present leaders consistently emphasize artificial birth control over natu-ral family planning without fear of getting the wrath of the Church leaders. Moreover, the RH Bill respects the views and the stand of the Church especially on its position of families and the preservation of life of the unborn. Even with the RH Bill in effect, still nobody could prevent abortion, not even the leaders of the Catholic Church and presumptuous pro-life advocates. How much more if there’s no alternatives where couples have the freedom to choose and avail of a family planning method of their choice?

We always have to bear mind that over-population more than anything else is straining the country’s resources at accelerating pace. So what has to be done? We should take a closer look at our present predicament and raised this query: “What isn’t going right here in our coun-try?” Take note that high population growth outruns the country’s ability to build its econo-my and investment infrastructure, which is why there is crushing poverty.

With an honest-to-goodness and well-mean-ing government population control and human development program, Filipinos could be prop-erly organized and motivated to become import-ant resources in addressing their own economic and social conditions. They have to realize that the most important change will come not only from the government or any outside entity, but from them.

THE Swiss Bank Employees Association has told an uncomfortable truth: it was “generally known” that for many years

some of their employers profited from custom-ers’ “tax evasion.” That is incontestable, as many of the banks’ managers concede. But the prac-tice, supposedly now ended, raises an important question about ethics and business. Why were neither the managers of the Swiss banks nor their employees worried by this business mod-el?

The hardly hidden truth was included in an Association press release which called on Brady Dougan, the chief executive of Credit Suisse, to apologize for insulting the Swiss bank’s employ-ees.

Dougan, who was trying to explain to U.S. legislators how Credit Suisse had stopped help-ing Americans escape taxes, said that “some Swiss-based private bankers went to great lengths to disguise their bad conduct from Cred-it Suisse executive management.” The claim, said the employees’ group, slighted the profession-alism of the workforce. Besides, it was “hardly credible.”

That last statement is a little unfair. It makes excellent sense that some eager employees, anx-ious to bring in new business, and well aware that there was an official policy against aiding tax evasion, hid certain salient facts from their bosses. They knew that full disclosure would just get them into trouble, while bringing in new business would be rewarded, with few ques-tions asked.

But if Dougan is right that the managers were totally ignorant, they hardly look good. Af-ter all, the commitment to change the old Swiss banking culture – which asked so few questions that accounts bore numbers rather than names – had started well before 2001, when Credit Suisse seriously began its efforts to clean up its relatively small U.S. private banking operations.

Surely, bosses who were deadly serious about rooting out entrenched habits would have prodded, pried and even prosecuted to show that their institutions would henceforth compete on service, not on secrecy. Instead, for many years they seem to have avoided looking too closely.

If Credit Suisse management was too re-laxed about abandoning a flawed corporate culture, it had a lot of company. In almost every financial scandal of the last few years – from rogue traders to organized money laundering, from false disclosures to the manipulation of key interest and exchange rates – insiders who were truly interested could easily have found ev-idence that something was being done improp-erly. But in fact, attention was missing and action was scarce.

The explanation is simple. Employees knew they had little to gain from complaining about dubious behavior because bosses were almost always less interested in morality than in earn-ing high returns, retaining key employees and gaining ground against rivals.

In other words, ethical inertia was built into the corporate cultures. The Swiss bankers were generously rewarded for gaining new American customers through practices which they prob-ably knew were incorrect. Their bosses, all the way to the top of the organizations, were even better rewarded for deciding not to ask ques-tions which would probably have elicited un-comfortable answers.

Neither the Swiss bankers who broke American laws nor the bosses who did not no-tice were especially evil or foolish. Like most businessmen who go wrong, they were surely

intelligent people quite capable of moral analy-sis. However, they chose to smother the voice of their consciences.

It is always a challenge to stay virtuous while pursuing legitimate personal and busi-ness objectives. Even in the noblest organiza-tions, the desire to be fair to customers, suppli-ers and colleagues often pushes in the opposite direction from the pressure to succeed. The pressure to cut ethical corners is much greater in enterprises which have a well-established tra-dition or practice which is no longer considered acceptable.

It is all too easy for bosses and workers who silence their consciences to find plausible ex-cuses. They can cite loyalty, obedience, industry standards and the need to support their fami-lies. The senior executives can also use the tools of bureaucracy, hiding behind shared responsi-bility and stated commitments to good policies.

Bad corporate behavior is particularly hard to change. When bosses have condemned mal-practice in words but rewarded it in deed, em-ployees can be excused for not taking the latest pronouncements too seriously. Even if a few people are fired, consciences remain unheard while the remaining employees wait for a return to normal.

Equally, bosses who would not have risen up the hierarchy without finding ways to get around their stated ethical commitments – gen-erally without admitting that this is what they are doing – will struggle to learn new ways.

Knowledge is the first step to virtue. Despite the workers’ complaint, the Swiss bank employ-ees and their employers seem finally to have admitted that something was deeply wrong with the way they used to work. If this effort at truth and moral reconciliation were repeated throughout the financial and business worlds, and backed up with firm judicial punishments, more consciences might start to be heard.

THE more or less liberal, democrat-ic, capitalist countries that make up seven of the Group of Eight (G8) have

condemned Russia and are discussing boy-cotting the June G8 meeting in Sochi. There is even talk of expelling Russia from the group.

This western government consensus against Russia’s actions is based on evi-dence that prompted the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power to say that it is “hard to avoid concluding that Russia does not want peace and does not want a diplomatic solution.”

It is time, since this is what news media in democracies do, to question that consen-sus. Let’s consider the case for what’s being called Russian neo-imperialism.

Claim — President Victor Yanukovich was democratically elected by the people of Ukraine in 2010.

He was, by a reasonable margin. Though his main rival, Yulia Tymoshenko, alleged fraud, she later withdrew her claim. But after growing corruption, tightened au-thoritarian rule and the murder by appar-ently state-sponsored thugs of more than 80 people protesting against Yanukovich’s rule, the parliament in Kiev voted by a sub-stantial majority to strip him of office. Later, with a similar majority, it voted to accept the new government that is now in place.

Claim — The protesters were led by, or at least had among their number, a large contingent of far rightists who are violently anti-Russian and anti-Semitic.

There are such forces in Ukraine. They were part of the protests and they at times received praise from the demonstrators for their courage. But, according to the histori-an Timothy Snyder, the far-right party Svo-boda (“Freedom”) is a small electoral force. The more militant Right Sector has so far stressed “that their goal is political and not ethnic or racial,” Snyder writes. The latter is, he admitted, “the group to watch,” since its rhetoric has been strongly hostile to all foreign, and especially Russian and Jewish, influence. But it does not lead the move-ment, and the ousting of Yanukovich can-not be represented truthfully as a “fascist coup.”

Claim — Russians in Crimea and East-ern Ukraine have cause for alarm and need protection.

There have been fiery speeches against Russian “imperialism.” The day after the deputies fired Yanukovich, they passed a law banning the teaching of Russian. This was condemned by, among others, the Foreign Minister of Poland, Radek Sikorski and was quickly scrapped. A likely con-tender for the next president of Ukraine, the former heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko who is a Russian-speaker, has stressed unity and balance in the parlia-ment.

There have been no recorded attacks on Russians anywhere, including where they are a minority — as in the west of Ukraine. As Power said at the U.N., “the Russian military action is not a human rights protection mission.”

Claim — The European Union was the real imperialist actor, and in wooing Ukraine it damaged Russian interests.

It’s probably true that the EU was at least naïve in offering an “association agreement” to Ukraine and failing to antic-ipate the Russian response. But the draft agreement was initialed by President Ya-nukovich in 2012. Russia didn’t like this and in 2013 it temporarily banned some Ukrainian products from its market, yet it was reasonable to suppose President Vladimir Putin would reluctantly acqui-esce in time. Instead, Russia became more upset.

The claims for Russian imperialism

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nance where there should be no settlers.

“We will be proposing to increase the budget for the relocation program to gradually remove the set-tlers and not wait for an-other tragedy to happen,” said Al-ag.

He added that they would also seek help from the national government to back up available local funds.

“We should craft a plan as to when the project should start and end,” Al-ag said, adding that they are waiting for the ordinance to be published after which the budget allocation for the project will immediate-ly follow.

The entire project could be done in 10 years as there are many settlers living near the city’s river-banks.

generator at the height of the reported Mindan-ao-wide grid system dis-turbance last February 27, Thursday.

Initial reports said that the power outage was caused by a tripping of state-owned Agus 1 hy-dro electric power plant in Marawi City leading to the system failure of oth-er power plants on the island.

All in all, a total of 677 MW, or an estimated 70 percent, was cut off the grid and causing a half-day total power outage.

SPI has already tapped the Department of Energy (DOE), the Na-tional Power Corporation (NPC), and the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to ad-dress issues.

“Our priority now is to restore the units back on line and ease up the critical power supply condition of Mindanao,” STEAG State Power Inc.

(SPI) plant manager Dr. Carsten Evers said, add-ing, ”employees are work-ing round-the-clock to restore the power plant back to the grid.”.

Evers said that the company is intensifying its effort to restore the units back on the line, noting the “precarious and volatile power sup-ply condition on the is-land.”

SPI earlier announced that the “loss of the plant’s output would lead to two- or three-hour ro-tating brownouts during peak hours, or between 6-9 p.m., depending on how distribution utilities or electric cooperatives manage demand.”

Located at the PHIVIDEC Industrial Es-tate in Villanueva, Mis-amis Oriental, the plant is currently Mindanao’s biggest in terms of unit capacity, accounting for nearly a fifth of the is-land’s total power supply.

ernment organizations (NGOs), and other groups from the metro.

This year’s parade will start from Magsaysay Park to Magsaysay Avenue, turn left to C. M. Recto Avenue,

turn right to Bonifacio Street, turn left to Legaspi St., and on to San Pedro St and exit to Quimpo Boule-vard.

Last year, the number of contingents reached 335.

want to ride on the im-petus towards greater development,” Montalbo added.

Meanwhile, the de-velopment plan that has been drafted is another historic milestone in the peace process between both parties which is re-lated to socio-economic requirements.

“There is the need to capture the sentiments of the beneficiary communi-ties on the plan, making sure that the process and the final output are trans-parent and, more impor-tantly, as inclusive as pos-sible,” Montalbo said.

Undersecretary Yas-min Busran-Lao, govern-ment peace panel mem-ber, said that as the coun-try braces for the ASEAN integration, the develop-ment plan will play a vi-

tal role in developing the region to become a key player in regional trade as it serves as a front door to the two largest Muslim countries in the world, Malaysia and Indonesia.

The BDP is an initia-tive of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front with the support of the govern-ment and other develop-ment partners to define a short and medium-term strategy for the recovery of the Bangsamoro. It is anchored in, and guided by, the framework agree-ment and its annexes need to sustain the mo-mentum on the peace process by providing strategic directions for the delivery and upgrade of basic services in Bang-samoro communities during and beyond the transition period.

He said most parts of the country will experience fair weather for the next three days with the easterlies af-fecting Luzon and Visayas.

He also said that with the presence of the easterlies, localized thunderstorms are easily formed.

He further noted that no tropical cyclone is expected to affect the country until weekend.

Aurelio said that the trop-ical storm with international name Faxai is not expected to enter the country’s area of responsibility.

For Thursday forecast, Aurelio said Metro Ma-nila and the rest of Luzon and Visayas will have fair weather aside from isolated light rains due to the north-

east monsoon affecting Lu-zon and Visayas.

He added that Mind-anao will experience fair weather aside from isolated rainshowers or thunder-storms.

Senior weather fore-caster Jori Loiz said PAGASA has yet to declare summer in the country since the cri-teria have yet to be met.

He said dry season be-gins when the northeast monsoon stops blowing into the country; when a high-pressure area (HPA) is present; and the easterlies or warm air from the Pacific Ocean prevails.

Loiz said it will be the HPA and easterly wind that will bring warm and hu-mid weather in the country

during summer.The northeast monsoon

is the mass of cold air from Siberia that blows into the country starting mid-Octo-ber and usually lasts until March.

Loiz said they expect the northeast monsoon to likely cease during the second or third week of this month, signaling the start of the summer season.

But even if it’s still not summer, Loiz advised the public to prepare for hotter days ahead as the northeast monsoon starts to weaken.

Loiz said temperature in Metro Manila already began to rise during late afternoon in the past few days.

From March 1 up to March 5, he said minimum

temperature in the me-tropolis already ranged from 19.5 degrees Celsius to 22.2 degrees.

He noted that maxi-mum temperature in Met-ro Manila for the past five days were ranging from 30.5 to 32.3 degrees Cel-sius.

During summer months of April and May, Loiz said the average afternoon tem-perature in Metro Manila is 33.5 degrees Celsius and 35 degrees, respectively.

Last year, PAGASA offi-cially declared the start of summer on March 18.

Meanwhile, Loiz said good weather is expected to prevail in most parts of the country for the next two to three days. [PNA]

firm also provides software solutions for real estates.

Aguilar said that one of their clients in the NCR uses their software that connects systems of the whole village. It provides ease not just to the operator but also to the people residing in the high-

end community.With all of this develop-

ment, the firm is targeting to increase their income by 20 percent.

Last year, it earned a to-tal revenue of P80 million. Majority of this comes from their clients in the national

capital region.They also have clients in

Boracay, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, and Baguio.

Their clients include Baguio Country Club, Pico de Loro, PhilAm Group of Companies, Filinvest, DMCI Homes, Camella Communi-

ties, Aboitiz Land, Century Properties Group Inc., Punta Fuego Resorts, San Miguel Properties, University of St. La sale, Rockwell Land, In-sular, Goshen Land, Astoria Plaza, Royal Mandaya Hotel in Davao among others.

anything will change – or too high so that transitional moments produce expecta-tions that cannot be met by existing institutions,” she said.

Kanda said that cre-ating institutions that can deliver security, justice and jobs is slow as it takes gen-erations before it would be discussed.

“Even the fastest trans-forming countries have taken between 15 and 30 years. So we should temper our expectations,” she said.

She said that the de-velopment plan process is a crucial step in the right direction. ‘It will identify quick wins ‘in the imme-diate transition period to meet the priority needs of

communities and build con-fidence in the process.”

Kanda added that the planning process is also reaching out to a range of different community vision-ing process that is on-going in the tribal communities in Upi, Maguindanao.

“This inclusivity is cru-cial to generate buy-in and to convince all stakehold-

ers that development in the Bangsamoro will benefit all, not just a select group,” she said.

Kanda stressed that global experience says that the first step towards insti-tutional change is restor-ing confidence in collective action as different parties need to work together to make change.

lution is eyeing to amend economic provisions on the 60-40 rule that limits foreign ownership of cer-tain activities in the Philip-pines, she said.

The resolution will in-clude the phrase “unless otherwise provided by law” in the foreign-owner-ship provision of the Con-stitution, particularly land ownership, public utilities, natural resources, media and advertising industries, Albano said.

Under Article XII of the Constitution, foreign

investors are prohibited to own more than 40 per-cent of real properties and businesses, while they are totally restricted to exploit natural resources and own any company in the media industry.

The amendments to the Charter will be approved through separate voting by the both Chambers, with a three-fourths vote re-quired from them.

Malacanang had re-peatedly said that the Pres-ident is not changing his position that Cha-cha is not

a priority in his administra-tion as they decide not to intervene with the works of the House of Represen-tatives.

Meanwhile, Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmena-res expressed alarm at the apparent rush by the heads of the House of Representa-tives to change the Constitu-tion.

“This is a new record for the Cha-cha train, in a matter of two weeks the Constitutional Amendments committee held marathon hearings and finished the

committee report,” he said.Earlier, Belmonte ex-

pressed confidence that his proposal will get the vote of majority in the lower cham-ber despite President Benig-no Aquino III’s opposition.

“We hope Speaker Feli-ciano Belmonte would stand by his promise that Cha-cha would not be tackled at the plenary next week but in May when session resumes. There are more important bills like FOI, the genuine agrarian reform bill and the repeal of EPIRA,” added Col-menares. [PNA]

ada, also discussed the eco-nomic performance of the Philippines and its various regions compared to the eco-nomic developments in the USA, Europe, Japan and other parts of the world during the last few years.

SLAMCI is optimistic about further improving its performance in Visayas and Mindanao this 2014, after marking a stellar growth in the said regions last year.

In 2013, SLAMCI’s gross sales in Vismin grew by 121% from the previous year, from P488 million to P1 billion. Its assets under man-agement also grew by 28%, contributing P2.35 billion AUM to the company’s total AUM of P41.13 billion as of December 2013.

“The numbers prove that

more and more Filipinos in Visayas and Mindanao are warming up to the idea of in-vesting and we’re happy that they’re putting their trust in SLAMCI as they take major steps in their finances,” said SLAMCI President Riena Rama. “This also sets a good momentum for 2014. We trust that it will get even bet-ter in the coming months.”

There was also an in-crease in the company’s man-power in VisMin, which grew by 38% in 2013 and is now 456-agents strong. Pama is confident that this will also contribute to further improv-ing SLAMCI’s presence in VisMin. “A growing agency force gives us the latitude to reach more people and in-troduce them to the different ways that they can grow their

money,” she explained.SLAMCI manages a total

of seven funds collectively called the Sun Life Prosper-ity funds, which include the bond fund, balanced fund, equity fund, money market fund and GS (government securities), dollar advantage, and dollar abundance. Its balanced fund remains to be the largest in the country, with P16.2 billion assets un-der management as of De-cember 2013.

To further encourage in-vestors to grow their money with SLAMCI, the company has brought back its high-ly-successful investor pro-mo. This year, SLAMCI offers “Invest and Travel” promo, wherein qualified investors are rewarded with staycation treats and travel packages to

destinations such as Sydney, San Francisco, and Los Ange-les. All the packages are good for two persons, so the inves-tor can share the experience with a loved one.

The “Invest and Travel” promo will run until Decem-ber 29, 2014.

For more information about the “Invest and Trav-el” promo and the Sun Life Prosperity Funds, visit www.sunlifefunds.com.

Sun Life Financial is rep-resented in the Philippines by its life insurance arm, Sun Life of Canada (Philippines), Inc. (SLOCPO); its mutual fund manager, Sun Life Asset Management Company Inc. (SLAMCI); and its pre-need company, Sun Life Financial Plans Inc. (SLFPI).


BIGGER PICTURE

UNITED Nations Secretary-Gen-eral Ban Ki-moon

and FAO Director-Gen-eral José Graziano da Silva yesterday ap-pealed to governments to boost support to the world’s small-scale family farmers in order to win the fight against hunger.

Ban said the Inter-national Year of Family Farming being cele-brated in 2014 called “for commitments” in a message relayed by Graziano da Silva to the Global Forum and Expo on Family Farming in Budapest.

“Governments can empower family farm-ers, especially women and youth, by creating policies conducive to equitable and sustain-able rural develop-ment,” Ban said. “This includes better infra-structure to reduce the amount of food lost af-ter harvest when small-scale producers are unable to store, process and transport their goods.”

The UN Secre-tary-General also en-couraged public and private lenders to pro-vide vital financial ser-vices such as credit and insurance.

Ban warned that

small-scale family farmers are particular-ly vulnerable to climate change events such as extreme weather, droughts and floods

Pro-family farmingpolicies

In his address to the forum, Graziano da Sil-va echoed the UN Secre-tary-General in urging governments to adopt explicitly pro-family farming policies.

He underlined that family farmers, fisher folk, forest-dependent people, pastoralists and traditional and in-digenous communities are key for food secu-rity in most countries but at the same time are among the world’s most vulnerable popu-lations.

A recent study of 93 countries shows that family farms account for over 90 percent of all farm holdings, he told the forum.

Family farmers also manage most of the world’s farm land, in-cluding 63 percent in Europe, he said.

“Apart from produc-ing a high proportion of the food we eat, family farmers are by far the biggest source of em-ployment in the world,” the Director-General stressed, adding that

they are also the guard-ians of the world’s agro-biodiversity and natural resources.

Land grab threatsGraziano da Silva

underlined the impor-tance of protecting family farmers from rising threats to their traditional access to land posed by insecuri-ty and land grabbing.

The Committee on World Food Security’s approved Voluntary Guidelines on the Re-sponsible Governance of Tenure as well as its Principles on Responsi-ble Agricultural Invest-ments currently being negotiated are of great importance to keep these threats in check, he said.

“Large private sector investments in agricul-ture exist and will con-tinue, whether we like it or not,” he explained. “So it is paramount that there is a common un-derstanding on how to invest in ways that are sustainable and pro-tect the rights of family farmers and poor com-munities.”

Special ambassadors

Secretary Gener-al of the Asian Farm-ers Association Esther Penunia, President of the southern area of

the artisanal section of the National Federation of Fisheries of Maurita-nia Mohammed Ould Saleck, and President of the European Farm-ers Association Gerd Sonnleitner were for-

mally appointed as FAO Special Ambassadors on Family Farming at today’s forum.

They join the other special ambassadors already nominated for the Year: Ibrahima

Coulibaly, President of the National Coordina-tion of Peasant Orga-nizations of Mali, and Mirna Cunningham, former Chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

Batting for pro-familyfarming policies


VOL. 6 ISSUE 251 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 7-8, 201412EDGEDavao Davao Partners

EDGEDavao Gensan Partners

Tel No. (083) 553-2211 / (083) 877-0019 / (083) 878-0308

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EVERYONE is trying to master the art of the gimmick. The things that retailers try to sell the public are so laden with layers upon layers of marketing trickery that it gets to be just too much sometimes. A lot of customers like to connect nowadays with the brands they patronize. If they identify with the spirit or sentiment of the brand’s entire lifestyle platform can dictate whether they will spend their money or not.

INdulge! VOL. 6 ISSUE 251 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 7-8, 2014

EDGEDAVAOSTYLE

KADA wears it forward

One local brand that seems to nail both stand-out simplicity and clear mission statement is KADA Clothing. Creating a striking presence online with its website, this cloth-ing brand has always been about putting out bet-ter basics since its incep-tion in 2011. Much of the

marketing has occurred organically, just how they like it. KADA puts much importance in reaching their customers in the right way and this happens partly because of how they choose to reach out. Their idea is simple yet power-ful: for every shirt they

FKADA, A4

The crowd was on its feet at the Elements Party at The Fountain Court.

THE METRO’S pre-mier shopping, lifestyle and entertainment hub continues to offer breakthrough events that celebrate the good life and the love for music and festivity in Davao City. In early February 2014, an epic evening was in store for over 4,100 people as SM Lanang Premier presented ‘Elements: The Sonic Es-calation Experience,’ the hottest party wave to hit the city to date. Held at The Fountain Court (TFC) grounds, the party was co-presented by the creator of the 3D electric musical event, Carte Blanche, as a treat for all Davaoeños and tourists during SM Lanang Premier’s Great 3-Day Sale weekend. ‘Elements’ brought to Davao City the Philippines’ most sought-after and considered number one DJ – DJ Ace Ramos, who was voted 2010 Club DJ of the Year by Wave 89.1 in the Urban Music Awards. Davao-based front acts DJ Torch and Wacky Masbad, meanwhile, spinned pul-sating mixes that got the audience all pumped up for DJ Ace. Confetti rained down on the crowd as DJ Ace, a reg-

ular fixture at parties and celebrated festivals all over the country, took his turn on stage, treating partygo-ers to an impressive set of musical catalogs consisting of mash-ups and fusion of hip hop, RnB, electro rock, and chart-topping hits. While all this was happen-ing, Tribu K’Mindanawan gave the crowd a dose of eye candy, performing spec-tacular fire dance routines against the stunning back-drop of the Waterworks Show at The Fountain Court.

The mixed crowd, es-pecially the young ones, stayed up until midnight on the dance floor, paus-ing only for short breaks to hydrate themselves from too much revelry. Oth-ers enjoyed a few drinks and chilled out with their friends at Bistro Selera bar, which was set up at the sidelines. The event was co-orga-nized by Manic Nightnings Production and supported by Park Inn by Radisson Davao. It garnered the big-gest turnout of partygoers

so far since Manic Night-nings Production’s Carte Blanche last year. This March 29, at 8 pm, SM Lanang Premier will stage another party at The Fountain Court called ‘Spectra: The Black Light Party’ set in time for the city-wide tourism promo-tion of the Big Davao Fun Sale. Don’t miss epic par-ties and musical events at SM Lanang Premier! For event updates, visit SM La-nang Premier on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

CELEBRATE the good things in life in an evening of wine ap-preciation on Monday, March 10, 2014 at Marco Polo Davao’s Polo Bistro. The featured wines for the event are from Master Chef Re-public and featured cheeses by Malagos Farmhouse. Special limited offer available for only Php300.00 net. Polo Bistro is located at the 4th level, The Deck, Marco Polo Davao. For reservations and inquiries, please call (082) 221-0888 local 7955 or 7608.

CLEANSE the body of the guilt of your indulgences while dancing, laughing and having fun, and meeting new friends outside of the usual gym environment. Come join us at the White House Fusion Cuisine and Wine Lounge for a daily dose of dance party designed for you to achieve the kind of fitness that you desire. Every day starting this summer, the White House will host a dance party both for adults and children with one of Davao City’s famous dance and fitness authorities, Nash Villa. From Zumba to authentic belly dancing to freestyle jazz, lose calories and become fit while embracing life the way you always should with your friends and with strangers who will later become your new friends. “What we offer is the chance for you to enjoy fitness with a bunch of fun-loving, life-adoring souls,” says The White House owner Cathy Binag. “Through the dance party, we hope to inspire each other and become fit and healthy and at the same time, happy.” Dance classes will be held morning and afternoon from Mondays to Saturdays. Zumba classes will be MWF (8 am to 9 am and 5 pm to 6:30 pm), Bellydance sessions will be TTh (4 pm to 5:30 pm), Freestyle Street Jazz for kids and adults will be TTh and S (9 am to 10 am), Freestyle Hip Hop for kids will be TTh and S (4 pm to 5 pm), and Freestyle Street Jazz Bellydance Burlesque-inspired will be TTH and S (5 pm to 6:30 pm). For more details, please call The White House Fusion Cuisine and Wine Lounge at (082) 2824540 and +639154483601. It is located at the Camella Northpoint compound along J.P. Laurel Avenue in Davao City.

IT’S A MONTH dedicated to the girls who run the world at SM City Davao. Packed with great treats and events, SM Davao celebrates Women this March. Enjoy great deals on cosmetics, fashion apparel and other women essentials on March 5, 12, 19, 26 of the month at SM City Davao’s Wednesday Women’s Sale. Avail of up to 70% off on great selections. Dance mean and be lean. Heat up the dance floor in your purple work-out gear and lose those pounds with SM City Davao’s PURPLE ZUMBA on March 19 on 6PM. Get fit with Holiday Gym at the Annex Event Center. Admission is free. Because its fun being a girl, SM City Davao mounts this season’s most exciting health and beauty fair from March 21 to 23. Beauty and Beyond showcases the best beauty prod-ucts in the market with free tutorials on grooming, make-up and style. Catch Otoi Mercado’s make-up session with Wat-sons on March 21. Admission is free. Update your wardrobe and get the latest trends from the Style Hub with The SM Store and the hip Fashion Design stu-dents from Philippine Women’s College at 5 PM of March 22, be inspired with ensembles fresh from the runway. It’s a throwback Sunday! Party to the music from the 80s to 2000s at Women Rocks as you listen to all-female hits live by Davao’s premier band on March 23 at the Annex Event Center. Every woman deserves a royal treatment. Enjoy a month of pampering spree from head-to-toe at SM Davao’s salons, spas and beauty lounges. Avail of discounts and freebies be-cause a woman is worth it. This Women’s month, everything is at SM City Davao. For inquiries, call 297.6998 local 126. Like SM City Davao on Face-book or follow @smcitydavao on Twitter and @smdavao on Instagram.

A2 INdulge! VOL. 6 ISSUE 251 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 7-8, 2014EDGEDAVAO

Elements party sets new lifestyle trend

SM Lanang Premier event draws more than 4,100 partygoers

Wine and Cheese appreciation at Polo Bistro

Dance your way to a fabulous body at The White House

Everything is at SM Davao and women love it!

UP AND ABOUT EVENT

A Tribu K’Mindanawan dancer performs a fire dance sequence infront of the country’s longest musical fountain at SM Lanang Premier.

Fashionable partygoers enjoy the night at the Elements event.

A group of friends paints the town red at SM Lanang Premier.

DJs Wacky Masbad, Ace Ramos and Torch.

Young people join the Elements party at the Fountain Court.

DJ Ace Ramos wows the audience with his smash musical catalogs and mixes.

AS IF we needed further proof that Jessica Alba is smoking hot. The 32-year-old bomb-shell is reprising her break-out role as stripper Nancy Callahan in Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, a follow-up to the 2005 hit Sin City based on Frank Miller’s famous com-ics. And despite the fact that nine years have passed since the brunette bomb-shell has been in stripper mode, she looks like she hasn’t aged a day in the super-hot promo shot. Oh, and did we also men-tion she gave birth to two kids during that time? Yeah, and she still looks that good (not fair). Sitting on her knees atop a stage with her legs spread open in a seductive pose, Alba tosses her hair and bares her bangin’ bod as she steams up the entire room, which has endless bottles of booze on display in the background. The Fantastic Four star

flaunts her super-toned tummy while rocking a

sexy black bra, leaving little to the imagination as she

sports itty-bitty briefs in addition to what appear

CELEBRATE the joys of travel and wonders of na-ture as the ultimate travel show Biyahe ni Drew marks its first anniversary this Fri-day in one of the country’s best travel destinations – Batanes. While its remote geo-graphic location obscures it from the tourists’ eyes, Batanes, located in the northernmost tip of the Phil-ippines, is a breathtaking place that is worth explor-ing. Upong arriving in the provincial capital, Basco, ultimate biyahero Drew Arellano notices the serene life of the Ivatans. The im-posed 20-kilometer per hour speed limit in the en-tire province gives credence to their lingering way of life. Its unpolluted panoramic landscape seems to invite the tourists to explore its wonders by mere walking or riding a bicycle. Drew knocks on the tra-ditional stone houses that Batanes is known for. Con-structed through the long-established building system that has been passed down from one generation to the next, the architectural gems of the province can with-stand the onslaught of any strong storms. Ivatan cuisine has a dis-tinct signature taste. Be-cause Batanes is surrounded

by waters, it is not surprising that its cuisine centers on seafood. Drew tries the local dishes such as abong, the local version of mussels, yel-low fin tuna, seaweed, lob-ster, and coconut crab. Drew also gets to personally expe-rience how the Ivatans value honesty. In the Honesty Cof-fee Shop, no one keeps an eye on the goods. Anyone can just get what they need, pay for it and even get their own change. And the show’s Batanes adventure will not be com-plete without Drew trying the vacul, the traditional Ivatan headwear that the lo-cals use during hot days and rainy season.

For Drew, his Batanes trip is a memorable one: “It’s amazing to think that Biyahe ni Drew has turned one. We even celebrate the first an-niversary in Batanes, which is in everyone’s bucket list. Most people have this no-tion that it is hard to go to Batanes. I’d say schedule in advance, at least one year in advance. When you ask me what are the best places

in the Philippines, before I would automatically answer Boracay, Palawan or Sagad. But after experiencing this majestic place, Batanes will immediately come to my mind.” Explore the beautiful province of Batanes as Bi-yahe ni Drew celebrates its first anniversary this Friday, 8 p.m., right after Mars on GMA News TV.

INdulge! A3VOL. 6 ISSUE 251 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 7-8, 2014EDGEDAVAO

‘Biyahe Ni Drew’ celebrates first anniversary in Batanes

HOLLYWOOD ACTING COACH IVANA CHUBBUCK REVEALS ART OF ACTING IN “BOTTOMLINE.” World-renowned acting coach Ivana Chubbuck takes the spotlight in “The Bottomline With Boy Abunda” this Saturday (March 8) to share her success story, as well as her secrets to molding Hollywood’s most popular actors into unforgettable characters. For 34 years, Ivana has taught and worked with award-winning actors such as Halle Berry, Charlize Theron, and Brad Pitt, among others. This Saturday, discover Ivana’s tips on how aspiring actors can stand out and become successful in the business. Is acting born with a person, or is it acquired? What keeps her passionate about her difficult job as an acting coach? Among all the stars she’s worked with, who does she think is the best? Don’t miss the 10th USTv Students’ Choice Awards 2014 Students’ Choice of Public Affairs Program “The Bottomline With Boy Abunda” this Saturday, after “Banana Split: Extra Scoop.” For more updates, log on to www.abs-cbn.com or follow @abscbndotcom on Twitter.

to be semi-sheer garter-in-spired tights. Her typically brunette locks are dyed a platinum blonde hue, and she also wears a single fin-gerless leather glove in the black-and-white pic. So how does Cash War-ren’s missus maintain her famous figure?! “More organic produce in your life is better than pack-aged, I think water is essen-tial, and if you can be active in any way shape or form, it’s always good to keep the blood flowing,” she told E! News when asked to share three diet and fitness tips. “If you can just do it two or three times a week, a little

bit of exercise whether it’s yoga or going for a walk or cycling class or something...go for it” (she’s also a big fan of the popular Flywheel workout). Directed by Robert Ro-driguez and Frank Miller, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For also stars original castmembers Bruce Willis, Rosario Daw-son and Mickey Rourke.Additionally, the forthcom-ing film will feature appear-ances by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Josh Brolin, Alba’s BFF Jaime King and even Lady Gaga. Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is set for release on Aug. 22, 2014.

Jessica Alba back in sexy stripper mode for ‘Sin City: A Dame to Kill For’

PG 13

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PG 13

PG 13 /

* R 13 12:00 | 2:30 | 5:00 LFS / * 7:30 | 10:00 LFS

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Kit Harington, Emily Browning

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Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore

A4 INdulge! VOL. 6 ISSUE 251 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 7-8, 2014EDGEDAVAOSTYLE

sell, they will give 20% of their profits back through NGO partners. Brothers Raymund and Anton Villanueva helm the brand, with a team of like-minded individuals that works partly in San Francisco and in Manila. According to Raymund, “That’s it. There’s no catch. Every shirt you buy is one step that will improve the life of a person in need.” The selection is kept small on purpose. Styles for both men and women are broken down into button-down shirts, t-shirts (cami-sa) and tank tops. There is something very artisanal in how they choose to put out their line of better ba-sics. An almost obsessive disposition directs their thought and design pro-cess. They meticulously choose the fabric, buttons, threads, lining, fusing and all the components that go into making KADA shirts, creating character in all the right places. They typify their customers as those who are growing up yet never lose their sense of fun when they dress. These are individuals who know how to appreciate the crispness of a classic button down shirt yet play up their urban warrior get-ups with quirky accessories like col-orful socks. KADA’s pieces are hand-made by tailors and seam-stresses, all from the Phil-ippines. This is an endeavor that is proudly local – made local and benefiting their

fellow Filipinos who are most in need. It may just be a coincidence but in local dialect, KADA means ‘ev-ery.’ What they have intro-duced is a concrete way to help one shirt at a time. It is almost too good how to be true how gratifying KADA makes the buying process

KADA’s pieces are handmade by tailors and seamstresses, all from the Philippines.

This is an endeavor that is proudly local

– made local and benefiting their

fellow Filipinos who are most in need.

and “wearing it forward” as they like to say. Not only do you end up with a beauti-fully made shirt that looks like it was tailored for you,

someone out there actually gains clothing on his back. Visit www.kadaclothing.com to view their full collec-tion.

EDGEDavao Davao Partners

Kada...FFROM A1

VOL. 6 ISSUE 251 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 7-8, 2014 13CLASSIFIED

SALES MANAGER Male or female, 30-40 years old College degree holder of a business course; a post degree an advantage Five (5) years work experience in the sales/ marketing job in a supervisory or managerial capacity Excellent communication skills (oral & written) in the English language and human relations skills as well Effective in forecasting, credit and collection and in building quality relationships with business partners. Decisive, performance driven and results oriented A persuasive leader, good coach and motivator

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Male or female, 25-35 years old preferably single College degree in business, marketing or its equivalent A two (2) year work experience an advantage With excellent communication, customer relations, leadership, analytical and negotiation skills Ability to work in high- paced and challenging business environment Pleasing Personality, results oriented Computer literate Willing to be assigned anywhere in Mindanao or Visayas

PROMOTERS Male or female,21 to 30 years old, preferably single College graduate preferably in marketing or its equivalent At least two (2) years experience as a promoter or merchandiser an advantage Communicates well in English and Pilipino language Possesses a pleasing personality Computer literate Willing to be assigned anywhere in Mindanao or Visayas

MANAGEMENT TRAINEES Male or female, 28-35 years old, preferably single Bachelor degree in business or marketing or its allied courses With previous work experience in sales or marketing, a plus factor Hardworking, task oriented and results oriented Excellent communication skills both oral and written in the English language Willing to learn and develop his/her skills and abilities May be assigned anywhere in Mindanao and Visayas

ACCOUNTING MANAGER Male or female, 29-40 years old College degree in accountancy or its allied courses Five (5) years work experience in a supervisory/managerial capacity Extensive exposure in General Accounting, Budgeting and Financial Analysis Excellent communication skills in (both oral & written) the English language With good interpersonal relationship skills, leadership and managerial skills Computer literate

ACCOUNTING CLERKS Male or female, 25-30 years ols College degree in Accountancy or its allied courses Two years work exposure to general accounting jobs Hardworking and reliable Excellent communication skills and interpersonal relationship skills Computer literate

Interested and qualified applicants may send application letter, resume with details of previous work responsibilities, and 2X2 photo

Thru: telfax #: (808)282-8136Email: [email protected]

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EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 6 ISSUE 251 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 7-8, 201414 SPORTS

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Dwight Howard received the worst

reception of his career last season when he made his initial return to the city that was his NBA home for eight seasons.

This time, for his sec-ond trip, he was wearing yet another jersey and met by a similarly hos-tile crowd. But once again, there was no pity taken on his former team.

James Harden scored 31 points, including 25 in the second half, and the Hous-ton Rockets dug out of a double-digit, first-half hole to beat the Orlando Mag-ic 101-89 on Wednesday night.

Howard added 19 points and 14 rebounds as the Rockets dominated in-side, outscoring the Magic 58-26 in the paint.

‘’I think last year was a little more emotional, com-ing back here and seeing a lot of old faces,’’ said How-

ard, who is now 3-1 against the Magic as a member of the Lakers and Rockets. ‘’But this year, I just wanted to come in and get a good win.’’

Houston trailed in the second quarter by as many as 14 points, but battled back to win for the 13th time in 15 outings. How-ard scored 11 points in the third quarter, connecting on five of his six field-goal attempts, to help the Rock-ets take 10-point lead into the fourth.

Houston won at Miami on Tuesday, and will have a chance to beat the Eastern Conference’s top team when they host Indiana on Friday.

‘’We started off slow, and then from that point on we were pretty solid,’’ Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. ‘’Our defense was really good in the second and third (quar-ters), and then we got the game back under control.’’

Arron Afflalo led the Mag-ic with 18 points. The Magic

dropped to 0-2 this season against the Rockets.

Orlando played without Jameer Nelson and Victor Oladipo. Nelson was out sick and Oladipo missed his first game of the season with sore-ness in his left ankle.

The Magic’s second unit surged at the start of the final period, and cut the deficit to three and prompted the Rock-ets to quickly re-insert their starters. Harden immediately scored five straight points, and Terrence Jones added a layup to push Houston’s lead back up to 86-76 with 5:37 to play.

Orlando never got closer than eight points the rest of the way.

‘’It’s real disappointing because we started off so well,’’ Magic forward Tobias Harris said. ‘’The third quar-ter, we just didn’t get it going. I take a lot of this on myself. I didn’t come and play for my team, so a game like this is disappointing even more be-cause I let my team down.’’

Harden leads Rockets past Magic

DORAL, Florida (Reuters) - Tiger Woods, Adam Scott

and a nasty Blue Monster will share the spotlight at this week’s WGC-Cadillac Championship in Doral, where a new world number one may be crowned.

The world’s top 50 ranked players have arrived in Miami to take on a famed Blue Monster Course that has been made even more frightening after a $250 million renovation.

Celebrity business magnate and resort owner Donald Trump described the new layout as big, bold and fair on Wednesday and players echoed that assess-ment heralding the rebirth of what is regarded as one of the PGA Tour’s toughest courses.

The Blue Monster will provide a worthy stage for a mouth-watering show-down between the world’s top two-ranked players in defending champion Woods and world number two Scott.

If Scott wins the tourna-ment and Woods finishes seventh or worse, the Aus-tralian will bump him from top of the rankings.

“I don’t know how Ti-ger feels about it but it’s obviously a position (num-ber one) he’s pretty com-fortable with for a long time throughout his career and I can assure you from knowing him just a little bit, it’s a position he probably wouldn’t want to give up,” said Scott. “It would be a dream come true to make it to that point.”

After withdrawing from Sunday’s final round of the Honda Classic with back spasms, Woods declared

himself fit on Wednesday to defend his title and ranking.

In 13 career starts at the WGC-Cadillac Champi-onship, Woods has seven wins, the last four coming at the Doral resort.

While the Blue Monster has been a happy hunting ground for Woods, the 14-time major winner will find himself in strangely unfa-miliar surroundings this year having yet to get a look at the changes.

“I have to go out to a golf course I don’t know yet; so I don’t know the feel of how this course is going to be playing,” said Woods. “We’re going to do a lot of homework out there today and try to get a good feel of how we’re going to attack this place.”

Woods will be part-nered with Masters cham-pion Scott and FedExCup winner Henrik Stenson of Sweden, bringing the world’s top three ranked players together in a block-buster group for the open-ing two rounds.

Another marquee group will feature North-ern Irishman Rory McIlroy, who will be bidding to re-bound from a heartbreak-ing loss at the Honda Clas-sic, fan favorite and 2009 Doral winner Phil Mick-elson and in-form Aus-tralian Jason Day, winner of WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.

McIlroy has produced some superb golf of late but has been unable to close the deal.

The double major winner had led by three strokes after six holes at the Honda Classic only to wobble badly over the back nine en route to losing in a

four-way playoff.“I was just disappoint-

ed with how I played coming down the stretch.

It obviously wasn’t what I would have liked,” said McIlroy. “But plenty of positives, getting myself in

position to win, it was my third stroke play event of the year, and third chance to win.

“I feel like my game is there to get into contention again this week and that’s what I’ll try and do.”

Tiger ready to tame Doral

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Al Jefferson had a pretty good inkling it

was Charlotte’s night when he banked in a 31-footer from well beyond the top of the key to beat the shot clock midway through the fourth quarter.

‘’I didn’t call the bank, but I trusted my right hand,’’ Jefferson said with a laugh.

Jefferson scored 34 points and the Bobcats stunned NBA-leading In-diana 109-87 Wednesday night, handing the Pacers just their second two-game skid of the season. Jefferson was 16 of 25 from the field and had eight rebounds for the Bobcats (28-33), who won their fifth straight at home to equal their com-bined win total from the

previous two seasons.‘’I’m not accepting that

we’re a team that guys look at on the schedule any-more and say, ‘OK, we have the Bobcats (so) we can take the night off.’’’ Jeffer-son said.

Jefferson, whose 38-point, 19-rebound ef-fort Monday night was overshadowed by LeB-ron James’ career-high 61-point outing, has scored at least 20 points in 21 of his last 24 games.

‘’I think everybody needs to question the East-ern Conference voting on why Al Jefferson wasn’t on the All-Star team because clearly he is one of the best in the game,’’ Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. ‘’He showed it tonight. Give him credit.’’

Charlotte was finishing a brutal four-game stretch, becoming the first team since the 2009-10 Knicks to play the NBA’s top four teams in consecutive games. They previously lost to San Antonio, Okla-homa City and Miami on the road, but left no doubt about this this one.

Charlotte jumped out to a 28-8 lead after the first quarter and never trailed.

Kemba Walker added 19 points and nine assists for the Bobcats, who have the seventh-best record in the Eastern Conference.

Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said he thought his team played well in the road losses to the Spurs, Thunder and Heat and that it carried over some confi-dence to Wednesday night.

Bobcats rout Pacers 109-87STUNNING UPSET

TIGER WOOD

VOL. 6 ISSUE 251 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 7-8, 2014 15SPORTS

THE Philippine Bas-ketball Associations’s (PBA) oldest and win-

ningest franchise is carrying the iconic brand once more as they step into the hard court during the start of the Com-missioner’s Cup this week.

In a courtesy call to San Miguel Brewery Inc.

President Roberto N. Huang recently, the Biboy Rav-anes-mentored beermen were challenged to work and play hard. Huang echoed Mr. Ang’s mandate for them to stay true to the San Miguel brand that is synonymous to brewing excel-lence.

Huang, gave each of the players and coaching staff San Miguel Pale Pilsen Bilib Cans, citing his confidence that each of them will work hard for the team that would carry the “Samahang Walang Katulad” equity, win or lose. San Miguel Pale Pilsen’s Bilib campaign is a unique project to celebrate everyday successes, admira-tion and to uplift the sense of pride of anyone giving or re-ceiving the special beer in can

with a writeable space. Huang specifically cited the Beer-men’s top center and the re-cent conference’s Best Player June Mar Fajardo.

Huang wished Fajardo goodluck as he will soon start training with the National Team for the country’s come-back to the world basketball map via the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Barcelona, Spain later this year. “Give it your all—for the country,” Huang said.

Shooting Guard/ Small Forward Marcio Lasssiter was likewise added to the Gilas lineup recently.

Each of the players and coaching staff received from Huang Messages in a Can cit-ing how he and the fans look up to them—from calling Fa-jardo “Kraken” (referring to pop culture’s legendary sea monster), Marata’s and Lassit-er’s “pamatay sunog na mga tres,” Hubalde’s “nakakabu-lag na bilis,” Mercado’s “kill-er crossovers,” to Kramer’s strength in carrying his popu-lar Team Kramer with his own

biceps. Carrying the Petron

Blaze brand since the 2011 Governor’s Cup, the return of San Miguel Beermen was announced personally by San Miguel Corporation president Ramon S. Ang.

The return, Ang said comes in time for the 25th an-niversary of the team’s Grand Slam feat in 1989 where it swept all three conferences. The San Miguel franchise has won 19 championships to date.

Ang added the “manage-ment expects for more cham-pionships with the new gen-eration of hardworking and talented players and coaching staff.”

For the 2014 Commis-sioner’s Cup and the team’s fresh mandate as San Miguel Beermen, the franchise will be powered by Junemar “Abai” Fajardo (15); Ronald Tubid (71); Solomon “Sol” Merca-do; Douglas “Doug” Kraemer (18); Chico Lanete (26); Mar-cio Lassiter (13); Chris Ross (6); Christopher “Chris” Lutz

(28); Yousef Taha (28); Ar-wind Santos (29); Paul Rico “Rico” Maierhofer (1); Paolo “Pau” Hubalde (12); Joselito “Jojo” Duncil (11); Samuel Jo-seph “Tata” Marata (16); and import Oscar Joshua “Josh” Boone.

The team will still be man-aged by Gee Abanilla, with 1st Assistant Coach and Consul-tant John Todd Purves and As-sistant Coaches David “Boysie” Zamar, Riel Banaria, Peter Martin, and Alfonso “Dayong” Mendoza. The beermen will be slugging it off with the Mer-alco Bolts in the start of their campaign on Friday.

San Miguel Brewery Inc. is the maker of San Miguel Pale Pilsen, the company’s flagship brand from which the San Mi-guel Beermen has reference to. SMB Inc. also brews other global award-winning brands such as San Mig Light, Red Horse Beer, San Miguel Premi-um All-Malt Beer, Gold Eagle Beer, San Miguel Super Dry, Cerveza Negra, San Mig Zero, San Miguel Flavored Beer (Ap-ple and Lemon).

San Miguel Beermen CAN. San Miguel Brewery Inc. President Roberto N. Huang with the players and coaching staff of the San Miguel Beermen in a recent courtesy call at the headquarters of San Miguel Corporation in Mandaluyong. Mr. Huang gave each of them his Messsage in a Can to give them a boost in their return as Beermen at the start of the Commissioner’s Cup.

SMB Inc.’s Huang believes they CANSAN MIGUEL BEERMEN’S RETURN: THE Ateneo de Manila

University (AdMU) Lady Eagles bucked a

first set shellacking to take the next three sets and with it snare Game 1 of the UAAP women’s volleyball finals, effectively eradicating the thrice-to-beat advantage held by erstwhile unde-feated defending titlists De La Salle University (DLSU) 17-25, 25-23, 25-13, 25-20 before almost twenty thousand rabid fans at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

Freshman Michelle Morente exploded for sev-enteen markers while New Zealand’s Amy Ahomiro added sixteen points as Ate-neo kept their postseason winning streak alive while dealing the Lady Spikers their first loss of the tourna-ment and first in 41 match-es dating back to opening day of Season 75 where UST became the last team before today to trounce DLSU until today.

League scoring cham-pion Alyssa Valdez also contributed sixteen points while senior Ella de Jesus chipped-in twelve in the Lady Eagles’ first triumph over DLSU since the 2012 Finals when Ateneo, then led by its fabled “Fab Five”,

stole Game 1. The Lady Spikers went on to win the next two matches to snare their then second straight title.

DLSU was paced by senior outside hitter Cyd Demecillo’s sixteen points, while Season 75 co-MVPs Ara Galang and skipper Abigail Maraño added thirteen and ten points, re-spectively.

The Ateneo victory figuratively makes this a Best-Of-Three series, with both teams now needing two wins to capture—or retain—the championship.

Game 2 is set for Satur-day (March 8th), at 4:00PM still at the Big Dome. The match will be preceded by the season’s awarding cer-emonies.

Earlier, the National University (NU) Bulldogs successfully defended their men’s volleyball crown with 25-22, 21-25, 25-23, 27-25 escape against first-time finalists the AdMU Blue Spikers to sweep their titular series. Jan Berlin Paglinawan led four play-ers in double-figures with fifteen points while Ateneo rookie sensation Marck Espejo registered a game-high twenty markers.


THE Philippine Bas-ketball Association on Thursday con-

firmed that NLEX, one of the companies controlled by businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan, has submitted its letter of intent to join the pro league in 2015.

Willie Marcial, special assistant to the commis-sioner and media bureau chief, disclosed it to Inter-Aksyon.com.

NLEX has won five of the six conferences in the D-League.

On Thursday, the PBA Board convened to decide

on the application of two potential expansion teams — Kia Motors and Black-water Sports.

Both have already sub-mitted documents and were evaluated by PBA commissioner Chito Salud for recommendation to the board.

Under league rules, eight out of 10 votes are needed for new teams to be accepted.

Two other teams under the MVP Group of Compa-nies – Talk ‘N Text and Mer-alco – are already regular participants in the PBA.

NLEX applies for PBA

CELEBRATION. Ateneo Lady Spikers whoop it up after their Game 1 win over rival De La Salle.

Ateneo belles draw first blood


FOR kids, the world is their oyster, and par-ents have to provide

them the appropriate envi-ronment that allows them to live a healthy and happy life. The choice of home is therefore crucial as it be-comes the nest where par-ents nurture their children and let them fulfill their po-tentials.

Northpoint is a Brit-ish colonial themed condo community with features and amenities that provide the most suitable home en-vironment for kids, making it the ideal home of choice for families with growing children.

Clean and green. What child does not want to enjoy the outdoors? With a clean and green environment, Northpoint is the best out-door experience parents can give their children. The

condo grounds are planted with imported Caribbean pine trees that augment the existing lush plant life, giv-ing off a subtle pine scent and providing fresh oxygen at all times.

Such a verdant and healthful environment is good for the little tykes as they play outdoor games, stroll and chat at the pocket gardens, or hang out under the shade of a big tree with their siblings, friends, or neighbors. It’s an ideal set-ting where childhood mem-ories are created.

Safe and secure envi-ronment. When parents leave their kids at home, concern for their safety is always a nagging thought. Concern can become anxiety when they know the young ones will want to go out of the home to explore and have some fun. But they don›t have to

worry about all these when they live at Northpoint.

Here, parents do not have to fret about their chil-dren’s safety with the con-do community’s round-the-clock security system, bol-stered with CCTV, perim-eter fence, gadgets, and roving personnel. Knowing their children are within the condo premises gives parents the peace of mind they look for when their lit-tle ones are not with them.

It gives parents satisfac-tion to know their children can frolic in the playground, stroll around the tree-filled grounds, and run with abandon on the green car-pet of grass and open spac-es. Here they can simply be kids, their imagination and child-like wonder at work as their discover nature within the pocket gardens, walking trails, pine trees, and huge, olden Acacia

trees. Amenities for fun and

leisure. Northpoint has a set of amenities that chil-dren will find fun and con-venient. The cabanas and grill pits at the pool area and multi-purpose hall at the clubhouse, Wake-field Manor, are perfect for a children’s party. The swimming pool and kiddie pool are favorite spots for an enjoyable swim or sim-ply to splash around, and the playground can be a place to play and make new friends.

Proximity to schools and recreation. Northpoint is located at the junction of Buhangin Road and JP Laurel Avenue, Bajada, two of Davao City’s major thor-oughfares, giving it a central location where schools are only a short ride or drive away. This makes the chil-dren’s travel to school every weekday morning short

and fast.Northpoint is proxi-

mate to the most thriving parts of the city where business, commercial ar-eas, and recreational areas abound. Parents can easily bring the young ones to the movies, restaurant, super-market, or entertainment center in any of the malls within a few kilometers away.

Exciting community liv-ing. Condo living at North-point gives families an excit-ing social environment that comes with being part of a unique close-knit commu-nity, allowing them to meet diverse and exciting people and enabling them to enjoy community life. This is im-portant for growing kids as they learn to socialize and understand the sense of community.

More time for bond-ing. Living at Northpoint is convenient and hassle-free

especially for parents who do not have to contend with maintenance issues, repairs, and security. All these are taken off their hands by the property management team that oversees the condo prop-erty’s overall upkeep.

That means more time for the whole family to bond, enabling fathers to takes their sons to that game, or mothers to take their daughters shop-ping, or simply for the whole family to take that much-deserved outing or vacation.

For children, a condo unit in Northpoint is more than just a home; it is the freedom to live their young life to the fullest. Bring your children home to Northpoint by getting in touch with Camella at Del-gar Bldg., JP Laurel Avenue, Bajada, Davao City, tele-phone 295-3973.

EDGEDAVAO

PROPERTYGive your children the best homeenvironment at Northpoint

Edge Davao 6 Issue 251

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