Edge Davao 8 Issue 217

P 15.00 • 20 PAGESwww.edgedavao.netVOL. 8 ISSUE 217 • THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2016

‘I’LL RESIGN’EDGE Serving a seamless society

DAVAO

By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO [email protected]

PDEA 11 chief to quit if ‘Great Raid’ is pursued

CLEAR. Motorists clear the way for a visually impaired woman so she can cross Ilustre Street safely yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

PHILIPPINE Drug En-forcement Agency (PDEA) 11 regional

director Adzhar Albani yes-terday said he will resign if PDEA National Capital Region (NCR) conducts an operation in Davao City without coordi-nating with his office.

“What’s the use? It’s an in-sult if there is no coordination. There is an impression that these people will not trust (us) for their operation,” he said in yesterday’ s AFP-PNP Press Corps forum held at Task Force Davao Headquarters.

Albani said he already

told PDEA director general Arthuro Cacdac Jr. that he will resign if such an operation is launched without him being informed.

“I also told Mayor Duterte last night (Monday) that I will resign if this operation from NCR will be pursued,” he add-ed.

Albani made the state-ment a day after Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte bared a plan, dubbed “The Great Raid,” to fabricate a sha-bu (methamphetamine hydro-chloride) laboratory in the city in order to discredit him and

derail his presidential bid.Duterte had said he will

kill operatives from the NCR if they pursue their plan to plant drugs in the city.

Albani said under PDEA rules, operatives planning to conduct a drug raid in an-other area need to secure a pre-coordination certificate to ensure that their operation is legitimate.

He said the alleged PDEA NCR plan to raid a drug lab-oratory in Davao City needs prior coordination because it would be a big operation. “We will issue a certificate to them,”

he said.Albani said his office does

not want to prevent other law enforcement units from con-ducting drug operations in the city “but they must follow the right protocol.”

“We are willing to help them. They need not to tell their real target. We will not ask their targets because their operation might fail,” he said.

Albani said if the PDEA NCR operation is pursued, he will tell the public that the op-eration did not follow protocol.

“Huwag nila kaming isama FI’LL RESIGN, 10

INdulge! A1

VOL. 8 ISSUE 217 • THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 20162 EDGEDAVAO

NEWS

CHANGE OF MOOD. Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Z. Duterte, who minutes before had gone ballistic after his name was dragged into the drug and crime activities in the city, changes mood as he happily chats with a woman who personally thanked him for financial assistance he had extended to help her build her house. Lean Daval Jr.

INVESTIGATORS are still looking into the possi-bility that the suspects

in the January 16, 2016 NCCC Mall robbery case in Tagum City are affiliated with a big robbery syndi-cate in Manila.

In an interview after the AFP-PNP Press Corps yesterday at Task Force Davao, Police Regional Of-fice (PRO) 11 spokesper-son Chief Inspector Andrea dela Cerna said the inci-dent appears to have been well planned, something that only organized crime groups can do.

“We will not discount that possibility,” dela Cerna said.

She said the arrested suspect, Salvador G. Dagong alias Atort, has connections with the Acetylene Gang.

ANTI-DRUG operatives arrested an American citizen after allegedly

being found in possession of suspected methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu in a hotel here early Wednesday.

Kath Abad, public infor-mation officer of the Philip-pine Drug Enforcement Agen-cy (PDEA) in Region 12, said suspect Hyun Seong Hong was nabbed following a search in his room at the Microtel hotel in Barangay Dadiangas Heights at around 1:10 a.m.

She said the operation, which was directly supervised by PDEA-12 director Lyn-don Aspacio, was based on a search warrant issued by the Regional Trial Court here.

She said during the search, agents recovered from Hong’s “possession and control” around 10 grams of suspect-ed shabu with an estimated market value of P75,000, three pieces aluminum foil strips, an improvised tooter, an impro-

vised needle and a roll of alu-minum foil.

“The suspect is currently undergoing investigation and will be subjected to a drug test,” she said in a statement.

“We’re currently investi-gating the suspect regarding his possession of the illegal drugs, his activities and the possible sources of the items,” she said.

Abad said they staged the operation based on a tip from an informant about the pres-ence of shabu at Hong’s hotel room.

She said they immediately applied for a search warrant after getting initial confirma-tion on the matter.

PDEA-12 records showed that the 53 year-old Hong, who is reportedly a business-man, is a resident of 2710 Park Way, Irvine, California in the United States (US) and just on vacation in the city.

The suspect, who is a US

THE House of Represen-tatives mustered a quo-rum Tuesday not for the

Bangsamoro Basic Law but for 2015 Miss Universe Pia Wurtz-bach.

Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on the BBL, said 173 House members attended the session to catch a glimpse and take pic-tures of Wurtzbach.

Rodriguez said most of his colleagues were no longer in the session hall when the beauty titlist left at around 7:30 pm.

“There was no longer a quorum when the numbers were counted,” Rodriguez said.

He said had there been a quorum, deliberations for the passage of the Basic Law on the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region or BLBAR would have started and lawmakers would have introduced amendments to the bill.

The House conferred on Wurtzbach the Congressional Medal of Distinction, the high-est award that the body can confer on an individual.

Tagum City mall robbers’ Manila connection probedBy ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

[email protected]

Quorum in House not for BBLbut for Miss U Pia Wurtzbach

American nabbedfor shabu in GenSan

FAMERICAN, 10

FQUORUM, 10

Dagong was arrested on January 18 through a warrant of arrest issued last year by Panabo City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 34 Judge Dax Gon-zaga Xenos for robbery with violence and intimidation.

“We need to investigate deeper on their connection so that we will locate it and to see their affiliations and if they have cases in other areas in the country,” dela Cerna said.

Dela Cerna said Dagong came from Luzon and came to Region 11 to work on the gang’s robbery operations.

“The police are now in-tensifying the intelligence monitoring because we want to locate his (Dagong) other cases,” she said.

Meanwhile, dela Cerna said the Tagum City Police Office has already filed a case against the six other suspects for robbery and homicide.

Dela Cerna said the case

was filed at the Davao del Norte Provincial Prosecu-tor’s Office through regular filling last week.

She said although the suspects have not been identified, they appeared as John Does in the complaint.

Dela Cerna also said PRO 11 has already formed Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) NCCC to con-centrate on the robbery probe.

The robbery was mounted at around 9:15 a.m. on January 16. The rob-bers, armed with long and short firearms, entered the mall and pointed their guns at the security guard at the entrance.

The robbers simultane-ously ransacked the mall’s own jewelry section and Shirley’s Jewelry, breaking the glass compartments of the said shops.

The suspects fled to unknown directions using three XRM motorcycles.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 217 • THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2016 3EDGEDAVAO NEWS

VOL. 8 ISSUE 217 • THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 20164 NEWS EDGEDAVAO

Blackouts affecting water supply: DCWDTHE management of

the Davao City Water District (DCWD)

yesterday said the delivery of water supply is being adversely affected by the rotating power interruption being implemented by the Davao Light and Power Company (DLPC).

“Intermittent power supply will redound to longer recovery of DCWD facilities particularly the production wells that temporarily shut off whenever there is a power outage,” the water utility said in a statement.

“DCWD needs additional time for re-switching of

affected facilities, pressure build up and line delivery. Thus, the longer and more frequent the power interruptions are in areas where DCWD facilities are situated, the longer it takes for the water level in the pipelines and reservoirs to recover,” it said.

“This means that DCWD customers especially in far north and elevated areas continue to experience low water pressure to no water despite resumption of power supply,” it added.

DCWD general manager Edwin V. Regalado asked for the understanding and

cooperation of affected customers and apologized for the inconvenience the water service interruption is causing. He also advised customers to store water whenever they can.

For queries and further updates, the general public may visit DCWD website

( w w w. d ava o - wa te r. g ov.ph) and official Facebook page (www.facebook.com/davaowater) or call the Central Information Unit / Call Center through the 24-hour hotline 297-DCWD (3293), 0927-7988966, 0925-5113293 and 0908-4410653.

DEMO SESSION. A personnel from the Department of Health (DOH) 11 demonstrates to students of Jose Rizal Elementary School the correct way to swallow or chew a deworming tablet during the agency’s anti-intestinal worms program dubbed Oplan Goodbye Bulate yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

DAVAO City Vice Mayor Paolo Z. Duterte has revealed that the lo-

cal political party Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod is facing “a little problem” in the city’s third district regarding its con-gressional seat.

“I have no authority to

discuss it but I will give you an idea. We have problem in the third district,” Paolo told re-porters on Tuesday.

He said the party is now discussing the resolution of the glitches in the third district.

“Karon naay mga possible na matanggal sa Hugpong,

makambyohan kay nagaprob-lema, naay nangabuta sa saad (Now, there is possibility that some will be removed or re-placed because of the problem. Some of them were blinded by the promises given to them),” he said.

Paolo would not confirm if

the problem is the face-off be-tween councilor Karlo S. Bello and engineer Alberto Ungab, brother of incumbent third district Rep. Isidro Ungab.

“Dili pa definite, mag-meet-ing pa ang Hugpong (It is not yet definite, the party is yet to

DAVAO Light and Power Company will imple-ment two 15-minute

power interruptions on Jan-uary 31 affecting customers connected to its Tugbok Feed-er 1.

These service disruptions are necessary to conduct relo-cation of poles and lines to fa-cilitate the DPWH’s construc-tion of Mintal overpass.

To avoid longer duration of service disruptions, loads from the affected substations will be temporarily transferred to nearby lines from 12:01 AM

to 12:15 AM. Normalization or return of loads back to its nor-mal set up will be from 4:45 AM to 5:00 AM.

Customers affected are those from Mercury Drug Ulas up to Tugbok Substation.

Davao Light apologizesd-for the inconvenience of these scheduled power interruptions but said it will exert all efforts to restore electric service as scheduled or earlier. However, there may be instances where restoration may extend beyond the schedule due to unavoid-able circumstances, it added.

THE Philippine Nation-al Police (PNP) on Wednesday announced

the arrest of almost 400 per-sons for violating the election gun ban.

Chief Superintendent Wil-ben Mayor, PNP spokesman, said as of 9:30 a.m. Wednes-day, 396 persons, mostly civilians, have been appre-hended for carrying firearms since the implementation of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) gun ban on January 10.

The said figures include 381 civilians, two police offi-cers, three government offi-cials, three members of Bu-reau of Jail Management and Penelogy (BJMP), six security guards, one employee of a law

enforcement agency, and one member of the Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit, Mayor said.

He added that the PNP confiscated 254 firearms, 2,381 deadly weapons, 14 gre-nades, one other explosives, eight firearm replicas and 2,358 ammunition.

The gun ban is being im-plemented by the PNP and other law enforcement agen-cies for the national and local May 2016 election period from January 10 to June 8.

“(PNP chief), Police Direc-tor General Ricardo Marquez, assures that the PNP will re-main vigilant in its law en-forcement and security oper-ations to ensure Safe and Fair Election,” Mayor said. (PNA)

WARNING. Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) 11 director Adzhar A. Albani warns PDEA operatives that he will disown them if they join an operation against alleged drug laboratory in Davao City without proper coordination. Albani and Police

Regional Office (PRO) 11 spokesperson Chief Inspector Andrea G. Dela Cerna were among the guests in yesterday’s AFP-PNP Press Corps media forum at Task Force Davao headquarters. Lean Daval Jr.

‘Little problem’ facedby Hugpong in Dist. 3By ARMANDO B. FENEQUITO JR.

[email protected]

Comelec gun banviolators now at 396

15-minute blackoutsscheduled on Jan. 31

Duterte-Cayetano warns countryon the brink becoming narco stateTHE tandem of

presidential bet Davao City Mayor Rodrigo

“Rody” Duterte and Senator Alan Peter Cayetano today warned that if the disorder brought by illegal drugs will not end, the country will become a narco state.

In a statement, Duterte said the country is showing alarming signs of becoming a narco state. “In the national capital region (NCR) where the country’s capital is situated, the government admitted that 92 percent of barangays are already infiltrated by illegal drugs. If Manila, the country’s seat of power, is helpless to address this, what more the other parts of the country where government presence

is weak?” The tough-talking mayor said.

Duterte also noted the presence of international drug syndicates in the country, such as the Sinaloa drug cartel, a Mexican-based group considered the largest and most powerful drug trafficking organization in the west.

“This is a clear national security threat. This is an invasion of a new kind. Drug lords, domestic and foreign, have declared a war against our families and children, and the government is helpless about it,” Duterte said.

The duo said if elected, they will implement a combination of national, regional and international strategies to combat drug

trafficking. “On the national level, we will strengthen and capacitate our security forces. We will cleanse the ranks of the police and military of the corrupt, provide better salaries and incentives and modernize their anti-narcotics infrastructure,” Cayetano explained.

“We will also strengthen the five pillars of our criminal justice system. Drug trafficking thrives best in countries where there is grave insecurity and injustice,” Cayetano added.

Meanwhile, on the regional level, Cayetano said they will push to develop the regions, especially those heavily infiltrated by illegal drugs, to provide the people

FLITTLE, 10

FDUTERTE, 10

VOL. 8 ISSUE 217 • THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2016 5EDGEDAVAO

ECONOMY

OUTLOOK remains bright for the real estate development in Davao

City as more Manila-based and international property devel-opers will pour in investment here this year.

“We have a very positive outlook for the real estate sec-tor not only of Davao but also of Mindanao as development starts to go to other key cities of the island-region,” certified international property spe-cialist Dr. Maria Lourdes Mon-teverde said in yesterday’s Wednesday’s media forum at the Habi at Kape at Abreeza Mall.

Monteverde said the fast development in real estate sector will continue to be a major factor in the growth of Davao City’s economy this year.

She emphasized that the sector was considered an eco-

nomic driver last year which fuelled both the economy and employment.

Two to three Manila-based property developers are each planning to establish town-ship projects with at least 100 hectares area outside the city’s central business district.

Monteverde said the town-ship developers are already on the process of “finalizing their documentation and physical plan” before it can proceed with the start of the projects.

“There is a growing de-mand for township projects in Davao City because people do not want to encounter traffic anymore,” she said, adding that the developers target to set-up the project in the northern and southern part of the city.

Allowing development to spur outside the CBD gives the city a secondary growth area,

Outlook bright for property [email protected]

By CHENEEN R. CAPON

FOUTLOOK, 10BUSINESS AS USUAL. A vendor sells bottled mineral water, soft drinks, and food items to people waiting in queue to acquire employment and community tax certificates at Sangguniang Panlungsod yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 217 • THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 20166 EDGEDAVAOTHE ECONOMY

DECREASING OIL PIRICE. An attendant from a gasoline station in downtown Davao City pumps gas into a car while her co-worker looks on Wednesday morning. With the continued decrease of oil prices in the world market, commuters are now demanding a reduction of the fare rate, too. Lean Daval Jr.

CERTIFIED international property specialist Dr. Maria Lourdes G. Mon-

teverde appealed to the Bu-reau of Internal Revenue (BIR) for a “gradual” implementa-tion of the proposed 100 per-cent minimum increase in the zonal valuation.

“The increase in zonal val-uation has a big effect on the attitude of investors whether local, national or international. The raise in the zonal valuation will slow down the entry of these investors to Davao City,” Monteverde said in Wednes-days’s Habi at Kape forum at Abreeza Mall.

Monteverde, who is also the interim president of the Philippine Real Estate Ser-vice Practitioners (Philres) Inc.,- Davao, said the increase in zonal valuation will also af-fect the development of low-cost and socialized housing

project which has high de-mand in the city as the increase will be passed on to buyers and developers.

The acquisition cost of land properties, she said, will increase when the new valua-tion is approved.

“The increase led to the creation of a niche market which are high-end consum-ers because projects are not affordable anymore,” Mon-teverde said.

Unfortunately, she said the Davao market is not yet ma-ture for high-end projects. She said the majority of the market segment here still ranges from medium to low but there is a growing demand for high-end projects as the economy grows.

Monteverde added that the effect of the hike in land valuation will extend to the promotion of the Davao City as

an investment haven for prop-erty developments by the city government.

However, she said the ef-fort of city government to im-prove the land use plan and designation of zones based on usage will still help interested investors on real estate sector.

The increase in zonal val-uation might affect the city’s sector but it will also lead to expansion of developments in other areas near to Davao City where valuation is lower.

The improvement in road infrastructure, she said, will bring commercial develop-ment to other areas.

“The improvement in in-terlinkages in the different cities is really making a big dif-ference. Investors are already looking in other municipality and provinces for their com-mercial development and the residential will come in after,”

she added.Monteverde said private

stakeholders of the sector as well as the City Government passed a resolution asking the bureau not to increase the val-uation by more 50 percent of the current land valuation to ensure the growth of the sec-tor.

“We are just waiting for the reply of the Department of Finance,” she said, adding that the recommendations was for-warded by the BIR

On an earlier report, BIR 11 regional director Glen Ger-aldino, basis of the taxation of the real property will depend on which has the higher val-ue among the actual selling price, zonal value of the BIR, and the City Assessor’s value. He said the zonal valuation in the city has been left un-touched for 17 years and now is the right time to revisit it.

Gradual imposition of zonalvaluation increase requested

THE provincial govern-ment of South Cotaba-to has released nearly

PHP474 million last year for the implementation of var-ious priority infrastructure projects in parts of the prov-ince.

Generosa Capundan, as-sistant chief of the Provincial Engineer’s Office (PEO), said Tuesday they specifically implemented a total of 123 projects that were listed un-der the province’s infrastruc-

ture program for 2014 and 2015.

“Seventy-nine of these projects have already been completed while the remain-ing 44 are still ongoing,” she said in media forum.

A report released by the PEO showed that 65 of the projects or 52.84 percent are vertical structures.

It includes the construc-tion and repair of multi-pur-pose buildings, health facil-ities, school buildings and

local government offices.Of the remaining proj-

ects, 23 or 18.70 percent in-volve the concreting and re-habilitation of roads while 35 or 28.46 percent are related works for bridges, box cul-verts, drainage canals, water system, among others.

Capundan cited that the development of one of the ongoing projects was sus-pended since May last year due to various problems.

She said the 43 oth-

er ongoing projects have a total contract cost of PHP309,542,355.04.

“The bulk of these proj-ects are due for completion before the end of the year,” she said.

Aside from the imple-mentation of the priority infrastructure projects, the PEO also served the needs of the barangays particularly in the repair, rehabilitation and maintenance of barangay roads. (PNA)

SC infra investments reach P474M in 2015

THE United Nations launched an agricul-tural program aimed at

leveling the 11 agrarian com-munities in Mindanao into the standards set by the inte-grated Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN) economy here five days ago, an official said Tuesday.

Country Representative Benoit Thierry of the UN In-ternational Fund for Agricul-tural Development (IFAD), said that the project is known as Convergence on Value Chain Enhancement for Rural Growth and Empowerment (CONVERGE).

He said that the CON-VERGE is a US$ 34.59 million project, which is expected to benefit a total of 300,512 farmers in Mindanao or around 54,628 households.

The project covers Region 9, which comprises the Zam-boanga Peninsula, Region 10 comprising five provinces, and the Caraga Region with four provinces.

IFAD will assist the 11

communities through in-vestment plan preparation, capacity building for the farmers, technology upgrad-ing and diffusion, and cluster farming organization.

Thierry said that a busi-ness sector matching, exten-sion services, quality control of the end products, credit/microfinance facilitation and post-harvest facilities and equipment are also part of the project.

“We will teach them cer-tain cropping techniques to meet production targets, so they can be at par with the Asean standards,” Thierry said.

The Philippines had en-tered the integrated Asean economy just last year, he said.

The UN-IFAD has made its presence in the Philippines since 1978, bringing a total of US$ 244.4 million in 14 proj-ects as an anti-poverty inter-ventions. The project Thurs-day last week was the 15th, Thierry said. (PNA)

UN agricultural programs at par with ASEAN economy

[email protected] CHENEEN R. CAPON

THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) 11 will establish a data

banking and analytics system which will consolidate the data on the number of businesses operating in Davao Region.

DTI-Davao City director Engineer Edwin O. Banquerigo said putting up the data bank-ing will capture the number of manufacturers engaged in val-ue-adding.

“We are trying to capture the percentage of businesses engage in manufacturing and focus projects on the sector,” Banquerigo said in yesterday’s media forum at Habi at Kape at Abreeza Mall.

Banquerigo said DTI 11 in-tends to focus on projects that improve the competitiveness of manufacturers engaged in value-adding.

Although there is no spe-cific budget allocated for the package of services that will be extended to manufacturers, he said these identified entrepre-neurs will receive services like trainings from the Negosyo Centers.

Meanwhile, the system will be developed by the in partnership with the Informa-tion and Communication Tech-nology (ICT)-Davao and will be using primarily the data from the Business Permits and Li-censing System (BPLS) of DTI 11 and data from the Business Bureaus.

“We’re planning to launch it in the middle of this year,” the DTI official said.

Initial key cities that will be prioritized for the project are Davao City, Tagum City in Davao del Norte, Mati City in

Davao del Sur, Digos City in Davao del Sur, Nabunturan in Compostela Valley and Malita in Davao Occidental.

For Davao City, the DTI 11 will be also using data from the Business Bureau which re-corded more than 35,000 busi-nesses operating here.

Banquerigo also said that the analyzed data will be used in tailor-fitting DTI’s projects and programs based on the needs of micro, small and me-dium enterprises (MSMEs).

“We wanted our MSMEs to graduate and move for-ward from being a start-up to becoming exporters, for in-stance,” he said.

The analyzed data will be also used by business council-ors who will man the Negosyo Centers in different areas in the region.

Last year, the center con-ducted training to more than 600 participants, mostly OFWs who are interested to venture into business.

The DTI also intends to create a “virtual assistant cen-ter” that will be established in each center which will allow stakeholders to have access to the data even without being physically present in the facil-ity.

“It will allow the services of the center available 24 hours,” Banquerigo said.

The plan to have a virtual assistant is targeted to be es-tablished next year, while the data banking and analytic sys-tem will be this year.

“We are already finalizing the Terms of Reference for the project,” he said. CHENEEN R. CAPON

DTI 11 to establish data banking, analytics system


COMPETITIVE EDGE3 schools vie for Aboitiz green fashion top prize

cuit for the past four years, the Aboitiz Green Fashion Revolution – with the theme “ECOUTURE: Greener Design for a BetterWorld” – is being staged in Manila for the first time this year.

Hitting the grand run-way at the SMX Convention Center Aura this coming Sat-urday are the freshest and fiercest designs from three fab schools: Asia Pacific Col-lege, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, and University of the Philippines-Diliman. These designs will be judged by some of the country’s eminent fashion icons such as topnotch designers Ma. Rosanna Ocampo and Ito Curata, Philippine Tatler’s Mia Borromeo and People Asia’s Paolo de la Cruz, Celia Elumba of the Philippine Tex-tile Research Institute, and Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc.’s Melissa Aboitiz-Elizalde.

For Aboitiz Founda-tion Chairman Erramon I. Aboitiz, the program has been successful in providing a platform for the youth to celebrate their creative talent while pushing for a timely en-vironmental mindset.

“Aboitiz Green Fashion Revolution is an initiative un-der our Wealth on Waste Pro-gram that promotes creative

recycling of waste materials after their useful life. This is part of how we in the Aboitiz Group live out our sustain-ability mindset: that we can do well by doing good, always making the right long-term decisions that balance the in-terests of people, planet, and profit,” Aboitiz said.

Aboitiz shared that the designers have repurposed an estimated 200 kilograms of waste material from vari-ous Aboitiz business units for their various collections. This year’s participants will battle for Best Clothing Design, Best Accessories Design, Best Bag Design, and Best Footwear Design. On top of the grand prize, winners will get to im-plement a corporate social responsibility (CSR) project for their chosen beneficiary.

Aboitiz Green Fashion Revolution was the brainchild of a group of Aboitiz scholars during the Aboitiz Scholars’ CSR Summit in December 2011 and was first staged in 2012 through the auspices of the Aboitiz Foundation. Since then, it has been challenging students to create clothing, footwear, and accessories that make use of recycled materials and highlight the importance of the 3Rs—Re-duce, Reuse, and Recycle.

GREENER DESIGN FOR A BETTER WORLD. Metro Manila’s top fashion talents will be competing for the top prize as they showcase a variety of eco-friendly designs at the upcoming Aboitiz Green Fashion Revolution on

January 30 at the SMX Convention Center Aura. Pictured here is a sneak peek of the fab designs from Asia Pacific College, one of the four colleges competing this year.

METRO Manila’s top young creative tal-ents are poised to

battle it out and paint the town green with an exciting mix of today’s most stunning

and sustainable fashion de-signs at the Aboitiz Green Fashion Revolution on Janu-

ary 30.An annual favorite within

Cebu’s college fashion cir-

VOL. 8 ISSUE 217 • THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 20168 EDGEDAVAO

VANTAGE

EDITORIALDemocratic options

THE burning issue of the day among many concerned Dabawenyos, most especially environmentalists and en-vironment-conscious citizens, is the amendment by the

Davao City Council last Tuesday of City Ordinance No. 0546 or the “Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) 2013 -2022.” The amendment removes from the ordinance the requirement that a housing developer should set aside 10 percent of the subdivi-sion’s total area for green space. This is on top of the 30-percent that the subdivision should reserve for open space as originally provided for in the old subdivision law.

The city councilors, except for Councilor Mabel Sunga-Acosta and another local lawmaker who reportedly abstained from the voting, approved the amendment in positive reaction to a pro-posal from the local housing developers who complained that allocating 40 percent of the area to be developed would be di-sastrous to their business.

Admittedly, both sides have strong arguments in their favor.The environment advocates opposed the amendment and its

approval saddened, if not angered them.The oppositors, led by two groups –the Save Davao Shrine

Hills Advocates led by Norma Javellana and the Interface De-velopment Initiatives (IDIS), Inc. led by Mary Ann Fuertes –said they were not invited by the committee of Councilor Bernie Al-ag to the hearings where they could have aired their opposition to the proposal.

These groups are slated to regroup today and plan out their next moves.

Fortunately there are many options open to the oppositors. First they can convince Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte to veto the amendment.

They can put up a legal battle if they are convinced they have the goods that could stand in court. They can question in court the failure of the city council to invite them to the hearings. They can also question the legality of amending the CLUP, which has only been approved less than three years. The councilors admit that an ordinance like the CLUP cannot be amended only after five years it was approved.

Another option, which is admittedly a long shot is make the amendment an issue against the councilors who voted for it in the May 2016 election.

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

Printed by Zion Accuprint Publishing Inc. Door 14 ALCREJ Building,

Quirino Avenue, 8000, Davao City, PhilippinesTel: (082) 301-6235

Telefax: (082) 221-3601www.edgedavao.net

[email protected]@edgedavao.net

CAGAYAN DE ORO MARKETING OFFICELEIZEL A. DELOSO | Marketing ManagerUnit 6, Southbank Plaza Velez-Yacapin Sts.Cagayan de Oro CityTel: (088) 852-4894

RICHARD C. EBONAAdvertising Specialist

SOLANI D. MARATASFinance

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 • FRED C. LUMBA • HENRY J. SCHUMACHER • VANESSA KATE MADRAZO 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

Printed by Zion Accuprint Publishing Inc. Door 14 ALCREJ Building,

Quirino Avenue, 8000, Davao City, PhilippinesTel: (082) 224-1413

Telefax: (082) 221-3601www.edgedavao.net

[email protected]@edgedavao.net

GENERAL SANTOS CITY MARKETING OFFICE

EDMUND D. RENDONMarketing Specialist

General Santos CityMobile: (Smart) 0909-424-7990

MANILA MARKETING OFFICEANGELICA R. GARCIA | Marketing Manager

97-1 Bayanbayanan Ave.,Marikina Heights, Marikina City

Tel: (02) 654-3509

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

MOST Filipinos’ knowledge of malaria is limited to two facts: You get it from mosquitoes, and it makes you sick.

That’s shockingly little compared to the large impact the disease has had on humans for lit-erally thousands of years.

From almost preventing the Panama Ca-nal project in the 1880s to causing White House officials to install mosquito netting in the Presidential suite in the early 1900s to al-tering the course of World War II, malaria has arguably made more of a mark on history than Adolf Hitler.

Some years back, malaria gained prom-inence recognition as a health threat in the country following the infection of Reyster Langit, the son of broadcaster Rey Langit, af-ter a sortie in Palawan where they checked on reports that a tribe is slowly dying because of an unknown disease which, health experts said, could be malaria.

It happened in 2005. In 2010, the Depart-ment of Health sent a team from its National Center for Disease Prevention and Control to look into incidents of malaria in Gumitan vil-lage in Davao City. Two residents -- a school teacher and a child -- reportedly died and 60 others were downed.

In 2001, 5,860 confirmed cases of malaria were reported in Davao Region. But in 2014, malaria cases went down to 67 (65 cases from Kapalong in Davao del Norte and two cases from Marilog district in Davao City). That’s 98.85% decrease, according to Dr. Abdullah B. Dumama, Jr., the health department’s head in Davao.

“We used to talk about malaria control. Control meaning bring it down to a level where it is not a major issue; it’s not the talk of the town, it’s not the buzz. Now we’re begin-ning to talk about malaria elimination,” Health

Undersecretary Vicente Belisa-rio, Jr. was quot-ed as saying.

In South Cotabato, the state-run Phil-ippine News Agency report-ed that in the past four years, no malaria has been recorded. “We’re aiming to sustain this status this year so we could be finally declared as a malaria-free province,” said Jose Barroquillo, team leader of the Inte-grated Provincial Health Office’s malaria pro-gram.

Of 53-known provinces that are endemic for the disease, 27 have already been declared malaria-free. These were: Cavite, Batangas, Marinduque, Catanduanes, Albay, Masbate, Sorsogon, Camarines Sur, Iloilo, Aklan, Capiz, Guimaras, Bohol, Cebu, Siquijor, Western Sa-mar, Eastern Samar, Northern Samar, North-ern Leyte, Southern Leyte, Biliran, Camiguin, Surigao Del Norte, Benguet, Romblon, Ba-tanes, and Dinagat Islands.

Like the dreaded dengue fever, malaria is caused by a bite of a mosquito, which has about 2,000 species. They are found from the tropics of the Arctic Circle and from lowlands to the peaks of high mountains. The species that transmit malaria are classified in the ge-nus Anopheles.

There are some 400 species of Anoph-eles mosquitoes, but only about 70 species are known to be responsible for transmitting malaria. About 30 are of major importance, responsible for a significant amount of all

malaria cases around the world. On the other hand, malaria is caused by four types of plas-modium, a single-cell parasite transmitted by the bite of the female Anopheles. Of these four types, Plasmodium falciparum produces the greatest number – and the most lethal – of infections.

(Malaria can also be transmitted acciden-tally by blood transfusion, or through contam-inated needles or syringes. During pregnancy, fetuses can become infected with parasites from the blood of the mother.)

According to a WHO publication, Rural Health, the malaria parasite is not simply transferred from one person to another but must live part of its life in the mosquito. “Life inside the mosquito is a race against time, because the time taken for the parasite to go through its growth and development is close to the average lifespan of the insect. This period is longer in cooler environment and shortens as the temperature rises. Thus, the survival of the parasite is on a knife-edge, and once the average temperature drops below a certain point the mosquito tends to die be-fore it can transmit malaria,” the publication explains.

But how does the malaria parasite invade our body? The WHO publication explains: “The malaria parasite is injected into humans in the saliva of the mosquito when it feeds. Once in the human, the parasite at first caus-es no symptoms but enters the blood stream, travels quickly to the liver and then hides there while it grows and divides. After a period of nearly two weeks, the new daughter para-sites burst out of the liver and enter the blood stream where they invade red blood cells.”

It continues: “The parasite now enters a cycle of rapid multiplication, every 48 to 72 hours the newly formed daughter cells spew

out of the red blood cells and invade new ones. By this means, an infection that begins with a small number of parasites can, over a few days, produce tens of thousands of millions of daughter parasites.”

At this point, the human host begins to feel the symptoms. The first signs are usually fever and a general feeling of aching and being un-well, often with a bad headache. Many people who have had malaria feel that they can tell it from other illnesses, but this is a dangerous be-lief in reality since at this stage malaria is easily confused with many other illnesses such as an attack of flu. Other symptoms such as cough, vomiting or diarrhea may lead the patient to think it is a chest infection or a stomach upset.

“Malaria is a great imitator and the only safe rule, if you live in or have visited an area where malaria is known to exist, is to consider every fever as a potential case of the disease,” the WHO publication advises. “High levels of awareness and rapid appropriate treatment are the keys to preventing the disease from developing to the dangerous state of severe or complicated malaria.”

If treatment is not started quickly, the pa-tient gets more ill. The symptoms are caused by the destruction of the red cells, causing ane-mia, the release of toxins into the bloodstream as the parasite bursts out of the red cells, and the blocking of small blood vessels throughout the body. The patient becomes weaker.

Danger signs include persistent vomiting, becoming confused, increasing difficulty in breathing, or having an epileptic fit. The pa-tient may become unconscious, a condition known as “cerebral malaria.” Any of these symptoms is a sign of serious problem and the patient needs urgent admission to a hospital or health center with the facilities for good in-patient care.

CEBU City is the part of the country where north meets south equidistant-ly. Tagged as the Queen City south of

the country’s capital, Cebu never stops mes-merizing me, whether there is a major event or one just goes there on a relaxing tour, do-mestically speaking.

Without fear of contradiction, I will boldly state here that Cebu City is inhabited by peo-ple who are most politically-mature among their ethnic counterparts elsewhere. Why? Because Cebuanos eat politics for breakfast, lunch and dinner, even for merienda.

That is not just a figure of speech. It is the exact description of a people who are well at-tuned with the political times. But let me go straight to the point.

The huge boos VP Jejomar Binay received during his guest appearance at the Sinulog festival was a manifestation of the political maturity of Cebuanos. They could not control their candid perception of the man who as-pires to become president of the country but who hides behind a veneer of hypocritical in-

nocence.C e b u a -

nos hissed their collec-tive outcry because the man, who occupies a lofty posi-tion that is a heartbeat away from the presi-dency, refuses to answer allegations of mas-sive corruption hurled against him and his family but instead sidesteps with a coy “pu-litika lang yan” snide remark. He thinks and presumes he can fool the people all the time.

Cebuanos cannot be fooled. They want this man who wants to be king to confront his accusers at the Senate and prove beyond doubt that his honesty in governance is un-sullied.

Binay’s spokesman, Joey Salgado, has

wittingly placed the booing scenario on Mar Roxas who, he said, mobilized his LP sup-porters at the Sinulog to yell in unison when Binay’s name is called and he appears on stage.

Buti na lang, hindi si Duterte ang gi-nawang scapegoat, ha?

What message did the booing against Binay send?

That, first, he is not welcomed thereat. Second, Cebu, as the surveys show, will most probably throw its support to Davao City Mayor Digong Duterte not only because of ethnic identity but more because the Cebua-nos appreciate the track record of the guy who transformed a former criminal-infested LGU into one of the top ten safest cities in the world.

Third, Cebuanos expressed their political dismay in an occasion Binay wanted to make use as a forum to articulate – and pollute them with - his presidential ambitions.

Now, hindi po pambabastos yun. That is freedom of expression. That is a

singular manifestation that democracy is healthy in our country. I reckon Cebu City and the Cebuanos can take pride among themselves of registering their voices when it matters.

Buti nga hindi sapatos ang ipinukol sa kanya tulad ng ginawa sa isang head of state. Dito sa atin, kamatis ang pinupukol.

But surely, the Binay camp will work overtime to erase and overturn the stigma of the Cebu booing incident. Salgado will burn the midnight oil harnessing his media allies in the press - radio and print.

That is why the surveys periodically put out by research and survey firms cannot achieve a standard degree of credibility. At best, they are mere predictive outputs de-signed to sway the undecided and form an opinion collaterally attuned with the survey results.

The booing in Cebu was resounding-ly deafening. Give me a pair of cotton balls, please. (Email your feedback to [email protected]). God bless the Philippines!

VOL. 8 ISSUE 212 • THURSDAY, JANUARY 21, 2016 VANTAGE POINTS 9EDGEDAVAO

The boos in Cebu

The other mosquito-borne disease

Henrylito D. [email protected]

THINK ON THESE!

Fred C. Lumba

SPECKS OF LIFE

VOL. 8 ISSUE 217 • THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 201610 NEWS

Outlook... FROM 5

Duterte... FROM 4I’LL RESIGN... FROM 1

American... FROM 2

Quorum... FROM 2

Little... FROM 4

EDGEDAVAO

she said.Apart from mix-used de-

velopment, there are also three investors on development of property for academic purpos-es.

Earlier, the Davao City Investment Promotions Cen-ter (DCIPC) reported that the Yuchengco-led Mapua Institute of Technology, the country’s largest engineering school will establish operation here as well as De La Salle Uni-

versity, and Lyceum of the Phil-ippines.

A Manila-based hospital will also expand its operation here, according to Monteverde.

Aside from Manila-based developers, a Dubai-based property developer also tar-gets to establish an economic zone suitable for manufactur-ing and medium industries in Davao City.

“The investors already conducted ocular inspection in

the city last year during a site visit led by the DCIPC as part of the side events of the Dubai Annual Investment Meeting,” Monteverde said.

The availability of eco-nomic zones, she added, has been one of the major require-ments of manufacturers when locating in other areas. Major economic zones in the region are now eyed to be developed in Tagum City and in Panabo City both located in the prov-

ince of Davao del Norte.Aside from tax incentive

and holiday, economic zones provide opportunities to for-eign investors to locate here and establish a 100 percent foreign-managed operation.

“Property development for commercial purpose has been growing not only in Davao City but also in other areas in Davao City because of improvement of road infra-structures,” Monteverde said.

kung may kalokohan sila na binabalak (They should not include us if they are planning anything irregular),” he said.

He said he will not risk his career for the benefit of pol-iticians who are using black

propaganda for their political gains.

Albani also said no shabu laboratory is being monitored in the city. “We verified the in-formation but it found out not true,” he said. immigrant from South Korea,

was listed by the agency as a “high value target.”

Abad said Hong, who is currently detained at the PDEA-12 lockup, will be charged for violation of Sec-

tion 11 (possession of dan-gerous drugs) and Section 12 (possession of drug parapher-nalia), Article II of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. (PNA)

Rodriguez said he had hoped that BLBAR, his com-mittee version of the Bang-samoro law, would have been deliberated on Tuesday after-noon.

“If there is just a quorum, I am sure the BLBAR will be approved because all the con-troversial provisions were al-ready taken out,” he said.

But the Cagayan de Oro lawmaker said he remains op-timistic Congress will pass the BLBAR before it adjourns on Feb.3.

“If it is not approved by Feb. 3 then that will be the end. Nothing will come out of the BLBAR,” he said.

Rep. Arlene Bag-ao (lone district, Dingat Island) said the BLBAR will be approved if the administration will push for its passage.

“The question is will the government really want it passed?” she said.

Bag-ao was in Camp Evan-gelista in Cagayan de Oro as guest of honor in the presen-tation of the new rifles to the 4th Infantry Division Tuesday

afternoon.Rodriguez and his com-

mittee tweaked the original draft of the BBL and came out with the BLBAR which was rejected by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

During a forum on the BBL in Iloilo City on Dec. 4 last year, MILF peace panel chair Moha-gher Iqbal said the House ver-sion of the bill retained 90 per-cent of the draft submitted by the Office of the President, but 50 percent of the provisions on powers was deleted.

In the Senate, Iqbal further noted, the version presented by Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. removed 80 percent of the provisions in the draft bill, in-cluding those on territory.

“Marcos doesn’t want the term “territory” in the BBL, but this is cited 85 times in the ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao) law,” he added.

The MILF has declared it won’t accept a BBL that would be less than the ARMM. (Froilan Gallardo/MindaN-ews)

GUN BAN UPDATES. Davao City Police Office (DCPO) spokesperson Chief Inspector Migrace Driz gives updates on the election gun ban, saying 16 violators have been apprehended in Davao City. Driz and Task Force Davao commander Colonel Cristobal N. Zaragoza graced yesterday’s AFP-PNP Press Corps media forum at Task Force Davao headquarters. Lean Daval Jr.

meet),” he said.There have been reports

of factions being formed by barangay captains in the third district after a report from the side of Ungab that Mayor Ro-drigo R. Duterte declared the area a free zone.

“Free zone” means Duterte

will not support any candidate for the congressional position.

Duterte, however, said the official candidate of the party is Bello since he signed the cer-tificate of nomination and ac-ceptance (CONA) of the latter during the filing of certificate of candidacy.

alternative livelihood.The vice presidential bet

also said that internationally, he and Duterte will enforce stricter immigation laws to prevent international drug syndicates from entering the country.

“We will not allow the disorder to continue and our

country to become a narco state. We will build a strong developmental state to provide bold solutions and swift actions to bring about real change. Under the Duterte-Cayetano watch, everyone will be afraid of the law, but everyone will be protected by the law,” Cayetano ended.

Panabo PESO best in 2015 implementationMAYOR James G.

Gamao congrat-ulated the Public

Employment Service Office (PESO) of the city for win-ning the Best Peso in Region 11 under the component city category during last Mon-day’s convocation at the New City Hall lobby.

The actual awarding cer-emony was conducted by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Region 11 headed by Regional Direc-tor Joffrey Suyao held last Jan-uary 11, at Big 8 Corporate Hotel in Tagum City.

PESO manager Cherelle

Espinosa said that Panabo City will represent Region 11 for the best PESO in the Phil-ippines on October 2016 at Cebu City.

Among the special awards recognized were: Best in the implementation of Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES) and Pre-Employment Seminar for Local Applicants (PESLA), Best in National Skills Registration Program (NSRP) and Best in Imple-mentation of Special Recruit-ment activity.

According to Espinosa, PESLA program provides ba-

sic steps and information to local applicants by conduct-ing an orientation on filling of requirements for their employment, while SPES give student-beneficiaries a chance to earn and this will help them with their educa-tional expenses.

Meanwhile, City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) Head Jea-nette Lamoste presented the certificate of 100% Excel-lent Financial Liquidation on Supplementary Feeding Pro-gram (SFP) cycle 4, which is awarded to LGU Panabo last December 2015 at the DSWD

Regional Office, Davao City.The Monday convocation

sponsored by CSWDO formal-ly started with the spiritual message shared by Rev. Pas-tor Sam Macad of Faith Fun-damental Baptist Church fol-lowed by the presentation of their office accomplishment report that highlights the 90% completion of the Build-ings located at Barangay Datu Abdul, namely: Girl and Wom-en Crisis Center, Children in Conflict with Law (CICL) Cen-ter and Pag-Asa Youth Drop in Center formerly known as Angel Baraquel, Home for the Boys. jaszparas/CIO Panabo

to amuse the mouth and ready one’s taste buds for the upcoming courses. A salad of Blue simmer crabs with mesclun leaves, spring onion sour cream, and red lumpfish caviar and compressed fruits followed. The sweetness of the crab paired well with the brininess of the caviar while the sour cream added a richness to the well-thought-out ap-petiser. This was followed by a

Wild mushroom truffle cappuccino topped with crisp bacon bits and herbs. The richness of the soup was accentuated by the truffle with a punch of saltiness coming from the bacon bits. This is a truly rich soup but the serving with just right so as not to overwhelm the palate. After the soup, the main course of Pan-fried almond-encrusted Norwegian salmon was served together with veg-

etable ratatouille, and a cepes leek fondue sauce. The salmon was cooked to perfection while the acid coming from the rata-touille and roasted toma-toes brightened the dish. The roasted almonds also added a crunchy texture that made the mouth wanting more. To cap off the meal, a dessert composed of Heart-shaped strawberry chilled cheesecake, mini chocolate truffles, and a lemon tart was served. The play of sour and sweet, bright and rich flavours played well with each other in my mouth, egging me to eat some more until there was not a trace left. The meal was truly a beautiful love af-fair, which sadly like ev-ery love affair with good food, ended shortly after the last bite.

LAST JANUARY 18, I was invited to the anniversary kick-off of the Marco Polo Davao which turns 18 this coming December 17, 2016. To highlight the occasion, a simple opening ceremony hosted by the hotel’s general manager Dottie Würgler-Cronin was held at the hotel’s lobby which was immediately followed by lunch at the hotel’s Polo Bistro featuring culinary highlights for Valen-tine’s Day.

The meal was truly a beautiful love affair, which sadly like every love affair

with good food, ended shortly after the last bite.

FOOD

EDGEDAVAOINdulge!

Pan-fried almond-encrusted salmon with vegetable ratatouille and Heart-shaped strawberry chilled cheesecake, mini chocolate truffles, and a lemon tart.

The beautiful five-course Velentines tast-ing menu was especially prepared by the Marco Polo Davao’s Executive Sous Chef Alex Destriza and F&B Manager Chel Galang-Yabut to tickle the palate as well as highlight the Polo Bistro’s new di-rection. While waiting for the first course, a basket of the Marco Polo Davao’s famous ciabatta was served. I could still re-member the first time it was introduced by then general manager, Nigel Fisher, who tasked the kitchen to create a bread that had a crispy crust on the outside yet soft and chewy on the inside. The meal started promptly with the serving of the amuse bouche, a bite of Parma ham paired with balsamic vinegar, melon, and micro greens. The single bite-sized hors d’oeuvre is meant

Marco Polo Davao General Manager Dottie Wügler-Cronin and Executive Sous Chef Alex Destriza.

Wild mushroom truffle cappuccino topped with crisp bacon bits and herbs.

VOL. 8 ISSUE 217 • THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2016

IF YOU ARE CRAVING for bowls of proper Japanese cuisine in Davao, then Sakurazaka is the best place to be. It’s quaint, colorful and is the perfect izakaya rendezvous that’ll have you crav-ing in an instant. Not to mention, the scenic wall painting is in full bloom – all year round. Since it opened in No-vember 2015, it has be-come a favorite place to dine for the locals and visitors of the city. Also, of the many foodies that are always craving for something new. But what makes Sakurazaka a most favorable delicious desti-nation? The fact that you’ll see Japanese nationals en-joying their meals here -- now, that’s something to really consider! Sakurazaka, as shared by its owner (Citoy, hap-piest birthday to you), is actually a popular street in Japan. With his love and fascination towards the place, the people and the food, it was a no-brainer that he ended with a food-ie place that speaks of his passion and, again, love for food. With Sakurazaka, not only will you taste the fla-vours of Japan (trust me, their dishes will virtually take you in the streets of Japan – it’s that authentic!) but will allow you to ex-perience Japan minus the travelling expenses. More so, the ingredients they use are imported from Japan. Want more? They have a Japanese chef that transforms your cravings in delectable munchies in an instant. Now, that’s something to always look forward to, right?

A2 INdulge! EDGEDAVAOFOOD

Their menu is one of the most colorful I’ve seen -- literally and figuratively, that is. It’s packed with Japanese goodness that’ll have you salivating in an instant. Theirs is com-posed of an array of selec-tions that will urge you to make a choice one after another. One other best feature of their menu? The images at the back -- mak-ing it easier for you to trim down your choices...or not. Also, they have the friendliest and most ac-commodating staff on this side of the city.

Some of Sakurazaka’s sought after dishes include their Japanese curry, beef steak, hamburger steak, garlic steak, sukiyaki and shabu-shabu. Not to men-tion, their ramen choices are superb, thus making you crave even more. If you want some meat and rice to end your day, then better try their Gyudon. What sets them apart from the rest is their timpla. I love that the meat strips are thinly sliced yet still very juicy. It literally melts in your mouth. Not to mention the rice that

comes with it – perfect food combo! For the pork meat lov-ers, try their Butadon and you’ll surely love every bite. My good friend, Chef Lllerma of Green Rocks Pastries, swore how the meat was well cooked and juicy with every bite. It comes with some shred-ded veggies for a complete meal in one bowl. For our good friend Ju-lius, it was a bowl of Hot & Spicy Ramen that made him sweat, smile and sat-isfied in an instant. From a distance, you can ver-

ily see that their ramen is packed -- with both broth and meat goodness. Ac-cordingly, it is the broth that sets this ramen apart from the others. Theirs has that distinct taste that you won’t find elsewhere. For the ultimate sweet treat, try their Matcha ice cream. It’s not too over-powering, not too sweet but is creamy like heaven in a bowl. This, to me, is one treat you shouldn’t miss. So, the next time you want something to satisfy your cravings, go ahead and indulge at Sakuraza-ka. Sakuraka Japanese Res-taurant is located at Door 6, Rowi Square (near 7-11), Damosa, Davao City. For orders and reserva-tions, you may call them at 082 321 0566. They are open Mondays to Satur-days 11:00am-11:00pm and Sundays 5:00pm-11:00pm Make #TheRoyalChef your Thursday habit! Nev-er miss a feat with theroy-alchefeats.wordpress.com and on Instagram @the-royalchefleebai.

The fact that you’ll

see Japanese nationals

enjoying their meals here

-- now, that’s something to really consider!


INdulge! A3EDGEDAVAOENTERTAINMENT

Promise of love, commitment, and revengeput to test in last three weeks of ‘Pangako Sa ‘Yo’

Vic Sotto talks about age gap with Pauleen Luna

THE CHARACTERS of “Pangako Sa ‘Yo” will be put to the ultimate test as they struggle to fulfill the promises they made as the top-rating teleserye nears its finale this February. In the last three weeks of the series, Claudia follows through her vow to take revenge and inflict grief on Amor (Jodi Sta. Maria) and Yna (Kathryn Bernardo) after successfully killing David (Diego Loyzaga). Claudia will even scale the greater heights of evil just to make Amor (Jodi Sta. Maria) suffer and at the same time hide

from her and Eduardo (Ian Veneracion) the truth – that Yna as their daughter Maria Amor. Amidst their mourning, Yna at Angelo (Daniel Padilla) will again face one of the biggest challenges

in their relationship as they will be blamed for David’s supposed suicide. Will Yna and Angelo remain true to their word that they will fight for their love? How far will Claudia go to

torment Amor? Will they keep their promises until the end? Don’t miss the exciting continuation of the classic Filipino love story on television, “Pangako Sa ’Yo,” weeknights after “FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano” on ABS-CBN Primetime Bida. For exclusive updates, log onto Twitter.com/StarCreativesT V and Instagram.com/S t a r C r e a t i v e s T V . Meanwhile, viewers may also catch up on full episodes and past episodes of “Pangako Sa ’Yo” through ABS-CBNmobile. For more information, please go to www.abscbnmobile.com.

COMEDIAN Vic Sotto sat with the kalye-serye lolas of Eat Bulaga for an exclusive interview before he exchanges I do’s with Pauleen Luna. In the first two installments of the special, Bossing revealed what they do as a couple, what he likes most about Pauleen, and what he thinks of their age difference. In a fill-in-the-blanks challenge that Jose Manalo, Wally Bayola, and Paolo Ballesteros gave, the noontime show host answered honestly. For the item ‘hindi mo akalain na si Pauleen ay…’, he quickly responded ‘…magkakagusto sa akin.’ Vic shared about the unexpected beginning to their relationship because of a couple of factors, mainly their ages. “…Nagsimula kami sa trabaho, magkaibigan [kami] tapos medyo malaki agwat ng edad namin so

‘di ko man lang akalain na ‘yung edad pala doesn’t really matter,” the sixty-one year old said. For him, their over thirty year difference isn’t something to be frowned upon. “Hindi naman bawal ‘yun eh.

Wala namang pinagbabawal sa batas. Kahit sa batas ng Diyos, walang pinagbabawal [na ganun],” he added. The two are set to get married this weekend after almost five years of being in a relationship.

“Si Sister Shaina?” Vina Morales joked about Shaina Magdayao during their recent guesting in ‘Walang Tulugan with the Master Showman.’ “Hindi, sister ko talaga siya eh,” she playfully cleared. The younger Magdayao disclosed that Kuya Germs, the father-in-law of their sister Shiela, used to tease her about being a nun. “Lagi akong inaasar ng Papa kung mag-ma-madre na ba ako,” she said, laughing. Vina explained that it rooted from the church and charity events

that Shaina actively takes part in. “[This is] one thing [about] Shaina na hindi niya nilalabas… and we’re very proud of her. I’m sure si Kuya Germs din ay proud rin sa kanya dahil napakaraming charity work na ginagawa ni Shaina, [ang dami niya] na tinutulungang mga bata… nagbibigay siya ng kung anu-ano. Nagpapaligo pa siya ng mga kids, ng mga street children,” she revealed about her younger sister. For Shaina, the fulfillment that this kind of work brings is incomparable. “Siguro kasi iba ‘yung fulfillment na nabibigay po sa akin. Medyo

‘yung mga dreams ko siguro bilang artista, kahit paano, nagawa ko na ‘yung ilan doon [so I really enjoy doing this],” the former child star said. One of the compassionate people she looks up to is the Master Showman himself. “Hearing people’s stories about how he treated [others was really heartwarming]. Mababa ka man, mayaman ka man, magaling ka man, [he will be nice to you]. Hindi po siya namimili so nakaka-proud lang po talaga ipagmalakai na mabuting tao at napakalaki ng puso ng Papa,” she concluded.

Shaina Magdayao gets teased about entering the convent


R13

R13

R1312:40 | 3:00 | 5:20 | 7:40 | 10:00 LFS

FATHERS & DAUGHTERS

Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried

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

13 HOURS

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

THE BOY

Lauren Cohan, Rupert Evans, James Russell

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

James Badge Dale, John Krasinski

EVERYTHING ABOUT HER

Vilma Santos, Angel Locsin, Xian Lim

January 27 – February 2, 2016

With this fast-paced evolution, the youth now have more power than ever in their fingertips. Know-ing how to maximize, adapt and embrace it the right way is what Globe Telecom advocates through the #StartNow Youth Summit. Set to be a venue for learning, the Youth Summit aims to immerse students in the latest digital trends, innova-tions, and applications, and further open their creative minds to inno-vate for the development of their future. The Youth Summit also fo-cuses to inspire students and equip them with the tools to contribute to the greater good. Globe #StartNow Youth Summit will be on January 30, 2015 at the University Theatre, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City. Open and free for all students, participants will be able to join various activities related to digital trends. One of the highlights is the plenary sessions headlined by select speakers specializing in different

fields. “Globe #StartNow Youth Sum-mit allows us to go beyond products and services and give the youth a different perspective on how they can maximize the power of their digital life,” shares Globe Senior Vice President for Consumer Mo-bile Marketing Issa Cabreira. “To-day’s youth and their adaptation of the digital lifestyle have empowered them more than any other genera-tion in the past. And learning ses-sions such as this aims to help them realize that and use that power to create positive change.” The forums carry the themes Level Up, Transform, and Digital Persuasive. Level Up focuses on how telecommunications compa-nies contribute to the development of apps that in turn create business for others. Leading the session are Angelique Yap Co-Founder of the Philippines’ first mobile rewards program ZAP Group Inc. and Ron Baetiong Founder and CEO of Par-

tyPhile Inc., a mobile access to the hottest parties and events around the metro. Yap and Baetiong both carry the experience of app develop-ment and go-to-market strategies for these types of new businesses. Transform on the other hand will be led by Move.ph and Rappler Sys-tem Operations Head Rupert Ambil and TV host, author, and editor Bi-anca Gonzales-Intal, who will talk about being a responsible leader in the digital age and how to utilize tools that will allow the youth to

make a positive contribution to the country. Ambil spearheads Rap-pler’s citizen journalism arm Move.PH that aims to engage communi-ties that want to bring about change through intelligent conversations and stories that can influence and inspire others to move and spark change. Gonzales-Intal also has remained a significant voice on so-cial media through her advocacies. She has also bagged several youth-oriented awards including the premiere social media excellence

award-giving body, Tatt Awards. Lastly, the Digital Persuasive ses-sion featuring acclaimed writer and film director Antonette Jadaone focuses on the power of social me-dia in mobilizing and influencing the target market. Jadaone is rec-ognized for her applauded movies such as That Thing Called Tadhana, and All You Need is Pagibig. The youth summit is part of the brand’s #StartNow initiatives – en-couraging the youth to share their innovative ideas on efforts they would like to jumpstart. With Globe GoSURF50 and its free access to digital content, one can find a new inspiration every day from the latest trending videos from YouTube, the best movie and TV titles on HOOQ, and all the newest hits on Spotify, for only P50 for three days. Registration of participants starts at 8:00 a.m. To know more about Globe #StartNow Youth Summit and how to join , visit http://www.globe.com.ph/prepaid/start-now/pre-register and visit www.Face-book.com/GlobePH or follow @en-joyGlobe on Twitter. To learn more about Globe and its latest line-up of products and ser-vices, visit www.globe.com.ph. To know more about Globe Telecom’s line-up of activities for Sinulog 2016 visit www.Facebook.com/GlobePH or follow @enjoyGlobe on Twitter.

THE CONTINUING RISE in smartphone penetra-tion in the Philippines has allowed more individuals to get a hold of their own device and eventually learn to adapt a digital lifestyle – from social networking sites to various apps for efficiency. One’s mobile experience has immensely improved with tasks such as booking movies, restaurant seats, and even hailing cabs now having its corresponding apps for convenience.

A4 INdulge!UP AND ABOUT

Globe #StartNow Youth Summit set to educate and empower students on the latest digital trends and innovations

EDGEDAVAO VOL. 8 ISSUE 217 • THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2016


ENVIRONMENTMarine turtles:Here today,gone tomorrow?(First of Two Parts)

A COUPLE of years back, marine turtles caught the attention of authorities when reports

reached them that some roadside restaurants in Cebu had been serving dishes made from the endangered species to their customers.

In his report, VERA Files’ Nestor B. Ramirez wrote: “Business is brisk, judging from the throng of people and cars parked outside this make-shift eatery in Pasil, a shoreline ba-rangay. The customers, some in long sleeves and tie, do not mind the heat and the dishevelled slum area. They are here for one reason: To eat their favorite stewed dish of pawikan.”

Upon learning of the report, the government formed a special task force with eight members to go after restau-rants selling the meat of protected marine turtles, locally known as pawikan. “The task force is creat-ed to pursue and initiate an aggres-sive protection and conservation movement of the endangered ma-rine turtles which are now on the verge of total de-pletion,” explained regional environ-ment chief Maximo Dichoso.

Government authorities are

helpless in stopping the trade. In the past, trad-ers were easily caught because they are sell-ing the endangered species alive. But they have wised up and sell pawikan meat already butchered. As such, authorities have a hard time telling if the meat is that of a pawikan or not.

The eateries, which serve the pawikan dish-es, are made of tempo-rary structures which are easily dismantled, allowing them to elude authorities.

“The vendors themselves know they

are violating the law,” wrote Ramirez, quoting Basilisa Piaquinto, an offi-cial of one of the line agencies of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, “but the demand

for pawikan meat has kept the trade going.”

Of the eight species of marine turtles known to man, five of them can be found in the Philippines. These are the Green Sea (known in the science world as Chelonia mydas), Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricate), Loggerhead (Caretta caretta), Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), and Leatherback (Dermocheyls coriacea).

The three others are the Kemp’s Ridley (Lepidochelys kempi), Flatback (Chelonia depressa), and Black Sea (Chelonia agassizi).

Unfortunately, all eight species are listed under the Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which means the trade of these species and subspecies is strict-ly “prohibited except for educational, scientific or research and study pur-poses.”

The Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources has also classified the eight species as endangered. This is so because “their populations are in danger of extinction and whose survival is unlikely if the causal fac-tors continue to operate.”

Since 2001, hunting, sale and killing of marine turtles have been banned in the Philippines. The Wild-life Conservation Act, or Republic Act No. 9147, penalizes violators with a fine of up to P100,000 and one year in jail.

Despite sincere efforts by the government and environmentalists to save marine turtles from extinc-tion, the decimation of the endan-gered species continues unabated.

The main primary reason for the decline of marine turtle population is catching the reptiles alive. They are valued for their precious shells. “It was beauty that all but killed the Hawksbill turtle,” wrote one journal-ist. “Polished and carved, the black-and-yellow plates on its back were long sought for tortoise-shell jewel-lery and combs.”

The gathering of pawikan eggs, which are considered by Chinese as aphrodisiac, has contributed to the rapid disappearance of marine tur-tles. The eggs, which look like ping-pong balls, are also prize as energiz-ing protein. But marine scientists dispel the myth. They said pawikan eggs are just like chicken eggs and nothing more.

These days, gathering pawikan eggs is already unlawful with the pas-sage of the Wildlife Resources Con-servation and Protection Act in 2001.

Pollution has been cited as an-other prime factor why pawikan are on the verge of extinction. Included in the millions of tons of garbage dumped annually into the sea are plastic materials which marine tur-

tles mistake for jellyfish, squid, or some other food. Once digested, plastic wastes can block the turtle’s digestive tracts, causing starvation and ultimately death.

The rapid development of beach resorts for the tourism industry has destroyed the nesting beaches of marine turtles. Marine turtles spend most of their life in the sea and get all the things they need there. They even mate in the sea. But when the time comes to lay their eggs, the fe-males return to shore, usually in the same place where they were hatched.

“If you imagine a first time nester approaching its place of birth, how much do you think of its birth place or nesting beach remains over the last 35-50 years?” asked Dr. Arnel “AA” Yaptinchay, founder and direc-tor of the Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines. “I would guess there would be very little space left for it to nest and enough disturbance de-veloped to shoo it away. We are pre-venting them from fulfilling their life purpose. For me this is very tragic.”

In some instances, some tour-ism facilities view marine turtles as attractions. “This is fine if you view marine turtles from a distance, but most (beach owners) are greedy and would take a turtle and put it in a tank for secured viewing for their guests,” Dr. Yaptinchay said.

But what he considered as wor-risome is when beach owners would tie the turtle to a tree. “This has hap-pened and is still happening,” de-plored Dr. Yaptinchay.

Those resorts located in islands sometimes think they are helping marine turtles by keeping hatchlings in containers and allow them to grow for a few months before releasing them into the open sea.

“What they do not realize is that they have just disrupted the whole life cycle of the turtles,” Dr. Yaptin-chay said. “Hatchlings are supposed to be in open pelagic waters for the first decade of their lives. Again an important phase in their lives is af-fected.”

There are several other reasons why marine turtles are fast disap-pearing from the Philippine waters. In an article published in Business Mirror, Jonathan L. Mayuga cited these culprits: natural predation, climate-change effects (such as sea level rise, storm surge and extreme heat), and illegal and destructive fish-ing methods (use of dynamite and cy-anide or being trapped in fish nets).

“Unless we, Filipinos, serious-ly take on the task of protecting the much endangered marine turtles, these ancient creatures will soon be gone (from our waters),” Haribon, a local environmental group, warns in a statement. (To be concluded)

Text and photos by HENRYLITO D. TACIO

Released marine turtle

Hatching area of marine turtle eggs

Rescued marine turtle

VOL. 8 ISSUE 217 • THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 201612CLASSIFIEDS

Advertise with

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

EDGEDAVAO


ICT HUBASUS ZenFone 2 pickedSmartphone of the YearASUS Philippines re-

cently announced that since July 2014

to December 2015, the company has sold more than 1,000,000 ZenFones. With the success of the Ze-nFone 2 ZE551ML as the best smartphone of the year hailed by the Philip-pine’s top bloggers, ASUS celebrates by giving back to users with bundling of a free ASUS ZenPower 10,050mAh Powerbank and a chance to win Flip Cover Deluxe covers.

The Philippine’s top tech bloggers have award-ed the ASUS ZenFone 2 ZE551ML as the smart-phone of the year. Bestowed by Yugatech, Unbox, Gadget Pilipinas, Jam Online, Ado-boTech, and DR on the Go, the ZenFone 2’s incredible performance to value ratio proves that it is a smart-phone to beat until now because of its unbeatable camera, unique 4GB RAM and price.

Launched May 2015, the ZenFone 2 ZE551ML is still the only smartphone with 4GB RAM that is under

P25,000. Beating the com-petition against flagship smartphones that costs as high as P36,995. With the PC-grade performance of Intel Z3580 2.3Ghz Quad-Core processor and 4GB RAM, the combination de-livers unprecedented per-formance among smart-phones today.

As ASUS celebrates this milestone, buyers who avail a 64GB ZenFone 2 ZE551ML worth P14,995 will get a free ASUS Zen-Power 10,050mAh power-

bank worth P795. On top of this, ZenTalk (ASUS Fans) have the chance to win a ZenFone Deluxe Flip Cover when they visit http://bit.ly/ZF2Milestone2015. All they have to do is share why they love the ZenFone 2 ZE551ML and tag 3 friends to get a chance to win a Ze-nFone 2 Deluxe Flip Cover.

The ZenFone 2 ZE551ML 64GB is available for P14,995 with free ASUS ZenPower 10,050mAh pow-erbank. Promotion runs un-til February 29, 2016.


It’sTIME

toCHANGE

THE GAME.Your ads come to life with vivid,

clear, crisp colors.Get the value for your money and don’t settle for an awful

copy on a badly printed space.

Advertise wisely.

EDGE Serving a seamless society

DAVAOAs creative as you can get.

NEWS EDGEDAVAO

Rebs tellingDavao polsto pay campaignfees, DCPO saysTHE Davao City Po-

lice Office (DCPO) on Tuesday said some

politicians have allegedly been asked by the New Peo-ples’ Army (NPA) to pay per-mit-to-campaign fees.

DCPO spokesperson Chief Inspector Milgrace Driz cited a military report that they have obtained docu-ments on the alleged extor-tion demands.

But Driz clarified they are yet to verify if the claims of the candidates are true.

She added they will send personnel to areas where the candidates would be cam-paigning to preempt attacks by any armed group.

She said they are prepar-ing their personnel for the start of the election campaign on Feb. 8.

Driz said the police will work closely with the military to clear the areas of armed

groups.The Police Regional Office

11 placed two areas in the city under category 2 of election watchlist, namely: Paquibato and Marilog Districts.

Category 2 means there is a presence of armed groups in the community.

Earlier, Commission on Elections 11 assistant regional director Marlon Casquejo said that paying permit-to-cam-paign fees to the NPA is a ground for disqualification.

He said military person-nel may file a disqualification case against candidates who pay such fees to the NPA.

He said it can be consid-ered as a form of cash do-nation, which is prohibited during the election period from January 10 to June 8, 2016. The gun ban also takes effect during this period. (An-tonio L. Colina IV/MindaN-ews)

LGU seizes 15 boats in Siargao for fishingin marine sanctuaryFIFTEEN boats sus-

pected of being used in illegal fishing activ-

ities in this town have been seized since November last year, an official said.

Mayor Jaime P. Rusillon told MindaNews on Sunday that these boats were found fishing within the town’s 560-hectare marine sanc-tuary.

The marine sanctuary covers the area from the poblacion to Barangay Ma-linao.

“Nasayod na sila sa ato ordinansa, sigi pa gihapon pangisda diha. Karon tag-am sila,” (They already knew that we have a local ordinance, and yet some of them still go fishing in the area. Now they have learned their lesson) Rusil-lon said.

He said the sanctuary will become the future tour-ism site of the town.

“If there are more fish, there will be activities such as snorkeling, diving, sports spear fishing, among oth-ers,” he said.

Prudencio Meras III, one of the many local fishermen said the sanctuary has 24/7 security with a watch tower.

He said that after the

sanctuary was set up late last year fish population has increased in the area.

“Some fishermen are tempted to go inside the sanctuary since this area has never been disturbed for several months,” he said.

Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resource-Caraga identified the area as the largest breeding ground of fish in the town.

Rusillon said aside from strengthening the protec-tion of the marine sanctu-ary, they are also placing artificial reefs.

He added he wanted to restore the area’s rich ma-rine flora and fauna.

Wilfredo Nohara, 73, a retired fisherman of Baran-gay Union in Dapa town re-called that when he was still in his 20s this area was full of corals and fish.

Dapa is a town adjacent to General Luna.

“I could see sharks, dol-phins, and there were even different colors of corals. It was beautiful,” he said.

He said the use of dy-namite and other illegal methods of fishing ruined the rich marine resources. (Roel N. Catoto/MindaN-ews)

PROMOTING RECYCLING. Child models display apparels made of recycled materials inside a department store in Malaybalay City on January 23 to promote recycling. MindaNews photo by H. Marcos C. Mordeno

VOL. 8 ISSUE 217 • THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2016 15EDGEDAVAO SPORTS

Gilas is drawn to play France and Canada,

among others, in the Manila qualifier.

THE worst fear of Gilas Pilipinas and its fans has come true.

On Wednesday morning, France, Canada and Turkey have been drawn to play in the Manila leg of the 2016 Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tourna-ment, meaning the Philippines will need to hurdle the three powerhouse sides to earn a ticket to the Rio Summer Games.

Senegal and New Zealand join the four in what is argu-ably the toughest of the three qualifiers, the others to be held in the Italian city of Turin and Belgrade in Serbia.

Serbia is joined by the Czech Republic, Japan, Angola, Latvia and Puerto Rico in the Belgrade qualifier set from July 5-10 while drawn with Italy in the similarly tough Turin tour-nament are Greece, Tunisia, Iran, Croatia and Mexico.

France is the highest ranked team in the 18-team field for the qualifiers at No. 5 with a team expected to be studded with NBA stars like Tony Parker, Bo-ris Diaw and Nicolas Batum. On the other hand, Canada, while ranked lower at No. 26, is set to parade a team led by Andrew Wiggins, Tristan Thompson and Kelly Olynk.

Turkey is also a formidable side ranked eighth in the world, bannered by Ersan Ilyasova and Omer Asik. And while Gilas beat Senegal in overtime in the 2014 Fiba World Cup, the African side can bank on a deep pool of tall, athletic players led by NBA vet-eran Gorgui Dieng.

The only break Gilas caught in the draw held in the Swiss city of Mies is that it landed in Group B of the Manila prelim-inaries with France and New Zealand, a team which has not had much success since now Gilas coach Tab Baldwin took it to the semifinals in the 2002 world championships.

Under the tournament format, Gilas, assuming France sweeps its preliminary match-es, will need only to beat New Zealand to advance to the cross-over semifinals.

Turkey, Senegal and Can-ada will make up Group A in the preliminaries, with only the champion team from Manila making it to Rio.

Based on the competition format released by Fiba, Gilas will draw a bye in Day One (July 5) when France and New Zea-land face off before making its debut against the Kiwis on July 6. The Filipinos take on France the next day.

CARLOS Loyzaga, recognized by many as the greatest Fil-ipino basketball player of all

time, died Wednesday morning, January 27 at Cardinal Santos Medical Center at the age of 85, his son Chito told Rappler in a phone interview.

His son said details of the wake will be announced within the day.

Loyzaga had been in failing health after a stroke struck the man who had been called “The Big Difference” in his playing years, which coincided with the Philip-pines’ dominance in Asian bas-ketball and a seventh place in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.

The 6-foot-3 Loyzaga could shoot, dribble, pass and defend against big men, using his long arms and timing.

“If you notice, in some games, he was not the highest scorer but his presence was a big plus,” said Ramoncito Campos, 90, his team-mate in two Olympics, included the fabled 1956 crew, in an inter-view for a forthcoming book ten-tatively titled Years of Glory.

Before him, only Charlie Borck, 6-foot-1, and a member of the 1936 Berlin Olympic team, had the youth and ability but World War II robbed him of his

best years. However, Borck did not have Loyzaga’s all-court skills.

Despite his abilities, Loyzaga was not a ball hog. “He would get angry if you didn’t cut to receive a pass,” said Loreto Cabonnell, an-other mainstay of that 1956 team.

Loyzaga was discovered in a basketball court in Teresa, Sta Mesa. The court, named Teresa Valenzuela or Tervalac, pitted the players in that area, where Loyza-ga was living with his family, and

a team piloted by Olympian Gabby Fajardo in 1949. He impressed Fajardo immensely with his well-rounded game and it even-tually became his ticket to play for San Beda in the NCAA.

Joe Lim, a center of Fajardo’s team, remembered Loyzaga in an story for Asian Dragon magazine 4 years ago that Loyzaga “was not a rough player and he blocked shots cleanly.”

The Philippines won 4 Asian

Games basketball titles when Loyzaga was playing and lost it in 1966, two years after he retired. In the Asian Basketball Confed-eration, forerunner of FIBA Asia, the Philippines won in 1960 and 1963, where he played with an injury in the final game against Taiwan.

“He could not move much but just his presence was a big factor,” said Ed Roque in an interview for the basketball book last year.

Loyzaga retired in 1964 at that time playing point-center, a big man who stays on the top of the keyhole and pass, recalled Felix Flores, a small center with Yco’s farm team in the old MICAA, Tanduay,

Loyzaga’s fame took a wider dimension when he coached the national squad, nicknamed The Dirty Dozen, to regain the ABC ti-tle in 1967, two years after it yield-ed the crown to South Korea.

He later became a councior in Manila, got a job at the airport and coached in the PBA for Tandu-ay. He and his family emigrated to Australia, but he returned to the Philippines in 2013.

He has 4 children: Chito and Joey, who followed in his foot-steps; and actresses Bing and Te-resa. – Rappler.com

ALUMNI and students of the Ateneo and Notre Dame are invited to

join and compete in the Ate-neo v. Notre Dame Golf Duel during the 5th Notre Dame Cup on 6 February 2016 at the Apo Golf and Country Club in Davao City.

The 5th Notre Dame Cup is an annual golf tourney or-ganized by Batch 85 – Notre Dame of Kidapawan for Boys and Girls HS Alumni Associa-tion, Inc. and Batch 86 – No-tre Dame of Kidapawan for Boys and Girls. It is a charity fun golf tournament aimed to raise funds for the socio-civic programs and projects of the organizers.

More than 100 players from all over the country, majority of whom came from various schools in Mindanao, have participated in the first four editions of the event, all of which were held in the challenging Apo Golf and Country Club. During the 4th Notre Dame Cup, a friendly challenge was issued and ac-cepted by alumni of Ateneo de Davao and Notre Dame for them to tangle in a dual meet within the tournament. Thus, the Ateneo v. Notre Dame Golf Duel was conceived.

The 5th Notre Dame Cup will thus feature the emerg-ing rivalry between Ateneo and Notre Dame in the golf course. Anyone who has enrolled, is studying or has studied, or has graduated from any Notre Dame school and any campus of Ateneo may join the Ateneo v. Notre Dame Golf Duel, whether he or she enrolled in the ele-mentary, high school or col-lege level.

The match will employ the System 36 Format. There is no limit to the number of players who may play for each team. However, only the top ten (10) scores of each team will be counted.

Participants are encour-aged to pre-register if they want to join the Ateneo v. Notre Dame Golf Duel. They may register at the Apo Golf Front Desk c/o Grace Solis (0922-8922955) or they may send an email to [email protected].

Interested participants may also register with their respective Team Captains and representatives. Ateneo has chosen Dr. Ferdie Pascua (09177290029) to spear-head its team with Notre Dame choosing Engr. Danilo Robles (0998545 3013) to captain for it. Ateneo golf players may also contact Dar-ius Gloriani at 09209549129 while Notre Dame players may contact Gary Santiago at 09202485252.

The winner of the Ateneo v. Notre Dame Golf Duel will receive the Team Trophy and bragging rights until the 6th Notre Dame Cup. The orga-nizers will also give a special award to the winning team. This early, the participants to the Ateneo v. Notre Dame Golf Duel are already prepar-ing for the much-anticipated match up.

The organizers expect more than 100 players to participate in the 5th Notre Dame Cup, which has attract-ed golf players from all over Mindanao and even from Metro Manila in its past stag-ing. The event is open to all golf players, even those not coming from Notre Dame and Ateneo.

Tickets are reasonably priced at P1,500.00, which entitles the participant to several giveaways, including a dri-fit shirt and Pepsi prod-ucts, one practice round and free green fee on the actual tournament, lunch and par-ticipation in the raffle. You may purchase your tickets at the Apo Golf Front Desk.

GROUP OF DEATH

France, Canada, Turkey drawnwith Gilas in Manila Olympic qualifier

‘Big Difference’ passes away

Ateneo faces Notre Damein 5th Notre Dame Cup

Carlos Loyzaga

VOL. 8 ISSUE 217 • THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 201616 EDGEDAVAOSports

NOVAK Djokovic has a larger than life pres-ence at the Austra-

lian Open.His face smiles at fans

from sponsor’s billboards. His voice gives inspiration-al advice over center-court speakers between matches.

There’s even a new ad-dition to Melbourne Park called ‘’Novak’s World,’’ where fans can slip on virtu-al reality goggles and feel as if they’re walking in Djokov-ic’s shoes - as he stretches in the locker room and then walks out onto the court as the crowd roars.

A few years ago, the Australian Open and the other majors could have been called ‘’Roger’s World’’ - when Roger Federer was No. 1, still dominating men’s tennis and the favorite face of sponsors.

On Thursday, the two players’ worlds collide.

Again.The top-ranked Djokov-

ic will play No. 3 Federer in a blockbuster semifinal match at the Australian Open. It will be the 45th installment in a riveting ri-valry that is so equally split that they are tied with 22 wins each.

Spectators walk past a large billboard showing de-fending champion Serbia’s Novak Djokovic at the …

It’s a rematch of last year’s final at the U.S. Open and Wimbledon, both of which Djokovic won in thrilling nail-biters.

It will be their 15th matchup at a Grand Slam tournament, more than any other pair of men in tennis’ Open era, which dates to 1968. Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have played each oth-er 13 times at majors, Fed-erer and Nadal 11 and John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl 10.

But more than just numbers, it is a tantalizing rematch that holds great importance to both players as they try to cement their place in history.

For Federer, who owns a record 17 Grand Slam titles, it offers a chance to prove that his best is not entirely behind him. He is 34, which means that time really is running out.

‘’It would mean a lot to me, no doubt about it,’’ Federer said Tuesday when asked about the signifi-cance of winning one more major in the era of Djokovic. ‘’It’s part of the reason why I guess I’m still playing. I feel like I’m competitive at the top. I can beat all the guys on tour.’’

Novak Djokovic of Ser-bia celebrates after defeat-ing Kei Nishikori of Japan in their quarterfinal mat …

That is true, but the

problem for Federer has been making it happen in the last round of a major.

Federer hasn’t won a major since Wimbledon in 2012 despite repeatedly coming close. He was run-ner-up in 2014 at Wim-bledon and in 2015 at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open - beaten all three times by Djokovic.

The 28-year-old Djokovic finished 2015 as the No. 1 player for the fourth time in five years. The Serb won three Grand Slams - the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open - and reached the final at the F r e n c h Open.

Djokovic is considered the best baseliner in the game, contorting his body

Novak Djokovic plays a forehand return to Kei Nishikori during

their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open tennis

championships in Melbourne, Australia on Tuesday. (AP Photo/

Andrew Brownbill)

Djokovic vs Federerin Aussie Open semis

as he s t r e t c h e s

and slides be-tween defense and offense.

In Mel-bourne, Fed-erer has been

playing a bril-liant brand of

attacking ten-nis, ushering him comfortably

through the draw and past No. 6 To-mas Berdych 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-4.

Djokovic and other players have

commented that he’s

playing as well as ever, if not better, deploying well-honed new skills and ag-gressiveness at net.

‘’Roger is playing real-ly terrific tennis,’’ Djokovic said after his 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 quarterfinal win over No. 7 Kei Nishikori. ‘’He’s got great defense, amazing of-fense. He’s very complete. He puts constant pressure on the opponent. You have to be aware at all times. You got to be tough. You’ve got to be concentrated.

‘’This is going to be a big challenge for both of us,’’ Djokovic said. ‘’I’m expect-ing a great fight.’’

Edge Davao 8 Issue 217

Documents

Transcript of Edge Davao 8 Issue 217