Edge Davao 8 Issue 118

P 15.00 • 24 PAGESwww.edgedavao.netVOL. 8 ISSUE 118 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13-14, 2015

EDGE Serving a seamless society

DAVAO

Are the mob of supporters, selfies, and shirts telling us he’s running?

TELL US HE’S LYING

INSIDE EDGE

Duterte: Fear, funds,family sealed decision P4

2 firms eye Davao Regionas main source of cacao

P6

Photo By Armando B. Fenequito Jr.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 118 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13-14, 20152 EDGEDAVAO

COVER STORY

AS the smoke start-ed to clear on the much-talked about

“The Decision” episode of Mayor Rodrigo Duter-te’s presidential saga, the question on him eventu-ally running for President has not died down.

In fact, the clamor has gone a notch.

In San Juan where Mayor Duterte met Mus-lim traders of Greenhills the night after his an-nouncement, there was nary a sign of the Duter-te-mania dying down. The tough-talking Davao City mayor was mobbed by a crowd of about 500 trad-ers.

That warm Manila welcome belied the ten-sion over Duterte’s formal declaration at home on Monday afternoon that he is not a candidate in next year’s election.

Like the welcome he received in Navotas and Malabon earlier that day, his Muslim supporters in Greenhills showed they are not giving up in their clamor for Duterte to change his mind and bid for the presidency which has eluded Mindanao ever since.

So why is Mayor Dute-rte doing all these?

Duterte’s spokesper-son former councilor Pe-ter Laviña said the mayor “loves to confuse the ene-my” and will not let pos-sible opponents read his political moves.

“He holds his cards close to his heart. He doesn’t want anyone to read them. It’s just a strat-egy to confuse the enemy,” Laviña said in a separate interview on Thursday. He said Dabawenyos know the mayor’s strategy. They are familiar with it as shown in the past elector-al exercises.

For the record, Duter-te has never declared his candidacy in any election that he participated in.

Laviña said Duterte wants to send the mes-sage that the presidency is not about personalities but about the change that the country needs. “Inaa-lis niya ang sarili niya sa equation. Kung hindi pa-rin mag bago ang isip ng mga tao nothing will hap-pen to our country. Yun ang ibig nyang sabihin (He is just removing him-self from the equation. If the people’s minds to not change, nothing will hap-pen to our country. That’s what he means),” he said.

Duterte received a rousing welcome fit for a presidential candidate in three Metro Manila cities hours after his announce-ment that he is out of the presidential race.

His drumbeaters said in a statement that Dute-rte first punched a hole at the Navotas City Hall where city officials and employees led by Mayor John Rey Tiangco gave him a swarming welcome.

“The chopper which carried him from his hotel landed at the helipad on the rooftop of the Navotas City Hall. After alighting from the chopper, Dute-rte descended down the flight of stairs to the may-or’s office which should have taken only a few minutes. Instead, Duterte ran smack into an ambush interview by TV networks which the mayor obliged as he normally does. As a result, it took him 32 min-utes to traverse 11 steps,” the statement narrated.

Duterte was welcomed by Mayor Tiangco in his office crammed with em-ployees and supporters chanting “Duterte!” The scene was replicated in ev-ery floor until the mayor left the building as work-ers lined up for selfies.

According to the Dute-rte camp, the mayor’s car-avan drew applause and cheers from people who lined up the streets for a glimpse of the mayor on the way to the City of Mal-abon University (CMU) where animated students welcomed him as “ang nag-iisang idol ng bayan.”

Despite his declara-tion that he is not a candi-date, the warm reception showed that many have not given up on the clamor for his candidacy.

People packed the streets to cheer Duter-te as his motorcade took him around Malabon. Per-haps, they did not hear the

news, or perhaps they just refuse to believe. Whatev-er the reason, it was every bit a welcome for a con-quering hero.

According to his camp, “at the rate things are go-ing, it has become a test of wills between the man who said he would not run for president, and the growing mass which in-sists he should.”

That Monday after-noon he spoke to a throng of media at the Grabd Men Seng Hotel, his trusted as-sistant Bong Go was still wearing his Duterte shirt. The following day in Mal-abon, Go was still dressed in a Duterte kit.

Nothing has changed since the announcement was made on Monday. The maddening crowd, the sel-fies, and the shirt—they all tell a running story.

However, the air of confidence among Dute-rte supporters changed on Friday. Go was seen in plain green shirt. The signature “Duterte Ato Ni Bay” shirt is gone. Does it mean he was ordered not to wear it anymore? Is the message clear now that Mayor Duterte is not run-ning?

And then came the loose talks from the grape-vine that Mayor Duterte has cancer. Quickly, Dute-rte camp spokesperson Peter T. Laviña laughed off claims by a Manila colum-nist that Duterte is fight-ing the Big C (see separate

story).“What Big C? Then

Philip Jr. Lustre, it is his burden now to show proof about Duterte’s health condition since he is the one who opened it,” Laviña posted on Facebook. Laviña dismissed the post on social media was just black propaganda.

Also on Friday, Duter-te’s camp has announced that he has cancelled his series of Metro Manila events next week, includ-ing the meeting with sev-eral groups of taxi drivers and operators at the Quiri-no Grandstand in Luneta where staunch support-ers have also planned to turn into a huge rally to convince him to run in the 2016 presidential elec-tions (see separate story).

Next week’s caravan is supposed to have Duterte meet traders and vendors of Divisoria and have din-ner with the members of the Manila Overseas Press Club on September 14 at the Manila Polo Club.

The following day, Sep-tember 15, Duterte was to meet the taxi drivers and operators in Luneta and on September 16 was scheduled to meet the ur-ban poor groups in Dagat-dagatan in Caloocan City and go on a campus tour at the Jose Rizal University in Mandaluyong.

With this latest turn of events, should the legions of Dutertenatics believe he is not lying? Or is he?

TELL US HE’S LYINGAre the mob of supporters, selfies, and shirts telling us he’s running?By NEILWIN JOSEPH L. BRAVO

I’M NOT RUNNING. Media practitioners gather around Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte as he announces that he will not run as president in the 2016 election. Lean Daval Jr.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 118 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13-14, 2015 3EDGEDAVAO

VOL. 8 ISSUE 118 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13-14, 20154 EDGEDAVAONEWS

AS if to bring home Mayor Rodrigo Dute-rte’s announcement

last Monday that he is not running for President, his executive assistant Chris-topher Lawrence T. Go has stopped wearing his usual “Tapang at Malasakit” shirt in public.

Davao City reporters saw Go on Friday night and asked him why he was wearing a plain green shirt

instead of the shirt which many had interpreted as a sign that the mayor was se-cretly eying the presidency.

“Take the cue, take the cue,” Go repeatedly said.

Asked if the mayor had ordered him not to wear the “Tapang at Malasakit” shirt anymore, Go said he took the initiative himself.

“Knowing the mayor, if he tells a statement to the public, most likely its

final,” he said.He said he had worn

the shirt regularly because he was joining the call of other Filipinos for Duterte to run for President.

“I wore the shirts as a Filipino and not as his em-ployee,” he said.

Go said he is still hop-ing that Duterte would change his mind.

“As a Filipino, I also hope that his mind will

change. But, since he is my boss, I will respect whatev-er decision he makes,” he said.

For Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU) political science professor Ramon Beleno III, nothing is final unit October 16 lapses.

In an interview, Bele-no told EDGE Davao that in politics, nothing is cer-tain and everything can change.

DAVAO City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte admitted that one

of the factors he consid-ered in deciding not to seek the presidency is his fear of being defeated.

“Hindi pa ako natalo sa election (I had never been defeated in elec-tions). I do not know or I would never know how to handle that situation,” Duterte said in his speech during the 40th Kiwanis International Philippine South District Conference at Grand Regal Hotel on Friday night.

Duterte said at his age, he would have no time to recover from a defeat be-cause the presidency is the highest position in the land.

“I’m 70 years old. How do you expect me to make a political comeback?” he said.

Aside from his fear of defeat, Duterte also cit-ed his financial difficulty since a campaign would cost billions of pesos.

But Duterte said the ultimate factor that sealed his decision was his family.

He said he followed his family’s wishes for him not to run because they are the ones who will take care of him when he retires.

In an interview, Duter-ete was asked by reporter what he meant when he said “Masama magsalita nang tapos” during his

DAVAO City Mayor Rodrigo R. Dute-rte has cancelled

his series of Metro Ma-nila events next week, including the meeting with several groups of taxi drivers and opera-tors at the Quirino Grand-stand in Luneta where staunch supporters have also planned to turn into a huge rally to convince him to run in the 2016 presidential elections.

William “Butch” Ramirez, one of Duterte’s volunteers, said the may-or’s executive assistant, Christopher “Bong” Go, called him up to inform that the local chief execu-tive decided to cancel the events as he has to rush back home to Davao to attend to some important matters.

Duterte was supposed

to meet traders and ven-dors of Divisoria and have dinner with the members of the Manila Overseas Press Club on Septem-ber 14 at the Manila Polo Club.

The following day, September 15, Duterte was to meet the taxi driv-ers and operators inLune-ta and on September 16 was scheduled to meet the urban poor groups in Dagatdagatan in Caloocan City and go on a campus tour at the Jose Rizal Uni-versity in Mandaluyong.

Among the Manila events, the Quirino Grand-stand schedule was sup-posed to be the biggest as supporters hadplanned to use the activity as venue to express their appeal to the mayor for him to seek the presidency in the May

MORO National Liber-ation Front (MNLF) Central Committee

acting vice chair and City State chair Rolando Abdul-Aziz Ol-amit yesterday expressed dis-may at how the Aquino admin-istration “watered down” the revisitation of the final peace agreement with the MNLF during the tripartite meeting last September 7 to 9 in Manila.

In an interview yester-day morning, Olamit said the government railroaded the agenda of the meeting and set it to discuss only the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

The meeting was attended by representatives of the gov-ernment (GPH), MNLF, and the Organization of Islamic Coop-eration (OIC) and was intend-ed to set the agenda for next month’s Tripartite Review on the implementation of the 19-year old Final Peace Agree-ment (FPA).

Olamit questioned the tim-ing of the revisitation of the fi-nal peace agreement especial-ly since the Aquino administra-tion “is coming to an end and the BBL is almost impossible to be passed under his term.”

“In my own opinion, this is just for a graceful exit for the Aquino administration,” Ol-amit said.

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Tere-sita Quintos Deles had earlier said the meeting was called to prepare for the Formal Tri-partite Meeting, which is pro-posed to be held in November in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Deles clarified that the technical informal meeting is internal to the Tripartite Re-view Process (TRP) and the agenda set by the OIC Secre-tariat is to “chart a road map for a successful conclusion of the Tripartite [Review] Pro-cess.”

FEAR FACTOR. Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte tells members of the Kiwanis International Philippine South District that one of the factors he considered in deciding not to run for President is his fear of being defeated. Duterte spoke to the group on its 40th conference held at the Grand Regal Hotel on Friday night. Armando B. Fenequito Jr.

‘Take the cue’Duterte aide stops wearing‘Tapang at Malasakit’ shirtBy ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

MNLF slams ‘watered down’peace agreement revisitationBy FUNNY PEARL A. GAJUNERA

Rody says fear, funds,family sealed decision

Mayor cancels Manila eventsBy CHARLES RAYMOND A. MAXEY

FRODY, 12

FMAYOR, 12

NOW OPEN. Las Piñas Rep. Mark Villar (center), Cacao Industry Development Association of Mindanao Inc. chair CharitaPuentespina (third from left), president Rene Dalayon (second from left), executive director Val Turtur (rightmost), and Jennifer Remonquillo (second from right) of the Department

of Agriculture (DA) 11 cut the ceremonial ribbon to formally open the two-day KakaoKonek 2015 National Cacao Congress at the SMX Convention Center in Davao City on Friday. Lean Daval Jr.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 118 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13-14, 2015 5

VOL. 8 ISSUE 118 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13-14, 2015

GOOD news for cacao farmers and coopera-tives.

Two Manila-based food manufacturing firms based have expressed interest in sourcing their roasted cacao beans from Davao Region.

Cacao Industry Develop-ment Association in Mindanao (CIDAMI) executive director Valente Turtur said the two firms are Filipinas Oro de Ca-cao and WL Food, a snack and beverage manufacturer and dis-tributor.

“They are willing to buy at a higher price so long as the farm-er can meet the required quali-ty,” Turtur said.

He said the two firms are eyeing to buy roasted cacao beans 30 percent higher than the average local buying price P110 to P125 per kilo.

“The two firms are willing to buy P140 to P150 per kilo-

gram and even as high as P190 if it is really the desired quality and variety,” he said.

Turtur said the each com-pany wants an initial of 500 metric tons (MT) per year and are targeting to increase it to 5,000 MT per year.

This will be a huge oppor-tunity for cacao farmers in the region who can increase their productivity and the quality of their cacao beans, he said.

“WL Food, for instance, has a huge demand for cacao because it has an international market like China. It currently imports its cacao requirement from Malaysia,” Turtur said.

The firms are currently meeting with different farmer associations and cooperatives in Davao Region that will supply them with the cacao beans.

CIDAMI is also meeting with farmers here to ensure that the quality of their prod-

ucts will meet the demand of the two companies.

Turtur said aside from the local market, the region’s cacao industry is also eyeing to in-crease its presence in the inter-national market.

At present, the Philip-pines is only exporting 3,000 MT of the total 10,000 MT to 12,000MT production of cacao beans annually. The Philippines’ contribution is less than one percent of the global supply.

The international buying price for fermented cacao beans ranges from P135 to P140 per kilo.

Turtur said cacao farm-ers here have to increase their production to be able to seize the opportunity of the project-ed global shortage on cacao by 2018 because of the increasing demand for cacao beans. “There is even now a global shortage of 1 million MT for cacao beans,”

he said.Turtur said the present

global demand for cacao is around 4.7 to 4.8 million MT, and only 3.8 million MT is sup-plied by cacao producing coun-tries like those in West Africa.

Turtur projected that the shortage will increase to 1.2 million MT or higher by 2020 because of the increase in the number of products that use ca-cao as one of the raw materials.

The Philippines is target-ing to produce 100,000 metric tons cacao beans by 2020, a challenge posed by the world’s leading chocolate maker Mars few years ago.

But the increasing global demand for cacao prompted the Mindanao Development Au-thority (MinDA) to increase the target to 200,000 metric tons through its “Double Up” pro-gram in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture.

6 NEWS EDGEDAVAO

DAVAO City Mayor Ro-drigo Duterte named business leaders who

talked to him about his pos-sible run for the presidency.

Speaking to members of the Kiwanis International on Friday night, Duterte said the first to talk to him was ABS-CBN Corporation presi-dent and CEO Eugenio “Gab-by” Lopez III.

He said after talking to Lopez, someone arranged a talk between him and MVP Group of Companies chair Manny V. Pangilinan. After that, he talked to tycoon Lu-cio Tan, followed by Inter-national Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI) CEO Enrique Razon, Puregold owner Lucio Co, and former Senator Manny Villar and his wife, Senator Cynthia Villar.

Duterte said in all his talks with the business lead-ers, he told them he had no intention to run for Presi-

dent.“Sinabi ko talaga sa

kanila na hindi ako tatakbo. Hindi ko kaya yung maglib-ot ako maghingi ako ng pera kasi wala akong pera (I told them I will not run. I don’t like going around to ask for money),” he said.

Duterte, however, told the Kiwanis members that his main reason for finally declaring last Monday that he was not running for Pres-ident was the decision of his family.

Duterte’s executive as-sistant Christopher Law-rence Go, for his part, said Duterte’s decision was not influenced by any politician.

“Many politicians met with him like Senator Aqui-lino Pimentel III and Senator Cynthia Villar, but his deci-sion was not based on them. It’s true what he said, that his decision was because of his family,” Go said.

AN Australian is now facing charges af-ter being nabbed for

sneaking out a disassembled revolver at the Francisco Bangoy International Air-port on Thursday afternoon.

Sasa Police Station iden-tified the suspect as Ian Maxwell Parker, 58. He is facing a charge of violation of Republic Act 10591 of the Comprehensive Firearm and Ammunition Regulation Act.

Parker was submitted for inquest procedure before the City Prosecution Office on Friday and is now de-tained at the police station.

Police reported that Parker was supposed to fly to

Manila but the Initial Secu-rity Screening Checkpoint’s X-ray machine showed his luggage contained a disas-sembled firearm.

The suspect was imme-diately turned over to the police station after the he failed to show documents for his .38 revolver, which was covered in plastic inside his luggage.

The suspect told the po-lice that he had the gun in his possession because he buys antique firearms for his col-lection.

Police are now looking for the profile of Parker to see if he is involved in crime incidents in Davao City.

ROADSIDE DINNER BREAK. College students from the Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU) rush to a barbeque stall to have dinner during their break at the street food section of the city’s night market along Roxas Avenue on Saturday night. Lean Daval Jr.

2 firms eye Davao Regionas main source of cacaoBy CHENEEN R. CAPON

Mayor reveals meetingswith business leadersBy FUNNY PEARL A. GAJUNERA

Australian facesfirearm chargesBy ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

FDAVOR, 12DILG XI Regional Director Ananias M. Villacorta hands over to Governor Malanyaon the 2015 SGLG Plaque. Also in the photo are DILG Provincial Director Yvette T. Sunga and Provincial Treasurer Adelinda Amacna.

THE Department of In-terior and Local Gov-ernment has hailed

the province of Davao Orien-tal among the best excellent movers of government pro-grams “worthy of emulation and recognition” resulting in its being one of this year’s awardees of DILG’s presti-gious 2015 Seal of Good Lo-cal Governance.

DILG XI Regional Di-rector Ananias M. Villacor-ta lauded the provincial government of led by Gov. Corazon N. Malanyaon for meeting all the criteria of the core components of the Seal as follows: Good Finan-cial Housekeeping, Social

Protection and Disaster Pre-paredness. The Provincial Government has also met the requirements for all of the following Essential Com-ponents of the Seal: Busi-ness-friendliness and Com-petitiveness, Environmental Management, and Peace and Order.

DILG Secretary Mar Rox-as, in his letter to Governor Malanyaon, said that win-ning the Seal entitles the LGU to access the Perfor-mance Challenge Fund for this year, allows the province to secure the GFH Certifica-tion for loan purposes, and provides an opportunity to avail itself of other national

program windows like Bot-tom-Up Budgeting Program and the SALINTUBIG Pro-gram.

During the awarding cer-emony last September 7, the Provincial Government re-ceived a Performance Chal-lenge Fund check amounting to P 7 million as well as an incentive check amounting to P 6 million for being a Seal of Good Housekeeping Silver Awardee for 2013 and 2014 and for passing the Seal of Good Financial Housekeep-ing.

Villacorta highlighted Davao Oriental’s transparen-cy and compliance with the

DavOr gets 2 checks for P13M for ‘seal of good governance’

to bringing to life the

cha r ac ters and stories of

their youth. It brings a particular

kind of joy to Khim, as a mom and event plan-ner, and she never fails to unearth the possibilities in each theme. “There are many ways to do a chosen theme without having to make it look like a replica of what you have already done. Adding details and surprising elements in

unpredictable ways that excite guests will ensure it is unique. Using imagi-nation, at times thinking like a child and beyond what is conventionally done, the possibilities can be endless.” Subscribing to this way of thinking, she succeeds not only in delighting the wee cele-brants but succeeds in in-triguing the adult guests as well. Khim makes attending parties she decorates ex-citing for parents and this

is by no means an easy feat. Tagging along with kids in their friends’ par-ties can incite a “you’ve seen them once, you’ve seen them all” kind of at-titude especially when the sight of all too familiar balloon arches and ceil-ing swags come to view. To attend an event where you spend more time in-specting the cakes and details at the dessert table than your child means

One event stylist whose work has been receiving mileage from chic party blogs is Khim Ty-Cruz of Party Deco Philippines. Though the coverage is really just icing on the cake as Khim is already recognized as a stalwart of style when it comes to children’s celebrations, it never hurts to be recog-nized by the likes of Baby and Breakfast and Party Doll Manila that curate and feature stand-out parties. I first heard of Khim a few years ago at a ‘Spa-j a m a ’ p a r t y she put toget her and the t r ajec tor y of her work since then in terms of size and style quotient seem to just be getting higher and higher. “I have always been interested in making par-ties but was afraid to ven-ture into it at first. When my daughter was about to celebrate her first birth-day, I took the opportu-nity and realized that not

o n l y could I do it but all the planning, conceptualizing and ex-ecuting excited me. It still excites me,” Khim shares. The hopes of children certainly heartens one to do the best possible work especially when it comes

STYLE

EDGEDAVAOINdulge!

One thing is certain, local event stylists know how to put together a good party and even the

industry’s best in Manila take notice.

PartyPerfectionI had a friend once say that the children’s parties thrown here in

Davao are of the same caliber as weddings and debuts held in other more urban cities in the country. I couldn’t really argue, having been lucky enough to attend parties that fit this de-

scription in the past years. The detail and planning put into these kiddy soirees can render one awestruck. One thing is certain, local event stylists know how to put together a good party and even the industry’s best in Manila take notice.

Alternative A1

VOL. 8 ISSUE 118• SUNDAY-MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13-14, 2015

Abreeza Mall to give grandparents special treats on September 13

WE WANT YOU TO EMBRACE YOUR INDIVIDUALITY! #CelebrateMe with SM Accessories and get a chance to join Anne Curtis in the next SM Accessories campaign.

IN CELEBRATION of Grandparents Day, a special occa-sion established in the U.S. in 1978 and observed all over the world since then, Abreeza Mall will treat lolos and lolas to sweet sur-prises on Septem-ber 13. Families bringing their grandparents to Abree-za Mall on September 13 are invited to pose at the Grandparents Day Pho-to Wall at the Ground Floor Fashion Hallway near Debenhams. Shop-pers get the chance to capture a memorable moment with lolo and lola at the specially de-signed photo booth when they present a single or accumulated receipt purchase worth at least P300 at the Main

Concierge. The first 50 families to have their snapshots taken get free frames to go with their photos. Give the gift of longer life to your grandpar-ents with Abreeza Mall’s Noodles for Long Life Promo, where partici-pating restaurants offer buy-one, take-one deals and other great dis-counts on noodle dishes only on September 13. Abreeza Mall makes the day even more memorable for elderly members of the local community with Lolo & Lola’s Day Out, where residents of the Co Su Gian Home for the Aged in Buhangin will be treated to lunch and a movie at the mall. Fur-thermore, Abreeza Mall will present the elderly guests with special gift

packs and offer supplies and appliances to the center. Also happening on September 13 at the Activity Center is the Kids M.I. Expedition pre-sented by the National Geographic Channel and Progress Pre-School Gold. Here, kids will en-joy fun activities that enhance multiple intel-ligence and challenge them to be brain-smart, body-smart, and peo-ple-smart. For inquiries and up-dates on Abreeza Mall news and events, please visit the Main Concierge at the ground floor or call (082) 321-9332. Stay updated by liking www.facebook.com/Abreeza-Mall and following @abreezatweets on Twit-ter and @iloveabreeza-mall on Instagram.

A2 INdulge!UP AND ABOUT

Smart hosts Southeast Asia’s biggest Hearthstone

LEADING MOBILE services provider Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) and its online gaming portal GameX have teamed up with game publisher Blizzard Entertain-ment to host the Hearthstone Southeast Asia Finals, the region’s biggest Hearthstone com-petition set at the Meralco Theater in Ortigas on Sept. 20.

Launched in 2013, Hearthstone pits two on-line players in an excit-ing card battle where they cast spells, use weapons, or summon ‘minions’ to compete on their behalf. The game allows players to select different excit-ing modes in a fast-paced gameplay, making it the top online collectible card game in the world today. With the game’s mas-sive popularity in South-east Asia, Blizzard allowed gamers from all over Ma-laysia, Philippines, Sin-gapore and Thailand to determine the host coun-try in an extensive online campaign. In the end, the passionate Filipino gam-ing fans edged out their Malaysian counterparts to win in the final head-to-head vote. Gates open at 12:00 noon. Admission is free via pre-registration. Smart will also be releasing spe-cial VIP tickets to lucky subscribers. “We are happy to have the Philippines host the Hearthstone Southeast Asia Finals. The Philippine

players have always been one of the most passionate members of our commu-nity, and we are excited to be able to bring this event to them,” said Alan Chou, Director of Publishing, Blizzard Entertainment Southeast Asia. “Smart is honored to team up with Blizzard for this groundbreaking search for Southeast Asia’s best Hearthstone players,” said Mellissa Limcaoco, Head of Smart’s Innova-tion and Product Devel-opment Group which developed GameX. “This is proof of the Filipinos’ passion for gaming, which is the main reason why Smart leads in supporting eSports events and contin-ues to give our subscrib-ers the widest breadth of games and entertainment so they can experience the Smart Life.” The event will gather eight top players from across Southeast Asia, along with international casters TJ “Azumo” Sand-ers, Erik “DoA” Lonnquist and Chris “PapaSmithy” Smith. The games will be

streamed live on www.twitch.tv/playhearthstone starting from 1:00 p.m on-ward. The winner will then fly to Taiwan for the Asia-Pa-cific Regional Champion-ships that includes players from Japan, Taiwan, Korea and Australia, and the top players will advance to the finals at the BlizzCon® 2015 set in California in November for a shot at the US$250,000 prize pool. Players who attend the event will receive a special “Power Core” card back to their accounts. This can only be redeemed by at-tendees on site. On the other hand, first-time GameX subscribers will a receive a Hearth-stone Expert Card Pack for free, and enjoy direct purchases, features and add-ons using the portal. The Hearthstone South-east Asia Finals follows a string of big eSports event that Smart and GameX have mounted in celebra-tion of eSports and mo-bile games, which have become a passion among many Filipinos. Smart subscribers can enjoy all their favorite mo-bile games with Big Bytes offers that now come with FREE access to music on Spinnr and videos on Fox and iFlix for a complete entertainment on-the-go experience.

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 8 ISSUE 118• SUNDAY-MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13-14, 2015

INdulge! A3ENTERTAINMENT

Buena Familia stars grace GenSan’s Tuna Festival

Pasion De Amor opens new chapter

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Adam Sandler, Kevin James/

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HENERAL LUNA/*THE TRANSPORTER REFUELED

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MAZE RUNNER:THE SCORCH TRIALS

Dylan O'Brien, Nathalie Emmanuel,

Thomas Brodie-Sangster

September 9-15, 2015

will play crucial parts in their journey. What roles will Eduvina (Pilar Pila-pil), Maryo (Pen Medina), and Elle (Kazel Kinouchi) play? The explosive rev-elations and twists don’t end there, because the woman who planted the seeds of anger and revenge in the brothers’ hearts, Gabriela (Teresa Loyzaga), finally returns. How did she escape death after falling off a cliff? What evil schemes

will she plot against the Samontes? How will Nor-ma, Sari, and Jamie react once they find out that she is still alive? Don’t miss the intense story of primetime se-ries “Pasion De Amor,” weeknights, before “TV Patrol” on ABS-CBN. For updates, like www.face-book.com/pasiondeam-or.tv on Facebook, fol-low @pasiondeamor_TV on Twitter or follow @pasiondeamor.abscbn on Instagram.

ABS-CBN’s local ad-aptation of world-wide telenovela sensation “Pasion De Amor” contin-ues to conquer its timeslot in national TV ratings and re-mains to be the hottest series on Philippine prime-time television to-day. Topbilled by today’s sexiest tandems Jake Cuenca and Arci Munoz, Ejay Falcon and Ellen Adarna, and Joseph Mar-co and Coleen Garcia, “Pasion De Amor” con-sistently makes it to the top five most watched weekday programs in the country according to Kantar Media, and is also one of the five most viewed programs online via video-on-demand service iWant TV. The teleserye also re-mained unbeaten de-spite the premiere of a new rival program last Monday (Sep 7), when it scored a national TV

rating of 23% versus the rival’s 10.3%. The story heats up fur-ther in the coming weeks as the show opens a new

chapter in the lives of the Samonte brothers. Watch Juan, Oscar, and Franco’s worlds turn up-side down as they enjoy

STARS from GMA’s drama series Buena Familia are on a roll as they take on their third tour in the re-gions this Friday in cele-bration of General Santos City’s Tuna Festival. Immediately following two consecutive events held in Da-gupan and in Davao, Kapuso ac-tress and recording artist Kylie Padilla, Gawad Urian Best Sup-porting Actor Martin del Rosario, and dancer-actor Julian Trono are gracing GenSan’s charter an-niversary via a Kapuso Mall Show to be held at the Events and Convention Center of the KCC Mall of GenSan this Friday, September 11. Beginning at 5PM, Buena Familia fans can expect thrilling per-formances from Ky-lie, Martin, and Julian who are all set to give the Generals a good time. Entertaining activities and excit-ing games also await the audience. “The Network joins the people of GenSan on its char-ter anniversary celebration through this special Ka-puso event with the lead stars of GMA Afternoon Prime’s Buena Familia. The mushrooming of Kapuso fans clubs all

over the country is a testament of the support that the artists and the Network are getting.” said GMA’s Head for Regional Strat-egy and Business Development

Division Head Oliver Amoroso.

To know more about

the Network’s r e g i o n a l

e v e n t s , f o l l o w GMA on

Fa c e -

book at www.facebook.com/gm-anetwork and GMA Regional TV at www.facebook.com/GMARe-gionalTV and on Twitter and Ins-tagram via @GMARegionalTV.

the view from the top with their newfound for-tune and power. New people will also step into their lives and

EDGEDAVAOVOL. 8 ISSUE 118• SUNDAY-MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13-14, 2015

A4 INdulge! VOL. 8 ISSUE 118• SUNDAY-MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13-14, 2015EDGEDAVAOSTYLE

Alternative A4you’ve stumbled upon the work of someone who is worthy of your ap-preciation. Everything is outside of the box in a whimsical way. She makes a client unafraid to explore uncharted territory which in party terms translates to a theme or direc-tion never done before. So whether it is Thor’s Asgaard, Cinderella’s cottage before the ball or Marioland, no theme is too broad or specific for Khim as she expounds in that unique way of hers that makes it seem in the end like she created that particular world herself. No matter what theme is on the table, it seems that Khim manages to retain a certain sense of dreamy quaintness in her work. Some of her clients share with me that there is a certain restraint they notice in the way she puts all the elements her parties together that makes them feel that all the details are just right. The way she transforms concepts into memorable events feel more storybook than cartoon storyline, keeping things a little more low-key and tasteful. Rather blinding ev-eryone into incoherence with effects and color, she chooses to zero in on details

of key areas such as the dessert table and the children’s tables to create unforgettable spots of interest. In the end, you feel that these are just the sort of parties Khim would like to attend with her kids and she lends that talented eye and relaxed yet tasteful feel to every event she feels privileged to have put together. Hers is truly inspired work and it makes you feel a little envious of her imagination, the span of which it roams and handpicks elements you can’t find elsewhere. It must be one heck of a party. Find out more about Khim’s work on www.facebook/partydecoPH and www.instagram/partydecoPH.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 118 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13-14, 2015 7EDGEDAVAO PROPERTY

SALES of the Condomini-um II of The Residences, the condominium seg-

ment of the Matina Enclaves project, are now placed at 80 percent.

Escandor Development Corporation (Esdevco) proj-ect head Gerland Garces said in a recent construction update post that the Condo-minium II of The Residences is already almost sold out.

“It’s now 80 percent sold despite the very tough com-petition,” said Garces.

He added that this brisk sales activity only boost-ed the projection that the South area of the city is just as attractive if not more at-tractive than the relatively crowded construction activ-ity in the North side.

“We continue to aggres-sively market the project and at the same time push forward its construction which is curiously ahead of

its schedule,” Garces said.Esdevco earlier reported

the full completion of micro-piling works for the first of six condominium buildings of its signature project The Matina Enclaves.

According to Garces, the current construction activities at worksite for Condominium I consists of the preparation of the pilecap for the remaining piles located at the elevator of the building, installation of formworks and rebars for the beams at the upper parking, and concreting of the water tank at the base-ment level.

The micropiling phase has been 100 percent com-pleted with 211 micro piles constructed.

Garces said that the cur-rent activities include prepa-ration of the retaining wall, pile hacking of the remain-ing piles and preparation

THE state-of-the-art Aeon Towers project of local developer

FTC Group of Companies promises to be not just all height but also “all might.”

The 33-level skyscrap-er project along J.P. Lau-rel Avenue boasts of fi-ber optic capability, wi-fi connectivity in common areas and for some units, the Smart Home technolo-gy may be availed of. The technology allows one to control major functional-ities of his home fixtures from hundreds of miles away.

The Aeon Towers, ac-cording to FTC Group of Companies CEO Ian Cruz, will have four (4) spa-cious, high speed passen-ger elevators exclusively for condominium use.

Security and protec-tion will also be a main characteristic feature of the building with advance fire protection alarm and sprinkler system and a 24-hour CCTV security cam-era.

Aeon Towers is also

using Green Building Technology – by using UV protected glass for the en-tire building wall. It will be fitted also with LED light-ing system.

Inside every unit, pro-vision of meticulously-se-lected pieces of complete facilities is in place. The entire building will be managed by NYC Property Management Corp.

Cruz said unit merging will be allowed with a fee and specified layouts for combined units. If the buy-er or buyers avail of this, TCT’s will be consolidated.

Each unit measures a floor to ceiling height of 2.80meters or 9.18 feet.

Aeon Towers is a mixed use real estate project with a land area of 4,574 square meters. The building’s 33 levels will have 473 units with 300 parking slots at the basement. It will have a commercial space on the ground floor, a Sky Deck on the 33rd floor and a lux-ury hotel on the 7th to 10th floors.

Matina Enclaves Condo 2 sales now 80%

Aeon Towers: Not just all height

of the remaining pile caps. Completion of the remain-ing piles prior to the prepa-ration of the concrete slab

at the basement parking is targeted by end of August.

As the development of the first condominium

building went full swing, the initial phase of the road rehab along the Col. Emilio Escandor Road has been

completed. The road rehab includes road widening in front of the sprawling Mati-na Enclaves complex.


VANTAGE

EDITORIALMore than just hashtags

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

OLIVIA D. VELASCOGeneral Manager

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EDGEDAVAOProviding solutions to a seamless global village.

ANTONIO M. AJEROEditor in Chief

Columnists: CARLOS MUNDA • HENRYLITO D. TACIO • EDCER C. ESCUDERO • ATTY. EMILY ZEN CHUA • GREGORIO G. DELIGERO • JOHN CARLO TRIA • VIDA MIA S. VALVERDE • Economic Analysts: ENRICO “GICO” G. DAYANGIRANG

LEANDRO S. DAVAL JR. PhotographyARLENE D. PASAJE

Cartoons

KENNETH IRVING K. ONGBAI FAUZIAH FATIMA SINSUAT AMBOLODTO

MEGHANN STA. INES NIKKI GOTIANSE-TAN

Lifestyle

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NEILWIN JOSEPH L. BRAVOManaging Editor

AGAPITO JOAQUIN JR.Associate Editor

CHARLES RAYMOND A. MAXEYConsultant

FUNNY PEARL GAJUNERACHA MONFORTE

Correspondents

ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.CHENEEN R. CAPON

Reporters

OLIVIA D. VELASCOGeneral Manager

RICHARD C. EBONAMarketing Supervisor

SOLANI D. MARATASFinance

JOCELYN S. PANESDirector of Sales

AGUSTIN V. MIAGAN JRCirculation

PHILIPPINE PRESS INSTITUTEthe national association of newspapers

Given the right cause and the right tools for expression, the casual activist can easily express his sentiments with the few clicks on his smartphone. This was recently evidenced

in the outpouring of support for the hashtag #stoplumadkillings, which has taken social media by storm in recent days after the se-ries of killings of Lumads in Mindanao, most of them attributed to government forces or their paramilitary wings. In his latest dispatch, Human Rights Watch Asia Division researcher Carlos Conde said soldiers “allegedly killed five members of a Lumad family — including children ages 13 and 17 — in Bukidnon on August 18. On September 1, he added, suspected members of a government-backed paramilitary group killed the director of a tribal school in Surigao del Sur, along with two others. “Since May,” Conde asserts, “hundreds of Lumads have taken refuge in an evacuation camp in Davao City after government forces over-ran their communities as part of an ongoing offensive against the communist New People’s Army insurgency.”

But while these killings have become known not just in the country but in many parts of the globe — thanks in no small part to netizens who have become enraged that such murders can still

be committed today against our Lumad communities — govern-ment seems to be unaware that they are happening. Indeed, Pres-ident Benigno Aquino, when asked about the killings, famously said: “There is no campaign to kill anybody in this country.” It may have been a predictable answer, but it was still disappoint-ing in that he did not even bother to acknowledge that soldiers are at least being accused of such atrocities. It becomes positive-ly infuriating when one remembers that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is under the direct supervision of the Presi-dent as its commander-in-chief.

#stoplumadkillings therefore needs to continue if we are to press this administration to listen to the people and look into the allegations that its very own security forces are responsible for the killing of indigenous people. But more than posting hashtags, netizens must begin to engage this government in dialogue and even confrontation — both online and off — on the issue, which is literally a matter of life and death. Government must face up to its responsibility to investigate the matter and not brush it aside simply because the victims are marginalized members of society.

THE European Chamber of Com-merce of the Philippines seeks and

promotes open international trade and the creation of an investor-friend-ly environment in the Philippines as a means to achieve inclusive growth, more specifically, to move to a higher level of sustainable growth through higher local and foreign investments, create more and better jobs and make growth inclusive.

A sustained, major increase in For-eign Direct Investment (FDI), mostly through economic liberalization pol-icies, lifting of restrictions on foreign investment with the aim of increasing competition, and measures to make it easier to do business.

In this context, two issues are high on our agenda:

1. A less negative Foreign Invest-ment Negative List (FINL), and

2. Amending the restrictive pro-visions of the 1978 Philippine Consti-tution.

Unfortunately, Malacanang issued the new FINL and, after two years of debate with NEDA and the Economic Cluster and making recommendations how and where changes could be intro-duced, administratively and through legislation, it is disappointing to find

out that the new FINL is basically as restrictive as the previous one.

S p e a k e r Belmonte has been driving House Res-olution No. 1 for a long time and local and foreign business has supported this important move to amend the restrictive provisions of the Constitution and to allow more foreign investment to come into the country, needed to create more competition which is good for Juan dela Cruz who will get better products and services at a better price. However, this initia-tive is stuck on second reading in the House. Sure is that Speaker Belmonte has given up on the economic Cha-cha.

Foreign direct investment is bad-ly needed to achieve inclusive growth and create jobs. Especially at a time when FDI in the Philippines is falling and growing in competing countries in ASEAN:

FDI inflows fell to $1.64 billion from January to May this year, a 42

% decrease from $2.82 billion in the same period in 2014. In comparison, FDI from competing countries in ASE-AN expanded in Malaysia by 37.1% in the first quarter to US$ 2.55 billion, in Indonesia by 16.1% in the first half of the year to US$ 12.9 billion, and in Vietnam by 8.8% in the first seven month of 2015 to US$ 7.5 billion.

Business in happy that the Presi-dent has signed the following legisla-tion:

• Philippine Competition Act – legislation that will create a level playing field, that is a requirement for potential Free Trade Agreements with Europe and the Trans-Pacific-Coopera-tion, pushed by the US, and an expect-ed measure for ASEAN integration;

• Amended Cabotage Law – we are happy that the Senate version won in the Bicam; the legislation will allow foreign ships to transport cargo (con-tainers and bulk) directly to ports in the country, including Cebu, and ac-cept cargo destined for foreign coun-tries.

As ECCP, we will continue to fight for a level playing field and a compet-itive business environment, following the battle cry of PEZA: Red Carpet – no Red Tape!!!

VOL. 8 ISSUE 117 • FRIDAY-SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 11-12, 2015 VANTAGE POINTS 9EDGEDAVAOOpening up the economy for Foreign Direct Investments

The four scenarios of McKinsey, implications for Davao’s regional economy

THE recent economic shocks in Greece, the devaluation of the Chinese Yuan, and the low per-

formance of the country’s stock mar-

ket – all with-in a three-month peri-od – point to an emerging world econ-omy that is anything but stable. Many e c o n o m i s t s have already p r e d i c t -ed a rather bumpy ride for all over the next few years, prompt-ing multilateral institutions to trim the growth forecast for the already im-pressively performing Philippines.

The recently released McKinsey Report entitled “Shifting tides: Glob-al economic scenarios for 2015–25” notes four possible long term scenar-ios for the global economy, economic convergence with growth, economic divergence with growth, rolling re-gional crises (divergence and low growth), and global deceleration low growth and convergence. Each scenar-io presents a varying picture in terms of growth vs. inclusivity or equality.

Convergence refers to the relative equality of the growth across countries vs. divergence or inequality of the eco-nomic growth. Of the four, the conver-gence and growth scenario present the best case, where the growth is equal-ly shared, employment and economic participation levels high, making for a

robust, sure growth and development.Two major items in the report leap

at me: the growth performance of In-dia and China, and long term demo-graphic trends in the G-20 countries.

In all four scenarios, India and Chi-na outpace the growth of the G-20. As such, the health of these two econo-mies will be enough to influence glob-al economics. How well their popula-tions participate in their own econo-mies will determine economic health over the next twenty years. If more of their citizens gain in affluence, there will be good consumers of the goods they produce. For one, they, together, hold practically a fourth of the globe’s population. Hence, this 25% will lead in the best scenario. What’s good for them is good for us as a whole.

Regardless of the outcome of the scenarios, volatility remains present, evidenced by the quick response of the market to the US Federal Reserves quantitative easing that temporarily shocked our local stock markets, and the easy devaluation of the peso fol-lowing that of the Yuan.

The challenge for the countries with large populations like India, Indonesia and the Philippines is to leverage on its young population as a market for local goods and services and a base of producing the same. Whether or not your population is big or small what matters is how they can effectively participate in an economy, to eat and produce the food, and ex-

port the rest. Strong local demand is what will keep any economy strong regardless of what happens across borders.

The challenge for us in Davao is to keep our local economy resilient and able to provide for the basic needs of our citizens, and continue to ex-port more and higher value products, perhaps to a wider market for our traditional fruit exports apart from the usual Middle East and Japan. The strong demand of food in Singapore, Malaysia and the rest of Southeast Asia and the ease and ability with which we can sell our products over there will spell the difference and kick our growth up a bit. Diversifi-cation of products and markets, fre-quent direct shipping and air links to Malaysia and Singapore, and the entry of value adding manufacturing in the Davao region is key to strengthening any positive growth in Regional GDP over the last year.

To put it simply, when dark clouds hang over the horizon, it is the solid ship that rides the waves- our eco-nomic fundamentals ought to be in place so that we can make the most out of the opportunities given any of these scenarios. We therefore need to elect a President that understands the nature of keeping our economic fun-damentals strong and robust, as that will have a greater effect on our econ-omy than any external scenario.

John [email protected]

MY TWO CENTS’

Henry J. Schumacher

EUROPE BIZ

A sustained, major increase in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), mostly through economic liber-alization policies, lifting of restric-tions on foreign investment with the aim of in-creasing compe-tition, and mea-sures to make it easier to do busi-ness.

Convergence re-fers to the rela-tive equality of the growth across coun-tries vs. divergence or inequality of the economic growth. Of the four, the conver-gence and growth scenario present the best case, where the growth is equal-ly shared, employ-ment and economic participation levels high, making for a robust, sure growth and development.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 118 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13-14, 201512NEWS EDGEDAVAO

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

guesting in TV5’s Happy Hour last Thursday.

Duterte replied that he was just using a Taga-log idiomatic expression, which he said to him means it is bad to finish a sentence without putting a period.

The mayor, however, did not clarify what he meant.

When asked about the analysis of a political science professor that his announcement was part of his political strategy just to be talked about,

he said it “could be.”“Kung mo ingon kag

dili ka modagan, ingnon nila na mo dagan ka. Mo ingon ka na mo dagan ka ingnon ka na di ka mo da-gan strategy lang na (If I will say I will not run these people always say that I will run. If I will say I run these people will say I will not run. It is just my strategy),” he said.

As if to put the mat-ter to rest, Duterte said: “I already said categori-cal. Is that not enough?” (ABFJ)

Rody... FROM 4

DavOr... FROM 6

Mayor... FROM 4

GILAS... FROM 15

ABUNDANT. An infant stares at a pile of durian while her mother buys some at the Bankerohan Public market where the popular fruit is sold for only P25 per kilo. Lean Daval Jr.

elections.Ramirez had earlier

said groups pushing for a Duterte presidency have targeted to gather around one million people in Lu-neta in a bid to convince Duterte to reconsider his stand of not running for president next year.

For his part, Go said Duterte canceled his plans in Luzon to be con-sistent with his decision.

He said the last tour in Luzon the mayor made was in Malabon and Navotas because he had committed to visit these areas and could not can-cel them.

According to Go, Dute-rte was supposed to vis-it Tuguegarao City after Malabon and Navotas but

it was cancelled because the private plane that was to convey his group experienced mechanical trouble.

Duterte also attended the Rotary Club leaders’ gathering in Greenhills.

“Halos dumugon nila si Mayor para padaga-non siya (The supporters almost mobbed him to convince him to run),” Go said.

Meanwhile, Duter-te camp spokesperson Peter T.Laviña laughed off claims by Manila col-umnist Philip Lustrethat Duterte is fighting “the Big C” or cancer.

“What Big C? It is his (Lustre’s) burden now to show proof about Dute-rte’s health condition

since he is the one who opened it,” Laviña posted on Facebook.

“If he is worried about Duterte’s health condition, he might as well tell the public of the health condition of his friend Vice President Jejomar Binay. As far as we are concerned Mayor Duterte has been mov-ing around the country for more than 12 months and that in itself is his state of health,” he added.

Laviña said what Lus-tre posted on social me-dia was black propagan-da.

“Mayor Rody Duterte is sick and tired of our rotten system. That is why he has been advo-cating for change in our

country. He has been on the road for over a year now, a clear proof of his good state of health. I am sick, too, of character as-sassins whose only aim is to destroy others,” Laviña said.

“These are the types who believe they can be white by portraying oth-ers as black. The Filipino masses would not fall for these dirty tricks. They are sick and tired too and are clamoring for change. To change our country, we need to change our-selves. Black propagan-da is the stuff of people who will be swept into the dustbin of history,” he added.With a report from Armando B. Fene-quito Jr.

SIX APEC economies on Friday signed the Statement of Un-

derstanding for the Asia Regional Funds Passport (ARFP), a multilateral ar-rangement that will facil-itate the cross-border of-fering of eligible collective investment schemes in the participating economies.

Recognizing the value of forging stronger and more streamlined con-nections in the financial markets, Australia, South Korea, New Zealand, Thai-land, Japan, and the Phil-ippines signed the legally non-binding document, expressing keen interest to pursue the ARFP.

In a statement, Philip-pines Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima, host of the APEC Finance Min-isters’ Process this year, said closer financial inte-gration is “a key pillar of our agenda here in Cebu.”

“We are optimistic that regional cooperation in building better financial linkages can smoothen our path to shared pros-perity.With 40 percent of the region’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) underserved, we expect easier cross-border flows of funds to acceler-ate trade and investment in the region,” Purisima added.

For his part, Australian Finance Minister Mathi-as Cormann said the Asia Region Funds Passport is a key trade liberaliza-tion initiative which helps drive further important fi-nancial integration across our region.

“It will not only reduce the amount of red tape faced by fund managers across our region, but will provide investors with greater choice of invest-ment products,” Cormann

said.“Specifically, the Asia

Region Funds Passport aims to give investors ac-cess to a larger range of well-regulated funds. This will help to further strengthen the interna-tional competitiveness of our financial services sector across Asia in rela-tion to other parts of the world,” he added.

An APEC initiative un-der the Finance Ministers’ Process, the ARFP aims to establish a regional envi-ronment where operators of collective investment schemes, such as mutual funds, based in a member economy will be able to offer their products to in-vestors in other passport member countries.

The ARFP accomplish-es this by reducing and streamlining regulatory inconsistencies and over-laps, factors for increased

difficulties in offering products to customers in multiple economies.

According to a study by the APEC Policy Support Unit in 2014, by improv-ing efficiency, the initiative will result in savings of US$20 billion annually in fund management costs. It could also create 170,000 jobs in APEC economies within five years.

The statement signed by the Ministries of Fi-nance or agencies of participating economies reflect their shared goals of enhancing economic growth with sound de-velopment in the region by deepening the region’s capital markets to at-tract finance, as well as strengthening the capac-ity, expertise, and inter-national competitiveness of financial markets in the region, and the fund man-agement industry. (CRC)

no naturalised player, Team Hayabusa continues to com-pete and put a scare in other teams.

8. Kazakhstan The Kazakhs are still re-

portedly in basketball hot-bed Lithuania, honing their skills and sharpening their shooting away from the pry-ing eyes of their continen-tal opponents. That should serve them well once they get to Changsha, where they are bound to encounter very tough opposition in the tour-nament’s Group of Death.

9. Qatar Qatar, given their size,

talent, and experience, are expected to give Kazakhstan (and many other teams) quite a difficult time in the FIBA Asia Championship. They have currently been sighted in Manila, playing a couple of PBA clubs in tune-up games before flying out to China for the real thing. Mo-hammed Yousef, Khalid Suli-man Abdi, and Trey Johnson are the ones expected to car-

ry this team in the expected absence of Yaseen Musa and Mansour El Hadary.

10. Lebanon Lebanon were expected

to join the Philippines, Chi-nese Taipei, and a New Zea-land club in the four-nation MVP Cup in Manila, but they reportedly backed out in favor of joining the four-na-tion tourney in China, from which they also backed out. Additionally, iconic player Fade El Khatib’s release from his CBA club hasn’t reached a resolution yet. In short, the Cedars are in limbo.

11. PalestineYes, Palestine got plas-

tered by Jordan in a couple of tune-up games, but they can only get better, right? They fly to China to join the hosts, Jordan, and the UAE in a four-nation competition that should give the Pales-tinians an opportune time to continue jelling as a team. This is still a potentially dan-gerous squad when the FIBA Asia Champinship begins.

APEC FMM Cebu advances AsiaRegional Funds Passport Scheme

DILG’s full-disclosure policy and no adverse findings from the Commission on Audit for passing the Good Financial Housekeeping component.

Governor Malanyaon in her acceptance speech at-tributed the latest accolade to the hard work, team effort and commitment of all capi-tol employees, department heads, and all stakeholders who have been effective in the implementation of the government’s development programs and projects. “This award symbolizes our integ-rity and a testament of our good performance and good track record,” she said.

To date, Davao Oriental also holds the title of Gawad Pamana ng Lahi Regional Champion for its excellent performance in all areas of governance, along with its best practices and innova-tions which dramatically transformed the lives of its people.

KEYS TO SUCCESSFor Gov. Malanyaon, the

ingredients needed to craft government programs that respond to the urgent needs of the people are not hard to come by. They only need to be harnessed. The value of competent leadership, she

says, cannot be overempha-sized as from this well also springs the ability to galva-nize the people into action. Meaningful participation of the people is a major factor behind the success of her programs. Without their support, even the most com-pelling vision will not have any hope of turning into a reality, according to her.

By setting the right ex-amples for the ultimate ob-jective of effecting a better provincial government-- a more professionalized, en-ergized, empowered and humanized bureaucracy, a positive working attitude was inculcated especially among employees of the provincial government. Change in cul-ture is seen on the part of the Capitol employees from a culture of well-entrenched political patronage into a ser-vice-oriented bureaucracy. The governor emphasized that if the provincial govern-ment could provide fast and honest service to the resi-dents, tourists and investors, the local economy would im-prove and it would translate to improved living standards for the people. By Ferdinand Zuasola with report from Karen Lou Deloso


ECONOMY

US-BASED fertilizer company Universal Harvest Inc. will ex-

tend a $250,000 funding for a research study on cacao to identify the most suitable fertilizer that could increase cacao production.

Cacao Industry Develop-ment Association in Mindan-ao, Inc. (CIDAMI) executive director Valente Turtur said the assistance will be giv-en to the cacao association which will identify research areas in Mindanao. The four-year study will be conducted

by the International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI).

“We’re eyeing small ar-eas plated with cacao in the Calinan District to be our model farms,” Turtur told reporters at the sidelines of the Kakao Konek 2015 Na-tional Cacao Congress at the SMX Convention Center in Davao City.

Five research sites in Calinan will be initially iden-tified on the first year of the implementation and will be increased on the succeeding years.

“We’re targeting to add another five on the second year,” Turtur said.

The study will focus on the research of cacao pro-duction in Mindanao. The island is the biggest source of cacao beans in the coun-try, accounting more than 90 percent of country’s total annual production of around 10,000 to 12,000 metric tons (MT).

Davao Region, mean-while, has the biggest cacao production area with a total of 23,000 hectares. Davao

City has the biggest area planted with cacao amount-ing to 6,000 hectares bene-fitting a total of 16,000 farm-ers.

“The study aims to iden-tify the best good farming practices for cacao produc-tion,” Turtur said, adding that currently each farmer has their own method of raising cacao.

The industry has to stan-dardize farming practices for cacao production, according to him.

Under the study, each

site will have at least 25 to 50 cacao trees which will be subjected to application of different kinds of fertilizer like those that are organic, inorganic, mixed, and purely synthetic as variables.

“We would like to know which kind of fertilizer will increase the production of each cacao tree,” Turtur said. The present average yield per tree of cacao is at 700 grams annually.

The study will be also used to identify present nu-trients in the soil of each site.

“Nutrients lacking in the soil will be added through fertilizer,” he said.

The study will pave the way for the identification of the result of fertilizer on each variety of cacaos plant-ed in each site.

Result of the study will be used as the standard method for cacao produc-tion. It will be also replicated and adopted by other cacao farmers in the region in a bid that annual production of ca-cao per tree will be increase to more than a kilogram.CRC

US firm gives $250K for cacao studyBy CHENEEN R. CAPON

URBAN POOR HOUSING. Barangay Ilang head Arnolfo Ricardo Cabling (2nd from left) leads the signing ceremonies for the P72 million urban poor

housing project in Barangay Ilang on a P54 million 3-hectare lot donated by Holcim Philippines.

Holcim, Brgy. Ilang in P72Murban poor housing project

ONE HUNDRED TWEN-TY-NINE families liv-ing in a high-risk area

in Barangay Ilang in Davao City are moving soon to a P72 million 3-hectare urban poor housing project.

The project is a joint undertaking of Holcim Phil-ippines, Barangay Ilang, De-partment of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Davao City Social Service Development Office (CSSDO).

Beneficiaries of the proj-ect located in Barangay Ilang on the 3-hectare lot worth P54 million donated by Holcimare members of the Pag-asaIlang Homeowners Association, Inc., (PIHOAI), whose houses dotted the flood-prone river bank of Il-ang River.

The signing of the Memo-

randum of Agreement (MOA), Deed of Donation and Ground Breaking were jointly held on September 9 attended by the participating government agencies, Holcim officials and PIHOAI members.

“This project is our com-mitment to help develop communities where we op-erate as part of our Corpo-rate Social Responsibility,” said Eduardo Sahagun, Hol-cim chief executive officer.

Holcim, the country’s largest cement producer, operates a plant in Barangay Ilang.

“This a demonstration of the sincerity of the Davao City government and Ba-rangay Ilang to respond to the need for housing of the homeless urban poor,” said Barangay Captain Arnolfo Ricardo Cabling, a former

Davao City Council member who chaired the Committee on Housing and Urban De-velopment and authored the landmark Davao City Shelter Code.

The beneficiaries trained for house-building skills by TESDA would themselves build the houses under a cash-for-work scheme paid out by DSWD and Barangay Ilang.

Under the MOA, Holcima-mong others would donate the land in the project that is the biggest CSR undertaking of the cement giant and pro-vide an P8M fund for land de-velopment and skills training for the beneficiaries.

For its part, DSWD would provide funding of about P12 million for the construction of the houses and the cash-for work scheme.

EXPORTS of all com-modities, especially banana, coconut prod-

ucts and sugar products, went down so far this year, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said in an update on economic performance.

Lower sales in produce from down in the farm as well as export sales of min-eral products lowered mer-chandise exports by 1.8 per-cent in July, NEDA said (Sep-tember 10).

“Although agro-based exports account for only 5 percent of the Philippines’ total exports, its implication to the domestic economy is significant as the agricultural sector hosts a sizeable portion of the country’s work force,” said Dr. Arsen-io M. Balisacan, NEDA Di-rector-General. “Measures to mitigate the impact of El Niño remain important in the near-term, which should include crop and/or work substitution programs”.

The decline mid-point in 2015 was eased somewhat by the strong performanc-es of manufactured goods, most notably electronics and petroleum, said Balisacan who is also the Economic Planning Secretary. While exports were lower, for ex-ample, sales to China grew

by 24.1 percent.Locals will have to tight-

en the slack, he said. “Easing commodity prices world-wide could dampen export revenue prospects in the near term, and the outlook for semiconductor exports remains on the downside.

Exports of semiconduc-tors are expected to slow down in the fourth quarter of the year owing to weak orders from the European Union, China and Japan, he said. “Policies geared to-wards increasing domestic demand are essential to counter external weakness-es and to ensure that the country’s growth trajectory remains on track.”

Total revenue from exports settled at US$5.3 billion, or US$100 million lower than those recorded in the same period last year, NEDA said, citing figures from the Philippine Statis-tics Authority.

The value of total agro-based products fell for the sixth consecutive month in July 2015, declining by 24.5 percent to US$322.2 mil-lion from US$426.7 million in July 2014. This is traced to lower exports recorded from all commodity seg-ments, particularly fruits and vegetables. Scien-cePhilippines

Agri exports dip


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14THE ECONOMY EDGEDAVAO

CHANGE THE GAME

Online car portal expands in MindanaoONLINE car classi-

fied Carmudi are eyeing to expand

its business operations in the Philippines by adding another extension office specifically in Davao and Cagayan De Oro area.

The expansion will be part of company’s strategy in saturating its market presence in Min-danao. “The Philippine economy is really a mar-ket to watched. We are already spread out in 20 different countries across the globe and we see a lot of potential in doing busi-ness in the Philippines”, says Subir Lohani, man-aging director of Carmudi Philippines.

“Aside from agricul-ture and tourism, Min-danao has improved its information technology business which are the key drivers in growing the economy. We are looking on the bigger picture as GDP growth rate increase by 6.2-percent in the last 5 years and we see this opportunity to expand the business,” adds Lo-hani.

The company, which started last January of 2014, has continuously provide users the best shopping online experi-ence that allows you to sell or buy your car, mo-torcycle or commercial vehicle in the fastest and easiest way. The car por-tal also offers a unique sophisticated search fil-

ters that enables users to browse his target car based from his lifestyle preference.

“We bridge the gap be-tween sellers and buyers on how they can both be happy on every purchase they will do. Aside from the transparent and trust-ed list of inventory, they can be 110-percent that all those cars, motorcycle and commercial vehicles they will be view in our site had undergo quality screening check,” said Lo-hani.

Lohani also explained, “As we do expansion in Mindanao area, we are looking forward to dou-ble our sales by end of the year. We allocated $16-million funds in Phil-ippine operations alone in terms of investment, so we expect to grow the business in few more years.”

He added, “We are very excited and also challenge to do business here. This is a very young market to watch with big-ger opportunities to look for.”

The online startup has 20,000+ listings with 9,000 used car dealers and 1,000 new car deal-ers. The company has 5-million visitors in a month with steady grow-ing highly targeted au-dience. Aside from Min-danao, Carmudi also is targeting cities in Visayas such as Iloilo and Bacolod.

CLASSROOMS FOR YOLANDA-AFFECTED SCHOOLCHILDREN. The Social Security System (SSS) has extended financial assistance of P5.5 million for the reconstruction of classrooms at the town of Tanauan in Leyte province that were destroyed by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in 2013. Photo shows SSS President and Chief Executive Emilio S. de Quiros, Jr. (2nd from right) and Social Security Commission Chairman Juan B. Santos (right), Education Secretary Br. Armin A. Luistro, FSC (2nd from left) and Department of Education (DepEd) Undersecretary for Partnerships and External Linkages Mario A. Deriquito (left) during ceremonies held at the DepEd complex in Pasig City on August 7.


NOTICE TO THE PUBLICEffective Sept. 30, 2015,

DAVAOEÑA PAWNSHOP, Mamay Branch will move to corner Apollo

St., Buhangin, Davao City.Telephone number:

(082) 300-3803Mobile number: 09202138577

9/1,7,14,21,28

15EDGEDAVAO SUBURBIA

IT was not an emergen-cy landing nor a foreign plane’s commercial

maiden voyage in this thriv-ing port city, the “Tuna Cap-ital of the Philippines.”

A Malaysia Airlines plane landed at the Gener-al Santos City international airport on Wednesday to bring in equipment for a new coal-fired power plant in the Davao region, two sources confirmed on Fri-day.

The Malaysian airplane left the city noontime Thursday after it was emp-tied of its cargoes, Rudy Boborol, a heavy equip-ment operator at the city’s airport said on the phone.

The presence of Malay-sia Airlines surprised res-idents and airport passen-gers since foreign airlines do not have flights to Gen-eral Santos City so far.

Boborol described the Malaysian airplane as a “big-body 757 type”.

The heavy equipment unloaded from the plane were put on waiting trucks, he said, adding this was the first time he saw a Malay-sian plane at the General Santos airport, with some-one even branding it the “mysterious Malaysian Air-lines plane in GenSan.”

It turned out the heavy equipment were bound for

the 300-megawatt (MW) coal plant of Therma South, Inc (TSI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aboitiz Power Corp, located in Davao City.

Wilfredo Rodolfo III, Aboitiz Power corporate communications manager, confirmed that they hired Malaysia Airlines to bring in the equipment.

“In order to expedite the commissioning of the second unit of Therma South’s 300-MW power plant project, we decided to charter a Boeing 747 of Malaysian Airlines to quick-ly fly in the necessary part and equipment,” he said in a statement.

Since the unloading equipment of the General Santos City airport is more ready and complete, we de-cided to bring in the equip-ment via General Santos than the Davao City airport to fast track the delivery, he added.

Davao and General Santos cities are less than three hours apart by land travel.

Rodolfo said the firm chartered Malaysia Airlines “to bring the equipment to expedite the replacement of parts and get the power plant into service so it can help alleviate the Mindan-ao power crisis.” (Bong S. Sarmiento/MindaNews)

Malaysian plane in GenSan to unload Aboitiz coal plant equip’t


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Mobile: (Smart) 0909-424-7990

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Director of SalesDoor 14 ALCREJ Bldg.,

Quirino Ave., Davao CityTel: (082) 224-1413

Telefax: (082) 221-3601

MANILA MARKETING OFFICEANGELICA R. GARCIA

Marketing Manager97-1 Bayanbayanan Ave.,

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VOL. 8 ISSUE 118 • SUNDAY-MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13-14, 2015 19EDGEDAVAO SPORTS

APO Golf and Coun-try Club will an-chor its title re-

tention bid on a solid lineup that will also see the debut of jungolf phe-nom Alessandra Christine “Ella” Nagayo.

Heading the team will be Mimi Siason who will act as team captain, veteran Imee Garcia, Li-libeth Crisologo, Mafy Singson, Danica Nagayo, Rose Sara, Tsouky Mon-tillo and Nagayo.

The 10th PAL Ladies Interclub Golf Tourna-ment is going to be held on October 7-9, 2015 in

Negros Occidental Golf and Country Club, also known as Marapara Golf Club.

Nagayo is fresh from her fourth place finish in the Veritas Junior Golf Championship in Pasa-dena, California and an 86th finish in the tough-er US Kids World Golf World Championship in Pinehurst, North Caroli-na.

Apo is ranked among the favorites to win the coveted title with chal-lenge from the home squad Negros Occiden-tal. (NJB)

GILAS Pilipinas climbed to third place from fourth in the latest

FIBA Asia Power Rankings after its strong second place showing in the 37th Jones Cup.

Iran retained the top spot after its title run in the Jones Cup followed by Chi-na in second. Chinese Taipei also gained with the fourth spot this week bumping off Korea.

In the lead-up to the 2015 FIBA Asia Champion-ship on September 23, our experts will be ranking the 16 teams bound for Chang-sha, China, based on their respective player composi-tions and preparations for the biennial tournament.

Though these rankings are entirely based on out ex-perts’ opinions and have no

mathematical or theoretical grounding, keep in mind that player injuries, eligibility is-sues, training camp reports, and pre-tournament game results will all have consid-erable impact.

In this edition of the Power Ranking, many of the teams have already had more than a few tune-up games, with a handful ac-tually playing in the 2015 William Jones Cup. Several teams have also finalised their 12-man rosters for the FIBA Asia Championship, and this should give us a clearer picture of where they stand.

1. Iran Iran just buried the com-

petition in the 2015 William Jones Cup, winning all but one of their games en route to annexing the champion-

ship. Both Hamed Haddadi and pint-sized Mahdi Kam-rani were also named to the tournament’s Mythical Five. This bodes well for the de-fending champions, who are expected to dominate the proceedings once again in Changsha. Oh, and did we mention that the team’s top forward, Samad Nikkhah Bahrami, didn’t even play?

2. China China have been qui-

et of late, choosing to hold training camp at home after a series of tune-up games abroad. Yi Jianlian’s tired body is recovering nicely, but promising young playmak-er Liu Xiaoyu appears to be sidelined with a stiff back, which is probably why he was left out of the final 12-man team. With Yi playing alongside Wang Zhelin, Zhou

Qi, and Li Muhao, coach Gong Luming easily has the big-gest team in the competition.

3. Philippines The Filipinos move up

one spot owing to their in-spired play in the Jones Cup, where they won six of eight games and finished second overall. And they did that WITHOUT Andray Blatche and Jordan Clarkson, who is still seeking a release from his NBA club to join the Phil-ippine national team. Coach Tab Baldwin has proven be-fore that he can bring the best out of any player under his wing, and that is slowly shaping up to be the case in Manila.

4. Chinese-Tai-pei

Chinese Taipei placed on the podium in the Jones Cup right behind Iran and

the Philippines, and they are set to have one more pocket tournament by the week’s end. It sure looks like coach Chou Jun-San is leaving noth-ing to chance as his team are in the tournament’s toughest preliminary group and are pressured to build on their top four finish in 2013.

5. KoreaThe Koreans were very

inconsistent in the Jones Cup, eventually winding up in fifth place. Swingman Yoon Ho-Young looks doubt-ful for the FIBA Asia tourney, and star guard Kim Sun-Hyung has been suspended for suspected involvement in game-fixing issues back home. It hasn’t been the best of weeks for this perennial powerhouse, which is why they slide two spots.

6. Jordan

Jordan are fresh from a two-game bashing of West Asian rivals Palestine, and are set to join a four-nation pocket tournament in Chi-na. Stalwarts Zaid Abbas and Sam Daghlas reportedly didn’t even play in their twin wins over the Palestinians, so their addition in China should make coach Rajko Toroman’s squad that much stronger.

7. JapanJapan had a very slow

start in the Jones Cup, los-ing their first five games, but they regained their bearings and wound up winning two of their last three assign-ments to avoid the cellar. There is much improvement to be done, sure, but one has to love the fact that despite not having star center Ko-suke Takeuchi and having

TEAM APO. Mimi Siason, Imee Garcia, Lilibeth Crisologo, Mafy Singson, Danica Nagayo, Rose Sara, Tsouky Montillo and Ella Nagayo comprise the Apo Golf and Country Club team.

Apo Golf bares PAL Ladies Interclub squad

2015 FIBA ASIA CHAMPIONSHIP POWER RANKING

GILAS GOES UP TO NO. 3

FGILAS, 12

Edge Davao 8 Issue 118

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